Ultimate 10 x 10 Mass Work Out

X-traordinaryWorkouts.com Presents

The Ultimate

10 x 10

MASS WORKOUT

by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson

The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout was written to help you achieve a muscular physique with sensible bodybuilding strategies. Weight training and dieting can be demanding activities, however, so it is highly recommended that you consult your physician and have a physical examination prior to beginning. Proceed with the suggested exercises and routines at your own risk. Photography by Michael Neveux Cover model: Jonathan Lawson Copyright © 2009 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.X-Rep.com Homepage www.X-traordinaryWorkouts.com Workout-programs in e-book format All other e-books are available at www.X-Rep.com/xshop.htm

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The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

Contents

Introduction...........................................................4

Chapter 1—8x8—Fast Blast for More Mass...................................6

Chapter 2—10x10—Hitting Hypertrophic Heights......................14

Chapter 3—The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout..................................16

Chapter 4—Heavy/Light 10x10 Mass Workout.......................24

Chapter 5—10x10 Q&A........................................34


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Introduction If there's one thing we've learned over our 50 years of cumulative in-the-trenches weight-training experience, it's that things cannot stay the same if you want big gains. In other words, to pack on loads of raw muscle, you must make changes to your workout on a regular basis. The change-to-gain method is especially effective once a trainee has been working out for a few years. After all, you can't keep adding weight or repetitions to exercises forever. That's not how the body works. To continue triggering adaptations like muscle-fiber enlargement and capillary-bed expansion for size increases, you need new training tactics—and sometimes a completely new mass methodology. Which brings us to the 10x10 method—10 sets of 10 repetitions for each exercise. “Whoa! 10 sets per exercise? That sounds like a ticket to the overtraining merry-goround.” As you'll see, that's not the case. The first half of those sets act as a warmup, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's rewind... The 10x10 method came from German Olympic lifting and was adapted to bodybuilding by the late Vince Gironda. In case you're not familiar with the Iron Guru, he owned Vince's Gym in Hollywood, California, in the ’50s through the ’90s, and he was renowned as one of the smartest trainers around—and quite an off-the-wall character. We remember when he used to visit the IRON MAN offices with IM scribe Gene Mozée, and he always had something 4


to teach us. He would jump down onto the floor to show us the proper way to do crunches or go on a rant about how steroids have ruined bodybuilding. By the way, he was known as a straight-shooter, always seeking the truth, and he didn't care who he offended, even Arnold... When Arnold first came to America, he visited Vince's Gym, walked up to Gironda and announced, in a heavy Austrian accent, “I am Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Universe.” Vince looked up from the counter, checked him out from head to toe and said, "Oh? You look like a fat f@#k to me.” Arnold, being the smart man he is, didn't take offense, but embraced that brash comment, eventually ripping up his mass to dominate bodybuilding. Vince was all about results—fast results, which is what his 8x8 program produced: “I call it the ‘honest workout’ because of the pure muscle fiber that can be attained. Keep to 8x8 and your muscle fibers will plump out, giving you a solid mass of muscle density as a result.” And the workouts are quick too—usually around 45 minutes. It's fast, efficient muscle building that can transform your physique. Interested? We thought so. Let's go! —Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson www.X-Rep.com

Holman and Lawson.


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CHAPTER 1 8x8—Fast Blast for More Mass No doubt about it: The Iron Guru Vince Gironda was always well ahead of the curve when it came to building muscles. He trained the very first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, helping him overcome his genetic shortcomings, and he was the go-to guy for movie stars in Hollywood when they needed to transform their bodies quickly for a film role. Often he prescribed his 8x8 routine.

Vince Gironda.

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“I come back to this high-intensity ‘honest workout’ more often than any other for maximizing muscle-fiber growth in the quickest possible time.... But working within the 8x8 guidelines is not suficient to guarantee gains....

