Q: I have your e-book with all the X-hybrid techniques [Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building]. I’m having some excellent workouts integrating one or two every time I train. My question is about Double-X Overload. As you describe it, I do a quarter rep down near the stretch position between each full rep, but I’ve also read you guys say you’ve used 1 1/4s. What’s the difference? Isn’t DXO the same as 1 1/4s?
A: The simple answer is that Double-X Overload (DXO) stresses the STRETCH or semi-stretch point—when the muscle is elongated. For example, at the BOTTOM of a press or flye.
The 1 1/4 technique has you do the quarter rep at the CONTRACTED position to force a squeezing flex, such as at the top of a leg extension or concentration curl.
So DXO provides more stretch overload, which is a BIG key for more muscle growth. We say it often, but remember the animal study that produced a 300 percent muscle mass gain after one month of stretch-overload-only “workouts.” Amazing! (Med Sci Sports Exerc. 25:1333-45; 1993)
1 1/4s, with the quarter reps at the flex point, help produce more occlusion, or blood-flow blockage, which has also been shown in Japanese studies to do incredible things for muscle growth—even with light weights.
So both tactics are excellent, but DXO is best on stretch-position exercises, the SECOND move in most Positions-of-Flexion bodypart programs—like incline curls for biceps, stiff-legged deadlifts for hamstrings, overhead extensions for triceps, sissy squats for quads, etc.
The 1 1/4 technique is best on contracted-position exercises, the LAST move in most Positions-of-Flexion bodypart routines—like pushdowns for triceps, leg curls for hamstrings, stiff-arm pulldowns for lats.
To get the point across, here’s a great POF lat routine that uses our 4X method on the BIG midrange exercise. Remember, 4X is using a weight you can get 15 reps with, but you only do 10, rest 30 seconds, do 10 more, etc., until you complete 4×10, with the last set being to failure—then DXO and 1 1/4s on the second and third:
Midrange: Wide-grip pulldowns (4X style), 4×10
Stretch: Pullovers (DXO), 2 x 8
Contracted: Stiff-arm pulldowns (1 1/4), 2 x 8
Remember, DXO for stretch and 1 1/4s for flex—and for a real burst of mass combine it with 4X.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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