The Zane Body Training Manual

In recent reviews of Zane’s two new booklets, The Mind in Bodybuilding and The High-Def Handbook, I men­tioned that the author had one of the most aesthetic physiques ever to grace a bodybuilding stage. This third booklet explains exactly how he did it and tells how you can to do it too—to the best of your genetic capabilities.

Zane begins discussing his body and how the sport of bodybuilding has gone from awarding aesthetic, artistic physiques like his to perfecting monsters of mass like Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler. Zane believes that the majority of the men on the planet want to look more like him—and a survey at IronManMagazine.com verified that.

With a symmetrical, proportioned physique in mind, Zane lays out a full-body beginner program. It’s 14 exercises, and he suggests starting with one set each. “There is an advantage to being out of shape,” Zane says. “You don’t need to do much exercise to get a good workout.” The booklet provides photos of every movement for clarity, and Zane outlines how to progress by adding sets and eventually moving to a two-way split.

Zane is also a big proponent of stretching. He suggests stretching the body­part you’re training between sets. He describes and includes photos of a number of good stretches, which research indicates can increase muscle size on their own.

One thing Zane is known for, besides his aesthetic physique, is his knowledge of nutrition, and this booklet is loaded with it. He lays out his complete daily eating regimen and explains glycemic index vs. glycemic load. His nutrition philosophy in a nutshell: “My eating plan for losing bodyfat is to eat one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, which for me is around 180, and one half gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight. Approximately 25 percent of my calories come from fat. Every fourth day I eat more carbs to bring my total consumption up to match my protein intake.”

He also provides a number of simple, healthful recipes, such as high-protein pancakes, fish stew and yogurt berry pudding, and all of them are easy to prepare. Some take only five minutes.

Then it’s back to training, and Zane outlines a complete two-way-split routine, with photos of every exercise. “Never train upper body two days in a row,” he stresses. Then it’s on to his growth program—the workouts he used to win the Mr. Olympia. It’s a three-way split, and, he says, “The routine helped me grow because I incorporated one powerlifting exercise into each workout.”

After a discussion of bodybuilding’s three Rs—relax, recuperate, recreate—and a number of split-routine variations, Zane describes the program he’s using now that he’s in his 60s.

He also expounds on mind, body and spirituality, including meditation, psychological steps to healing injuries, physique competition, supplementation and the art of posing, a section that includes a number of spectacular images of the Zane physique at its peak.

All in all, however, this is what the title states—a training manual—and you will find a lot of muscle-building information as well as motivation in its 63 pages, straight from the legend himself.

Editor’s note: Available at FrankZane.com.