gain muscle Archives

Realistic 1-Month Weight Loss

Q: Do you think I could lose 20 pounds in a month? I’ll be honest, I slacked off during the stay-at-home order where I live, and my weight suffered because of it. Oops! I want to be in a somewhat healthy looking condition during the summer. I want the fat off, as it’s killing me to see this gut! And summer’s already under way. Help?!

A: Yes, you could technically lose that much weight in a month, but most of it would be water and muscle—and you probably wouldn’t look better or feel healthy—in fact, you’d feel like crap and look worse than you feel right now. We’re all impatient when it comes to changing our bodies, and especially when it comes to weight loss, but the best strategy is gradual and steady, even when there’s a short deadline like the one you’ve set… [Read more…]

Workouts Too Draining? Reduce Training, Start Gaining—BIG

Q: I’ve been super motivated the past few months and really hitting it hard in the gym using a version of a Heavy/Light program you guys have talked about before. I couldn’t stand to do a back-off week, though, so I think I’m overtrained. Do you think reducing to two exercises per muscle is a good idea? Should I still do heavy/light?

A: Your nervous system is probably hammered. We know, we know—you don’t want to lose any muscle or strength. So here’s what we suggest…

[Read more…]

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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Rotation for New Mass Creation (automatic anabolism)

Q: I’ve been using all-heavy training (6-8 reps) on everything up until now. I just started using your 4X method, and I swear I can already feel new growth happening. It’s also a relief on my tattered joints. I want to try it exclusively for a month or two. Will my weights increase or should I add sets? Just looking for the best “change to gain.”

A: Since this is your first time using the 4X mass method, you’ll get stronger as your muscle grow more adept at DENSITY training…

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Tips to Gain Muscle, Lose Fat, and Integrate Intervals

Q: In The Ultimate Mass Workout you suggest doing the hills setting on a treadmill or interval cardio with sprints as the Ultimate Exercise for calves. Can you explain more about the interval sprinting and treadmill effects on calf training, as well as how to integrate intervals into my workouts?

A: The Ultimate Mass Workout is our first e-book, the original X-Rep manual, and after we published it, we discovered a big midrange exercise for calves you can do as part of your leg workout in the gym—knee-extension leg press calf raises…

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Fast Fat Loss, More Muscle-Building Testosterone

Q: Summer is here, so I’m psyching up to try the intermittent-fasting that Steve used to get more muscular and ripped [Super-Size Crash Course e-book, Chapter 8]? I need to get ripped fast. I thought I would try it once a week, and if it works well for fast fat loss, increase to two nonconsecutive days a week as Steve did. Any insights on muscle loss during IF?

No question, we bodybuilders are extremely paranoid about losing even an ounce of muscle. But don’t worry, you won’t lose muscle with intermittent fasting–you will gain more… [Read more…]

Anabolic Phasing = Change for Freaky Muscle Gains

I’ve been training each muscle group once a week with about 15 sets each. My gains have been okay, but how can I be sure that using fewer sets and training each muscle more times a week will get me bigger?

Try it. We’re sure you will be shocked at your surge of new muscle growth from the anabolic phasing. This will get you excited about it… [Read more…]

Are You Working Out Too Hard?

Q: I train my butt off in the gym. I hit it harder than every other guy in there, but I haven’t gained much muscle in a long time. Is it my genetics? My nutrition is perfect, so I should be growing like crazy, but I’m not. It’s very frustrating… Help?!

A: Yes, your genetics could have something to do with it; HOWEVER, you may have just been working out too hard for too long. It’s time to step back with a new plan… [Read more…]