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Big-Arms Tip

Q: I’m getting new mass and cuts using the Fat-to-Muscle Workout. Just the right amount of soreness to burn fat and add muscle. I can see it happening when I look in the mirror. The only bodypart not getting it is biceps. I do cable curls with the Negative Accentuated technique because you’ve said it’s superior to barbell curls. I do two seconds up and then six seconds down on every rep, but I don’t get that deep ache like my biceps were worked hard enough. Should I move slower on the NA set or what?

A: To clarify, we’ve said cable curls are superior to barbell curls when you want to incorporate X Reps at the end of a set. X Reps are eight-inch partials you add at the semi-stretch point when you can’t do any more full-range reps. [Read more…]

Muscle-Building Dangers

Q: Is there a danger to ligaments and tendons with Negative-Accentuated sets [from The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout]? I’ve gotten fantastic results with NA sets [normal positives followed by slow, six-second negatives], but I recently shared that with a friend who tore a muscle in his shoulder doing heavy bench presses. He said that his orthopedist discourages the use of eccentric loading because of the stress on tendons and ligaments. I’m wondering if NA sets are safe, and can my friend who had prior shoulder injury ever incorporate NA sets to experience the great results I’ve gotten with it?

A: What the orthopedist is talking about is heavy pure-negative sets—where you overload the muscle with about 20 percent more than your normal weight. Someone helps you raise the extremely heavy poundage, and you lower slowly, fighting the overload through the negative stroke. [Read more…]