Q&A with IFBB Pro Vinny Galanti

[Alex23]

sorry to answer vinny's question but "bodybuilding" is all about feeling the weights. if your lifting 405 with shitty form and doin half reps what are u goin to get out of it. but if your doing 275 and feeling the appropriate muscles working thru the full range of motion then your going to build muscle. plain and simple.

Wrong. And nobody said shitty form. if you can move 405 in the 6-12 rep range, moving 275 in the same range won't be enough to stimulate growth; you might "feeeeeeel" the weights when you start hitting 20 reps which everyone knows doesn't optimally stimulate hypertrophy, if at all..

[wild willie]

Wrong. And nobody said shitty form. if you can move 405 in the 6-12 rep range, moving 275 in the same range won't be enough to stimulate growth; you might "feeeeeeel" the weights when you start hitting 20 reps which everyone knows doesn't optimally stimulate hypertrophy, if at all..

Alex,

come on bro, get over the ego, huge weights, training like a strong man mentality.

bro, many bodybuilders have trained the same exact way Vinny does. To name a few, Lee Haney, Lee Labrada, Serge Nubret, Arnold, Hnatyschack, Phil Williams, Lance Dreher.......ect.......N eed I say more.......bodybuilding is a completely different animal than just pure weightlifting or powerlifting. Vince Taylor always mentioned in training articles, that feeling what you are doing......forming that mind to muscle connection is the most important aspect of working out.

Vinny is spot on with his training.....he has stayed injury free and has developed an awesome physique. Squeeze, contract and focus on the mind-muscle connection!!!!!!

[wild willie]

remember i'm 42 and still blasting away, but i need to play smart.
i was never a strong guy to start with, but i used to squat up to 405 and deads up to 465.

now i stay with 265 for a rep range of 15 - 20 with squats, and 225 for sets of 12 - 15 with deads.

i train slow, and make the weight FEEL heavy.

excellent philosophy......helps with longevity as well!

[wild willie]

sorry to answer vinny's question but "bodybuilding" is all about feeling the weights. if your lifting 405 with shitty form and doin half reps what are u goin to get out of it. but if your doing 275 and feeling the appropriate muscles working thru the full range of motion then your going to build muscle. plain and simple.

absolutely agree with your post.......feel what you are doing in the gym!!!!!

[flexingtonsteele]

Wrong. And nobody said shitty form. if you can move 405 in the 6-12 rep range, moving 275 in the same range won't be enough to stimulate growth; you might "feeeeeeel" the weights when you start hitting 20 reps which everyone knows doesn't optimally stimulate hypertrophy, if at all..

not going to ruin vinny's thread, but once again alex you have no clue what your talking about, its laughable that  you think there is only one way for a muscle to grow. If that was the case everyone would be doing the exact same thing in the gym. But thankfully thats not the case.

and vinny's physique is a perfect example of that. obviously what hes doing is working.

[Alex23]

not going to ruin vinny's thread, but once again alex you have no clue what your talking about, its laughable that  you think there is only one way for a muscle to grow. If that was the case everyone would be doing the exact same thing in the gym. But thankfully thats not the case.

and vinny's physique is a perfect example of that. obviously what hes doing is working.

Whoaa LOL!!!! No need to get all personal "Glenny"...

but there's a chance that by looking at our physiques, I might instinctively know more than you about what it takes to gain mass; since I've known you, you went from DOGGCRAP to some other pink dumbell or kettel bell shit in a matter of days and to be honest, haven't really grown since I've met you... and I don't have better genetics... 

Now back on how to stimulate optimal growth in muscle mass ...

If you can bench press 315 for 8 reps (you can't but let's assume), we know it takes 315 to cause your muscles to fail. When you fail and can not do anymore reps, all the muscle fibers in the chest have been recruited and worked.  Your warm up should of course be much lighter but technically, your first real set for optimal mass is your maximum weight in the 6-12 reps range. Do you really think you would still grow by doing 8 reps with 225 when you could do (hypothetically, we know you can't) 20+ reps? We both know 20 reps is not optimal for hypetrophy. Doesn't mean that "feeeling" the weight isn't good; but "feeling it" beyond 15 reps once again, isn't optimal.

Of course PTOR and fiber type varies from person to person, some still respond good at slightly higher reps, some at lower (usually guys with more 2b satellite cells).

[VGalanti]

wow i made it big time now, you guys are fighting over me...lol

Alex has a point, but let me clear this up.

