X-Rep.com’s BodyBlog

Slowly but surely new vascularity is appearing on delts, outer biceps and outer forearms. We are setting a peak date at September 24, which is less than 3 weeks away. That sense of urgency had us kicking into gear today…

Delts: Dumbbell upright rows (drop—11(7); drop—9(6 + X Reps)); Forward-lean laterals—facedown on Ab Bench (9) ss Laterals (8 + X Reps); Smith machine behind-the-neck presses (11—need to go up); Seated DB presses (10 + X Reps); One-arm cable laterals (11 + X Reps) ss Incline one-arm laterals (9 + X Reps); Bent-over laterals (drop—13(9 + X Reps))

Midback: DB shrugs (DXO—12 + X Reps) ss Cable upright rows (10 + X Reps—went up today) ss High rows (9); Machine rows (9 + X Reps); Straight-bar cable rows (10 + X Reps); Behind-the-neck pulldowns (10 + X Fade) ss Bent-arm bent-over laterals (9) ss DB rows (6 + X Reps)

Biceps: Cable curls (11); Cable curls (8) ss DB wide-grip preacher curls (8); Concentration curls (drop—9(7)); One-arm DB spider curls (10 + X Reps + Static X); Incline hammer curls (9) ss Alternate hammer curls (9)

Forearms: Cable reverse curls (9 + X Reps) ss DB reverse wrist curls (9 + X Reps) ss Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (8); Behind-the-back wrist curls (11) ss Barbell wrist curls (8) ss  Forearm Bar wrist curls (9); Rockers (drop—16(9))

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book.

Summary: Even as we near X-treme lean condition, our strength is still moving up. That’s another motivator, as we believe we are still building muscle. Today we switched up a few things. For delts we did rear-delt work last instead of before the stretch superset. It felt better with more medial-head concentration before moving to the rear heads. On forearms we switched the order of our tri-sets. Doing Cable reverse curls first instead of second produced a new skin-stretching pump. Ditto for doing Behind-the-back wrist curls first in the flexor routine. We’ll keep this new order for a few workouts.

Diet update: We keep talking about the amazing pumps we’re getting, and we’re convinced that other than our leanness, the vasodilator combo we’re using preworkout is doing its job—Nitrocarn GPLC 1500 (glycine propionyl-L-carnitine vasodilator, 3 caps) plus Pro Muscle Nitric (arginine vasodilator, 3 caps). We also take 3 more Pro Muscle Nitric caps later in the day to keep the anabolic flood gates open. It’s working to get us bigger, leaner and more vascular (veins are prominent throughout the day). The fat burner we’ve moved to, forskolin-based Blaze Xtreme, is also helping, as forskolin has been shown to burn more fat as well as boost testosterone, which could be the reason we are still seeing strength and muscle mass increases. Great preworkout stack. (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and the Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

We were anxious to hit chest because our new low-incline presses have been etching detail in our upper chest. We’re not sure why we stayed at a 35 degree incline for so long without going lower. This 20-degree bench in the Smith machine hits the upper pecs like nothing else—and we’re even adding weight and reps… (for anyone who was trying to stay up to date on our blogs over the last week but was unable to, we weren’t able to update bodyspace blogs, but our site has all the recent blogs if you want to catch up: X-Blog)

Chest: Smith-machine low-incline presses (10; 8 + X Reps—added weight today); High cable flyes (drop—9(6 + X Fade); Wide-grip dips (12; drop—9(Stage, 7 bottom + 4 top)); Middle cable flyes (9) ss Low cable flyes (9 + X Reps)

Lats: Pulldowns (10); Chins (11 + X Reps); Machine pullovers (10) ss Rope rows (9 + X Reps); Undergrip pulldowns (10 + X Reps) ss DB pullovers (11—need to go up)

Triceps: Lying extensions (9); Decline DB extensions (9 + X Reps + Stat X); Cable pushouts (10) ss Kickbacks (9 + stiff-arm Flex X); Cable pushouts (9 + Flex X) ss Bench dips (11 + Flex X)

Abs: Incline kneeups (drop—15(9)) ss Flat-bench leg raises (9); Ab Bench crunches (drop—9(6 + X Reps)) ss Twisting full-range crunches (9) ss End-of-bench kneeups (9)

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book.

