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Forgotten Fact About Muscle Growth

Casey Viator doing Nautilus biceps curls

I won’t keep you in suspense: It’s range of motion. But the forgotten fact is why it’s important…

If you’ve ever watched a very lean bodybuilder doing leg extensions—lean enough so you can see fibers firing—you’ll notice twitching “explosions” all over the quad muscles as the lower leg extends and retracts. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: arthur jones, Casey Viator, forgotten size concept, muscle fibers, muscle growth, Nautilus, range of motion, Steven J. Fleck Ph.D, William J. Kraemer Ph.D

The Stretch-Strength Link

JL 3D Biceps Exercises - Triple-Hit Anabolic Reload

Q: I’m loving the 3D HIT program [listed in the X-traordinary Arms e-book]. Every bodypart is growing, my strength goes up at almost every workout, and I’m only in the gym for 45 minutes. So far, it’s sweet! My question is, Shouldn’t the stretch exercise be last in the 3D sequence: midrange, contracted, then stretch? I’ve read that stretching a muscle makes it weaker right after, so it only makes sense that you should do the stretch-position exercise last instead of before the contracted-position exercise; otherwise, you’ll be weaker on the contracted move. Am I off base here?

A: Either order works well for stimulating growth, and it’s good to mix it up for more adaptation (growth). But we’ll give you our reasoning for why we think the standard order (see the pics below) is best for optimum hypertrophy (fast mass) with regard to the stretch-strength link. Take biceps as an example. The standard 3D POF program is barbell curls, incline curls, and concentration curls—in that order. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d hit, 3d pof, anabolic, continuous tension, force, growth stimulation, muscle fibers, myotatic reflex, occlusion, Russian study, Science and Practice of Strength Training, stretch effect, stretch overload, stretch-strength, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, Vladimir Zatsiorsky, William J. Kraemer, x-traordinary arms

Mass Tip: Change each set to fire your size-building jets

Jonathan Lawson, concentration curl with support

Do you do every set the same way? You know, same rep tempo, same hand spacing same rest between sets?

Our motto is “change to gain” because it takes something unique to add more mass to your physique. Here’s a good example of making a change on each set. On seated biceps concentration curls…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic, arnold, arthur jones, belly fat burn, biceps, change each set, change to gain, concentration curls, extreme hypertrophy, fat burning, fat-burning furnace, fiber remodeling, hormone trick, mass building, mass tip, muscle fibers, muscle-building, nautilus machines, peak contraction, physique, rep speed, rep tempo, size building, slow negatives, supination, vascularity, x-centric sets

Loosen Up to Unleash Extreme Muscle Growth

Jonathan Lawson doing incline dumbbell flyes

Q: Have you heard of FST-7 training, and if so, what do you think of it? It has to do with stretching the muscle fascia from the inside with 7 sets of a big-pump exercise at the end of a bodypart workout. 

A: The idea of stretching the muscle fascia, which is the fibrous encasements that surround muscle fibers, has been around a while in many incarnations. The original method had trainees use a rigorous, painful stretching regimen after they trained a bodypart.

For example, after working hamstrings, the trainee would sit on the floor, legs straight and together, and his or her trainer would force the trainee’s torso forward to fully elongate the hamstrings—and it brought tears to the eyes.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: any rambod, bodyweight training, fascia expansion, fascia stretching, fst-7, home training, loosen up, muscle fascia, muscle fibers, muscle growth, muscle mass, POF, positions of flexion, pump, recovery ability, stats, x-rep update

Arnold’s X-Rep Mass Connection

Arnold double biceps

Q: In the description of your new e-book [The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout], you mention that Arnold used X Reps. How is that even possible? He was training [at his peak] way back in the 1970s, and X Reps didn’t come around till the 2000s. What’s the deal?

