Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: Do you think the fatigue of doing a high-rep set first [as in the Old Man, Young Muscle workout] is a good or bad thing for faster muscle growth? I’ve heard different conclusions.
A: For those unfamiliar with the Slow-Twitch Exhaustion method used in the OMYM workout, you do a 20-rep set to failure first to prime the muscle for higher fast-twitch recruitment on the second set… [Read more…]
Arnold’s dancing derrière trick always attracted a gorgeous crowd on the beach.
It took concentration, and Arnold was a master. His robotic focus in the gym is one of his secrets for getting the most out of every target muscle—and eventually playing a robot in movies.
Arnold always said that visualizaton is key—often imagining his biceps as mountains, much like the ladies above are imagining his glutes as Bundt cakes.
Research shows mind-to-muscle contractions enhance fast-twitch muscle activation—and that means more growth…
You can make it even better with slow-twitch exhaustion (STX), a preliminary blood-infusing higher-rep set.
For more on all of that, as well as the ideal size-building exercise for each muscle infused into efficient mass workouts, see Old Man, Young Muscle.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
For a limited time, you can get the brand-new Old Man, Young Muscle at a 25% off (introductory price)
PLUS you’ll get the Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook F-R-E-E
That’s a two-days-a-week, shred-your-physique eating plan that can recharge your anabolic environment, build more muscle, and melt body fat (Steve’s photo on the cover shows his results).
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One of Arnold’s past hobbies was to walk the streets shirtless and see how many car accidents he could cause. The truck in the background barely avoided a light pole and a bearded man in a turban on skates playing a guitar. (Yes, it was Venice, California.) [Read more…]
Mondays are rough for most people—coming off a weekend, going back to work, forgetting to comb your hair. Your time is limited…
That’s why I’ve decided to ditch the longer newsletters on Monday and make it a pic and a solid quote from a researcher, bodybuilder, or respected trainer. [Read more…]
This pic is proof: Mike Mentzer had full-size Nerf footballs surgically implanted on the backs of his arms… [Read more…]
Q: What do you think about repeating the STX sequence after a rest for for the same exercise? Would two rounds help increase fast-twitch fiber activation even more? [Read more…]
Q: I’ve always thought that lower reps were for mass. Do I need high reps at all? Don’t they just deplete recovery and inject inefficiency and fatigue into hypertrophy workouts?
A: Just the opposite for most trainees. I say “most” because there are a few fast-twitch-dominant people on one end of the Bell Curve who thrive on low reps. But consider this study (Mitchell, et al. 2012)…
Trainees did three sets of leg extensions to failure three times a week for 10 weeks. And each leg was trained differently…
One leg used 80 percent 1RM (lower reps), while the other was trained with 30 percent 1RM (higher reps)…
Quad growth was excellent but not different between legs. The interesting part was…
It appeared that the heavy-load training grew primarily the fast-twitch fibers, while the light-load training increased type-1, or slow-twitch, fiber size. Remember, there was no difference in hypertrophy response…
No doubt all fiber types grew in both legs; however, heavy leans fast-twitch and lighter leans slow-twitch—because of so many preliminary reps…
Would a mix of high and low reps yield even better results? My guess would be yes…
It’s only one study, so more research is needed; however, it appears to confirm that using a variety of rep ranges can produce hypertrophy in multiple fiber types for more overall mass.
And that’s one of the key reasons I include rep ranges from 20 down to 8 in Old Man, Young Muscle over three to four sets per muscle. It works…
As I mention in OMYM (page 44), respected researcher Jerry Brainum recently said that “It’s now known that type-1 [slow-twitch] fibers are capable of showing a significant level of hypertrophy, more than previously believed.”
So including a higher-rep set or two can provide another layer of mass. And let’s not forget that a high-rep set first can trigger more fast-twitch activation on the sets after due to slow-twitch exhaustion (STX).
Sculpt your perfect physique: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
Specialization training is when you devote your time and attention to building up a particular lagging muscle group or set of muscle groups.
Most guys in the gym use specialization to build bigger “visible” muscles like arms, forearms, or calves, but little do they know that they’re wasting countless sets and reps…
Plus, they initiate no growth hormone response—meaning all their specialized sets are basically worthless!
Instead of wasting effort, you can pack on slabs of muscle mass FAST while skyrocketing your testosterone levels to pave the way for even FASTER muscle growth through Alpha-3 Specialization.A
But instant results aren’t the only perk of Alpha-3 Specialization…
Discover The Alpha-3 Specialization Method and Build Muscle Faster Than Ever Before
Vince McConnell is a friend and trainer I admire due to his application of logic and attention to efficiency in his workouts and those of his clients. (Note: His Instagram is @mcconnell_performance, Website is McConnellAthletics.com)
Here’s a screen grab from one of his YouTube videos of him experimenting with Doug Brignole’s pendulum sissy squat… [Read more…]
Here’s a classic candid shot of Arnold, his best friend Franco Columbu, and Sylvester Stallone, a.k.a. Rocky, on the outdoor training platform at World Gym in Venice, California, circa 1980. [Read more…]
In Old Man, Young Muscle I talk about mechanical tension as being one of the bigger mass triggers.
It’s basically providing the target muscle with enough resistance to elicit activation of fast-twitch growth fibers. [Read more…]