Summary: As we mentioned, we’re noticing more upper-chest detail thanks to the low-incline presses. We’ve also seen more pronounced lower-lat fullness. That’s no doubt due to ending our lat routine with a superset of Undergrip pulldowns and DB pullovers. Both of those exercises stretch the lats and develop the sarcomeres down low at the insertion point. X Reps on both of those moves accentuates that effect.

Diet update: Forearms are retaining vascularity throughout the day, which could be a function of taking the arginine-based vasodilator, Pro Muscle Nitric (3 caps), midafternoon. It keeps the veins and capillaries open for nutrient delivery (and a better anabolic drive). As we mentioned a few blogs ago, we’ve also gone to a new protein powder, Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard 100% Whey. Steve likes vanilla ice cream flavor mixed in water and poured over his cereal in the mornings. He also drinks a serving midmorning and midafternoon. Jonathan prefers double-rich chocolate, using two scoops two or three times a day. It’s a great fast protein for achieving the last bit of leanness as it has very few carbs—it’s just quality protein that gets to your muscles quickly. (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and the Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

We’re beginning our second week on our original X-Rep program (Mass-Detail from The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book). We are resisting the temptatation to add sets here and there. This is supposed to taper our workload so our muscle refill and we get bigger as well as leaner. It is feeling good so far…

Chest: Smith-machine low incline presses (9; 7 + X Reps—we used a 20 degree incline today; fetl much better); High cable flyes (drop—9(6 + X Fade); Wide-grip dips (12; drop—9(6 + X Reps)); Middle cable flyes (9) ss Low cable flyes (Stage style—8 + X Reps)

Lats: Pulldowns (10); Chins (11 + X Reps); Machine pullovers (10) ss Rope rows (9 + X Reps); Undergrip pulldowns (10 + X Reps)

Triceps: Lying extensions (10); Decline DB extensions (9 + X Reps + Stat X); Cable pushouts (10) ss Kickbacks (9 + stiff-arm Flex X); Pushdowns (11 + Flex X) ss Bench dips (11 + X Fade)

Abs: Incline kneeups (drop—15(9)) ss Flat-bench leg raises (9); Ab Bench crunches (drop—9(6 + X Reps)) ss Twisting full-range crunches (9) ss End-of-bench kneeups (9)

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book

Summary: We have been zig-zagging our carb intake for many months now, with Wednesdays and Sundays being the higher-carb days. Nevertheless, we believe the low-carbs have taken a heavy toll. We seem to have plateaued with a thin layer—we’re not quite to extreme-lean condition, as you can see from these photos of Steve—his abs aren’t quite as sharp as they have been…



We think that our downshift in volume as well as more carbs on higher-carb days should do the trick and get that last bit of adipose off.

Diet update: Is there anything we can do diet-wise, besides higher carbs two days a week, to get that layer off? We think that bringing back Blaze Xtreme as our fat burner for a few workouts may help. Remember, Blaze Xtreme contains forskolin, which has been shown in recent studies to increase fat burning and ramp up testosterone. Increasing T is very important the last weeks of a ripping phase because calories are low, which can smother anabolic hormone production. We should get a good effect stacking it with our vasodilation combo, Pro Muscle Nitric and Nitrocarn GPLC 1500 (3 caps of each). Those two together have been producing vascular-infused pumps at every workout since we started taking them. We also use another 3 caps of Pro Muscle Nitric in the afternoon to keep the blood pumping (for continued anabolic nutrient delivery). (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and the Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

The leaner and more vascular we get, the more intense our workouts become. Motivation was very high today, as outer biceps veins made an appearance. Leanness is one reason, but the new vasodilation combo we’ve been using this week is also responsible (more on that in Diet update below)…

