We’ve been discussing the redefined Positions-of-Flexion method. It used to be midrange, stretch, and contracted—three unique exercises with specific parameters.
The new POF is…
Ideal exercise + the missing positions
For example, you saw that one ideal-emphasized POF chest workout was…
Ideal: Dumbbell decline presses; Stretch: Flat-bench flyes; Contracted: Machine flyes or cable crossovers
But can you make it even better—more efficient at packing on mass? Yes…
The dumbbell decline press has good stretch at the bottom, and the resistance tails off as you reach the top, as it should for an optimal strength curve; however…
The resistance at the top is zero. You don’t want resistance to fall off completely. Maintaining some tension there is best…
Yes, you can stop short of lockout. But if you have a cable setup, cable chest presses are a slightly better choice…
With the pulleys set back and slightly out, you will maintain tension on your pecs throughout the set, retaining the ideal resistance curve…
And if you’re pressed for time or simply like to mix things up, you can combine the stretch and contracted positions into one exercise…
A cable flye or machine flye can count as both. The only problem is that you will get more contraction resistance than stretch loading.
That’s because the muscle gets weaker as you move to the top flex, or contracted, position. So once you fail to get to the top, you will still have power left at the bottom.
To counteract that, at failure when you can’t bring your hands together, continue repping through only the bottom third of the stroke.
Those X-Rep stretch-partials will activate more high-threshold motor units in that strongest position and trigger extra hypertrophy.
Note: For a list of the three-position exercises (POF) for each muscle, see the chart on pages 42 and 43 of Old Man, Young Muscle.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For complete mass workouts that include Speed Sets, the ideal exercise for each muscle, and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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Yes, it is possible to simultaneously build muscle while losing fat…
The right form of intermittent fasting will help you gain more muscle while you burn fat…
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According to Dr. Michael Mosley, it results in “better metabolic adaptations, improved muscle-protein synthesis and a higher anabolic response to post-exercise feedings.” [J App Phys., Jan. 2011: 236-45]
Proper fasting will NOT have you burning muscle—just the opposite as your body fat decreases and your testosterone and growth hormone increase. [Webber, J., et al. (1994). Br J Nutr.]
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