Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: In many of your workouts, you suggest forward-lean laterals. What are those, and why should I use them instead of regular standing lateral raises [for medial-delt-head mass]?
A: The deltoid is a unique muscular structure. It controls the movement around a ball-and-socket joint, so the fibers wrap around the area in bundles, moving in many directions. You can see that in this photo of Jonathan… [Read more…]
Q: I just read through the updated Quick Start Muscle 2.0. Great info! I’m starting the new at-home workout immediately. One question: What is an incline row, and does it work mid back or lats?
A: Training at home can be a challenge, so we tried to include the best exercises for all muscle groups in the at-home workouts, especially the advanced ones…
And the incline row is in that best-of-the-best category. Why? [Read more…]
Back in the 1970s, people thought Arnold was big—almost too big. Then came Lou Ferrigno, who was even bigger… [Read more…]
Q: I just got the your Size Surge 2.0 e-book. Great programs and tons of motivation (Jonathan is a beast). My question is on the M4X workout you have listed with the finisher set added on. Instead of negative accentuated or pure negatives, could I do your 30-20-15 TORQ method instead? I really want to incorporate the upper hypertrophic-tension time [60-plus seconds] for more mass.
A: You could do that; BUT it’s a pretty large increase in total volume. That’s because instead of only one additional “finisher” set, you’re doing three. And instead of 7 extra reps, you’re doing 65! Quite a big difference… [Read more…]
Q: X-Reps are giving me some wicked-awesome mass gains. The extra pump and burn I get from [those end-of-set partials] is hot! But I was thinking that since they work so well, how about using only the short X-Rep range for all of my sets, without any full-range reps? Wouldn’t that give me some giant mass gains?
A: We first addressed X-Only sets in the X-Rep Update #1 e-book and even included a chapter on former Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler’s workout, which includes a lot of X-Only sets. Check out his X-Only Hammer Strength machine inclines (photos courtesy of Mitsuru Okabe)… [Read more…]
We get the stronger = bigger question a lot—and there’s no question that getting stronger will build some size—note that we said “some.” To clarify, here’s an excerpt from our best-selling e-book The Super-Size Crash Course…
“One of the biggest reasons muscle growth is so slow in most cases is the simplistic myth that strength equals superior size. There’s more to it than that. Trying to move big weights for a few reps does very little for ultimate muscle size. Are you shaking your head? Check this out…
[Read more…]Q: In the Positions-of-Flexion exercise matrix [in 3D Muscle Building] you don’t have any midrange moves listed for midback. Instead, you say, “covered with lat midrange work.” But I know I’ve seen behind-the-neck pulldowns in some of your workouts as a midrange exercise. Should I not use that exercise? Is it dangerous?
A: Doing pulldowns behind your neck can be dangerous—if you train heavy and pull the bar too low or jerk the bar down. [Read more…]
Q: Now that the weather has cooled down a bunch, I’m looking for a mass workout program for winter, to build as much size as possible. Then I’ll start to lean out in the early spring thaw. What type of program should I use? Big, basic power-bodybuilding routine or something like 4X Positions of Flexion? I can’t decide.
A: Winter is a long haul, so why not do both? A good place to start is with something like Jonathan’s Size Surge program—but you can do it with a few twists… [Read more…]