Delts: Dumbbell upright rows (11; drop—9(6 + X Reps)); Forward-lean laterals—facedown on Ab Bench (9) ss Laterals (8 + X Reps); Smith machine behind-the-neck presses (10); Seated DB presses (10 + X Reps); Bent-over laterals (drop—13(9 + X Reps)); One-arm cable laterals (10 + X Reps) ss Incline one-arm laterals (10 + X Reps)

Midback: DB shrugs (12 + X Repss) ss Cable upright rows (11 + X Reps) ss Behind-the-back shrugs (9); Machine rows (9 + X Reps); Straight-bar cable rows (9 + X Reps); Behind-the-neck pulldowns (10 + X Fade) ss Bent-arm bent-over laterals (9) ss DB rows (7 + X Reps)

Biceps: Cable curls (11, 8 + X Reps); Concentration curls (9 + Flex X); One-arm DB spider curls (drop—9(7, stage style); Incline hammer curls (9) ss Rope hammer curls (9 + X Reps)

Forearms: Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (15) ss Cable reverse curls (9 + X Reps) ss DB reverse wrist curls (StatC 25 sec.); Forearm Bar wrist curls (18) ss Barbell wrist curls (9) ss Behind-the-back wrist curls (StatC 25 sec.); Rockers (drop—15(9))

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book.

Summary: We made a few tweaks to Monday’s workout. On delts, we still did a drop set on the second set of Upright rows, but we did the drop phase as side rows; that is, we held the dumbbells at arm’s length with our palms facing our outer thighs and pulled the dumbbells up our sides with elbows flared out. New medial-delt-head contraction. The range is short, but it’s a new angle for delt-fiber activation. On midback, we tacked on Behind-the-back shrugs after our superset of DB shrugs and Cable upright rows. Traps really blew up. On biceps, instead of doing a drop set on concentration curls (after two sets of cable curls), we did a straight set with Flex X, then we did the drop on One-arm spider curls, for inner-biceps head emphasis. Excellent, and veins were visible on inner bi’s. On forearms we ended each tri-set with a static-hold set, for extensors it was DB reverse wrist curls, StatC for 25 seconds; for flexors is was Behind-the-back wrist curls, StatC for 25 seconds. Killer cramping contraction—and streaking vascularity.

Diet update: All this talk of new veins showing up is due to our leanness getting more extreme; however, we have to give some of the credit to our new vasodilation combo, Nitrocarn GPLC 1500 (3 caps before training) and Pro Muscle Nitric (3 caps before training and another 3 caps midafternoon). This is the best nitric oxide precursor combo we’ve tried so far. We were skeptical when we were told that the extra Pro Muscle Nitric in the afternoon would keep the blood vessels open, but we’ve acually noticed more vascularity many hours after our workout. That definitely helps nutrient delivery to enhance anabolism, and also encourages more fat burning (it also jacks up our motivation!). We are very impressed. As we mentioned in a previous blog, one scoop of 7,500 ER in water prior to training also bolsters the pump due to 13 grams of carbs and 7,500 milligrams of key amino acids. We are getting excellent results with that preworkout mix. (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and the Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

We were anxious about this workout on two levels: 1) it was an upper-body test for our new vasodilator combo (see Diet update below), and 2) it was a new routine, somewhat scaled back from what we’ve been doing. Remember, we are back on our original X-Rep program (Mass-Detail in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book). We weren’t disappointed, as the pump was huge and the burn was fierce, but without a feeling of overwork…

Chest: Smith-machine incline presses (9; 7 + X Reps); High cable flyes (drop—9(6 + X Fade); Wide-grip dips (12; drop—9(6 + X Reps)); Middle cable flyes (9) ss Low cable flyes (Stage style—8 + X Reps)

Lats: Pulldowns (10); Chins (11 + X Reps); Machine pullovers (10) ss Rope rows (9 + X Reps); Undergrip pulldowns (10 + X Reps)

Triceps: Lying extensions (10); Decline DB extensions (9 + X Reps + Stat X); Cable pushouts (10) ss Kickbacks (9 + stiff-arm Flex X); Pushdowns (11 + Flex X) ss Bench dips (11 + X Fade)

Abs: Incline kneeups (drop—15(9)) ss Flat-bench leg raises (9); Ab Bench crunches (drop—9(6 + X Reps)) ss Twisting full-range crunches (9) ss End-of-bench kneeups (9)

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book.

