Q: What do you think about stretching between sets? I’ve heard a lot of big bodybuilders do it, but I’ve seen studies that show stretching can make you weak.
A: The old study you’re referring to showed that stretching a muscle for 20 to 30 minutes before training it compromised strength. That’s a lot of stretching—and one reason we don’t do much prior to a workout-—just some range-of-motion loosening…
On the other hand, the additional “mechanical stress” of stretching BETWEEN sets has been shown to increase hypertrophy. Lots of bodybuilders past and present have used stretching between sets for more size. Like Tom Platz and his amazing thighs…
That’s Tom doing the best quad stretch, sissy squats. He was known to hit that low position and pulse between sets of hack squats. And Arnold would stretch his lats between sets of pulldowns and calves between sets of calf raises. They knew it worked, and now it’s being proven…
According to Michael J. Rudolph, Ph.D.:
The additional mechanical stress that inter-set stretching puts on the muscle cell increases…anabolic hormones (like IGF-1 and mTOR)…. [Also] according to an assortment of scientific investigations, a relatively unique way to increase the tension on the muscle cell and enhance muscle hypertrophy would be to stretch during the rest period.
We agree—and we’re convinced that one of the reasons we made such incredible gains during our very first X-Rep experiments is because those end-of-set partials at a point where the target muscle is elongated is like a blast of stretching right before the rest…
We were so intent and convinced that X-Rep partials were hyper-growth dynamite, that we were doing five to six plus a static-hold stretch at the end of the last set of almost every exercise [see The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book for the exact program we used that year]…
We get the benefits of extra stretching plus we added important anabolic tension time to those sets. X Reps plus a static stretch-hold increased TUT by five to 10 seconds, depending on the exercise…
Then the year after those first X-Rep experiments we formulated a number of X-hybrid mass-building tactics—and they helped us pack on another 10 pounds of muscle—the very next year (wow, time to revisit those methods). The stretch overload was key…
For example, one of those size builders that was crazy effective was X/Pause. We explain it in Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building like this…
What if you did a regular set to exhaustion, tacked on X Reps to force the muscle to continue to activate fast-twitch fibers, and then rested for six seconds. After that short pause you take the same weight and blast out an X-only set. Bingo! We saw mass increases almost immediately.
That’s because X-only—partials in the semi-stretch position, like near the bottom of an incline press—was stretching between sets against resistance for an amped anabolic effect.
Former Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler was notorious for using X-only sets—even on drop sets—mass-building stretch overload at its best. Here are his results in this Mike Neveux photo…
It works—and we discuss how and why when we analyze Jay’s training as well as other variations of X-only sets, X/Pause, and Double-X Overload (best for stretch-position exercises) in the X-Rep Update #1 e-book.
There is so much good mass-building stuff jam-packed into these e-books that your muscle growth is guaranteed to X-plode, and both the Beyond X-Rep and X-Rep Update e-books have home-gym routines. It’s time to GROW!
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
FREE Protein! (Delivered to your door!!)
One of our favorite proteins has a try-it-free, no-strings offer, and we don’t want you to miss out. No, this is not a trick or scam—it’s simply a way for BioTrust to get you to try their great Low-Carb protein, no strings whatsoever (just pay a small shipping cost). We’re not kidding…This is an incredible offer, but there’s a limited supply, so grab yours today before the offer runs out** —and it’s delicious, by the way!
–> Secure Your FREE Container NOW! (limited inventory)
**One free container per household