Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
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’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.
[Read more…]Q: I know that the short rests between sets with 4X get your fat burning jacked with growth hormone. How can I use 4X in The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout for a double-whammy? Where would you suggest I put it, or should I use it at all?
A: The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout has you train each muscle group only once a week. That’s because you use heavy sets as well as X-centric and high reps for more fiber microtrauma—which encourages fat burning as well as muscle-fiber remodeling…
[Read more…]If you’re like us, you’re a little concerned. Spring is just a few weeks away and summer will be here before you can say, “Who stole my abs.” When the heat hits, you don’t want to be the victim of an ab-napping. It’s a lot more fun if you peel off your shirt that first warm day at the beach, pool, or lake and your midsection looks like acid-etched granite.
Of course, there is a downside. You have to put up with all the glares, stares, and the questions, like, “Man, how do I get ripped?” or “What workout are you on?” or “Can I touch your abs?” LOL!
[Read more…]Q: I’m reading the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book, and I noticed that you have a section on X-centric training. But it’s not the same as what you describe in my X-centric Mass Workout e-book. Is one better than the other?
A: X-centric is our X-Rep vernacular for eccentric, which is the negative stroke of an exercise; that is, the lowering of a weight, like the downward portion of a bench press. [Read more…]
Q: I got your three fat-loss e-books [Triple-Shred Offer], and I’ve read them all. Great information, and I’m soooo ready to start. I like the X-treme Lean High-Definition Workout, but I’d want to incorporate a negative-accentuated set for each muscle [as you discuss and include in The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout]. Where should I put the NA set in the X-treme Lean Workout? I want to be ripped this summer while I still have time!
A: Excellent question, and we’re glad you’re tailoring the workouts to your needs—to rip up faster. You’re right. Using a negative-accentuated set for each bodypart should make the X-treme Lean High-Def Workout even better, just don’t get carried away (of course, you’ll also need to stick to the diets and eating info in that e-book as well)… [Read more…]
In the past, we’ve mentioned how changing tempo on each set can produce huge growth effect.
For example, if you’re using the X-centric training method, you do your first set X-centric (lift in one second, lower in six), your second in standard style (lift in one second, lower in 3), and your last as a speed set (each rep in 1.5 seconds)… But can you fuse two for a killer double-speed muscle growth combo-to-grow method? Yes…
Q: I read where old-school bodybuilders would use lighter weights and higher reps on some exercises before competition to get more muscle detail. That’s total B.S., right?
A: On the surface, yes. But ending a bodypart with higher-rep work—or even doing entire workouts with higher rep work, enhances muscle burn. No, that’s not fat burning—at least not in a strict sense… [Read more…]
Q: I love the 4X mass method and am already seeing new size from it after only two weeks. I notice you’ve been recommending different methods on each set sometimes. Does that work better for mass? Should I be doing that?
A: One method we often recommend is the progressive speed tactic. We know one thing about it for certain: The feel is unreal—deep ache with a muscle-expanding pump after only three sets… [Read more…]
Q: Do you believe that a person can max out muscle growth with 4X-style training considering you only use medium poundages?
A: We know for a fact that 4X-only workouts build a lot of muscle—and without straining joints because the poundages aren’t super heavy. Remember, with 4X you take a weight with which you can get 15 reps, but you only do 10; rest 30 seconds, then do 10 more; and so on until you do 4×10—and only the last set or two are to failure…
That said, the question becomes: Is 4X, with its moderate-poundage load, sufficient to reach your genetic potential for muscle growth—without using extremely heavy weights? We are still trying to answer that question, but the evidence is pointing to YES…
Studies show that lighter poundages, with enough volume, trigger muscle growth; other studies show that heavier weights that cause more microtrauma cause hypertrophy due to “over repair,” a protective mechanism that makes muscles bigger to withstand further assaults.
We often refer to Power and Density. Heavy weights for power and lighter-higher rep sets, drop sets or short rests for density. When you use both styles, you attack the two constituents of the key 2A muscle fibers, the ones that are most prevalent in the biggest bodybuilders. The 2A fibers have both power and endurance components, so it appears that to get maximum development, you need BOTH styles of training, power and endurance, or density…
However, in The 4X Mass Workout e-book we analyze many styles of training and conclude that 4X, even though it has short rests and moderate poundages, is a BALANCE of power and density. That should be the perfect recipe for maximum mass. On the other hand, 10×10 is almost PURE density, which is why we recommend that style for short burst of only three to four weeks for a density-overload shock effect. Here is a graphic representation of power-density from the 4X Mass Workout…
There are 4X hybrid techniques that skew it more toward either power or density…
4X PYRAMID: If you want to skew 4X more toward POWER, you can use a 4X pyramid. Still adhere to short rests of 30 to 45 seconds between sets, but increase the poundage on each set. So on squats, you might use 225, 245, 255, 265, rather than 225 on all sets of a standard 4X sequence. Increasing the weight will have your reps decrease, something like 10, 9, 7, 6; however, even the last set won’t be overly heavy due to the short rest intervals.
4X NA: To skew 4X more toward DENSITY, use negative-accentuated sets. We call that SHOCK-CENTRIC training. Use a weight with which you can get about 15 reps, but only do 7—with a ONE-second positive and SIX-second negative; rest 30 to 45 seconds and repeat. Do four of those NA sets, and the last one should be extremely demanding; if not, the weight was too light. Each set will give you about 50 seconds of tension time, something your muscles aren’t used to—plus you’ll get a lot of microtrauma just like you get with heavy-weight sets—and that’s believed to trigger major mass. [For more on NA training, see The X-centric Mass Workout.]
So each NA set on squats has you lower in six seconds, then blast up to the standing position in one. Same with bench presses—lower in six seconds, drive up in one. With curls you pull the bar up in one second, lower in six—and so on…
We often experiment with all of those styles—standard 4X, 4X pyramid, and Shock-centric training—and none of them requires super heavy poundages. Our joints feel great, our muscles are big and full, and those workouts are still short enough to work with a busy schedule. We believe 4X change is another BIG key to massive gains—without joint pains!
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
One of the most interesting read-me pages on Testosterone and other muscle-building hormones we’ve seen is The Truth About Testosterone.
It even talks about a fruit, a specific part, that can up your T naturally. Cranking up your testosterone will not only get you jacked in the gym, but in the bedroom too—not to mention help rip up your midsection as it ignites fat burning. If that interests you, there’s more from our colleague and registered dietician, HERE.