“You must exhaust each muscle with the right tempo and weight resistance. I recommend that you reduce the rest time between sets to 15 to 20 seconds.” Now you may be shaking your head and thinking, “How can you possibly do eight sets of eight reps with such short rests?” The key is weight selection... For each exercise you pick a weight that you could initially do for around 18 reps, and you stick with that weight for all eight sets. in other words, the first three sets will be fairly easy. In fact, those initial sets act as an excellent warmup, as the muscular stress is minimal. They primarily force more blood through the target muscle to prime it for the latter sets, which get brutally hard. In fact, around set five, if you picked the right weight, you will start struggling to get eight reps. At set seven, you will have to grind to eke out an eighth repetition. And on set eight, you should get only six or seven. If you get eight, increase the poundage at your next workout. While Vince often prescribed two or three exercises in 8x8 style for each muscle, we've found, as have many other trainees, that big gains occur as fast or faster with only one exercise, especially if you use the Ultimate Exercise for each bodypart, as identified in our first e-book, The Ultimate Mass Workout. Here are those exercises:


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Squat (quads, or front thighs). This is the most ergonomically correct move for engaging the front-thigh muscles for most people. If you have trouble squatting with a free bar, try it on a Smith machine. If those aren't possible, leg presses can work in a pinch. Also, while Gironda suggested 20-second rests between sets, we feel that about one minute is best on bigmuscle exercises so that cardiovascular fatigue doesn't stop you short of working enough muscle fibers to trigger growth. Feet-forward Smithmachine squats (hamstrings, or back of thighs). The upright torso position in combination with the feet in front of the hips activates the hamstrings with teamwork from surrounding muscles. While MRI studies show that the front-squat version (pictured) is best, bar in front of the neck, the back squat version is more comfortable and hammers the hamstrings just as well. 8


Knee-extension leg press calf raises (gastrocnemius). In the UMW e-book we discussed legbased cardio, like treadmill work, as the only compound exercise for calves. Since then we've found that leg press calf raises, with some knee flexion and extension, provides excellent midrange calf work. Here's a quick description: Position yourself on a leg press with only the balls of your feet on the foot plate, your knees locked. Lower the weight by allowing your feet to come toward you as you simultaneously unlock your knees somewhat. From that slight bent-knee position, about a quarter of the way down, and your feet back in the stretch position, simultaneously push your knees to lockout and your feet to the top calfraise position (toes pointed, calves flexed). Then lower your feet and bend your knees at the same time again to power out another rep. It takes some practice, but once you get a good rhythm, you'll feel your calves getting the brunt of the work. Decline bench presses (chest). The decline position helps put more stress on your pecs and less on your front deltoids. Your grip should be just slightly wider than shoulder width and you should lower the bar to your low-pec line before reversing the bar movement. Doesn't this primarily stress the lower pecs? MRI studies show that the exercise hits the lower chest as well as the upper. You can see that in the photo of Jonathan performing this ultimate chest exercise. The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

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Dumbbell upright rows (delts). Overhead presses tend to stress the front-delt heads rather than the sides, so we've found dumbbell upright rows the best choice for compound shoulder work with medial-head emphasis. Many of our programs include an overhead pressing exercise after; however, we consider dumbbell upright rows as the ultimate medial-head move. A variation is the seated lateral raise, which you do in a semiupright row form, a favorite of Mr. Olympia Jay Culter. Chest-supported dumbbell rows (midback). These allow you to get significant stretch in the traps at the bottom of the stroke when the dumbbells are together, and as you row them up, you can guide them out so you squeeze your scapulae together at the top for full midback contraction. Being facedown on a chest support negates cheating. 10


V-handle chins (lats). These put your biceps in an advantageous position for power output, but no so much that the lats become a secondary mover. You will be able to feel your lats getting some stretch at the bottom and then a full contraction at the top as your upper arms move to your sides and slightly back. That's the fully contracted position for the lats. Most trainees will need to substitute V-handle pulldowns to get 10x10.

Dips (triceps). MRI studies show that this exercise brings in all three triceps heads equally. The reason is that your arms are down at your sides, which is the fully contracted position for the triceps. Secondary muscles like the pecs and delts help force the triceps to fire against heavy resistance, making dips the ultimate triceps exercise. A close second is decline close-grip bench presses. The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

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Undergrip chins (biceps). We mentioned above that a parallel grip on V-handle chins allows biceps leverage, but not so much that the lats become secondary movers. By shifting to an undergrip, you make the biceps the prime mover, and undergrip chins becomes the ultimate exercise for biceps. A close second is undergrip pulldowns—if you can keep from rocking your torso back. Most trainees will need to use undergrip pulldowns for 10x10. One caveat: In programs that include biceps work after back training, a standing curl may be a better choice. Incline kneeups (abdominals). With these you get resistance all the way through the movement and your abs get help from your hip flexors. Note that on a hanging kneeup, there is zero resistance at the bottom of the stroke, which makes the incline version better. As you increase strength, you will have to secure weight to your feet or hook them to a lowcable setup for added resistance. 12


To review, the Ultimate Exercises are... Squats for quads Feet-forward Smith-machine squats for hamstrings Knee-extension leg press calf raises for calves Decline bench presses for chest Dumbbell upright rows for deltoids Chest-supported dumbbell rows for midback V-bar chins or pulldowns for lats Dips for triceps Undergrip chins or pulldowns for biceps Incline kneeups for abdominals We'll work all of those into an efficient mass-building 10x10 workout in Chapter 3. First, let's discuss 8x8 vs. 10x10. Is one better than the other?

