size building Archives

What Happened to Size Surge?

Q: I was on your newsletter list back when you guys were kicking butt at Iron Man and released the Size Surge program as an e-book, but life caught up with me and I unsubscribed for a while. You guys used to be all high about the Size Surge Workout, but since I rejoined your X team a while back, it seems like you rarely mention it anymore. What’s the deal—what happened to Size Surge? I was thinking about getting on it, but if it’s off your radar, maybe it’s no longer a good option?

A: What happened to Size Surge, you ask? Nothing… It’s still a great for most trainees during their winter mass-building phases. The 10-week program is built around big, basic exercises with plenty of power sets, muscle trauma, and lots of recovery time. That style of training works optimally when you’re not restricting calories—bad-ass bulk building at its best. [See Jonathan’s before and after photos from the first Size Surge experiment on the Size Surge page.] [Read more…]

Muscle Size for Skinny Guys

Q: I’m having a really hard time putting on any muscle weight. I’m 6’1” and weigh 165. I just can’t seem to get much progress. I’m using your POF X-Rep program but have only gotten okay results in the first month, and I’m working it pretty hard. It’s frustrating when I see other guys who can get big fast while I’m a 26-year-old guy who can’t seem to make much progress. Do you have any suggestions to help?

A: Everyone’s genetics are different (plus, you may not know who’s getting pharmaceutical help). The bottom line is that you may not be perfectly suited for putting on muscle fast; however, with consistent hard training you should be able to transform your physique. Keep in mind that most bodybuilders only add about 10 to 15 pounds of muscle per year, which is about one pound a month… [Read more…]

Ultimate Mass Finisher: One Extra Growth Set

Q: Your Positions-of-Flexion mass training has added 7 pounds of muscle to my body in two months! I’ve been using my favorite variations, like modified Pre-Ex and Pre-Ex 3X when possible. Change to gain, as you guys say. Great stuff. What about adding a ultimate mass finisher set? Is that something I should do to increase my size gains?

A: Yes, and we’ll give you one of the best ultimate mass finisher techniques we’ve discovered. But first a quick review—to build the suspense… [Read more…]

Mass Tip: Change each set to fire your size-building jets

Do you do every set the same way? You know, same rep tempo, same hand spacing same rest between sets?

Our motto is “change to gain” because it takes something unique to add more mass to your physique. Here’s a good example of making a change on each set. On seated biceps concentration curls…

[Read more…]

Arnold’s X-Rep Mass Connection

Q: In the description of your new e-book [The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout], you mention that Arnold used X Reps. How is that even possible? He was training [at his peak] way back in the 1970s, and X Reps didn’t come around till the 2000s. What’s the deal?

A: We coined the X-Rep term about fifteen years ago, but partial-rep training has been around for ages in various forms. What we did was take the most recent research on semi-stretch-point fiber activation and zero in on the BEST spot on the stroke for end-of-set partials, or X Reps…

[Read more…]

Super Density for Massive Muscularity

Q: I read that [Fat-to-Muscle] negative-accentuated sets [one second up and six seconds down on every rep] works well as a Density method. I’m using the Basic Power-Density Mass Workout, one Ultimate Exercise for each muscle, and was thinking about doing a power pyramid first, and then for density, I’d do a drop set on the last heavy set. I’d drop to a negative-accentuated set. Is that a good plan?

A: We really like it when bodybuilders think and create innovative combos. In this case, however, there’s a problem, as we’ll explain—but we’ve got a better size-building solution.

To clarify your progression suggestion, let’s apply it to a specific exercise. Say you’re doing incline presses…

[Read more…]

New Size With Full-Body One-Hit Mass Workouts

Q: I’ve been reading about the 4X training and am wondering if you have any advice on how to use it with a full-body three-days-per-week routine. I just started using the 4X method for each bodypart. I do one exercise per muscle. Monday I do chest, shoulders, back, bi’s, tri’s, abs, legs. Wednesday I do the same body parts but in a different order and using different exercises. The same goes for Friday. I take the weekend off. I’m drug-free, so I think I’ve been overtraining till now. I’m hoping that 4X will help spark some new gains.

A: That sounds like a great plan for building more mass. First, skeptical readers need to realize that three-days-per-week programs can do incredible things. We discuss the Colorado Experiment in Size Surge 2.0 and 3D Muscle Building, a four-week research project in which Casey Viator gained 60 pounds of muscle… [Read more…]

Muscle Mass and Power With Negative Overload

Q: My training partner and I are arguing. He wants to start using heavy negative-only training, but I told him that your e-book [the X-centric Mass Workout] warns against it. He reads your newsletter, so please convince him that it’s not a good idea.

A: In the X-centric e-book we cited a study that showed the extreme damage caused by negative-only training (someone lifts the weight for you, and you lower slowly). Muscle recovery for some of the subjects took weeks; however, most of those subjects were untrained, so they didn’t have the cumulative capacity to handle traumatic loads. If you’ve been training for a year or more, that’s probably not your case… [Read more…]

Last-Set Shuffle to Pack On More Muscle

Q: I like the idea of doing something different on the last set of a 4X sequence. You mentioned a drop set, and that works great. What about a heavier pure-negative set? Like on curls my partner would lift it for me, and I would lower [a heavy weight] slowly for six negative reps.

A: That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Pure negatives—your partner lifts the weight, and you lower in six seconds—are designed to attack the force-generating myofibrils in the muscle fibers, which means they are primarily for strength building with only minor size effects, so not really building a lot more muscle… [Read more…]

Pec Contraction Without Machines or Cables

Q: You have cable crossovers, cable flyes, or pec deck flyes listed as contracted-position exercises for chest in 3D Muscle Building. I train in a home gym without a cable set up. What should I do for pec contraction?

A: Contracted-position exercises are usually isolation exercises that keep the target muscle under tension throughout the set. In other words, there is no bone-support at lockout so the target muscle gets no rest till the end of the set… [Read more…]