Summary: This workout was considerably shorter, timewise, than our previous chest, etc. session. That’s good because we have been training hard, eating fewer calories and doing more cardio. A training cutback while keeping the intensity high should help us zero in on a full-and-ripped condition.

Diet update: It’s official—our favorite vasodilator combo is 3 caps of STS’s Nitrocarn GPLC 1500 along with 3 caps of Pro Muscle Nitric. Lots of new vascularity today and pumps were intense. More vasodilation also results in more fat burning, as we discuss in our Ultimate Fat Burners feature, so we’ll be sticking with this combo as we move to extreme-lean condition. We also used a scoop of 7,500 ER in water before training, which is 13 grams of carbs and 7,500 milligrams of key amino acids (including L-leucine, the most anabolic BCAA). The small amount of carbs enhances the pumps and the aminos trigger a more anabolic environment sooner—muscles don’t have to wait for that postworkout drink because aminos are already being shuttled to them via the 7,500 ER. Excellent preworkout combo. (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and the Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

As we said yesterday, we’re following the original X-Rep program (Mass-Detail from The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book), so today’s leg workout was new on a few different levels. Result: legs were shaking and twitching from the get-go, with hints of new vascularity (which may be due to a new vasodilator combo we are trying; more in Diet update below)…

Quads: Leg extensions (warmup—20); Hack squats (10); Hack squats (8) ss Leg presses (11); Leg extensions (drop—10(6 + X Reps)); Squats (10 + top X Reps); One-leg leg extension (11 + Flex X)

Hamstrings: Leg curls (drop—10(6 + X Reps)), (Stage—8 bottom, 5 top + Flex X); Stiff-legged deadlifts (10) ss Hyyperextensions (middle X Reps only); Hyperextensions (drop—11(6 + X Reps))

Calves: Knee-extension leg press calf raises (20 + X Reps); Leg press calf raises (strict—15 + X Fade); Standing calf raises (15 + top X Reps) ss Hack machine calf raises (10 + X Reps); Machine donkey calf raises (14 + X Reps); Seated calf raises (10 + X Reps, reduce weight 15 + X Reps)

Lower back: Skipped due to all of the hyperextension sets for hamstrings

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book.

Summary: We really felt every target bodypart today. Good changes all around, and the deep muscle ache is still with us as we write this. Good change doing squats later in the quad workout—form was better although weight was a bit lighter. Pump was incredible, however, which is due to change and also the new vasodilator stack we just started today…

Diet update: We talked to the developers over at Supplement Training Systems (STS), as they were one of the first to publish info on the research on glycine propionyl-L-carnitine (GPLC) as a potent vasodilator. We tried GPLC and got good results, decent pump; however, they suggested we stack it with an arginine malate and citruline malate product for over-the-top pumps and veinage. Today we did just that—we used 3 caps of STS’s Nitrocarn GPLC 1500 along with 3 caps of Pro Muscle Nitric, and we must admit that our lower bodies responded with fuller pumps and new vascularity. At the moment this is the best vasodilator combo we’ve tried so far—and remember, better vasodilation also results in more fat burning, as we discuss in our Ultimate Fat Burners feature. We’re impressed and anxious to see the results on our upper bodies tomorrow (chest). The STS researchers suggest using another 3 caps of Pro Muscle Nitric later in the day, so we’ll use that midafternoon to keep the blood lines open (and the anabolic nutrients flowing to the recovering muscles). We’re very excited about these products, as vasodilation is a big key to getting that extreme-lean look we’re closing in on. If you decide to try Nitrocarn GPLC 1500 and Pro Muscle Nitric, you may want to get two bottles of each, which would be a one-month supply (30 days worth). (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and the Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

