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Progressive-Shock Size-Surge Tips

Jonathan Lawson demonstrating midrange, stretch, and contracted positions for biceps

Q: I’m astounded by Jonathan’s Size Surge transformation in only 10 weeks. His arms got huge, and he said his gains really took off during the second phase when he started using Positions of Flexion. I was thinking that I should do POF for arms in phase 1 too. Like for biceps, he has two sets of barbell curls and two sets of concentration curls. Wouldn’t I make better gains if I did two sets of barbell curls followed by one set of incline curls [for stretch] then one set of concentration curls? That’s the same number of sets, but now it’s full-range POF. I could do the same for triceps too.

A: That sounds like a good plan—at least until you realize one reason phase 2 in the Size Surge program works so well is because the muscles get a progressive-shock size effect when you shift to full-range training for the last four weeks. In other words, you force more growth adaptation to happen when you add stretch-position exercises like incline curls for biceps and overhead extensions for triceps at week 7… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: adaption, arm exercises, arm workouts, big arms, crash course, full-range positions of flexion, hormones, jonathan lawson, phase 1, phase 2, progressive-shock, size effects, Size Surge, size surge program, testosterone, testosterone production, testosterone replacement therapy, tips, transformation, trt

Avoid Adaption with Alternative Exercises

Jonathan Lawson one-arm cable lateral raises - Look Bigger with One Simple Exercise

Q: Alternating arm routines at every workout is working great for me! My guns are looking large and in charge! I’m using [the arm-specialization routines] in the 3D HIT program [as outlined in the X-traordinary Arms e-book], and I notice that on many non-arm exercises you have an alternate listed as well. Like on delts for the stretch-position exercise, you have one-arm cable laterals or incline one-arm laterals. Since alternating arm exercises is working so well, can I alternate all the exercises that have substitutes listed?

A: That was a perfect question to go with the first one—and based on our discussion of adaptation, absolutely. Shake things up! In fact, we do that often for many muscle groups. Doing something a little different can be a killer get-bigger trigger! One of our favorites is what you list—alternating one-arm cable laterals with incline one-arm laterals at every other delt workout. It’s a great way to get some variety into your routine and hit the muscle with a slightly different stimulus—cable vs. dumbbell—in the stretch position. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d hit, 3d muscle building, 3d pof, adaption, alternative exercises, get-bigger trigger, mike westerdal, muscle building, protect your family, real life self defense, self-defense, x-traordinary arms

The Best Workout Program for Building Muscle

Q: I just want the best workout program for building muscle. Please simplify all the rhetoric and just tell me which one is the absolute best.

A: That’s easy. There is no best routine. It’s the nature of how the human body adapts. We always say it takes change to trigger bigger gains, and some experts suggest that the body is fully adapted after only four workouts.

That’s the reason our own programs are constantly evolving—a new exercise, a new X-hybrid tactic, a drop set, etc. And after 10 weeks or so, we often move to a new program from one of our e-books (Jonathan recently went all the way back to our first X-Rep transformation program, with a few new alterations).

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, adaption, best workout program, build muscle, change to gain, drop sets, end-of-set x-rep partials, fast-twitch fibers, hormones, muscle building, occlusion, p/rr/s, Power, power/rep range/shock, rep range, shock, size and strength, super sets, testosterone, time under tension, Truth About Testosterone, X Reps, x-hybrid tactics, x-rep partials

Pack On More Muscle: Are You Making This Mistake?

Jonathan doing Smith machine squats - Pack on More Muscle: Are You Making This Mistake?

Q: I’ve made the best gains of my life the past year with X Reps, going from 185 to just under 200 pounds. But my gains have stalled. You talk a lot about muscle adaptation, so I’m wondering if I’ve adapted to X Reps. Should I stop doing them for a while so I can pack on more muscle?

