Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Dr. Jacob Wilson, who used to write for Iron Man when we worked there, recently performed a study with a technique we have recommended over the years—stretch holds, or Stat-X.
Dr. Wilson calls it “intraset stretching.” In his study, the subjects who included intraset stretching DOUBLED muscle thickness compared to those who did not use it. Amazing. [Read more…]
Q: I have your new ebooks, Anabolic Reload and Stretch Overload. Both are great, and the simple rest/pause add-on for progression has already helped me add new mass. But I overtrain easily, so I can’t keep adding those. Is there anything else I can do to keep my muscle growth moving forward without more volume?
A: First, bodybuilding is called “progressive-resistance” training because adding weight and/or reps to your exercises can increase muscle size… [Read more…]
Q: I don’t always have time to go to the gym three times a week. That means I can’t always get in three full-body workouts, which I’ve heard is the best for muscle mass. Should I just do two full-body workouts with the big, basics, like squats, bench, etc. on weeks I can’t make it three times? Do you guys have an ebook with a 2-times-a-week program like that? I want to look like a bodybuilder, but time is hard to come by for me right now.
A: Three full-body workouts a week is the old-school standard for mass, but hitting each muscle only twice a week may be even better for many bodybuilders. According to Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., one of the elite hypertrophy researchers… [Read more…]
Q: I wanted to report on my progress. I’m 53 and am making the best muscle gains of my life using something you haven’t really discussed. I get bored easily, so what I do is one week I use the Over-40 STX workout [Anabolic Reload e-book] and the next week I go to the Pure-Positions STX program [Stretch Overload e-book]. I think it’s working so well because every week I am getting all three of the hypertrophy requirements but with different splits and exercise mixes. I swear my shirts are already tighter after only three weeks. Just want to thank you guys for my new gains!
A: Hmm, very interesting—and a novel approach. We usually suggest doing one of those programs for four to six weeks, then switch to the other for another four-to-six-week mass phase.
But who are we to argue? Sounds like alternating them is working off the charts for you in the over-40 muscle mass department. Exciting stuff! Now… [Read more…]
Q: You guys are awesome! Anabolic Reload put a half-inch on my arms in less than a month. My arms have always lagged, so I’m blown away. I hit each muscle twice a week with about 12 sets. I didn’t want to reduce my sets on all, so I just did [STX] for arms. I started with the high-rep set followed by a heavy set, then I added a rest/pause every arm workout like the program says. My sleeves got tight almost immediately. Just want to thank you for getting my puny arms up bigger than they’ve ever been. I plan on trying this for each muscle through the winter. [Read more…]
Many bodybuilders embrace our change-to-gain hypertrophy concept. They just aren’t exactly sure how to apply it.
Do they change exercises, change intensity methods, or what?
Well, there’s a way to jack some major growth at every workout, and it’s simple to apply on only one set. We call it Last-Set Roulette. [Read more…]
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know we harp on “change to gain” a lot, especially for those who want insane hypertrophy…
It pays BIG muscle dividends to periodically alter your workouts—sometimes radically. And, yes, even we get stuck in ruts and forget to rotate in some new hypertrophy smart bombs… [Read more…]
Q: I’ve been training hard 5 days a week for almost a year. I decided to try the Anabolic Reload Mass Workout, and after the weekend off and then only 1 workout, I swear I look bigger with new muscle size. Is it my imagination? With this workout I’m doing less volume, but I am using the high-to-low STX method with a slower negative, 1/3 tempo, on ever rep. I’m more sore than I’ve been in a while, but is it really possible that I’m bigger already?
A: It’s not only possible, it’s very probably — reality and NOT your imagination because of a few things that are happening to induce new, immediate hypertrophy… [Read more…]
Q: I’m using the Anabolic Reload Mass Workout and really feel the high-rep set first on the big exercises, like bench presses. I’m only 30, but I’m wondering if a few weeks down the road I should try using stretch-exercise-first workout in Chapter 8 [The Over-40 STX Workout] to get some new freaky mass?.
A: New research says absolutely. Not only will that high-rep stretch set first help you activate more fast-twitch fibers on the heavier sets that follow, it will also trigger a unique layer of muscle mass… [Read more…]
Q: I find it exciting that type-1 endurance fibers are also capable of showing a significant level of muscular hypertrophy. I’ve already seen significant new growth using the high-rep-set-first method from Anabolic Reload. My question is, Won’t a slow-mo style on that first set work just as well, like your X-centric method [7-second sets] and be good change to gain, and maybe even double your growth?
To clarify, the high-rep set first helps trigger growth in the slow-twitch fibers AND also pre-fatigues those fibers so you get better fast-twitch activation on the heavier sets that follow. Very efficient for hyper-hypertrophy, a.k.a. freak-physique mass that can double your growth potential… [Read more…]