Eight sets of eight is so effective that, as a 20-year-old novice competitive bodybuilder, I was able to gain 17 pounds of muscle drugfree—contest weight from one show to the next—in less than nine months using the system. To this day I still use it whenever I need a shock program to bring up a lagging bodypart. —Tom Venuto Drug-free bodybuilder Author of The Body Fat Solution


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CHAPTER 2 10x10—Hitting Hypertrophic Heights One reason Vince Gironda's 8x8 method is so effective is that it condenses a lot of volume into a small time frame. More work in less time is one of the keys to muscle growth, but it's best if each and every set reaches the hypertrophic time zone. Researchers have found that about 30 to 40 seconds of tension time is best for optimal muscle-growth stimulation. That equates to about five seconds per rep. Most trainees don't like moving that slow—so edging up the rep total can increase gains via more time under tension.

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If you do 10 reps, each one must last three to four seconds—which is closer to the norm, if you're not throwing the weight. Also keep in mind that Vince usually suggested more than one exercise per muscle group. In our Ultimate Exercise 10x10 program you only do one exercise for each target muscle, so a slight increase in volume will increase gains for most trainees—the 10x10 system is the perfect solution. Does it work? Here's what Olympic coach Charles Poliquin has to say about it... “The program works because it targets a group of motor units, exposing them to an extensive volume of repeated efforts, specifically, 10 sets of a single exercise. The body adapts to the extraordinary stress by hypertrophying the targeted fibers. To say this program adds muscle fast is an understatement. Gains of 10 pounds or more in six weeks are not uncommon, even in experienced lifters!” Impressive—and very exciting. Poliquin says that you should begin with a weight that you can lift for 20 reps to failure, or about 60 percent of your one-rep max. For example, if you can bench press 300 pounds for one rep, you would use 180 on the 10x10 program. Okay, now that you're motivated, have all the exercises and paramaters, let's get to the 10x10 program with the Ultimate Exercise for each muscle group. It hurts, but it works! The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

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CHAPTER 3 The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout We are conditioned to think that lifting heavy weights is the only way to build muscle. Because the poundage you use on an 8x8 or 10x10 set grouping is relatively light, it seems counterintuitive that it could add mass fast—but it does. If a strength coach like Charles Poliquin has such high praise for it, you know it works; however, keep in mind that Poliquin recommends one to two minutes between sets as opposed to Gironda's 15 to 20 seconds. We prefer something in between—the amount of time it takes your partner to complete his or her reps, which is 30 to 40 seconds. The 10x10 method targets the motor units that innervate the high-growth fibers despite the lighter poundage. In our previous e-books

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we've discussed the size principle of fiber recruitment. That states that on the first lighter reps of a set the lowthreshold motor units fire, toward the middle of the set the mediums fire, and toward the end of the set the highthreshold motor units fire as you reach failure. That important hypertrophic progression still occurs during the 10 sets; however, it doesn't happen on each set—at least not on the first few—but rather builds over the course of all 10. In other words, the low-threshold motor units are fatigued on the first few sets; the mediums are attacked during the middle sets, and you pull in a high number of high-threshold motor units during the last reps of each of the last two or three sets. In addition to optimal fiber recruitment, you also get a wicked growth-hormone-producing burn and a skinstretching pump, which will build the capillary beds and stretch the fascia, the muscle-fiber encasements. That fascia expansion can allow more muscle size to happen, as it relieves constriction and provides more room for fiber growth—much like stretching a balloon before you blow it up. The prestretching allows you to blow it up bigger with less effort—and you want that to happen to your muscles too. They will blow up big with the 10x10 method.


