Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I’m getting some wicked pumps with Pre-Ex 3X. But I’ve been reading about your high-tension-time training methods. Do you think using higher reps on the pre-ex exercises is a good idea so I get 60 to 90 seconds of tension time?
A: Interesting idea. Optimal hypertrophic tension time is said to be 40 to 60 seconds, and many researchers extend that to 90 seconds. Most bodybuilders do sets that last only around 20 seconds… [Read more…]
Q: I can never decide whether to use dumbbells or a barbell for my bench presses. My training partner even argues about bent-over rows. He likes dumbbells and I like a barbell. How do we know which are the best mass-building exercises?
A: Well, when it comes to any type of bench press, dumbbells allow a fuller range of motion, less shoulder stress and a more natural movement…
HOWEVER, [Read more…]
Dorian Yates ushered in the mass-monster era of bodybuilding with his 1992 Mr. Olympia victory. Even the Mr. O before him, Lee Haney, who was massive in his own right, knew that Dorian was a new breed of sheer mass and density. [Read more…]
Talk about mass, this shot of Mike Mentzer by John Balik at Muscle Rock in Malibu has motivated both of us over the years. His sheer thickness and density in this pose are almost unreal… [Read more…]
Q: I’ve always gotten pretty good size and strength gains from
A: Great question! For new readers, the myofibrils are the force-generating actin and myosin strands in the muscle fibers. If you have more of those than usual, you would be considered myofibrillar dominant. A good example of that is Mike Mentzer, who was squatting over 500 pounds at age 16…
[Read more…]Q: I’ve added a lot of muscle using Pre-Ex 3X and modified pre-ex. I must commend you for coming up with it. One problem I have is with leg extensions. They hurt my knees when I do them first. Funny that squats don’t hurt me. Leg extensions are the only quad isolator. What should I do first instead?
A: We didn’t come up with pre-exhaustion. That honor goes to the late Bob Kennedy, publisher of MuscleMag…
[Read more…]Q: I’ve been using the modified pre-exhaustion method every other workout [from the Pre-Ex 3X e-book]. I’m not supersetting; I just do the isolation exercise first for a 4X sequence, then I do the compound [midrange] exercise after that with 4X. I just got your 4X Mass Workout 2.0. I really like the high-rep [TORQ] idea. What do you think about using that [30-20-15 3X sequence] on the isolation exercise for modified pre-ex?
A: We speak from experience when we say this iso-TORQ method produces a crazy pump—and you’ll feel the target muscle on the big midrange move better than ever. This is one of our favorite super-growth stimulators. Get close to failure with 30 reps, rest 45 seconds, go to failure at 20; rest 45 seconds, go to failure for 15+ reps…
[Read more…]Q: My girlfriend likes to critique my body when I ask. She’s got a good eye for proportion—and if I look good for her, I get the benefits, if you know what I mean—LOL. Lately, she’s been saying my shoulders are too flat. I need more roundness and broadness. What do you suggest?
A: When you think about it, most barbell and dumbbell shoulder exercises are lacking—inefficient to say the least, so you need a real delt-stretching combo to grow… [Read more…]
Q: I have the new Size Surge Workout 2.0, and I like the idea of adding a unique finisher to top off the pump and stimulate new growth. You suggest using a different exercise than was used in each 3-exercise Positions-of-Flexion bodypart routine, such as ending quads with leg presses, and to do it in negative or speed style. What about using Pre-Exhaustion as you’ve been discussing recently instead—like finishing off quads with a leg extension-leg press superset, one round?
A: We like that idea a lot. The idea of isolating the target muscle and then immediately blasting it further past the growth threshold with the help of other muscles is an almost magical mass-building method. And the huge pump you get with Pre-Ex is unreal… [Read more…]