A: We coined the X-Rep term about fifteen years ago, but partial-rep training has been around for ages in various forms. What we did was take the most recent research on semi-stretch-point fiber activation and zero in on the BEST spot on the stroke for end-of-set partials, or X Reps…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: arnold, arnold schwarzenegger, burn outs, burns, flex-x, growth stimulation, iron man magazine, john balik, mass, muscle fibers, over-40, partial reps, positions of flexion, size building, testosterone, v-taper, X Reps, x-only, x-rep partials, x-traordinary x-rep workout

Look Bigger With NA Workouts

Q: I’ve been using the Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout, and getting fantastic results. My muscles have become more defined, so I look bigger, yet my bodyweight is the same. I’ve read your Power-Density e-program as well, and it makes a lot of sense. My question is, Do you think the negative-accentuated fat-to-muscle method is good for Density? Maybe that’s why it’s working so well after my heavy sets.

A: The bodybuilding truism is, Lose that last 10 pounds of fat and look 20 pounds bigger. That is, a more defined physique creates the illusion of size—and that’s what you’ve done. Here are pics of Jonathan’s back, which looks much bigger in the second more ripped photo, but he actually weighs a little less…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: burn fat, density, fat burning, fat-to-muscle, look big, look bigger, metabolic momentum, muscle fibers, muscle loss, muscle microtrauma, muscle recovery, muscularity, na training, negative-accentuated, overtraining, Power, power and density, power-density workout, slow negatives, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy trt, ultimate fat-to-muscle workout

Once-a-Week Workouts

Q: I’ve tried training each bodypart once a week, but it doesn’t seem to work for me. I’ve read about guys making that sort of program work and making great gains. Maybe I’m just not working hard enough to require that much recovery time? Any suggestions on how to make once-a-week workouts work?

A: We’ve done a lot of research and experimentation over the years, and although our first attempts at once-a-week workouts didn’t produce muscle gains, we believe we’ve discovered a simple way to make it work—more fiber trauma.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic response, fiber trauma, freak-physique stretch-overload workout, freak-physique workout, gains, microtears, midrange, muscle fibers, muscle gains, muscle soreness, negative-accentuated, once-a-week, once-a-week workouts, power pyramids, recovery, slow negatives, stretch position, tension time, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, X Reps

Training One Side at a Time

Q: How do you feel about one-arm and one-leg work? I’ve read that training one side at a time can help you contract more muscle fibers. Is that true?

A: We’ve seen studies that show unilateral work to be better at neuromuscular stimulation and therefore heightened muscle-fiber activation. Our main problem with one-limb exercises is time and energy expenditure.

Working one arm or one leg at a time takes longer, unless you move back and forth from one limb to the other without resting. Not resting, however, causes more systemic energy drain…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, 3d pof, bodyweight training, bodyweight workout, concentration curls, energy drain, fiber recruitment, full-range pof, full-range training, growth fibers, muscle fibers, muscle-protein synthesis, neuromuscular stimulation, one-arm dumbbell rows, one-arm overhead extensions, one-arm rows, one-leg calf raises, one-leg leg extensions, one-limb exercises, positions of flexion, single-limb work, training one side at a time, unilateral work

Plus-One Ab-Etching Method

Q: I’ve noticed that you guys don’t recommend hanging leg raises for abs, but you do include incline leg raises in your routines. Why? Aren’t they pretty much the same exercise?

A: We discuss the difference in the X-traordinary Abs e-book, calling them “kneeups.” The inferiority of hanging has to do with optimal fiber activation…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x sequence, ab exercises, ab workout, ab-etching, abs, bodyfat, bodyweight training, fiber activation, knee-ups, kneeups, leg raises, max force, muscle fibers, plus-one, ripped, semi-stretch, x-traordinary abs

New Angle to Push Your Muscle Size Higher

Q: I love Positions of Flexion. I can totally feel it working new fibers, and the pump is off the charts. I’ve been doing midrange, stretch, and then contracted, but I just saw that you sometimes recommend the stretch-position exercise last. Is that a good idea? Why do that?

A: The standard order is midrange, stretch, and contracted, as you’ve been doing. For example, for triceps, it’s close-grip bench presses (midrange), overhead extensions (stretch), and pushdowns (contracted)…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, anabolic, anabolic hormones, change to gain, fiber activation, mass blast, mass building, modified pre-ex, multi-joint exercises, muscle fibers, muscle size, myotatic reflex, neuromuscular response, new angle, positions of flexion, pre-ex 3x, pump, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, triceps workout, trt

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