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Why Your Growth is Slow—and How to Make it Explode

Muscle fiber growth illustration

Q: I pound away at my workouts, but I’ve only gained about three pounds of muscle in nine months. I’ve gotten stronger, but where’s the size?! I don’t know what to do. I add weight to my exercises whenever I can, but that doesn’t seem to help. I want big, full muscles that will fill out my T-shirts.

A: Are you doing your work sets in the eight-to-10 rep range? Are you resting about 2 minutes between sets? Are your sets lasting about 25 seconds? Are you doing that on all of your exercises? If so, THAT’S WHY YOU’RE NOT GROWING. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, actin-myosin strands, atp, belly fat burn, bodybuilders, dual-capacity fibers, European Journal of Applied Physiology, explode, glycogen, high reps, jerry brainum, miracle fix, mitochondria, muscle growth, muscle pump, muscle size, myofibrillar, myofibrils, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic expansion, size, slow to grow, slow-mo, speed reps, strength

Stage Sets for More Muscle Mass

Jonathan Lawson incline Smith machine presses with Steve Holman Spotting - What Are Stage Sets? (Hint: They Work!)

We often look back through our ebooks for motivation and to find mass-boosting techniques we haven’t used in a while. We recently reminded ourselves about Stage Sets from our second e-book, Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building, which also discusses the X-Fade technique, Double-X Overload and X/Pause. When we first used Stage Sets and other X-hybrid techniques within the program outlined in that e-book, we each gained 10 pounds on top of our previous year’s great gains. Definitely something to add back into the mix once in a while when you have a training partner… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, anabolic fasting, beyond x-rep muscle building, brad pilon, eat stop eat, fast-twitch fibers, get ripped, mass tactics, mass-boosting, more muscle mass, motivation, muscle mass, stage sets, X Reps, X-Fade, x-hybrid techniques

Look Like a Bodybuilder

Jonathan Lawson's back, before and after

Q: I’m a powerlifter, but I want a better physique. I’m not sure how. I’ve got some muscle, but I sure don’t look like a bodybuilder. What should I do? I’m thinking I just need more isolated exercises for each muscle, like pushdowns for triceps. If I keep pushing heavy weights on all those exercises, I’ll look more like a bodybuilder, right? Do any of your e-books address my problem?

A: You gave a clue to one of the big reasons so many trainees make slow-to-no muscle gains: They’re brainwashed into believing that heavy training exclusively is what builds mass. That’s simply not true… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, arnold, athletic-aesthetic physique, bodybuilder, bodybuilding, brad pitt, carbs, dual-capacity fibers, fast-twitch fibers, lean, look like a bodybuilder, muscle density, muscle gains, perfect physique, physique, power-density, powerlifter, powerlifting, tension time

Are X Reps More Power or Density?

Q: I totally get the idea of Power-Density for more muscle size, and I notice that some of the top bodybuilders use that type of mix. I’m not sure how X Reps fit in, though. Is a set with X Reps more power or density? And why are they so great? Aren’t they just a few short-range movements at the end of a set?

A: Considering the studies that show the biggest bodybuilders’ muscles are jam-packed with type 2A fibers, the ones with both power and endurance (density) capabilities, all bodybuilders should be using both types of sets (and X Reps can help, as you’ll see). [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, arnold, endurance, fat burning, fiber activation, hormone trick, Jim Caruso, muscle burn, power and density, tension time, testosterone, X Reps

More Size, Density, and Arnold’s Immensity

Jonathan Lawson squatting

Q: I totally agree with your Power-Density mass-building ideas. For density work, you’ve suggested multi-rep rest/pause, but 3 heavy sets with only 15 seconds of rest between them really wipes me out, especially on legs. I’m dead for the rest of my workout. Is there something less taxing I can use for density up front? 

A: First, we want to applaud you for realizing the importance of DENSITY, or endurance, work. Missing that get-bigger trigger is why most wanna-be-big bodybuilders grow so slow. They think it’s all about training heavy ONLY to gain more size… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, arnold, austrian oak, belly fat burn, burn fat, chasing the pump, density, endurance, extended tension time, fat burning, fiber types, growth fibers, mass techniques, microtrauma, miracle fix, more size, multi-rep rest/pause, muscle immensity, negative-accentuated, power-density, tension time, x-rep partials

X-infused Size Surge

Jonathan Lawson dumbbell curls with Powerblocks

Q: First, thank you for the Size Surge Workout program. I’ve gained seven solid pounds on it, and I’m not done yet. I may get 10 pounds after it’s all over. My question is, Can I do it again right away? I’ve read some of your other X-Rep e-books and would like to try an X-infused Size Surge the second time around to make it more intense and add more mass. Any suggestions in that area?

