X-REP.COM

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Max Out Size With 3 Days Per Week

Q: I just got the Size Surge e-book and am anxious to start Phase 1’s 3-days-per-week program. I have many of your other e-books and follow your newsletters, and you talk about getting both power and density to max out size. But the Size Surge has all exercises in the 7-9 rep range only. Don’t I need higher reps too?

A: The true power rep range is 4-6. With the 7-9 range, you are getting a power-density mix; however, you’re right: Below 10 reps does emphasize the power component. And that can work amazingly well for a four-to-six-week phase, as Jonathan proved on the original Size Surge program, gaining 20 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks… [Read more…]

Ultimate Row to Grow

Q: What’s the difference between bent-over dumbbell rows and one-arm dumbbell rows [in Positions-of-Flexion mass training]? You have them as separate exercises in the POF X-Rep workout [in the X-traordinary X-Rep Workout e-book].

A: For bent-over dumbbell rows, you row with both arms at the same time. We suggest using chest support, such as an incline bench or special bench made for the exercise, but that’s not mandatory… [Read more…]

Tips for Solo Training and BIG Gaining

Q: I agree with your progressive-overload theory, gradually making workouts more intense. You suggest adding a few forced reps every couple weeks in the first phase of the Size Surge program. But I train alone and can’t do forced reps. How can I make the workouts progressively more intense for solo training?

A: For those who missed it, we suggested this progression for the 3-days-a-week workouts in phase 1 of the Size Surge program: [Read more…]

Two Ways to More Mass

Q: I’m using the Basic X-traordinary X-Rep Workout, but I have a very weak chest. I know you say the decline press is the ultimate chest exercise, but I’m not getting much from doing only that for power and density work. But I am getting great gains everywhere else [with that one-ultimate-exercise approach]. So should I keep the program as is and just add more chest work to build more mass?

A: We hear you—and can identify with your plight, as we both have stubborn pecs. But you may not need more work for more mass—just a different exercise for power and density along with a shift in emphasis at each workout (sample chest routines are coming up)… [Read more…]

Get More Pumped!

Q: I’m using the Basic X-traordinary X-Rep Workout and making pretty good gains. I love that the workouts are quick and that I only use the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart. My problem is that I think my gains could be even better because I’m not getting a big pump in some bodyparts. I do the density drop set on the Ultimate Exercise at the end, but most muscles just don’t pump like they should. Can I add an exercise to get more pumped? I have time.

A: That’s a common problem because everyone has muscles with low nerve force and/or fewer fast-twitch fibers. That makes getting a pump in those bodyparts more difficult, especially using only a big compound exercise. There are a number of things you can do, such as 10×10 style to end instead of a drop set, but we’ll give you something less time-consuming… [Read more…]

Let’s Get Big

Q: Right now I’m into your idea of using a basic workout to get big, so I’m using The Basic X-traordinary X-Rep Workout [pages 28-30 in that e-book]. I’ve been on it for three weeks, and I already feel bigger. I’m also stronger every time I train. Unreal results for workouts that take an hour. My question is, What can I do or add to that program for my slacker bodyparts? Like my shoulders desperately need extra roundness. Should I just add sets?

A: Simply adding sets to the existing delt workout is one way to go (but there’s another way that we like even better coming up). For example, the delt routine is dumbbell presses, and you pyramid the weight. Your reps should go 9, 7, 5-6, and on the last heaviest set you do X-Rep partials… [Read more…]

Two Moves for More Mass

Q: I just got your X-traordinary X-Rep Workout ebook, printed out the basic routine and took it to the gym. Deep pump and a fast workout. I notice that for some bodyparts you have one big exercise for both the power work and density finish. For others, you have a different exercise for the drop-set finisher. Why didn’t you use two exercises, [one for power and one for density], for every bodypart? It makes sense that you’d train the muscle more completely with two exercises instead of only one.

A: For the most part, it depends on the complexity of the muscle. For example, your deltoid has three heads. While an overhead press trains all of them, it primarily targets the front head with only minor emphasis on the other two. [Read more…]

2 Tips for Unstoppable Arm Size

Q: I want to experiment with 10×10 on arms to see if I can get another inch of growth. Would you suggest 10×10 combined with Positions of Flexion, or just 10×10 alone on one exercise? One exercise just doesn’t seem like enough angles are worked to hit all the fibers.

A: There are two ways you can approach 10×10 for arm specialization. The first is using 10×10 on one biceps and one triceps exercise at your one arm workout each week. The key to getting the most growth is the bodypart split. For example… [Read more…]

Arnold’s Power-Density Mass Workouts

Q: Your Power-Density explanations and methods in the Power-Density e-book make total sense—and if Arnold used it, I’m in. [Positions of Flexion] also makes total sense, something I know Arnold used for his biceps, among other bodyparts. My question is, Can I use only the ending contracted-position exercise for each bodypart to get my Density quota? Like for POF lats can I train chins heavy, pullovers heavy, and then use stiff-arm pulldowns with 5×10 in 10×10 style for Density?
 
A: A lot of bodybuilders have tried something similar; however, after analyzing Arnold’s workouts, we think they are missing a key mass-building component by not using Density on a compound move as well… [Read more…]

Cut Back to Grow Muscle

Q: Before the start of my spring/summer job a month ago, my muscle development was progressing nicely. I was using your Positions of Flexion and X-Rep techniques on my three-days-a-week split: chest/bi’s, legs, and back/tri’s. My strength-and-size gains were steadily increasing. Then I started my summer job, and I was a lot sorer after my workouts, I take longer to recover, and I’m losing the size I had in my arms. The job is 40 hours a week of outdoor physical labor. I thought that by eating frequently with adequate protein and eight hours of sleep each night, I’d be fine, but that’s not working. Do you have any suggestions to help get me back on the muscle-building track, especially in the arm department?

A: A demanding physical-labor job can make it more difficult to grow, but not impossible. Even a high-pressure office job presents a similar problem: too much stress. It’s similar to being a hardgainer with low recovery ability and high cortisol output: You have to find the right balance and workload so you don’t overtrain, which means you sometimes have to cut back to grow. [Read more…]