Q: I recently purchased the e-book The Ultimate Mass Workout. Two days of trying X-reps suggest that they may have some value. My question/comment is that the premise of the book is that inability to do another full repetition (failure) occurs when the nervous system fails. Can you provide some evidence for that? I’m not an exercise physiologist, but I am a scientist with a Ph.D. Scientists expect to see the data/evidence backing up a claim.

A: We came to the conclusion about nervous system failure after looking at the scientific evidence presented by Steven J. Fleck, Ph.D., and William J. Kraemer, Ph.D., in their book Designing Resistance Training Programs. They discuss a study by Dudley and Harris done in 1992 that demonstrated the activation of knee extensors by the central nervous system during maximal efforts. One of their conclusions was that the CNS “limits force by engaging inhibitory mechanisms that are protective in nature.”

Fleck and Kraemer say that inhibitory mechanisms appear to be especially active when large amounts of force are developed, such as maximual force development at slow speeds of movement. That’s precisely what happens toward the end of a set of eight to 12 reps to failure. They cite studies by Caiozzo, Perrine and Edgerton 1981; Dudley et al. 1990; and Wickiewicz et al. 1984 when they conclude that “neural protective mechanisms appear to have their greatest effect in slow-velocity, high-resistance movements.” Once again, that describes the reps at the end of a set to failure perfectly.

From our experience, it’s the inhibitory mechanisms of the CNS that stop each and every set to failure—it’s the reason you can no longer do a full-range rep. We’ve found that X Reps, due to their shorter stroke at the appropriate point along the range of motion, helps the trainee overcome that inhibitory mechanism to a great degree and tax the muscle much more thoroughly, which is the reason we made the progress we did in only one month with the technique.

We also believe that the reason most bodybuilders have to do so many sets to make even the smallest gains is because of the CNS roadblock. Every set they do, they get CNS failure before enough growth stimulation happens. So the more sets they can do, the more stimulation they get, albeit it’s a very inefficient way to get it because of all the energy it takes for only minor activation of the growth mechanism—the central nervous system stops them early on every set before much stimulation occurs. That’s a sure recipe for cortisol overproduction and overtraining.

X Reps help solve that problem, and they allow you to get much more growth stimulation from any one set. Once we introduced X Reps to our training, we decreased our workload by half and our gains accelerated significantly. In our opinion, and after 40 years of training experience (collectively), we think it’s a true breakthrough.

Q: Will X Reps work for a superhardgainer like me?

A: Absolutely! (Remember, Steve is a hardgainer, and they did excellent things for his size and muscularity in only one month—and that’s after 35 years of training!) Realize that the biggest reasons someone is a hardgainer include low neuromuscular efficiency (below average nerve-to-muscle connections) and endurance-oriented muscle structures (even many of the fast-twitch fibers have more endurance). X Reps can improve both of those deficiencies significantly.

Remember that X Reps extend any set, so in that regard they provide a slight endurance component, which is exactly what hardgainers’ endurance-oriented muscles need. A standard eight-rep set to failure, using a one-second-up/one-second-down rep speed, lasts 16 seconds (8 reps x 2 seconds). That’s not enough tension time to trigger growth in endurance-oriented muscles; however, you can extend that by five to eight seconds with X Reps, taking the total tension time of the set past the important 20-second mark. Twenty seconds is considered by many scientists to be an ideal time for maximum hypertrophic stimulation in any one set. Also—and this is important—the Xs occur at the optimal spot in the exercise’s stroke for fast-twitch fiber overload. Short pulses at that point force the muscle to continue firing, even after nervous system fatigue. So X Reps extend the tension time on your muscles—past the 20-second mark—and gradually build better nerve-force capabilities, or neuromuscular efficiency. You’ve just knocked down two hardgainer roadblocks to more mass with X Reps!

And if you combine drop sets with X Reps you can get an even better hardgainer-specific workout—extending the set up to 40 seconds, without overtaxing recovery ability, something hardgainers tend to have less of than average trainees. We include X-Rep drop sets in many of the programs in The Ultimate Mass Workout for that very reason. It’s just a good, solid muscle-building strategy whether you’re a hardgainer or not.

Scrawny to brawny: X Reps directly target hardgainer deficiencies and can help transform skinny bodies. Steve, with his light bone structure and slow-to-grow muscles, made some of the best gains of his life in the one month he used X Reps—even at the age of 44 and after 30 years of training!

Q: There are a number of great programs in UMW. Which one should I choose?

A: As we say in the book, the right program for you depends on your experience, time constraints and motivation. For example, a lot of people simply don’t have time to train more than two days a week, so we provide an excellent two-day basic X-Rep routine that includes the single best exercise for each bodypart. You can make some amazing gains on that type of routine that trains each bodypart twice a week, especially when you use X Reps at the right spot on each “ultimate” exercise in the program. There are also three-day and a four-day versions for those who have more time and/or motivation to make it to the gym more often.

We also outline full-range, or Positions-of-Flexion (POF), programs using the direct/indirect principle, a highly efficient split that makes it appear as if you’re training each bodypart only once a week, but you actually train it twice because each bodypart gets residual work when you train other bodyparts at different workouts during the week. That may sound complicated, and it was somewhat difficult to devise a split that properly spaced direct and indirect work and included the right exercises, but we created a great workable model, one we’ve used with success. It’s a rather ingenious way to train, if we do say so ourselves—more efficient and effective with much less danger of overtraining.

We’ve found that while POF is one of the best ways to train, using it as part of a direct/indirect split with the addition of X Reps makes it exponentially more effective at building extreme muscle size.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
X Factor Interview, Part 1 | Part 2

(Click Here to Order Now)

You will need Adobe Acrobat reader available for free here: