Classic Physique Building: Finding that "Sweet Spot" of Muscular Growth!

(Photo Above: Classic Physique Building Champ - Steve Reeves in France, 1948)

We've all heard about and recognize the importance of the mind-body connection in building muscular mass, but learning how to utilize it and trigger it for muscular growth is perhaps not so easy! Nor is it easy to talk about or describe - but here we go!

You can do everything seemingly right - get the right amount of rest, eat properly, and have a good routine with the right amount of exercises, sets, reps, and poundages. So, on the surface, it looks like you are doing everything right, but you still don't seem to grow! So what's wrong? It could well be your "mind-body connection." In other words, your body is going through the correct motions - but because the mind is not engaged, your muscles still aren't getting the right amount of stimulation to trigger muscular growth!

The key here is to find that "sweet spot" of mind-body connection where your mind is focused on the muscles being exercised, you are putting in the correct amount of intensity, and your mind and body are "sensing" and "remembering" this level of intensity as you are going through your reps. This "sensing" and "remembering" is critical - because without this, you cannot adjust your intensity level up or down to find that "sweet spot" where the muscles are being stimulated "just right" for muscular growth.

Developing this "sense" and "memory" requires conscious practice, some "trial and error," and tape measuring yourself before each workout so you can check the muscular growth you are getting or not getting against your "sense and memory" of your intensity during your reps of your last workout. Getting this right means having your mind centered and focused on your body and, in particular, on the muscles you are working - "your mind needs to be in your muscles."

Steve Reeves talked about this mind-body connection in his book "Building the Classic Physique - The Natural Way." This connection was so important to him that he wouldn't speak to anyone during a workout! He was a nice guy, by all accounts, but simply told anyone who tried to interrupt him to please speak to him after his workout. He would not let his mind-body connection be broken! Other Golden Agers practiced and talked about it. And this is why Vince Gironda was so dead set against playing music in his gym! He thought that there was no way a person would be able to get this "connection" if their mind was focused on music instead of their muscles!

So think about this and how you approach your workouts. Do you allow yourself to get distracted? Is your mind really "in your muscles"? Do you have a "sense and memory" of your intensity and what level triggers muscle growth for you?

Again, this is a tough subject to talk about, but it's very important and so was worth a try. Hopefully, you now have some insight (or perhaps a reminder) about this. Given that everything else is in place, the mind-body connection is really the "trigger" of muscular growth. So get to work finding that "sweet spot!"

- CPB

P.S. For a free 1 year subscription to Classic Physique Builder Zine (CPBzine) - a pdf "zine" (do-it-yourself magazine) patterned after the muscle mags of the pre-roid, Golden Age of Bodybuilding (the 1940s and 50s), just email your name, the name of your city (not your actual address), state/province, and country to cpbzine@gmail.com. That's it! Any info you send us is strictly confidential. We don't share info with anyone. So you won't get on any unwanted lists or receive annoying automated email (even from us)!

Classic Physique Building Tip for Avoiding Sticking Points: Train 21 Days, Rest Seven!

(Photo Above: Classic Physique Builder Vince Gironda - Owner of Vince's Gym)

Every trainer, sooner or later, will run into a sticking point - a point where both muscle and strength gains seem to slow down and stop altogether! We call this a "sticking point" or a "rut" or "going stale," etc. So what do you do when you hit a sticking point?

Well, there are many things you could do when you hit such a point, but the first thing you can do is to try to AVOID (at least as much as possible) sticking points altogether! Now, how can you do that?

Vince Gironda, before he started selling his training booklets in the 60's and before he became known as the "Iron Guru," was a physique contest competitor and owner of his own gym (Vince's Gym) in the pre-roid Golden Age. He developed quite a knowledge of natural training by experimenting on himself and never advocated anything that he did not try out on himself first! He said 'train for 21 days (3 weeks) and rest for seven (1 week).' Here is a helpful quote from his booklet called "Vince's Corner":

"I have found three weeks of concentrated training to be about enough, and the point at which most body builders become bored and stale. And at this point, after three weeks of hard training, I find that one week of rest to be much better than would a change of program, because the softening up of muscle tissue allows for renewed energy by the storing up of vitality and re-stimulation to muscles for the resumption of training."

Vince goes on to explain that the one week rest was more for the nerves than for the muscles:

"Rest is nature's method of restoring the nerves and whole body. Surely this is logical. If anyone robs himself of needed rest and allows his enthusiasm to govern him, he then continues on nerve force which will soon prove detrimental for muscle-growth. And if one cares to go into precise physiological technicalities he will readily find that the nerves need rest more than do the muscles. Muscles over bad nerves soon become weaker under the power of mis-directed nerve force."

So there you have it! A method of AVOIDING (as much as possible) sticking points in your training - train for 21 days, then rest for 7. Pretty simple. Give it a try and see if it works for you!

- CPB

P.S. If you would like a free 1 year subscription to Classic Physique Builder Zine (CPBzine) - a pdf "zine" (do-it-yourself magazine) that is patterned after the muscle mags of the pre-roid Golden Age of Bodybuilding (the 1940s and 50s) - just email your name, the name of your city (not your actual address), state/province, and country to cpbzine@gmail.com. That's it! Any info you send us is strictly confidential. We don't share info with anyone. So you won't get on any unwanted lists or receive any automated email/spam (even from us)!