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com Presents
The Ultimate
POWER-DENSlTY
MASS
WORKOUT 2.0
SUPER-TORQ
www.X-Rep.com
Homepage
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Workout programs in printable PDF format
Other e-books are available at
www.X-Rep.com/xshop.htm
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The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0
Contents
Introduction............................................................4
Chapter 1Force + Density for
Muscle Immensity.............................6
Mass Workout..................................20
Mass Method...................................30
Mass Workout..................................40
Workout)...........................................50
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lntroduction
It all started when, after more than 40 years of cumulative
training between us, we got a sudden size surge of eight
pounds of new muscle in six weeks. We were somewhat
stunned, as that's unheard of for drug-free advanced
bodybuildersand even more unheard of for the two of us
who have different muscle-building requirements.
Steve is more of the slim ectomorph, while Jonathan is
more of a mesomorphsmall joints with full muscle bellies,
so he looks more like a
competitive bodybuilder.
Steve responds more to
higher-rep, enduranceoriented work, while
Jonathan grows with
heavier straight-set
workouts...
Yet we both got
pounds of muscle using
Jonathan L.
Steve H.
the exact same program,
a lighter-weight 10x10 routinebut that's not
the only reason. The other anabolic trigger was our shift in
hypertrophic emphasis and less heavy stress....
You see, before shifting to a 10x10-based program, we
had been using all-heavy Positions of Flexion, with straight
sets on the big midrange-positions exerciseslike incline
pressesas well as stretch- and contracted-position
moves, for every bodypart (more on that in Chapter 2).
That emphasizes maximum force output from every target
muscle, which develops the myofibrillar strands in muscle
fiber. Then we made a radical change...
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CHAPTER 1
Arnold on
the beach,
circa 1974.
(Balik photo)
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The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0
the forceplus-density
principle. He
would begin
by pyramiding,
or adding
weight, over
about five sets,
with the last
two or three
being heavy
One of Arnold's favorite workout-density
techniques was what he called strip sets, a.k.a.
all-out efforts;
drop sets. He would load smaller plates on a
then he would
barbell so that when he reached exhaustion,
reduce the
he could strip off a plate or two and continue
weight for two
repping. More intense work in less time. (Balik)
quick higherrep burnout sets. For example, on bench presses his
reps would go 15, 12, 10, 9, 7, 6. Then he would reduce the
weight and do one or two sets of 15 to 20 reps.
He got total max-force stimulation from the heavy
sets, which thicken the myofibrillar strands, and tension/
occlusion for sarcoplasmic fluid expansion from the last
two burnout sets. That's the combo-to-grow method.
We've refined that to what we call Heavy+4x, and weve
found it to be one of the most effective mass builders out
there. The reason is that it triggers maximum force but
also stacks it with loads of workout density for extended
tension...
What the heck is workout density? It's a term coined by
Vince Gironda, famous Hollywood trainer known as the
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The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0
Warmup sets are not listed. Do two progressively heavier sets before
your power-pyramid sets. Use 50 and 75 percent of your first work-set
weight for 12 and 8 reps, respectively.
Rest about 2 1/2 minutes between power-pyramid sets; rest 30 to 45
seconds between and after 4X density sets.
Rep speed should be about 1 second up and 3 seconds down.
Weight stays the same for all 4X density sets; when you get the rep
number for all four sets, add weight at your next workout.
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CHAPTER 2
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Midrange.
Stretch.
Contracted.
CHAPTER 3
The Ultimate
Power-Density
Mass Workout
You've got the basic principles of The Ultimate PowerDensity Mass Workout rolling around in your head, so now
it's time to outline a complete program that you can print
out and take to the gym. Before we get to that, however,
we need to clarify two important spark plugs in your massbuilding machine: the training split and repetition cadence.
Because each bodypart routine is severe, with a doublebarrelled mass attackmax force plus tension/density
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Now for a few comments on ideal rep speed for maxmass gains. A new study just released compared doing
sets with a two-to-three-second positive and a two-tothree-second negativeabout three up, three downwith
sets using a power cadence,
which is one second up and
three seconds down. The 1/3
power cadence produced the
most mass. [Int J Sports Med.
30(3):200-204; 2009.]
