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Mass Mantra #2

Charles Poliquin, from the side

This week’s quote comes from an Olympic coach and hypertrophy expert, the late Charles Poliquin—who had a damn good physique for an older guy, by the way… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Charles Poliquin, mass mantra, nervous system, olympic coach

Major Muscle Mass with Lighter Weights

Jonathan Lawson, incline curls

Q: I tried your 4×10 method on every exercise, and I’m amazed. The pump was incredible and my nervous system didn’t feel so hammered at the end of my workout as it has in the past. My question is, shouldn’t I do at least one warmup set on the more dangerous exercises, like squats?

A: In theory the first set or two in a 4×10 sequence should be a sufficient warmup. That’s because you use a weight you could get 15 reps with, but you only do 10. And you use that same poundage all the way through… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x mass workout, 4x muscle building, 4x10, aesthetic, alain gonzales, athletic-aesthetic physique, light weights, muscle mass, nervous system, perfect physique, physique athlete, pump, warmups

The Great Gains Experiment

Jonathan Lawson delts abs

Q: I’ve read that training all out [to failure] is not the best way to grow muscle. The argument I read said that it causes nervous system and adrenal burnout as well as higher levels of muscle-eating cortisol [stress hormone]. Don’t you think bodybuilders will grow better if they use more sets, stopping short of failure to avoid those problems?

A: No doubt about it, training all out is traumatic. It’s brutal on the body, but that’s what makes it so effective—if you use it correctly… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: bill pearl, cortisol, great gains, high-intensity training, medium intensity, muscle growth, nervous system, new e-book, physique, quick-start muscle building 2.0, size principle of muscle fiber recruitment, stress hormone, subfailure, supercompensation

Pyramid Power: Secret to Mega Mass and Strength

Muscle fiber illustration on Jonathan's arm while curling

Q: I just got The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout and The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout. Tremendous. I’ve already read them both twice. Undoubtedly the best bodybuilding info I’ve ever seen. I noticed that in the programs in both e-books, you rely a lot on pyramiding the weight on the compound exercises. Is that better than just using the same poundage on all work sets and going to exhaustion?

A: With the type of training we list in those e-books, we believe adding weight to each work set so that the rep count decreases—9, 7, 5, for instance—is ideal to build BOTH mega mass and strength for three reasons… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, bodybuilding, fiber activation, fiber recruitment, fiber type, freak physique, intensity, mass and strength, mega mass, nervous system, neural drive, power-density, power-pyramid, pyramid power, stamina, strength, stretch overload, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, Truth About Testosterone, x-rep workout

Once-a-Week Workouts and NA Training

Jonathan doing barbell curls

Q: I want to thank you for putting together the Freak-Physique e-book. What a blockbuster resource of training information and programs. I’m using the 3D Power Pyramid Program. The quote from the trainee who gained so much muscle and strength in only a few weeks using it got me stoked. My question is, I’m more of a train-each-bodypart-once-a-week guy, so can I use it that way instead of training each bodypart twice a week? If so, how should I adjust it?

A: First, you picked a great program. We get lots of positive feedback on the 3D Power Pyramid because it’s simple Positions-of-Flexion methodology but you add weight over three sets on the big midrange move (pyramid), and do only one set each of the stretch- and contracted-position exercises. It’s basically a POF strength-building workout with a big muscle-size side effect. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d power pyramid, alpha muscle, alpha-3 specialization, anabolic swelling, eccentric, endocrine system, fiber trauma, freak physique, freak-physique workout, hurts but it works, max-force generation, muscle growth, muscle size, muscle trauma, muscle-building, na training, negative-accentuated, nervous system, once-a-week workouts, POF, positions of flexion, power pyramids, recovery, specialization, strength building, systematic recovery, volume

Double-X Overload Warmups?

