X-REP.COM

Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation

Total Speed-Set Workout for Mass?

Q: You’re critique of regular sets, and how three-second negatives on every rep is too damaging, is genius. You’ve made me realize that the negative stroke is too light, even at the end of the set, to do much for muscle growth. My question is, Why not do all sets Speed style [1.5 seconds per rep]? Total Speed Set workouts would reduce the damage from “garbage negatives” even more, leaving more protein synthesis for growth instead of repair.

A: You make a great point. I am a genius. Seriously, I simply extrapolated my garbage-negative conclusion from the research and Chris Beardsley’s analysis of muscle damage. [Read more…]

Limiting Stretch ROM for More Mass

Yesterday I went over the negatives of too many “garbage negatives.” The negative stroke on every rep of a standard set is lighter/easier than the positive; however, it’s the negative that causes the majority of the damage—and without a lot of hypertrophy return…

Doing half of your sets for each muscle with a faster rep speed, like 1.5 seconds per rep, as in the Old Man ,Young Muscle workout, can reduce damage and speed muscle growth… [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 74: Mike Mentzer Beach Mass

This impressive shot of Mike Mentzer was taken by Wayne Gallasch on a beach in Australia. It really captures Mike’s herculean mass that captivated the bodybuilding world back in the 1970s… [Read more…]

Negative Overload

Q: I’m using the Fat-to-Muscle Workout, and the negative-accentuated technique [one second up/six seconds down] has given me a lot of new muscle, and I’ve noticed that the excess muscle trauma you guys talk about has helped me lose a good amount of fat, too. I’m amazed! Now, however, I feel like my mass gains are slowing down. I think it’s because I’ve adapted to the negative-accentuated sets. How can I intensify them? Or should I switch to a different technique for a while?

A: Don’t drop the NA technique unless your goals have changed for your physique. If you’re still trying to lose fat as you build muscle, a set with one second up and six seconds down on every rep for every large bodypart will help you get there faster… [Read more…]

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…]

Fast or Slow to Grow? Here’s 2 Get-Big Tactics

Q: I had your original 10-Week Size Surge book from many years ago and just picked up the Size Surge 2.0 e-book. Thanks for revising it to include 4X training! I’m 45 now with a lot of joint damage from heavy “lifting,” if you want to call it that. So your [moderate-weight] 4X method is perfect and has me making new muscle gains. Thank you! My question concerns the “finisher” set you recommend in one of the workouts. Do you think pure-negative or negative-accentuated sets are better?

A: For the uninitiated, the Size Surge 2.0 e-book has a few new workouts compared to the original, including an alternate Phase 2 routine that’s Positions of Flexion with a few heavy sets, 4X work, AND a one-exercise mass finisher using an intensity method… [Read more…]

Go Slow to Grow and Burn Fat

Q: I got your Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide because I haven’t lifted in a few years. Fantastic info and it’s already working for me. On some exercises, you suggest lifting in 3 seconds and lower in 3 to help improve nerve force for strength. I’ve seen in many of your emails that you sometimes lift in 1 second and lower in 6. Should I try that? I think you said it helps burn fat, and I would love to see my abs sooner rather than later.

A: Lifting in 1 second and lowering in 6 is what we call X-centric, or Negative-Accentuated, training. It is a great FAT BURNER as well as MUSCLE BUILDER, but you shouldn’t use it just yet (more on why in a moment).

[Read more…]