Bruce’s anger erupts on his twin cousins as he finds two leftover pieces from the IKEA dresser they just assembled. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 232: Bruce Lee’s Weird Training Method
Not many people know that to practice his fighting skills in real life situations, Bruce Lee would go out to tough areas of town wearing one of his wife’s blouses: “What are you looking at, punk?” [Read more…]
Ultimate Trick to Get You Big and Ripped
Q: Many years ago, I tried negative-only sets on most of my exercises. My partners lifted the heavy weight for me, and I lowered it slowly, six seconds on each of six reps. I got some decent strength gains but not much mass at all. That’s what gives me reservations about your negative-accentuated [or X-centric] technique. Will it build muscle for me even though pure negatives didn’t?
A: The heavy, pure-negative sets that you tried are great for building neuromuscular efficiency—the nerve connections that improve strength. You also get some muscle trauma; however, you lose muscular tension between each rep when your partners lift the weight for you… [Read more…]
Do This 1 Thing to Get Lean (and Build Muscle!)
Q: I’ve been bulking the past few months, and now I need to start cutting since the new year is upon us. I want to get an early start so I have sharp abs by spring. Should I change my workout? I’ve been training mostly heavy but with some 4X added in.
A: Well, the first thing we suggest is cleaning up your diet. No more junk food—if you’ve been scarfing up too much of that, you’ve got too much body fat.
Also, if you haven’t been [Read more…]
Big-and-Ripped Tips: Size Surge, Fat Purge
Q: I’m really stoked about using the Size Surge program. A friend at my gym said he used it last winter and put on 12 pounds of muscle after only 8 weeks. My question is about burning fat while on the program. I don’t want to get fat, but I know I have to eat big to get big. You’ve said that X-centric [or negative-accentuated] sets can help burn more fat. Can I work those in somehow to Size Surge?
A: Absolutely! We try to use X-centric sets throughout the winter to help keep the lean machine revved so abs don’t completely disappear.
In fact, if you’re going to use the original heavy-training version of Size Surge—as opposed to the moderate-weight 4X version we’ve talked about—the X-centric sets will help you burn more fat AND expand the muscle sarcoplasm for extra mass. That’s important because heavy training tends to neglect that important anabolic “layer.” [Read more…]
Mix Muscle Hits to Get Big and Ripped
Q: Thanks for the X-centric Mass Workout! Mixing heavy work, negative-accentuated sets, and 4X has given me the best gains of my life. My bodyweight increased over 5 pounds, but my abs are sharper with veins in the lower part. I’m stoked, and the ladies seem to like it too. LOL! My question is about NA sets vs. negatives at the end of regular sets. After two heavy sets, you say to reduce the weight on the last set for an NA set on the big exercise [like bench presses]. Couldn’t I just keep the weight heavy and add four to six negatives at the end of that last set? I feel like I need another heavy set. I have a partner, so he could lift and I could lower on the negatives. I think Mike Mentzer recommended this style.
A: In his prime, Mentzer actually recommended a 3-phase set to get big and ripped…
[Read more…]