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Fewer Sets on More Moves to Get You HUGE

Q: I like [3-exercise POF] for each muscle, and have added about six pounds of new muscle combining it with the 4X method. Heavy training is not for me—my joints tend to crumble these days (at 43 I’ve been hurt multiple times training heavy). My question is, now that my gains have stalled, I’d like to pull back to 3X but do more exercises for each muscle than just 3. What do you think?

A: One thing we preach with a vengeance is experimentation. We love 3-move Positions of Flexion too, but to get huge you have to change the groove. And that can be done with more exercises every so often as you suggest…. [Read more…]

Ultimate Combo to Grow Wide—and Catch Eyes

Q: My girlfriend likes to critique my body when I ask. She’s got a good eye for proportion—and if I look good for her, I get the benefits, if you know what I mean—LOL. Lately, she’s been saying my shoulders are too flat. I need more roundness and broadness. What do you suggest?

A: When you think about it, most barbell and dumbbell shoulder exercises are lacking—inefficient to say the least, so you need a real delt-stretching combo to grow… [Read more…]

More Mass-Building Myths Busted (logic or looniness)

Q: I read where old-school bodybuilders would use lighter weights and higher reps on some exercises before competition to get more muscle detail. That’s total B.S., right?

A: On the surface, yes. But ending a bodypart with higher-rep work—or even doing entire workouts with higher rep work, enhances muscle burn. No, that’s not fat burning—at least not in a strict sense… [Read more…]

Guaranteed Rise in Your Muscle Size: New Phase 3 for Shocking Hypertrophy

Q: The program you outline in the Super-Size Crash Course that put 18 pounds of muscle size on Jordon [Williamson] had him use some heavy pyramid training in Phase 1, but only moderately heavy Downward-Progression 4X in Phase 2. To keep gaining, would you have someone cycle back to Phase 1 for more heavy pyramid training?

A: First we’d probably ask what you’re motivated to do. That’s because nothing breeds more muscle size like the fire to train… [Read more…]

Max Muscle Mass: Power vs. Density (before and after photos)

Q: I’m blown away by your Super-Size Crash Course e-book. Great workouts and innovations in training. Love the [Progressive-Speed 4X]. I felt bigger just reading about it. LOL! And bigger yet after trying it. One question: You often say that you don’t need heavy lifting to get big, but you had [Jordon Williamson, your test subject] doing heavy training every other workout in Phase 1. Could he have made similar or even better size gains without that heavy training?

A: Excellent question, and, yes, we often say that trainees can get big without ultra-heavy training. Research verifies that fact. [Read more…]

Back to Basics for More Mass

Q: I’ve been killing my workouts for about three months, using mostly heavy sets, finishing with 4X and TORQ. Making excellent gains, but I think it’s time to back off and get back to basics. What program would you suggest? I’m thinking three days a week for a while with basic mass-building exercises.

A: We have several. If you’ve never used 10×10, now may be the time. There is an excellent 3-way split routine in The 10×10 Mass Workout e-book. You could just use it 3 days a week, training each muscle once or train four days a week, so the Monday workout repeats on Friday… [Read more…]

TORQ Torch: Cut Back for More Mass?

Q: I think I have all your e-books, but I absolutely love Super TORQ. The pumps are outrageous! I’ve been using it randomly, but now I’m thinking about making it more regimented by following the POF-Power/Super-TORQ workout [pages 42-47 in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0]. When I do the Super TORQ workout, using only one exercise for a bodypart, is it okay to use only four sets—like 40,30,20,10—instead of five? I don’t like 50 reps on set 1, especially on decline presses. I feel like I might pass out. LOL!

A: The rules for TORQ (Tension Overload Repetition Quantity) and Super TORQ are pretty loose. In fact, we’ve mentioned before that when we use it, we often use only two sets to TORQ up our last exercise for a bodypart—30 and 20 reps… [Read more…]

Shift Your Anabolic Mass Machine Into Overdrive With Progressive Speed

Q: I love the 4X mass method and am already seeing new size from it after only two weeks. I notice you’ve been recommending different methods on each set sometimes. Does that work better for mass? Should I be doing that?

A: One method we often recommend is the progressive speed tactic. We know one thing about it for certain: The feel is unreal—deep ache with a muscle-expanding pump after only three sets… [Read more…]

Huge Pump, Big Gains, New Veins—Grand-Finale Mass Blast

Q: I have the new Size Surge Workout 2.0, and I like the idea of adding a unique finisher to top off the pump and stimulate new growth. You suggest using a different exercise than was used in each 3-exercise Positions-of-Flexion bodypart routine, such as ending quads with leg presses, and to do it in negative or speed style. What about using Pre-Exhaustion as you’ve been discussing recently instead—like finishing off quads with a leg extension-leg press superset, one round?

A: We like that idea a lot. The idea of isolating the target muscle and then immediately blasting it further past the growth threshold with the help of other muscles is an almost magical mass-building method. And the huge pump you get with Pre-Ex is unreal… [Read more…]

Pain to Gain: Quick Tweak for a More Massive Physique

Q: I’ve been using 4X sequences, 10 reps per set, and your new downward-progression 4X [12-10-8-6, adding weight each set, 45-second rests]. Both have been working great with some obvious mass gains (people have been commenting at the gym and when I’m out around town—love it!). My problem is that on some exercises the heaviest set on DP 4X hurts my joints. Like on bench presses, my shoulder can’t take it. Should I just drop the 6-rep set?

A: When you say bench presses, we assume you mean with a bar and not dumbbells. DBs may not cause pain because of freedom of movement. [Read more…]