Charles Poliquin Archives

More Mass with the Front-to-Back Attack

Q: I always hurt my back when I squat heavy. And now I even hurt it doing moderate-weight 4X, probably because of the damage I’ve incurred over the years. You may call it brainwashing, but I really feel that I need to squat to build more mass. Any suggestions? I don’t want to give up squatting.

A: We’re right there with you on that. After years of heavy squatting—and numerous back injuries–we’re now very cautious when doing that exercise. But the good news is that we’ve figured out how to do it while significantly minimizing the injury potential and still gaining more mass… [Read more…]

Slow AND Fast for New Mass

Q: You’ve talked about doing different things on the last set of a 4X sequence, like rest/pause. Are there ways to change the other sets in the sequence for variety? I’m a big fan of “change to gain,” so I like as much variation as I can get. By the way, 4X training is incredible—I’ve gained almost 10 pounds in six weeks using it with POF. Thank you!

A: Yes, change to gain—if your workouts are the same, your results will be lame. (Maybe we should’ve been rappers—Nah.)

We’ve experimented in the past with a unique approach to 4X—but it’s not for the meek. Remember, for 4X you use a weight with which you can get about 15 reps, but you only do 10; rest 40 seconds between sets then do it again. Here’s the hybrid drill:

Set 1: Raise the weight in one second and lower in six, getting around eight reps. That’s what we call an X-centric, or negative-accentuated, set. (Note: That’s almost a minute of time under tension.)

Sets 2 and 3: Use a normal cadence—one-second positives and three-second negatives, going for 10 reps. (40 seconds TUT)

Set 4: Use a speed cadence—about one second for the positive and one second for the negative.Get as many as you can—probably around eight to 10, depending on the exercise. We call this a speed set.

The late Olympic coach and muscle-building expert Charles Poliquin said that the most underused mass stimulus is rep cadence—and the above gives your muscle three different ones to deal with as well as unique tension times—and you use the same weight on all sets…

The X-centric reps on the first set act as an excellent warmup, pushing a lot of blood into the target muscle with a tension time of almost a minute and providing a good stimulus to the nervous system with slow negatives.

They also provide muscle-building benefits right off the bat—you get myofibrillar stimulation with the slow negatives and sarcoplasmic expansion with the long tension time. That’s the double-dose of muscle growth we’re always harping on.

Next you do sets 2 and 3 with a standard cadence—one up and three down. Tension time is around 40 seconds.

Then, on the last set, you do more explosive-style reps, but you still control the weight. The 2-second-reps tempo is speed style and has been shown in studies to activate dormant 2B power fibers, so be prepared for some major fiber churn and burn. Good luck getting 10 reps on this set.

We recommend trying it on just the big midrange movement of a Positions-of-Flexion workout because it can be so traumatic. If you try it on all 3 POF exercises for a muscle, do a 3X sequence for the stretch- and contracted-position moves—only one standard set instead of two. It’s another mass tactic to get you huge.

If you don’t have the 4X Mass Workout yet, you can pick it up for just $9 HERE.

Get the 4X Mass Workout

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

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

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Home-Grown Muscle: The Speed Factor

Q: I’m training at home like everyone else, but I don’t have a lot of weight. In fact, on many exercises, like dumbbell bench presses, the weight is way too light. Is there anything I can do to keep my muscle growth moving forward without going heavier?

A: First, bodybuilding is called “progressive-resistance” training because adding weight and/or reps to your exercises can increase muscle size…

We say “can” because getting stronger does not always mean getting bigger. Strength may also be the result of neuromuscular adaptation—nervous system efficiency—or better coordination/leverage. [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 47: Danny Padilla’s Mass

We featured Danny Padilla back in Zen #19, but after recently running across the gym photo below, we had to include him again. That’s because every time we see it, all we can say is, “Damn!” [Read more…]

Do Any Big Guys Use the 4X Method?

