X-REP.com Presents XX--ttrraaoorrddiinnaarryy MMUUSSCCLLEE--BBUUIILLDDIINNGG S T U O K R O W 00 11 Complete Print-and-Go Size and Strength Programs Including T/NT, 3D Power Pyramid, Volume/Intensity Fusion and X-Rep Reload by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson INTRODUCTION If you’ve been training to pack on muscle mass for a while, you’ve realized a disheartening, but challenging, fact: The “perfect” mass- building routine only works for so long—then you have to move on to something new. If you don’t vary your attack, your gains stall. That’s the the muscle-building game and the nature of the human body. It’s called adaptation, and you can’t fight it—you have to embrace and use it to get bigger and stronger. That requires switching things up when gains slow down, which is precisely what this e-book is about—giving you rock-solid options in the gym to shake up your muscle growth and keep your size on a steep upward trajectory. In fact, there are 10 complete programs—enough to get you through more than a year of training—with plenty of big gaining. If you’ve read any of our other e-books, such as The Ultimate Mass Workout, Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building or 3D Muscle Building, you’ve seen that each contains a number of complete programs, all with specific variations. This e-book expands on those efficient muscle-building road- maps to help you achieve extraordinary bursts of new growth... You’ll find Volume/Intensity Fusion, 3D Power Pyramid, T/NT (Trau- matic/Nontraumatic), Heavy/Light, 20-Rep Squat, Time-Bomb Train- ing and X-Rep Reload, which is our original X-Rep routine from our first e-book (UMW), but with a number of twists and turns, like Power/Rep Range/Shock and X-hybrid techniques thrown in for good measure (and bigger measurements!). It’s the program we’re using as we write this, and our gains have been spectacular so far (a big thank-you to Eric Broser, the creator of P/RR/S, and Dante, the man behind D.C. training). Each workout is explained and then presented in full-page template form, so you can print it, grab the hardcopy and head to the gym immedi- ately to use it as your new blueprint for a blast of new mass. (Grab a pencil too, as you’ll want to write down your poundages in the space provided; we’re big believers in trying to better our performance as often as pos- sible—remember, you gotta challenge your muscles to make them grow!) Whether you can only train two or three days a week or can manage four or five, there’s a plan here for you—and if you give your chosen X- traordinary Workout your all, you’ll pack your frame with new mass fast. Then, after about six weeks, you can pick another from this muscle-build- ing arsenal and repeat the process so you grow faster than ever before! See you at the gym. —Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson www.X-Rep.com Note: We strongly recommend that you subscribe to our free weekly e-zine at www.IronManMagazine.com, as we will be discussing the programs in this e-book and answering questions. X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 1 X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts was written to help you get closer to your physical potential with sensible bodybuilding strategies. Weight train- ing is a demanding activity, however, so it is highly recommended that you consult your physician and have a physical examination prior to beginning a weight-training program. Proceed with the suggested advice, exercises and routines at your own risk. Photography by Michael Neveux Cover model: Jonathan Lawson Copyright © 2007 by Homebody Productions All rights reserved. The material in this document may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form without prior written consent from the publisher. Homebody Productions P.O. Box 2800 Ventura, CA 93002 www.3DMuscleBuilding.com 3D Muscle Building e-book www.X-Rep.com The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book www.BeyondX-Rep.com Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book www.X-tremeLean.com X-treme Lean e-book www.X-traordinaryAbs.com X-traordinary Abs e-book All e-books are available at www.X-Rep.com/xshop.htm 2 X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS CONTENTS WORKOUT 1 —3D Power Pyramid 4-day program................................................5 WORKOUT 2 —Anabolic Acceleration: 20-Rep Squat 2- and 3-day programs.................................13 WORKOUT 3 —Time-Bomb Training 3-day program..............................................21 WORKOUT 4 —Volume/Intensity Fusion 4- or 5-day program.....................................29 WORKOUT 5 —T/NT (Traumatic/Nontraumatic) 3-day and 4-day programs...........................41 WORKOUT 6 —Heavy/Light 3-day and 4-day programs...........................55 WORKOUT 7 —X-Rep Reload 4-day and home-gym programs..................69 APPENDIX 1 —Stretch Overload Research................................97 X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 3 X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 4 X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 1 WORKOUT 1 3D Power Pyramid Program X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 5 Before we get into the 3D Power Pyramid Program, here’s a letter we received that shows you it’s, well, power... I’m 31 years old and started lifting weights shortly after I graduated from high school. At that time my weight was 140 at 5’10”, and in 10 years of training I didn’t put on much muscle weight due to improper eating and training. Then I was introduced to Steve Holman’s 3D Positions of Flexion, and even though I still wasn’t eating properly, I gained 20 pounds in about two years. After furthering my knowledge of 3D POF, I decided to do the Power Pyramid Program because I was looking for