Our cardio is up and our calories are down. Our bodies are screaming at us to scale back a bit in the gym or risk losing hard-earned muscle. Looking over our various programs in our e-books, we decided to pick one with less volume that what we’ve been doing–still intense but with less volume. The winner is the original X-Rep Mass-Detail Workout from The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, our original X-Rep transformation program…

Delts: Dumbbell upright rows (11; drop—9(6 + X Reps)); Forward-lean laterals—facedown on Ab Bench (9) ss Laterals (8 + X Reps); Smith machine behind-the-neck presses (10); Seated DB presses (10 + X Reps); Bent-over laterals (drop—13(9 + X Reps)); One-arm cable laterals (10 + X Reps) ss Incline one-arm laterals (10 + X Reps)

Midback: DB shrugs (DXO 10) ss Cable upright rows (11 + X Reps); Machine rows (9 + X Reps); Straight-bar cable rows (9 + X Reps); Behind-the-neck pulldowns (10 + X Fade) ss Bent-arm bent-over laterals (9) ss DB rows (5)

Biceps: Cable curls (10, 8 + X Reps); Concentration curls (drop—9(6)); One-arm DB spider curls (9 + Flex X); Incline hammer curls (drop—9(5 + Static X)

Forearms: Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (15) ss Cable reverse curls (9) ss DB reverse wrist curls (8 + X Reps); Forearm Bar wrist curls (18) ss Barbell wrist curls (9) ss Behind-the-back wrist curls (8); Rockers (drop—15(9))

Note: For more on X Reps and X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book and the new X-Rep Update #1 e-book.

Summary: We made a few alterations to the original X-Rep program, but we tried to keep the volume down. Since we are nearing our peak condtions, it’s a good time for a slight volume reduction to maximize recovery and go for extra muscle fullness. We kept our previous forearm program, however, tri-sets intact.

Diet update: As we’ve mentioned, this year we experimented with extending our ripping phase, slowing down the process somewhat so we could be in contition for most of the summer and retain more muscle. Our good friend drug-free competitor Dave Goodin says he takes at least 12 weeks (3 months) to go from 8 percent bodyfat down to 3 percent. We were at a higher level of bodyfat than 8 percent, so we figured 16-plus weeks. We began in mid-April with our first diet-cleanup phase, which was about 15 weeks ago. We are getting very close to our peak, but there is still some work to do, and we are dragging somewhat from the longer ripping phase. That’s why we decided to pare down our program somewhat. Supplements are critical at this point. One of Dave’s key supplements is Cort-Bloc, which we have been relying on (3 caps before training, 2 caps before bed). It helps control the stress hormone cortisol, which allows dieting bodybuilders to retain more mass as they get leaner and leaner. We’ve also taken a page from Dave’s book by using Amino Vital’s 7,500 ER before we train (1 scoop in water). It’s got 90 calories, 13 g. of carbs and 7,500 milligrams of key amino acids (like L-leucine and L-glutamine). Dave says he uses Gatorade and a scoop of amino acids powder (like 7,500 ER), which provides a bit more carbs with the Gatorade. He likes to sip it during his workout—and it helps him get totally ripped while retaining muscle fullness…

(See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and The Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

Friday workouts are usually super intense because we know we have two days off after. Today was no different, and we worked in a tri-set for each bodypart as well as a static hold (StatC)…

Chest: Wide-grip dips (drop—14(8 + X Reps)); Bench presses (9—added weight today) + Pushups (on Perfect Pushup handles—9 + X Reps); Smith-machine incline presses (9; 9 + X Reps—reduced weight for slower reps on second set); High cable flyes (9) ss Middle cable flyes (8) ss Low cable flyes (StatC, 30 sec. + X Reps); Flat flyes (11 + X Reps)

Lats: Pulldowns (10); Chins (10 + X Reps); Undergrip pulldowns (9 + X Reps); Machine pullovers (10) ss Rope rows (9) ss DB pullovers (9 + X Reps); Machine pullovers (StatC 30 sec.)

