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Ultimate Mass Workout (over-40)

Q: I wanted to report on my progress. I’m 53 and am making the best muscle gains of my life using something you haven’t really discussed. I get bored easily, so what I do is one week I use the Over-40 STX workout [Anabolic Reload e-book] and the next week I go to the Pure-Positions STX program [Stretch Overload e-book]. I think it’s working so well because every week I am getting all three of the hypertrophy requirements but with different splits and exercise mixes. I swear my shirts are already tighter after only three weeks. Just want to thank you guys for my new gains!

A: Hmm, very interesting—and a novel approach. We usually suggest doing one of those programs for four to six weeks, then switch to the other for another four-to-six-week mass phase.

But who are we to argue? Sounds like alternating them is working off the charts for you in the over-40 muscle mass department. Exciting stuff! Now… [Read more…]

3-second change = Freaky muscle gains

I just read Anabolic Reload in one sitting. Great! I like the idea of progression with rest/pause add-ons every few workouts. But shouldn’t there be an uptick EVERY workout so you get more freaky muscle gains each time you train?

We like the way you think—a bit obsessive-compulsive, but we can identify. LOL…  [Read more…]

I can only train two days a week, so I’m using the Basic Ultimate Mass Workout 1. I really like the idea of training each bodypart with only the absolute best compound exercise, and I’m getting some excellent results after only three weeks! My problem is that the workouts make me feel a little drained. Can I cut back to one set on some of the exercises and still make gains with X Reps?

 

A: That’s a solid routine, but training the whole body with the best compound exercises, even if it’s only with a couple of sets, along with X Reps can be taxing. It’s not for every body. That’s why we provide alternatives, like a three-day version and a four-day version, with some of the workouts lasting only 35 minutes or so. You said you can only train two days a week, however, so those aren’t options for you.

Here’s a better alternative to simply cutting the sets: Try the drop-set technique with X Reps so that within the one set you’re actually doing two in less time. For example, on incline presses, do a set to failure, finish the set with X Reps at the appropriate position, then reduce the weight to a poundage that allows about six hard reps. You’ll be doing about the same amount of work in less time, which is a classic intensity amplification technique for mass building. You can do that on as many exercises as you want, doing one X-Rep drop set instead of two straight sets. That should reduce your workout time considerably, have you feeling less drained and may even produce better results!

Will X Reps work for a superhardgainer like me?

 

A: Absolutely! (Remember, Steve is a hardgainer, and they did excellent things for his size and muscularity in only one month—and that’s after 35 years of training!) Realize that the biggest reasons someone is a hardgainer include low neuromuscular efficiency (below average nerve-to-muscle connections) and endurance-oriented muscle structures (even many of the fast-twitch fibers have more endurance). X Reps can improve both of those deficiencies significantly.

Remember that X Reps extend any set, so in that regard they provide a slight endurance component, which is exactly what hardgainers’ endurance-oriented muscles need. A standard eight-rep set to failure, using a one-second-up/one-second-down rep speed, lasts 16 seconds (8 reps x 2 seconds). That’s not enough tension time to trigger growth in endurance-oriented muscles; however, you can extend that by five to eight seconds with X Reps, taking the total tension time of the set past the important 20-second mark. Twenty seconds is considered by many scientists to be an ideal time for maximum hypertrophic stimulation in any one set. Also—and this is important—the Xs occur at the optimal spot in the exercise’s stroke for fast-twitch fiber overload. Short pulses at that point force the muscle to continue firing, even after nervous system fatigue. So X Reps extend the tension time on your muscles—past the 20-second mark—and gradually build better nerve-force capabilities, or neuromuscular efficiency. You’ve just knocked down two hardgainer roadblocks to more mass with X Reps!

And if you combine drop sets with X Reps you can get an even better hardgainer-specific workout—extending the set up to 40 seconds, without overtaxing recovery ability, something hardgainers tend to have less of than average trainees. We include X-Rep drop sets in many of the programs in The Ultimate Mass Workout for that very reason. It’s just a good, solid muscle-building strategy whether you’re a hardgainer or not.

Steve Holman before and after

Scrawny to brawny: X Reps directly target hardgainer deficiencies and can help transform skinny bodies. Steve, with his light bone structure and slow-to-grow muscles, made some of the best gains of his life in the one month he used X Reps—even at the age of 44 and after 30 years of training!

X Reps on 10×10 Sets?

Q: I have most of your e-books and am really impressed with The Ultimate Mass Workout [the original X-Rep manual]. X Reps make a lot of sense for giving a set more size-building power. My question is, Should I use X Reps on 10×10 sets? And what about forced reps? Do you ever use them?

A: Remember, with 10×10 you are getting a lot of volume, even though the first few sets aren’t that tough. Nevertheless, you are still working the muscles and nervous system, so overtraining is always looming. [Read more…]

Key Muscle-Size Exercise for Shocking Shoulders

Q: I have limited time to train, so I try to use the best exercise for each bodypart. Your Ultimate Mass Workout e-book has been priceless in that regard, and I’m using a version of the basic program you outline with the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart. Most are right on, but I have a problem with my shoulders. They’re not responding to dumbbell upright rows [the Ultimate Exercise for delts discussed in Chapter 6]. Is there another exercise I can use?

A: First, check your form. You should be starting with the dumbbells almost at arm’s length with your palms facing your thighs and the inner ‘bells touching. That creates a pull on the medial-delt heads in the important semi-stretch position. As you pull the dumbbells up, your hands should move out so that at the top of the stroke they are outside of your outer chest and your upper arms are parallel to the floor. [Read more…]

New 3D HIT: More Muscle, Less Time?

Q: I’ve been checking out a lot of the high-intensity-training (HIT) stuff on the Web. Using one all-out intense set per exercise makes a lot of sense. But doing only one exercise per bodypart, as in most HIT programs, does not make sense to me. That’s why I want to try the more abbreviated HIT approach combined with 3D POF [training each muscle in three positions for full-range activation]. Any suggestions?

A: What you’re talking about is a key reason 3D Positions of Flexion evolved. It attacks the full contractibility range of a muscle for maximum fiber recruitment as well as [Read more…]

Half-Hour Workouts and the Get-Bigger Trigger

A lot of experts say that you’re either destined to have big muscles (bodybuilder look) or you’re not (distance-runner physique). It has to do with the muscle fiber types you’re dealt at birth—the genetics cards. But some cutting-edge research indicates that genetic muscle limitations may not be set in stone. You may be able to go from skinny twig to muscular and big with the right training—and it can happen very quickly and with fairly short workouts (as you’ll see, studies have tripled muscle size in animals in a month; we’ll give you training tips tied to that phenomenon in a moment). [Read more…]