Double-X Overload Archives

Double-X Overload Everything

Q: I have almost all of your e-books. They’re all great, and I reread them often for motivation and ideas. Right now I’m on The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout. Can I Double-X Overload everything stretch-related in that program? It seems like that would produce even more muscle microtrauma similar to the negative-accentuated sets on the big exercises. That should speed up my fat loss and muscle gains, right?

A: If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day; if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime. What does that have to do with your question? We’re just glad to see you taking techniques from our other e-books and applying them to your current workout. You’re learning how to “fish”—grasping the mass-building concepts and applying them when and where appropriate… [Read more…]

Double-X Overload Warmups?

Q: I’m making some incredible progress using your Double-X Overload technique, but I wanted to let you know that I don’t just use it on my work sets. DXO works for warmup sets, too. I usually use it on at least one of my two warmup sets for the big [midrange] exercises, and I feel much stronger on my work sets. Great technique!

A: That’s a good tip. We love feedback from fellow weight trainers who think instead of just following the pack. One reason Double-X Overload (DXO) works so well on warmup sets is because of the enhanced occlusion and nervous system activation.

For those unfamiliar with DXO, it’s an X-Rep partial in the semi-stretch position between each full rep. That provides a slightly more explosive action, which has been shown to heighten nerve force (many top-level powerlifters do light, explosive sets for that very reason—it helps them lift more weight). [Read more…]

The Perfect Rest Time for Packing on Muscle Mass

Q: I’m an avid reader of your e-books as well as your website. I’ve been experimenting recently with a heavy set to failure (approximately 10 reps), adding X-Rep partials to the end. Then I do a second X-Only set, often with added weight. This is an excellent trigger for growth, especially if you warm up using the DXO [Double-X Overload] technique. On the warmup set, I do anywhere from four to five X Reps between [full-range] reps, and the burn is incredible! That [combination] has had such a strong effect on my body, that I now have some stretch marks appearing. I’m definitely getting much more muscular while dropping fat. Another thing I’ve been experimenting with is shortening the stroke of X Reps, to the point where I’m almost doing a static hold. I just pulse out very small partial reps. Which brings me to static holds. Research shows subjects adding a few pounds of muscle after only one workout, but that workout was followed by two weeks of rest. Surely two weeks off between workouts is ridiculous. I was wondering how you stand on recovery time and static holds?

A: Thanks for the feedback and your confidence in our methods. We discuss a lot of what you’re discovering and experimenting with in our X-Rep Update #1 e-book. Former Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler used a lot of X-Only sets, as we discuss in Chapter 5, Mr. O’s Wild X-O Workouts. Notice Cutler’s short stroke on this exercise…

[Read more…]

DXO Works on Warmup Sets Too

Q: I’m making some incredible progress using your Double-X Overload technique, but I wanted to let you know that I don’t just use it on my work sets. DXO works for warmup sets, too. I usually use it on at least one of my two warmup sets for the big [midrange] exercises. I feel much stronger on my work sets. Great technique!

A: That’s a good tip. We love feedback from fellow weight trainers who think instead of just following the pack. One reason DXO works so well on warmup sets is because of the enhanced occlusion and nervous system activation.

[Read more…]

The Rest/Pause Link to Major Muscle and Strength

Q: I’ve been following your newsletters and noticed you guys talking about rest/pause not too long ago. Can you explain the technique a little more and the reasoning behind it?

A: Rest/pause is basically taking a very short break after you hit exhaustion on a set, and then repping out again with the same weight. The brief rest/pause allows the lactic acid to clear somewhat from the muscle and the nervous system and ATP to regenerate to a degree as well.

[Read more…]

Changes at Every Workout?

Q: I remember from your old daily training blog (which I really miss) that you guys would make changes at every workout (or at least it seemed like it). Should I be doing that, or should I stick to a routine as it’s written for six weeks, then try something new? You’ve also mentioned things like “X-Fade” and “DXO” after some exercises. Do you have an e-book that explains those?

A: The frequency of change your muscles require to keep growing depends on your experience. Beginners and early intermediates don’t need change very often because they’re getting stronger as neuromuscular efficiency, or nerve force, improves. That helps to keep the muscle-growth process moving forward, so changing things every six weeks is about right.

[Read more…]

Weekly Change for Big Muscle Gains

Q: I want to thank you for the great programs and excellent tips, like X-Reps. My background is in Olympic lifting, but I’ve been into bodybuilding lately. I made some okay gains training heavy, but I’ve made much better and faster progress training heavy one week and using an all-4X program the next.

A: You didn’t really ask a question, but we just wanted to commend you on being brave enough to give all-4X training—every other week—a try.

So many trainees are stuck in the must-always-train-heavy-to-grow mentality that they miss out on significant muscle-size stimulation. It’s probably the key reason most complain about such slow gains. Plus, they get injured much more often.

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X-Rep Lies: Before and After Photos

Q: The before and after photos at your X-Rep site are pretty unbelievable. I mean, come on, four weeks to get those changes? You must’ve either lied about the time it took or manipulated the photos. You should be ashamed of yourselves. There’s too much of that deceptive crap on the Internet.

A: Ashamed? Actually, we’re very proud. Those photos are 100 percent authentic and accurate—no photo alterations, no steroids, and they were taken about four weeks apart. (The key technique that made it happen and a step-by-step how-to is coming up.)

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Pack On More Muscle: Are You Making This Mistake?

Q: I’ve made the best gains of my life the past year with X Reps, going from 185 to just under 200 pounds. But my gains have stalled. You talk a lot about muscle adaptation, so I’m wondering if I’ve adapted to X Reps. Should I stop doing them for a while so I can pack on more muscle?

A: Adaptation to training techniques and even bodypart routines can happen in as few as six workouts. If you train a muscle twice a week, that means you can adapt in three to four weeks. We’ve talked about phase training, which is downshifting intensity for one week with sub-failure workouts after four to six weeks of all-out workouts. But sometimes even that’s not enough to kick-start new gains once you resume a high-intensity phase. Usually, you have to mix things up somehow…

[Read more…]

Should You Skip Triceps Work?

Q: I was reading that because most bodybuilders do a lot of pressing, they shouldn’t do much direct triceps work. I do bench presses and incline presses for chest and overhead presses for shoulders, so isn’t that enough work for my triceps? I’m drug-free, so I don’t want to overtrain them.

A: Two things to consider:

1) MRI studies show that bench presses and overhead presses do hit the triceps, but mostly the medial and lateral heads; in other words, the bulkiest section of the triceps, the big long head, is almost totally neglected. [Read more…]