This is another of Kevin Horton’s black-and-white gym photos of Dorian Yates that literally shocked the bodybuilding world in 1993. At that time, the sheer massiveness and graininess of his physique was astounding… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 101: Steve Reeves Muscle Art
These photos taken in the ’50s showcase the classic lines of Steve Reeves that made him a perfect movie Hercules—excellent genetics, and not just in the looks department. Check out at his wide V taper, small waist and long calves… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 96: Lee Labrada’s Muscle at 60
Here’s a great shot of Lee Labrada back to back with his son Hunter, age 28 and a current IFBB pro. Notice the similar genetics, a big player in bodybuilding success… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 90: Lee Labrada Gym Muscle
This is one of the best upper-body shots of Lee Labrada we’ve seen (it may be a Michael Neveux shot, but we’re not sure). Lee never won the Mr. Olympia, but he got close due to his incredible “Mass With Class” physique…
What was his bodybuilding secret? He was from the Lee Haney school of “stimulate don’t annihilate” your muscles during workouts; however, he fused that with the Mike Mentzer’s shorter workouts to failure—but with only moderate poundages.
He was all about “growth threshold” training. Here’s how Labrada defined it…
The growth threshold is the point at which the level of fatigue in the muscle is high enough that a growth response is elicited. Your goal during a workout should be to fatigue the target muscles you are training more and more with each succeeding set.
In other words, you want the muscles to progressively get more and more tired out, until you reach a point where the muscles are functionally ‘worn out.’ Signals are sent to the brain that set up the compensation, or growth, process during the post workout period, so that in future workouts, you can handle it.
Our two favorite ways to achieve a growth-threshold mass blast is with 4X and STX (slow-twitch exhaustion). Both methods have you use only moderate weights with short rests between sets to progressively hypertrophy all muscle fiber types…
By the way, Labrada still looks unbelievable now in his 60s thanks to this safer style of training. Now that’s Mass-With-Class longevity.
Try 4X for growth-threshold success—no joint stress.
> The 4X Mass Workout 2.0 is available HERE.
Or check out our STX growth-threshold method in our latest retooled ebook…
> Muscle-Building Quick-Start Guide 2.0 is available HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Get Ripped with Anabolic Fasting
With proper intermittent fasting, you can transform your physique faster than ever…
Brad Pilon’s book Eat Stop Eat is THE book on Intermittent Fasting. Besides the nuts and bolts of what to do and when to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously, Brad covers all the research on IF-related topics…
From how fasting affects blood glucose/insulin/leptin/testosterone to how it jacks the muscle-building process. You’ll see all the latest science.
Grab your copy now because Eat Stop Eat is only $10 till the end of this month (it’s a $49 value!). Check it out here…
> Get THE Book on Intermittent Fasting (only $10 for a few more days)
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 79: Dorian Yates’ Shocking Mass
This is one of Kevin Horton’s black-and-white gym photos of Dorian Yates that literally shocked the bodybuilding world in 1993. At that time, his sheer mass was astounding… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 71: Rachel McLish Flex Appeal
Rachel McLish was the very first Ms. Olympia winner way back in 1980. Her symmetrical physique, not to mention her head-turning beauty, catapulted her into the public eye and established women’s bodybuilding as a brand-new sport. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 66: Dorian Yates Mass Machine
Dorian Yates won his first of six Mr. Olympia titles in 1992. His huge, grainy physique was the next step up from the more aesthetic previous Mr. O, Lee Haney… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 61: Bob Paris Sculptor
We gravitate back to Bob Paris in our Zen newsletter often because he had one of the most perfectly proportioned physiques to ever grace a bodybuilding stage… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 59: Mike Mentzer Relaxed Mass
This impressive shot of Mike Mentzer was a poster that Steve had on his wall in his late teens for motivation… [Read more…]
New Home-Grown Mass: Slo-Mo vs. High Reps
Q: Your Quick Start Muscle 2.0 has renewed my motivation for home training. I’m stoked and starting the STX workouts next week. You have the first set in both workouts for slow-twitch exhaustion. Do you think that first set is better as a slow-mo set or as a normal speed high-rep set?
A: Either of those methods on the first set accomplishes the same thing: You fatigue the slow-twitch fibers, triggering more fast-twitch-fiber activation on the set or sets that follow… [Read more…]