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Q: I got your 4X Mass Workout and am already growing with TORQ [Tension-Overload Repetition Quantity]. You discuss Mr. America Doug Brignole, his version, and how he uses drop sets on the last set. You don’t mention that with your version [30-20-15 reps]. Should I do drops on the last round of TORQ?
A: Doug has been at this bodybuilding thing for decades—and even he is still learning and experimenting…
[Read more…]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 just started the first workouts from The Ultimate Super-Size Crash Course after reading yesterday’s newsletter. First
A: Don’t be a wuss; grit your teeth and tough it out, Gertrude. LOL! Seriously, higher-rep supersets could work, but there are two glitches that might prevent full-on success…
[Read more…]Q: I just got The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout e-book because of all the positive feedback I’ve seen. Looking over the program I notice that it’s a four-days-per-week system, but you only hit each muscle once. Is that really going to be enough work for each bodypart? I really want to lean out quickly and still build muscle.
A: If you traumatize a muscle enough, it will require several days for full recovery. And that’s one of the goals with that program…
[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: 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.
[Read more…]Q: I am totally onboard with a high-rep set first to fatigue slow-twitch fibers first. I’ve noticed visible size gains in only one week using the Anabolic Reload program. What do you think about an isometric hold (iso-bolic hold) in the contracted position, like the top of a leg extension, for over a minute to accomplish that same slow-twitch fatigue first?
A: That’s an interesting question. Most people believe that a bundle of fibers fire on a rep, then more bundles engage on the next rep, and so on as the set progresses. However… [Read more…]
Q: Doing one high-rep set first before heavy sets is your MMX method for more fast-twitch fiber activation and growth. Isn’t that first high-rep set just a glorified warmup set?
A more accurate word is “focused” or “targeted.” Why? Because you get the benefits of multiple lighter warmup sets with that one slow-twitch-exhaustion (STX) set, using 20-plus reps to failure… [Read more…]
Q: You offer up the Brazilian study that shows doing a single high-rep set to failure before heavier lower-rep work produced more hypertrophy than standard training (multiple sets at 75% 1RM). But in the Ultimate Power/Density Mass Workout e-book, you mention that Arnold used a high-rep set LAST—a “burn-out” set. So which way is better, high-rep set first or high-rep set to finish?
A: A good observation, but there’s something missing in your description of what Arnold used to do. Go back to the Power-Density e-book and read it again—Arnold typically used a pyramid, adding weight to each set. And on his first set, he used a light weight for 15 reps, then a SLIGHTLY heavier weight for set 2 so he got 12 reps…
[Read more…]We’re not going to beat around the bush. The dumbest thing you can do if you want extreme mass is to believe there’s only one way to build muscle. You know, a stubborn narrow mind that is set on “this way is the only way.” For example…
Do you train each muscle group with a number of sets once a week? It’s a popular trend in bodybuilding—chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, arms on Wednesday and so on. That can work—for a while. Then you adapt… [Read more…]