Vascular forearm - 2 Easy Ways for BIG Muscle Gains

Q: I’m making some incredible progress using your Double-X Overload technique, but I wanted to let you know that I don’t just use it on my work sets. DXO works for warmup sets, too. I usually use it on at least one of my two warmup sets for the big [midrange] exercises, and I feel much stronger on my work sets. Great technique!

A: That’s a good tip. We love feedback from fellow weight trainers who think instead of just following the pack. One reason Double-X Overload (DXO) works so well on warmup sets is because of the enhanced occlusion and nervous system activation.

For those unfamiliar with DXO, it’s an X-Rep partial in the semi-stretch position between each full rep. That provides a slightly more explosive action, which has been shown to heighten nerve force (many top-level powerlifters do light, explosive sets for that very reason—it helps them lift more weight). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 3d muscle building, alpha muscle, alpha-3 specialization, beyond x-rep, blood flow blockage, bodybuilders, Double-X Overload, dxo, explosive reps, growth hormone, iso x, journal of strength conditioning research, nervous system, occlusion, powerlifters, progress, stage sets, warmup sets, warmups, x-hybrid tactics, x-rep partials

Workouts Too Draining? Reduce Training, Start Gaining—BIG

Heavy bench press

Q: I’ve been super motivated the past few months and really hitting it hard in the gym using a version of a Heavy/Light program you guys have talked about before. I couldn’t stand to do a back-off week, though, so I think I’m overtrained. Do you think reducing to two exercises per muscle is a good idea? Should I still do heavy/light? 

A: Your nervous system is probably hammered. We know, we know—you don’t want to lose any muscle or strength. So here’s what we suggest…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4X, 4x mass workout, anabolic fasting, basic 4x mass workout, brad pilon, downward-progression 4x, dp 4x, eat stop eat, freak-physique stretch-overload workout, gain muscle, gains, heavy/light, intermittent fasting, motivation, muscle gains, nervous system, reduce training, start gaining, tension-overload repetition quantity, TORQ

Simple Size Principle for Major Muscle Gains

Steve spotting Jonathan for forced reps on dumbbell shoulder presses

Q: It’s hard for me to believe that a few partial reps at the end of a set [a.k.a. X Reps] can do anything measurable for muscle gains. Isn’t doing an additional set just as good or better for muscle growth?

A: At first glance, you’d think so; however, once you understand muscle physiology, you see the enormous muscle-building effects that can occur if you extend a set correctly. It all starts with the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic, efficiency-of-effort, fast-twitch fibers, high glycolytic, high-threshold motor units, low-threshold motor units, medium-threshold, muscle gains, muscle growth, muscle physiology, nervous system, over-40, oxygenic, size principle, size principle of muscle fiber recruitment, slow-twitch, testosterone, Truth About Testosterone, X Reps, x-rep partials, x-traordinary x-rep workout

DXO Works on Warmup Sets Too

Jonathan doing speed reps on cable curls

Q: I’m making some incredible progress using your Double-X Overload technique, but I wanted to let you know that I don’t just use it on my work sets. DXO works for warmup sets, too. I usually use it on at least one of my two warmup sets for the big [midrange] exercises. I feel much stronger on my work sets. Great technique!

A: That’s a good tip. We love feedback from fellow weight trainers who think instead of just following the pack. One reason DXO works so well on warmup sets is because of the enhanced occlusion and nervous system activation.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, anabolic fasting, beyond x-rep, blood flow blockage, Double-X Overload, dxo, eat stop eat, explosive reps, fast-twitch, growth threshold, intermittent fasting, journal of strength conditioning research, nervous system, occlusion, ripped, strength, warmup sets, warmups, X Reps, x-hybrid tactics, x-rep partials

How to Cut Back to Grow

Steve doing incline curls

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…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10-week Size Surge, 20 pounds of muscle, anabolic, bodyweight training, cut back to grow, full-range training, grow, growth, medium intensity, muscle-protein synthesis, nervous system, phase training, POF, positions of flexion, recovery, rest, Size Surge, size surge workout, subfailure, supercompensation

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