Alex thank you for challenging me, i like a good fight...and you have every right to point me out....lol

back in the day, 405 was easy. but today its a ton for me, i cant even get the weight off the rack.

if i had 405 on my back TODAY, all i'd feel would be my knees, tendons, joints, lower back ect...
so by saying i make a lighter weight "feel" heavy....i try and hope that im stimulating the muscle as best as i can....in reality the weight is HEAVY to me today. i just try to train a different way in hopes of breaking those fibers down.

as a matter of fact, my legs have grown in the last few years from "lighter" training than what i did in the past.

i trained with HIT from after my masters win until march. i was getting the 120's and 130's up for 8-10 in any givin set on flat dumbbell bench. since march....i have gone back to easing up the weights, and training lighter.

my chest actually got thicker and bigger since training lighter, slower....

bottom line is.....until you are in your 40's, nobody will know what im talking about....lol

[Alex23]

wow i made it big time now, you guys are fighting over me...lol

Alex has a point, but let me clear this up.

Alex thank you for challenging me, i like a good fight...and you have every right to point me out....lol

back in the day, 405 was easy. but today its a ton for me, i cant even get the weight off the rack.

if i had 405 on my back TODAY, all i'd feel would be my knees, tendons, joints, lower back ect...
so by saying i make a lighter weight "feel" heavy....i try and hope that im stimulating the muscle as best as i can....in reality the weight is HEAVY to me today. i just try to train a different way in hopes of breaking those fibers down.

as a matter of fact, my legs have grown in the last few years from "lighter" training than what i did in the past.

i trained with HIT from after my masters win until march. i was getting the 120's and 130's up for 8-10 in any givin set on flat dumbbell bench. since march....i have gone back to easing up the weights, and training lighter.

my chest actually got thicker and bigger since training lighter, slower....

bottom line is.....until you are in your 40's, nobody will know what im talking about....lol

LOL I'm getting there so I'll soon find out

I actually forgot the age factor; but the thing is a guy your age who's been training for so many years has built a solid base; so different mode of stimulation will promote density and quality, lots of fiber 2b have been already converted and your mind/muscle connection is obviously 100% there. I agree that quality can be gained from focusing on form instead of throwing the weights around like a degenerate, especially when more in a maintenance mode like you are.

However, guys who don't have the mass in the first place (yet) and focus on pink dumbells type of workout in the 15 reps + range hoping to gain solid mass are kidding themselves; their fibers 2b's haven't been converted nor have their neuro muscular developed sufficiently.

[flexingtonsteele]

Whoaa LOL!!!! No need to get all personal "Glenny"...

but there's a chance that by looking at our physiques, I might instinctively know more than you about what it takes to gain mass; since I've known you, you went from DOGGCRAP to some other pink dumbell or kettel bell shit in a matter of days and to be honest, haven't really grown since I've met you... and I don't have better genetics... 

Now back on how to stimulate optimal growth in muscle mass ...

If you can bench press 315 for 8 reps (you can't but let's assume), we know it takes 315 to cause your muscles to fail. When you fail and can not do anymore reps, all the muscle fibers in the chest have been recruited and worked.  Your warm up should of course be much lighter but technically, your first real set for optimal mass is your maximum weight in the 6-12 reps range. Do you really think you would still grow by doing 8 reps with 225 when you could do (hypothetically, we know you can't) 20+ reps? We both know 20 reps is not optimal for hypetrophy. Doesn't mean that "feeeling" the weight isn't good; but "feeling it" beyond 15 reps once again, isn't optimal.

Of course PTOR and fiber type varies from person to person, some still respond good at slightly higher reps, some at lower (usually guys with more 2b satellite cells).

No offense alex, but if i wanted to know how to be 240lbs with 25%+ bodyfat, id seek out your advice. But im pretty happy with the progress that im making at the moment.

Now onto training for hypertrophy.

There are more than one way to skin a cat alex.

I wont go into detail because i dont have the time.

But here are some ways to make some progress in your training, without lifting heavier weights.  ( because your "physique" has been getting progressively worse over the years )

1. Increase training density
2. Increase volume
3. Use more "intensity" methods.
4. Increase time under tension
5. Produce more tension in the targeted muscle group.

Try some of these methods and u might actually make some improvements in the gym. And none of them have to do with lifting heavier weights.  Also improve your form, no one cares what u lift, its what u look like that matters.

Lastly, just to disprove your theory. Look how Tom platz trained, rarely did u see him do low reps for squats. But what he did do was plenty of 20+ reps of squats with alot of weight on his back . So tell me if someone squatted 225 for 20 reps his legs would be a good size. but if someone squatted 225 for 50 reps i bet his legs would be a whole lot bigger, wouldnt they? Or does that not stimulate muscle fibers?

[Alex23]

No offense alex, but if i wanted to know how to be 240lbs with 25%+ bodyfat, id seek out your advice. But im pretty happy with the progress that im making at the moment.

Now onto training for hypertrophy.

There are more than one way to skin a cat alex.

I wont go into detail because i dont have the time.

But here are some ways to make some progress in your training, without lifting heavier weights.  ( because your "physique" has been getting progressively worse over the years )

1. Increase training density
2. Increase volume
3. Use more "intensity" methods.
4. Increase time under tension
5. Produce more tension in the targeted muscle group.

