Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I love the 4X mass method. I’ve been using it for a month, and I feel and look bigger and better. My question is, When I start a 4X sequence, what do I do if the weight is way too light on that first set? Should I just do 10 and then add weight for my next 3 sets? I don’t want to waste that first set.
A: You could do that. Or here are 3 ways to do it that we like better… [Read more…]
Q: I just got your X-centric Mass Workout. Read it through in one sitting—one of your best e-books by far. My question is, you have a number of workouts, and you always have only one X-centric set [lift in one second, lower in six]—on the last one in a sequence. Can I do more than 2 X-centric sets? And what about doing them first instead of last?
A: An X-centric set is a great way to finish off a 4X sequence. Or to do it as your last set when you’re doing standard sets so you can really feel it, fry it and grow… [Read more…]
Q: You’ve mentioned supersetting a large muscle group and a small one within a 4X sequence. Like back and triceps or chest and biceps. But didn’t Arnold and some of the other Golden Era bodybuilders superset chest and back for old-school mass?
A: Yes, but they did not take short rests between sets. In fact, going from bench presses to rows takes a lot out of you and a rest of at least 1 1/2 minutes is required just to get your breath… [Read more…]
Q: You’ve sent emails about specializing for lagging muscle groups. What is your favorite way to bring up the slacking bodyparts?
A: One of our favorite methods is one we borrowed from Arnold—with our own density twist…
We call it Staggered Density because we fuse Arnold’s staggered-sets method with 4X density. What does that mean? [Read more…]
Q: I have used 4X with 10 reps per set, but I see you’ve also used 15 to 20. Does that work? Will it get me bigger and more vascular? Is it better than standard TORQ [30-20-15]?
A: It’s really just another variation—semi-TORQ, if you will, but without a poundage increase on each set. It’s high-end hypertrophy with a density edge. [Read more…]
Q: I notice that you have been adding one X-centric set to the end of each bodypart workout. Is that enough to get the trauma necessary for myofibrillar thickening for muscle size?
A: Well, that’s part of the experiment. The idea is to train each muscle directly once a week–and hammer it with enough trauma so it requires seven days of recovery. Here is what Steve is trying, and it might help you swell your muscle cells… [Read more…]
Q: I am a fan of your mass tactics like X-Fade, Static X and, of course, X Reps. You often list the ones you use in a workout, but often you list a 4X sequence as (4×10 + StatX). Do you do the [end-of-set] static hold on all sets, some sets or just the last set?
A: We never use those end-of-set mass tactics on more than the last two sets of a 4X sequence. And usually, it is only one unique set… [Read more…]
Q: I just started using the 4X methods. Great stuff. Loving the pumps, but I’m wondering if 4X is better for maximum muscle size or Downward-Progression 4X [adding weight each set so reps fall—12,10,8,6] – what’s the best muscle-growth method for me?
A: Both methods provide a powerful hypertrophic Density effect. That’s because you rest only 35 to 45 seconds between sets. That gets you to the critical growth threshold quickly… [Read more…]
Q: I love 4X because it’s 10 reps per set. I get the “hypertrophic tension time” of more than 40 seconds on every set. My workout partner likes DP 4X better, adding weight each set as the reps decrease (12-10-8-6). But I feel the last two sets are not enough tension time for best growth stimulation. Should we alternate, doing 4X at one workout and DP 4X at the other for best muscle gains? [Read more…]
Q: I was reading in one of my IRON MAN back issues about the “Blood Theory” of muscle growth. Can you explain it and tell me how to take advantage of it to grow?
A: Way back in the 1970s, an Iron Man author named Dennis DuBreuil explained his Blood Theory….
Basically, he said that there is a direct relationship between how well a muscle pumps and how well it grows… [Read more…]
