Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I need to get leaner, and I think I’d better start now if I want abs by springtime. I know I need to diet, but I don’t want to lose muscle. What’s the best way to build muscle and burn fat?
A: Many will say that you will lose muscle if you reduce your calories enough to burn fat, but we disagree…
[Read more…]Q: I get confused. Should I try to change exercises at every workout to keep my muscle adapting and growing?
A: The problem is that your body really needs to adapt to a movement pattern over the course of a few workouts before you change exercises—at least that’s the theory… [Read more…]
Q: You offer up the Brazilian study that shows doing a single high-rep set to failure before heavier lower-rep work produced more hypertrophy than standard training (multiple sets at 75% 1RM). But in the Ultimate Power/Density Mass Workout e-book, you mention that Arnold used a high-rep set LAST—a “burn-out” set. So which way is better, high-rep set first or high-rep set to finish?
A: A good observation, but there’s something missing in your description of what Arnold used to do. Go back to the Power-Density e-book and read it again—Arnold typically used a pyramid, adding weight to each set. And on his first set, he used a light weight for 15 reps, then a SLIGHTLY heavier weight for set 2 so he got 12 reps…
According to John Balik, former Iron Man publisher and one of Arnold’s training partners back in the day, Arnold did NOT go to failure on those first few sets. He was essentially fatiguing the slow-twitch fibers so more fast-twitch growth fibers would fire on the heavier sets—6 and 5 reps on the last sets. That is precisely what the Brazilian study replicated, only with just a single higher-rep set of more than 20 reps for slow-twitch fiber fatigue…
Is Arnold’s way better–reps of 15, 12, 10, 7, 5, 20? If you have the time, inclination and recovery capacity for that type of volume on multiple exercises, it can work well; however, the Brazilian study showed significant and EFFICIENT hypertrophic results with just ONE high-rep set prior to heavy work–but would more light sets be better?…
Perhaps. Another wildly effective version of the slow-twitch fiber fatigue method is Mr. America Doug Brignole’s training, which we have christened Super-TORQ (tension-overload repetition quantity). Here is how Doug describes it in the interview that appears in Chapter 4 of the Power/Density e-book…
[I do] one exercise per bodypart per workout. For each exercise I do five sets: 50 reps, 40 reps, 30 reps, 20 reps, and on the final set I start with 10 reps and follow that with two or three drop sets [of around 5 reps each]…
Whoa! Talk about fatiguing the slow-twitch fibers up front—and no doubt getting them to grow too (remember,
His entire routine is laid out after the interview in the P/D e-book. We have our own version there too—Power-TORQ that has you alternate heavy pyramid training for each muscle—TORQ at the other workout.
There are multiple ways to accomplish it, but the bottom line is that Power + Density = Muscle Immensity
The Power/Density Muscle-Hypertrophy Method: The Power/Density System is based on training each muscle along multiple anabolic pathways to achieve extreme growth. The Ultimate Power/Density Mass Workout e-book is packed with complete programs, including Basic P/D Mass Workout (pyramid + 4X), Positions-of-Flexion P/D Mass Workout (full-range muscle attacks with POF–midrange, stretch, contracted), and Mr. America Doug Brignole’s Super-TORQ method and program. Add this best-selling e-book to your mass-building library today for ONLY $9 ($24 value). More info HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Don’t follow another fat-loss strategy until you’ve read this…
If you’re struggling to burn belly fat no matter how much cardio you do or how “clean” you eat, then listen up… Because you’re likely committing one of these 3 feminizing fat loss fails… And they’re killing any chance you have of achieving your most impressive physique to date.
Even though these 3 Feminizing Fat Loss Fails have probably been a part of your fat-loss programs in the past, here’s the good news… They don’t have to define your fitness journey anymore because…
Starting today, you can take a revolutionary new approach to getting lean without damaging your metabolism, shriveling up your male hormones, or spending endless hours on the treadmill…”
–> Click here to discover the hormone trick that will turn your body into a fat-burning furnace.
Q: The program you outline in the Super-Size Crash Course that put 18 pounds of muscle size on Jordon [Williamson] had him use some heavy pyramid training in Phase 1, but only moderately heavy Downward-Progression 4X in Phase 2. To keep gaining, would you have someone cycle back to Phase 1 for more heavy pyramid training?
A: First we’d probably ask what you’re motivated to do. That’s because nothing breeds more muscle size like the fire to train… [Read more…]
