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Triple-Threat Exercise for More Muscle Size

JL Pushdowns - Volumizing Muscle Tissue

Q: I’m using a Positions-of-Flexion program from 3D Muscle Building. I’ve read a lot about the pro bodybuilders’ training, and I’m just not sure three exercises per muscle, as you recommend in POF, is enough. Can you help me understand why that’s sufficient for building the most mass?

A: First, realize the all pro bodybuilders use anabolic steroids. Those drugs heighten recovery and growth significantly. That means they can tolerate a lot more volume at each workout. On top of that, the pros have genetics for building muscle and recovering from work far superior to us normal mortals… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: anabolic, anabolic drugs, anabolic steroids, boost testosterone, contracted, drug-free, drugs, exercise for size, fiber activation, genetics, iron man, lean muscle, midrange, muscle growth, muscle size, POF, positions of flexion, pro bodybuilders, recovery, steroids, stretch, testosterone, triple threat

Less Time, More Muscle: Cut Back to Grow Big?

Q: Most of the programs in your e-books don’t have a lot of work sets. Pro bodybuilders use a lot more volume than you recommend, and they’re obviously pretty huge and ripped. Are there any studies that prove less time in the gym is good or that show the best number of sets for a workout?

A: Too much stress, whether in relationships, in the gym, or on a bungee-jumping platform, causes cortisol to surge. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can force your body to eat muscle tissue for energy. Not good! And it lowers testosterone, which also can cause muscle loss (not to mention a lower sex drive). A study that looked at how training volume affects testosterone in men was done several years ago (Alemany, J.A., et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 36:S238)… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: alain gonzales, arnold, athletic-aesthetic physique, brad pitt, cortisol, cut back to grow, drug-free, elevated testosterone, freak physique, freak-physique stretch-overload workout, less time, more muscle, muscle loss, perfect physique, pro bodybuilders, ripped, stress, stress hormone, stretch overload, study, testosterone, training volume

Pros, Drugs, and Juicing Your Own Muscle Gains

Q: You’ve said a lot of pro bodybuilders have used versions of the 4X mass method and made great gains. But weren’t they on drugs? Don’t steroids make a huge difference? Will this type of training really work for me if I don’t use drugs?

A: Several years ago, Steve interviewed a colleague who trained with many of the legendary pros, including the Mentzer brothers, Danny Padilla, and Rory Leidelmeyer to name a few…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x mass method, 4x mass workout, alpha-3 specialization, anabolic swelling, bodybuilders, danny padilla, downward-progression 4x, dp 4x, drug-free, drugs, gains, genetics, GH, growth hormone, juicing, mike mentzer, muscle growth, performance-enhancing drugs, phase training, physique, pro bodybuilders, professional bodybuilders, pros, ray mentzer, rory leidelmeyer, steroids, supercompensation

Bodyweight Lies and Muscle Size

Q: I get depressed when I read the bodybuilding magazines I’ve been handed down from my uncle. I’m 19 and weigh 185 with abs, but I see that the pro bodybuilders weigh anywhere from 250 to 280 pounds, and that’s at 3 percent bodyfat. I don’t want to take steroids, but it seems like that’s the only way to get impressive development, right?

A: If you’re looking for us to give you the okay to take drugs, you’re barking up the wrong tree. We love bodybuilding (the lifestyle, not necessarily the competitions); however, resorting to steroids to get an “impressive,” extremely muscular physique is not mandatory. Look at this shot of Jonathan…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 20 pounds of muscle, 3d muscle building, anabolism, bodybuilding, bodyweight lies, drug-free, drugs, frank zane, genetics, iron guru, jonathan lawson, master training, mr. olympia, muscle size, physique, pro bodybuilders, vince gironda

The Forgotten Muscle-Size Trick

Frank Zane - The Forgotten Muscle-Size Trick

Q: You guys don’t seem to like training each muscle only once a week like a lot of pro bodybuilders. How come?

A: More muscle-training frequency is a BIG size stimulator, especially for drug-free trainees—if you do it correctly. Many pros can get away with training each bodypart with excessive volume only once a week because of genetic superiority and, of course, excessive drug use. In fact, if you look back at the best bodybuilders of yesteryear, when steroid use was minimal, training each bodypart THREE times a week was the norm prior to a contest. It’s a bit of a forgotten muscle-size trick… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4X, 4x mass workout, arnold, arnold schwarzenegger, direct/indirect, drug-free, drugs, eccentric, frank zane, frequency, genetics, muscle trauma, muscle-size trick, natural bodybuilders, negative-accentuated, nervous system, neuromuscular efficiency, one-hit-per-week, physique, pro bodybuilders, sergio oliva, size stimulator, steroids, strength, Ultimate Mass Workout, volume, x-centric, x-centric mass workout

Pumped to the Max: Look Big All Day Long

Jonathan Lawson in gym/shadows - Pumped to the Max: Look Big All Day Long

Q: The 4X Mass Workout is awesome! I feel and look big and totally pumped all the time, and I love it. I know I’m getting bigger from every workout, but will I get stronger too [using the 4X method]?

