bodybuilding Archives

Blown Away by Before and After Pics

Q: I’m always totally blown away when I see Jonathan’s 10-week Size Surge before and after pics. I want to yell “bullshit,” but I’ve been reading your stuff for so long, I trust you guys. So he really didn’t use any steroids?

A: Okay, one more time: No, absolutely no steroids, GH, or drugs of any kind. Jonathan is natural for life. But keep in mind that he was REGAINING a lot of mass he’d already had—and it’s much easier to put it on the second time around. That’s one reason he added muscle so quickly—20 pounds in 10 weeks…

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Legendary Mass Tactic With a Twist

Q: I really like the 4X mass method with all sets X-centric as a one-workout shocker as you’ve recommended before. You’ve also talked about 10×10, which I’ve made great gains with before, but how about the old 8×8 method that Vince Gironda used to pack muscle on his pupils with.

A: We actually discuss Vince and his 8×8 method in the very first chapter of The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout e-book. It’s a great method, but you need to heed Vince’s advice if you use it…

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Muscle-Morphing Motivation

Q: Help! I train hard for a couple of workouts, and then I start slacking off. I hate that! How do you guys stay motivated to keep pushing?

A: Motivation does ebb and flow, but we’re pretty good at keeping the intensity switched to “on” most of the year. Why? Let’s be honest: It’s mostly vanity. The big reason we work out is to look great when we’re out and about. Nobody likes to be embarrassed when they take off their shirt at the beach or the pool.

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Bodyweight Lies and Muscle Size

Q: I get depressed when I read the bodybuilding magazines I’ve been handed down from my uncle. I’m 19 and weigh 185 with abs, but I see that the pro bodybuilders weigh anywhere from 250 to 280 pounds, and that’s at 3 percent bodyfat. I don’t want to take steroids, but it seems like that’s the only way to get impressive development, right?

A: If you’re looking for us to give you the okay to take drugs, you’re barking up the wrong tree. We love bodybuilding (the lifestyle, not necessarily the competitions); however, resorting to steroids to get an “impressive,” extremely muscular physique is not mandatory. Look at this shot of Jonathan…

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20 to 80 Pounds of Muscle

Q: I did the first [5-week phase] of Jonathan’s 20-pounds-of-muscle-in-10-weeks program [from the 3D Muscle Building e-book] and didn’t get much size from it. I gained about 3 pounds and still feel skinny. Should I go ahead and do the second five weeks of different 3D Positions-of-Flexion workouts? Do you think that by hitting all of the positions [in the Phase 2 workouts] that I will make better gains than with the first part?

A: Full speed ahead—continue with Phase 2 (your gains from Phase 1 are actually darned good; more on that in a moment). By shifting to training each muscle in the midrange, stretch and contracted positions, you should get another more sizeable muscular adaptation (growth jolt).

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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.

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New Size With Full-Body One-Hit Mass Workouts

Q: I’ve been reading about the 4X training and am wondering if you have any advice on how to use it with a full-body three-days-per-week routine. I just started using the 4X method for each bodypart. I do one exercise per muscle. Monday I do chest, shoulders, back, bi’s, tri’s, abs, legs. Wednesday I do the same body parts but in a different order and using different exercises. The same goes for Friday. I take the weekend off. I’m drug-free, so I think I’ve been overtraining till now. I’m hoping that 4X will help spark some new gains.

A: That sounds like a great plan for building more mass. First, skeptical readers need to realize that three-days-per-week programs can do incredible things. We discuss the Colorado Experiment in Size Surge 2.0 and 3D Muscle Building, a four-week research project in which Casey Viator gained 60 pounds of muscle… [Read more…]

The Truth About Getting Stronger to Grow Bigger?

We get the stronger = bigger question a lot—and there’s no question that getting stronger will build some size—note that we said “some.” To clarify, here’s an excerpt from our best-selling e-book The Super-Size Crash Course…

“One of the biggest reasons muscle growth is so slow in most cases is the simplistic myth that strength equals superior size. There’s more to it than that. Trying to move big weights for a few reps does very little for ultimate muscle size. Are you shaking your head? Check this out…

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Before and Afters: Steroid-Using Bastards?

Q: I’ve been a dedicated lifter and eating healthy for over 20 years, and if Jonathan Lawson achieved the huge ripped size he had in those photos at the X-Rep.com Web site drug-free, I’ll eat my shorts. 🙂 Steve Holman maybe would be believable as drug-free, but I’m skeptical there too.

A: We’re not sure which photos you’re referring to, but on the left below are our afters from our first X-Rep year (program we used is in The Ultimate Mass Workout) and on the right is the following year using many X-hybrid techniques (our program and methods are in Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building). We get the steroid accusation a lot—Jonathan especially because of his better bodybuilding genetics—but we’re both drug-free in all of our photos. Get out those shorts and start chewing… [Read more…]

Gain Even More

Q: I’ve been using Jonathan’s Size Surge Workout, and I gained a half-inch on my arms in four weeks. That’s great, but I’m motivated to gain even more in phase 2. Any suggestions to make that most effective for me?

A: You got excellent results in Phase 1, which is a 3-days-per-week program with lots of big, basic moves on an innovative split. The Wednesday deadlift-arms-abs workout is a good metabolic-momentum driver midweek, a nice complement to the more extensive Monday and Friday workouts on which you train quads, hams, chest, back, and delts.

Notice that you get indirect arm work on Monday and Friday with chest, back, and delt work and only one direct arm workout a week. That strategy has put some new size on your guns.

Phase 2 is full-range Positions of Flexion for each bodypart on a two-way split. You train every other day, and each workout is pretty extensive…

At Workout 1, you train quads, hams, calves, chest, and triceps. At Workout 2, you train back, delts, biceps, and abs. You rest the day after each session. While it’s true that Jonathan made excellent gains using that protocol—20 pounds of muscle with Phase 1 followed by that Phase 2 for 10 weeks. However, Jonathan has good recovery ability and better-than-average genetics for bodybuilding…

You may or may not have good recovery ability. That’s why we suggest that when you get to Phase 2, try it as is and see how you feel. If you can tell that each workout is too much for you, use the alternate 3-way split on pages 55-57 in the Size Surge e-book.

Workout 1: Chest, triceps
Workout 2: Legs, abs
Workout 3: Back, delts, biceps

Follow the sequence of workouts over Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. That will give you more recovery time as well as much shorter workouts. In fact, you may be tempted to add a lot of sets. You can add a set or two here and there—like for lagging bodyparts—but don’t get carried away. Each workout should last no longer than an hour.

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

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

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