• X Shop
  • Checkout

X-REP.COM

Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation

  • Home
  • About Us
  • X Shop
  • X Files
    • Latest Articles
    • FAQ
    • Ezine Archive
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Gallery
  • Subscribe

Your Mass-Building Needs

Steve Holman doing incline one-arm laterals with muscle-curve diagram

The longer I’m in this bodybuilding maze, the clearer it becomes that everyone responds differently due to unique needs.

Sure, there are some basic facts about efficient hypertrophy you should adhere to, like the best mass-building resistance curve on any exercise is hardest at stretch and easiest at contraction… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: failure, hypertrophy, mass-building, muscle-building, resistance curve

Standing Laterals Blow for Delt Growth (Arnold pics)

Rounder delts can make you look wider and your waist look narrower. That’s two aesthetic reasons to get shoulder training right, especially the side head that’s most responsible for those two effects. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: aesthetics, delt exercises, ideal shoulder exercise, resistance curve, shoulder exercises, shoulders, Steven J. Fleck Ph.D, William J. Kraemer Ph.D

Ideal Exercises = Fast Muscle Gains + Slash Gym Time

Doug performing cable lat pull-ins

“What are these ‘ideal exercises‘ of which you speak?”

I get that a lot—maybe not in those exact words; more like, “WTF you talkin’ ‘bout?”

Biomechanics expert and Mr. Universe Doug Brignole lays out 16 factors that exercises should meet to be in the ideal category. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: bi-lateral deficit, biomechanics, direction of resistance, fast muscle building, ideal exercises, non-target muscle activation, range of motion, resistance curve

Resistance Bands for the Muscleman?

Man doing band chest press

Lately, I’ve been harping on the perfect resistance curve, mostly because I know the key ideal-exercise factors create efficiency of effort in the gym to build muscle quickly…

At my age, I don’t have time to waste with workouts longer than about 40 minutes 3 days a week. The lifetime finish line is looming… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: partials, range of motion, resistance bands, resistance curve, strength curve, X Reps

Chest Mass: DB Declines or Cable Press?

Comparison pic of Steve doing dumbbell decline press vs. cable chest press

I’ve whined about only having a bare-bones home gym in a lot of newsletters—50-pound PowerBlock dumbbells, an adjustable bench, and a doorway chinning bar.

The new ebook details how I made the best of that pathetic setup and re-muscled my 62-year-old physique training only 35 minutes 3 times a week. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: chest exercises, chest workout, ideal chest exercise, pectorals, resistance curve

Ideal vs. Mass Feel Exercises

Jonathan doing pushdowns away from the pulley

These days I’m always insisting that you emphasize the ideal exercises for efficient mass workouts.

Those moves have specific characteristics or factors, such as optimal range of motion, ideal resistance curve, and so on (see the new ebook for details). [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: efficient gaining, ideal exercises, muscle fiber recruitment, resistance curve

Fast Path to Freaky Forearms

Steve's flexed forearm

Beefy forearms are important…

In a short-sleeve shirt, they’re the first thing people notice—unless you have a huge spaghetti stain on the front… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: extensors, flexors, forearm exercises, forearms, genetics, ideal forearm exercise, resistance curve

Ideal Triceps Exercise

Steve doing dumbell decline extensions

A few newsletters ago we discussed the ideal biceps exercise based on Mr. America and Mr. Universe Doug Brignole’s factors grounded in physics and biomechanics. Now let’s look at the ideal triceps exercise… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: bi-lateral deficit, Doug Brignole, ideal exercises, ideal triceps exercise, jacked, muscle-fiber activation, resistance curve, triceps exercises, triceps workout

Ideal Biceps Exercise

Arnold's impressive biceps on concentration curls

We’ve been discussing Mr. America and Mr. Universe Doug Brignole and his biomechanically ideal exercises.

He has 16 factors, basically a checklist, for determining an exercise’s rank. From those 16 Steve extracted his top five that are detailed in the new ebook. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: best biceps exercise, bi-lateral deficit, biceps exercise, continuous tension, Doug Brignole, ideal biceps exercise, ideal exercises, Mr. America, mr. universe, muscle-fiber activation, resistance curve

Ultimate Exercises for Mass

Jonathan demonstrating parallel, close-grip v-handle pull-ups

Q: I’m reading your original X-Rep e-book [The Ultimate Mass Workout], and you have the Ultimate Exercises listed for each muscle. For lats, it’s close-, parallel-grip chins. I have a hard time with chins because I weigh around 220 pounds. Can I do them on the pulldown machine instead?

A: Yes, do them on the pulldown machine for now; however, once you’re strong enough, do the chinup-bar version… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: belly fat burn, fat loss, hammer strength, leverage machines, lose fat, metabolism, myofibrils, negative resistance, positive drag, pure negatives, resistance curve, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic expansion, sarcoplasmic growth, size, strength, tension time, ultimate back exercise, ultimate exercises, ultimate lat exercise, Ultimate Mass Workout, weight loss, weight-stack drag, X Reps

:: Get the latest news and specials :: Sign Up for our Ezine!

Shopping Cart

Number of items in cart: 0

  • Your cart is empty.
  • Total: $0.00
  • Checkout

Copyright © 2023 · X-Rep.com