fat loss Archives - X-REP.COM

Pure Negatives?

Q: I’m getting great results with sets using six-second negatives [on every rep of a negative-accentuated set]. I’m bigger and leaner after one month. My question is, Should I do pure negatives to get even better results since I could increase the weight? My partner can lift the weight for me, and I’ll lower slowly [six seconds] for as many reps as I can get till failure. The heavier weight should cause more trauma and better muscle gains and fat loss, right?

A: That depends on your level of training and your recovery ability (genetics). Pure negatives are extremely traumatic and should be used infrequently…

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How Warmup Sets Build Muscle, Plus Pyramid Power

Q: A friend of mine e-mailed me about your 3D Power Pyramid Program. He said he’s making great gains with it in both muscle size and strength. He explained it, but I wanted to come to the source to see if you think it’s right for me. I’ve been training for about 3 years, and I weigh about 160 pounds. My genetics are closer to Steve’s [smaller ectomorph] than Jonathan’s [more of a mesomorph]. Should I go for it?

A: That is an excellent program and one of our most popular because it’s balanced for both size and strength. It’s a simple two-way split that has you train four days a week—with Wednesdays and weekends off. Plus, you cover all of the 3D Positions of Flexion for each target muscle…

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Stretch Overload Results

Q: In the first chapter of the Freak-Physique Stretch-Overload Workout e-book [The Latest Stretch-Overload Research] you mention the animal study that produced a 300 percent muscle mass increase after one month of stretch loading. That is incredible, but are there any other studies that show stretch overload results?

A: When it comes to stretch-induced muscle growth, we always mention that particular animal study because it’s the most impressive—triple sizing a muscle after a month’s worth of stretch-overload “workouts” is phenomenal! And it shows the importance of stretch-position exercises for triggering extreme muscle size quickly. Stretch overload results can be pretty phenomenal.

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Midback Muscle Building

Q: I’ve been reading about 3D Positions of Flexion, and it makes total sense. Most of the three-way hits for each muscle are straightforward, but I’m confused about midback. Is a row classified as the big midrange exercise? With a barbell row, the arms squeeze the shoulder blades at the top, which is the contracted position. Is a barbell row both a midrange and contracted exercise?

A: You need to look at the lats and midback together to understand the three positions of flexion for each. For lats, you use pulldowns or chins as the big midrange exercise. Then you follow with pullovers for stretch and stiff-arm pulldowns for contracted.

For midback muscle building, there’s no need for a midrange exercise—you get that on the pulldowns or chins for lats. Those exercises pull the arms down and back, which affects the lats as well as the midback…

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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).

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Try this for a sick muscle-hypertrophy uptick

Q: I have a hard time feeling some of my muscles working, especially short-range ones like abs. Should I go heavier, lighter, slower, or what? I know feeling the target muscle working is very important for the fastest results.

A: You can say that again. Getting in touch with the target muscle on every rep is a big key to muscle hypertrophy…

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Fat-to-Muscle photos – plus, don’t forget this key shredding hormone

With spring right around the corner, it’s time for a lot of us to start thinking about easing into a fat-to-muscle plan—so you’re sure to have an eye-popping look that first warm day you peel off your shirt (you want jaws to hit the dirt)…

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Do this Now to Get Ripped by Spring—While Growing Muscle

Q: It’s the new year, and I feel bloated, guilty, and smooth. Abs are gone from all the holiday eating and so is most of my vascularity. Should I start dieting now to get ripped by spring? I’d guess I’m about 15 pounds overweight.

A: It’s still winter, so you want to continue building as much muscle as possible; however, it’s never too early to start leaning toward lean. And if you say you have 15 pounds to lose, it’s probably more like 20. So that’s 10 to 12 weeks to lose it—late-March, which is right when you want to be fairly lean if you want to be ripped by spring…

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Carb Cycling: The key to shredding your physique (and staying leaner through winter)

Carb Cycling is a simple method we first learned about from the legendary Iron Guru Vince Gironda when he used to visit the Iron Man offices…

Vince always said that to train the body to drop fat, you do 3 to 4 days of low carbs followed by higher-carb “load” days—and Vince was ripped before it was in style. Check out the shred master in his heyday… [Read more…]

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…]