Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: Your 4X training is fantastic. It has me growing again, and it’s perfect with 3-way POF. My question is about muscle feel. How important is it for size increases? I ask because I have trouble feeling some major body parts, like shoulders and chest.
A: We think it’s EXTREMELY important to feel the target muscle working; if you don’t, you may be using other muscle groups to move the weight or simply not innervating enough muscle fibers for a big anabolic response. [Read more…]
No, it’s not turkey and roast beef on whole wheat. It’s just a funny name for a method of training that can super-charge your mass gaining. It’s something we came up with years ago but haven’t mentioned in a long time… [Read more…]
Q: Your 4X training is fantastic. It has me growing again, and it’s perfect with 3-way POF. My question is about muscle feel. How important is it to feel your muscles working for size increases? I ask because I have trouble feeling some body parts, like shoulders and chest.
A: We believe it’s EXTREMELY important to feel your muscles working; if you don’t, you may be using other muscle groups to move the weight or simply not innervating enough muscle fibers for a big anabolic response. [Read more…]
Q: In 4X Mass Workout 2.0 you describe the high-rep [TORQ] method, going 30-20-15 in reps with short rests between. Sometimes I can’t get 30. Either I pick a weight that’s a little too heavy or I just fatigue too quickly. What should I do?
A: What you’re trying to do with TORQ—tension overload repetition quantity—is reach the upper area of the optimal hypertrophic tension time—60 to 90 seconds.
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’m a competitive powerlifter, so I haven’t tried your 4X method. It requires moderate weights, and that’s not me. I need to train heavy. But I have been using your X-centric sets, usually only one or two at the end of each heavy compound exercise, like bench presses and squats. My problem is that I’ve been using X-centric sets for a month, but I’m five pounds heavier. I’m worried because I don’t want to jump a weight class at my next lifting meet. I’m pretty sure it’s all muscle because I’m seeing more striations in my chest, legs, and even shoulders, and many of my bodyparts look rounder. Should I stop using X-centrics? Is this happening because of the extra fiber trauma I’m getting from those sets?
A: The extra fiber trauma from emphasizing the negative stroke on your negative-accentuated (NA) sets is no doubt part of the reason you’ve added new muscle quickly—that causes fiber remodeling, or growth; X-centric sets also cause more fiber inflammation, which can make you look bigger and rounder. But there’s more to it than that (exciting stuff for those of us who want to pack on maximum muscle size)… [Read more…]
