Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
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.
[Read more…]Q: I’ve been reading your e-zine for years, and I have almost all of your e-books. Great info, and thanks to you I have a lot of new muscle. 3D POF is great! My question is about rep ranges. You’ve talked about using lower reps, medium reps, and higher reps. I’ve read that the key to muscle growth is intensity, and that rep ranges don’t really matter. Can’t I just keep doing about eight to 10 reps, the best range for muscle growth, on all my exercises and train intensely, to failure, to make the best gains? Do I really need different rep ranges?
A: While intensity is the big key to forcing muscle growth, there is no doubt that the predominant fiber type in a particular muscle dictates its best rep range for fastest size gains.
[Read more…]Q: I love the Power/Rep Range/Shock POF program [on pages 103-114 in the 3D Muscle Building e-book]. I’m making excellent gains with it, mostly in strength. I’m more of a small-framed guy at 5’10, 175 pounds. I read your discussion on the study that showed low reps don’t do much for hardgainer types like me, so I’m wondering if I would get more size by deleting the Power week. Should I just do RR/S, alternating between the Rep Range and Shock workouts?
A: If all you’re after is a muscle mass multiplier for more size, with smaller increases in strength, that may be an option; however, you sound pretty stoked about all the new strength gains you’re getting (we got incredible strength gains on that program too!). We’d suggest you keep the Power week—just don’t do it as often. More specifics on that in a moment from the creator, Eric Broser. First, let’s review the P/RR/S protocol for those who aren’t familiar with it…
[Read more…]Q: I’m ready to start the total 4X mass program [moderate-weight, growth threshold training]. How do I know what weight to use on each exercise? Can I base it on my 8-rep max or what?
A: The 4X mass method is density training—so it’s high fatigue. Very different from standard training with longer rests, so we understand the weight confusion, but that’s why for weights you’ll have to guess…
[Read more…]Q: I’m super impressed! I’ve been on the Size Surge workout for four weeks, and I’ve gained 7 pounds. My shirts are tighter with no increase in my waist, so it seems to be all muscle. The program calls for a back-off, or low-intensity, week between the two training phases. Is that really necessary, or can I go right into Phase 2? I don’t want to lose any mass. Any time I’ve taken a week off or even reduced my training, I’ve gotten smaller.
A: No, do not go right into Phase 2. The back-off week (#6) between the two phases has a definite purpose. It will allow your nervous system to recharge and your muscles to completely recover so you can push into the next phase with more intensity. And during that downshift week, you should get bigger, not smaller, despite what you thought you experienced in the past. Here is what hypertrophy researcher Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., says about the process… [Read more…]
Q: I’ve been reading that testosterone is the key muscle-building hormone. Does the hormone boost come from intensity, more reps or what?
A: Arthur Jones, creator of Nautilus machines and the overseer of the Colorado Experiment that saw Casey Viator gain 60 pounds of muscle in only 4 weeks, always said that training legs hard can have a big “indirect muscle-building effect.”
What that means is that you could train your legs hard and see size gains in other muscles, such as [Read more…]
Q: Now that the weather has cooled down a bunch, I’m looking for a mass workout program for winter, to build as much size as possible. Then I’ll start to lean out in the early spring thaw. What type of program should I use? Big, basic power-bodybuilding routine or something like 4X Positions of Flexion? I can’t decide.
A: Winter is a long haul, so why not do both? A good place to start is with something like Jonathan’s Size Surge program—but you can do it with a few twists… [Read more…]
Q: I’m a big believer in Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty system of one all-out set to failure for each exercise. That’s why I think your 4X method is total B.S. Mentzer cited studies and found from personal experience that intensity is the key to muscle growth. With 4X you’re using lighter weights and not going to failure, which wastes a lot of sets. It can’t work, and I think you should feel ashamed for promoting it as miracle mass-building system.
A: We didn’t say it’s a “miracle” system (although some trainees have said it worked mass miracles for them). We simply said that we GUARANTEE that our 4X programs will build NEW MASS for just about anyone. We’re absolutely positive of that because it’s got ALL the critical components to trigger bigger gains quickly—and that includes intensity (we think Mentzer would agree as you’ll see, and that’s no B.S.)… [Read more…]
Q: I gave the 4X method a try, and it feels amazing. Definitely a big pump. I’m just worried that since only the fourth set is to all-out failure that I’m not getting enough intensity to stimulate growth. I’m used to doing two to four sets on each exercise to total exhaustion. Will my muscles regress on 4X?
A: In The 4X Mass Workout e-book we explain the all-or-none principle of fiber activation. What that means is that a muscle fiber fires at 100 percent or not at all. So even on SUBFAILURE sets, you’re getting bundles of fast-twitch fibers to fire completely. [Read more…]
Q: I have most of your e-books, and every one of them is great. I’ve learned so much from them, and I’m gaining faster than ever. My question is that in The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout you use power sets, negative-accentuated sets, and then end with high-rep sets to finish off a muscle. But in the X-centric Mass Workout, you have a similar program, but you end each bodypart with 4X instead of high reps. When it comes to the finisher sets, which way is better?
A: Neither is better—just different. Arnold used to use high-rep burnout finisher sets. Those were a good complement to his many heavy power sets. He’d either use them on the last exercise for a muscle or do a high-rep set as the last finisher for almost every exercise. Either way, you end up with a skin-stretching pump… [Read more…]