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Okay, we've established that you will use the 10x10 method on each of the Ultimate Exercises, but what kind of bodypart split is best? Because the method is quite taxing, a full-body program is out—you would be a limp dishrag halfway through every workout. In fact, legs should be on their own day because 10 sets of squats and 10 sets of hamstring work will be very draining—a day of rest after that workout is a good idea too so that your overall system can recover. Here's the ideal split for most trainees: Week 1 Monday: Chest, Delts, Triceps, Abs Tuesday: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves Wednesday: Rest Thursday: Lats, Midback, Biceps Friday: Chest, Delts, Triceps, Abs Week 2 Monday: Lats, Midback, Biceps Tuesday: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves Wednesday: Rest Thursday: Chest, Delts, Triceps, Abs Friday: Lats, Midback, Biceps Repeat Week 1, etc. Notice that legs get one workout per week, on Tuesday; the upper-body workouts rotate over three days, Monday, Thursday and Friday. Here are the workouts...

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The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 1: Chest, Delts, Triceps, Abs Exercise, 10 sets x 10 reps

Poundage

Decline presses or Wide-grip dips

Dumbbell upright rows or Seated bent-arm lateral raises

Parallel-bar dips or Decline extensions

Incline kneeups

Rest about 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of most exercises. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for an exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.


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The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 2: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves Exercise, 10 sets x 10 reps

Poundage

Squats or Smith squats

Stiff-legged deadlifts

OR

Leg presses

Feet-forward Smith squats

Knee-extension leg press calf raises or Donkey calf raises 8 x 20


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The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 3: Lats, Midback, Biceps Exercise, 10 sets x 10 reps

Poundage

V-handle pulldowns

Chest-supported dumbbell rows or Bent-over rows

Undergrip pulldowns or Cable curls



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Ultimate 10x10 Workout Reminders 1) No warmup sets are necessary; the first few sets of the 10x10 regimen act as a warmup. 2) The ideal rep speed is 1 1/2 seconds up and 1 1/2 seconds down; always keep your form strict—no heaving or jerking the weights. 3) Rest 30 to 45 seconds between sets—or as long as it takes your partner to finish his or her set. 4) Note that you do 8x20 on calf work. Calves require higher reps due to their endurance capacity and fiber density. If you add forearm work, the same is true of that muscle group. You may want to try 8x15 for forearms. You could add wrist curls and reverse wrist curls on back-and-biceps day. 5) After six weeks on the Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout, back off the intensity—use the same workouts with the same weights but do 8x10 instead of 10x10. Eliminating the last two sets means you will have no all-out reps. After that lower-intensity week 7, you can go back to the intense version or move to the Heavy/Light version later in this book or move to another program (remember, change triggers new gains). 6) If you try the complete 10x10 workout and feel a craving for heavy-weight sets, you may be more suited to the heavy/light version in the next chapter.

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10x10 Strength-Progression Variation Olympic strength coach Charles Poliquin has a power-oriented take on the 10x10 method based on his German Volume Training model. Since you're focusing on strength, you use a lower rep range, 4-5, and you rest 90 seconds between sets. Those aren't the only changes. Poliquin increases the load by five percent every workout for two workouts in a row, but reduces the target rep by one for every weight increase. Here's an example using the bench press for a trainee who can bench 300 pounds for 10 reps with strict form: Workout 1: 10 sets of 5 with 300 Workout 2: 10 sets of 4 with 315 Workout 3: 10 sets of 3 with 330 Workout 4: 10 sets of 5 with 315 Workout 5: 10 sets of 4 with 330 Workout 6: 10 sets of 3 with 345 Poliquin says that at this point you will be able to bench 330 for 10 strict reps, a 30-pound increase. Realize that because your rest is two to three times as long, the 10 sets will take longer than the standard 10x10 protocol, which requires 30 to 40 seconds of rest between sets. If you're a bench press fanatic, you could substitute the flat bench for declines in Workout 1 and use the above progression. It will take longer to complete, but you'll build your bench press poundage quickly. The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

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CHAPTER 4 Heavy/Light 10x10 Mass Workout You probably consider yourself a bodybuilder. That means you should be concerned with building muscle. Strength should be a secondary concern; however, using relatively light poundages at every workout in the 10x10 program—even if it feels incredibly heavy on the last few sets—doesn't satisfy that craving most of us have to move some heavy iron every so often. That doesn't mean you should abandon it—just that you could include both a 10x10 workout for each bodypart alternated with a more standard “heavy” protocol. One of our most popular programs is the 3D Power Pyramid routine from The X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts e-book. Trainees like it because it produces fast results in both size and strength. One of the keys to that program is the pyramid system on the big midrange exercises.... 24


To pyramid, you first do two to three progressively heavier warmup sets. Then for your first work set you pick a weight that allows nine reps. For work set 2 you add weight, enough to bring your reps down to 6-7. For work set 3 you add weight again and finish with 3-4 allout reps. That will satisfy your craving for moving some big weights and also help you generate max force, which is a key component of muscle hypertrophy. After you pyramid on the big midrange exercise, you follow with one set of a stretch- and one set of a contracted-position exercise. Here's an example for quads: Midrange: Squats, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Stretch: Sissy squats, 1 x 8-12 Contracted: Leg extensions, 1 x 8-12 That Positions-of-Flexion routine provides full-range work, which trains the key components of muscle growth: max force (midrange), stretch overload (stretch) and tension/occlusion (contracted).


