Q: I really like the Direct/Indirect Split in the 4X Mass Workout e-book. My problem is I can’t work out on Wednesdays—only Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. If I put that split over those days, the Thursday and Friday workouts have too much crossover. The same muscles are getting trained on both days back to back. Is there a workout change I can use as a solution? I really want to use the Direct/Indirect schedule so I can hit my muscles multiple times a week to build more mass.
A: First, let’s look at the setup you can’t use, the direct/indirect split in the 4X e-book…
Week 1
Monday: Chest, back, abs
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Delts, triceps, biceps, forearms
Thursday: Off
Friday: Chest, back + deadlifts, abs
Week 2
Monday: Delts, triceps, biceps, forearms
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Chest, back, abs
Thursday: Off
Friday: Delts, triceps, biceps, forearms + deadlifts
Week 3: Repeat Week 1
So if you take Wednesday off and move that workout to Thursday to accommodate your schedule, you get MAJOR overlap on Thursday and Friday.
For example, Thursday in Week 1 you would train triceps, starting with close-grip bench presses for indirect chest work. Then the very next day, Friday, you would train chest directly, your pecs still fatigued from Thursday—plus you have to train chest with triceps that are gassed from Thursday’s direct workout. Not good!
The same goes for biceps. You include under-grip pulldowns as your first biceps exercise for residual back work on Thursday; then you work back directly the very next day—with somewhat fatigued lats and beat-down biceps. It’s a recipe for overtraining—but don’t fret; we have a simple solution…
There’s a different direct/indirect split in our very first e-book, The Ultimate Mass Workout (the original X-Rep manual). It’s a five-day routine, but it can be custom-fitted to your four-day schedule for a nice workout change, like this:
Monday: Delts, triceps, biceps
Tuesday: Quads, calves, upper abs
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Chest, hamstrings, soleus, upper abs
Friday: Back, forearms, brachialis
It appears as if you’re only training each bodypart once a week—but with the right exercise choices, you actually hit each muscle twice every seven days.
For example, for quads on Tuesday you include feet-forward Smith machine squats (front or back), which also train hamstrings; then when you train hamstrings on Thursday, two days later, you use those Smith squats again, but as the leadoff ham exercise.
Here’s another example: On Monday you get indirect midback work with most of the deltoid exercises—laterals, presses, and wide DB upright rows. Then when you train traps on Friday, you get indirect delt work with close-grip upright rows. Very efficient.
With the right direct/indirect moves, that split will put you in a major-mass-building groove.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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