Q: I’m thinking about the 10-Week Size Surge for part of my winter workout mass training while I’m piling in the calories (can’t wait for Thanksgiving). I know Phase 1 is big, basic work three days a week. But I also like the total-fiber swole of Anabolic Reload. Can I merge them somehow to really jack my gains?
You didn’t mention your level of training or your age, but we’ll address that in a moment. Let’s talk general mass-building terms…
Many bodybuilders over the years have made incredible gains with just Phase 1 of Size Surge—even using it for just a month, so it’s incredibly productive as a winter workout or for any time of the year.
That’s because, as you said, Phase 1 focuses on the big, basic moves with 6-9 reps—ideal for force production and fast-twitch fiber growth (or “swole”—LOL).
Anabolic Reload is different in that it merges high-rep sets with low-rep work for overall muscle-fiber expansion and anabolic hormone activation. It’s ideal after a heavy-training phase to realign and reignite new anabolism…
It also spreads workouts that emphasize Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D.’s three hypertrophy triggers—mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage—over multiple training days.
You get change to gain as well as completing the full hypertrophic chain.
So there are mega-mass-building benefits from both programs. That said, here’s what we suggest as your Anabolic Size Surge Winter Workout…
Your first five weeks, attack the Phase 1 Size Surge, which will cause new size and strength with heavy basic training…
Then transition into one of the Anabolic Reload programs for another five weeks. That will shift you into blowing up slow-twitch as well as activating new fast-twitch fibers while enhancing recovery and reloading hormone production to help maximize your winter workout program.
This is key because as trusted bodybuilding researcher Jerry Brainum recently said…
Emerging evidence shows that the muscle fibers most affected when training with lighter loads and higher reps are type-1 muscle fibers. These fibers are often referred to as ‘endurance fibers,’ since they are slower to fatigue compared to type-2 muscle fibers. It was thought that most muscular growth resulted from a hypertrophy of type-2 muscle fibers. While this is still true, it’s now known that type-1 fibers are also capable of showing a significant level of muscle hypertrophy.
Now, if you’re in your 40s or beyond and not up to the heavy Size Surge training—or you simply want to experiment with lower-stress slow-twitch exhaustion (ST) workouts—see Chapter 8 in Anabolic Reload, “Old School, New Muscle: The Over-40 STX Workout.”
Either way, you’ll get change to gain and a blast of new winter-time mass.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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