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Progressive-Shock Size-Surge Tips

Jonathan Lawson demonstrating midrange, stretch, and contracted positions for biceps

Q: I’m astounded by Jonathan’s Size Surge transformation in only 10 weeks. His arms got huge, and he said his gains really took off during the second phase when he started using Positions of Flexion. I was thinking that I should do POF for arms in phase 1 too. Like for biceps, he has two sets of barbell curls and two sets of concentration curls. Wouldn’t I make better gains if I did two sets of barbell curls followed by one set of incline curls [for stretch] then one set of concentration curls? That’s the same number of sets, but now it’s full-range POF. I could do the same for triceps too.

A: That sounds like a good plan—at least until you realize one reason phase 2 in the Size Surge program works so well is because the muscles get a progressive-shock size effect when you shift to full-range training for the last four weeks. In other words, you force more growth adaptation to happen when you add stretch-position exercises like incline curls for biceps and overhead extensions for triceps at week 7… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: adaption, arm exercises, arm workouts, big arms, crash course, full-range positions of flexion, hormones, jonathan lawson, phase 1, phase 2, progressive-shock, size effects, Size Surge, size surge program, testosterone, testosterone production, testosterone replacement therapy, tips, transformation, trt

How to Cheat on Cheat Day

Q: First I want to thank you for creating your X-treme Lean e-book. What a bargain for so much great information! I’m already starting to see lines in my abs after applying many of your suggestions for only a few weeks. One question: You call for at least one so-called cheat day a week. Do I have to eat junk food on those days?

A: Despite the term ” cheat day “, no, you don’t have to eat junk food. In fact, for those who have trouble controlling the amount of junk they eat once they get a taste, it’s best to steer clear. Those addictive-personality types will binge and undo a lot of the fat-loss progress they may have already achieved. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: abs, beach body, calories, carbs, cheat day, fat loss, junk food, metabolism, physique, protein, summer body, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, x-treme lean

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 65: Frank Zane Age 35 vs. 65

Here’s a very cool comparison of three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane in his prime to how he looked peaked at age 65… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 1977, 2007, all-dumbbell workout, anabolic reload, bodybuilding zen, boost testosterone, frank zane, full-body workouts, GH, growth hormone, Hormone Replacement Therapy, mr. olympia, quick-start muscle building, recovery ability, STX, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt

New Angle for More Mass and a Beastly Back

Jonathan Lawson doing dumbell shrugs

Q: I’m on the Size Surge 2.0. I’m loving it! Feeling bigger already, but I have a question about shrugs. I started with dumbbell shrugs, 4X style. Then I went to barbell shrugs and got a whole new soreness in my upper back. The exercises don’t feel that different. Why did I get so sore?

A: Amazing how one little tweak to an exercise can trigger new soreness. It’s all about angle of pull and restriction vs. non-restriction. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: back workout, mike mentzer, multi-angular training, Nick Nilsson, Size Surge, sore muscles, soreness, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, traps, trt, upper back

Grow Gargantuan Guns!

Q: Your Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0 [with Super TORQ] is the most riveting bodybuilding e-book I’ve read lately. I tried Super TORQ, and my pump was off the charts, with a lot of new soreness. I’m hoping it will add mass to my lagging arms, which brings me to my question: The workout split in that e-book, and 4X as well, has arm training only once a week (Wednesday). Can I add an arm day on Saturday? I don’t mind training five days a week if my arms grow.

A: You could try that. It would mean your arms get hit directly on Wednesday and Saturday, with indirect work from chest and back on Monday and Friday (like Week 1 below but with an added arm day on Saturday). [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4X, arm gains, arm training, arm workout, big arms, gargantuan arms, power-density, Super TORQ, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, TORQ, trt, x-traordinary arms

Pyramid Power: Secret to Mega Mass and Strength

Muscle fiber illustration on Jonathan's arm while curling

Q: I just got The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout and The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout. Tremendous. I’ve already read them both twice. Undoubtedly the best bodybuilding info I’ve ever seen. I noticed that in the programs in both e-books, you rely a lot on pyramiding the weight on the compound exercises. Is that better than just using the same poundage on all work sets and going to exhaustion?

A: With the type of training we list in those e-books, we believe adding weight to each work set so that the rep count decreases—9, 7, 5, for instance—is ideal to build BOTH mega mass and strength for three reasons… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 2a fibers, bodybuilding, fiber activation, fiber recruitment, fiber type, freak physique, intensity, mass and strength, mega mass, nervous system, neural drive, power-density, power-pyramid, pyramid power, stamina, strength, stretch overload, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, Truth About Testosterone, x-rep workout

Tips for More Muscle Now

Size Surge before and after 10 weeks

Q: I want to thank you both. I’m from Italy, 178 cm tall, and my weight now is 68 Kg (150 pounds). At the beginning of April, my weight was only 62 Kg (136 pounds). My increase in muscular mass, almost 15 pounds, is due to you. Before your training methods, I tried so many others, but with no results. The program that worked is the 10-week Size Surge [that Jonathan used to gain 20 pounds of muscle, listed in 3D Muscle Building]. I’d like to improve my muscle mass to 75 Kg (165 pounds), with a particular emphasis on delts, back, and forearms. I believe forearms are very important. Can you suggest anything to increase my mass? I have most of your e-books, so I can look up any method you suggest.

A: Thank you for the complimentary e-mail. We’re glad you’re making such striking progress with one of our most popular and effective workouts, the 10-week Size Surge program that Jonathan used for his transformation. His progress photos during that mass-building experiment are very motivational. Just seeing his 10-week results can program your mind to help you pack on more muscle now… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: before and after, Charles Poliquin, full-range pof, italy, more muscle, muscle now, muscular, olympic coach, positions of flexion, progress, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, tips, trt

Stretch-Position Exercises

Jonathan Lawson incline curl - The Most Important Muscle-Building Exercises

Q: I’m using the three-position training of POF [as outlined in the 3D Muscle Building e-book] and have made excellent gains with it. I recently purchased your Quick-Start Muscle Building Guide for my nephew. It’s excellent, and I can already see changes in his muscles after three weeks, but I wonder why you don’t include stretch-position exercises, like incline curls for biceps, in the workouts. I’m sure stretch exercises are one reason I’ve added so much muscle with POF, so if beginners are to make the fastest gains possible, I would think they should use full 3D POF programs. No?

A: The reason we don’t include stretch-position exercises in the Quick-Start program is that they are more dangerous for beginners. Joe Horrigan, D.C., of the Soft Tissue Center, uses the often-injured lower-back as an example: [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d muscle building, 3d pof, animal study, beginners, boost testosterone, comeback, gains, Joe Horrigan, myoelectric silence, POF, quick-start muscle building, soft tissue center, stretch position, stretch-position exercises, testosterone, testosterone boosting, testosterone replacement therapy, trt

The Stretch-Strength Link

JL 3D Biceps Exercises - Triple-Hit Anabolic Reload

Q: I’m loving the 3D HIT program [listed in the X-traordinary Arms e-book]. Every bodypart is growing, my strength goes up at almost every workout, and I’m only in the gym for 45 minutes. So far, it’s sweet! My question is, Shouldn’t the stretch exercise be last in the 3D sequence: midrange, contracted, then stretch? I’ve read that stretching a muscle makes it weaker right after, so it only makes sense that you should do the stretch-position exercise last instead of before the contracted-position exercise; otherwise, you’ll be weaker on the contracted move. Am I off base here?

A: Either order works well for stimulating growth, and it’s good to mix it up for more adaptation (growth). But we’ll give you our reasoning for why we think the standard order (see the pics below) is best for optimum hypertrophy (fast mass) with regard to the stretch-strength link. Take biceps as an example. The standard 3D POF program is barbell curls, incline curls, and concentration curls—in that order. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d hit, 3d pof, anabolic, continuous tension, force, growth stimulation, muscle fibers, myotatic reflex, occlusion, Russian study, Science and Practice of Strength Training, stretch effect, stretch overload, stretch-strength, testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, Vladimir Zatsiorsky, William J. Kraemer, x-traordinary arms

Exciting Muscle-Size Insights

Lawson incline press Holman spot

Q: After reading one of your articles that discussed the study where light, longer sets built muscle, I was thinking that maybe that’s why X Reps build so much size. Because they’re partial reps where the muscle is stretched, you block blood flow and get more tension time by making the set last longer. Do you think that’s the case—that X Reps work because they make a set last longer?

A: No doubt that ex-tending the set with X-Reps is one reason those power partials are so effective at building more muscle. As you said, you not only pulse at the target-muscle’s strongest point, where it’s elongated, but you also force the muscle to continue firing for five or more extra seconds—which means a longer tension time on any set with X Reps tacked on. That was the ground-breaking finding of that study—that extending tension time was another way to trigger hypertrophic stimulation…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 3d positions of flexion, blood flow blockage, blood-flow, fast-twitch fibers, fiber recruitment, heavy weights, hypertrophic, light weights, muscle size, muscle-building, muscle-size insights, occlusion, partial reps, POF, Power, target muscle, target-muscle elongation, tension time, tesosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, trt, x-rep manual

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