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In the Heavy/Light 10x10 Workout, you will train every bodypart with that full-range protocol on Heavy day. Light day will be reserved for the one-exercise 10x10 approach. It's a great combination that can stimulate big gains via a number of different pathways. Use the same split, but with heavy (H) POF and 10x10 as your so-called light (L) workouts: Week 1 Monday: W1—Chest (H), Delts (L), Triceps (L), Abs (H) Tuesday: W2—Quads (H), Hamstrings (L), Calves (L) Wednesday: Rest Thursday: W3—Lats (L), Midback (H), Biceps (L) Friday: W4—Chest (L), Delts (H), Triceps (H), Abs (L) Week 2 Monday: W6—Lats (H), Midback (L), Biceps (H) Tuesday: W5—Quads (L), Hamstrings (H), Calves (H) Wednesday: Rest Thursday: W1—Chest (H), Delts (L), Triceps (L), Abs (H) Friday: W3—Lats (L), Midback (H), Biceps (L)

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Week 3 Monday: W4—Chest (L), Delts (H), Triceps (H), Abs (L) Tuesday: W2—Quads (H), Hamstrings (L), Calves (L) Wednesday: Rest Thursday: W6—Lats (H), Midback (L), Biceps (H) Friday: W1—Chest (H), Delts (L), Triceps (L), Abs (H) Week 4 Monday: W3—Lats (L), Midback (H), Biceps (L) Tuesday: W5—Quads (L), Hamstrings (H), Calves (H) Wednesday: Rest Thursday: W4—Chest (L), Delts (H), Triceps (H), Abs (L) Friday: W6—Lats (H), Midback (L), Biceps (H) Repeat Week 1 Simply print out the six workouts on the next few pages and follow them as listed above—the numbers, such as W1, W2, etc., are the individual workouts (Monday is Workout 1; Tuesday is Workout 2, and so on). “The results were well worth the hard work [using 10x10 on squats]. I took measurements of my legs before and after starting the 10-sets program to accurately record the results. I was overjoyed to find out that, at the end of the seven-week program, my legs had grown almost two inches. That’s an amazing gain [for an advanced bodybuilder], especially in less than two months.” —John Hansen Mr. Natural Olympia Author of Natural Bodybuilding The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

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Heavy/Light Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 1: Chest (H), Delts (L), Triceps (L), Abs (H) Exercise

Poundage

Decline presses** or Wide-grip dips**, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Flat-bench flyes*, 1 x 8-10 Cable flyes or Cable crossovers, 1 x 8-10 Dumbbell upright rows or Seated bent-arm laterals, 10x10 Parallel-bar dips or Decline extensions, 10x10 Incline kneeups, 2 x 10-15 Full-range crunches, 2 x 10-15 Asterisks mean one (*) or two (**) warmup sets. If you do one, use about 70 percent of your work weight, 8 reps; if two use 50 percent and 80 percent, 12 and 8 reps. Rest 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of 10x10 exercises; rest 2 to 2 1/2 minutes between and after all other sets. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for a 10x10 exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.

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Heavy/Light Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 2: Quads (H), Hamstrings (L), Calves (L) Exercise

Poundage

Squats**, Smith squats** or Leg presses**, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Sissy squats*, 1 x 8-10 Leg extensions, 1 x 8-10 Stiff-legged deadlifts, 10x10 Knee-extension leg press calf raises or Donkey calf raises, 8 x 20 Asterisks mean one (*) or two (**) warmup sets. If you do one, use about 70 percent of your work weight, 8 reps; if two use 50 percent and 80 percent, 12 and 8 reps. Rest 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of 10x10 exercises; rest 2 to 2 1/2 minutes between and after all other sets. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for a 10x10 exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.


