When I first began lifting weights in 1962, you never saw any women even go near weights. Lifting weights was strictly a male pursuit in those days, although in some parts of the country, such as in California, some women had dared to start using weights as a method of shaping … [Read more...]
No Load Muscle Training: Gain you gain muscle mass using no added weight? by Jerry Brainum
Angelo Siciliano was your typical 90-pound weakling. He was born in Italy in 1892 but moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York when he was 11. One day while Angelo was at the beach in Coney Island, a bully kicked sand in his face. Since the bully was considerably larger … [Read more...]
Is Muscle Growth Fiber specific? by Jerry Brainum
A colleague of mine at a major bodybuilding magazine once wrote that "bodybuilding is not rocket science." What he meant by that was his feeling that too many bodybuilders often made the process of building muscle far more complicated than it needed to be. A corollary to this … [Read more...]
Achtung! Is German Volume Training a better way to build muscle? by Jerry Brainum
In a recent article in Applied Metabolics, I discussed the training principles that are associated with increased muscular hypertrophy or growth. These factors include training frequency, training intensity level, and volume. That last aspect is the most controversial. … [Read more...]