Q: The idea of a few medium-intensity [subfailure] workouts after many weeks of going all out makes perfect sense. My question is, Should I reduce my poundages so I can do the same number of reps, or should I stick with my same working poundages and just do fewer reps? Which way is best?

A: We prefer to use the same phase-training approach Jonathan used on the 10-week Size Surge Program when he gained 20 pounds of muscle. For each of his two supercompensation weeks, he used the same work weights and just stopped two reps short of failure—and that worked amazingly well for him. He actually appeared to get bigger during each downshift week as his muscles and nervous system supercompensated.

The reason we like to stick with our normal heavy poundages is to keep the nervous system primed. If you use lighter weights, your normal poundages may feel excessively heavy when you go back to them a week later. That’s because your nervous system can lose some of its conditioning if it’s not subjected to the same load.

We also suggest that you train the three positions of flexion for each muscle. That way you maintain full-range work for each bodypart—midrange, stretch and contracted. That will allow your nervous system to regenerate, but keep it primed for full-range activation as well (just as you keep it primed for heavy poundages).

For our supercompensation week, we use our same program, supersets in tact, but we do only one work set for each exercise using our normal poundage and stopping two reps shy of our normal rep count. That keeps stress to a minimum. On some exercises, like the big midrange moves (incline presses), we use rest/pause: After the six-rep set, we rest for 15 seconds and then do another four to six reps, once again not to failure. That heightens blood flow, creating more of a pump, which is what we are after—to enhance muscle recovery without damage.

Remember, one week of subfailure training followed by about four weeks of all-out workouts is how Jonathan built 20 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks. That type of phase training is truly a natural anabolic based on human stress physiology. (For his before and after photos from that program, visit www.3DMuscleBuilding.com.)

Q: I saw your before and after photos from your X-Rep year contrasted with the following year when you gained 10 more pounds of muscle [with X-hybrid techniques]. Personally, I don’t think you look better. You both look bigger, but I think your physiques are more impressive the X-Rep year.

A: Well, that’s not a question, but it’s a relevant opinion—bigger is not necessarily better. In Jonathan’s case, you are seeing his most-muscular pose, and when you gain more muscle, your physique can look more “crowded” in that pose. You could argue that his muscles are starting to look to big for his frame. Steve, on the other hand, is in a semi-relaxed pose in the X-Rep photo, and a twisting ab shot in his Beyond-X photo. He looks considerably bigger in the “after” photo, but it’s a different pose, which makes it difficult to judge.

Obviously, sometimes packing on more muscle doesn’t make you look better—but that boils down to opinion. Some people write to us and say they want a sleek physique like Spiderman’s (the way he is drawn in the comics, not how he looks in the movies), while others just want a freak physique, with no regard to aesthetics (Incredible Hulk?). The muscle-building techniques we’ve developed can help you no matter which of those camps you’re in. X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, outlined in the Beyond X-Rep e-book, can obviously pack on muscle (as they did for us), be it aesthetically placed or or not, even if you’re a more advanced trainee.

Us? We strive for pleasing, balanced physiques—not training to just get bigger. To accomplish that, we often specialize on bodyparts that are lagging (usually delts, as we both lack wide clavicles) and refrain from training others that can ruin proportions (like the obliques on the sides of the waist—who wants a wide-looking midsection?). And while we both have chests that aren’t massive, we prefer that look rather than ponderous, sagging pecs. We’re also not big fans of thighs that rub together almost down to the knees (that’s why we usually squat with a narrow stance—to reduce adductor involvement).

That’s part of the fun and challenge of bodybuilding—the sculpting of your physique into your ideal (or as close as your genetics will allow). Use weight training and intensity techniques, like X Reps and X-hybrid tactics, to take yours to the level that pleases you—whether it’s to get the girls or make people wanna hurl.

Till next time, train hard!

—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com

X-Repper Feedback: “I bought the Ultimate Mass Workout and the Beyond X-Rep e-books. I had been working out for a year but hadn’t really gotten much bigger. At 5’8”, 150 pounds I had 11-inch arms, and my pecs were barely even noticeable. I went on the Ultimate Mass Workout for six weeks. Then I did the X-Reps hybrid program for six weeks. My whole body has exploded! I can’t thank you enough for these programs! My body is so ripped now that sometimes it’s hard to believe that it’s my body! My pecs are now one of my best muscle groups, and I have 14-inch arms now! Thank you!” —Bryan Marx, St. Louis, MO