• Shop
  • Checkout
  • My Account

X-REP.COM

Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Shop
  • X Files
    • Latest Articles
    • FAQ
    • Ezine Archive
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Gallery

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 94: Danny Padilla Mass Twist

Danny Padilla in a twisting back pose on stage, cropped photo

We’ve featured Danny Padilla in our Zen installments many times, but he had such a great, well-balanced, and inspiring physique that he’s worth flashing back on again. This is a great twisting-back stage shot that highlights his mass and symmetry, things his training style magnified… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x method, bodybuilding zen, danny padilla, density training, fiber types, giant killer, iron guru, master trainer, muscle pump, physique, progressive muscle-fiber exhaustion, symmetry, vince gironda

Sets Down, Pumps Up—Major Gains and Veins

Ripped torso showing cable crossovers

Q: I’ve been using straight-up Positions of Flexion, and I’ve put on a lot of muscle in the last two months. I’m up about 10 pounds using the 3D Power Pyramid Workout [in the Freak-Physique Stretch-Overload e-book]. My gains slowed after about six weeks, so I started using TORQ on the last exercise [30-20-15 reps, 45 seconds rest]. Unreal pump and new veins coming in. But since I’m doing a two-way split, those three sets on so many exercises really drain me. Can I do just two, 30 and 20 reps?

A: Absolutely! The number of set depends on your individual recovery ability and the intensity of your entire workout. With the 3D Power Pyramid program in the Freak-Physique e-book, you’re doing heavy sets on the midrange and stretch exercises, so using the contracted move for high-end hypertrophic stimulation is perfect… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d power pyramid, freak physique, gains, muscle gains, muscle pump, positions of flexion, protect your family, pump, self defense, stretch overload, TORQ, vascularity, veins

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 68: Danny Padilla Onstage

Danny Padilla was “the Giant Killer” of pro bodybuilding back in the ‘80s. At only 5’2”, his symmetrical sculpted mass allowed him to beat bodybuilders who were much taller and larger than he was.

From the pic here, you can see why—no flaws anywhere. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 1980s, 4X, 4x muscle building, aesthetics, after-40 muscle building, bodybuilding zen, danny padilla, density training, fast-twitch fibers, giant killer, hypertrophy, iron guru, master trainer, muscle pump, slow-twitch fibers, symmetry, vince gironda

Why Your Growth is Slow—and How to Make it Explode

Muscle fiber growth illustration

Q: I pound away at my workouts, but I’ve only gained about three pounds of muscle in nine months. I’ve gotten stronger, but where’s the size?! I don’t know what to do. I add weight to my exercises whenever I can, but that doesn’t seem to help. I want big, full muscles that will fill out my T-shirts.

A: Are you doing your work sets in the eight-to-10 rep range? Are you resting about 2 minutes between sets? Are your sets lasting about 25 seconds? Are you doing that on all of your exercises? If so, THAT’S WHY YOU’RE NOT GROWING. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, actin-myosin strands, atp, belly fat burn, bodybuilders, dual-capacity fibers, European Journal of Applied Physiology, explode, glycogen, high reps, jerry brainum, miracle fix, mitochondria, muscle growth, muscle pump, muscle size, myofibrillar, myofibrils, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic expansion, size, slow to grow, slow-mo, speed reps, strength

The Forgotten Size Concept for Ultimate Mass

Mentzer side triceps - Arnold vs. Mentzer—No-Cardio Fat-to-Muscle Training

Q: I’ve read a lot of Mike Mentzer’s high-intensity info, and he said that the pump didn’t matter as far as muscle growth is concerned. He said a lot of the biggest powerlifters never get a pump yet carry a lot of mass. So shouldn’t heavy sets be the core of a mass-building routine?