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Heavy/Light Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 3: Lats (L), Midback (H), Biceps (L) Exercise

Poundage

V-handle pulldowns, 10x10 Chest-supported dumbbell rows** or Bent-over rows**, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Bent-arm bent-over laterals, 2 x 8-10 Undergrip pulldowns or Barbell curls, 10x10

Asterisks mean one (*) or two (**) warmup sets. If you do one, use about 70 percent of your work weight, 8 reps; if two use 50 percent and 80 percent, 12 and 8 reps. Rest 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of 10x10 exercises; rest 2 to 2 1/2 minutes between and after all other sets. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for a 10x10 exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.

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Heavy/Light Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 4: Chest (L), Delts (H), Triceps (H), Abs (L) Exercise

Poundage

Decline presses or Wide-grip dips, 10x10 Dumbbell upright rows** or Seated bent-arm laterals**, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Incline one-arm laterals, 1 x 8-10 Standing laterals, 1 x 8-10 Parallel-bar dips** or Decline extensions**, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Ovehead extensions*, 1 x 8-10 Pushdowns, 1 x 8-10 Incline kneeups, 10x10 Asterisks mean one (*) or two (**) warmup sets. If you do one, use about 70 percent of your work weight, 8 reps; if two use 50 percent and 80 percent, 12 and 8 reps. Rest 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of 10x10 exercises; rest 2 to 2 1/2 minutes between and after all other sets. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for a 10x10 exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.


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Heavy/Light Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 5: Quads (L), Hamstrings (H), Calves (H) Exercise

Poundage

Squats, Smith squats or Leg presses, 10x10 Stiff-legged deadlifts**, 3 x 6-10 Leg curls, 2 x 8-10 Knee-extension leg press calf raises** or Donkey calf raises**, 3 x 12-15 Standing calf raises, 2 x 12-15 Seated calf raises*, 2 x 15-20

Asterisks mean one (*) or two (**) warmup sets. If you do one, use about 70 percent of your work weight, 8 reps; if two use 50 percent and 80 percent, 12 and 8 reps. Rest 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of 10x10 exercises; rest 2 to 2 1/2 minutes between and after all other sets. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for a 10x10 exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.

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Heavy/Light Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout Workout 6: Lats (H), Midback (L), Biceps (H) Exercise

Poundage

V-handle chins** or V-handle pulldowns**, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Dumbbell pullovers*, 1 x 8-10 Stiff-arm pulldown, 1 x 8-10 Chest-supported dumbbell rows or Bent-over rows, 10x10 Undergrip pulldowns* or Barbell curls*, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Incline curls*, 1 x 8-10 Concentration curls, 1 x 8-10 Asterisks mean one (*) or two (**) warmup sets. If you do one, use about 70 percent of your work weight, 8 reps; if two use 50 percent and 80 percent, 12 and 8 reps. Rest 30 to 45 seconds between and after sets of 10x10 exercises; rest 2 to 2 1/2 minutes between and after all other sets. Rep speed should be about 1.5 seconds up and 1.5 seconds down. Weight stays the same for all 10 sets of 10 reps; 10th set you should get only 8 to 9 reps... Increase the poundage slightly on all sets for a 10x10 exercise if you get 10 reps on the 10th set.


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CHAPTER 5 10x10 Q&A Q: I'm using The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout, but I feel like I need to specialize on my shoulders. Should I add another exercise and do it in the 10x10 style? A: That's one pretty good way to specialize for more size. Remember, in Vince Gironda's 8x8 system he usually had trainees do two or three exercises in that style for each bodypart. You could do the Ultimate Exercise in 10x10 fashion, then add another move for 8x8. Another route you can take is to follow up the 10x10 Ultimate Exercise with the other two Positions-of-Flexion moves for one or two sets each.

Incline one-arm lateral raises, the stretchposition exercise for the medial-delt head.

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Seated lateral raises.

For instance, for shoulders you do dumbbell upright rows for 10x10, and then follow with one or two sets of incline one-arm laterals (stretch, pictured on the previous page) and one or two sets of standing or seated laterals (contracted, pictured above). We really like the POF-exercise-add-on approach because with that method you’re training the target muscle through its full range as well as getting at all of the key facets of growth stimulation—max force (midrange), stretch overload (stretch) and tension/occlusion (contracted). So what about 8x8 on all three POF exercises for the bodypart you want to specialize on? Vince would no doubt approve. If you can handle the pain, it can produce extraordinary gains. Notice that there is space below each exercise in The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout on pages 19-21 so you can write in additional exercises for all bodyparts or only the ones you want to specialize on. Q: In Workout 2 (legs) of The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout you have leg presses followed by The Ultimate 10x10 Mass Workout

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feet-forward Smithmachine squats OR squats followed by stiff-legged deadlifts. Why those two different choices for quads? A: If you do squats for quads, it may be difficult to do feet-forward Smithmachine squats for hamstrings—that's just too much squatting—20 sets, 200 reps. It's better to do the stretch move for hams, stiff-legged deadlifts.

