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TORQ-ing Up Your Mass F/X Workout

Q: I’ve recently had to cut back my workouts to three days a week and was looking back through many of the X-Rep e-books. I came across the Mass F/X program in 3D Muscle Building that looks fantastic. Just what I’m looking for. But I would like to use TORQ instead of the drop sets and rest/pause on tension-time days. Will that be too much work?

A: Tension-Overload Repetition Quantity is one of the best DENSITY training techniques we’ve found for blowing up the muscle with new sarcoplasmic size… [Read more…]

Sets, Reps, and Muscle-Size Success

Q: I have a 4X question. Let’s use incline dumbbell presses as an example. I do the first 3 sets of 10 reps with 60 pounds. On the 3rd set, I hit the 10th rep, but it isn’t easy. After 30 seconds rest I do my 4th set, but I can only get 5 or 6 reps. Is it better to keep pushing with the 60s until I hit 10 reps on all 4 sets, or should I drop the weight to 55 pounds for all 4 sets, increase the reps to 12 and try that for a few weeks? Any thoughts?

A: We prefer 10,10,10,6, striving to get more reps on that last set at each workout. For most muscle groups, 10 reps seems to be ideal for getting BOTH power and density size effects in the key 2A growth fibers. But there is a place for 4×12 sequences, as you’ll see… [Read more…]

On Your Mark, Add Sets, GROW!

Q: I’m testing your 4X variations [Shock-centric, 4X Pyramid, etc. from one of your recent newsletters]. Great stuff! Isn’t another way to get more mass simply to add sets by increasing the volume to 5X or more on any exercise?

A: Yes, volume increases, as in tacking on sets to 4X so you’re doing 5X or 6X, can boost mass gains—to a point. It’s a lot like tanning: To get darker, you can increase exposure time. The problem is diminishing returns… [Read more…]

All-10×10 Program: Good or Bad?

Q: You have an all-10×10 program in your e-book [The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout], but I’ve heard that you don’t think total 10×10 routines are that great. I wanted to try it, but now I’m not so sure. Do you still believe that the all-10×10 program is not good?

A: For those unfamiliar with it, 10×10 is taking a weight you can get about 20 reps with, but only doing 10. You rest for 30 seconds, then do 10 more and so on until you complete 10 sets of 10 reps. The first sets are a breeze; the last ones are brutal and create an insane pump and burn.

The beauty of 10×10 is that you do it on one exercise per bodypart, so a muscle is cooked to the bone in about 10 minutes. The problem with the all-10x1o program is that it’s pure DENSITY…

As we’ve said, the dominant fiber type in the biggest bodybuilders is the DUAL-component type-2As. They have both a power and density, or endurance, component. That means you need BOTH power and endurance to build the most muscle size. With 10×10 you’re getting almost pure density. But that can be a good thing…

Total 10×10 training is great if you’ve been doing a program dominated by power-oriented sets—as most bodybuilders do. The majority neglect density almost completely because they are brainwashed into believing that heavy weights build the most muscle. Even we’ve fallen into that trap before. That’s why when we first tried an all-10×10 program, we each packed on more than 5 pounds of muscle. We thought we’d found the Holy Grail of muscle building…

However, gains quickly subsided and began to regress—because now we had been neglecting the POWER component. The moral is that if you use a total-10×10 program like the first program outlined in The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout with only the ultimate exercise for each muscle, use it for only 3 to 4 weeks (our gains began to regress after week 4). Then go back to a balanced attack or even a power-oriented workout.

A good, balanced attack is the Heavy/Light 10×10 Mass Workout later in the 10×10 e-book. On that one, you do a heavy, straight-set POF workout for a muscle—power—then the next time you train it, you do only the big exercise for 10×10—a total 10-minute density mass blitz. Balanced power/density for major muscle immensity!

Jonathan Lawson outside - All 10x10 Program: Good or Bad?

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

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

Boost Testosterone…
With Cardio?!

If you want to build muscle (of course you do!) and ramp up your testosterone levels while burning a ton of fat at the same time, you need to try this workout if you haven’t already…

–> Use this cutting-edge cardio trick to boost testosterone and muscle growth
Note: This is NOT traditional HIIT or boring steady-state cardio

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…

[Read more…]

Best Muscle-Growth Method for You

Q: I just started using the 4X methods. Great stuff. Loving the pumps, but I’m wondering if 4X is better for maximum muscle size or Downward-Progression 4X [adding weight each set so reps fall—12,10,8,6] – what’s the best muscle-growth method for me?

A: Both methods provide a powerful hypertrophic Density effect. That’s because you rest only 35 to 45 seconds between sets. That gets you to the critical growth threshold quickly… [Read more…]

Blood Theory, Tension Time, and Extreme Muscle Size

Q: I was reading in one of my IRON MAN back issues about the “Blood Theory” of muscle growth. Can you explain it and tell me how to take advantage of it to grow?

A: Way back in the 1970s, an Iron Man author named Dennis DuBreuil explained his Blood Theory….

Basically, he said that there is a direct relationship between how well a muscle pumps and how well it grows… [Read more…]

Muscle Tension, Fiber Trauma, and Extreme Hypertrophy

Q: I’ve read that I should always train my heavy exercise first—bench press, squats, etc. Then go to a more isolated one. If I use an isolation exercise first like concentration curls for variety and new stimulation, should I still train it heavy?

A: You can, but you don’t have to train it heavy (more on that in a moment). “Always” doing workouts a certain way is the road to stagnation and slower gains for most; however, you should make an effort to get the key mass triggers… [Read more…]

Drop the Get-Big Bomb (Muscle Mayhem Method)

Q: I like to train heavy, but I fully understand that tension time, or density, can build size as well. My question is, won’t drop sets accomplish both?

A: The drop-set method is one of the best for getting size in the myofibrils as well as a hypertrophic sarcoplasmic burst. And even new veinage too… [Read more…]