Q: I know Mr. America Doug Brignole uses Super TORQ and has used a version of 4X. Are there any pro bodybuilders who use the 4X method?

A: The really big guys, especially referring to pro bodybuilders, tend to use an abundance of almost anything and everything in their training—because they have, um, “special” supplements to help them recover. That and superior genetics allow them to train rather haphazardly and still grow like crazy (we know, it’s not fair). [Read more…]

Rest Between Sets Confusion

Q: I remember reading in your newsletter not too long ago when you mentioned that the rest time between sets during a [10×10 sequence] should be 20 seconds. In the 10×10 e-book you say to use 30 seconds between sets. Is that a deliberate reduction, and if so, should I reduce my starting weight a little to accommodate the reduced rest?

A: Rest between sets during a 10×10 sequence should be anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds. Vince Gironda, famous Hollywood trainer known as the Iron Guru who trained Larry Scott for his first Mr. Olympia victory, liked to continue to gradually reduce it over many workouts till the trainee was down to only about 10 seconds of rest or less between sets. That doesn’t work for many trainees because of having a training partner… [Read more…]

One Small Change for Big-Arm Gains

Q: I’m in phase 1 of the Size Surge Workout. I like it a lot, but I notice that I’m getting some wrist pain during barbell curls. Should I try a wider or narrower grip for more arm gains without the pain?

A: You’re extremely motivated. How do we know? Because you apparently read the Size Surge e-book up through phase 1 and stopped so you could attack that program. If you would’ve read further, you would’ve seen that Jonathan had the same problem and switched to dumbbell curls in phase 2… [Read more…]

The Next BIG Thing for More Muscle Mass

Q: I just finished a six-week phase using the HIT workout with arm specialization [listed in the X-traordinary Arms e-book]. I made some good mass gains training each exercise with only one all-out set. I used my extra energy to blast my arms with more sets [with full Positions of Flexion] and got amazing gains using the different exercises at each arm workout. They’re looking big and full, and now I’m ready for a new program. Which one do you suggest after that 3D HIT Workout?

A: To clarify, on that 3D HIT Program listed in the X-Arms e-book you do full POF for each bodypart, but only one all-out set in each position. For example, for quads, you do squats (midrange), sissy squats (stretch), and leg extensions (contracted), each getting a warmup set or two and then only ONE mass-kicking set to exhaustion… [Read more…]

Rep Speed on 10×10 Sets

Q: I have two questions. I’m using The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout, one [Ultimate] exercise per muscle. Killer results so far, with 40-minute workouts, but I was wondering what should I use as my rep speed on 10×10 sets? Also, is there anything I can take so I tolerate the burn a little better? I think I could make even faster gains if I could push further past the insane burn to get at more fibers.

A: Our former colleague, the late coach Charles Poliquin, said that one of the most underused get-bigger triggers is rep-tempo change, or cadence manipulation. Since you’re only doing one exercise for each muscle, we suggest you vary the cadence throughout the 10×10 sequence… [Read more…]

Tips for More Muscle Now

Q: I want to thank you both. I’m from Italy, 178 cm tall, and my weight now is 68 Kg (150 pounds). At the beginning of April, my weight was only 62 Kg (136 pounds). My increase in muscular mass, almost 15 pounds, is due to you. Before your training methods, I tried so many others, but with no results. The program that worked is the 10-week Size Surge [that Jonathan used to gain 20 pounds of muscle, listed in 3D Muscle Building]. I’d like to improve my muscle mass to 75 Kg (165 pounds), with a particular emphasis on delts, back, and forearms. I believe forearms are very important. Can you suggest anything to increase my mass? I have most of your e-books, so I can look up any method you suggest.

A: Thank you for the complimentary e-mail. We’re glad you’re making such striking progress with one of our most popular and effective workouts, the 10-week Size Surge program that Jonathan used for his transformation. His progress photos during that mass-building experiment are very motivational. Just seeing his 10-week results can program your mind to help you pack on more muscle now… [Read more…]