A: Adaptation to training techniques and even bodypart routines can happen in as few as six workouts. If you train a muscle twice a week, that means you can adapt in three to four weeks. We’ve talked about phase training, which is downshifting intensity for one week with sub-failure workouts after four to six weeks of all-out workouts. But sometimes even that’s not enough to kick-start new gains once you resume a high-intensity phase. Usually, you have to mix things up somehow…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: adaption, best exercises, Beyond X, beyond x-rep, Double-X Overload, dxo, fast-twitch, jonathan lawson, mr. olympia, pack on more muscle, ronnie coleman, slow-twitch, stage sets, Steve Holman, X Reps, x spot, x-hybrid

The ultimate change-to-gain tactics for muscle size

Leg presses, bottom

Q: I get confused. Should I try to change exercises at every workout to keep my muscle adapting and growing?

A: The problem is that your body really needs to adapt to a movement pattern over the course of a few workouts before you change exercises—at least that’s the theory… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, 4X, 4x mass method, adaption, boost testosterone, cardio, change to gain, hiit, muscle growth, muscle size, POF, positions of flexion, pyramiding, pyramids, sarcoplasmic expansion, sarcoplasmic fluid, tension-overload repetition quantity, TORQ

Burst Training for Muscle-Mass Gaining

Mike Mentzer in shape outside - Burst Training for Muscle-Mass Gaining

Q: You recently referenced Mike Mentzer, and I’m wondering if you guys have ever trained with his HIT style. One-set-to-failure training seems to work for some people, and I know Mentzer’s training evolved into that after he stopped competing. Have you tried it or something similar?

A: One of Steve’s early influences was Mike Mentzer. He trained with Mike’s Heavy Duty style in his 20s, and even won his first bodybuilding contest using a Positions-of-Flexion version of Heavy Duty that he devised (more on that below)… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d hit, 4X, 4x pof, adaption, arm specialization, burst training, change to gain, contracted, free e-book, gaining, heavy duty, hiit, hit, mass gaining, midrange, mike mentzer, muscle mass, new muscle, physique, POF, pof hit, positions of flexion, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic expansion, specialization, stretch, x arms, x-traordinary arms

Study: Forgotten Muscle-Mass Trigger

J.L. Overhead Extensions (stretch position) - Study: Forgotten Muscle-Mass Trigger

It’s becoming clear that muscle elongation is very important for accelerating hypertrophy to a new level. 

In other words, loaded stretching can provide another layer of freaky size quickly.

An older study that we often reference showing that was performed by Jose Antonio, Ph.D., et al.—and it produced incredible muscle size increases. Here’s what he said about it:  [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: adaption, bird study, Brad Schoenfeld, Dr. Jose Antonio, hypertrophic, hypertrophy, jose antonio, muscle elongation, muscle-mass trigger, stretch overload, stretch position, study, testosterone

The Dumbest Thing You can do if you want Extreme Muscle Mass

Jonathan Lawson squatting - The Dumbest Thing You can do if you want Extreme Muscle Mass

We’re not going to beat around the bush. The dumbest thing you can do if you want extreme mass is to believe there’s only one way to build muscle. You know, a stubborn narrow mind that is set on “this way is the only way.” For example…

Do you train each muscle group with a number of sets once a week? It’s a popular trend in bodybuilding—chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, arms on Wednesday and so on. That can work—for a while. Then you adapt… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10x10, 10x10 mass workout, adaption, biotrust, Brad Schoenfeld, build muscle, change to gain, don't do this, extreme muscle, frequency, high-reps, low reps, muscle gains, muscle mass, positions of flexion, pro-x10, probiotics, protein farts, size gains, speed sets, tempo variation, x-centric mass workout

Shoulder Size—Try This New Pressing Exercise

Steve spotting Jonathan for forced reps on dumbbell shoulder presses

Q: In The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, you identify the Ultimate Exercise for delts as dumbbell upright rows. I’ve always read that overhead presses are best for building massive shoulders. Almost everyone I talk to says to press for delt size. Can you explain your thinking?

A: Our thinking was that any type of overhead press over-emphasizes the front-delt heads. Jonathan has overpowering front delts, so presses hit his side-delt heads even less than most trainees; however, a recent experiment has us revising our thought process somewhat. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, adaption, delts, dumbbell presses, dumbbell upright rows, leverage, p/rr/s, power/rep range/shock, pressing exercise, shoulder presses, shoulder size, shoulders, testosterone, ultimate exercise, upright rows

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