Q: I’m 62 and have been using the Stretch-Overload Pure Positions Workout [Monday contracted, Wednesday midrange, Friday stretch]. It felt great at first, training one exercise per muscle at each workout, but after three weeks I started feeling like I was losing ground muscle-wise. And I was more tired than usual. Should I take a week off, and then start again? Maybe I just need a downshift sooner than most because of my age.
A: Taking a layoff every three weeks might work, but it also might have you staying in one place as far as the size of your physique. You want to be able to extend your hard-training phase to at least five weeks before you need a downshift.
You can do that by training only two full-body workouts a week. At your age, that’s probably enough if you’re training hard (Steve trains only two days a week most of the month since he’s pushing 60 now).
You like the Pure Positions approach, so there are two great ways to go about this change…
Option 1: Just follow the sequence of workouts, training Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday…
Tuesday: Contracted
Friday: Midrange
Tuesday: Stretch
Friday: Contracted
Tuesday: Midrange
Friday: Stretch
And so on.
Option 2: Train all midrange at the first workout and BOTH stretch and contracted at the second.
For quads, your first workout of the week would be squats or leg presses with the STX method.
At the second workout of the week you would do leg extensions (1×20, 1×8 R/P 5), then follow with sissy squats for stretch (1×10 R/P 6).
Use that contracted STX followed by stretch with one standard rest/pause set.
You’ll have covered all the hypertrophic bases for the week to build an eye-popping, muscular physique.
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Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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