recovery Archives - X-REP.COM

Etch In Your Abs as You Pack On Muscle

Q: I just got Jonathan’s Size Surge e-book, and it looks great. I’m ready to try it. My problem is that I still need to lose some fat. I also have the X-centric Mass Workout, and that e-book says that negative-accentuated sets can help get rid of bodyfat. Can I do the Size Surge program, but instead of 2 all-out sets per exercise, do one of those sets in NA style for more fat burning? I really want to see my abs.

A: For those not familiar, negative-accentuated sets have you use one second on the positive stroke and six seconds on the negative. So on bench presses, you would lower to your chest in six seconds, then fire the bar off your chest to the arm’s-extended position in one second… [Read more…]

3-Days-a-Week POF Program

Q: I’ve followed your beginner program [in the Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide], and then went on to the 3D Muscle Building [Positions-of-Flexion] program. Great results! Better than I imagined, but I’m having trouble sticking to it. The POF program is 4 days a week, which is too many days for me. I was wondering if you could show me how to change this into a 3-days-a-week POF program—a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. With my job, it’s nearly impossible to do the 4-days-a-week routine.

A: We understand the problem; it’s probably the number-one reason people stop training—time constraints. Life can get in the way, but we’re here to help. [Read more…]

Once-a-Week Workouts and NA Training

Q: I want to thank you for putting together the Freak-Physique e-book. What a blockbuster resource of training information and programs. I’m using the 3D Power Pyramid Program. The quote from the trainee who gained so much muscle and strength in only a few weeks using it got me stoked. My question is, I’m more of a train-each-bodypart-once-a-week guy, so can I use it that way instead of training each bodypart twice a week? If so, how should I adjust it?

A: First, you picked a great program. We get lots of positive feedback on the 3D Power Pyramid because it’s simple Positions-of-Flexion methodology but you add weight over three sets on the big midrange move (pyramid), and do only one set each of the stretch- and contracted-position exercises. It’s basically a POF strength-building workout with a big muscle-size side effect. [Read more…]

3D Power Pyramid Workout: A fast-blast favorite

Q: I like the standard two-way split, working each muscle group twice a week, as in the 3D Power Pyramid Program in Freak-Physique Stretch-Overload e-book—that’s my favorite routine so far. Could I use that as an HIT program and just do one work set per exercise?

A: Yes, you can apply the HIT one-work-set-per-exercise idea to almost any of the programs in that e-book. In fact, we’ve had a few trainees say that the 3D Power Pyramid feels like too much work to them (hardgainer types), in which case we suggest simply spacing out the workouts a bit—use them in the sequence they are presented, but train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday instead of Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

That way, the bodyparts that get hit on Wednesday of the first week get trained only once that week, but they get hit twice the following week (Monday and Friday). That’s known as Rotation for Recuperation, and it works well for recovery-challenged trainees. [Read more…]

The Perfect Rest Time for Packing on Muscle Mass

Q: I’m an avid reader of your e-books as well as your website. I’ve been experimenting recently with a heavy set to failure (approximately 10 reps), adding X-Rep partials to the end. Then I do a second X-Only set, often with added weight. This is an excellent trigger for growth, especially if you warm up using the DXO [Double-X Overload] technique. On the warmup set, I do anywhere from four to five X Reps between [full-range] reps, and the burn is incredible! That [combination] has had such a strong effect on my body, that I now have some stretch marks appearing. I’m definitely getting much more muscular while dropping fat. Another thing I’ve been experimenting with is shortening the stroke of X Reps, to the point where I’m almost doing a static hold. I just pulse out very small partial reps. Which brings me to static holds. Research shows subjects adding a few pounds of muscle after only one workout, but that workout was followed by two weeks of rest. Surely two weeks off between workouts is ridiculous. I was wondering how you stand on recovery time and static holds?

A: Thanks for the feedback and your confidence in our methods. We discuss a lot of what you’re discovering and experimenting with in our X-Rep Update #1 e-book. Former Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler used a lot of X-Only sets, as we discuss in Chapter 5, Mr. O’s Wild X-O Workouts. Notice Cutler’s short stroke on this exercise…

[Read more…]

How to Cut Back to Grow

Q: The idea of a few medium-intensity [subfailure] workouts after many weeks of going all out makes perfect sense to me. My question is, Should I reduce my poundages so I can do the same number of reps, or should I stick with my same working poundages and just do fewer reps? Which way is best?

A: We prefer to use the same phase-training approach Jonathan used on the 10-week Size Surge Program when he gained 20 pounds of muscle. For each of his two supercompensation weeks, he used the same work weights and just stopped two reps short of failure—and that worked amazingly well for him. He actually appeared to get bigger during each downshift week as his muscles and nervous system supercompensated.

[Read more…]

Once-a-Week Workouts

Q: I’ve tried training each bodypart once a week, but it doesn’t seem to work for me. I’ve read about guys making that sort of program work and making great gains. Maybe I’m just not working hard enough to require that much recovery time? Any suggestions on how to make once-a-week workouts work?

A: We’ve done a lot of research and experimentation over the years, and although our first attempts at once-a-week workouts didn’t produce muscle gains, we believe we’ve discovered a simple way to make it work—more fiber trauma.

[Read more…]

What program should I go to next?

Q: I’ve been going to the gym off and on for about a year, but I decided to get serious. I got your Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide to get off on the right foot, and it’s absolutely great. It answers all of my questions, and the programs are working fast. I can already see my body changing, and the sleeves on my T-shirts are getting tight. My question is, What program should I go to next? I know you recommend the 3D Muscle Building e-book and a full-on Positions-of-Flexion routine, but there are like 5 different programs in [that one e-book]. Which one should I use?

A: Not every program is ideal for all trainees, so we like to provide choices by providing a few programs in each e-book. (Plus, we’d rather you be a little overwhelmed with all the info rather than disappointed).

[Read more…]

Get More Muscle Detail

Q: I’ve been on one your four-days-a-week Heavy/Light Program, and I’ve put on lots of size. I’m big, but I’m not ripped. I’m ready to get cut, so should I just stay on that program and add cardio? I’d like to try something new, but I don’t want to lose size. I just want to add more muscle detail.

A: First, you need to clean up your diet. If you don’t have a fast metabolism, which it sounds like you don’t, you’ll also need to start doing some cardio if you want to see more muscle detail; however, if you’ve been following our newsletters for a while, you know there are ways you can change your weight workout so that you burn more fat during recovery (and you won’t need as much cardio)…

[Read more…]

Step Back to Move Your Muscle Mass Forward

Q: I’m super impressed! I’ve been on the Size Surge workout for four weeks, and I’ve gained 7 pounds. My shirts are tighter with no increase in my waist, so it seems to be all muscle. The program calls for a back-off, or low-intensity, week between the two training phases. Is that really necessary, or can I go right into Phase 2? I don’t want to lose any mass. Any time I’ve taken a week off or even reduced my training, I’ve gotten smaller.

A: No, do not go right into Phase 2. The back-off week (#6) between the two phases has a definite purpose. It will allow your nervous system to recharge and your muscles to completely recover so you can push into the next phase with more intensity. And during that downshift week, you should get bigger, not smaller, despite what you thought you experienced in the past. Here is what hypertrophy researcher Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., says about the process… [Read more…]