One thing I've learned from all the letters I've received is that people don't have as much time to exercise as they'd like. Many still believe it takes long hours in the gym and lots of exercises to get great results. Some people wish they could train three hours! And if they can't work out for as long as they believe they should or do all the exercises they want, they think they're not getting any results. But could it be that because they work out so long and so often, they are not getting results?
I think so. Too many exercises and too much time in the gym are definitely not to your advantage when it comes to effective progressive resistance training.

Ever stop for a moment and look at the covers of diet, health, and fitness magazines and books? I'm holding one right now that promises you will "Lose Weight Fast." Here's another one that encourages you to "Eat Anything You Want." Still another promises "The No Exercise Way to a Great Body."
We've seen these hyped up headlines and promises so often and from

so many places that we are not even affected by them anymore. These promises are not just unrealistic but confusing, because they don't accurately tell you what's really needed to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
It's time to readjust your thinking about what it's going to take for you to achieve your body goals. In all the years I've been training and observing what a normal, non chemically enhanced bodybuilder can achieve, here's what I've found.

REALISTIC RESULTS
Lots of bodybuilders want a great looking chest, a V taper back, broad shoulders, and a flat stomach with visible abs. Almost every bodybuilder I've talked to wants to have bigger and stronger arms.
For any body part, the size and shape potential of your muscles lies in your genes. I've seen people with great genes do very little in the way of

amount of weights used, exercises done, or time spent working out and they grow like weeds with body parts that are amazing. These people are the exception and definitely not the rule when it comes to training.
I've seen far more who really bust their butts in the gym. They do the right workouts, eat the right things, get enough rest, and stay with it year after year. And they make excellent gains, but not as quickly or with such impressive results as the genetic wonders.
Here's an experiment for you. Next time you're in the gym, take a good look at other people's physiques. Observe how their body parts are put together. You're going to see some interesting things. Some people will have big, round, full muscles, and others will not. Some people will have low, wide, diamond shaped calves, and others will have high calves that resemble a baseball stuck inside a garden hose.
Yes, even though we all have two arms, two legs, one back, one chest, and two shoulders, these body parts will all look different. And that's OK. One look is not necessarily better than another (unless you're in a physique contest); it's just the unique way that each of us was blessed and put together genetically.

So is there anything you can do about it? Well, you're not going to change your genetics, so you can forget about that. You can take the body you have and make it your best, but you need to accept certain limitations:

• Some of your body parts will grow and get stronger much faster than others.
• Some body parts will not significantly respond or radically change their size and shape regardless of how much weight you use, how many workouts you do, or how many years you train. Many would

like you to believe otherwise, but in the 25 plus years I've been working out, I've seen this proven over and over again.
• If you're looking to build bigger arms, know that on average unless you're one of those genetically blessed you will need to put on about 10 pounds of body weight for every one inch you put on your arms.

• You'll never reach your bodybuilding size and strength potential unless you train legs hard and heavy. Squats will do more to pack size and strength on your body than any other exercise you can do. Deadlifts are excellent, but squats are still the king.