Try some of these methods and u might actually make some improvements in the gym. And none of them have to do with lifting heavier weights.  Also improve your form, no one cares what u lift, its what u look like that matters.

Lastly, just to disprove your theory. Look how Tom platz trained, rarely did u see him do low reps for squats. But what he did do was plenty of 20+ reps of squats with alot of weight on his back . So tell me if someone squatted 225 for 20 reps his legs would be a good size. but if someone squatted 225 for 50 reps i bet his legs would be a whole lot bigger, wouldnt they? Or does that not stimulate muscle fibers?

All good advices. Still, big muscles = big weights, can't be denied and I have the mass to prove it.

[VGalanti]

hey it's all good.

BUT i'm not in a maintance mode....i'm growing at 42 using light weights.

[njflex]

hey it's all good.

BUT i'm not in a maintance mode....i'm growing at 42 using light weights.

muscle maturity everyones favorite term always come to mind,but it does exist to an extent and more to others,your build had different look from 10 yrs ago a bit,and like i said previous post does not have that worn out look to it,other factors have probably helped that,not excessive bulking,overtanning,maybe not cycling long or excessive.

[wild willie]

hey it's all good.

BUT i'm not in a maintance mode....i'm growing at 42 using light weights.

Amen brother......Like I mentioned in an earlier post......weightlifting and bodybuilding are two totally different ball games!

[wild willie]

Vinny,

 How often do you hit traps??? What is the one bodypart that really gave you the most trouble in developing??? Thanks in advance.

[VGalanti]

Vinny,

 How often do you hit traps??? What is the one bodypart that really gave you the most trouble in developing??? Thanks in advance.

i hit them with back, only 135 for 4 sets of 12-15

i have a herniated disc, and i dont want to mess with it.

my weak area has always been my arms, if they were fuller....i'd look better. im lucky that i have a decent peak.

[wild willie]

i hit them with back, only 135 for 4 sets of 12-15

i have a herniated disc, and i dont want to mess with it.

my weak area has always been my arms, if they were fuller....i'd look better. im lucky that i have a decent peak.

thanks for your response. how important is the peak contraction in your opinion? in other words, do you hold the weight at the top of a movement for a count of 2 or more seconds......or is it only necessary for a brief moment in the contracted postition?

[wild willie]

Vin,

 how often do you train @ bev and steve's in NYC???

how is carlo fillipone's restaurant doing??? what do you recommend off the menu??? is it a place you can frequent during contest prep?

[njflex]

i hit them with back, only 135 for 4 sets of 12-15

i have a herniated disc, and i dont want to mess with it.

my weak area has always been my arms, if they were fuller....i'd look better. im lucky that i have a decent peak.

STILL,YOUR FR DOUBLE BI POSE IS STILL STRONG POSE FOR U,ALL THE REST BALANCES GOOD IN THAT POSE ALWAYS HAS,MAYBE SIDE CHEST U LOSE A BIT ON THE ARMS BUT YOUR CHEST/DELTS CARRY GOOD THERE TOO.

[wild willie]

Vin,

 I have terrible tendonitis in my right shoulder, what do you suggest in the way of an anti-inflamatory medication?

Thanks in advance!

[VGalanti]

thanks for your response. how important is the peak contraction in your opinion? in other words, do you hold the weight at the top of a movement for a count of 2 or more seconds......or is it only necessary for a brief moment in the contracted postition?

im real big into training with high reps, going slow, and contracting -

i like drop sets, supersets, and holding for 2 seconds.....

[VGalanti]

Vin,

 how often do you train @ bev and steve's in NYC???

how is carlo fillipone's restaurant doing??? what do you recommend off the menu??? is it a place you can frequent during contest prep?

i dont get there as much as i'd like, since im in north jersey. but if anyone ever goes...you must hit legs there.

all the meals carlo makes are GREAT, depends on what you like....some are not good for precontest, but ALL of them are perfect for OFFSEASON.

I EAT about 4 of his meals daily, and my favorite is the chicken with rice and lentil's -

[VGalanti]

STILL,YOUR FR DOUBLE BI POSE IS STILL STRONG POSE FOR U,ALL THE REST BALANCES GOOD IN THAT POSE ALWAYS HAS,MAYBE SIDE CHEST U LOSE A BIT ON THE ARMS BUT YOUR CHEST/DELTS CARRY GOOD THERE TOO.

thank you

[VGalanti]

Vin,

 I have terrible tendonitis in my right shoulder, what do you suggest in the way of an anti-inflamatory medication?

Thanks in advance!

aleve

[njflex]

WHATS NEXT SHOW WISE?OPEN OR 202?

[VGalanti]

WHATS NEXT SHOW WISE?OPEN OR 202?

right now i'm just training with blinders on....i have something in mind, you'll know when you see my name on the "list"