X-REP.COM

Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation

Steve: Chest, Back, Abs + Arms/Calves

(Pre-Ex 3X, Stretch Overload)

I experimented with a modified pre-exhaustion method on Friday–high-rep isolation exercise, rest 30 seconds, then do a heavier (10 reps) compound move. It worked so well, I’m keeping it going this week. It’s basically a form of the slow-twitch-fatigue method used in the Brazilian study we discuss and incorporate into the programs in the new MMX e-book. Here’s my modified pre-ex attack for chest and back…

Chest: Machine flyes (3×22,16,12) rest 30 sec. ss with Elbows-flared machine dips (3×10,8,7); Low-incline flyes (2×12,9); Flat flyes (1×9 + StatX)
Back: Bent-arm bent-over laterals (20,15,12) rest 30 sec. ss Machine rows (3×10,8,7); Stiff-arm pulldowns (2×20,15) rest 30 sec. ss Pulldowns (2×11,9); Lateral-shrugs (22,16) rest 30 sec. ss DB upright rows (2×11,9 + X Reps)
Arms: DB pullovers (2×11,9) ss Seated DB curls (2×11,9); Lying DB extensions (1×9) ss Seated hammer curls (1×10)
Abs: Planks (1x60sec., 1x45sec.) ss Low-incline kneeups (2×9,6)
Calves: Machine leg press calf raises (1×20 R/P 15 R/P 9 R/P 7 + StatX)
Note: My current program is based on methods in the new e-book MMX Fast Mega-Mass Workouts–the Max-Muscle X-pansion System.

Summary: I’m really sold on this Pre-Ex method–high-rep iso, rest 30 seconds, heavy compound. The feel is unreal, at least for now (it’s new). The only problem is that for some muscles you have to use two pieces of equipment. For example, for chest today I did Machine flyes for high reps, then I had to walk over to the dip machine as I rested for 30 seconds and hit a heavy set there after the rest. I left my towel on the flye machine so no one would steal it. Thievery isn’t a problem with lats–Stiff-arm pulldowns/Pulldowns–or traps–Lateral-shrugs/DB upright rows. It’s a great method for zeroing in on each muscle–modified pre-ex is definitely a targeted attack to get jacked.
Diet, Supplements & Nutrient Timing: For meal-by-meal diets plus training and nutrition info, see the X-treme Lean e-book.

Steve: Delts, Arms + Calves/Abs

Sipping my pre-workout coffee, I had an epiphany–that means an enlightened idea (not a stroke). I decided to use the findings of the Brazilian study we discuss in our new MMX e-book with a pre-exhaustion twist. I used a continuous-tension isolation move first for 20 to 30 reps, rested 30 seconds, then did a heavier compound move. For example, Seated laterals (light) and Seated DB presses (heavy), 30 seconds between sets, as in the study for slow-twitch fiber fatigue to activate more fast-twitch growth fibers on the second heavier exercise. After three rounds of that, I ended with two to three sets of a fairly heavy stretch exercise. Quick, ultimate-pump POF workout…

Delts: Seated laterals (3×22,16,12) modified ss with Seated DB presses (3×10,8,7 + X Reps); Incline one-arm laterals (3×10,8,7 + StatX)
Triceps: Lying DB extensions (3×20,15,11) modified ss with Close-grip DB bench presses (3×9,8,6); Overhead DB extensions (2×10,8)
Biceps: Bent-over close-grip cable curls (3×23,18,15) modified ss with Undergrip cable rows (3×12,10,9); Incline curls (2×10,8)
Tri’s/Bi’s/Brachialis: DB pullovers (2×12,9) ss Hammer curls (2×10,8)
Forearms: DB wrist curls (2×17,14) ss Reverse DB wrist curls (2×15,10)
Calves/Abs: Machine leg press calf raises (1×20(12)(8)–Rest/Pause); Machine crunches (1×15(8)(5)–Rest/Pause)
Note: My current program is based on methods in the new e-book MMX Fast Mega-Mass Workouts–the Max-Muscle X-pansion System.

Summary: The modified Pre-Ex–30 seconds between isolation and compound moves with high reps on the iso–was a great change to gain. Pump was big and target-muscle ache was so fierce that the ending stretch-overload exercise didn’t require as much weight to feel heavy. Remember, a muscle doesn’t know what weight you’re lifting; it just recruits as many fibers as possible to move it. The fatigue from the initial Pre-Ex rounds hammered the target muscle so that the stretch-overload sets were not dangerously heavy but still force max-fiber recruitment. Loved this method.
Diet, Supplements & Nutrient Timing: For meal-by-meal diets plus training and nutrition info, see the X-treme Lean e-book.

The Best Exercise for XL Triceps Size

Q: I’ve learned a lot from the X-traordinary Arms e-book I received with Anabolic After-40; however, I’m a hardgainer with limited recovery ability, so I’m looking for the single best exercise for triceps, one that hits all three heads. I also have your Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, in which you discuss the single best exercise for each bodypart. For triceps you list close-grip decline bench presses, but those don’t work for me. I just don’t feel my triceps. Any other suggestions?

A: Usually when someone doesn’t feel an exercise it’s because another muscle group is taking more of the stress, like chest and delts on close-grip bench presses. Also, neuromuscular efficiency may be deficient in the target muscle—your triceps are low in nerve-to-muscle connections. [Read more…]