short rests Archives

New Muscle Size With Speed and Progression

Q: I am almost 50 and making incredible gains with the 4X method. I was reading that top trainer Charles Glass believes new muscle growth can be created with this style, thickening new fibers as well as expanding the sarcoplasm. However, he says you should still go “heavy” every so often. Every time I do that, my joints ache for days. Should I just put up with it and pile on the poundage every couple of weeks?

A: If you like going mega heavy, do it—but you’ll suffer the consequences. Glass says to train heavy every so often in order to keep the type 2B power fibers growing… [Read more…]

Get High for Major Muscle Size

Q: I like the idea of experimenting with high reps. Your report on Mr. America Doug Brignole’s results has motivated me to get high (LOL). But I’m getting ready to start the Size Surge program. Should I try high reps [30-20-15] on the isolation exercises in both five-week phases?

A: Lots of people have been grabbing copies of Size Surge 2.0 lately because it seems to be get-big season. That’s how we know many trainees have started—or are getting ready to start—this 10-week mass attack. [Read more…]

Low Reps Plus Short Rests for Mass-Building Success?

Q: I’ve always gotten pretty good size and strength gains from heavy weights and using the six-to-eight-rep range. Could I be more myofibrillar dominant? And, if so, do you think I would benefit more by doing 4X mass training with lower reps, say 4×6, but still with short rests so that my sarcoplasm gets growth benefits as well?

A: Great question! For new readers, the myofibrils are the force-generating actin and myosin strands in the muscle fibers. If you have more of those than usual, you would be considered myofibrillar dominant. A good example of that is Mike Mentzer, who was squatting over 500 pounds at age 16…

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Flip Your Growth Switch With This 4X Mass Mix

Q: I’ve been using the Positions of Flexion 4X program [in The 4X Mass Workout 2.0]. I’m blown away at how much muscle I gained in a month. 4 pounds! That’s after a couple of years with zero muscle gains. That workout is all moderate-weight 4X and 3X sequences, and I’m wondering if I should use your downward-progression 4X method every so often, adding weight on each set. How should I work it into that program?

A: There are a couple of excellent options, but we have a simple one that’s our favorite. Before we lay it out, let’s explain the 4X vs. DP 4X since we have a lot of new readers…

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Rep-Range Rise for New Muscle Size

Q: In 4X Mass Workout 2.0 you describe the high-rep [TORQ] method, going 30-20-15 in reps with short rests between. Sometimes I can’t get 30. Either I pick a weight that’s a little too heavy or I just fatigue too quickly. What should I do?

A: What you’re trying to do with TORQ—tension overload repetition quantity—is reach the upper area of the optimal hypertrophic tension time—60 to 90 seconds.

Most bodybuilder’s muscles aren’t used to that much fatigue, so they crap out early. (Don’t feel bad; you’ll get better at it as you GROW new muscle.)

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Size and Shreds Now: Jacked Fat-to-Muscle Workout

Q: I know that the short rests between sets with 4X get your fat burning jacked with growth hormone. How can I use 4X in The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout for a double-whammy? Where would you suggest I put it, or should I use it at all?

A: The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout has you train each muscle group only once a week. That’s because you use heavy sets as well as X-centric and high reps for more fiber microtrauma—which encourages fat burning as well as muscle-fiber remodeling…

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Fast Mass Tactic: 10X for Muscle Size Effects

Q: I’m using The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout and making great progress. I’m bigger, with veins, and my abs are coming in. I just picked up The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout for something different, so I want to go to that program next. My question concerns muscle damage. Getting trauma from slow negative-accentuated sets is what makes the Fat-to-Muscle Workout work so well, so when I switch to the 10×10 Workout, won’t I be getting less muscle damage and therefore less fat burning? I still need to get leaner, so should I add NA sets somewhere when I go to the 10×10 Workout?

A: You could add an NA set for each bodypart. We discuss how and where to do that in the 10×10 Q&A section; however, it’s not necessary for trainees who are doing 10×10 at every workout. Believe us, you’ll realize that fact after you try the 10-sets-of-10 method. The muscle soreness you get will tell you that your microtrauma goal has been met. [Read more…]