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The Full-Muscle Look

Q: I read that after a back workout, your lats should feel heavier because they’re so filled with blood. I’d never felt that before until I tried the back program in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout. Do you think I got that mega-pump and fullness because the routine alternates power sets with density sets? By the end, my lats were the most pumped they’ve ever been. My delts got insanely big too after the shoulder workout. I even saw veins! I’m psyched that I may finally get in the shape that girls will notice. Thanks.

A: You’ve hit the nail on the head. The bodypart routines in that Power-Density Mass Workout are designed so you stress the myofibrils, the force-generating actin and myosin strands in muscle fibers, with POWER sets, then you follow with DENSITY for sarcoplasmic expansion. The sarcoplasm is the energy fluid in muscle fibers… [Read more…]

New Muscle Size With a Power-Density Jolt

Q: Just read The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout. Absolutely great! I read it all in one sitting. It really made me think, so I’m redesigning my workout using your programs. But don’t higher-rep warmup sets cover the endurance component of the 2A fibers? And what about X Reps? They extend a set, so I would think they also affect the endurance side of the important 2As as well.

A: You’re right on both counts—to a degree. Warm-up sets aren’t intense, so very few fibers are involved—and many that are fall into the slow-twitch category, rather than the important fast-twitch 2As. [Read more…]

Specialize for Size with Power-Density

Q: I’m making my best gains ever with the Power-Density Mass Workout. I’m already up six pounds in four weeks, and I see new muscle somewhere every workout, training just about 40 minutes a session. I have a question about my lagging bodypart, shoulders. Can I add sets to the listed workout, or how should I force my shoulders to grow like my other bodyparts?

A: Most of the bodypart routines in the Basic Power-Density Mass Workout consist of only one Ultimate Exercise per muscle group. That makes for quick, simple workouts: First you pyramid the weight over three sets for max force, or Power; then you reduce the weight and attack tension, or Density with a 10×10-style sequence, but using only four sets… [Read more…]

The Power-TORQ Muscle Maker

Q: I notice that you guys often use a double-drop set on the last one when you do TORQ. I love that muscle maker variation, and it appears it’s gotten me bigger in the past few weeks. Do you have any other ways to vary that method?

A: To refresh memories, TORQ is tension-overload repetition quantity… [Read more…]

Your Fuse to the Get-Big Muscle Bomb

Q: I’m using the Power-Density Mass Workout, the first program with only the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart. I like the simplicity of it and quick workouts, but I’m having trouble feeling the first power sets when I pyramid the weight. I really don’t feel the muscle working till the ending density sets [the faster 4×10 series]. Any suggestions?

A: Too often, trainees jump right into their heavy work sets with only a haphazard warmup—usually talking to their partner during that lighter preliminary work. In other words, maybe you aren’t doing FOCUSED warmup sets… [Read more…]

Spike Your Muscle Gains

Q: I’ve been reading about 4X and TORQ. I’m 25 and usually train heavy, but now that I have to train at home, I’m looking for the best way to keep building muscle without a lot of weights. I’m afraid with these light training methods I might lose muscle. I’ll try them because I have no choice right now, but I think heavy is the way to grow. How do I know I won’t shrink if I don’t pony up for more weights in my home gym?

A: We’ve both been using 4X-based training techniques for several years. If a couple of old guys whose anabolic hormones aren’t what they used to be don’t shrink, you won’t. In fact, we’ve got trainees from all age groups who’ve tried 4X and TORQ and many start using them constantly because they make such great gains… [Read more…]

“Wow! You’re looking seriously bigger, bro.”

Q: I just want to thank you for another killer variation of 4X, “downward-progression.” I’ve only been using it for a couple of weeks on the big exercises, but a guy at the gym came up to me today and said, “You’re looking seriously bigger, bro.” It’s working great and is perfect with regular 4X and TORQ (tension-overload repetition quantity). I’m using DP 4X on the heavy power exercises in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0, with 4X and TORQ on the others. I’m very impressed, and apparently growing more impressive. Lol. Thank you.

A: Interesting you say that because both of us received similar compliments in the gym when we started rotating in downward-progression 4X. One guy told Jonathan his arms were looking huge, and Steve got, “If you’re trying to get bigger, it’s working.” They both left off the “bro.” [Read more…]

Ultimate Mass Move: One-Hit Chest-Back Attack

Q: I just got the Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0. Absolutely one of the best muscle-building guides I’ve ever read. I’m very interested in [Mr. America] Doug Brignole’s one-exercise-per-muscle high-rep method [50-40-30-20-10]. The problem is that it’s tough deciding which single move is best for each target muscle. He likes decline dumbbell presses for chest, but I’m thinking bench presses. What are your thoughts on that? And what about back? I see Brignole likes T-bar rows as his only upper-back exercise.

A: We like decline dumbbell presses. It’s one of the best overall pec moves; however, unlike Brignole we see the value of inclines as well (more on that in a moment). [Read more…]