Mohammed Makkawy is one of the greatest short bodybuilders of all time. At only 5’3”, the Egyptian-born physique sculptor defeated men much taller and more massive. How? With his proportioned, no-weak-points physique chiseled to its peak. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 94: Danny Padilla Mass Twist
We’ve featured Danny Padilla in our Zen installments many times, but he had such a great, well-balanced, and inspiring physique that he’s worth flashing back on again. This is a great twisting-back stage shot that highlights his mass and symmetry, things his training style magnified… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 91: Frank Zane Gym-Muscle Perfection
Frank Zane wasn’t the biggest bodybuilder of his era, but what a physique. He won the Mr. Olympia weighing around 190 at 5’9”. And 40 years later, the physique he displayed way back then is still considered an ultimate ideal by many, us included… [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 88: Serge Nubret Panther Mass
This is our first time featuring the great French bodybuilder Serge Nubret in our Zen newsletter. He was known as the Black Panther, and this photo should tell you why… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 86: Ray Mentzer Classic Mass
This black-and-white shot of Ray Mentzer is one we haven’t seen before (we’re not sure of the photographer). It’s when Ray won the 1979 Mr. America. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 85: Danny Padilla Mass Shot
We’ve featured Danny Padilla in our Zen installments many times, but this is a shot we haven’t seen before. It’s a great stage shot that highlights his mass and symmetry, things his training style emphasized and amplified… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 83: Lee Labrada’s Mass Secret
Lee Labrada never won the Mr. Olympia, but he got close due to his incredible symmetry, proportions, and muscle size and density—“Mass With Class.” His physique was a work of art…
You can see that from this out-and-about photo by Michael Neveux of Lee in archer mode… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 78: Danny Padilla’s Twisting Mass
Danny Padilla was known in pro bodybuilding back in the day as “the Giant Killer.” That’s because at only 5’2”, his perfect mass-symmetry combo allowed him to beat bodybuilders who were much taller and larger than he was. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 77: Frank Zane’s Greatest Shot?
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 many…
His secret was that he always came in super-crisp with delineated abs. In fact, his abs stood out in bold relief even when he was standing relaxed, as in this photo. [Read more…]