How to use the S61XL Muscle Gain Program

My S61XL workout program is a free alternative to P90X aimed at the advanced or intermediate advanced bodybuilder. People have asked how to use this series of videos, well here is how! Here is a video of me doing the S61XL arm workout:

Welcome to my new S61XL mass gain program! So what does S61XL stand for? Scooby1961 eXtra Large. This series is for the hardcore intermediate or advanced bodybuilders who wants to gain muscle and is willing to work hard to get it. If your gains have stagnated and you are having trouble making progress this series is for you! If you hate coming up with workouts but still want to work out hard, this series is for you!

The videos in this series are complete workouts, just press play and follow along. Please do not attempt these S61XL workouts unless you have been weight lifting five days a week for at least a year. Beginners would be much better off with my beginning workout plan. It takes time to build up the tendons and joints to withstand this kind of punishment and you will get injured if you start this program before your body is ready. I’m going to focus on some unusual workouts that even a pro bodybuilder would find challenging. Most bodybuilders make the mistake of not mixing their workouts up enough and get stuck in the three-sets-of-eight rut or the one-rep-max rut. Its best to do these workouts at home but do them at a gym if that’s your only option. Home is much better because you can completely eliminate the wasted time running between machines or waiting for equipment. These workouts are designed so that they only require inexpensive used weights, nothing fancy. I guarantee you that if you incorporate these unusual workouts into your training program once a month or so you will see an increase in your gains. Please make sure your expectations are reasonable though!

One thing to be prepared for, intense Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) like you have never had before. You will be so sore after the last week of the month when you do all S61XL workouts that you will have severe trouble doing everyday activities. Walking will hurt, not only because your legs are sore but because the slight bounce in every step will cause your chest/lats/arms to hurt! Lifting your arms up to drive a car will be a challenge too. We like pain :)

Here is how the program works. The idea is to keep your muscles constantly confused and adapting because muscles constantly forced to adapt get stronger and bigger. First of all you will exercise each muscle group once a week, no more, so in a month you get four workouts for each muscle group. Here is how we organize the months workouts

1st workout of the month Intense 60-80min workout. Lift heavy using 3-5 reps on every set. Use lots of rest between sets (2-4min).
2nd workout of the month Intense 60-80min workout. Very vanilla, use the traditional three sets of eight for each exercise with a minute or two rest between sets. ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
3rd workout of the month

Intense 60-80min workout. Two choices this week:

  1. For every exercise use drop sets. Use a weight so that you can do 8 reps, drop 25% in weight then immediately do as many more reps as you can, drop 25% more then immediately do as many more reps as you can. Rest 2-4 minutes. Use this for every exercise and every set you do
  2. Hybrid workout

    • For the first 40minutes you will use the same technique as for the first week, that is, heavy weights with 3-6 reps and lots of rest between sets. In this first 40min do your favorite exercises, for most people it will be the compound exercises. Best if you choose exercises that have never caused you joint pain in the past.
    • For the last 20-40min, do high reps. For your remaining exercises do 15-20 reps and do them slowly, so you will be lifting a lot less weight than normal – start with about 60% of the weight you would use if you were doing 8reps. Only rest about 30s between sets, basically just long enough to set up the next exercise.
Last workout of the month Do the S61XL workouts shown below! These workouts are intense and short 20-45min and have NO rest, none. No sips of water, no bathroom breaks, no text messages – 100% lifting. Because of the nature of this workout, use a starting weight that’s about 40% of what you would use if you were doing a normal 3 sets of 8 workout.

S61XL Amazing Pump Arm Workout, DVD1

S61XL Pec Pump Chest Workout, DVD4

For full details of this program, please visit S61XL.com

Remember, do NOT do these S61XL workouts more than once a month!