3d muscle building Archives - Page 2 of 9

Anabolic Blood Bath: Get Your Size on the Rise

Q: I’m getting excellent results with 4X mass training. Sometimes my workouts go over an hour, which concerns me. I’ve heard that the hour mark is when testosterone becomes depleted. Many trainers say not to be in the gym over an hour or your T is shot. Should I cut back? What are your thoughts/solutions?

A: The one-hour testosterone-depletion scenario completely depends on your level of T (older trainees generally have less) and the workout you’re doing—the bodyparts you’re working, how much intensity you’re using and how many heavy all-out sets you’re including… [Read more…]

POF Exercise Clarifications

Q: I need some POF exercise clarifications. In some of your POF leg workouts, you have hyperextensions for hamstrings. I thought hyperextensions are more for your lower back. Also on the Heavy/Light Ultimate 10X10 Mass Workout, you have incline one-arm lateral raises and leaning one-arm lateral raises. Aren’t incline and leaning lateral raises the same thing?

A: We understand the occasional need for POF exercise clarifications. Hyperextensions are often classified as a lower-back exercise; however, if you keep your lower back flat throughout the stroke, you will hit your hamstrings hard with help from your glutes. Make an effort to really feel your hamstrings elongate as you lower to the bottom position; force them to bear the brunt of the resistance. Remember, don’t allow your lower back to round at the bottom… [Read more…]

X-infused Size Surge

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…]

3-Days-a-Week POF Program

Q: I’ve followed your beginner program [in the Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide], and then went on to the 3D Muscle Building [Positions-of-Flexion] program. Great results! Better than I imagined, but I’m having trouble sticking to it. The POF program is 4 days a week, which is too many days for me. I was wondering if you could show me how to change this into a 3-days-a-week POF program—a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. With my job, it’s nearly impossible to do the 4-days-a-week routine.

A: We understand the problem; it’s probably the number-one reason people stop training—time constraints. Life can get in the way, but we’re here to help. [Read more…]

Build Attention-Grabbing Forearms

Q: I’m using your X-Rep version of the Power/Rep Range/Shock Workout. It’s great so far, and doing something different each week is making things interesting and getting me sore. But I’ve been skipping the exercise listed as Rockers because I don’t know what that is. Can you explain it?

A: It’s simply holding a dumbbell in each hand at arm’s length at the sides of your thighs. You curl your hands in and up to contract the forearm flexors (underside of the forearms); then you lower and curl them out and up to contract the forearm extensors (top of the forearms). You just rock back and forth in a controlled fashion… [Read more…]

Mass Merger—10X Power/Rep Range/Shock

Q: Great timing on your recent P/RR/S newsletter! I’m using the X-Rep Power/Rep Range/Shock Workout [on pages 103-114 in the 3D Muscle Building e-book], and my size and strength are totally thriving on the variation, like nothing I’ve ever tried before. What a great concept! Now I’m reading The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout, and I want to put that method into the mix, using mass merger techniques. Where should I use it, Power, Rep Range or Shock week? And on which exercises?

A: First, we must give credit where credit is due: a big thumbs-up to Eric Broser for creating the Power/Rep Range/Shock protocol. We simply altered it to include full-range Positions of Flexion and X Reps. To put it in simple terms, Power week you do all low reps; Rep Range week you do one exercise in the 7-9 range, another for 10-12 and the last for 13-15; Shock week is supersets, drop sets and other intensity techniques to totally thrash the muscles. [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 12: Zane on the Beach

We’ve both lived in a beach town—Steve still does—and nothing fuels workouts more than summertime near the ocean. You know you’re going to be hitting the sand (or lake or pool) more than a few times, so you better be hitting the gym hard. [Read more…]

Stretch-Position Exercises

Q: I’m using the three-position training of POF [as outlined in the 3D Muscle Building e-book] and have made excellent gains with it. I recently purchased your Quick-Start Muscle Building Guide for my nephew. It’s excellent, and I can already see changes in his muscles after three weeks, but I wonder why you don’t include stretch-position exercises, like incline curls for biceps, in the workouts. I’m sure stretch exercises are one reason I’ve added so much muscle with POF, so if beginners are to make the fastest gains possible, I would think they should use full 3D POF programs. No?

A: The reason we don’t include stretch-position exercises in the Quick-Start program is that they are more dangerous for beginners. Joe Horrigan, D.C., of the Soft Tissue Center, uses the often-injured lower-back as an example: [Read more…]

Best Chisel-Your-Chest Exercise

Q: I’ve been using cable crossovers as my contracted-position exercise in my 3D Positions-of-Flexion chest routine. I do them last for tension, occlusion, and a final pump, but I’m not getting the right feel and not seeing much of a pump. Do you have any form suggestions to make them better?

A: Cable crossovers are a good contracted-position chisel-your-chest exercise—if you have decent nerve-to-muscle connections in your pec muscles. Those who don’t tend to shift the torso forward and backward during the exercise, to bring in more front delts and even lats. We prefer a similar exercise that forces strictness… [Read more…]

Double-X Overload Warmups?

Q: I’m making some incredible progress using your Double-X Overload technique, but I wanted to let you know that I don’t just use it on my work sets. DXO works for warmup sets, too. I usually use it on at least one of my two warmup sets for the big [midrange] exercises, and I feel much stronger on my work sets. Great technique!

A: That’s a good tip. We love feedback from fellow weight trainers who think instead of just following the pack. One reason Double-X Overload (DXO) works so well on warmup sets is because of the enhanced occlusion and nervous system activation.

For those unfamiliar with DXO, it’s an X-Rep partial in the semi-stretch position between each full rep. That provides a slightly more explosive action, which has been shown to heighten nerve force (many top-level powerlifters do light, explosive sets for that very reason—it helps them lift more weight). [Read more…]