Triceps: Lying extensions (drop to DBs—10(7 + StatX)); Decline  extensions (9) ss Decline close-grip  bench presses (7 + X Reps); Undergrip pushdowns (11 + Flex X) ss Pushdowns (9 + X Fade) ss Bench dips (9 + Flex X); Cable pushouts (drop—9(8, top DXO)); Parallel-grip bar overhead extensions (9 + StatS)

Abs: Incline kneeups (drop—15(9)—added weight to first phase) ss Flat-bench leg raises (9); Ab Bench crunches (drop—9(6 + X Reps)) ss Twisting full-range crunches (9) ss End-of-bench kneeups (9); Ab Bench crunches (StatC 30 sec.)

Note: A base version of this routine—X-Rep Fascia-Expansion Superset Program—is outlined in our new X-Rep Update #1 e-book, along with many X-hybrid techniques, like StatC, StatS and X-O. For previous X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book.)

Summary: Static holds in the contracted position (StatC) are working well; however, it takes some movement to find the right spot for target muscle contraction, especially on exercises like triceps pushdowns. Very short pulsing can help also, so the muscle is forced to fire more intensely in the flexed position.

Diet update: StatC training and X Reps tax the nervous system, so a supplement to control the stress hormone cortisol is mandatory. We use Cort-Bloc, 3 caps prior to workouts and 2 caps prior to bed. Also, aminos prior to training can help in that regard as well as kick-start the anabolic process. We used Amino Vital’s 7,500 ER today in  water just prior to training. Great! It’s only 90 calories with 13 grams of carbs to fuel the workout, plus you get 7500 milligrams of the amino acids L-glutamine, L-arginine (vasodilator), L-leucine (the key anabolic amino acid), L-isoleucine and L-valine (for neurotransmitter replenishment). 7,500 ER is the perfect preworkout supp. or you can put a scoop in your water bottle and sip throughout your workout to increase the anabolic drive. (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and The Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

Great workout today. Seeing a bit more vascularity has us grinding out the grow reps. Even seeing veins in delts, which means extreme-lean condition is getting close…

Delts: Dumbbell upright rows (12; 9 + X Reps); Tri-sets—Seated laterals (11) ss Forward-lean laterals—facedown on Ab Bench (9) ss Standing laterals (8 + X Reps); Smith machine behind-the-neck presses (10); Seated DB presses (10); One-arm leaning laterals (11) ss One-arm cable laterals (9 + X Reps); One-arm cable laterals (StatC, 25 seconds); Incline one-arm laterals (10 + X Reps); Bent-over laterals (drop—13(StatC 20 sec.))

Midback: Tri-set—DB shrugs (DXO 10) ss Cable upright rows (11 + X Reps) ss High rows (9 + X Reps); Machine rows (9 + X Reps); Straight-bar cable rows (9 + X Reps); Chest-supported DB rows (10 + X Reps); Behind-the-neck pulldowns (10 + X Fade) ss Bent-arm bent-over laterals (StatC, 25 seconds)

Biceps: Preacher curls (9, 8); Cable curls (10 + X Reps); Concentration curls (9, StatC 25 sec.); One-arm DB spider curls (9 + Flex X); Incline curls (drop—8(StatS 20 sec.)

Forearms: Forearm Bar reverse wrist curls (15) ss Cable reverse curls (9) ss DB reverse wrist curls (8 + X Reps); Forearm Bar wrist curls (18) ss Barbell wrist curls (9) ss Behind-the-back wrist curls (8); Alternate DB hammer curls (10) ss Rope hammer curls (8 + Static X)

Note: A base version of this routine—X-Rep Fascia-Expansion Superset Program—is outlined in our new X-Rep Update #1 e-book, along with many X-hybrid techniques, like StatC, StatS and X-O. For previous X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book.)

Summary: StatC (static contraction set in the flexed position) seems to be getting our vascularity and muscle detail sharper. Steve is still ahead of Jonathan in the cuts department, so he is trying to maintain till Jonathan catches up.

