Subject:
IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #393:
3 Workouts a Week: Bigger and Stronger
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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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3 Workouts a Week: Bigger and Stronger
Q: I just want to say that The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout and The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout have the best bodybuilding info I’ve ever read. I am stoked, and I’m already much bigger and stonger after only a month. My question is that I’m using the Basic X-Rep Workout as it’s listed [3 different workouts], but I’m working out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In the X-Rep e-book you say to train four days a week–M,T, Th, F–doing the Monday workout again on Friday. Is working each bodypart once a week with the 3-way split okay?
A: You answered your own question. If you’re getting bigger and stronger, you’re onto something that works well for you. Stick with it: Workout 1 on Monday, Workout 2 on Wednesday and Workout 3 on Friday. Simple, with lots of recovery time for muscle growth–and each workout takes less than an hour.
Remember, none of our workouts are etched in stone; you should adapt them to your situation, and from what we’ve seen and heard, your way may be better for many, especially hardgainer, or recovery-challenged, types…
In fact, our colleague Dave Goodin, 50-year-old drug-free bodybuilder who just won his IFBB pro card, trains three days per week in the off-season, and it works for him. Check out his results…
Here’s what he had to say about his training: “About 15 years ago I cut my off-season workouts from five days per week to three. I started gaining size and strength so fast that people were asking my training partner if I was using steroids. In nine months I gained more muscle than I had in the previous four years.”
Dave is much bigger now thanks to reducing training days, hitting each bodypart once a week using a three-days-per-week program like the Basic X X-Rep Workout. Sounds like you’ve discovered the same mass-building thing!
Q: I’m using the Basic X-traordinary X-Rep Workout and making pretty good gains. I love that the workouts are quick and that I only use the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart. My problem is that I think my gains could be even better because I’m not getting a big pump in some bodyparts. I do the density drop set on the Ultimate Exercise at the end, but most muscles just don’t pump like they should. Can I add an exercise? I have time.
A: That’s a common problem because everyone has muscles with low nerve force and/or fewer fast-twitch fibers. That makes getting a pump in those bodyparts more difficult, especially using only a big compound exercise. There are a number of things you can do, such as 10×10 style to end instead of a drop set, but we’ll give you something less time consuming…
Right now you end with a density drop set on the big exercise–two higher-rep sets back to back–for increased tension time and occlusion, or blood-flow blockage. After a long time under tension, when you stop the set, there should be a tidal wave of blood rushing to the muscle. Unfortunately, the big, compound exercises don’t always do that job well, especially in slacker bodyparts…
We’ve suggested the same Ultimate Exercise for both the power pyramid and the density drop in the Basic X-Rep Workout to keep the workouts short and simple. But for max tension, contracted-position exercises are best–like lateral raises for delts, leg extensions for quads and pushdowns for triceps…
So for those muscles that aren’t pumping well, simply add one set of a more isolated contracted-position exercise after the drop set. For example, for triceps you would do this…
Decline extensions (pyramid), 2 x 9, 7
Decline extensions (drop set), 1 x 10(6)
Pushdowns, 1 x 15
That one set of a single-joint contracted-position exercise will build on the pump you ignited with the drop set and blow up your triceps big time!
The Basic X-traordinary X-Rep Workout is very flexible–and also lists those key contracted-position exercises you can add to each bodypart routine. The workouts will still take about an hour–and that translates into more muscle size and power!
Note: We’re offering The Winter-Workout Motivation Special to get you growing immediately. It includes The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout, The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout and The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout, our three most popular e-books for a limited-time discount price. Click here to check it out. Or you can get each individual e-program there as well. Now is prime grow time!
Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
NEW: The new X-traordinary X-Rep Workout e-guide merges all the top X-Rep techniques and info with the latest muscle-building research into two new power-packed X-Rep workouts–the basic X program only takes about 35 minutes. It also includes a look at Arnold’s X-training tactics as well a how current Mr. Olympia contenders use them to pack on extreme muscle mass. For more info and chapter listings visit www.X-traordinaryWorkouts.com.
Latest e-book release:
•The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout includes the latest eye-opening data on the key muscle fibers that have the most potential for growth (it’s rewriting physiology textbooks) and the best mass-building rep tempo. See how one legendary Austrian bodybuilder used Power-Density to build dominant, dramatic muscle mass, his combo-to-grow methods included. You also get four complete, printable workouts–one that takes only about 30 minutes per session–plus X Reps, POF and more. More details.
•Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock Workout gives you everything you need to apply his max-mass system for incredible new gains–including all 12 printable workouts and a big Q&A section. More details.
•The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout contains a four-days-per-week, one-ultimate-exercise-per-bodypart program and also a heavy/light version, with heavy POF alternated with a one-exercise 10×10 routine. More details.
•The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout is based on the latest metabolic research so you can get bigger and leaner fast without long, mind-numbing cardio–you’ll burn fat and build muscle 24/7 with customized mass-building weight workouts. More details.
Click on the e-books for more information:
Newbies: If you’re a beginning bodybuilder, coming back from a layoff or a trainer who trains beginners, our new e-book, Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide, is for you.
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To follow the ITRC training program in “Train, Eat, Grow,” get a copy of the latest issue of IRON MAN.
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This Special Report was submitted by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
The IRON MAN Training & Research Team
www.ironmanmagazine.com
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