fat burner 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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Muscle On, Bodyfat Gone

Q: I got your 4X Mass Workout 2.0. I love the [higher-rep] TORQ method and 4X combo workouts. I feel it working already to put some muscle on—the burn is intense. Question: I’m now trying to drop fat and build muscle, so will those [higher reps] help, or should I include negative-accentuated [X-centric] sets too?

A: Bodybuilders of yesteryear often used higher reps before contests for fat burning, but experts later said that was foolish. Why? Because high reps cannot “etch in” cuts. Or can they?…

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Ripped Abs: Your First 3 Steps

Q: I’m sick of being soft and blubbery. I really want to see my abs, but I’m not sure where to start. Do I just start working out harder and wait for them to appear? Please help.

A: When we get “soft and blubbery,” usually over the winter (Steve’s pic at left below), our first step to getting ripped abs for the warmer weather is to stop eating crap…

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Go Slow to Grow and Burn Fat

Q: I got your Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide because I haven’t lifted in a few years. Fantastic info and it’s already working for me. On some exercises, you suggest lifting in 3 seconds and lower in 3 to help improve nerve force for strength. I’ve seen in many of your emails that you sometimes lift in 1 second and lower in 6. Should I try that? I think you said it helps burn fat, and I would love to see my abs sooner rather than later.

A: Lifting in 1 second and lowering in 6 is what we call X-centric, or Negative-Accentuated, training. It is a great FAT BURNER as well as MUSCLE BUILDER, but you shouldn’t use it just yet (more on why in a moment).

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8 Tips to Drop Fat and Build Mass—Summer’s Coming Fast

Q: The first day of [meteorological] spring slapped me in the face. My abs are gone and I feel “loose,” as in soft. I need to drop fat, especially around my middle, and add some hard muscle—like right now. How do I get it going and see abs?

A: Don’t panic. You still have about 12 weeks until summer. But because fat-loss is a slow process—if you want to hold and even gain muscle—you need to start NOW.

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Quick Fat-to-Muscle High-Rep Hit

Q: I got your 4X e-book recently and have been experimenting with the TORQ [tension-overload repetition quantity] method you outline. It‘s amazing! I feel like I grew from one workout. I’m ready to get serious about dropping some fat for spring, and The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout looks excellent. Instead of the two ending sets of 15-20 reps, can I do two TORQ sets, say 30, 15, adding weight for the second set?

A: For the uninitiated, The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout incorporates pyramids, X-centric (negative-accentuated) sets, and then two high-rep sets on a contracted-position exercise to finish for growth hormone release…

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Get More Muscle Detail

Q: I’ve been on one your four-days-a-week Heavy/Light Program, and I’ve put on lots of size. I’m big, but I’m not ripped. I’m ready to get cut, so should I just stay on that program and add cardio? I’d like to try something new, but I don’t want to lose size. I just want to add more muscle detail.

A: First, you need to clean up your diet. If you don’t have a fast metabolism, which it sounds like you don’t, you’ll also need to start doing some cardio if you want to see more muscle detail; however, if you’ve been following our newsletters for a while, you know there are ways you can change your weight workout so that you burn more fat during recovery (and you won’t need as much cardio)…

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How to Thicken Your Back and Re-Rip Your Abs

Q: In the Pre-Ex 3X Mass Workout and Size Surge 2.0 e-books I just got, you have bent-arm bent-over laterals for midback. The illustration shows palms facing back, but I feel them better with my palms down. Which way is best for midback mass? I need more thickness between my shoulder blades.

A: The bent-arm bent-over lateral raise is a CONTRACTED-position midback exercise in the Positions-of-Flexion mass-building protocol. You do them like a bent-over lateral raise for your rear delts, only you allow more of an elbow bend so you can better squeeze your middle traps to thicken your back. [Read more…]

Best Way to Build Muscle After Years of High-Intensity Training

Q: I have the 4X Mass Workout e-book, and I’m convinced it’s the best way for me to build muscle now after years of high-intensity training. I’m ready to start, but I want to include some negative-accentuated (NA) sets for better fat burning. I have both the X-centric Mass Workout and the Fat-to-Muscle Workout [which both include NA]. Lots of good info and workouts, but nothing that really merges 4X and NA the way I want. I need to add NA sets to the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout. How?

A: Keep in mind that negative-accentuated sets are very traumatic and can require more recovery. With the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout, most upper-body muscles are getting THREE hits a week, be they major or minor. That’s already a lot of muscular trauma. But you’re right: Adding an appropriate dose of NA work—one second on the positive and six seconds on the negative—without overtraining, can stimulate more fat burning on a couple of levels… [Read more…]

Drop Fat Like a Bad Habit

Q: I’m looking to drop fat like a bad habit. My question is, what’s the difference between your X-treme Lean e-book and The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout? Is one better than the other for my goals?

A: The simple answer is that X-treme Lean contains more diet and nutrition info while The Ultimate Fat to Muscle Workout is more about the right type of training to max out fat loss as you gain muscle mass… [Read more…]