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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…]
Q: You’ve shown that your 3 Positions of Flexion for each muscle align with Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D.’s 3 hypertrophy triggers. That’s very cool, and I’m wondering if I could just split the 3 POF exercises for each muscle over three workouts, like Monday, all midrange work; Wednesday, all contracted; and Friday, all stretch?
A: That’s a great idea and it’s exactly how we’ve been training for a while now… Spoiler alert: Quick workouts, unreal gains! [Read more…]
Q: You guys are awesome! Anabolic Reload put a half-inch on my arms in less than a month. My arms have always lagged, so I’m blown away. I hit each muscle twice a week with about 12 sets. I didn’t want to reduce my sets on all, so I just did [STX] for arms. I started with the high-rep set followed by a heavy set, then I added a rest/pause every arm workout like the program says. My sleeves got tight almost immediately. Just want to thank you for getting my puny arms up bigger than they’ve ever been. I plan on trying this for each muscle through the winter. [Read more…]
Q: I used the 10-Week Size Surge program years ago and gained almost 10 pounds of muscle on it. I’m now getting close to 40, so I wanted to report how I’ve been using it to add a lot of middle-age muscle. I’ve merged Anabolic Reload and the Phase 1 Size Surge routine like this: On Mondays I use high-to-low-rep Reload [STX] on lower body and standard heavy Size Surge work on upper body. Then Friday I reverse that. Wednesday is arms and abs only, so I just alternate, doing Reload one week and heavy Size Surge sets the next. It’s been two months, and I look better than I did in my 20s.
Devising new mass routines that work for you as an individual is part of the fun of bodybuilding. Of course, packing on loads of new mass and looking awesome from your new freak-factor training is even better. [Read more…]
Q: I’m thinking about the 10-Week Size Surge for part of my winter workout mass training while I’m piling in the calories (can’t wait for Thanksgiving). I know Phase 1 is big, basic work three days a week. But I also like the total-fiber swole of Anabolic Reload. Can I merge them somehow to really jack my gains?
You didn’t mention your level of training or your age, but we’ll address that in a moment. Let’s talk general mass-building terms… [Read more…]
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know we harp on “change to gain” a lot, especially for those who want insane hypertrophy…
It pays BIG muscle dividends to periodically alter your workouts—sometimes radically. And, yes, even we get stuck in ruts and forget to rotate in some new hypertrophy smart bombs… [Read more…]
Q: Summer is here, so I’m psyching up to try the intermittent-fasting that Steve used to get more muscular and ripped [Super-Size Crash Course e-book, Chapter 8]? I need to get ripped fast. I thought I would try it once a week, and if it works well for fast fat loss, increase to two nonconsecutive days a week as Steve did. Any insights on muscle loss during IF?
No question, we bodybuilders are extremely paranoid about losing even an ounce of muscle. But don’t worry, you won’t lose muscle with intermittent fasting–you will gain more… [Read more…]
Q: I find it exciting that type-1 endurance fibers are also capable of showing a significant level of muscular hypertrophy. I’ve already seen significant new growth using the high-rep-set-first method from Anabolic Reload. My question is, Won’t a slow-mo style on that first set work just as well, like your X-centric method [7-second sets] and be good change to gain, and maybe even double your growth?
To clarify, the high-rep set first helps trigger growth in the slow-twitch fibers AND also pre-fatigues those fibers so you get better fast-twitch activation on the heavier sets that follow. Very efficient for hyper-hypertrophy, a.k.a. freak-physique mass that can double your growth potential… [Read more…]
Q: I’ve been on the Anabolic Reload workout for two weeks and feel considerably bigger. I was wondering if it’s okay to gradually increase volume with drop sets instead of rest/pause? I get a better pump with drop sets and I saw a study that found drop sets very effective for building mass, so you can volumize for muscle size.
A: We saw that 2017 study as well. It was by one of our favorite researchers, Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., and the conclusion was… [Read more…]
Q: I saw a study that says resting longer between sets produces the most muscle gain. So should I increase the 30-second rests in the STX workouts in Anabolic Reload to 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for best rest results?
A: We’ve seen that study, and it’s right on. But it doesn’t refute our 30-second rests in the Anabolic Reload STX workouts. Why? It has to do with what you’re trying to accomplish with the earlier sets in a sequence and how muscle fibers fire… [Read more…]
