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Remembering 60 lbs of Muscle in 4 Weeks & X-R/P

Q: I’m ready to start the Mass F/X Program in 3D Muscle Building. I like it because it’s your updated version of the Size Surge Phase 1 program, training only three days a week, with sarcoplasmic work, not just all heavy. But can I use the X-centric method in that program? I really like that tactic. I used it to reshape my physique, building 10 pounds of muscle while losing fat at the same time. Where should I put the X-centric work?

A: For the uninitiated, X-centric work is lifting in one second and lowering in six seconds. That means if you do eight reps, you get almost a full minute of hypertrophic tension time, something most bodybuilders never do… [Read more…]

Frequent Muscle Hits to Get Massive and Ripped?

Q: I’m using 4X, TORQ, and Super TORQ exclusively—no heavy training. I’ve already added about six pounds of new muscle in just a few months. Can I train each muscle more frequently than every four days? It seems like with moderate poundages, each muscle would recover quicker and I could train more often to grow even faster. Should I try it?

A: Try it. Whether it works well will depend on your recovery ability—and your age may also have a bearing…

Consider this: Research has discovered that the older we get, the more muscle inflammation derails muscle growth. [Merrit, E.K., et al. (2013). J App Physiology.]

Jonathan Lawson dumbbell curls with Powerblocks

So the more trauma you inflict at your workouts as you get older, the harder it is for you to recover and grow. That may also be the case for hardgainers—they’re more susceptible to inflammation, resulting in slow-to-no growth.

Here is the conclusion of the researchers in that study:

We show for the first time that human aging is associated with muscle inflammation susceptibility (MuIS, i.e. higher basal state of pro-inflammatory signaling) that is present in both tissue and isolated myogenic cells and likely contributes to the impaired regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle in the older population.

By using lighter poundages, as with 4X, and/or more repetitions per set, as in our TORQ and Mr. America Doug Brignole’s Super TORQ, you reduce the amount of trauma and increase your capacity to grow.

With TORQ and Super TORQ, you also get a variety of tension times. TORQ stands for tension-overload repetition quantity. Our version is 30-20-15 reps with 40 seconds between. We use multiple exercises per muscle with TORQ…

Brignole, on the other hand, uses only ONE exercise per muscle, but his reps are 50-40-30-20-10, with drop sets on the last one.

Doug Brignole, flexing

With either of those you get high-end tension times that so many bodybuilders miss—60 to 90 seconds per set. And with either of those you may be able to get away with training each muscle every two or three days…

Brignole hits each muscle once every four to five days. His complete workout is in the Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 e-book, along with his full interview on his method, which exercises are best and more…

In the interview he says,

It’s truly amazing how good a workout one can get with only five sets and one exercise. I’m growing like a weed. Awesome pump.

So, yes, you may be able to train each muscle sooner than Doug does—if you’re younger AND you have good recovery ability. For us old guys, we get to suffer through TORQ less often. Hey, at least there’s one good thing about getting old. LOL!

Just remember, it takes experimentation for maximum mass creation.

Learn More About 4X and TORQ Training
Learn More About Mr. America’s Super-TORQ

Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.

—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com

Bad Gas is Stopping Your Mass

Here’s a new probiotic product to help your good gut bacteria dominate for optimum anabolic uptake so you get massive muscle gains. See for yourself with a FREE trial. This is great get-huge news…

To celebrate selling nearly 2 million bottles of their premium probiotic formula Pro-X10®, the founders of BioTrust Nutrition want to reward anyone who visits the link below today with a FREE 30-count bottle of this revolutionary gut-health yielding, muscle-building probiotic supplement… with ZERO strings attached! 

It’s truly FREE (no autoship, no future charges – nothing; you pay only a small shipping fee). The premium and patented ingredients in Pro-X10 have been shown through research to:

  • Significantly decrease the “bad” pathogenic, health-derailing, muscle-stifling bacteria in your gut
  • Dramatically improve overall digestive health, gut-lining strength, AND immune health (your immunity needs to be optimal if you want to add muscle fast because your body’s first priority is health, not muscle size)
  • Begin working ULTRA fast, with positive results seen in lab tests in as little as 5 short hours (while other traditional probiotics take weeks or months to improve your gut flora ratio, if ever)

Talk about research-backed results, not to mention off-the-chart muscle gains with renewed nutrient assimilation! Stop wasting workouts due to a “bad” gut. You’ve got nothing to lose, and plenty of new muscle to gain. Go to…

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Stop the Gas, Gain More Mass

Freak-Physique Techniques: Once per week

Q: I stumbled across some of your old daily training blog posts, and I notice that you’d often call your last workout of the week Freaky Friday. What’s up with that? Are those freak-physique techniques you use something I can implement to grow more mass quickly? I need more size!

A: Bodybuilders always need more size—somewhere. And that’s why we implemented freak-physique techniques on Fridays for a long time. Freaky Friday was basically our way to train “outside the box.” [Read more…]

The Size-Stretch Connection: Muscle Elongation for Mass Creation

Q: Your Positions-of-Flexion mass training is great! Using the 3D Muscle Building e-book and workouts, I’ve designed different programs for myself with the three-exercises full-range stimulation, and I credit POF with the 50 pounds of muscle I’ve built over the years. Thank you. My question is, What do you think about starting with the stretch-position exercise for each POF bodypart routine? Stretch is one of the biggest mass stimulators because of that muscle elongation, so why not start with it?

A: Your question reminded us that years ago we experimented with the stretch-move-first method, and it produced such good gains that a video was created, “Hypercontraction Training.”

For example, you train a few sets of FLYES first for pec stretch overload. Then you work bench presses (midrange) and end with cable crossovers (contracted)… [Read more…]

Feel Your Muscle Grow

Q: Your 4X training is fantastic. It has me growing again, and it’s perfect with 3-way POF. My question is about muscle feel. How important is it for size increases? I ask because I have trouble feeling some major body parts, like shoulders and chest.

A: We think it’s EXTREMELY important to feel the target muscle working; if you don’t, you may be using other muscle groups to move the weight or simply not innervating enough muscle fibers for a big anabolic response. [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 53: Ray Mentzer on the Beach

This most-muscular variation by Ray Mentzer on the beach may be his best condition ever. The photo is by Wayne Gallasch of GMV Productions out of Australia.  [Read more…]

Spike Your Muscle Gains

Q: I’ve been reading about 4X and TORQ. I’m 25 and usually train heavy, but now that I have to train at home, I’m looking for the best way to keep building muscle without a lot of weights. I’m afraid with these light training methods I might lose muscle. I’ll try them because I have no choice right now, but I think heavy is the way to grow. How do I know I won’t shrink if I don’t pony up for more weights in my home gym?

A: We’ve both been using 4X-based training techniques for several years. If a couple of old guys whose anabolic hormones aren’t what they used to be don’t shrink, you won’t. In fact, we’ve got trainees from all age groups who’ve tried 4X and TORQ and many start using them constantly because they make such great gains… [Read more…]