Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I want to get strong over the winter. I heard that that’s what Arnold used to do. I know that if I get strong, I will eventually get bigger, which was how the Oak did it. What’s the best workout for that?
A: First let’s get some insight into Arnold’s winter training routine. Former IRON MAN Publisher John Balik was there, often training with Arnold, and this is what he had to say about it: [Read more…]
Q: I love [3D Positions of Flexion training]. It makes sense and has helped me bring up my chest and delts with fewer sets. My question is about biceps. For the contracted-position exercise, which is best: one-arm spider curls or concentration curls? Or are they about the same?
A: In the X-traordinary Arms e-book we explain the in-for-out/out-for-in principle. For biceps that means that to focus on the outer head for peak, you use an inner-grip exercise. Concentration curls are about as “in” as you can get… [Read more…]
Q: As a practitioner of 3D Positions-of-Flexion methodology who has seen tremendous results, I want to personally thank you for everything you both contribute to the bodybuilding community. Additionally, I had a question regarding the original 10-Week Size Surge routine that worked so well for Jonathan [who gained 20 pounds of muscle on it]. I’ve seen great results with that program, but no matter how short my rest periods are, the first POF workout (legs, chest, and triceps in Phase 2) always lasts well over an hour. Would the effects of the workout be diminished if I were to split it as follows: Day 1, Legs; Day 2, Chest, Triceps; Day 3, Back, Delts, Biceps, Abs; Day 4, Rest; Day 5, Repeat? Would the single day of rest be enough to allow my body to recover?
A: If you’re young and an above-average gainer (high recovery ability), you may be able to get good gains from that three-on/one-off split—but you must ratchet down your intensity every four to six weeks (as explained in the Phase Training section in the 3D Muscle Building e-book). It’s a lot to bite off and stick with having only a single day of rest, however. Here’s a better solution: [Read more…]
Q: Help! I need triceps sweep. Mine look flat from the side, and I’ve tried every exercise there is. Any suggestions?
A: We discuss a number of triceps “sweep” techniques and exercises in the X-traordinary Arms e-book, such as lying extensions, which mainly target the triceps’ long head, and dumbbell overhead extensions, which hit the long head with important stretch overload. If you’ve tried all of those long-head-specific exercises and programs, you may want to specialize on building some lat size. (Say what?) [Read more…]
Q: I don’t have a lot of time to train, which is why I look to you for info. All of your techniques and workouts revolve around efficiency, which is great. I can’t afford to waste time. My question is about back training. When I do a 3D POF lat routine, doesn’t my midback get plenty of work too? And isn’t the opposite true as well: When I train midback, don’t my lats get enough stimulation? I just don’t want to do extra work that’s not necessary. Every minute I’m in the gym must count.
A: We hear you. We squeeze our training into a limited schedule, so our primary concern is efficiency-of-effort muscle building. That’s why we try a lot of things and discard what doesn’t work, constantly refining our workouts.
You bring up a good point about back training—there is a lot of overlap between lat and midback work. You may want to decide which is the weaker area and do a full 3D POF program for that muscle group, then simply add one efficient exercise for the other area. For example, say your lats need more attention. Here’s a good 3D POF lat routine with a potent midback exercise added to the end…
Midrange: Wide-grip chins, 2 x 9-12
Stretch: Dumbbell pullovers, 1-2 x 9-12
Contracted: Stiff-arm pulldowns 1-2 x 9-12
Midback: Two-arm dumbbell rows, 2 x 9-12
As we discuss in the back chapter in the 3D Muscle Building e-book, the two-arm dumbbell row is a very efficient midback exercise. The hands move close together at the bottom of each rep, which stretches the middle trapezius, your hands move apart as you pull to the top, which allows you to squeeze your scapulae (shoulder blades) for midback contraction, and you’re using your arms and lats for synergy, which allows a heavy overload. You get some stretch-, contracted- and midrange-position work all in one midback exercise. Very high efficiency-of-effort.
If you can, use chest support, as that will keep momentum in check. If you can’t use chest support, just do standard bent-over two-arm dumbbell rows and keep your torso angled up, slightly above parallel to the floor. As you row the dumbbells—whether you use chest support or not—keep your arms angled out away from your torso so your shoulder blades can move together at the top. If you row with your arms close to your body, your lats become the prime movers.
What if your midback is the weaker of the two areas? You’d do a full 3D POF midback program like this, with an efficient lat exercise to finish…
Midrange: Shoulder-width cable rows, 2 x 9-12
Stretch: One-arm dumbbell rows, 1-2 x 9-12
Contracted: Bent-arm bent-over laterals, 1-2 x 9-12
Lats: Shoulder-width-grip undergrip pulldowns, 2 x 9-12
Undergrip pulldowns are to lats what two-arm dumbbell rows are to midback. The undergrip allows some lat stretch at the top and max contraction at the bottom, plus it puts the biceps in a strong pulling position for synergy and overload.
Incidentally, you could alternate those two programs, giving lats the most attention at the first workout and midback the full-on hit at the second. We’ve used many 3D POF programs to train our midback and lats for years. There are a lot of great variations. Does it work? Jonathan’s back double-biceps pose says yes…
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Note: Every muscle gets a 3D Positions-of-Flexion analysis and complete full-range program in the 3D Muscle Building e-book.
Q: A guy at my gym told me that dumbbell bench presses are better than barbell benches for chest development. He said it’s because of the increased range of motion you can get with the dumbbells and the pec squeeze you can do at the top. What do you think? Should I switch?
A: Well, as we explain in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, neither of those is best for chest development; decline presses are a much better choice because that angle puts you in a more ergonomically correct position for hitting pecs and minimizing front-delt involvement (it’s why people lift their butts off the bench when doing them flat—to get into the more advantageous decline position). [Read more…]
Q: I saw before and after photos of Steve’s wife, Becky, on your site. Amazing transformation! My girlfriend would like to know what type of program she used. Did she use X Reps, or should women not use that type of intense training?
A: Becky’s transformation took a few months (she kept having to restart due to motivation issues—so much fat to lose was overwhelming to her—and she didn’t use X Reps because we hadn’t developed that technique yet; however, she did use static holds, which we call a Static X. At the end of a set to exhaustion, she would drive the weight up as far as she could and hold for a five count or so to extend the tension time. That had a similar muscle fiber-activation boost as well as occlusion effects. She added muscle and lost fat quickly, as you can see from her before and after photos… [Read more…]
Q: I just read a few of your articles about 3D Muscle Building, and you say some guy built 60 pounds of muscle in four weeks. Come on. I hate it when the impossible is touted as being the norm. That never happened, which is probably why you don’t show pictures of the guy. The only photos I see are Jonathan’s before and after. His 20 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks is impressive, but it’s a far cry from 60 pounds in a month. Got any pictures of the 60-pound gain? I didn’t think so.
A: We’re as skeptical as the next guy, but believe it or not, it did happen—back in 1971. It was called the Colorado Experiment, and it was Arthur Jones’ attempt at proving that his Nautilus machines and high-intensity training could build muscle very, very quickly (and we do have the pics; see below). [Read more…]