Smith-machine squats.

To put it another way, if you decide to do feet-forward Smith-machine squats for hamstrings, you don't want to do squats beforehand or fatigue may prevent optimal hamstring activation when you get to feet-foward Smith squats. In that case leg presses are the best choice to use before feet-forward Smith-machine squats. So it's... Leg presses, 10x10 Feet-forward Smith-machine squats, 10x10 OR Squats, 10x10 Stiff-legged deadlifts, 10x10

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Q: In The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout, you emphasize muscle damage as important because the repair process after the workout raises the metabolism and burns fat. You provide that damage with negative-accentuated sets. Will I be getting enough muscle damage with the 10x10 program to continue the fat-to-muscle process, or should I add an NA set for each bodypart? A: In that e-book we talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger not doing much, if any, cardio work to get ripped for competition. He got his share of fat-burning muscle damage via volume—lots of sets—not negativeaccentuated work. Arnold achieved cut contest condition with almost zero cardio work. (Balik photo)


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Volume is exactly what you get with the 10x10 method. You will get sore, which is an indication that you have triggered muscle microtrauma that raises your metabolism during the repair process (fat burning increases). If you use the Heavy/Light 10x10 Workout on pages 2833, you may want to substitute a negative-accentuated set for the last low-rep set on the big midrange exercises on Heavy workouts. That will insure that you're getting sufficient metabolism-raising microtrauma at every workout. For example, the Heavy biceps workout is... Barbell curls, 3 x 9, 6, 3-4 Incline curls, 1 x 8-10 Concentration curls, 1 x 8-10 Change it to... Barbell curls, 3 x 9, 6, 7(NA) Incline curls, 1 x 8-10 Concentration curls, 1 x 8-10 For an NA set, you reduce the poundage so you can raise it in 1.5 seconds and lower each rep in six seconds. The eccentric, or negative-stroke, emphasis has been shown to increase muscle damage. Make that one simple change—an NA set on the first exercise—to every Heavy workout in that program, and you'll get almost the same muscle-packing, fat-hacking effects as The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout.

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Q: I find that X Reps [or end-of-set partials] work well for me at increasing mass. You don't have them listed in the programs. Should I not do them on 10x10 exercises? A: For the uninitiated, X Reps are partial reps that you perform in the semistretch position after full-range exhaustion. For example, when you stick at the end of a set of cable curls, move the bar to just above the arms-extended position and drive up about eight inches. Continue to pulse out as many of those low-end X-Rep partials as possible, then terminate the set.

End-of-set XRep partials can increase your mass gains exponentially.

We mentioned the size principle of fiber recruitment earlier—in any set to exhaustion you bring in the low-threshold motor units first, during the easier reps, then the mediums and finally the highthreshold motor units on the last difficult reps.


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The problem is that the nervous system falters before the muscle, so many of the key growth fibers are left dormant. That means less growth stimulation. If you continue with three to five X-Rep partials after exhaustion, the target muscle is forced to call in its reserves, which includes more key growth fibers. That's the reason we say X Reps make any set three to five times more effective—those end-of-set partials make a tremendous inroad into the fast-twitch fiber reserve. We call them X Reps because they extend the set— although after trying them you may think the X stands for excruciating! On any 10x10 exercise, you can do X Reps on the very last set, number 10, if you can. You will have to fight through fatigue and pain to make it happen, but it can be done—and X Reps should increase your mass gains exponentially. [Note: X Reps are impossible on some exercises, like the bottom of a squat or barbell curl. That's explained in The Ultimate Mass Workout, the original XRep manual that chronicles the development of and our transformation with X Reps.] Q: Are there any supplements that can help me make better gains with the 10x10 method? A: The most difficult thing to cope with using more volume with short rest periods is fatigue and burn caused by lactic acid and ammonia pooling in the target muscle.

