supercompensation Archives

Muscle-Firing Frequency for Fat Loss

Q: You’ve said that training each muscle only once a week doesn’t work for most people. But I just got the Fat-to-Muscle Workout (thank you for the sale price!), and both the four-day and three-day workouts train each muscle only once a week. Am I missing something?

A: You’re not missing anything; we’re just insane. Seriously, in the Q&A section of The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout we mention a study on negative-style training and the need it creates for much MORE RECOVERY. That’s the answer… [Read more…]

3-Days-a-Week POF Program

Q: I’ve followed your beginner program [in the Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide], and then went on to the 3D Muscle Building [Positions-of-Flexion] program. Great results! Better than I imagined, but I’m having trouble sticking to it. The POF program is 4 days a week, which is too many days for me. I was wondering if you could show me how to change this into a 3-days-a-week POF program—a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. With my job, it’s nearly impossible to do the 4-days-a-week routine.

A: We understand the problem; it’s probably the number-one reason people stop training—time constraints. Life can get in the way, but we’re here to help. [Read more…]

Mass Building Mayhem—Serious Size Strategy

Q: You guys have so many different programs and mass tactics. Should I just pick a routine I like, do it for five weeks, then pick another? For example, I’m thinking about using 4X Mass Workout. Then I could go to Power-Density. Thoughts?

A: That can work very well. As we always say, change to gain. But when we say that, we are primarily talking about tactics, not exercises…

[Read more…]

How to Cut Back to Grow

Q: The idea of a few medium-intensity [subfailure] workouts after many weeks of going all out makes perfect sense to me. My question is, Should I reduce my poundages so I can do the same number of reps, or should I stick with my same working poundages and just do fewer reps? Which way is best?

A: We prefer to use the same phase-training approach Jonathan used on the 10-week Size Surge Program when he gained 20 pounds of muscle. For each of his two supercompensation weeks, he used the same work weights and just stopped two reps short of failure—and that worked amazingly well for him. He actually appeared to get bigger during each downshift week as his muscles and nervous system supercompensated.

[Read more…]

Pros, Drugs, and Juicing Your Own Muscle Gains

Q: You’ve said a lot of pro bodybuilders have used versions of the 4X mass method and made great gains. But weren’t they on drugs? Don’t steroids make a huge difference? Will this type of training really work for me if I don’t use drugs?

A: Several years ago, Steve interviewed a colleague who trained with many of the legendary pros, including the Mentzer brothers, Danny Padilla, and Rory Leidelmeyer to name a few…

[Read more…]

Progressive Mass

Q: I’ve read almost everything at your site [X-Rep.com], and I’m ready to get started. I’m 17 years old, 5’11” and 175 pounds. I’ve been training for two years. My question is, Which program should I start with? Should I do Jonathan’s 20-pounds-of-muscle-in-10-weeks program [3D Muscle Building e-book] or go straight to your X-Rep Mass-Detail Workout [in the Ultimate Mass Workout e-book]? Your X-Rep program gave you freaky results fast, so I’m thinking I should go with that one.

A: Either would work well for you at this point. At 17, you are in your prime growing years. And you already have some experience. So if you continue to train hard and sensibly, you should build stellar progressive mass with whichever routine you choose.

[Read more…]

20 to 80 Pounds of Muscle

Q: I did the first [5-week phase] of Jonathan’s 20-pounds-of-muscle-in-10-weeks program [from the 3D Muscle Building e-book] and didn’t get much size from it. I gained about 3 pounds and still feel skinny. Should I go ahead and do the second five weeks of different 3D Positions-of-Flexion workouts? Do you think that by hitting all of the positions [in the Phase 2 workouts] that I will make better gains than with the first part?

A: Full speed ahead—continue with Phase 2 (your gains from Phase 1 are actually darned good; more on that in a moment). By shifting to training each muscle in the midrange, stretch and contracted positions, you should get another more sizeable muscular adaptation (growth jolt).

[Read more…]

Transformation Photos: Girls vs. Guys

Q: I’m a man in my late 30s, but I’m very motivated by Becky Holman’s before and after photos and her story. Is the training program she used okay for men to use?

A: Absolutely. Men and women should both strive to build muscle, and that’s what her program does. Women won’t get bulky muscles no matter how hard they train because they don’t have the hormonal profile for that to happen. It’s a testosterone thing—and as you can see in the transformation photos below, Becky (Steve’s wife, who was in her early 40s below) doesn’t have a lot of testosterone…

[Read more…]

No B.S.: 4X for Mass-Building Success—Even Mentzer Would Confess

Q: I’m a big believer in Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty system of one all-out set to failure for each exercise. That’s why I think your 4X method is total B.S. Mentzer cited studies and found from personal experience that intensity is the key to muscle growth. With 4X you’re using lighter weights and not going to failure, which wastes a lot of sets. It can’t work, and I think you should feel ashamed for promoting it as miracle mass-building system.

A: We didn’t say it’s a “miracle” system (although some trainees have said it worked mass miracles for them). We simply said that we GUARANTEE that our 4X programs will build NEW MASS for just about anyone. We’re absolutely positive of that because it’s got ALL the critical components to trigger bigger gains quickly—and that includes intensity (we think Mentzer would agree as you’ll see, and that’s no B.S.)… [Read more…]

Tips for Solo Training and BIG Gaining

Q: I agree with your progressive-overload theory, gradually making workouts more intense. You suggest adding a few forced reps every couple weeks in the first phase of the Size Surge program. But I train alone and can’t do forced reps. How can I make the workouts progressively more intense for solo training?

A: For those who missed it, we suggested this progression for the 3-days-a-week workouts in phase 1 of the Size Surge program: [Read more…]