This May Surprise You

[Nelson Montana]

It's common for people to want to know the "secret cycles" of the pros. Who wouldn;t love to know EXACTLY FOR CERTAIN what Arnold took?

But the truth is, a lot of those guys wouldn't know themselves.

When I was writing for the magazines a lot of guys would talk candidly off the record. And they wouldn't even remember what they were taking.

They'd say things like they were using a "vial of EQ" and wouldn't even know it was a vet steroid. Or they said they were taking some protein powder that was really good but can;t remember the name.

And the old timers had NO idea about anything except maybe popping a dbol or two each day.

Sure, there are guys who are walking science experiments -- Dave Palumbo is one. ButI don;t think he's even a pro.

The thing is, steroids can make an amazing tranformation. Supplements can make an amazing transformation. But the big boys -- from Oliva to Arnold to Haney to Yates to Cutler -- they're in a different league. They'd be bigger than you and me and make gains faster if they ate cat food and coca cola.

So it isn't the sauce that's the secret. But for the average Joe, it's about being SMARTER than the pros. They don;t have to think. We're the one's who have to use every trick in the book.

So the next time you want to know how to make better gains -- don;t ask the guy who has gains come easy for him -- ask the hardgainer what he did -- how he trained, what supplements he used and what cycles and PCT were effective. They're the REAL pros when it comes to this stuff.

 

[-SD-]

If someone looks how you want to look, how do you know if they are a hardgainer or not? it may have come easy to them. Its not like anyone going to admit to being a lazyass and making gains all day anyway. Everyone wants to be seen as "working hard" and "overcoming obstacles" on their way to a great physique.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

There are such huge variances in genetic potential it's really mind boggling.

Honestly, looking at Arnold's pictures of him as a tall,gangly kid I would never in a million years thought he would become arguably the greatest bodybuilder of all time.

The same for Franco Columbo. He looked like nothing when he started. Short and skinny. Yet he became one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time and was amazingly muscular.

I have got to be totally honest. I personally think that both Arnold and Franco were using steroids within the first 3 or 4 years of training ie. teenagers.

I'm pretty confident Arnold was natural from 13-17, but somewhere around 17-18 his physique literally exploded and that's when I'm pretty sure he started hitting up the dbol.

Anyhow, I also think there are people that have the potential to get very well developed and very strong, but have never achieved it because they just can't tolerate the excessive volume and training to failure that many pro's can tolerate, even when off the juice.

Everyone's muscle shape, tendon attachments, recovery ability etc is different.

As a teenager I wanted to be a bodybuilder and from around 13-17 training most of the time I did make a solid change. I felt I had quite abit of potential, but after the first 2 years I really didn't get any stronger. This is because I was chronically overtraining. I was generally following Arnold's classic volume routine and that is alot of volume. On top of that I was doing it wrong. I would take the first set to failure and then the 2nd and 3rd sets my reps would drop by 2-3 each set. I was basically setting the weight too high therefore rather than being able to complete 3 sets of 8-12 I would end up going to failure like 12, 8, 6 on each set of each exercise for multiple bodyparts in a workout.

Looking back it scares me how much I overtrained. There are some people out there that like to believe that it doesn't exist and that enough food and sleep can cure all, but this is simply not true which is why any form of advanced training has periodization built into it.

Anyway, good post Nelson.

 

[Nelson Montana]

There are such huge variances in genetic potential it's really mind boggling.

Honestly, looking at Arnold's pictures of him as a tall,gangly kid I would never in a million years thought he would become arguably the greatest bodybuilder of all time.

The same for Franco Columbo. He looked like nothing when he started. Short and skinny. Yet he became one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time and was amazingly muscular.

I have got to be totally honest. I personally think that both Arnold and Franco were using steroids within the first 3 or 4 years of training ie. teenagers.

I'm pretty confident Arnold was natural from 13-17, but somewhere around 17-18 his physique literally exploded and that's when I'm pretty sure he started hitting up the dbol.

Anyhow, I also think there are people that have the potential to get very well developed and very strong, but have never achieved it because they just can't tolerate the excessive volume and training to failure that many pro's can tolerate, even when off the juice.

Everyone's muscle shape, tendon attachments, recovery ability etc is different.

As a teenager I wanted to be a bodybuilder and from around 13-17 training most of the time I did make a solid change. I felt I had quite abit of potential, but after the first 2 years I really didn't get any stronger. This is because I was chronically overtraining. I was generally following Arnold's classic volume routine and that is alot of volume. On top of that I was doing it wrong. I would take the first set to failure and then the 2nd and 3rd sets my reps would drop by 2-3 each set. I was basically setting the weight too high therefore rather than being able to complete 3 sets of 8-12 I would end up going to failure like 12, 8, 6 on each set of each exercise for multiple bodyparts in a workout.

Looking back it scares me how much I overtrained. There are some people out there that like to believe that it doesn't exist and that enough food and sleep can cure all, but this is simply not true which is why any form of advanced training has periodization built into it.

Anyway, good post Nelson.

Puberty.

 

[Focus Fiend]

Well said! Jose Canseco is a perfect example of this, he took steroids for over twenty years without any medical supervision.

 

[ishaq]

good post and yes its incredibly true, the real pros are the guys like you few here on elite fitness who know more then most medical doctors!

 

[diedeadEnough]

genetics plays such a huge part in bbing.

im not very talentled geneticly, im more of a mix of ecto and endo..... small + light bone structure, with a tendency to gain weight/a lot af fat quite easily.

my cousin on the other hand is a PURE mesomorph. he is around 5'11, just a tad taller than me, has WIDE ASS clavicles and natually great delts and chest. can eat shit all day and stay pretty lean, can train badly, without jiuce and make great gains. he just has the perfect b'building frame and shape. if he actually made a real commitment to training and diet he would look incredible.

needless to say im very jelous of him as i have to work 10x as hard and still not look as good as him.

yeah but thats why you more than make up for it . youre more devoted, and knowledgable.

is it possible to change youre "morph"?? i am naturally an ecto morph, really skinny, very small dense bones, tight strong muscles without alot of size. if i didnt work out id weigh 140-145. at 5'8

but looking at me now youd def. think im a meso morph. does this actually change or is it all just a matter of oppinion

 

[doublebicep]

I can think of one potential execption Nelson: Frank Zane. I bet he kept accurate track down the the amount and time of day. From everything I read about Frank, he was maticulous, paid very close attention to the details and kept a journal.

 

[Nelson Montana]

I can think of one potential execption Nelson: Frank Zane. I bet he kept accurate track down the the amount and time of day. From everything I read about Frank, he was maticulous, paid very close attention to the details and kept a journal.

Absolutely true -- a great of example of smart training, diet, supplementation etc. Scott is another. Gironda was a small man that made himself look magnificant. Hey, ever see early pics of ME? lol! But Zane also had the advantage of a perfect frame.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Ya, Zane started out with ultra wide shoulders and a small waist and had good muscle bellies/shape.

His only problem imo was his calves. I always felt they were abit lacking even in his peak condition. Personally I thought he looked his best the year he lost to Chris Dickerson. He was a tiny bit less ripped, but bigger and fuller and to me that was the best Frank Zane. He got fuckin robbed.