Diet update: We mentioned a few blogs ago that we’ve introduced a green tea supplement into our regimen. Recent research says that it’s a highly effective fat burner. Two studies show that. In the first, subjects got green tea capsules three times a day and showed a 17 percent greater use of fat for energy than those who took a placebo. Compounds in green tea also increased the potency of carnitine’s ability to shuttle fat into the mitochondria of cells for fat burning (you are taking L-carnitine, right?). And the capper: The second study showed that green tea can inhibit the development of new fat cells. If you’re taking Blaze Xtreme or another fat burner with green tea extract, you may want to also get a pure green-tea extract supplement to take at another time during the day (like Natrol Green Tea—it’s inexpensive). Remember, the subjects in the studies were taking it three times a day—and the increase in fat burning was significant. We are taking two caps immediately after we train with our five BCAA-PRO caps. That we take another two green tea caps midafternoon. That could be another reason our muscle detail is moving forward so quickly. (Am J Clin Nutr. 87:778-784, 2008; Obesity, 15:2571-2582, 2007). (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and The Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

X alert: Our new, innovative Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide is now available. Click here for more info.

We punched up the intensity today and added just a bit more volume. We’re looking for more lower-body detail as well as a metabolic kick to burn that last bit of bodyfat. A double-drop somewhere within each bodypart routine is mandatory as well as a static hold (sometimes as the last phase of a double drop)…

Quads: Leg extensions (warmup—20); Squats (10); Hack squats (10) ss Leg presses (11); Leg extensions (double drop, 10(6)(StatC 20 sec.)), (9 + Flex X); Sissy squats (9 + X Reps)

Hamstrings: Feet-forward Smith machine squats (9); Leg curls (double drop—10(6)(StatC 20 sec.)), (9 + Flex X); Stiff-legged deadlifts (10)

Calves: Knee-extension leg press calf raises (14; 12 + X Fade—added 50 pounds!); Standing calf raises (15; 12 + X Reps—for second set Steve opted for One-leg calf raises with DB—12 + X Reps); Hack machine calf raises (14 + X Reps) ss Machine donkey calf raises (drop—10(6 + X Reps)); Machine donkey calf raises (14 + X Reps) ss Hack machine calf raise (StatC, 30 seconds); Seated calf raises (17 + X Reps)

Lower back: Lower back machine (14 + X Reps)

Note: A base version of this routine—X-Rep Fascia-Expansion Superset Program—is outlined in our new X-Rep Update #1 e-book, along with many X-hybrid techniques, like StatC, StatS and X-O. For previous X-hybrid techniques, such as X Fade and DXO, see the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book.)

Summary: That static hold (StatC) at the back end of a double drop is painful, but we can almost see the vascularity appearing as we flex the engorged target muscle. We get a deep ache after, which signifies exceptional fiber activation. Today’s workout was X-cellent! We’re still feeling it big time as we write this.

Diet update: There’s been a lot of research lately on how importat preworkout nutrition is. It used to be all about the postworkout drink, which is key to replenishing starving, depleted muscles; however, before you train can kick-start the anabolic process. We’ve mentioned branched-chain amino acids. We usually take four to six BCAA-PRO caps about 15 minutes before we hit the gym. We’ve also been either eating a piece of fruit for about 15 to 20 grams of carbs or chugging half an electrolyte drink, like Gatorade, or drinking a small shake made with new Monster Milk. Any of those has key aminos with a small amount of carbs. There is also new research that shows taking in carbs and aminos during training provides a significant anabolic kick. [Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. In press. 2008] One way to get that is to put one scoop of Amino Vital 7,500 ER into your water bottle that you carry into the gym. That one scoop has only 90 calories, 13 grams of carbs and 7,500 milligrams of a proprietary blend of L-glutamine, L-arginine (vasodilator), L-leucine (the key anabolic amino), L-isoleucine and L-valine. Amino Vital 7,500 ER is perfect as a preworkout supplement and/or during your training to push aminos and glycogen into muscle tissue to enhance anabolic drive and muscle fullness. We are just starting to experiment with it. (See Size Surge Supplement feature, Supplement Blog and The Ultimate Fat Burners feature for more info; our meal-by-meal diets are listed in the X-treme Lean e-book.)

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