fast-twitch Archives - Page 5 of 7

20 to 80 Pounds of Muscle

Q: I did the first [5-week phase] of Jonathan’s 20-pounds-of-muscle-in-10-weeks program [from the 3D Muscle Building e-book] and didn’t get much size from it. I gained about 3 pounds and still feel skinny. Should I go ahead and do the second five weeks of different 3D Positions-of-Flexion workouts? Do you think that by hitting all of the positions [in the Phase 2 workouts] that I will make better gains than with the first part?

A: Full speed ahead—continue with Phase 2 (your gains from Phase 1 are actually darned good; more on that in a moment). By shifting to training each muscle in the midrange, stretch and contracted positions, you should get another more sizeable muscular adaptation (growth jolt).

[Read more…]

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…]

Muscle Mass Multiplier: Training on a Tricycle

Q: I love the Power/Rep Range/Shock POF program [on pages 103-114 in the 3D Muscle Building e-book]. I’m making excellent gains with it, mostly in strength. I’m more of a small-framed guy at 5’10, 175 pounds. I read your discussion on the study that showed low reps don’t do much for hardgainer types like me, so I’m wondering if I would get more size by deleting the Power week. Should I just do RR/S, alternating between the Rep Range and Shock workouts?

A: If all you’re after is a muscle mass multiplier for more size, with smaller increases in strength, that may be an option; however, you sound pretty stoked about all the new strength gains you’re getting (we got incredible strength gains on that program too!). We’d suggest you keep the Power week—just don’t do it as often. More specifics on that in a moment from the creator, Eric Broser. First, let’s review the P/RR/S protocol for those who aren’t familiar with it…

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Try This for New Growth Fiber Activation and Muscle Expansion

Q: I’ve been using MMX Compound Aftershock [from a recent newsletter]. The high-rep stretch exercise first, before the big compound move, really makes a difference. What a great burn and pump. If I use a high-rep contracted-position move first, is that postactivation?

A: Yes, you could consider it postactivation, as it too increases growth-fiber recruitment on the second big exercise. So for quads, Compound Aftershock would be high-rep sissy squats followed by a superset of lower-rep sissies and squats… [Read more…]

Variation for Massive Pump Creation

Q: I’m using your 10×10 method after all the great feedback I’ve read, and I love it. Because the poundages are lighter, my joint problems are disappearing, and I’m already seeing new muscle after only three weeks. I love the enormous pumps too! My question is, I feel 10×10 on every exercise, but the intensity varies a lot. Do you guys ever recommend increasing the reps, like 10 sets of 12 reps?

A: For those who aren’t familiar with it, 10×10 is taking a weight with which you could get 20 reps, but you only do 10; rest for 30 seconds, then do another 10 reps—and so on until you complete 10 sets of 10 reps. The first few sets are easy; the last few are brutal. [Read more…]

Rev your Mass Machine with the S-Overload Workout

Q: I’ve been hearing a lot about muscle stretch and how it is uniquely anabolic. What is the best way to build mass with this information—a freehand stretching routine?

A: While freehand stretching routines can do okay things for muscle growth, a much more effective mass-building route is doing a workout of all stretch-position exercises with weights.

That way every bodypart will get the anabolic acceleration of [Read more…]

New Density for Muscle Immensity Workout

I just saw Jonathan’s new read-me page about XRX and the workout he is now using. I turned 48 and am making the best size gains of my life with the [high-rep-set-first] Reload program. Is Jonathan’s similar? Is it better? Should I switch?

The reason Jonathan put together his new after-40 workout is that he Hates—with a capital H—high reps…

While he made amazing size gains when he first went on the high-rep-set-first program outlined in [Read more…]

Size Principle Reload

Q: I’ve made the best mass gains of my life with your 4X method. I know you guys got new size with it too, so my question is, why Anabolic Reload STX (slow-twitch exhaustion)? I realize that it also does not require heavy weights, but is it better than 4X?

A: First, both methods accomplish the same thing: full-blown fiber hypertrophy with slow-twitch-fiber pre-exhaustion, triggering more high-growth fast-twitch fibers to fire on the last sets.

It’s the Size Principle of Muscle Fiber Recruitment… [Read more…]

Insane Hypertrophy

If you’ve been with us for a while, you know we harp on “change to gain” a lot, especially for those who want insane hypertrophy…

It pays BIG muscle dividends to periodically alter your workouts—sometimes radically. And, yes, even we get stuck in ruts and forget to rotate in some new hypertrophy smart bombs… [Read more…]

STX + SEX for Massive Muscle Growth

Q: The Anabolic Reload Mass Workout, with a high-rep set first to fatigue slow-twitch fibers (STX), has helped me add six pounds of muscle in four weeks. Now I’m ready to go back to a three-way split, but the STX method worked so well that I want to keep using it, but after my heavy work. I’m in my 20s, so heavy weights is not a problem. Any suggestions? (Title: STX + SEX for Massive Muscle Growth)

A: That’s exactly why we love The Anabolic Reload Mass Workout for a two-to-six-week mass burst… [Read more…]