You have probably seen this guy before

You know I am a big fan of the old school strongman.

My secret confession is that I rarely read much training research any more.

Gasp…. I know I know.  Mr Uber Geek admits to not reading training studies is a shocker.

No worries, as I won’t be signing up to Planet Fitness any time soon though!

While I will find the occasional study that is good, most of my time is spent on protein synthesis, metabolic things and neurology.

For lifting, I go back and read all the old time strongman publications I can find!

Those guys knew what they were doing, long before drugs too.

Guys like Arthur Saxon in the early 1900s onward to Hackenshmidt, The Mighty Atom,  Bob People, Reg Park, Paul Anderson and more.

They have been a massive influence on how I train myself and others.   I really owe them a huge debt for paving the way.

Among those was Vince Gironda.

While I don’t agree with everything the Iron Guru said, there is no doubt he was waaaaaay ahead of this time.

Vince was never afraid speak his mind, and I loved that about him.

This made him quite unpopular to many, but his results always spoke loud and clear.

If you wanted more muscle and less fat, he was the man at the top of your list.

A famous story about Arnold and Vince has been around for a while, but I still laugh every time.   Rumor is a a bulked-up Arnold showed up at Vince’s gym and said, “I am Arnold Schwarzenegger and I am going to be the greatest bodybuilder the world has ever known.”  To which Vince replies, “You look like a fat f*** to me!.”

Reading Vince’s work was always a joy since he was never ever boring.

I like people who are results based and who are willing to walk their own path; despite what others say.

Love him or hate him, you have respect his ability to get results.

To find out more, click HERE for 4 of his most controversial principles.

Keep your mind open and run your own experiments.

Rock on
Mike N

PS–Any comments, post ‘em up below!  I would love to hear from you!

The Secret To Adding Muscle and Strength as Fast as Possible

Bob Diry, circa 1914

I know you see this advertised everywhere and everyone seems to have their own secret on how to do it.

I would know, since like you, I have spent well over half of my life looking for the secret to gaining muscle and strength.

I’ve read supplement ads from cover to cover, more research studies than you can shake a stick at, physiology text books, interviewed and chatted with many top strength and nutrition coaches, attended several conferences, certifications and seminars.  Heck, I’ve even given seminars on those topics.

I’ve spent 14+ years full time in college and paid a couple hundred thousand in tuition (and still will be paying–yikes) looking for the “secrets’.

I’ve even spent money on supplements, most of which turned out to be utterly worthless and only made my wallet lighter.

A new version of Supertraining came out and I was so stoked to get it as a Christmas present and bring it on vacation to read and relax.

Pay attention now and I will reveal this secret for training.

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

Here it comes!

Here is the secret from the very wise words of Dr. Zatsiorsky

Lift
* As often as possible
* As heavy as possible
* As fresh as possible

That is the “secret” to progress!   Seriously it really is as much of a secret as you will get.

How you do that is the art portion of the equation.

While there are many methods I find testing your movement (biofeedback) to be the best way to put you on track.

Summary

You job now is to accumulate as much volume (weight x reps) as possible, while putting the least amount of effort (staying fresh) as often as possible (frequency).

I did not say it would be easy though, did I?  Anything worth attaining will require work, but you need to work intelligently.

What are your secrets dear reader?  What has helped you make progress in the fastest way possible?  Let me know by posting a comment as I love comments!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)

PS

I need to give my buddy Geoff Neupert a shout out for publishing a post recently that reminded me of the secrets.  Be sure to check out his blog post here at Chasing Strength

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