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Get-Big Tip: How to Flip the 4X Growth Switch

Jonathan Lawson doing lat pulldowns

Q: I got The 4X Mass Workout e-book, and it’s fantastic! I tried it on arms for a few weeks, and they blew up at every workout. I measured, and I gained a quarter-inch in only three weeks. Thank you! They’d been stuck for over a year at just under 17″. I’m convinced and ready to use 4X on all bodyparts. I want to do your full-range Positions of Flexion method for each muscle, 4X on all exercises, but the POF routine in the 4X e-book is a 2-way split. I don’t think I can work legs and chest on the same day. Is there an alternative?

A: Don’t be a wuss! That’s the Phase 2 Size Surge program Jonathan used to pack on 20 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks, so suck it up and just do it…

Kidding! That 2-way split is too taxing for some trainees (not just wusses), which is one reason Jonathan provides a 3-way POF split in his Size Surge e-book (pages 55-57). Here’s how that less-taxing mass plan pans out… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Blog Tagged With: 4X, big arms, eat the fat off, get big, get ripped, growth switch, Harvard research, M4X, myofibrillar growth, POF, sarcoplasmic expansion, Size Surge

Metabolic Mass Move: Get High for Muscle Size

Q: I’ve been reading a lot about high-rep leg work, specifically squats. How it can add 20 pounds of muscle in six weeks. Do you think high-rep squats are worth the effort? I know they are tough, but if I get bigger faster, I’m in. Plus, I train at home and have limited weight anyway, so that would save me from buying more plates.

A: We were in touch with a bodybuilder who packed on an amazing 50 pounds of muscle in just over a year’s time. And he attributes a lot of that to adding a high-rep set of squats to his leg day (his full story was in an old issue of IRON MAN)… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 20-rep squats, eat the fat off, freak physique, genetics, Harvard research, high-rep leg workout, iron man magazine, mass building, metabolic drive, muscle size, Randall Strossen, ripped muscle, squats

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 41: Shawn Ray

Shawn Ray is often referred to as the uncrowned Mr. Olympia, taking second in that contest twice: ’94 and ’96. His physique was almost flawless as this classic pose shows… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: aesthetics, after-40 muscle building, bodybuilding zen, Brad Schoenfeld, Chris Dickerson, classic physique, Dr. Dimitrios Stamou, eat the fat off, Harvard research, mechanical tension, metabolic stress, mr. olympia, muscle damage, physique, POF, positions of flexion, ripped muscle, Shawn Ray

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 39: Frank Zane’s Abs

Frank Zane wasn’t the biggest bodybuilder of his era by any stretch. He competed and won the Mr. Olympia weighing around 190 at 5’9”. And 40 years later, his physique is still considered an ultimate ideal by the majority who lift… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: abs, anabolic reload package, bodybuilding zen, eat the fat off, frank zane, free e-book, Harvard research, physique, ripped, ripped muscle, x-treme lean

Fast or Slow to Grow? Here’s 2 Get-Big Tactics

Q: I had your original 10-Week Size Surge book from many years ago and just picked up the Size Surge 2.0 e-book. Thanks for revising it to include 4X training! I’m 45 now with a lot of joint damage from heavy “lifting,” if you want to call it that. So your [moderate-weight] 4X method is perfect and has me making new muscle gains. Thank you! My question concerns the “finisher” set you recommend in one of the workouts. Do you think pure-negative or negative-accentuated sets are better?

A: For the uninitiated, the Size Surge 2.0 e-book has a few new workouts compared to the original, including an alternate Phase 2 routine that’s Positions of Flexion with a few heavy sets, 4X work, AND a one-exercise mass finisher using an intensity method… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10-week Size Surge, Dr. Dimitrios Stamou, eat the fat off, fast reps, Harvard research, intensity tactics, muscle size, myofibrillar growth, negative-accentuated, negatives, pure negatives, ripped muscle, Size Surge, slow reps, slow-mo, tension time, x-celeration, x-centric

New Muscle Size With Speed and Progression

Heavy bench press

Q: I am almost 50 and making incredible gains with the 4X method. I was reading that top trainer Charles Glass believes new muscle growth can be created with this style, thickening new fibers as well as expanding the sarcoplasm. However, he says you should still go “heavy” every so often. Every time I do that, my joints ache for days. Should I just put up with it and pile on the poundage every couple of weeks?

