pro bodybuilders Archives

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…]

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…]

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…

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.

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…]

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…

Here’s how a Stage Set works for Smith-machine incline presses. You position yourself on the incline bench, grip slightly wider than your shoulders. Unhook the safety catches and then lower the bar to about an inch above your upper chest. Without pausing, you blast it back up, but only to just slightly higher than the midpoint of the stroke.

When you reach that point, lower back to the semi-stretch position, and so on, doing low-range partials till you can’t stand the burn. Notice that you’re essentially doing piston-like exaggerated X Reps right off the bat through the max-force point, which is how pro bodybuilders and former Mr. Olympia winners like Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman would train most of their exercises, but we take it a step further.

When you can’t do another exaggerated X Rep—you should get about 10 of those lowdown partials—get the bar to lockout, with help from your partner. Now you do the top stage of the stroke. First, squeeze your pecs hard, contracting them in the lockout position, then lower through about the top one-third of the movement. Blast back to the top and squeeze your pecs again. Flex at lockout on every one of those top-end reps.

We like to do a Stage Set as the last set for an exercise. They work exceptionally well for most types of squats and any type of press—flat, incline, decline, and even leg presses. You get extended tension time and a division of work that provides unique mass-building stimulation. Try it, and prepare to grow!

Note: For more on Stage Sets as well as many other X-hybrid mass techniques, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book. It also contains our complete post-X-Rep-year program that incorporates many of those fast-mass techniques, taking our physiques to a new level of impressiveness. For photos and more info, see our Beyond X-Rep page.

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

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

NEWEST RELEASE: The Anabolic After-40 Muscle-Size Manual contains new mass-building XRX workouts featuring Pure Positions of Flexion mass training with moderate-weight 3X density sequences plus rest/pause X-Reps. In addition, you’ll get 3 FREE bonuses—“20 Pounds in 10 Weeks Blueprint,” “Anabolic After-40 Bodyweight Edition,” and “X-traordinary Arms.” Add them all to your mass-building library for a limited-time price ($100 value) of ONLY $15 HERE.