I know I've said it before, but even I was shocked when I saw the before and after photos from our one-month X-Rep experiment. The transformations Steve and I made were startling—“awesome,” according to some. Now the shock and awe continue four months later. After reducing our cardio and workout times, loosening up our diets and with no sense of urgency, our bigger, leaner physiques are still very much intact. That's exciting for us (and you, too, as we'll explain in a moment). Usually about two months after we peak, our conditions take a downturn—more bodyfat, less muscle fullness, disappearing vascularity. But not this time. We are still very close to shoot shape. So what's going on? Is someone slipping 'roids into our protein shakes?

No, but it feels like it. The real reason our forearms are still streaked with veins and our major muscle groups remain full and etched is undoubtedly X Reps—but perhaps not for the reasons you may think. As I've explained in past newsletters, those power partials at the end of a set allow you to extend fast-twitch-fiber stimulation after your nervous system fails. When your nervous system cries “Uncle!,” and you can't get another rep, you crank out partials at the key position on the exercise's stroke, making that set exponentially more effective from a muscle-size-building standpoint.

But extraordinary muscle-fiber activation is only part of the reason X Reps are so powerful. They also do amazing things for your anabolic hormone profile, specifically growth hormone. GH is notorious for incinerating massive amounts of bodyfat. It also synergizes with other anabolic hormones, such as testosterone, to make them much more powerful. X Reps ignite a potent GH surge, supercharging your ability to grow bigger and get leaner at the same time! How? (The word ignite was a hint.) Firepower!

In a study published in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology (22:244-255; 1997) researchers showed a correlation between higher blood lactic acid levels (muscle burn) and GH release. If you've tried X Reps, you know they create a firestorm at the end of any set, like a GH smart bomb that scorches the target muscle.

So there's more to X Reps' tremendous size-building, fat-burning effectiveness than more muscle-fiber activation—a serious GH surge. And tacking them on to the big, compound exercises, like squats, does even more—doubling or tripling that firepower. Why? Elevated testosterone levels on top of extra GH.

Most bodybuilders know that it's the heavy compound exercises that are best for boosting testosterone. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a GH-jolting burn in the target muscle on those multi-joint movements. But that's not a problem when you include X Reps at the end of a set. They make the big exercises even better with an anabolic hormone double-whammy—more T and GH, not to mention extreme fiber activation. No wonder we're staying full and ripped despite scaling back our efforts.

We're including X Reps on most of our compound exercises—the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart listed in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book—which is why our peaked physiques remain. It's motivated us to kick it up a notch and get bigger, stronger and leaner through the winter. A few more X-Rep sets, but less training volume. We believe we can be in pretty darned good shape—better than any of our winter conditions before—come January 1 with a fairly abbreviated routine. (You don't need a lot of volume because X Reps make each set two to five times more effective.) New size and leaner physiques will give us a huge headstart on our spring ripping phase.

Follow our X-Rep lead, and come New Year's Day you, too, will be a giant step ahead of most people who are just starting to “get back into it.” You'll cruise into spring and summer more motivated and in your best shape ever, creating your own shock and awe when you peel off your shirt that first warm day of spring. And the real beauty is that with X Reps it won't take set after set after set and multiple-hour workouts (who wants to spend all that time in the gym in the winter?). Sure, you'll have to grit your teeth through a little muscle burning to get the testosterone and GH churning, but your workouts will be shorter, more efficient and you'll get bigger and leaner faster.

Here's the plan: Simply add X Reps to the end of one set of key multi-joint exercises in your winter workouts to get your GH and testosterone surging, and watch your own transformation happen before you can say “Happy New Year.” .

The X-Files are not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
If you know someone who would benefit from Supplement
Updates, Diet Tips and Special Offers from the IRON MAN Magazine Online Newsletter, forward them this page
or tell them to sign up for the Free Training Newsletter at the IRON MAN Magazine Homepage.

(Click Above to Order Now)

You will need Adobe Acrobat reader available for free here: