tension overload Archives

Solving the Big-Muscle Puzzle

Q: Thank you for clearing up the muscle-growth mystery for me. I always believed in going heavier and heavier to get bigger. Now I know that’s only a small part of the puzzle. Working in the 4X method, X Reps, drop sets, and even some of your high-rep TORQ sets has already gotten me bigger in just a few weeks. My question is, Do you think some people get a better size response from power training and others get more size from density [endurance] work?

A: Absolutely. As we mentioned in a previous newsletter, the BIGGEST powerlifters don’t train for sarcoplasmic (endurance fluid) expansion yet have good muscle size. That’s because they were big dudes in the first place, which may signify more myofibril-building capacity. That would explain their extraordinary strength. The myofibrils are the actin-myosin strands inside the muscle fiber that generate force, but for most trainees that’s not the key to ULTIMATE SIZE… [Read more…]

High-End Hypertrophy Hit: Move it for more mass

Q: Your higher-rep TORQ (tension overload repetition quantity) method is unreal. It’s given me new size in every muscle after only three weeks. I use your [3-way] Positions of Flexion, and I TORQ on one of the 3 moves. I switch it up with regular 4X and heavy pyramids. My question is, Should I add weight on each set when I use TORQ [30-20-15 reps]?

A: Mixing it up is great for ultimate mass, as we’ll explain. As for adding weight to each TORQ set, that’s going to depend on the exercise and where your TORQ move falls in the POF bodypart routine… [Read more…]

The Lost Get-Bigger Trigger: The Time-Muscle Mass Continuum

Q: I’m making great strides in muscle gains with the 4X mass method from your newsletters. I do 10 to 12 reps per set, but I’ve seen that you sometimes recommend up to 30 reps. What’s up with that, and does that actually work for you guys?

A: We often use higher reps within the 4X-sequence framework, and it’s done amazing things for us and many of our trainees. [Read more…]

Get High for Major Muscle Size

Q: I like the idea of experimenting with high reps. Your report on Mr. America Doug Brignole’s results has motivated me to get high (LOL). But I’m getting ready to start the Size Surge program. Should I try high reps [30-20-15] on the isolation exercises in both five-week phases?

A: Lots of people have been grabbing copies of Size Surge 2.0 lately because it seems to be get-big season. That’s how we know many trainees have started—or are getting ready to start—this 10-week mass attack. [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 14: Tom Platz’s Quads

1980 Mr. Universe Tom Platz had a pair of the freakiest legs bodybuilding had ever seen—and even today they look Photoshopped. Trust us—they aren’t (Steve interviewed Tom face-to-face back in the late ’80s for Iron Man magazine)… [Read more…]

Best Mass Moves for High-End-Hypertrophy Hits

Q: I just started using the 30-20-15 [TORQ] method on one exercise for each muscle. I do the other exercises as regular sets or 4X. The higher reps really feel incredible. What a great pump and deep fiber hit. My question is, Which exercise is best for 30-20-15—midrange, stretch or contracted?

A: As we’ve mentioned before, the angle of pull is different on each of midrange, stretch, and contracted exercises, so fiber activation can be unique as well.

[Read more…]

Dumbbell Upright Rows to Grow

Q: I like the idea of doing dumbbell upright rows first as the midrange movement for shoulders [as recommended in the 3D Muscle Building e-book]. I just have trouble feeling the X Reps at the end after I reach exhaustion. Should I just do a drop set instead?

A: As we explained in the last e-zine, drop sets are better for continuous tension/occlusion exercises—contracted-position moves like laterals for delts, leg extensions for quads, etc. You’re looking to maximize force production with the big midrange exercise, so X Reps is the best choice…

[Read more…]

Rest/Pause or Drop Sets: Which is Better?

Q: What’s better, rest/pause or drop sets, and what’s the difference? I mean, I know what they are; you rest about 10 seconds between rest/pause sets using the same weight, but with drop sets you move immediately to a lighter set with no rest. But is one better than the other?

A: We’ve found that rest/pause is best for exercises that use max force as their key growth component (midrange and stretch movements). It’s a great way to add a little more volume and force overload without too much extra time in the gym. The short rest of 10-15 seconds allows ATP and nerve pathways to regenerate somewhat so you can continue the force-overload assault.

[Read more…]

High-Rep Overload for Muscle Growth—How Much Is Too Much

Q: I’m intrigued by the Super TORQ ultra-high-rep approach. But I’m also making great gains with your standard 3-exercise Positions of Flexion training. Can I use his method on one of the three exercises for each bodypart in the POF routine, or would that be too much?

A: If you’ve read the interview with Doug Brignole in The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 and checked out his program there, you can see that he only does ONE key exercise for each target muscle with that extreme high-rep approach…

[Read more…]

Use Tension Overload to Shock New Muscle Growth

Q: I got your 4X Mass Workout and am already growing with TORQ [Tension-Overload Repetition Quantity]. You discuss Mr. America Doug Brignole, his version, and how he uses drop sets on the last set. You don’t mention that with your version [30-20-15 reps]. Should I do drops on the last round of TORQ?

A: Doug has been at this bodybuilding thing for decades—and even he is still learning and experimenting…

[Read more…]