Why would doing powertype sets build muscle more
efficiently? Muscle biopsies
suggest that it causes more
damage to more muscle fibers
than traditional reps, leading
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CHAPTER 4
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actually experiencing
failure. Also, to extend
the time under tension
as much as possible, or,
more specifically, time
under extreme fatigue
and burn. Knowing Im
doing only five sets
enables me to go all out.
No need to conserve fuel.
Spend it all. Blow it out.
Then Im done.
Steve: Ah, but youre
supersetting the
chest exercise with a
back move. So the rest between sets is as long as
it takes you to do the high-rep set of back work,
correct?
Doug: When I superset between chest and back,
or biceps and triceps, or quads and hamstrings, I go
continuously. I dont rush per se, but I dont delay. Its
already been one or two minutes since I did the previous
set for that bodypart, so I dont need any more rest. But
the emphasis is on burning out during the set, even if I got
plenty of recovery between sets.
Steve: What about rep tempo? Do you strive for
a certain up-down cadence?
Doug: In terms of rep speed, I try to use full range of
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CHAPTER 5
The Power-TORQ
Mass Workout
Many bodybuilders will be skeptical of Brignole's ultrahigh-rep methodbecause we've been brainwashed into
thinking we need ultra-heavy weights to grow. Not true, as
we've explained. Remember that the biggest bodybuilders
show a predominance of type 2A power-plus-endurance
fibers. A 4X set trains both the myofibrils (force-generating
strands) and the sarcoplasm (energy fluid).
Doug's method adds weight on each setwith a
tremendous number of cumulative reps. That's why it
produces the double-dose of muscle growth as well.
Still, you may be more oriented toward convention and
want to combine power and density workwhich is what
this e-book is all about.
Or you simply may want
to do more exercises for
each muscle group, as we
suggest with Positions of
Flexion.
If you're in either of those
camps, you'll want to try
the Power-Density-TORQ
workout with POF in this
chapter. It's one you can
use to get strong and huge.
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Power/Super-TORQ
Mass Workout Tips and Variations
1) Rest/pause instead of drops. When using Doug
Brignole's Super-TORQ sequence, we suggest rest/pause on
the last set instead of drop sets as he does. For example, on
decline dumbbell presses you will try to grind out 10 reps on
your last set; rest 10 seconds, then rep out with that same
weight again; rest 10 seconds again and rep out one last time
with that weight. Sometimes, if we're too fatigued, we do only
one R/P set or delete the rest/pause sets altogether.
2) TORQ instead of Super-TORQ. Five sets is a lotand
you may not be able to handle Brignole's version of Tension
Overload Repetition Quantity. In that case try using only four
sets, as in the program on the next page.
3) 3X or 4X instead of heavy straight sets. If you're
an older bodybuilder or simply don't tolerate heavy training,
you can do all exercises that are listed with STANDARD sets
as a 3X or 4X sequence instead: Take a weight with which
you can get 15 reps, but only do 10; rest 35 seconds, then
do it againand so on for three or four sets. Go to failure on
your last set. Add rest/pause to that last set if you need more
intensity (you can see we're big fans of R/P).
4) All-Super-TORQ phase. You don't have to use the
heavy/TORQ rotation; instead you can use a few weeks of
total TORQ or Super-TORQ training. On the next page is the
program we use for a Super-TORQ shock phase. It's based
on Brignole's program, but ours is four- instead of five-set
sequences and includes a few standard sets. But the majority
is Super TORQ with rest/pause on the last setand we may
or may not add weight each set; it depends on the exercise...
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CHAPTER 6
Power-Density Q&A
Q: You've said Arnold used a version of the
combo-to-grow method, heavy sets pyramiding
the weight followed by lighter, higher-rep burnout
sets. I heard he also used Positions of Flexion. Is
that true?
A: Arnold used a lot of exercises, so
he definitely favored a multi-angular
approach in his training. If you look
at his workouts in his prime, you'll
see shades of POF, such as bench
presses (midrange), flyes (stretch) and
crossovers (contracted) for his massive
chest.
Arnold's unreal biceps.
One bodypart that he did make a
conscious effort to train those three
particular angles was biceps. His favorite routine was
barbell or dumbbell curls (midrange), incline curls (stretch)
and concentration curls (contracted). Perhaps that's why
Arnold's biceps are still considered some of the all-time
bestthat and good genetics for peak, of course.
One of Arnold's
favorite biceps
routines was
pure POF.
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Cable flyes.
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2.0 Updated
2.0 Updated