Frank Zane wasn’t the biggest bodybuilder of his era by any stretch. He competed and won the Mr. Olympia weighing around 190 at 5’9”. And 40 years later, his physique is still considered an ultimate ideal by the majority who lift… [Read more…]
Get Ripped Without Cardio?!
Q: I read the info on The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout page. So you’re saying I can get ripped without cardio? I seriously doubt that.
A: That’s not what we’re saying. With The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout, or using the metabolic-momentum methods from it in your current program, you can stay leaner without much cardio. [Read more…]
Warp-Speed Mass Gains: Old Trick, New Twist
Q: I use Pre-Ex 3X supersets a lot when I can. Removing the weak-link muscle makes so much sense as a way to make the compound exercise more targeted and work harder. The look of my physique has completely changed these with new vascularity since adding these. I recently saw a mention of doing the second exercise in the superset in speed style. Does that work well? I’d love more new veins and size.
A: Yes, for many muscle groups Pre-Ex makes a lot of sense. For example, isolating your chest with cable flyes first, and then immediately moving to dumbbell bench presses helps even out the strength of the now pre-fatigued pecs with your fresh triceps… [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…]
Twig to Big: Pack Some Freak on Your Car-Antenna Physique
Q: I’ve been working out for a couple of years now pretty hard. I’m feeling frustrated because I’ve been tall and skinny my whole life: 6’2″ and 170 pounds. I just can’t seem to put on any muscle. Is it a possibility that a person just can’t build muscle no matter what they do? I receive your e-zine and read about other people’s gains, so I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong or maybe I’m genetically incapable of going from twig to big.
A: You will put on muscle—convince yourself of that; however, you’re in the skinny ectomorph boat with Steve, so you must be realistic, not frustrated. He weighed 120 pounds when he started weight training, and it took time for him to twig to big and looking like a bodybuilder—but even now he doesn’t look all that big in clothes. [Read more…]
Reverse 10×10 Mass Workout
Q: I’ve been intrigued by the recent 10×10 newsletters and jumped in to give it a try. In your learned opinion, if one were to perform a reverse 10×10 using that technique with the maximum weight possible in decreasing amounts throughout the 10 sets, would it constitute overtraining and negate the activation of the type-2A muscle fibers’ endurance component? I was thinking you would get at both the “power” AND the “endurance” functions of the type 2As better this way. I would only use each big Ultimate Exercise for every bodypart [as outlined in the 10×10 e-program].
A: A reverse 10×10 pyramid means you reduce the weight on each set. And you do each of those 10 sets of 10 reps to exhaustion. First, that’s 10-all-out-sets approach is a very different animal than standard 10×10 style, which is taking a weight you can do 20 with, but you only do 10, rest 30 seconds, do 10 more, and so on till you complete 10 sets—first sets are easy, last few are brutal. [Read more…]
2 Tips for Unstoppable Arm Size
Q: I want to experiment with 10×10 on arms to see if I can get another inch of growth. Would you suggest 10×10 combined with Positions of Flexion, or just 10×10 alone on one exercise? One exercise just doesn’t seem like enough angles are worked to hit all the fibers.
A: There are two ways you can approach 10×10 for unstoppable arm size. The first is using 10×10 on one biceps and one triceps exercise at your one arm workout each week. The key to getting the most growth is the bodypart split. For example… [Read more…]
More Outer Quad Sweep
Q: I need more outer quad sweep. A guy at the gym told me to use a narrow stance on squats, but that feels a bit unnatural to me. Will that actually help build the outer quads?
A: We asked our colleague and research maven Jerry Brainum about developing outer quad sweep before. Here’s what he had to say… [Read more…]
Wider Shoulders
Q: How can I get wider shoulders, and I mean as wide as possible? I want more of a classic bodybuilder look.
A: Wider shoulders will definitely give you a more commanding appearance, but understand that your shoulder width is limited by your clavicle, or collar-bone, width. The good news is that you can still look a lot wider with full, round delts. Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia, had narrow clavicles, but he packed a lot of meat on his delts and solved the problem, becoming the best bodybuilder in the world in his day. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 13: Vince Gironda
This classic shot of Vince Gironda, the legendary Iron Guru, was taken way back in the 1950s. His aesthetic physique, with its symmetry, lines, and rippedness, holds up today. Yep, even now most guys would kill to walk down the beach looking like Vince… [Read more…]