downward-progression Archives

Three Quick Sets for Major Muscle Mass

Q: I remember back from your old daily training blog that Steve often did Downward-Progression 4X with only three sets. If I remember correctly, he would add weight so his reps were 12, 10, 8. I like the idea of three sets because I do more than one compound exercise for each muscle. Do you think adding more weight to each set so my reps are 12, 8, 5 will work? I like to go heavier.

A: The reason Steve kept his last set at around eight reps is because he’s old. LOL! However, if you’re a bit younger and like to take your reps down lower, we’d give you the thumbs-up on your idea… [Read more…]

Fast Moves to Get You Huge?

Q: I was reading one of your newsletters I saved, and you were talking about how bad it was to see people using fast moves with ballistic reps in the gym. But I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you guys recommend fast reps recently. What’s the deal—are they good or bad?

A: There is research showing that a faster tempo can help engage more fast-twitch growth fibers; however, our speed, or X-celeration, method is not throwing the weights… [Read more…]

Shocking New Muscle Mass: TORQ – DP 4X – Modified Pre-Ex

Q: I do four-week phases of different workouts from your various e-books. That strategy works great for me. I’ve gained 10 pounds of muscle in three months, and that’s after training consistently for 10 years. I’m getting ready to start the Modified Pre-Ex 3X Mass Workout. After all the positive talk about TORQ, I was thinking about using that on the first exercise, the isolation move. Is that a good idea for building new muscle mass?

A: Absolutely. We’ve talked about that before, and we used to use TORQ-ed up modified Pre-Ex as a shock tactic in our old Freaky Friday workouts… [Read more…]

Take Your Pick to Get BIG Quick—2 Ways to Grow

Q: I’m reading the Super-Size e-book. Jordon’s 18-pound muscle gain is inspiring and a great story, but I’m 45 years old. He’s in his teens. I don’t think I can train heavy even at every other workout the way he did. Should I try it, even at my age? I got great gains with The Anabolic After-40 Muscle-Size Manual, but this one has me intrigued to see if I can get big during my next training phase.

A: Well, glad you’re immersed in and inspired by The Super-Size Crash Course, but you should keep reading. Chapter 6 lays out a great alternate Phase 1 program—without heavy pyramids… [Read more…]

Progression Loading to Up Your Mass

Q: I am making solid gains with the Pure Positions routine in the Stretch Overload ebook. Training the midrange exercise at one workout, contracted at the second, and stretch at the third is some killer change to gain each week. My question is, you have STX [high-rep set followed by a lower-rep set and rest/pause set] for every exercise. Your most impressive ebook, IMO, is Super-Size Crash Course, with TORQ, Progressive-Speed 4X, and, my favorite, Downward-Progression 4X. Can I use those instead of STX every so often for even more variation?

A: Absolutely—in fact, we encourage it because all of those are amazing unique mass methods. Remember, something in your workout must change if you want to continue to gain…

Switching to different mass attacks is the best way. Why? Because it’s [Read more…]

Last-set variation for extreme mass creation

Q: I’ve been using TORQ in my workouts, usually on my last isolation [or contracted-position] exercise. What a big difference. I usually do 30, 20 and 15 reps, then on the last I do a drop set or a double drop. Crazy pump. My question is, should I use the drop or double drop on the last set of my DP 4X sequence as well? I do that on the big midrange exercise, like pulldowns [12, 10, 8, 6–adding weight on each set, 40-second rests between sets].

A: You can use a drop or double drop on the last set of a TORQ, DP 4X or standard 4X sequence. It’s just one more way to get extra volume and overload for extreme mass creation… [Read more…]