both mass and strength—and that’s exactly what I got. I went from 195 to 215 in two short months [almost 20 pounds of muscle in eight weeks]! My bench press went from 340 to 405, squats from 460 to 515 and deadlifts from 375 to 435. I’ve never felt bet- ter, and my strength and power are unbelievable. Thank you very much for 3D POF. Without it I might have given up. K.T., Fostoria, OH 6 X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS To get big, you have to move heavy iron, and to move heavy iron you have to be strong; so it obviously pays big dividends, literally, to train for strength and power every so often (just as the bodybuilder did who sent us that motivational letter!). Unfortunately, some bodybuilders think that training for strength and power means you’re forced to neglect propor- tion and symmetry. Not true. You can train for both simulta- neously with the 3D Power Pyramid Program. This routine is based on the pyramid technique, a pound- age-progression method that powerlifters have been using for decades to wring as much strength-building potential out of an exercise as possible (massive muscle size is a welcome side effect!). You simply add poundage at each successive set and let the repetition number fall accordingly. For example, a powerlifter’s bench press workout might look like this: Set 1: 135 x 12; Set 2: 185 x 10; Set 3: 225 x 8; Set 4: 315 x 6; Set 5: 350 x 4; Set 6: 380 x 2; Set 7: 380 x 1-2 As a bodybuilder you want to work the three positions of flexion for complete development—also using flyes for stretch-position work and crossovers for the contracted posi- tion, for example—while still building plenty of strength. If you use the powerlifter’s seven-set pyramid on your midrange movements, like bench presses, and then train the other two positions as well, you could drain too much of your recovery ability (not to mention having to camp out at the gym). Re- member that most powerlifters don’t care about full, propor- tionate development, so they don’t have to focus on exercises other than the three powerlifts and the assistance movements that help improve those lifts. For bodybuilders, though, it’s much better to do a minipyramid on the big midrange ex- ercises, like the bench press, and follow with a stretch- and contracted-position movement for one to two sets in order to fully develop the muscle while still avoiding overtraining. For example, your POF Power Routine for lower chest starts with bench presses for the following set-rep scheme (the poundages are merely hypothetical): X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 7 Set 1: 135 x 12 (warmup); Set 2: 155 x 9 (warmup); Set 3: 210 x 8; Set 4: 235 x 6; Set 5: 250 x 3-4 As we said, that type of pyramid is actually more strength oriented—with a size side effect—due to the lower reps (the reverse pyramid in the Heavy/Light program is more size ori- ented with a strength side effect, as you’ll see when you get to Chapter 6). So that alone would be a good strength builder with some size as well. To add more growth side effects you follow that pyramid exercise with one to two all-out sets of decline cable flyes to hit the important stretch and contract- ed positions of your lower chest. You work every bodypart in a similar manner to build plenty of overall strength without neglecting proportion. Here are a few tips for making your POF power strategy as productive as possible: (cid:129)Do one to two warmup sets with about 50 percent and 70 percent of your work weight on each exercise you pyramid (sets 1 and 2 above). Remember that a warm muscle con- tracts more efficiently than a cold muscle—a warm muscle progresses through the size principle of fiber recruitment much more effectively, activating the low-threshold motor units first, the mediums second and the highs, which bring in the important fast-twitch growth fibers, last. Without a proper warmup, the nervous system usually balks too early, reducing high-threshold activation. (Note that the warmup sets are not included in the program outlined on the next few pages; however, those exercises with an asterisk * next to them are the ones on which we suggest you do one or two warmup sets.) (cid:129)Whenever you can get 10 reps on the first work set of your power pyramid, up the weight on all three sets at your next workout so that you go back to only getting eight on your first set. (cid:129)Go to at least positive failure on all of your sets other than warmups. If you start losing your enthusiasm, try a mod- erate-intensity week; in other words, do four workouts 8 X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS without training to exhaustion. Then on the following week go back to training with all-out intensity. (That’s the Phase Training concept explained in most of our e-books.) (cid:129)The bodypart programs are brief, so you should use in- tensity techniques like end-of-set X-Rep partials or other X-hybrid techniques on a set or two of each exercise, but don’t abuse them. If you start feeling overtrained, cut back on your use of these techniques immediately. Intensity techniques will probably work best on the stretch- and contracted-position exercises and/or the last set of your pyramid. [For a detailed description of X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, see our Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book (www.BeyondX-Rep.com). There are also brief descrip- tions later in this e-book—see page 86.] (cid:129)Take in extra calories, but don’t get fat. Even at your heavi- est bodyweight you should still be able to see your abdomi- nals (in good lighting). The 3D Power Pyramid Program is a simple, elegant pro- gram that provides outstanding strength and size results. But you have to push it hard at every workout! X-traordinary Muscle-Building WORKOUTS 9