Subject:
IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #448:
Density-Expansion: Quick Muscle-Mass Tip
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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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Density-Expansion: Quick Muscle-Mass Tip
Q: On the X-centric Mass Workout I’m getting a lot bigger and stronger using the 4×10 finisher [in 10×10 style] for all bodyparts. It’s great! My question is, as I get stronger should I stop at 10 on the last set, even if it’s easy? Or should I keep repping until muscle failure [on the fourth set]? I know to go up in weight at the next workout, but I don’t want to waste the one where the weight is easier.
A: For the uninitiated, 4×10 in 10×10 style is taking a weight that you can get about 15 reps with, but you only do 10. Rest 30 seconds, then do 10 more and so on until you complete four sets. If the weight is right, you shouldn’t get 10 on your last set or two. If you do get 10 on your last set, add weight at your next workout…
So what happens as your strength increases and you get 10 on the fourth set fairly easily? We suggest you continue repping until you can’t get another–even if you do 12, 13 or 14. You want the last set to be all out so you get to as many muscle fibers as possible–but here’s another option that we first tried on strict cable curls that blew up our arms bigger than ever at the end of our biceps workout…
If you get 10 on the fourth set, rest 30 seconds and do a fifth set. If you get 10 again, rest 30 seconds and do another set. Keep doing that until you can’t get 10. That will usually be only one or two extra sets. It’s brutal, but it takes the muscle to a growth-producing place it’s never been before.
At your next workout, increase the weight and go back to 4×10—which should really be 10, 10, 9, 8. Then when you get stronger and do all four sets with 10 reps, add a set or two–until 10 reps isn’t possible. Add weight at your next workout so you’re back to 4×10 and so on.
That density-expansion technique can be applied to any of the 4×10 finishing exercises in The X-centric Mass Workout—or the last exercise of any workout, for that matter. It’s a real growth getter!
Q: Could you explain how to do wide-grip rack pulls? I think I’m doing them wrong. Also, I couldn’t believe what Jonathan wrote about whey protein keeping people fat [“My Fat-Burning Story”]. I’ve had the same problem, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Thanks to that article I’m already a lot leaner.
A: A wide-grip rack pull starts with holding the bar with a grip wider than your shoulders at arm’s length at your front thighs; then you bend your knees slightly, and with a slight heave you row it up close to your body till it’s just below your lower-pec line. Here’s a pic of Jonathan doing rack pulls:
It’s like a semi-cheat wide-grip upright row, but you gotta keep the bar moving–don’t rest at the bottom. As soon as you get to almost full arm extension, pull up another rep.
It’s called a rack pull because most people do it in a power rack with the long pins set at about knee level so the bar can rest there between sets. (If you have trouble feeling it in your delts, experiment with the grip—wider should be better for medial-head development.)
As for Jonathan’s shocking whey article, yes, the research on insulin and whey really blew us away. Insulin stops fat burning, and straight-whey-protein shakes spike insulin. That means if you’re having straight-whey shakes throughout the day, your fat burning is being derailed big time.
In fact, Steve used to get lean very easily. Then he started using straight-whey shakes twice a day along with Jonathan, and it was taking forever for him to start seeing cuts. He couldn’t figure it out, thinking that maybe it was his age (50). Now, we’ve gone back to using a casein-egg-whey array, with CLA. And we’re leaner in May than we were last August. We’re back to the formula we suggested in our X-treme Lean e-book–one we won’t stray from again.
Amazing: The more we do this muscle-building, leaning-out thing, the more we continue to learn–and relearn. Sure, you gotta try new things, but sometimes it’s the wrong direction. See Jonathan’s article, “My Fat-Burning Story,” for more on the whey-protein-array fat-burning connection.
Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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This Special Report was submitted by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
The IRON MAN Training & Research Team
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