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Q: I know you suggest one second to lift and three seconds to lower. Do you ever use a slower lifting cadence, like lifting in three or four seconds instead of only one? Wouldn’t that produce more tension time for unique muscle-growth stimulation?
A: Yes, it can be a great variation for more mass creation as well as a fat-burning catalyst. But the big reason to slow down on the lifting stroke is for more strength. [Read more…]
Q: I have two questions. I’m using The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout, one [Ultimate] exercise per muscle. Killer results so far, with 40-minute workouts, but I was wondering what should I use as my rep speed on 10×10 sets? Also, is there anything I can take so I tolerate the burn a little better? I think I could make even faster gains if I could push further past the insane burn to get at more fibers.
A: Our former colleague, the late olympic coach Charles Poliquin, said that one of the most underused get-bigger triggers is rep-tempo change, or cadence manipulation. Since you’re only doing one exercise for each muscle, we suggest you vary the cadence throughout the 10×10 sequence… [Read more…]
Q: I’ve been intrigued by your explanation of workout density being the reason your 10×10 program builds mass. Do you think that’s the reason drop sets are also so effective?
A: Workout density is Vince Gironda’s term to express getting more work done in a given time frame. For example, most trainees do a set, rest for two to three minutes, do another set, and so on. In 10 minutes you only do two or three sets…
[Read more…]Q: What can I do during my workouts to get leaner right now? I have some pounds to lose, especially around my middle. My goal this year is to see abs all summer, so I want to get rid of the fat fast.
A: You may be doing some of these things already, but here are our top-3 tips to ramp up fat burning in your weight-training workouts (of course, you also have to adjust your eating to make these tricks super-effective):
[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 read your last e-zine on fat-to-muscle tips with great interest. I added your recommendations to my training immediately. My question is, What about X Reps? Do they help? Should I add those in as well?
A: Yes, X Reps are excellent for a faster fat-to-muscle hustle. For the uninitiated, X Reps are eight-inch partials that you add onto a set after you hit exhaustion. You do those end-of-set partials at the point on the stroke at which the target muscle is somewhat stretched—for example, near the bottom of an incline press, bench press, or chinup…
[Read more…]Q: Your 4X mass method has 35 to 45 seconds rest between sets. I’ve seen research that longer rests between sets can be better for strength and muscle growth. What’s your take on that?
A: Legendary trainer Vince Gironda, the Iron Guru who trained Mr. Olympias as well as Hollywood stars to build muscle fast, first got us into reducing rest between sets for muscle growth—he called it Density Training…
[Read more…]Q: You’ve said high-rep leg work can increase testosterone. Will the first high-rep set on each exercise in the Anabolic Reload STX workouts boost T even more?
A: It appears that reason high-rep leg work boosts testosterone is due to heavy breathing, big-muscle stimulation, growth-fiber activation, and muscle burn… [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: At your suggestion, I’ve been including higher-rep sets in many of my workouts. I’m seeing much more size and vascularity. My question is, do sets of around 20 reps work because I’m getting growth in more slow-twitch fibers or are the fast-twitch ones getting larger as well?
A: Yes, both—and as bodybuilders, we want to maximize ALL hypertrophic pathways, even size in the slow-twitch fibers. Higher-rep sets also give you anabolic hormone surges…
According to Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., who conducts studies on muscle hypertrophy,
[Read more…]
