testosterone Archives - Page 13 of 17

I need to lose about 20 pounds. I’ve been weight training for about two years, so I’m not a beginner. You say that more muscle helps burn fat, so should I use X Reps to add more muscle size and just work in some cardio so I get a double fat-burning effect?

A: That’s an excellent start, and adding X Reps isn’t just a good idea because they help build muscle fast—they also help you burn fat. The reason: growth hormone and testosterone, two very potent fat burners.

If you’ve tried X Reps, you know they produce an incredible searing effect at the end of any set. We’ve mentioned in our e-zine that GH is linked to muscle burn. Think about it: With X Reps you can do an intense heavy set on a compound exercise, like bench presses, and then end that set with power partials to significantly magnify the burn. You know the big exercises help trigger testosterone, and with X Reps you can force more GH as well thanks to the burn they produce. It’s a fat-burning double whammy—a much more efficient method than anything out there, with almost zero wasted effort. (That’s one reason we say that each X-Rep set is at least three times as effective as a straight set to failure.)

If you’ve been training for any length of time, you know it’s very difficult to achieve a burn on the big, compound movements. But with X Reps you can make it happen every time—producing a searing firestorm finale. Do you see why we’re so fanatical about X Reps—and why they were the key method during our one-month metamorphoses?

So definitely include X Reps in your fat-burning plan. As for cardio, you can start slowly, say two 20-minute sessions a week of medium-intensity work and build from there. Make gradual increases so your body adapts and you don’t burn too much muscle. The real key, however, will be your weight workouts which will jack up your metabolism long after you leave the gym. [For more on the best fat-burning techniques, including cardio-surge programs, gradual calorie-reduction diets and the new High-Definition X-Rep workout, get a copy of X-treme Lean.]

The X-treme Lean e-book details our fat-burning strategies, as well as Becky Holman’s (she’s on the cover) and also includes our cardio programs, meal-by-meal diets, key fat-burning nutrients and how we used each. We also outline and explain the new High-Definition X-Rep workout that’s designed to boost GH and testosterone so you melt fat as you pack on muscle (yes, it can be done!).

Hormone-Zone Muscle Training

Q: In X-treme Lean you have the “High-Definition Workout” (pages 76-78), and you say to use it five days a week. I don’t think I’ve seen you recommend that many workouts in a row. What’s the reason [for five consecutive days of training]?

A: After training for photo shoots for 10 years off and on, we realized that one of the keys to getting lean is hormone-zone training, which is where you keep testosterone, GH and other anabolic, fat-burning hormones up as high as possible. [Read more…]

Rip Up and Grow With the Flow

Q: In X-treme Lean, you have the “High-Definition Workout” (pages 76-78), and you say to use it five days a week. I don’t think I’ve seen you recommend that many workouts in a row. What’s the reason [for five consecutive days of training]? [Read more…]

Muscle Tension, Fiber Trauma, and Extreme Hypertrophy

Q: I’ve read that I should always train my heavy exercise first—bench press, squats, etc. Then go to a more isolated one. If I use an isolation exercise first like concentration curls for variety and new stimulation, should I still train it heavy?

A: You can, but you don’t have to train it heavy (more on that in a moment). “Always” doing workouts a certain way is the road to stagnation and slower gains for most; however, you should make an effort to get the key mass triggers… [Read more…]

Drop the Get-Big Bomb (Muscle Mayhem Method)

Q: I like to train heavy, but I fully understand that tension time, or density, can build size as well. My question is, won’t drop sets accomplish both?

A: The drop-set method is one of the best for getting size in the myofibrils as well as a hypertrophic sarcoplasmic burst. And even new veinage too… [Read more…]

Last Set, Best Set for More Mass

Q: I’ve been using the 4X mass method on just about every exercise for just over a month and have gained five pounds of muscle. I’m still lean with abs, so I know it’s not fat. I often do 3X sequences, the way you sometimes recommend, but if I don’t do all 4 sets, I feel guilty. It’s just that I don’t want to overtrain, which is how I feel when I do 4X on all exercises. Should I just bite the bullet and do 4X on everything?

A: If you’ve gained five pounds of muscle in a little more than a month, you’re doing damn good! Most bodybuilders don’t gain five pounds in a year… [Read more…]

Ultimate Combo to Grow Wide—and Catch Eyes

Q: My girlfriend likes to critique my body when I ask. She’s got a good eye for proportion—and if I look good for her, I get the benefits, if you know what I mean—LOL. Lately, she’s been saying my shoulders are too flat. I need more roundness and broadness. What do you suggest?

A: When you think about it, most barbell and dumbbell shoulder exercises are lacking—inefficient to say the least, so you need a real delt-stretching combo to grow… [Read more…]

Shift Your Anabolic Mass Machine Into Overdrive With Progressive Speed

Q: I love the 4X mass method and am already seeing new size from it after only two weeks. I notice you’ve been recommending different methods on each set sometimes. Does that work better for mass? Should I be doing that?

A: One method we often recommend is the progressive speed tactic. We know one thing about it for certain: The feel is unreal—deep ache with a muscle-expanding pump after only three sets… [Read more…]

Pain to Gain: Quick Tweak for a More Massive Physique

Q: I’ve been using 4X sequences, 10 reps per set, and your new downward-progression 4X [12-10-8-6, adding weight each set, 45-second rests]. Both have been working great with some obvious mass gains (people have been commenting at the gym and when I’m out around town—love it!). My problem is that on some exercises the heaviest set on DP 4X hurts my joints. Like on bench presses, my shoulder can’t take it. Should I just drop the 6-rep set?

A: When you say bench presses, we assume you mean with a bar and not dumbbells. DBs may not cause pain because of freedom of movement. [Read more…]

Muscle-Building Mistake You Can’t Afford to Make

Q: A lot of bodybuilders go all power in the off-season. They push for more strength so size will follow. I’m thinking about using the Phase 1 program in Size Surge for that purpose—mostly big exercises with heavy weights training three days a week so I get plenty of recover-and-grow time. Would that program be okay to use for the entire 10 weeks instead of moving to Phase 2?

A: You’re right, even Arnold used to do a two-to-three-month power phase in the winter—but it wasn’t heavy low reps on every exercise, as we’ll explain. That’s the problem with the way most trainees do it: They go heavy on ALL exercises all the time for too long and neglect critical sarcoplasmic size, which can be a big muscle-building mistake… [Read more…]