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Q: In 4X Mass Workout 2.0 you describe the high-rep [TORQ] method, going 30-20-15 in reps with short rests between. Sometimes I can’t get 30. Either I pick a weight that’s a little too heavy or I just fatigue too quickly. What should I do?
A: What you’re trying to do with TORQ—tension overload repetition quantity—is reach the upper area of the optimal hypertrophic tension time—60 to 90 seconds.
Q: I got your 4X Mass Workout 2.0. I love the [higher-rep] TORQ method and 4X combo workouts. I feel it working
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?…
[Read more…]Q: I’ve been using an X-centric set [lift in one second, lower in six] for every muscle and have noticed more cuts, veins, and I’m pretty sure more muscle size. I usually use it on the last set of a 4X sequence, but I’ve heard it’s better on the first set to get more of a warmup. Which is better, the X-centric set on the first or last set of 4X?
A: In a previous newsletter, we outlined how to use an X-centric set on the last set of a 4X sequence with The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout. We showed a lat routine with 4X on the first exercise.
[Read more…]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 h
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…
[Read more…]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).
[Read more…]Q: My gym always seems to be crowded—and people “camp out” on equipment. It’s hard to work in because I’m using the 4X method and rest only 30 seconds between sets (I love the Positions-of-Flexion version). Should I just lengthen my rest times to work in on a piece of equipment?
A: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. In other words, you can “camp out” on equipment too—sometimes you can do your entire POF 4X bodypart routine in one spot. For example…
[Read more…]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.
[Read more…]Q: I got your 4X e-book recently and have been experimenting with the TORQ [tension-overload repetition quantity] method you outline.
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…
[Read more…]Q: From all I’ve read and experienced, losing bodyfat is all about reducing calories. If you take in fewer calories than you burn every day, you lose weight; if you take in more calories than you burn each day, you gain weight. To me, that means The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout has to require reduced calories or it can’t work. But then there’s nothing left to build muscle. I’d really like to know the truth about losing fat and gaining muscle. Comments?
A: Your energy equation is exactly why the Fat-to-Muscle program works. It can create a fat-burning calorie deficit, but not by forcing you to run extra miles every day; it stokes your metabolism so you use more energy, or fat, even at rest…
[Read more…]Q: I heard that you guys prescribe high-rep sets to etch in muscle cuts. That’s wrong. I’m a certified personal trainer, and I learned that high reps do not make a muscle more defined. You can only do that with diet to thin your skin.
A: You’re correct that higher-rep sets don’t “etch in muscle cuts” per se; however, as we discuss in our Fat-to-Muscle e-book, high-rep sets, 15 to 20, do heighten muscle burn, and that lactic acid surge can increase growth hormone output. [Can J App Phys. 22:244-255. 1997.] GH has been shown in research studies to be an extremely potent fat burner. In other words, it thins the skin by reducing subcutaneous fat—and that eventually gives you more muscle detail.
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