A: Mentzer was partially right—but leaning more toward being mostly wrong. You don’t need a pump IF you’re only after primarily myofibrillar growth (strength). The myofibrils are the strands of actin and myosin inside the muscle fiber. Those grab onto each other to generate force. Training heavy increases their size and your strength—but science is finding that they are more about producing strength with less-than-stellar effects on muscle size… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: actin, biotrust protein, force generation, forgotten size concept, free protein, free supplements, heavy duty, hypertrophy, Joe Luther, mass building, mass-building routine, mike mentzer, mr. olympia, mr. universe, muscle building, muscle pump, muscle size, myofibrillar growth, myosin, powerlifters, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic expansion, strength, ultimate mass

Top 3 In-the-Gym Fat-Burning Tricks

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…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x mass building, abs, afterburn, anabolic, anabolic fasting, bodyfat, brad pilon, cardio, eat stop eat, fat burning, fat loss, fat-burning tricks, fiber activation, fiber stress, get lean, growth hormone, intermittent fasting, lactic acid, metabolism, micro tears, microtears, microtrauma, mitochondria, muscle burn, muscle pump, occlusion, positions of flexion, testosterone, triple-shredded combo, ultimate fat-to-muscle workout, weight loss, x-centric, x-treme lean

High-Rep Overload for Muscle Growth—How Much Is Too Much

Q: I’m intrigued by the Super TORQ ultra-high-rep approach. But I’m also making great gains with your standard 3-exercise Positions of Flexion training. Can I use his method on one of the three exercises for each bodypart in the POF routine, or would that be too much?

A: If you’ve read the interview with Doug Brignole in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 and checked out his program there, you can see that he only does ONE key exercise for each target muscle with that extreme high-rep approach…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: belly fat burn, cardio, Doug Brignole, fat loss, fatigue, gains, growth hormone, heavy training, high-rep, high-rep overload, hormone trick, hypertrophic, metabolism, muscle growth, muscle pump, POF, positions of flexion, pump, pyramids, semi-heavy, Super TORQ, tension overload, tension time, tension-overload repetition quantity, testosterone, Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout

Major Muscle Expansion

Q: Your e-zines on fascia stretching are very interesting. I’ve been using your suggestion of supersetting a contracted exercise with a stretch exercise. It feels awesome, and I’m already seeing more muscle expansion, like on my inner chest. My question is, Why should I do actual full reps on the stretch move? Why not just hold in the stretch position so it’s a constant stretch on the pumped muscle?

A: We get excited and proud when bodybuilders take an idea and run with it. Congratulations. That’s an excellent variation that could make the fascia-expansion supersets even more effective—a Static X on the stretch exercise.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, 3d pof, 3d positions of flexion, bodybuilders, cardio, fascia expansion, fascia stretching, force-generation, freak physique, hiit, muscle expansion, muscle pump, occlusion, POF, positions of flexion, pumped, size gains, static stretch, static-x, stretch hold, stretch overload, stretch-overload workout, testosterone

8 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks

Jonathan Lawson Barbell Curls - 8 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks

Q: I gained 8 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks using the Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout [in Chapter 3]. It transformed my physique. I noticed that Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D.’s 3 hypertrophy triggers include mechanical tension from heavy weights, but I used light weights. Would I have gained even more muscle by incorporating heavy sets?

A: Before we answer, let’s lay some groundwork — like the 3 key hypertrophy triggers for optimal mass stimulation [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10x10, anabolic reload, Brad Schoenfeld, Charles Poliquin, density training, mechanical tension, metabolic stress, microtears, muscle damage, muscle hypertrophy, muscle pump

Blood Theory, Tension Time, and Extreme Muscle Size

Hammer curl vascular arm

Q: I was reading in one of my IRON MAN back issues about the “Blood Theory” of muscle growth. Can you explain it and tell me how to take advantage of it to grow?

A: Way back in the 1970s, an Iron Man author named Dennis DuBreuil explained his Blood Theory….

Basically, he said that there is a direct relationship between how well a muscle pumps and how well it grows… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4X, blood theory, Dennis DuBreuil, density, iron man, john balik, larry scott, muscle pump, vince gironda

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

:: Get the latest news and specials :: Sign Up for our Ezine!

Shopping Cart

Number of items in cart: 0

  • Your cart is empty.
  • Total: $0.00
  • Checkout

  • Login / My Account

Copyright © 2021 · X-Rep.com