Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
When you train hard consistently, cumulative stress will get to you eventually. I should have that posted somewhere so I can see it daily.
Why? Because I keep revisiting the same scenario in my training, especially after I passed age 60… [Read more…]
Q: The study you discussed that showed eccentric [negative] contractions cause more damage than concentric [positive] or isometric is interesting. Makes sense, but I wonder that if more rest days were included after eccentric training if that would make a difference?
A: I would say yes, however, each type of contraction may contribute to growth in different ways… [Read more…]
Q: I’m using your STX Base Workout from Old Man Young Muscle with great results. I know you say change to gain, but I want to stick to exactly this routine for at least a month. It’s a solid workout. Do you think varying the rests between sets, like 20 seconds at one workout, then 40 at the next with slight weight increases is enough of a change?
A: Well, if you use 40 seconds rest, your workouts will be a bit longer. If you’re okay with that, it’s a decent change-to-gain strategy. I may have a better idea, however… [Read more…]
Q: I get really winded on some exercises, like squats and rows, with only 35 seconds between 4X sets. I’m still sucking air when it’s time to start my next set. Is it okay to take more time?
A: Yes, but we believe that to get the DENSITY size effect you’re after with the 4X mass method, you should have a countdown so you don’t rest more than one minute between sets. Former pro bodybuilder Lee Labrada said… [Read more…]
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…]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
Q: In your X-Rep Update #1 e-book you discuss a study that produced a three-pound muscle gain after only one workout with static-contraction sets. Do you think that’s true, that much muscle after only one workout? And if so, should I do most of my sets just holding the weight statically?
A: The researchers used the most sophisticated body-composition-measuring device available at the time, known as a BodPod, so we have no reason to doubt their results. Subjects did a full-body workout that consisted mostly of one static-contraction set for each muscle and then rested for 14 days. Most gained muscle, and one subject packed on an amazing three pounds of muscle from that one workout, but…
[Read more…]Q: I saw a study that says resting longer between sets produces the most muscle gain. So should I increase the 30-second rests in the STX workouts in Anabolic Reload to 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for best rest results?
A: We’ve seen that study, and it’s right on. But it doesn’t refute our 30-second rests in the Anabolic Reload STX workouts. Why? It has to do with what you’re trying to accomplish with the earlier sets in a sequence and how muscle fibers fire… [Read more…]
