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Try These 3 Wicked Mass Tactics for New Size Now

Overhead close-up of front squat

Q: I like the idea of training quads by doing front squats supersetted with back squats. My quads get almost a pre-ex effect from the strict fronts, then my glutes get better leverage on the backs to drive my quads for more growth. But I’m not very strong on fronts and can get a lot of reps when I immediately go to back squats after. Should I just do high reps on the back squats—say 6 on the fronts and 12-15 on the backs?

A: Definitely an option—if you don’t get too breathless. When training quads with higher reps, the lungs often fail before the target muscles. That’s a problem, to a degree…

You do want the breathlessness, as that’s hypoxia that can boost metabolic/anabolic drive for new size. Here are a few other options…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic drive, back squats, belly fat burn, Beyond X, beyond x-rep muscle building, dxo, fat loss, front squats, glutes, hormone trick, hypoxia, leg workout, legs workout, mass tactics, metabolic drive, new size, physique, quads, slow negatives, stage sets, x-centric

Stretch to Etch Slashing Muscle Detail

Lawson incline flye stretch

Q: I’m trying to get that crisp division between my pecs. I want to be able to see the inner part of my chest muscles from the lower part all the way up to the collarbone. I do lots of cable crossovers, but I’m only seeing a bit of detail in my lower chest. Any suggestions?

A: One problem may be fat in the area. A bit of adipose covering the pecs will blur or negate any detail. You need to be fairly lean to see the chest-muscle division (cleavage) from top to bottom.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Beyond X, beyond x-rep, beyond x-rep muscle building, biotrust, blood flow blockage, cable crossovers, chest, chest detail, chest exercises, chest workout, dumbbell flyes, dxo, free protein, Jacob Wilson, low-carb protein, muscle detail, occlusion, pecs, static contraction, static hold, stats, stretch, stretch overload, stretch to etch, X Reps, x-hybrid techniques, x-rep partials, x-rep update

Changes at Every Workout?

Q: I remember from your old daily training blog (which I really miss) that you guys would make changes at every workout (or at least it seemed like it). Should I be doing that, or should I stick to a routine as it’s written for six weeks, then try something new? You’ve also mentioned things like “X-Fade” and “DXO” after some exercises. Do you have an e-book that explains those?

A: The frequency of change your muscles require to keep growing depends on your experience. Beginners and early intermediates don’t need change very often because they’re getting stronger as neuromuscular efficiency, or nerve force, improves. That helps to keep the muscle-growth process moving forward, so changing things every six weeks is about right.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: advanced, beginners, belly fat burn, Beyond X, beyond x-rep muscle building, change to gain, changes at every workout, dieting advice, Double-X Overload, dxo, fat loss, fiber activation, intermediate, lose weight, max-force generation, muscle growth, nerve force, neuromuscular efficiency, ripping phase, small change for big gains, training blog, X-Fade, x-hybrid techniques, x-rep experiment, 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

Photos and Freakiness

Q: I saw your before and after photos from your first X-Rep year contrasted with the following year when you gained 10 more pounds of muscle [with X-hybrid techniques]. Personally, I don’t think you look better. You both look bigger, but I think your physiques are more impressive the X-Rep year.

A: Well, that’s not a question, but it’s a relevant opinion—bigger is not necessarily better. In Jonathan’s case, you are seeing his most-muscular pose, and when you gain more muscle, your physique can look more “crowded” in that pose. You could argue that his muscles are starting to look too big for his frame. Steve, on the other hand, is in a semi-relaxed pose in the X-Rep photo, and a twisting ab shot in his Beyond-X photo. He looks considerably bigger in the “after” photo, but it’s a different pose, which makes it difficult to judge.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: aesthetics, before and after photos, Beyond X, beyond x-rep muscle building, bodybuilding, freak physique, intensity techniques, more muscle, muscular, photos, physique, sleek physique, superhero physique, Ultimate Mass Workout, X Reps, x-hybrid, x-hybrid tactics, x-hybrid techniques, x-rep routine

2 Quick Ways to Jack Up Muscle Gains

Steve Holman forced rep on preacher curls, Jonathan Lawson spotting - 2 Quick Ways to Jack Up Muscle Gains

Q: I’m reading the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book, and I noticed that you have a section on X-centric training. But it’s not the same as what you describe in my X-centric Mass Workout e-book. Is one better than the other?

A: X-centric is our X-Rep vernacular for eccentric, which is the negative stroke of an exercise; that is, the lowering of a weight, like the downward portion of a bench press. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: belly fat burn, Beyond X, beyond x-rep muscle building, eccentric, fat burning, mass building, max-force point, microtrauma, muscle size, myofibrillar expansion, myofibrils, pure negatives, sarcoplasm, tension time, X Reps, x-centric, x-centric mass workout, x-rep partials, x/pause

Last-Set Roulette for new Freak on Your Physique

JL Speed Curls - Last-Set Roulette for new Freak on Your Physique

Many bodybuilders embrace our change-to-gain hypertrophy concept. They just aren’t exactly sure how to apply it. 

Do they change exercises, change intensity methods, or what?

Well, there’s a way to jack some major growth at every workout, and it’s simple to apply on only one set. We call it Last-Set Roulette. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic reload, Beyond X, beyond x-rep, biceps, cable curls, curls, dxo, freak physique, hypertrophy, last-set roulette, physique, speed reps, X Reps, x-celeration, x-centric, x-only

Stretch Overload: Your Mass Gains Will Explode

Dumbbell pullovers/stretch - Stretch Overload: Your Mass Gains Will Explode

Q: You’ve mentioned an animal study that produced a 300 percent muscle mass increase after only a month of stretch workouts. That’s truly incredible. Is there more info? How do I duplicate those stretch procedures in my workouts to get that kind of muscle growth?

