Q: Excellent new ebooks. Your story about X-Reps and the gains you made in five weeks back in the day got me excited enough to try them. I didn’t realize what I was missing. I really feel those exercises working much better, and I’m already seeing results. Do you think the effectiveness of X-Reps will fade after a while? You mentioned [in the ebook] that it could be why you stopped doing them years ago.
A: That’s an interesting question, especially considering all the latest research on stretch loading and its importance in the hypertrophic chain of events. More on that in a moment…
For the uninitiated, X-Reps are stretch partials at the end of a set. For example, when you can no longer reach the top on leg extensions, continue to rep out through the bottom third of the stroke only…
End-of-set X-Rep partials can do some great things for hypertrophy—if you don’t abuse them…
1) “Patch” the faulty resistance curve on contracted-position exercises—like leg extensions, pushdowns, etc.
2) Spur more fast-twitch activation—you force the target muscle to continue to fire in its strongest position
3) Boost area-specific stretch-mediated growth, more in the sarcomeres near the ends of the muscle
That’s why I say in the new e-book that stopping certain exercises, like leg extensions, at full-range failure is leaving muscle growth on the table: You still have fiber-firing capability in the stretch range…
But does the significant growth spurt last?
Some researchers contend that the large jump in hypertrophy that occurs from stretch emphasis/loading, like when you’re using X-Reps, eventually slows…
In other words, you get a big burst of growth, then the size surge levels off. Even so, you want to continue loading the stretch to some degree to maintain that new growth and keep stretch-mediated growth coming, albeit at a slower pace.
As for the five-week X-Rep results photos in the new ebook that you mention, and the controversy surrounding them, stay tuned for tomorrow’s newsletter.
Grow with the latest mass-building research:
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