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That fatigue-product accumulation is one reason the nervous system short-circuits your sets before all of the fast-twitch fibers are taxed. One supplement that has been shown to increase muscle energetics is creatine. We suggest about four grams before and after every workout. Beta-alanine is a relatively new supplement that converts to carnosine in muscle. That has been shown to buffer lactic acid so you can grind out more growth reps (more size stimulation with every set). Muscle research shows that the biggest bodybuilders have more than twice the carnosine levels of nontraining individuals due to an adaptation to intense training. Scientists surmise that because they do so many painzone sets, the biggest bodybuilders stockpile carnosine— to help them get bigger and stronger. Beta-alanine converts to carnosine, so by taking it you load your muscle tissue with carnosine and can power further into the growth zone on any work set. Take two capsules of a product like Red Dragon upon awakening in the morning and two before training. [Note: Many people get a skin-tingling effect from betaalanine, but that’s a normal reaction.] The most potent instant-strength supplement we've every used is Gakic by MuscleTech. It's somewhat pricey, but it works. It's an ammonia buffer that allows you to power out


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more reps similar to beta-alaine, but via a different pathway (remember, BA buffers lactic acid). Everyone we've talked to who has tried Gakic, even the most skeptical, have found it to be effective at increasing strength from the very first use. It eventually stops working after a few weeks, but when that happens, you simply stop using it for a few weeks. Then re-introduce it down the road for another strength surge. Using creatine before and after your workouts and betaalanine and Gakic before will provide a lot of anabolic ammunition for extraordinary 10x10 muscle-mass gains. Q: I've gotten the fullest muscle growth and development with [three-exercise] Positionsof-Flexion workouts. Only one exercise per bodypart, even if it's 10 sets of 10, can't give me total growth stimulation. How would you suggest I work in 10x10 if I want to do full POF routines for each bodypart every time I train? A: We hear you. Once you understand the many layers of muscle growth—max force (midrange), stretch overload (stretch) and tension/occlusion (contracted)—it's counterintuitive to think one exercise can do it all. The Ultimate Exercise can do a lot, but it can't cover all of the various hypertrophic facets.

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10x10 will work for a number of weeks or even months, but then you have to change to continue to gain. It's the nature of adaptation. For example, if you use the oneexercise 10x10 program for six weeks, you may continue to get gains if you use it again for another phase; however, a better route is to use a different program for a while, then go back to 10x10 later. To answer your question, a great variation on the Heavy/Light 10x10 program on pages 28-33 is to do full POF programs for each bodypart, but at one workout do 10x10 on the big midrange exercise, then one set of a stretch move and one set of a contracted move. At your next workout do two to three heavy work sets on the midrange- and stretch-position exercises, but end with 10x10 on the contracted-position move. Here's an example using triceps... Workout 1 Decline close-grip bench presses, 10 x 10 Overhead extensions, 1 x 8-10 Pushdowns, 1 x 8-10


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Workout 2 Decline close-grip bench presses, 2-3 x 8-10 Overhead extensions, 2 x 8-10 Pushdowns, 10 x 10 That gives you muscle-building variation as well as extra volume plus intensity—and you train all bodyparts with full POF for complete development. Up to this point we haven't discussed much about using the 10x10 method on contracted-position exercises, but it can add a lot to your mass. There are even entire training systems based on ending bodyparts with volume and/or high reps on an isolation exercise—for example Hany Rambod's FST-7 and Eric Broser's FD/FS method (fiber damage, fiber saturation). In the 3D Muscle Building e-book we discuss and outline our version of Broser's Power/Rep Range/Shock workout, and we found that altering the Power-week workouts from all low-rep work to ending with isolation moves done in drop-set fashion did great things for our mass. Ending with 10x10 on the finishing isolation exercises may be even better as the pump will be immense—similar to Workout 2 above. One thing we have noticed is that on many isolation exercises you may want to increase the reps for optimal muscle stimulation. For example, we often use 8x12 on pushdowns and concentration curls for arms.

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Q: Thank you for introducing me to the 10x10 mass method. I’m getting the best musclesize gains I’ve ever achieved. I plan to use this workout to reach my ultimate size potential. A: We appreciate the compliment, however, as we said in the Introduction, you need change to continue to make gains. No workout will work forever. It's the nature of the human body and muscular adaptation. In other words, the gains you’re making with the 10x10 workout, while spectacular at the moment, will eventually slow down; then it's time to move to another workout, either something completely different or a variation of 10x10. There are a few suggestions in this e-book and more complete programs at X-traordinaryWorkouts.com. For now, however, keep blasting away with 10x10 and pack on as much mass as you can with it. It can take your muscle mass to the next level, transforming your physique!


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Ultimate 10 x 10 Mass Work Out

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