intensity Archives

2 Techniques to Transform Your Physique

Q: I’m 42 years old, on the thin side, and have been training for several years. I want to know if I’ll overtrain by taking my work sets to failure and then adding X-Rep partials to the end. Some experts seem say it will cause burnout and that you have to be juiced to stand that style of training. I’m natural, so I wonder how it would affect me. I want to buy your new X-Rep Update #1 ebook, but I don’t want the program and methods to be too much for me to handle.

A: Steve is over 60 years old and still making great gains with X Reps and X-hybrid tactics. He’s been thin all his life—his starting bodyweight was less than 120 pounds; however, with 3D Positions of Flexion training he restructured his physique—and by adding X Reps and X-hybrid techniques in his 40s, his muscles have gotten bigger and better (no steroids)… [Read more…]

Interval Cardio to Burn More Fat

Q: I’ve heard it brought up a few times by others recently, and I remember from your old daily training blog that you guys sometimes use interval cardio to burn more fat. What is that and how should I use it?

A: There are surprising facts about using interval cardio to burn more fat, but before we get to those, let’s explain interval cardio on a running track. To do interval training, you sprint the straightaways all out and walk the curves. Another good example is running stairs—you run up for intensity and coast down. In other words, you alternate high-intensity bursts with lower-intensity activity.
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Anabolic Blood Bath: Get Your Size on the Rise

Q: I’m getting excellent results with 4X mass training. Sometimes my workouts go over an hour, which concerns me. I’ve heard that the hour mark is when testosterone becomes depleted. Many trainers say not to be in the gym over an hour or your T is shot. Should I cut back? What are your thoughts/solutions?

A: The one-hour testosterone-depletion scenario completely depends on your level of T (older trainees generally have less) and the workout you’re doing—the bodyparts you’re working, how much intensity you’re using and how many heavy all-out sets you’re including… [Read more…]

Gaining Like Crazy

Q: I’m insanely stoked using the Size Surge program. I love Phase 1, and I’m gaining like crazy. My gains have been so good that I really don’t want to go to Phase 2 just yet. Can I stay on Phase 1 for another month or so, till I feel like my gains have stalled out?

A: Everyone has different genetics, so nothing is written in stone. The Size Surge program listed is what worked for Jonathan—he gained 20 pounds in 10 weeks using it as written: phase 1 for five high-intensity weeks, stuck with it for a sixth downshift week, then did the phase 2 Positions-of-Flexion program for the last four weeks where he was gaining like crazy. [Read more…]

Pyramid Power: Secret to Mega Mass and Strength

Q: I just got The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout and The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout. Tremendous. I’ve already read them both twice. Undoubtedly the best bodybuilding info I’ve ever seen. I noticed that in the programs in both e-books, you rely a lot on pyramiding the weight on the compound exercises. Is that better than just using the same poundage on all work sets and going to exhaustion?

A: With the type of training we list in those e-books, we believe adding weight to each work set so that the rep count decreases—9, 7, 5, for instance—is ideal to build BOTH mega mass and strength for three reasons… [Read more…]

Should I Do More?

Q: I’ve noticed in a lot of your e-book routines that you often recommend just two work sets for an exercise Why? Should I do more? I’ve read that most bodybuilders do four or five sets per exercise.

A: As Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus machines said: “You can train hard or you can train long, but you can’t do both.” Short and hard or long and not so hard both work. Despite what some die-hard high-intensity trainers say, gradually increasing volume is a form of overload that can result in more muscle—if you don’t overdo intensity. It’s a balancing act. Us? Regardless of whether it’s one of our low-set workouts or high tension time workouts, we’re about efficiency of effort in the gym…

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Power, Density, Intensity: Combo to Grow

Q: I got your X-centric Mass Workout. Motivating info, and I messed around with some X-centric variations in my last workouts. Enjoying the new muscle soreness. I want to start using the Direct/Indirect X-centric Mass Workout [outlined in that e-book]. It has a standard heavy pyramid on the big exercises, last set X-centric. What do you think of using downward progression 4X instead with the last set X-centric?

A: For those who don’t have the X-centric Mass Workout e-book, the workout being referred to is Positions of Flexion, with a pyramid + X-centric set on the midrange exercise, a straight set or two on the stretch move, and a 4X sequence on the contracted-position exercise.

For example, for middle-lower chest it’s…

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Mass-in-a-Flash Transformation: How to Get Explosive Growth

Q: Okay, your before and after photos at X-Rep.com are unreal. I can’t believe you made those changes in only one month, and my friends say you used drugs. What’s the truth? How did you do it, what kind of training did you do, and were drugs involved? Please be honest.

A: Trust us, no drugs were involved. Truth: Jonathan is a drug-free for life bodybuilder and Steve experimented with 5 milligrams of Dianabol once a day back in his early 20s—but after three weeks of dreams that his liver would explode, he stopped. BTW, he saw no visual improvement during those 3 weeks on that dosage.

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1 Set of 1 Exercise for More Cuts, Veins, and Size

Q: I’ve been using an X-centric set [lift in one second, lower in six] for every muscle and have noticed more cuts, veins, and I’m pretty sure more muscle size. I usually use it on the last set of a 4X sequence, but I’ve heard it’s better on the first set to get more of a warmup. Which is better, the X-centric set on the first or last set of 4X?

A: In a previous newsletter, we outlined how to use an X-centric set on the last set of a 4X sequence with The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout. We showed a lat routine with 4X on the first exercise.

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Muscle-Morphing Motivation

Q: Help! I train hard for a couple of workouts, and then I start slacking off. I hate that! How do you guys stay motivated to keep pushing?

A: Motivation does ebb and flow, but we’re pretty good at keeping the intensity switched to “on” most of the year. Why? Let’s be honest: It’s mostly vanity. The big reason we work out is to look great when we’re out and about. Nobody likes to be embarrassed when they take off their shirt at the beach or the pool.

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