X-REP.COM

Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation

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…]

Moderate-Weight Mass Building

Q: I love the Super-TORQ mass method you outline in the Power-Density 2.0 e-book. I’m 55 years old, so moderate weights are great for me, but I can’t quite wrap my head around doing such high reps at every workout. I alternate with heavy workouts as you suggest in the e-book because I’ve brutalized my joints over the years (screw you, heavy benches—Lol). Is there a MODERATE-power/Super TORQ workout I could use instead?

A: That’s an easy one—and we mention the solution in the Power-Density 2.0 e-book. You were probably just so into the new Super TORQ part of that e-book that you overlooked it… [Read more…]

Grow Gargantuan Guns!

Q: Your Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 [with Super TORQ] is the most riveting bodybuilding e-book I’ve read lately. I tried Super TORQ, and my pump was off the charts, with a lot of new soreness. I’m hoping it will add mass to my lagging arms, which brings me to my question: The workout split in that e-book, and 4X as well, has arm training only once a week (Wednesday). Can I add an arm day on Saturday? I don’t mind training five days a week if my arms grow.

A: You could try that. It would mean your arms get hit directly on Wednesday and Saturday, with indirect work from chest and back on Monday and Friday (like Week 1 below but with an added arm day on Saturday). [Read more…]

High-Low to Grow

Q: I got the Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 [with Super TORQ] after reading about all the great results people have had. Fantastic e-book! Might be your most interesting so far, and I’m already using your variation of Super TORQ. Wow! I’m sore to the core. Lol! My question is about stiff-legged deadlifts. You have it as a 30-20-15-10 sequence in your Modified Super-TORQ Program (page 49). Why not 40 or 50 reps on the first set, as with your other exercises?

A: From our vantage point, and experience, semi-stiff-legged deadlifts are one of the more dangerous exercises. One false move and your lower back can get whacked… [Read more…]

High-Rep Hyper-Growth

Q: Doug Brignole’s high-rep method [explained in his interview in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0] sounds interesting. I’d like to try it once a week for upper body. Do you think it would be okay to do an entire workout with his “Super TORQ” for chest, back, and arms, and at the other workouts that week do standard training?

A: Faster mass creation is all about experimentation. We really like your idea, as it’s similar to some of the Power-Density mass workouts in that e-book that alternate heavy training with TORQ for high-rep hyper-growth. [Read more…]

TORQ Up Your Muscle Size

Q: I’m torn between heavy training and higher reps [TORQ]. I like ending bodyparts with lighter-weight, high-rep sets for longer tension times and more pump, and now I’m hearing that ALL-high-rep workouts are best. I’m almost 30, but I want to grow as fast as possible. Should I try all-high-rep training for a while, or is that more for when I’m older like you guys and can’t train heavy anymore?

A: Hey, we resemble that remark! LOL. The beauty of bodybuilding is that you can try whatever you want. Change is good. Plus, keep in mind that everyone responds to unique training styles differently—you may grow like never before (you’ll see an example below). And, no, you don’t have to be older to start experimenting… [Read more…]

V-handle Pulldowns

Q: In the BASIC Power-Density Mass Workout you have V-handle pulldowns as the only lat exercise. I know you I.D. that as the Ultimate Exercise for lats in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, but those hurt my forearm. Can I do regular [pronated-grip] chins instead?

A: Yes, but you won’t be able to do both Power and Density for chins—unless you’re freakishly strong on that exercise…

We suggest chins for Power and regular pulldowns for Density, like this…

Chins, (pyramid) 3 x 9, 7, 5-6
Pulldowns, (4X) 4 x 10

Pulldowns with woman spotting

Of course, if you’re a freak, you can go ahead and do a 4X sequence on chins after your power sets. But most trainees will need less than bodyweight, so pulldowns is the answer. Power plus Density for muscle immensity.

Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.

—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com

Ripped Muscle Now: Harvard Research

Harvard researcher Dr. Dimitrios Stamou discovered an enzyme that eats bodyfat. It’s helping women and men lose up to 21 pounds on average in less than 28 days.

Plus, it can help bodybuilders get freaky ripped faster than ever (see the pic of the 69-year-old who is shredded at the link below).

Remember, when you’re leaner, you look bigger than ever… And best of all, your body can MAKE this fat-blasting enzyme by eating these specific foods… and they taste GREAT.

Our colleague, the man who owned the gym that Lou Ferrigno trained at in “Pumping Iron,” turned us onto this. He’s using it himself to shed fat faster than ever, and he’s in his 50s. Get the details and see his photo HERE.