Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: What’s the deal with upper vs lower abs? I’ve read that you really can’t train each individually, but don’t leg raises work the lower-ab muscles and crunches work the upper? I really want to have ripped abs by springtime, so I want to start now. Help.
A: First a bit of ab anatomy from our X-traordinary Abs e-book… [Read more…]
Q: I’m not a competitive bodybuilder or physique athlete, but I want to look muscular for more sex appeal. I train all my major muscles, but I want to specialize on the muscles women notice. Any ideas on which ones those are and the best way to make those attention-grabber muscles pop?
A: Several years ago IRON MAN did a survey, an anonymous poll of a number of women about their likes and dislikes concerning the male physique. The results were very interesting… [Read more…]
Q: What is the best rep speed for muscle growth? I want to look like a bodybuilder/physique athlete, so I’m not that concerned with strength. I just want more muscle mass.
A: In The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout e-book we cite a study that attempted to determine the optimal rep speed for building muscle. It compared doing sets with a two-to-three-second positive and a two-to-three-second negative—about three up, three down—with sets using a power cadence, which is one second up and three seconds down. The power cadence produced the most mass in this study. [Int J Sports Med. 30(3):200-204; 2009.] [Read more…]
