- X Factor Interview, Part 2
- X Factor Interview, Part 1
- When doing a drop set, why do you go to failure and then do the bottom portion of X-reps first. Wouldn’t it make sense to do your set to failure, do the top contracted position first with X Reps, reduce the weight, and then do full reps to failure followed by X Reps at the bottom.
- You list your routine during your X-Rep experiment as: Day 1, chest and back; Day 2, legs; Day 3, shoulders and arms. Now do you continue on Day 4 with chest and back again? What about off days?
- I just read my new e-book. Great stuff! But do you do the X Reps at muscular failure or with a little gas left at the end of each set?
- What are the numbers that are listed to the right of the exercises in your e-books? If it say 2 x 7-10, do I do the X Reps at the end of the second set, or should I do them on all sets? How long should I wait between sets? I also noticed that there are parenthesis around some numbers. What does that mean?
- After completing an initial set to failure, do I go immediately to the X-Rep set or break and return to it after a set time? Also, do I only need two sets, with one being the X-Rep set?
- In many of the diets in your X-treme Lean e-book you have meal replacements, protein powder and postworkout shakes listed. I’m on a budget, so I’m worried about the extra expense. Do I have to use supplements to see fast results?
- I am totally loving X Reps. They have given my workouts new life, and I’ve already put on five pounds of muscle the first month. Not too shabby. My question is about triceps. I do skull crushers [or lying extensions], and I can’t seem to manage any X Reps at the end of my sets. Are my triceps just too weak down below the middle part of the rep to make X Reps happen?
- I read in IRON MAN magazine that you tried to do X Reps on the first and second sets of an exercise, but you said that two X sets was too much. Why not do X Reps on the first work set after a warmup, and then on the second set do only X Reps at the bottom—no full-range reps?
- 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?
- The fast-twitch fibers are best worked in a four-to-six-rep range, so why not just do X Reps in that rep range? The time under tension for the above, assuming a three-seconds-up/one-second-down cadence, equals about 16 seconds plus four X Reps. That’s a total time under tension of 26 seconds. Won’t lower reps and heavier weights produce more growth?
- How do you guys stay motivated to keep training hard?
- 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?
- I want to do everything I can to make the fastest muscle gains possible with X-Rep training. Do you have any suggestions on how to check my progress, other than weighing myself every week?
- There are a number of great programs in UMW. Which one should I choose?
- Will X Reps work for a superhardgainer like me?
- I recently purchased the e-book The Ultimate Mass Workout. Two days of trying X-reps suggest that they may have some value. My question/comment is that the premise of the book is that inability to do another full repetition (failure) occurs when the nervous system fails. Can you provide some evidence for that? I’m not an exercise physiologist, but I am a scientist with a Ph.D. Scientists expect to see the data/evidence backing up a claim.
- I have most of Steve’s books—Train, Eat, Grow; 10-Week Size Surge and Fat to Muscle 2. They’re in my bodybuilding library, and I refer to them often. Will you ever print Ultimate Mass Workout or will it always remain an e-book?
- I recently started training my girlfriend with Positions of Flexion (the full-range POF system that Steve developed). I have two questions: 1) Can women use X Reps, and 2) which exercises target the glutes [butt muscles] most effectively?
- I’m a beginning bodybuilder, and X Reps sound like just what I need. The gains you both made with them are impressive. My question is, Can a beginner like me use X Reps?
- How much muscle can I expect to gain the first month using X Reps?