“Don’t Have To Lift Enormous Weights”: Against Common Sentiment, 80-Year-Old Bodybuilding Legend Shares the Secret for Growing Muscles

80-year-old Frank Zane is amongst the veterans of the bodybuilding world who, despite having retired from the professional stage decades ago, continue to influence the sport. Though Zane prefers staying away from popular events, he sends his message through his books and insightful social media posts.

In his recent post, the 3x Mr. Olympia shed light on an alternative for gaining muscle. Predominantly, heavy weightlifting is seen as the only way of training to gain muscles. However, Zane believes that there is another method that is just as effective. Furthermore, his way seems to be reducing the risk of getting injured in the process.

Frank Zane finds a way to gain muscles while avoiding heavy weights

On 1st February 2023, Frank Zane took to his Instagram to share an image of himself with a very informative caption. Zane revealed the secret of growing muscles without putting the body at probable risk. He wrote, “The truth I’ve discovered is that you don’t have to lift enormous weights to grow muscle.”

Furthermore, he suggested a way around the straining exercise revealing the secret. Zane added, “By using stricter form, slower negatives, and stretching between sets you can get an incredible pump in all your workouts. Numbers are an abstraction, especially to muscles. The secret is to make lighter weights feel heavier.”

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Zane has always been vocal in discouraging the practice of exceptionally heavy lifting. Speaking from his experience, he shares that extremely heavy weightlifting causes more harm to the body than good.

‘The Chemist’ once opened up about the long-term effects of lifting heavy weights

In an interview with Flex Magazine in 2008, Frank Zane revealed the impact heavy lifting had on his body. Firstly, Zane admitted that initially, it did help him gain mass. However, if he were to have a chance to do it all over again, he will not make the same choices. Further explaining his point, he revealed that it injures the body.

Zane added that people tend to focus on lifting weights more instead of the body. But when one suffers an injury due to recklessness, that is where it all ends. He further added that he is now paying the price for all the heavy lifting.

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It is probably these injuries that Zane suffered in the past that led him to find out an alternative to avoid the heavy lifting.