A: In our 3D Muscle Building e-book, we analyze Jonathan’s Size Surge program and retool the phase 1 workouts with X Reps on the appropriate exercises as well as multi-rep rest/pause and drop sets, so an X-infused Size Surge program already exists for you to easily follow. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, 3d muscle building, end-of-set partials, extended tension time, gains, Mass F/X, multi-rep rest/pause, nervous system failure, Size Surge, tension time, testosterone, Truth About Testosterone, vigor, vitality, X Reps, x-infused size surge, x-rep partials

#1 Mass-Building Discovery—Surprising Find

Jonathan Lawson chin-ups - X-Reps for X-tra Muscle—Pounds of it

Q: You guys have contributed so much to my ability to build lots of muscle. I want to thank you. X Reps are fantastic. Positions of Flexion is great; I build most of my workouts around that full-range principle. You’ve also created 4X and negative-accentuated [X-centric] training. So what do you think is the best of the bunch, your #1 mass-building discovery over the years?

A: Out of all of our mass-building tactics, X Reps are probably the easiest to apply. Well, maybe “easiest” is the wrong word because when you use them correctly, X-Rep partials at the end of a set are brutal—they hurt, but they work. X Reps make any set three to five times more effective at packing on mass… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: #1 mass-building discovery, 2a fibers, 4X, bodybuilder, boost testosterone, cardio trick, end-of-set partials, fast-twitch fibers, full-range training, mass-building discovery, negative-accentuated, physique, power and density, X Reps, x-centric

Your 3-Week Mass Blast—Big Bursts of Muscle Mass Fast

Q: Being drug-free, I was very interested in The 4X Mass Workout. Considering the colleague you mention in that e-book who has trained with a lot of pros while he was using drugs and that he also trained drug-free, his advice is priceless. For drug-free guys, he says he likes 3 weeks of high-intensity-style power training alternated with 3 weeks of lower-intensity, slightly higher-volume workouts. What do you think about this for a big mass blast: 3 weeks of total-10×10 training, followed by 3 weeks of total-4X workouts, followed by 3 weeks of the 3D Power Pyramid [a straight-set lower-rep Positions-of-Flexion workout listed in The Freak Physique e-book]?

A: That looks like a great mass-building, progress-yielding progression. You shift gears every 3 weeks for plenty of muscle-stimulation tweaks… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10x10, 2a fibers, 3d pof, 3d power pyramid, 4X, drug-free, fast mass, fat burning, freak physique, high volume, high-intensity training, hormones, mass blast, mass building, multi-angular training, muscle burn, muscle mass, muscle-building, over-40, power and density, prepare to grow, pure density, tension time, Truth About Testosterone

Ultimate Exercise for Shoulder Size

Jonathan Lawson, wide-grip rack pulls

Q: Maybe I missed it since I’m a relatively new subscriber to your newsletter, but what is the Ultimate Exercise for shoulder size; wide-grip dumbbell upright rows or dumbbell presses?

A: We first identified each Ultimate Exercise for every major bodypart in our first e-book, The Ultimate Mass Workout. There’s a comprehensive chapter on each one, why they are best, and also a few complete programs with just those moves—like V-handle chins for lats… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Blog, X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, bodybuilders, density, Dr. Dimitrios Stamou, eat the fat off, endurance fibers, fast-twitch fibers, Harvard research, Lou Ferrigno, Power, power pyramids, power-density workout, pumping iron, pyramids, ripped muscle, rotator cuffs, shoulder size, ultimate exercise for shoulders, Ultimate Mass Workout

Pyramid Power: Secret to Mega Mass and Strength

Q: I just got The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout and The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout. Tremendous. I’ve already read them both twice. Undoubtedly the best bodybuilding info I’ve ever seen. I noticed that in the programs in both e-books, you rely a lot on pyramiding the weight on the compound exercises. Is that better than just using the same poundage on all work sets and going to exhaustion?

A: With the type of training we list in those e-books, we believe adding weight to each work set so that the rep count decreases—9, 7, 5, for instance—is ideal to build BOTH mega mass and strength for three reasons… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, bodybuilding, fiber activation, fiber recruitment, fiber type, freak physique, intensity, mass and strength, mega mass, nervous system, neural drive, power-density, power-pyramid, pyramid power, stamina, strength, stretch overload, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, Truth About Testosterone, x-rep workout

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