Subject:
IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #575:
The Secret to Huge Muscle Gains: Tactical Change
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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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The Secret to Huge Muscle Gains: Tactical Change
Q: You have so many great mass-building techniques that I want to use them all. How do I decide which to go with first? I want to use 4X and X-centric sets, but I also see how great X Fade, drop sets and supersets are. I’m really motivated to get bigger, but where do I start?
A: You didn’t really say if you’re a rank beginner. If so, we highly recommend you get our Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide. We won’t go into a details about it, but it contains everything you need to, well, quick-start the muscle-building process–check lists, printable workouts, exercise illustrations and tips, diet. For more info, visit MuscleQuickStart.com.
If you’re not a beginner and have at least six months of solid, consistent training behind you, it’s time to infuse your workouts with NEW POWER using some of the mass-building tactics you mention. Your gains have probably slowed, so up your intensity and your size will explode…
If you like the program you’re on now, you can simply supercharge it using the X-hybrid tactics we describe in the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book on appropriate exercises. For example, you mentioned X-Fade. Those are best at the end of contracted-position moves like leg extensions, leg curls, concentration curls, pushdowns, etc.–usually the last exercise in Positions-of-Flexion mass-building routines (most of our e-books have complete POF workouts)…
Here’s how X Fade works: Say you reach exhaustion on pushdowns. Cheat the bar down to the flexed position (pictured above)–or have your partner help you get it there–and do three to five short partial pulses. Feel the triceps FLEXING. When you can’t stand the pain, slowly release until the bar is at your low-pec line and do more partials–or at least a static hold. (Yes, it hurts, but it works)…
You’ve essentially done X Reps at full contraction and then more Xes in the semi-stretched position. Extending the set like that will activate more muscle fibers as well as build sarcoplasmic size in the fibers that are continuing to fire so you get a double dose of muscle growth.
On stretch-position exercises, like stiff-legged deadlifts, pullovers and flyes, try the Double-X Overload tactic from Beyond X. On flyes for instance, use dumbbells that are slightly lighter than your normal 10-rep-set weight. Lower the dumbbells to full stretch, even with your torso, raise them about 10 inches, lower to stretch again, then pull them all the way to the top. That’s one rep; you’ll feel these working like crazy from the get-go…
The double "hitch" at the bottom blasts the target muscle with more stress in that KEY mass-building spot (in Beyond X we talk about the animal study that produced a 300 percent muscle mass increase with only one month of stretch-only "workouts"–amazing and proof of the size-building power of stretch overload). DXO to grow! You’ll feel the muscle fibers swelling and expanding to new size after only one set.
Oh, and standard end-of-set X-Rep partials in the semi-stretch position are best on most BIG midrange exercises, like bench presses, chins, etc. Not free-bar squats, however–due to a leverage shift on that exercise. Do your end-of-set X Reps high on the stroke on free-bar squats. Low-end, or semi-stretch-point, X Reps will work on hack squats and Smith-machine squats though.
After a few months of that change-to-gain strategy–X-Rep and X-hybrid experimentation on various exercises–go to a total-4X workout. You’ll find those in the 4X Mass Workout e-book, including a full-POF program as well as a home-gym version that contain 4X and 3X sequences for every exercise–and you can still use many of the mass tactics you’re excited about with a 4X sequence (more on that in a moment)…
For the uninitiated, 4X is taking a weight with which you can get 15 reps, but you only do 10; rest 30 to 45 seconds, then do 10 more–and so on until you complete four sets. If you get 10 on the last set, add weight to that exercise at your next workout…
The beauty of 4X training is that the poundages are moderate; however, you still optimally build the myofibrils, the actin and myosin strands that generate force, and the sarcoplasm, the energy fluid in the muscle fibers, for ULTIMATE muscle growth. It’s a very POWERFUL, safe, efficient size-building method. You really should give it a try for new eye-popping SIZE…
So how do you use intensity tactics on 4X? On the last set of a 3X or 4X sequence simply ADD X Reps or an X-hybrid tactic (X Fade, DXO, etc.) or a drop set or do it as an NA, or X-centric, set–that is, you reduce the poundage somewhat and use a one-second positive and a six-second negative on every rep. You can even superset that last set of a 4X sequence with another exercise for a super skin-stretching PUMP.
To repeat, use the last set of the sequence with a mass tactic that’s unique to pack on even more beef.
Remember, be patient, but also don’t be afraid of frequent change–it’s the best method for HUGE mass gains.
Note: The e-books mentioned above–Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide, Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building, The 4X Mass Workout and The X-centric Mass Workout–are all now at the reduced price of $19.99 for a limited time. Click on the title you’re interested in for more details.
Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.
–Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
LIMITED-TIME $19.99 BEST-SELLERS: We’re offering each of these at their lowest price ever to get you big and ripped by spring. Click on the title you’re interested in for more info…
1) The 4X Mass Workout–fast, simplified supersaturation training for X-treme size
2) The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout–the latest update to our original X e-book
3) The X-centric Mass Workout–the negative-accentuated training manual
4) The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout–total body transformation training
5) X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts–10 complete mass programs
6) X-traordinary Arms–includes the 3D HIT workout system with big-arms routines
7) 3D Muscle Building–the original Positions-of-Flexion mass-training manual
8) X-treme Lean—Fat-Burning and Nutrition Guide (with training too)
9) The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout
10) The X-traordinary Size Surge Workout
11) The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout
Latest release: The 4X Mass Workout—Fast Simplified Supersaturation Training for X-treme Muscle Size. It’s how many pro bodybuilders get big AND ripped as fast as possible for contests and photo shoots. You can use it for a blast of new mass in only a few weeks–and the workouts are quick. Guaranteed or your money back. Limited-time discount offer HERE.
MASS-BUILDING E-BOOKS…
X-SHOP: Find our original X-Rep e-book, as well as X Updates and Positions-of-Flexion mass-training guides…
X-WORKOUTS: Find specialized e-workout programs, including Power-Density, 10×10 and Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock….
NEW: The X-traordinary SIZE SURGE Workout, Jonathan Lawson’s legendary two-phase mass program that packed 20 pounds of muscle on his frame in only 10 weeks. See all the changes he made to the original workouts, transcribed from his training journal. In printable templates so you can duplicate his incredible gains. You also get his eat-to-grow diet and streamlined no-frills supplement schedule, anabolic acceleration methods and loads of tips and tricks. Plus, an interview with a top-level bodybuilder who trains Size Surge style for incredible growth.
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.
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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