direct/indirect Archives

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…

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Power, Density, Intensity: Combo to Grow

Q: I got your X-centric Mass Workout. Motivating info, and I messed around with some X-centric variations in my last workouts. Enjoying the new muscle soreness. I want to start using the Direct/Indirect X-centric Mass Workout [outlined in that e-book]. It has a standard heavy pyramid on the big exercises, last set X-centric. What do you think of using downward progression 4X instead with the last set X-centric?

A: For those who don’t have the X-centric Mass Workout e-book, the workout being referred to is Positions of Flexion, with a pyramid + X-centric set on the midrange exercise, a straight set or two on the stretch move, and a 4X sequence on the contracted-position exercise.

For example, for middle-lower chest it’s…

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Get More Muscle Detail

Q: I’ve been on one your four-days-a-week Heavy/Light Program, and I’ve put on lots of size. I’m big, but I’m not ripped. I’m ready to get cut, so should I just stay on that program and add cardio? I’d like to try something new, but I don’t want to lose size. I just want to add more muscle detail.

A: First, you need to clean up your diet. If you don’t have a fast metabolism, which it sounds like you don’t, you’ll also need to start doing some cardio if you want to see more muscle detail; however, if you’ve been following our newsletters for a while, you know there are ways you can change your weight workout so that you burn more fat during recovery (and you won’t need as much cardio)…

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5-Minute Blasts for Fast Arm Mass

Q: Help! I need more arm mass, and I’m hoping to add about an inch quickly. I’m using the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout [pages 30-32]. It has only one direct arm workout a week [on Wednesday with delts]. Can I add some extra arm work on Friday when I train chest and back again?

A: Absolutely, but you don’t want to do full arm workouts on Friday’s chest/back day. Instead, we’ve found a couple of quick-hit two-move combos that will do the trick to get your arm mass up so they’ll be looking huge and thick. [Read more…]

Arm Bomb to Get Your Freak On

Q: I’ve been using the POF Direct/Indirect Mass Workout in the 4X 2.0 e-book. Doing great! I’m loving it and I feel much bigger already. But my arms are my weakest muscle groups, so I’m thinking about doing a second arm workout on Saturday. That would have me training five days a week instead of four. Is that okay?

A: That’s a great program—and because you’re using moderate-weight, growth-threshold training, you can tolerate more frequent work for most bodyparts; however… [Read more…]

Best Way to Build Muscle After Years of High-Intensity Training

Q: I have the 4X Mass Workout e-book, and I’m convinced it’s the best way for me to build muscle now after years of high-intensity training. I’m ready to start, but I want to include some negative-accentuated (NA) sets for better fat burning. I have both the X-centric Mass Workout and the Fat-to-Muscle Workout [which both include NA]. Lots of good info and workouts, but nothing that really merges 4X and NA the way I want. I need to add NA sets to the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout. How?

A: Keep in mind that negative-accentuated sets are very traumatic and can require more recovery. With the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout, most upper-body muscles are getting THREE hits a week, be they major or minor. That’s already a lot of muscular trauma. But you’re right: Adding an appropriate dose of NA work—one second on the positive and six seconds on the negative—without overtraining, can stimulate more fat burning on a couple of levels… [Read more…]

Workout Change for Major Muscle Gains

Q: I really like the Direct/Indirect Split in the 4X Mass Workout e-book. My problem is I can’t work out on Wednesdays—only Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. If I put that split over those days, the Thursday and Friday workouts have too much crossover. The same muscles are getting trained on both days back to back. Is there a workout change I can use as a solution? I really want to use the Direct/Indirect schedule so I can hit my muscles multiple times a week to build more mass.

A: First, let’s look at the setup you can’t use, the direct/indirect split in the 4X e-book… [Read more…]

Direct/Indirect Training Split: Upper Pec Specialization

Q: The direct/indirect training split is awesome! I think my muscles have always needed more hits per week, but I followed the pros and trained each muscle only once a week. That never worked for me. The direct/indirect training split [in The 4X Mass Workout e-book] has already added new muscle to my arms and shoulders and back. My one problem area is upper chest. I’ve moved upper chest work to the front of my direct pec program. That’s helped some, but on indirect, day when I train triceps, close-grip bench presses are the indirect chest exercise. They don’t hit my upper chest, so should I do close-grip incline presses instead on triceps day?

A: Hmm, close-grip incline presses might be a solution, although we’ve never been huge fans of close grip on inclines. They can be hard on the shoulder joints. Experiment using a light poundage to see if you feel your upper chest kick in on those. There’s another solution supported by recent research that we have tried… [Read more…]

The Forgotten Muscle-Size Trick

Q: You guys don’t seem to like training each muscle only once a week like a lot of pro bodybuilders. How come?

A: More muscle-training frequency is a BIG size stimulator, especially for drug-free trainees—if you do it correctly. Many pros can get away with training each bodypart with excessive volume only once a week because of genetic superiority and, of course, excessive drug use. In fact, if you look back at the best bodybuilders of yesteryear, when steroid use was minimal, training each bodypart THREE times a week was the norm prior to a contest. It’s a bit of a forgotten muscle-size trick… [Read more…]

Quick-Start Muscle Attack

Q: I just finished 8 weeks on your beginning program [in the Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide]. What muscle attack should I do next?

A: After the beginning programs in the Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide, try the workout on pages 21-23 of The X-centric Mass Workout. You will still be doing a big midrange exercise and a more isolated contracted-position exercise for each muscle, as you are now, but you’ll use more volume and specific mass-building variations (power + density)… [Read more…]