efficiency-of-effort Archives

Should I Do More?

Q: I’ve noticed in a lot of your e-book routines that you often recommend just two work sets for an exercise Why? Should I do more? I’ve read that most bodybuilders do four or five sets per exercise.

A: As Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus machines said: “You can train hard or you can train long, but you can’t do both.” Short and hard or long and not so hard both work. Despite what some die-hard high-intensity trainers say, gradually increasing volume is a form of overload that can result in more muscle—if you don’t overdo intensity. It’s a balancing act. Us? Regardless of whether it’s one of our low-set workouts or high tension time workouts, we’re about efficiency of effort in the gym…

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Simple Size Principle for Major Muscle Gains

Q: It’s hard for me to believe that a few partial reps at the end of a set [a.k.a. X Reps] can do anything measurable for muscle gains. Isn’t doing an additional set just as good or better for muscle growth?

A: At first glance, you’d think so; however, once you understand muscle physiology, you see the enormous muscle-building effects that can occur if you extend a set correctly. It all starts with the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment…

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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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Intensity for Muscle Immensity?

Q: I’ve been reading your e-zine for years, and I have almost all of your e-books. Great info, and thanks to you I have a lot of new muscle. 3D POF is great! My question is about rep ranges. You’ve talked about using lower reps, medium reps, and higher reps. I’ve read that the key to muscle growth is intensity, and that rep ranges don’t really matter. Can’t I just keep doing about eight to 10 reps, the best range for muscle growth, on all my exercises and train intensely, to failure, to make the best gains? Do I really need different rep ranges?

A: While intensity is the big key to forcing muscle growth, there is no doubt that the predominant fiber type in a particular muscle dictates its best rep range for fastest size gains.

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Fast 3D Muscle Mass: Efficiency-of-Effort Back Attack

Q: I don’t have a lot of time to train, which is why I look to you for info. All of your techniques and workouts revolve around efficiency, which is great. I can’t afford to waste time. My question is about back training. When I do a 3D POF lat routine, doesn’t my midback get plenty of work too? And isn’t the opposite true as well: When I train midback, don’t my lats get enough stimulation? I just don’t want to do extra work that’s not necessary. Every minute I’m in the gym must count.

A: We hear you. We squeeze our training into a limited schedule, so our primary concern is efficiency-of-effort muscle building. That’s why we try a lot of things and discard what doesn’t work, constantly refining our workouts.

You bring up a good point about back training—there is a lot of overlap between lat and midback work. You may want to decide which is the weaker area and do a full 3D POF program for that muscle group, then simply add one efficient exercise for the other area. For example, say your lats need more attention. Here’s a good 3D POF lat routine with a potent midback exercise added to the end…

Midrange: Wide-grip chins, 2 x 9-12
Stretch: Dumbbell pullovers, 1-2 x 9-12
Contracted: Stiff-arm pulldowns 1-2 x 9-12
Midback: Two-arm dumbbell rows, 2 x 9-12

As we discuss in the back chapter in the 3D Muscle Building e-book, the two-arm dumbbell row is a very efficient midback exercise. The hands move close together at the bottom of each rep, which stretches the middle trapezius, your hands move apart as you pull to the top, which allows you to squeeze your scapulae (shoulder blades) for midback contraction, and you’re using your arms and lats for synergy, which allows a heavy overload. You get some stretch-, contracted- and midrange-position work all in one midback exercise. Very high efficiency-of-effort.

If you can, use chest support, as that will keep momentum in check. If you can’t use chest support, just do standard bent-over two-arm dumbbell rows and keep your torso angled up, slightly above parallel to the floor. As you row the dumbbells—whether you use chest support or not—keep your arms angled out away from your torso so your shoulder blades can move together at the top. If you row with your arms close to your body, your lats become the prime movers.

What if your midback is the weaker of the two areas? You’d do a full 3D POF midback program like this, with an efficient lat exercise to finish…

Midrange: Shoulder-width cable rows, 2 x 9-12
Stretch: One-arm dumbbell rows, 1-2 x 9-12
Contracted: Bent-arm bent-over laterals, 1-2 x 9-12
Lats: Shoulder-width-grip undergrip pulldowns, 2 x 9-12

Undergrip pulldowns are to lats what two-arm dumbbell rows are to midback. The undergrip allows some lat stretch at the top and max contraction at the bottom, plus it puts the biceps in a strong pulling position for synergy and overload.

Incidentally, you could alternate those two programs, giving lats the most attention at the first workout and midback the full-on hit at the second. We’ve used many 3D POF programs to train our midback and lats for years. There are a lot of great variations. Does it work? Jonathan’s back double-biceps pose says yes…

Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.

—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com

Note: Every muscle gets a 3D Positions-of-Flexion analysis and complete full-range program in the 3D Muscle Building e-book.