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IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #489: Simple Combo-to-Grow Trick for Major Muscle


Subject:
IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #489:
Simple Combo-to-Grow Trick for Major Muscle

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* Try This at Your Next Workout
* In IRON MAN This Month
* A Word from our Sponsor

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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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Simple Combo-to-Grow Trick for Major Muscle

Q: I have a number of your e-books, and one of my favorites is X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts [10 complete programs]. I’m psyched to try the Volume/Intensity Fusion routine. Alternating a short, intense workout with a longer less-intense one makes a lot of sense. What would you think of doing your 4X method for the volume-day workouts? I know the last set of 4X is intense, but the first three aren’t. Would it work to alternate the short HIT workouts for intensity with 4X for volume?

A: Great idea. Alternating volume workouts with short intensity routines is one of the best ways to pack on mass fast. Your variation is simple and effective with loads of muscle-building potential. Plus, using 4X on volume day will make those workouts quicker due to the brief rests between sets (30 seconds).

Let’s look at the high-intensity biceps routine from that program in XMBW and follow it with a volume workout with a 4X variation:

Biceps Intensity Workout (all sets to failure)
Midrange: Dumbbell curls (drop set), 1 x 7(6)
Contracted: Concentration curls (double drop), 1 x 7(6)(5)
Stretch: Incline curls, 1 x 8-10

Biceps 4X Volume Workout
Midrange: Dumbbell curls, 4 x 10
Stretch: Incline curls, 4 x 10
Contracted: Concentration curls, 4 x 10

Each workout is full-range Positions of Flexion, but notice that the stretch- and contracted-position exercises swap places in those two routines. That provides even more change for bigger gains, as explained in the XMBW chapter on Volume/Intensity Fusion.

For the uninitiated, 4X is picking a weight that you can do 15 reps with, but you only do 10. Rest 30 seconds, then do 10 more and so on until you complete four sets of 10 reps. If you get 10 reps on your last set, you need to add weight at your next workout. All of the exercises in the above volume workout are performed in that manner…

If the 4X volume workout feels like too much work for you, use a 3X sequence instead of a 4X on the last two exercises. Either way, the 4X biceps workout should take you only about 15 minutes because of the rapid-fire sets you perform with only 30 seconds of rest between each…

We predict you’ll get BIG-muscle effects with volume/intensity plus 4X.

Q: I read your Training Blog often, so I have to ask: What’s the deal with squats? You’ve said that they always injure you due to spine compression, and you’ll never do them again. But now they are your first quad exercise on leg day. You’re contradicting yourselves.

A: Not a contradiction; just a new discovery. The way we used to do squats–building up to heavy weights over a number of sets with longer rests–produced more injuries than we care to remember. It was usually our lower backs that got jacked. As we found out the hard way over the years, having 350 pounds jamming down on your spine for even a few sets can do lots of cumulative damage. We are living proof…

Now, however, we’re on the 4X Mass Workout. That means we use the same MEDIUM weight all the way through–a poundage light enough to allow 15-plus reps, but we only do 10. We rest only long enough for our partner to complete his 10 reps–30 to 40 seconds–then hit it again…

The short rests coupled with the lighter poundage makes squats much safer as our form remains perfect through all four sets–although sets 3 and 4 do get brutal…

The truth is, we’re feeling 4X squats in our quads more than we ever felt our heavier power squats–and we’re seeing new size increases as well as vascularity. The squat is a great exercise, so the 4X method is a godsend for us. We’re able to use one of the best overall anabolic accelerators again without fear of injury.

For those with major back problems, a 5×12 sequence may be even better than our 4×10 because the weight will need to be even lighter–but you still hit the majority of the growth fibers over so many sets (see the 4X Mass Workout e-book for more info on how and why it works to build mass). The major quad gains you get will inspire and set your overall muscle growth on fire!

Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.

—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com

You can subscribe to this e-zine free at http:www.X-Rep.com.

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

The ITRC Training Newsletter is not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program. You may forward this email to as many friends as you want, but do not photocopy or reprint this report in any format without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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All Content (c) Copyright 2010 IRON MAN Magazine
All Rights Reserved

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