muscle-protein synthesis Archives

One-Day Blast for More Mass

Q: I’m not gonna lie… I sometimes get bored with my training or just have random days when my motivation is a bit low. That makes it tough to get to the gym, but I really don’t want to skip a day because of that. What if I took random days here and there to do only one exercise for each muscle. Would that be good for growth, and how often could I do that?

A: Any deviation from the norm will shock new muscle size, especially if it’s something that challenges your growth threshold like 10×10 of only one exercise. [Read more…]

High-Low to Grow

Q: I got the Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 [with Super TORQ] after reading about all the great results people have had. Fantastic e-book! Might be your most interesting so far, and I’m already using your variation of Super TORQ. Wow! I’m sore to the core. Lol! My question is about stiff-legged deadlifts. You have it as a 30-20-15-10 sequence in your Modified Super-TORQ Program (page 49). Why not 40 or 50 reps on the first set, as with your other exercises?

A: From our vantage point, and experience, semi-stiff-legged deadlifts are one of the more dangerous exercises. One false move and your lower back can get whacked… [Read more…]

TORQ Up Your Muscle Size

Q: I’m torn between heavy training and higher reps [TORQ]. I like ending bodyparts with lighter-weight, high-rep sets for longer tension times and more pump, and now I’m hearing that ALL-high-rep workouts are best. I’m almost 30, but I want to grow as fast as possible. Should I try all-high-rep training for a while, or is that more for when I’m older like you guys and can’t train heavy anymore?

A: Hey, we resemble that remark! LOL. The beauty of bodybuilding is that you can try whatever you want. Change is good. Plus, keep in mind that everyone responds to unique training styles differently—you may grow like never before (you’ll see an example below). And, no, you don’t have to be older to start experimenting… [Read more…]

Research: Grow More Muscle With Simplified 2-Way Workouts

Q: You guys have opened my eyes to new ways to grow muscle. Your explanation of the myofibrils (force generation) and sarcoplasm (energy fluid) and how they both contribute to size is excellent. To build both of those fast, I want a simple, no-bells-and-whistles heavy-light program. What would you suggest?

A: Ah, the no-frills approach. It’s always good to go back to basics every so often, focusing on the force-generating myofibrils with a heavy workout and sarcoplasmic expansion with lighter DENSITY at the next… [Read more…]

Muscle-Firing Frequency for Fat Loss

Q: You’ve said that training each muscle only once a week doesn’t work for most people. But I just got the Fat-to-Muscle Workout (thank you for the sale price!), and both the four-day and three-day workouts train each muscle only once a week. Am I missing something?

A: You’re not missing anything; we’re just insane. Seriously, in the Q&A section of The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout we mention a study on negative-style training and the need it creates for much MORE RECOVERY. That’s the answer… [Read more…]

Feel Your Muscles 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 to feel your muscles working for size increases? I ask because I have trouble feeling some body parts, like shoulders and chest.

A: We believe it’s EXTREMELY important to feel your muscles 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…]

First-Set Trick for Muscle Mass

Q: I’m loving your 4X mass method. I’ve been using it for only three weeks, and I already feel bigger and look fuller. The scale says I’ve put on three pounds, but it looks like more than that. I feel pumped all the time. Anyway, I’m wondering if I should do a warmup set before I jump into 4X for an exercise. If not on all 3 exercises in Positions of Flexion, maybe just the first one will do the trick since it’s compound [or midrange], like squats.

A: Keep in mind that with 4X mass training, you’re using the same MODERATE weight from the first set to the last. In most cases you shouldn’t need a warmup set because your first in the sequence is fairly easy—you don’t go to failure… [Read more…]

Fast-Mass One-Hit-Wonder Workout

Q: Now that summer is coming to an end soon, my motivation to train is going down. Is there any way I can build muscle going to the gym two or three times a week? Like, is there a program you can recommend with just one exercise per bodypart that will keep me building muscle without taking hours in the gym?

A: We’re all about efficiency-of-effort muscle building, so you’ve come to the right place for fast-mass workouts, and many of our newest programs are just three days a week.

Most of the time, we preach multi-angular training (Positions of Flexion). That is, using a big midrange exercise followed by a stretch-position exercise and ending with a contracted-position move. That ramps up growth stimulation along three different pathways: max force (midrange), stretch overload (stretch), and occlusion/tension (contracted)… [Read more…]

How to Cut Back to Grow

Q: The idea of a few medium-intensity [subfailure] workouts after many weeks of going all out makes perfect sense to me. My question is, Should I reduce my poundages so I can do the same number of reps, or should I stick with my same working poundages and just do fewer reps? Which way is best?

A: We prefer to use the same phase-training approach Jonathan used on the 10-week Size Surge Program when he gained 20 pounds of muscle. For each of his two supercompensation weeks, he used the same work weights and just stopped two reps short of failure—and that worked amazingly well for him. He actually appeared to get bigger during each downshift week as his muscles and nervous system supercompensated.

[Read more…]

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…]