direct/indirect Archives

Weird Exercise for Massive Tri’s

Q: I was browsing through old training articles on your site and noticed that you guys sometimes include dumbbell pullovers in your triceps routine. What’s up with that?!

A: While the dumbbell pullover is an excellent stretch-position move for the lats in Positions-of-Flexion mass training, it’s also one of the best exercises for the long head of the triceps. That’s the section that really fills out the back of the upper arm and gives it that eye-popping sweep when it’s down by your side or up flexing your peak. [Read more…]

Soreness and Muscle-Size Spikes

Q: First, I gotta say that I’m loving the X-centric Mass Workout. I was struggling to get my weight past 195, but now I’m at 203 and still climbing fast. However, my arms aren’t growing as fast as I’d like. I’ve plateaued at 17 1/4 inches, which isn’t symmetrical with the rest of my body. My chest has expanded, my lats are wider, and my legs are thicker, but all those muscle groups are leaving my arms behind. I’ve noticed that the muscle groups that get sore the next day seem to grow the most. My arms never seem to get sore. Is there a relation between muscle soreness and growth? How do I get my arms to 18 inches or beyond?

A: That’s great progress from an overall muscle-gain standpoint. Unfortunately, we all have stubborn bodyparts, and yours happens to be the one that’s most important to almost every trainee—arms, which we all want BIG to stretch the sleeves of our Ts…. [Read more…]

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…]

Huge Arms: Quick Hits for New Size

Q: I’m using the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout [pages 30-32], so do I only do delts/arms once a week on Wednesday. My arms lag, and I think they need more. I’ve seen you recommend another arm workout on the weekends. I can’t do that, so I’m thinking about adding a biceps and triceps exercise to my Monday and Friday workouts, pushdowns after chest, and concentration curls after back. What do you think?

A: For readers unfamiliar, let’s first outline the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout split and how we use it… [Read more…]

Quick Mass Tip: Double Down to Blow Up BIG

You already know that some type of overload is necessary for growth-fiber thickening. That’s called myofibrillar size.

The strands in the muscle fiber enlarge, giving you bigger muscles. Heavier loads can produce that…

[Read more…]

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…

[Read more…]

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…

[Read more…]

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)…

[Read more…]

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…]