So far I've discussed the big exercises and how you can add X Reps to make them much more productive at building mass and strength. So what about isolation exercises, specifically contracted-position movements that have resistance through the full stroke (like leg curls)? Where is the best X spot? We can go back in time to find the answer--or at least some hints. And from that info we can construct an X-Rep routine you can take to the gym and try for yourself. (Be prepared, though: It's like throwing your muscles on a blazing-hot George Foreman Grill!)

Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus machines, is considered the father of high-intensity training. Unfortunately, some of the things he suggested were brushed aside as unimportant or completely forgotten, and one of those things may be the ultimate key to progress from HIT training. Let me explain...

Most HITers train all out--to positive failure. They believe that one all-out set is enough to set the growth machinery in motion. But as I've explained in past newsletters and at our Web site, the nervous system craps out before you can activate a lot of fast-twitch fibers. It's the reason one positive-failure set doesn't build much muscle size for most people, unless they have extraordinary neuromuscular efficiency and loads of fast-twitch fibers (it can improve strength to a degree due to nervous system improvements, but that's another story).

Did Arthur Jones know about the nervous system roadblock? Possibly. It may be why he often told people who were using low-volume, high-intensity training that to get the best results in size and strength, they must train to failure and then--and this is a key point--they should move the resistance as far as possible and hold it for an isometric contraction till failure. That hold at the sticking point had a lot of anabolic power, but most people using HIT never did it and rarely do it today. (Could that forgotten element be one of the big reasons HIT hasn't lived up to its hype?)

That end-of-set contraction was supposed to be done on every exercise--or at least on the contracted-position movements--but somehow that important growth trigger has been forgotten, which is too bad because it's a key to making shorter workouts much more effective.

We've taken Jones' suggestion to the next level with X Reps. We've found that short pulsing actions at the end of a set are much better than static holds, as muscles are used to movement to prime optimal fiber activation. In other words, to keep the max number of fast-twitch fibers engaged, do short partials instead of an isometric contraction.

Okay, you've got the idea. How about a quick upper-pec hit that combines full-range Positions-of-Flexion training with X reps? Let's go...

Your first exercise is incline presses. We prefer to do them on a Smith machine, but you can use a free bar or even dumbbells if you have good control. First do two progressively heavier warmup sets--use about 50 percent and then 80 percent of your work-set weight for nine and five reps, respectively. Now you're ready for work set one. Do a controlled set--one to two seconds up, one to two seconds down--till failure. You probably felt the target muscle a little, but not much. That's because nervous system failure forced you to quit on that set, but that's okay. That straight set is really just a heavy warmup--to prime the muscle to fire maximally on your X-Rep set.

Rest about a minute for fatigue-product clearance, then set up for your X-Rep set--feet on the floor, slight arch in your lower back, chest high, shoulder blades together. Take the same weight, grip the bar hard and rip out as many reps as possible. When you reach the top of what you know is your last rep, lower the bar to below the midpoint of the stroke--about halfway between the bottom and the middle--and pulse, moving the bar in about a five-inch range and focusing on your upper pecs. Those are the X Reps that will force the muscle to continue contracting at the max-force-generation point. You should feel your upper chest screaming for relief with each partial, but force out as many as you can. Then, if you're really motivated, hold the bar statically for a few seconds to fry the fibers further--that's after you can no longer pulse.

When you rack the bar, you'll realize why I've said that one X-Rep set equals three to five regular sets (and you'll no doubt be cursing my name at the same time). Do you need another set? Some trainees may if they have very low neuromuscular efficiency and/or a very low pain threshold. If either of those two things force you to stop the set early, you won't get maximum fiber recruitment and another set may help remedy that situation to some degree due to a slightly altered recruitment pattern. Most trainees won't need that extra set if they work hard.

That was the midrange exercise for upper chest. Now move to the stretch-and-contracted-position movement, high cable flyes. We put a low flat bench in the cable crossover machine and do cable flyes, pulling the low handles up and over our foreheads. You could also use the pec deck machine with your arms high or incline dumbbell flyes (although you lose peak contraction with dumbbells at the top so just do the bottom half of the stroke).

You're going to do one drop set of high cable flyes. I've discussed why the spot near the turnaround is most important, so that's what you'll emphasize on the first part of the drop set. Ready? Keep a slight bend at your elbows and do full-range cable flyes, with no pause at either the top or bottom. Feel your pecs doing the work--don't jerk. When you can't do another full rep, at around eight or nine, lower the handles to a point just higher than full stretch and pulse (that's the Arthur Jones idea I discussed earlier, but with movement). I like to do short five-inch X Reps, but Steve prefers an exaggerated movement, pulsing with about 12 inches of movement. Do as many as you can till the muscle fails.

Get up--watch the head rush; most of the blood is in your pecs--reduce the weight and then it's back down on the bench for another full-range set. This time when your nervous system craps out, get the handles to the contracted position--hands together--and pulse. (You may need help to get them there or you may be able to bend your arms and press out the handles to the contracted position.) Why do X Reps at the top? As I've said, near the bottom turnaround position is the most important point in the stroke for max-force generation and growth stimulation; however, that doesn't mean the contracted position is unimportant--it's just less important than the semistretch point. You're after total development, so you want to train the muscle through its full range with POF, and you want to overload specific key points on the stroke, like the semistretch position (max-force-contraction point) and the peak-contracted position. When you can't pulse in the top position, lower slowly to the bottom stretch point and try to pulse--or at least hold the handles statically for a few seconds. That's it: A quick, intense hit for upper pecs.

There's also a way to train multiple points along an exercise's stroke with X Reps so you get even more intensity and growth stimulation from a single set. I'll have more on that in future newsletters as well info on our latest experiments with X Overload. Now that you've got the X-Rep growth trigger in your mass-building arsenal, try it at your next workout. You'll feel the difference immediately--and real visible mass increases are only a few workouts away!

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

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