Q: At 52, Old Man Young Muscle workout has been a godsend for me. I’m bigger and stronger, and all of my aches and pains from the ego lifting I did in my youth are almost completely gone. My question is, I’m to the point where I get 25 reps on free-hand sissy squats. Do you use a weight vest to increase resistance? What do you suggest? [Read more…]
Mass Mantra #44
Here’s an eye-opening quote is from former pro bodybuilder Tom Platz, who was third in the Mr. Olympia was third in 1981… [Read more…]
Mentzer’s High Intensity: Right or Wrong? Part 5
Yesterday I mentioned that Mentzer’s high-intensity workouts weren’t as efficient as they could’ve been due to not emphasizing the biomechanically ideal exercises as well as not applying the latest hypertrophy research (he died in 2001).
His methods could’ve been significantly better at stimulating mass with a few tweaks. Let’s review his go-to quad routine: [Read more…]
Ultimate Quad-Mass Workout
Q: I tried the Stretch-First triceps workout that you outlined [in a previous newsletter]. The partials on the overhead stretch exercise were killer. My tri’s blew up, and I got sore. I want to try it on quads, but the ideal exercise is also a stretch [sissy squats]. Instead of stretch first and ideal second, I have to do ideal first, which is also a stretch. How should I handle that?
A: I’m not telling you. Buy the OMYM ebook for the full Stretch-First workout…Kidding…
You’re right: A few of the ideal exercises are also stretch moves—like sissy squats for quads.… [Read more…]
Freak-Physique Quad Mass: Oak vs. The Quad Father
Q: You mentioned that Arnold never used sissy squats [a quad stretch-position exercise]. I know that Tom Platz did them a lot. Do you think that may be one reason Platz had such freaky quads? Did Arnold miss the boat? [Read more…]
“Why do you hate barbell squats?”
My daughter and future son-in-law were over and started another weight-training conversation…
“Dad, why do you all of a sudden hate barbell squats?” [Read more…]
X-celerate Your Mass Gains With X-Reps
In a previous newsletter I mentioned range of motion and how a target muscle is strongest near its stretch point and weakest at full contraction… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 142: Arnold’s Mass Miss?
Here’s a rare shot of Arnold’s mass back in the ’70s that appears to be colorized. We’re not sure who took the pic, but it’s a killer shot, although… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 135: Arnold Rare Hotel Photo
Here’s a unique shot of Arnold on a hotel balcony back in the ’60s. We’re not sure who took the pic, but our guess is it’s Hawaii, as the Oak’s flowered trunks suggest. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 50: Tom Platz’s Beach Walk
Some of the most motivating photos to us are those featuring a top bodybuilder out in the general public—when they’re in decent shape, that is (LOL). In Zen 36 we featured Arnold walking through the streets of Venice, California.
This one is Tom Platz walking the path at Venice Beach, a classic photo from one of the best physique photographers of all time, Michael Neveux…. [Read more…]