Q: I am making solid gains with the Pure Positions routine in the Stretch Overload ebook. Training the midrange exercise at one workout, contracted at the second, and stretch at the third is some killer change to gain each week. My question is, you have STX [high-rep set followed by a lower-rep set and rest/pause set] for every exercise. Your most impressive ebook, IMO, is Super-Size Crash Course, with TORQ, Progressive-Speed 4X, and, my favorite, Downward-Progression 4X. Can I use those instead of STX every so often for even more variation?
A: Absolutely—in fact, we encourage it because all of those are amazing unique mass methods. Remember, something in your workout must change if you want to continue to gain…
Switching to different mass attacks is the best way. Why? Because it’s impossible to up your poundages at every workout. Heck, even using more weight every month or so isn’t possible for most intermediate and advanced bodybuilders…
So don’t get stuck doing the same exercises with the same poundages and the same methods…
Notice in the workouts that Jordon Williams used in SS Crash Course to gain 18 pounds of muscle in 12 weeks there was a mix of mass tactics…
Phase 1: He used heavier training, with pyramids on the big exercises—adding weight each set to get reps like 7, 6, 3-4. Plus, he also mixed in density workouts with 4X (4×10, short rests between sets) and TORQ (3 x 30, 20, 10—talk about pain to gain!)
Phase 2: He used Downward-Progression 4X (4 x 12, 10, 8, 6, adding weight to each set with short rests), standard 4X and high-rep finishers
As Jordon found out, a mix of Power and Density training methods can create massive results quickly because you get anabolic activation from a number of different pathways.
Back to your question, you could mix in some or all of those tactics in the Pure Positions workout instead of the STX method. For example, on stretch day you may want to really hammer that important muscle-mass position, so use your favorite, Downward-Progression 4X in place of STX…
In fact, you could use it this way to get a better slow-twitch exhaustion effect:
Set 1: 20 reps to failure
Rest 35 seconds, add weight
Set 2: 8 reps to failure
Rest 35 seconds, add weight
Set 3: 6 reps to failure
Rest 35 seconds, add weight
Set 4: 4 reps to failure
The 20-rep set will really blast the slow-twitch fibers, trigger more lactic acid for anabolic hormone release and prime more fast-twitch activation on the heavier sets that follow. It will also activate more slow-twitch GROWTH, something most bodybuilders neglect.
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.
So make sure you hit ALL fiber types a few times a week to build your own freak physique.
Special: Get the Super-Size Crash Course—mass building workouts that include Power Pyramids, TORQ, and Downward-Progression 4X plus the 2-days-per-week INTERMITTENT-FASTING DIET (pics of Steve’s ripped progress with it included), for ONLY $10 HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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