size gains Archives

Major Muscle Expansion

Q: Your e-zines on fascia stretching are very interesting. I’ve been using your suggestion of supersetting a contracted exercise with a stretch exercise. It feels awesome, and I’m already seeing more muscle expansion, like on my inner chest. My question is, Why should I do actual full reps on the stretch move? Why not just hold in the stretch position so it’s a constant stretch on the pumped muscle?

A: We get excited and proud when bodybuilders take an idea and run with it. Congratulations. That’s an excellent variation that could make the fascia-expansion supersets even more effective—a Static X on the stretch exercise.

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Intensity for Muscle Immensity?

Q: I’ve been reading your e-zine for years, and I have almost all of your e-books. Great info, and thanks to you I have a lot of new muscle. 3D POF is great! My question is about rep ranges. You’ve talked about using lower reps, medium reps, and higher reps. I’ve read that the key to muscle growth is intensity, and that rep ranges don’t really matter. Can’t I just keep doing about eight to 10 reps, the best range for muscle growth, on all my exercises and train intensely, to failure, to make the best gains? Do I really need different rep ranges?

A: While intensity is the big key to forcing muscle growth, there is no doubt that the predominant fiber type in a particular muscle dictates its best rep range for fastest size gains.

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Indirect Muscle Mass Effect: Boost Your T for Hypertrophy

Q: I’ve been reading that testosterone is the key muscle-building hormone, so what is the best way to get it up?

A: “Get it up?” Perfect way to end your question about testosterone. LOL! Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus machines and the overseer of the Colorado Experiment that saw Casey Viator gain 60 pounds of muscle in only 4 weeks, always said that training legs hard can have a big “indirect muscle-building effect.”

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New Density for Muscle Immensity Workout

I just saw Jonathan’s new read-me page about XRX and the workout he is now using. I turned 48 and am making the best size gains of my life with the [high-rep-set-first] Reload program. Is Jonathan’s similar? Is it better? Should I switch?

The reason Jonathan put together his new after-40 workout is that he Hates—with a capital H—high reps…

While he made amazing size gains when he first went on the high-rep-set-first program outlined in [Read more…]

The Dumbest Thing You can do if you want Extreme Muscle Mass

We’re not going to beat around the bush. The dumbest thing you can do if you want extreme mass is to believe there’s only one way to build muscle. You know, a stubborn narrow mind that is set on “this way is the only way.” For example…

Do you train each muscle group with a number of sets once a week? It’s a popular trend in bodybuilding—chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, arms on Wednesday and so on. That can work—for a while. Then you adapt… [Read more…]

Triggering Big Size Gains With One Unique Set

Q: I am a fan of your mass tactics like X-Fade, Static X and, of course, X Reps. You often list the ones you use in a workout, but often you list a 4X sequence as (4×10 + StatX). Do you do the [end-of-set] static hold on all sets, some sets or just the last set?

A: We never use those end-of-set mass tactics on more than the last two sets of a 4X sequence. And usually, it is only one unique set… [Read more…]