Subject:
IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #518:
Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Trick Gets You Big and Ripped
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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Trick Gets You Big and Ripped
Q: Many years ago I tried negative-only sets on most of my exercises. My partners lifted the heavy weight for me, and I lowered it slowly, six seconds on each of six reps. I got some decent strength gains but not much mass at all. Because of that I have reservations about your negative-accentuated [or X-centric] technique. Will it produce the muscle gains for me that pure negatives didn’t?
A: The heavy, pure-negative sets that you tried are great for building neuromuscular efficiency–that is the nerve connections that will improve strength. You also get some muscle trauma; however, you lose muscular tension between each rep when your partners lift the weight for you…
In other words, you’re basically doing a group of slow negative-only singles with a brief rest/pause between them, releasing the target muscle from tension on each positive stroke. Those between-rep rests can last two to three seconds as the weight is lifted for you and you lock in for your next negative. That’s a problem from a size-building standpoint because tension times of 40-plus seconds have been found to produce the most muscular hypertrophy…
Now with a negative-accentuated, or X-centric, set, you use a slightly lighter weight than a normal work set, but YOU raise the weight in one second and then lower in six seconds. You go to exhaustion, which should occur at around rep 7. That means the target muscle is under CONSTANT tension for almost 50 seconds…
Now, look around the gym–and even at your own workout; EVERY work set is 20 seconds or less. No wonder muscle growth is so slow for most people. But that’s exactly why NA sets trigger a UNIQUE tension-time stress for major mass-building success. You’ll feel it working, believe us…
That long continuous tension time also triggers searing muscle burn. It can be tough driving through a series of slow-mo negatives with no tension release as the fatigue builds. But research shows that the burn can cause GROWTH HORMONE to churn. (Can J Appl Physio. 22:244-255; 1997)
What’s so great about growth hormone? It’s a potent fat burner, not to mention a supercharger of other anabolic hormones like testosterone. GH has been shown to target bellyfat and melt it off quickly, and an increase in testosterone amplifies that effect…
And speaking of fat burning, an NA set also increases muscle trauma. It’s been found that the eccentric stroke is what produces the microtears in muscle that produce soreness. And that trauma revs your metabolism when you’re outside the gym as your body repairs those microtears. That restoration process requires excess energy—and studies show that a lot of that energy comes directly from bodyfat. NA sets can help you get LEANER FASTER.
You should be getting very excited about NA training. We are, and all of the above is why it’s our number-one tactic in our fat-to-muscle arsenal to get BIG AND RIPPED by spring. The way we’ve been using it lately is at the end of a 4X sequence on our first BIG exercise for each bodypart.
For example, we begin our back work with pulldowns. We take a weight with which we could get 15 reps, but we only do 10. We rest 30 seconds, then do it again. Rest 30 more seconds and do a third set, failing at nine or 10. We rest 30 seconds one last time, but reduce the weight for the fourth set and do it NA style–one second down on the positive and six seconds up on the negative. The lats stay engaged throughout. Yes, it hurts, but it works.
To summarize, here’s why NA sets can get you muscle mass as well as ripped to the bone fast…
1) Heightened muscle trauma, which can contribute to muscle-fiber size and burn fat
2) Longer continuous tension times, a proven major hypertrophic stimulus your muscles aren’t used to
3) Muscle burn from fatigue accumulation, which can enhance growth hormone and the fat-burning environment
Our number-one fat-to-muscle recommendation–NA: On one set for each bodypart, go long and slow–and the target muscle will have no choice but to GROW! Plus, you’ll get ripped as the GH flows.
Note: For more on NA training see The X-centric Mass Workout e-book, now only $19.99 for a limited time with many other best-selling e-books. See the list below.
Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.
–Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
NEW YEAR WORKOUTS–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
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…
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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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