Be an X-Man: be a superhero, or just look like one, with our 12-week comprehensive program for building an ultimate X-frame

Flex, Sept, 2005 by Team Flex

In the 1950s, long before Wolverine was a twinkle in Stan Lee's eye, before Jack Kirby first sat down to sketch Beast, Cyclops or Storm, there was a living, breathing X-Man walking the earth. So extraordinary was his physical form, indeed his very presence, that he would go on to inspire men from all walks of life--from comic-book creators to Cracker Jack-chewing kids (and quite a few women, too). Standing 40' tall on drive-in movie screens across the nation, his shoulders appeared to be as wide as a '59 Caddy is long. His arms could have been mistaken for telephone poles; his legs looked like tree trunks.

The one place, however, that this Herculean figure's physique was not hyperbolically proportioned was his midsection. Tapered and trim, it served as the perfect axis from which his magnificent limbs could radiate and inspire.

And inspire they did. From kids to comic-book creators and every man in between, Steve Reeves was the perfect post-WWII poster boy for what a he-man should look like.

Today, a half-century later, X-Men is better known as a movie franchise than a comic book, Stan Lee is still going strong, and Steve Reeves continues to stand tall in the eyes of many as the ultimate physical embodiment of a hero. Even in recent times, when bodybuilding lineups consisted of men built more like Hercules' nemesis Antaeus, the giant played by Primo Carnera, than Reeves himself, his silhouette is still referred to as the archetype for the X-frame.

Reeveslike X-frames may have been scarce this past decade, but it seems that, as in life, what goes around comes around, and bodybuilding's recent power grab at mass at all costs has resulted in a backlash effect by the IFBB powers. As of this past April, IFBB judges will be looking for the hallmarks of the Reeves physique and with it, they will be ushering in bodybuilding's era of new classicism. X-Men unite!

BUILDING THE X-MAN IN YOU | Naturally, you've always wanted to look the part of the hero, haven't you? After all, no one takes up bodybuilding with the notion of looking like the Blob. You wanted to look like Wolverine, Captain America or Spider-Man (sans tights, of course). But there hasn't been a comprehensive workout regimen specifically designed to focus on the places that fill out Mr. Fantastic's outfit--until now, that is.

Team FLEX convened in a lead-walled isolation chamber to study images of some of bodybuilding's most notable X-Men. Among them are Vince Gironda, Don Howorth, Sergio Oliva, Frank Zane, Brian Buchanan, Francis Benfatto, Lee Labrada, Flex Wheeler, Troy Alves and, of course, Steve Reeves. We then plotted the essential points on their physiques that made their silhouettes impressive.

Being an X-Man isn't merely about being large, although it's certainly a part of the equation. In addition to having actual muscular size, there is the added appearance of size that's created by form. It's how an X-Man weighing 200 pounds can actually appear larger and more muscular than a counterpart who tips the scales at 250.

On the following pages, we've outlined a five-day training schedule to build and shape your muscle groups in a way that will maximize your inner X-Man potential. Follow this program for at least 12 weeks. Alternatively, it can be your standard regimen from here on in. We realize that we've left out some old standbys (flat bench presses and oblique work), but there's a method to our supergenius madness, all of which we'll explain throughout the course of the program.

We've also provided you with a gallery of some of bodybuilding's greatest X-Men throughout history. Study their pictures as we did. Identify just what it is that makes them look like comic-book heroes come to life. Then get to the gym and hit the weights with enough energy to make the Human Torch look like a matchstick. It's your turn to be a superhero.

WIDE LOAD | The X-Man workouts are all about giving you a superhero's silhouette. They're not concerned with depth, only width, and width only in the right places. This isn't to say that your muscles won't become thicker as a byproduct of following this program. But in order to maximize a sweeping silhouette, it's best to stay away from the type of exercises that thicken the torso. This includes powerlifting movements--flat bench presses, traditional squats and traditional deadlifts--as well as any kind of exercise that works the obliques.

The X-Man program is a 12-week plan broken down into a five-way split to be performed in three-on/one-off, two-on/one-off fashion. This means five days of training per week with two days of rest. You'll notice that each bodypart is hit once per week with the exception of shoulders and back.

These two bodyparts are of primary importance to creating an X-frame and, therefore, are given a double hit. It's not quite two full workouts per week, though. One of the two workouts for back and shoulders is comprehensive, but the other can be viewed as a "touchup" workout, meant to stimulate blood flow into the bodypart during an off day. This method has been shown in clinical studies to be effective for jump-starting growth.