Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I like the look of veins on my arms. Do you think doing high-rep TORQ training will help me get more vascularity?
A: How vascular you are is primarily genetic—and freaky veinage is usually only visible when you have low body fat, so diet plays a pretty big role as well.
BUT, doing higher reps, especially on continuous-tension-type moves, like concentration curls for biceps and pushdowns for triceps, can increase capillary proliferation—and perhaps create more gnarly vascularity… [Read more…]
Frank Zane wasn’t the biggest bodybuilder of his era by any stretch. He competed and won the Mr. Olympia weighing around 190 at 5’9”. And 40 years later, his physique is still considered an ultimate ideal by the majority who lift… [Read more…]
Q: I just got your X-treme Lean e-book. I will start ripping it up soon for spring. Lots of great nutrition stuff and diets, but I didn’t even realize it all has a workout program. Is this workout better than the Fat-to-Muscle Workout? I’m trying to decide which one to use in a few weeks to kick in the cuts for spring.
A: The X-treme Lean High-Definition Workout is a 3-way split. It includes lower reps, 8-12, on a big exercise alternated with a high-rep set on an isolation move to give you that lean-machine edge. For example, for upper chest it’s… [Read more…]
Q: I bought myself and my wife gym memberships, and I started on your Quick-Start Muscle Building program. I’m getting good results already, but my wife will only do aerobics classes. She won’t touch the weights because she says she doesn’t want big muscles. What can I tell her? She’s more concerned with losing fat.
A: If she won’t touch the weights for fear of building too much muscle, tell her not to worry. That attitude is from the dark ages. A little more muscle will actually help her look better and get leaner faster. In fact, most medical doctors now suggest that their patients, male and female, lift weights—and many say that lifting is more important than cardio. Here’s a quote from our X-treme Lean e-book that may help convince your wife:
Many women think ‘muscle’ is a dirty word. Not true. It gives the female body a metabolic boost and more curves in the right places. Women don’t have to be concerned with building too much muscle thanks to their female hormone balance—more estrogen, very little testosterone. Women should train just as hard as men do, using weight training to sculpt their bodies.
The overly muscled women bodybuilders take male hormones to get that way. If your wife isn’t taking those, she doesn’t have to worry. She can use weight training followed by some cardio to transform her body quickly, as Becky Holman, Steve’s wife, did…
Show your wife those photos and emphasize that Becky trained to build muscle first and foremost—and it worked fast, boosting her metabolism through the roof! It’s done wonders for men too, so you may want to consider her direct/indirect POF workouts [on pages 50-52 in X-treme Lean] as your next step after the Quick-Start program.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
One of the most interesting read-me pages on Testosterone and other muscle-building hormones we’ve seen is The Truth About Testosterone.
It even talks about a fruit, a specific part, that can up your T naturally. Cranking up your testosterone will not only get you jacked in the gym, but in the bedroom too—not to mention help rip up your midsection as it ignites fat burning. If that interests you, there’s more from our colleague and registered dietician, HERE.
The shots of Frank Zane (left) and Mike Mentzer below show a unique contrast of physiques and conditioning. Both were taken at the 1979 Mr. Olympia, with Zane weighing 190 and Mentzer 210.
[Read more…]Okay, Bruce Lee wasn’t a competitive bodybuilder, but his physique stunned those who witnessed it in peak condition.
Hard to believe he was 5’8” and weighed only 128 pounds. You read that right.
[Read more…]It’s not easy getting lean—at least for most people—which is why fast fat loss is always a hot topic. Most of you reading this probably want to uncover your abs sooner rather than later…
[Read more…]Q: I need to lose fat quickly, and I’ve been reading a lot about interval cardio training. I want to try it, so how would you suggest I work it into my program? I just started using the Heavy/Light 10×10 Workout based on one of your recent newsletters that made it sound great.
A: As we’ve said, high-intensity interval cardio is like doing another leg workout, so you must be cautious. For those who don’t know what HIIT is, a good example is sprinting the straight-aways and walking the curves on a running track.
You’re alternating anaerobic work, all-out sprints, with active rest, walking. Studies show that it’s an exceptional way to burn bodyfat for a number of reasons…
[Read more…]Q: In a few of your recent newsletters you mentioned “postactivation.” What is that, and can I use it to build more mass?
A: With postactivation, you strategically use a continuous-tension isolation exercise, like leg extensions, to
Wait. Isn’t that pre-exhaustion? No, with pre-ex you superset the exercises—no rest between them—which diminishes your ability to generate
Q: I read in one of your newsletters a while back that you guys use cheat days on your diets during your ripping phase. I can’t seem to get myself to do that. I’m very focused, and slacking just isn’t in my nature. Is it really necessary?
A: We’ve tried it both ways—with cheat days and without—and we’ve found that adding in 50 to 100 grams of carbs one or two days a week makes a significant fat-burning difference. It’s both psychological and physiological. Here’s an excerpt from our X-treme Lean e-book that explains…
[Read more…]
