Here’s a shot circa 1970 of legendary bodybuilders Boyer Coe and Casey Viator, hired to by local farmers to stand in a field and scare away crows… [Read more…]
Intensity Guru: “Pull Back for More Mass”
In recent newsletters I’ve laid out some new theories on training to failure—basically that it can slow hypertrophy.
Not always, but too much creates severe damage, which saps recovery and growth. Doing only one set to failure while stopping others a rep or two short appears to be a better way to stimulate massive amounts of fast-twitch growth fibers (more on that below). [Read more…]
Recovery and Your Mass-Building Genetics
I mention genetics a lot. It’s not an excuse, but a bodybuilding reality—and an arbiter in other athletic endeavors as well.
I’ve been training for over four decades and tried just about everything. At 5’10 1/2” I never weighed over 200 in fairly ripped condition—190 was my best. [Read more…]
Intensity vs. Density for Muscle Mass
Two legends in the evolution of bodybuilding training are Arthur Jones, the so-called father of high-intensity training and creator of Nautilus machines, and Vince Gironda, a.k.a., the Iron Guru and Studio City gym owner who trained Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia, as well as many other champion bodybuilders and movie stars, including Clint Eastwood. [Read more…]
Forgotten Fact About Muscle Growth
I won’t keep you in suspense: It’s range of motion. But the forgotten fact is why it’s important…
If you’ve ever watched a very lean bodybuilder doing leg extensions—lean enough so you can see fibers firing—you’ll notice twitching “explosions” all over the quad muscles as the lower leg extends and retracts. [Read more…]
Speed Reps = Fast Mass
If you’ve been a bodybuilder for decades like us, you may remember Nautilus-machine creator Arthur Jones say this about muscle-building repetitions… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 137: Mike Mentzer’s Grainy Mass
Back in the 1970s, Mike Mentzer’s physique at its peak was shocking. But even by today’s standards, Mentzer’s grainy thickness is jaw dropping. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 38: Sergio Oliva’s Biceps
Sergio Oliva’s monster mass, wasp waist, and incredible proportions are legendary—and his physique is still shocking, even by today’s over-drugged standards…
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More Mass: Trick To Get You Wide and Thick
Q: In one of the chapters in 4X Mass Workout 2.0, you say that V-handle cable rows is both a mid-back stretch exercise and a lat contracted exercise. Since it’s a lat-contracted move, can I use that as the first exercise in a modified Pre-Ex routine for lats? So it’s V-handle cable rows for 4X to pre-exhaust the lats followed by pulldowns to continue hitting the pre-fatigued lats.
A: The short answer: No, not a good choice for your first lat move. The point of the pre-ex workouts in the Pre-Ex 3X e-book is to train the target muscle first in ISOLATION—with no smaller ancillary muscles involved… [Read more…]
Get as Big as Possible as Fast as Possible
Q: If I just do the basic [compound] exercises and continue to get stronger, won’t I get as big as possible as fast as possible?
A: That would seem to be true on the surface, but consider this: Strength equals force, so the stronger you get, the more you will develop size along that specific pathway—fiber size generated by force overload. But, as we’ve pointed out, there are two other key size-development pathways: stretch overload and tension/occlusion…
[Read more…]