It was summer 1975, and Arnold was Mr. Olympia, bodybuilding’s top dog. The muscle world was captivated by the awesome Austrian, and for good reason…
[Read more…]Power, Density, Intensity: Combo to Grow
Q: I got your X-centric Mass Workout. Motivating info, and I messed around with some X-centric variations in my last workouts. Enjoying the new muscle soreness. I want to start using the Direct/Indirect X-centric Mass Workout [outlined in that e-book]. It has a standard heavy pyramid on the big exercises, last set X-centric. What do you think of using downward progression 4X instead with the last set X-centric?
A: For those who don’t have the X-centric Mass Workout e-book, the workout being referred to is Positions of Flexion, with a pyramid + X-centric set on the midrange exercise, a straight set or two on the stretch move, and a 4X sequence on the contracted-position exercise.
For example, for middle-lower chest it’s…
[Read more…]High Reps, Supersets, and Super-Size Success (un-TORQ-ing-believable)
Q: I just started the first workouts from The Ultimate Super-Size Crash Course after reading yesterday’s newsletter. First
A: Don’t be a wuss; grit your teeth and tough it out, Gertrude. LOL! Seriously, higher-rep supersets could work, but there are two glitches that might prevent full-on success…
[Read more…]Indirect Muscle Mass Effect: Boost Your T for Hypertrophy
Q: I’ve been reading that testosterone is the key muscle-building hormone, so what is the best way to get it up?
A: “Get it up?”
Step Back to Move Your Muscle Mass Forward
Q: I’m super impressed! I’ve been on the Size Surge workout for four weeks, and I’ve gained 7 pounds. My shirts are tighter with no increase in my waist, so it seems to be all muscle. The program calls for a back-off, or low-intensity, week between the two training phases. Is that really necessary, or can I go right into Phase 2? I don’t want to lose any mass. Any time I’ve taken a week off or even reduced my training, I’ve gotten smaller.
A: No, do not go right into Phase 2. The back-off week (#6) between the two phases has a definite purpose. It will allow your nervous system to recharge and your muscles to completely recover so you can push into the next phase with more intensity. And during that downshift week, you should get bigger, not smaller, despite what you thought you experienced in the past. Here is what hypertrophy researcher Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., says about the process… [Read more…]
Testo-Jack, Hyper-Hypertrophy Workout
Q: I’ve been reading that testosterone is the key muscle-building hormone. Does the hormone boost come from intensity, more reps or what?
A: Arthur Jones, creator of Nautilus machines and the overseer of the Colorado Experiment that saw Casey Viator gain 60 pounds of muscle in only 4 weeks, always said that training legs hard can have a big “indirect muscle-building effect.”
What that means is that you could train your legs hard and see size gains in other muscles, such as [Read more…]
Full Inch of New Arm Muscle in 3 Weeks
Q: You guys are awesome! Anabolic Reload put a half-inch on my arms in less than a month. My arms have always lagged, so I’m blown away. I hit each muscle twice a week with about 12 sets. I didn’t want to reduce my sets on all, so I just did [STX] for arms. I started with the high-rep set followed by a heavy set, then I added a rest/pause every arm workout like the program says. My sleeves got tight almost immediately. Just want to thank you for getting my puny arms up bigger than they’ve ever been. I plan on trying this for each muscle through the winter. [Read more…]
Overtraining Test
Q: You’ve mentioned that the Anabolic Reload workouts are particularly effective at priming fast muscle growth if you’re overtrained. But how do I know if I’m overtrained? Is there any sort of “overtraining test?”
A: If you’ve been training fairly hard and heavy consistently for at least two months, we can almost guarantee you’re overtrained…
The Anabolic Reload workouts are designed to provide an optimal dose of muscle-fiber activation, slow-twitch and fast-twitch, with moderate weights and brief workouts.… [Read more…]
Freaky new muscle size after only 1 workout?
Q: I’ve been training hard 5 days a week for almost a year. I decided to try the Anabolic Reload Mass Workout, and after the weekend off and then only 1 workout, I swear I look bigger with new muscle size. Is it my imagination? With this workout I’m doing less volume, but I am using the high-to-low STX method with a slower negative, 1/3 tempo, on ever rep. I’m more sore than I’ve been in a while, but is it really possible that I’m bigger already?
A: It’s not only possible, it’s very probably — reality and NOT your imagination because of a few things that are happening to induce new, immediate hypertrophy… [Read more…]
One Quick Tip to Pack on Muscle Mass Fast (it hurts, but it works!)
Q: I just got the Size Surge 2.0 e-book (thanks for the great price). It’s excellent, but you don’t mention X Reps much. I know you said when Jonathan got his great results with the original Size Surge program, you hadn’t developed X-es yet. I’ve built a lot of mass with that technique, so should I include X Reps in either phase?
A: For the uninitiated, X Reps are short eight-inch partials at the end of a full-range set. We’ll give you an alternate end-of-set mass move in a moment, but first, here’s a quick explanation of X Reps… [Read more…]