A: We refer to that animal study by Antonio and Gonyea in many of our X-Rep e-books, but the most extensive analysis was in X-Rep Update #1. Here’s a quote from Jose Antonio, Ph.D., from that e-book: [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic hormones, anabolic receptors, animal study, Beyond X, beyond x-rep, beyond x-rep muscle building, bird study, Double-X Overload, Dr. Jose Antonio, dxo, freak physique, gonyea, heavy stretch, hypertrophy, igf-1, mass gains, muscle growth, muscle mass, myotatic reflex, POF, positions of flexion, progressive overload, sos, stretch overload, stretch position, stretch pulses, stretch workouts, testosterone, tom platz, x update, x-rep update

One Key Change for Fast Size Gains

Jonathan Lawson dumbbell incline flyes - One Key Change for Fast Size Gains

Q: I’ve been using the X Fade and Double-X Overload techniques from the Beyond X e-book, and I’ve gained six pounds in one month. My previous workouts were always heavy training, so I’m wondering if maybe I added so much muscle with those methods because they’re giving me some density I’ve been missing. They both make my sets last longer. Could that be it?

A: That’s a distinct possibility, although there’s more to it, as you’ll see. But as you suggest, most wanna-be-big bodybuilders rely almost predominantly on heavier, lower-rep training, and their sets last only 20 seconds or less (time your sets; you will be surprised!). That’s a mistake if you want maximum mass and fast size gains…

A set of 20 seconds or less is power emphasis—but you need BOTH power and density to get TOTAL growth in the majority of the muscle fibers. With those two X-hybrid tactics, X Fade and DXO, you definitely have been X-tending your sets—more so with DXO, which we really like on stretch-position exercises like flyes…

Jonathan Lawson dumbbell incline flyes - One Key Change for Fast Size Gains

DXO: This is simply adding an X-Rep partial near the stretch position between EVERY full rep—so each of your reps is really a 1 1/4 rep. The “hitch” at the bottom between each full rep emphasizes stretch overload, which has been shown to induce everything from hyperplasia, or fiber splitting, to anabolic hormone release in muscle tissue. Plus, as you noticed, it puts more of a mass-building density spin on the set as well…

If you do 9 reps in DXO style, your set will last more than 30 seconds. Now you’re getting into density territory for adding size to that side of the key type 2A mass fibers. That’s a great get-bigger trigger, especially if you’ve been using mostly power sets. Your six-pound muscle gain in one month is no doubt due to a combination of density and heightened fiber activation. You get both of those with DXO—and the X-Fade technique…

X Fade: With this X-hybrid tactic you do a standard set of, say, cable flyes, a contracted-position exercise in the Positions-of-Flexion mass-building protocol. When you hit full-range exhaustion, where most bodybuilders end the set, you get the cable handles back up to the contracted position—a partner can help—and do three to five short partials there, flexing the target muscle…

Cable flyes, top position - One Key Change for Fast Size Gains

Then you lower to the stretch position and do standard X-Rep partials there. If you can’t manage any movement at either position, just hold for a static pec contraction for a few seconds at each spot—top flexed and bottom stretched. Key growth fibers will still be firing and you should wake up some dormant ones as well for new size stimulation—you’ll feel it…

Cable flyes, bottom position - One Key Change for Fast Size Gains

Doing end-of-set X-Rep partials at BOTH the top and bottom of the stroke with the X Fade will add maybe six to eight seconds to your tension time. Nevertheless, both DXO and the X-Fade tactic are excellent ways to get more density training, activate more growth fibers to fire and give you excellent change to fuel fast size gains.

Note: For more info on all the X-hybrid Training Tactics, check out the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book below: 
Beyond X-Rep cover

Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.

—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com


ATTENTION OVER-40 BODYBUILDERS

One of the most interesting read-me pages on Testosterone and other muscle-building hormones we’ve seen is The Truth About Testosterone.

It even talks about a fruit, a specific part, that can up your T naturally. Cranking up your testosterone will not only get you jacked in the gym, but in the bedroom too—not to mention help rip up your midsection as it ignites fat burning. If that interests you, there’s more from our colleague and registered dietician, HERE.

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, anabolic hormones, Beyond X, beyond x-rep, density, Double-X Overload, dxo, end-of-set x-rep partials, fast size gains, fiber splittying, growth fibers, hyperplasia, mas-building, maximum mass, muscle fibers, positions of flexion, Power, power and density, size stimulation, stretch overload, X-Fade, x-hybrid tactics, x-rep partial

What Are Stage Sets? (Hint: They Work!)

Jonathan Lawson incline Smith machine presses with Steve Holman Spotting - What Are Stage Sets? (Hint: They Work!)

Q: I read in one of your previous articles where you mentioned that you sometimes do Stage Sets. What are Stage Sets, and is that a good mass technique for me?

A: Many years ago, even before we developed X-Rep partials, we noticed that every time we introduced Stage Sets to our workouts, we got sudden muscularity and vascularity increases—and now we know why: The technique is essentially a unique type of X overload—an intense out-of-the-blocks blast right at the max-force point where the target muscle is semi-stretched, like near the bottom of an incline press… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Beyond X, beyond x-rep, bodybuilders, ifbb pro bodybuilders, Jay Cutler, mass building, mass techniques, mr. olympia, muscle-building, partials, pro bodybuilders, ronnie coleman, semi-stretch, stage sets, what are stage sets, x overload, x-rep partials

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