A: If you like going mega heavy, do it—but you’ll suffer the consequences. Glass says to train heavy every so often in order to keep the type 2B power fibers growing… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x method, Charles Glass, downward-progression 4x, Dr. Dimitrios Stamou, eat the fat off, freaky ripped, Harvard research, heavy weights, Lou Ferrigno, muscle size, power fibers, progression, pumping iron, ripped muscle, sarcoplasm, short rests, size, speed reps, type 2b

Your Best Mass-Building Exercises (not what you think)

Incline DB presses Troy Alves

Q: I can never decide whether to use dumbbells or a barbell for my bench presses. My training partner even argues about bent-over rows. He likes dumbbells and I like a barbell. How do we know which are the best mass-building exercises?

A: Well, when it comes to any type of bench press, dumbbells allow a fuller range of motion, less shoulder stress and a more natural movement…

HOWEVER, [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: barbells vs dumbbells, best mass-building exercises, eat the fat off, get ripped, Harvard research, mass building, pre-ex 3x, pre-ex 3x mass workout, pre-exhaustion, range of motion

One Small Change for Big-Arm Gains

JL dumbbell curls - Volumize for Muscle Size

Q: I’m in phase 1 of the Size Surge Workout. I like it a lot, but I notice that I’m getting some wrist pain during barbell curls. Should I try a wider or narrower grip for more arm gains without the pain?

A: You’re extremely motivated. How do we know? Because you apparently read the Size Surge e-book up through phase 1 and stopped so you could attack that program. If you would’ve read further, you would’ve seen that Jonathan had the same problem and switched to dumbbell curls in phase 2… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: arm gains, big arms, Charles Poliquin, eat the fat off, fiber activation, Harvard research, phase 1, small change for big gains

The Next BIG Thing for More Muscle Mass

Jonathan doing Smith machine squats - Pack on More Muscle: Are You Making This Mistake?

Q: I just finished a six-week phase using the HIT workout with arm specialization [listed in the X-traordinary Arms e-book]. I made some good mass gains training each exercise with only one all-out set. I used my extra energy to blast my arms with more sets [with full Positions of Flexion] and got amazing gains using the different exercises at each arm workout. They’re looking big and full, and now I’m ready for a new program. Which one do you suggest after that 3D HIT Workout?

A: To clarify, on that 3D HIT Program listed in the X-Arms e-book you do full POF for each bodypart, but only one all-out set in each position. For example, for quads, you do squats (midrange), sissy squats (stretch), and leg extensions (contracted), each getting a warmup set or two and then only ONE mass-kicking set to exhaustion… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10x10, 4X, arm specialization, big, burn fat, Charles Poliquin, eat the fat off, fat loss, get big, Harvard research, hit workout, mass gains, muscle mass, new workout, olympic coach, POF, power and density, pure density, weight loss, X Reps, x-traordinary arms

Ultimate Exercise for Shoulder Size

Jonathan Lawson, wide-grip rack pulls

Q: Maybe I missed it since I’m a relatively new subscriber to your newsletter, but what is the Ultimate Exercise for shoulder size; wide-grip dumbbell upright rows or dumbbell presses?

A: We first identified each Ultimate Exercise for every major bodypart in our first e-book, The Ultimate Mass Workout. There’s a comprehensive chapter on each one, why they are best, and also a few complete programs with just those moves—like V-handle chins for lats… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Blog, X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, bodybuilders, density, Dr. Dimitrios Stamou, eat the fat off, endurance fibers, fast-twitch fibers, Harvard research, Lou Ferrigno, Power, power pyramids, power-density workout, pumping iron, pyramids, ripped muscle, rotator cuffs, shoulder size, ultimate exercise for shoulders, Ultimate Mass Workout

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