A: The 4X Mass Workout is designed to get your muscles as big as possible as quickly as possible. It’s why a number of pro bodybuilders use it or something similar the last weeks before a contest (there’s more on that in the e-book). You will gain some strength, but that’s not the PRIMARY objective of 4X training…

Jonathan Lawson in gym/shadows - Pumped to the Max: Look Big All Day Long

The 4X mass method is a supersaturation size-building program. Use it for four to six weeks as we suggest in the workout and we guarantee you will look big and GROW.

For those not familiar with 4X, you pick a weight with which you can crank out 15 reps, but you only do 10. Rest 30 seconds, then do 10 more, and so on until you complete four sets of 10 reps in less than FIVE MINUTES…

As we mention in the 4X Mass Workout e-book, you get a BALANCE of power and density on the first exercise, but the fatigue is fierce as you move through a bodypart workout. It rapidly turns to a major density hit for the key 2A growth fibers [the 4X e-book explains that, but you may have skipped right to the programs, which is what a lot of trainees do—they can’t wait to hit the gym with the workout.]

If you’re worried about using medium poundages instead of heavy weights, there are a few ways to incorporate power-building sets into the 4X Mass Workout. See the Q&A chapter in that e-book. One way is to do the first BIG exercise as a power pyramid instead of in 4X style.

With or without those pure power sets, 4X will give you a blast of new mass fast!

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

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


Over 40? Read This Now!

One of the most interesting read-me pages on Testosterone and other muscle-building hormones we’ve seen is The Truth About Testosterone.

It even talks about a fruit, a specific part, that can up your T naturally. Cranking up your testosterone will not only get you jacked in the gym, but in the bedroom too—not to mention help rip up your midsection as it ignites fat burning. If that interests you, there’s more from our colleague and registered dietician, HERE.

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, 4X, 4x mass method, 4x mass workout, density, getting bigger, look big, Power, power and density, power-building sets, power-pyramid, pro bodybuilders, pumped, size building, size-building program, strength, stronger, supersaturation, testosterone, type 2a muscle fibers

More Tips for Bigger Arms

Jonathan Lawson X Reps on cable curls - More Tips for Bigger Arms

Q: I’m following the arm-specialization programs in your X-traordinary Arms e-book (I ordered the Anabolic After-40 package to get it free!). I like starting my biceps workout with cable curls, as you suggest, because I can add X Reps at the end of the last set. Many of the pro bodybuilders say free weights are better for growth, so I’m worried I’m not getting the most size stimulation. Are free-weight barbell or dumbbell curls better?

A: Not necessarily. The only problem with cable curls is weight-stack drag, which makes the negative, or lowering, stroke slightly easier; however, you get much better continuous tension with a cable curl as opposed to barbell or dumbbell curls. That’s very important for max-growth stimulation. There’s also another BIG benefit… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic after 40, arm specialization, arm workout, biceps workout, brachialis, cable curls, Charles Poliquin, concentric contractions, continuous tension, free e-book, free weights, growth stimulation, out-for-in/in-for-out, pro bodybuilders, rapid-fire sets, tips for bigger arms, X Reps, x-traordinary arms

What Are Stage Sets? (Hint: They Work!)

Jonathan Lawson incline Smith machine presses with Steve Holman Spotting - What Are Stage Sets? (Hint: They Work!)

Q: I read in one of your previous articles where you mentioned that you sometimes do Stage Sets. What are Stage Sets, and is that a good mass technique for me?

A: Many years ago, even before we developed X-Rep partials, we noticed that every time we introduced Stage Sets to our workouts, we got sudden muscularity and vascularity increases—and now we know why: The technique is essentially a unique type of X overload—an intense out-of-the-blocks blast right at the max-force point where the target muscle is semi-stretched, like near the bottom of an incline press… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Beyond X, beyond x-rep, bodybuilders, ifbb pro bodybuilders, Jay Cutler, mass building, mass techniques, mr. olympia, muscle-building, partials, pro bodybuilders, ronnie coleman, semi-stretch, stage sets, what are stage sets, x overload, x-rep partials

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