x-centric mass workout Archives

Mix Muscle Hits to Get Big and Ripped

Q: Thanks for the X-centric Mass Workout! Mixing heavy work, negative-accentuated sets, and 4X has given me the best gains of my life. My bodyweight increased over 5 pounds, but my abs are sharper with veins in the lower part. I’m stoked, and the ladies seem to like it too. LOL! My question is about NA sets vs. negatives at the end of regular sets. After two heavy sets, you say to reduce the weight on the last set for an NA set on the big exercise [like bench presses]. Couldn’t I just keep the weight heavy and add four to six negatives at the end of that last set? I feel like I need another heavy set. I have a partner, so he could lift and I could lower on the negatives. I think Mike Mentzer recommended this style.

A: In his prime, Mentzer actually recommended a 3-phase set to get big and ripped…

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Power, Density, Intensity: Combo to Grow

Q: I got your X-centric Mass Workout. Motivating info, and I messed around with some X-centric variations in my last workouts. Enjoying the new muscle soreness. I want to start using the Direct/Indirect X-centric Mass Workout [outlined in that e-book]. It has a standard heavy pyramid on the big exercises, last set X-centric. What do you think of using downward progression 4X instead with the last set X-centric?

A: For those who don’t have the X-centric Mass Workout e-book, the workout being referred to is Positions of Flexion, with a pyramid + X-centric set on the midrange exercise, a straight set or two on the stretch move, and a 4X sequence on the contracted-position exercise.

For example, for middle-lower chest it’s…

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Weight confusion and muscle-growth infusion

Q: I’m ready to start the total 4X mass program [moderate-weight, growth threshold training]. How do I know what weight to use on each exercise? Can I base it on my 8-rep max or what?

A: The 4X mass method is density training—so it’s high fatigue. Very different from standard training with longer rests, so we understand the weight confusion, but that’s why for weights you’ll have to guess…

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Try this for a sick muscle-hypertrophy uptick

Q: I have a hard time feeling some of my muscles working, especially short-range ones like abs. Should I go heavier, lighter, slower, or what? I know feeling the target muscle working is very important for the fastest results.

A: You can say that again. Getting in touch with the target muscle on every rep is a big key to muscle hypertrophy…

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2 Quick Ways to Jack Up Muscle Gains

Q: I’m reading the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book, and I noticed that you have a section on X-centric training. But it’s not the same as what you describe in my X-centric Mass Workout e-book. Is one better than the other?

A: X-centric is our X-Rep vernacular for eccentric, which is the negative stroke of an exercise; that is, the lowering of a weight, like the downward portion of a bench press. [Read more…]

Sets, Reps, and Muscle-Size Success

Q: I have a 4X question. Let’s use incline dumbbell presses as an example. I do the first 3 sets of 10 reps with 60 pounds. On the 3rd set, I hit the 10th rep, but it isn’t easy. After 30 seconds rest I do my 4th set, but I can only get 5 or 6 reps. Is it better to keep pushing with the 60s until I hit 10 reps on all 4 sets, or should I drop the weight to 55 pounds for all 4 sets, increase the reps to 12 and try that for a few weeks? Any thoughts?

A: We prefer 10,10,10,6, striving to get more reps on that last set at each workout. For most muscle groups, 10 reps seems to be ideal for getting BOTH power and density size effects in the key 2A growth fibers. But there is a place for 4×12 sequences, as you’ll see… [Read more…]

Best Way to Build Muscle After Years of High-Intensity Training

Q: I have the 4X Mass Workout e-book, and I’m convinced it’s the best way for me to build muscle now after years of high-intensity training. I’m ready to start, but I want to include some negative-accentuated (NA) sets for better fat burning. I have both the X-centric Mass Workout and the Fat-to-Muscle Workout [which both include NA]. Lots of good info and workouts, but nothing that really merges 4X and NA the way I want. I need to add NA sets to the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout. How?

A: Keep in mind that negative-accentuated sets are very traumatic and can require more recovery. With the Direct/Indirect 4X Mass Workout, most upper-body muscles are getting THREE hits a week, be they major or minor. That’s already a lot of muscular trauma. But you’re right: Adding an appropriate dose of NA work—one second on the positive and six seconds on the negative—without overtraining, can stimulate more fat burning on a couple of levels… [Read more…]

Muscle Mass and Power With Negative Overload

Q: My training partner and I are arguing. He wants to start using heavy negative-only training, but I told him that your e-book [the X-centric Mass Workout] warns against it. He reads your newsletter, so please convince him that it’s not a good idea.

A: In the X-centric e-book we cited a study that showed the extreme damage caused by negative-only training (someone lifts the weight for you, and you lower slowly). Muscle recovery for some of the subjects took weeks; however, most of those subjects were untrained, so they didn’t have the cumulative capacity to handle traumatic loads. If you’ve been training for a year or more, that’s probably not your case… [Read more…]

The Dumbest Thing You can do if you want Extreme Muscle Mass

We’re not going to beat around the bush. The dumbest thing you can do if you want extreme mass is to believe there’s only one way to build muscle. You know, a stubborn narrow mind that is set on “this way is the only way.” For example…

Do you train each muscle group with a number of sets once a week? It’s a popular trend in bodybuilding—chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, arms on Wednesday and so on. That can work—for a while. Then you adapt… [Read more…]

More Mass-Building Myths Busted (logic or looniness)

Q: I read where old-school bodybuilders would use lighter weights and higher reps on some exercises before competition to get more muscle detail. That’s total B.S., right?

A: On the surface, yes. But ending a bodypart with higher-rep work—or even doing entire workouts with higher rep work, enhances muscle burn. No, that’s not fat burning—at least not in a strict sense… [Read more…]