Bruce Lee wasn’t a competitive bodybuilder, but his physique stunned those who witnessed it in peak condition. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 70: Frank Zane Work of Art
This shot of three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane shows him in the studio hitting a classic biceps shot. His physique was a true work of art… [Read more…]
10 Minutes per Muscle Is All It Takes
Q: After reading some of your previous newsletters, I’ve been thinking about trying your 10×10 method. It sounds good, except I can’t get myself to accept using such a light weight. Will that really build muscle? I bench 300 pounds for a single, so that means I should use 180 pounds for 10×10. Man, how can that work?
A: You’re falling for the old the-heavier-you-go-the-more-you-grow myth. It’s been ingrained in all of us, but once you understand how muscle mass is created, you’ll know that you can build a lot of size with more moderate poundages and short rests—like with 10×10 or 4X… [Read more…]
The Squeeze Technique for a Massive Physique
Q: A friend of mine used to compete in bodybuilding contests, and he swears that practicing his posing improved his muscle size and shape. I think it was all in his mind. There’s no resistance when you flex, so it couldn’t build more muscle. I think he believes it did because he just happened to be getting more and more ripped from dieting and training, which made him look better every time he practiced posing. What do you think?
A: Yes, as you get more and more ripped, you’ll definitely look bigger, even as your bodyweight drops. A fat-free physique creates the illusion of mass, as you can see from the photos below of Jonathan from our X-treme Lean e-book. Nevertheless, you’re friend is also right… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 62: Frank Zane Gut Vacuum
This shot of three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane shows him hitting a classic stomach-vacuum pose. Amazing… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 60: Frank Zane Age 50
Frank Zane, 3-time Mr. Olympia, was never a bigger-is-better bodybuilder. He concentrated on his weak areas to sculpt ripped, aesthetic mass… [Read more…]
Low-Carb Diets: Do They Work?
Q: I’ve been reading a lot about low-carb diets, and I was thinking about trying [that method]. I need to lose about 30 pounds to build up my confidence (and to start seeing some abs). Getting rid of carbs seems to be the best way. What do you think?
A: Low-carb diets certainly work, and gradually reducing your carb intake is the way to go, but you don’t want to take your daily carb total too low—and never go to zero. At our lowest carb count near the end of a ripping phase, we hover around 120 grams a day.
As we say in our X-treme Lean e-book: “In general, decreasing one of the macronutrients—fat, protein or carbohydrates—to abnormally low levels isn’t the way to go for fat loss. You may lose weight, but in the case of low carbs, some of it may be muscle.”
We like the carb-stacking approach to low-carb diets, which is putting most of your daily carb allotment at breakfast and after your workout when the muscles are depleted and will absorb most of the sugar as glycogen. There’s a sample carb-stacking diet on page 17 of X-treme Lean.
The rest of your meals should be protein dominant with very few carbs. That will force your body to burn fat for energy—and with protein circulating to feed your muscles, which you train heavy often, there is no need to burn muscle for energy—so you get bigger and leaner. Plus, protein has a higher energy cost—it takes more energy to absorb it than carbs. There’s more on all of that, as well as sample diets and workouts, in X-treme Lean so you can be ripped when you make the beach scene!
Note: You can get X-treme Lean along with The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout and X-traordinary Abs at a limited-time low price. It’s the Triple-Shredded Combo Offer to help you sail through summer summer with muscle and rippedness.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Veiny Arms All Day
You know that feeling you get right after a great workout? When you look and feel huge with that massive post-workout pump? Imagine feeling like that ALL day…
Frank Rich’s program can help you carry that just-worked-out look all day, and he’s offering it to our readers for almost nothing.
>>> Try Frank’s Massthetic Arms here
It’s one thing to develop big arms, but if when they look solid and have veins streaking all over, that’s when people really notice.
Frank has research showing that arm vascularity (the denseness and veininess) is more desirable to women than 6-pack abs, and if you’ve been following any fitness stuff on social media lately, you know that’s a fact.
We know from our own years of experience with being in various levels of conditioning that we get a LOT more looks when walking through the grocery store or running random errands when we have veins streaking down our arms.
>>> So if you’re ready to create massive arms that are thick and veiny, then click here.
Oh, and Frank’s new arm program (*plus all the bonuses*) is only $9 today, so take advantage while you can.
Your Ultimate Lean-Machine Workout
Q: I just got your Triple-Shred 3 e-books [X-treme Lean, Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout and X-traordinary Abs]. Looking over the workouts, I’m wondering which is best for me, The X-treme Lean High-Definition Workout or The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout? I need to lose fat and also build muscle, so what’s the difference? Is one better than the other?
A: You may have heard the saying that the best program for you is the one you’re NOT currently using. In other words, change ignites gains. So neither the X-treme Lean program nor the Fat-to-Muscle Workout is the best lean-machine workout—only different—and both ignite all of the key fat-off, muscle-on components… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 39: Frank Zane’s Abs
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…]
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