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Muscle Size for Skinny Guys

Q: I’m having a really hard time putting on any muscle weight. I’m 6’1” and weigh 165. I just can’t seem to get much progress. I’m using your POF X-Rep program but have only gotten okay results in the first month, and I’m working it pretty hard. It’s frustrating when I see other guys who can get big fast while I’m a 26-year-old guy who can’t seem to make much progress. Do you have any suggestions to help?

A: Everyone’s genetics are different (plus, you may not know who’s getting pharmaceutical help). The bottom line is that you may not be perfectly suited for putting on muscle fast; however, with consistent hard training you should be able to transform your physique. Keep in mind that most bodybuilders only add about 10 to 15 pounds of muscle per year, which is about one pound a month… [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 51: Rare Arnold Pic

Here’s a rare shot of Arnold, one we can’t recall ever seeing. We’re not sure who took it, but our friend the late Gene Mozee could be the photographer, as he shot Arnold at his biggest mostly outdoors. 

In this shot, Arnold’s mass looks unreal, and his few flaws are well disguised… [Read more…]

Our At-Home Mass Workouts (what we’re doing)

Back in the 1990s, Steve’s very first book was titled Iron Man’s Home Gym Handbook. Looks like we’ve come full-circle. At the moment, there’s no place like home—or nowhere else to train but home…

Like most iron men and women, we’re at home with limited equipment. Luckily, our decades of bodybuilding experience have resulted in multiple mass-training tactics and moves to keep gains coming. Here’s Steve’s report on what he’s doing in his bare-bones pump-atorium.  [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 48: Bob Paris Before and After

The last time we talked about Bob Paris was Zen 29, but we revisit because his physique always inspires us.  [Read more…]

“Wow! You’re looking seriously bigger, bro.”

Q: I just want to thank you for another killer variation of 4X, “downward-progression.” I’ve only been using it for a couple of weeks on the big exercises, but a guy at the gym came up to me today and said, “You’re looking seriously bigger, bro.” It’s working great and is perfect with regular 4X and TORQ (tension-overload repetition quantity). I’m using DP 4X on the heavy power exercises in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0, with 4X and TORQ on the others. I’m very impressed, and apparently growing more impressive. Lol. Thank you.

A: Interesting you say that because both of us received similar compliments in the gym when we started rotating in downward-progression 4X. One guy told Jonathan his arms were looking huge, and Steve got, “If you’re trying to get bigger, it’s working.” They both left off the “bro.” [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 37: Frank Zane’s Perfection Progression

In our Zen 33 newsletter, we had before and after pictures of Frank Zane. We found a few others in our archive that show his progression from skinny teen, age 17, to bulky 20-year-old to Olympia physique perfection… [Read more…]

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…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 30: Frank Zane Gym

There was a period in competitive bodybuilding when art and aesthetics ruled. The gargoyles were not winning, and Frank Zane, pictured below was more than okay with that… [Read more…]

Upper vs. Lower Abs and the Best Etching Exercises

Q: What’s the deal with upper vs lower abs? I’ve read that you really can’t train each individually, but don’t leg raises work the lower-ab muscles and crunches work the upper? I really want to have ripped abs by springtime, so I want to start now. Help.

A: First a bit of ab anatomy from our X-traordinary Abs e-book… [Read more…]