bodyweight training Archives

TORQ Up Your Muscle Size

Q: I’m torn between heavy training and higher reps [TORQ]. I like ending bodyparts with lighter-weight, high-rep sets for longer tension times and more pump, and now I’m hearing that ALL-high-rep workouts are best. I’m almost 30, but I want to grow as fast as possible. Should I try all-high-rep training for a while, or is that more for when I’m older like you guys and can’t train heavy anymore?

A: Hey, we resemble that remark! LOL. The beauty of bodybuilding is that you can try whatever you want. Change is good. Plus, keep in mind that everyone responds to unique training styles differently—you may grow like never before (you’ll see an example below). And, no, you don’t have to be older to start experimenting… [Read more…]

Holy Crap Back—Arnold-esque Muscle Mass

Q: Holy crap! I just bought your Pre-Ex 3X e-book, and Jonathan’s back on the cover looks like Arnold’s. How did he build all that muscle? Did he use pre-ex? I want a back like that. What do I need to do?

A: Jonathan used pre-ex, X Reps, drop sets, and more. We’ve experimented a lot over the years—and of course we subscribe to the change-to-gain mantra: Do something different to trigger new adaptations and extra growth. [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 doing cardio, add 20 to 30 minutes AFTER two of your upper-body workouts each week. That will stimulate your metabolism and fat-burning mechanism.

Notice that those are subtle changes. You want to gradually move toward leanness—nothing drastic. That way you retain and even build muscle as you drop that ugly body fat…

As for your workouts, now is the time to introduce an X-centric set for each bodypart. And we suggest you do that on the last set of each big midrange exercise—squats, pulldowns, rows, bench presses, etc.

X-centric is using a slightly lighter weight than your normal 10-rep weight and raising it in one second and lowering in six on every rep. And it’s an almost magical fat-to-muscle method. Why?

Research shows that lowering slowly throughout the negative stroke causes more micro-trauma in muscle fibers. To repair those microtears, your body uses stored fat for energy.

So you burn off more fat 24/7 as you regenerate and pack on muscle. Nice…

Also, doing a set of seven or eight X-centric reps, at 7 seconds each, gives you a muscle-tension time of almost a minute. That helps expand the sarcoplasm in muscle tissue for new size and fullness, AND it produces intense muscle burn for growth hormone release…

GH is a very potent fat burner. So X-centric training is major acceleration for your body transformation.

NOTE: For more on using X-centric training as well as other methods and tactics to transform your physique from lean to mean, get The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout, HERE.

If you already have the Fat-to-Muscle Workout, get The X-centric Mass Workout for more ways to use this amazing method for dropping fat and packing on serious muscle mass fast HERE.

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

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

Build MASS with bodyweight training

One way you’re guaranteed to pack on stacks of muscle is through a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS), which more than doubles 24 hours after an intense workout…

Until recently, MPS was only elevated when trainees would lift 70-90% of their one-rep max…  

That’s not only dangerous for your joints, but it also sets you up for high injury risk every time you exercise…

It used to be believed that training with your own bodyweight couldn’t get you the same results as training with your 70-90% one rep max… Until NOW.

–> How to build MASS with bodyweight training

Muscle-Firing Frequency for Fat Loss

Q: You’ve said that training each muscle only once a week doesn’t work for most people. But I just got the Fat-to-Muscle Workout (thank you for the sale price!), and both the four-day and three-day workouts train each muscle only once a week. Am I missing something?

A: You’re not missing anything; we’re just insane. Seriously, in the Q&A section of The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout we mention a study on negative-style training and the need it creates for much MORE RECOVERY. That’s the answer… [Read more…]

Feel Your Muscles Grow

Q: Your 4X training is fantastic. It has me growing again, and it’s perfect with 3-way POF. My question is about muscle feel. How important is it to feel your muscles working for size increases? I ask because I have trouble feeling some body parts, like shoulders and chest.

A: We believe it’s EXTREMELY important to feel your muscles working; if you don’t, you may be using other muscle groups to move the weight or simply not innervating enough muscle fibers for a big anabolic response. [Read more…]

First-Set Trick for Muscle Mass

Q: I’m loving your 4X mass method. I’ve been using it for only three weeks, and I already feel bigger and look fuller. The scale says I’ve put on three pounds, but it looks like more than that. I feel pumped all the time. Anyway, I’m wondering if I should do a warmup set before I jump into 4X for an exercise. If not on all 3 exercises in Positions of Flexion, maybe just the first one will do the trick since it’s compound [or midrange], like squats.

A: Keep in mind that with 4X mass training, you’re using the same MODERATE weight from the first set to the last. In most cases you shouldn’t need a warmup set because your first in the sequence is fairly easy—you don’t go to failure… [Read more…]

5 Tips for More Muscle Mass

Q: All the info I’ve read on full-range Positions of Flexion makes total sense. It’s a killer concept, and I’m so psyched to use it. My problem is time. Even though your POF [bodypart] routines are only about six sets, I only have time for half that [maybe 3 sets for each bodypart]. I don’t want to use only the Ultimate Exercise because I see the superiority of training the three positions for total development. Or should I try just the Ultimate Exercise for each muscle and use POF on only certain bodyparts?

A: Using the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart in a program is one way to go. Your idea of using full POF on one or two bodyparts is a good one. Simply add one set of a stretch- and one set of a contracted-position exercise for those two muscle groups. For example, for chest, the Ultimate Exercise is decline presses… [Read more…]

Cover Man Arm Workout

Q: I was going through some old IRON MAN magazines to give to my nephew, and saw Jonathan on the cover of the March ‘09 issue. Unbelievable biceps! I couldn’t find an article on his arm training in that issue, though. What arm workout did he use to build those incredible peaked bi’s?

A: Full, peaked biceps are only possible if you have the genetic propensity to build thick, high bi’s. That’s not to say you can’t do it; you’ll never know till you try—and full-range training will bring out your full muscular potential… [Read more…]

Fast-Mass One-Hit-Wonder Workout

Q: Now that summer is coming to an end soon, my motivation to train is going down. Is there any way I can build muscle going to the gym two or three times a week? Like, is there a program you can recommend with just one exercise per bodypart that will keep me building muscle without taking hours in the gym?

A: We’re all about efficiency-of-effort muscle building, so you’ve come to the right place for fast-mass workouts, and many of our newest programs are just three days a week.

Most of the time, we preach multi-angular training (Positions of Flexion). That is, using a big midrange exercise followed by a stretch-position exercise and ending with a contracted-position move. That ramps up growth stimulation along three different pathways: max force (midrange), stretch overload (stretch), and occlusion/tension (contracted)… [Read more…]

Muscle Mechanics: A New Twist for Awesome Arms

Q: I have learned an incredible amount from your X Arms e-book. My question has to do with emphasizing the biceps heads. You suggest total focus on one head at each workout. Instead, I want to use two sets in each position of flexion, with each set focusing on a different head. For example, for the first exercise (midrange), I’ll do one set of close-grip preacher curls for the outer biceps heads; then follow with one set of wide-grip dumbbell curls for the inner heads. I’ll do that for the stretch-position exercise and the contracted position exercise, using the specific movements in your e-book, one set for each head in each position. I plan to use that biceps routine every arm workout. I’ll use the same two-sets-for-each-position idea for triceps too. What do you think?

A: Let’s see, two sets in each of the three positions of flexion, one set for inner-head emphasis, the second for outer-head emphasis. Interesting. That’s a different strategy from what we outline in X-traordinary Arms, which is to focus on one head of the biceps at one workout, then focus on the other head at the next to build awesome arms. [Read more…]