XTrain Compared to Gym Styles
Undulated Periodization refers to a workout program done over a period of time, not individual workouts. When we made the Hardcore series we designed ten individual workouts without considering how these workouts could be used together as a complete system. We were only concerned about making ten great workouts, not designing a complete program to be done over 90 days.
Nowadays, many exercisers are looking for a complete workout program that outlines everything they need to do for each day of the week. This is what we have done in designing XTrain and is an important difference between the Hardcore and XTrain workout series.
Over the next month we will be releasing a lot more information about XTrain, including the various XTrain workout programs, and I think when we do things will become a lot clearer for you. But for now let me tell you a few things about how XTrain is different when compared to the Hardcore series and their Gym Style workouts.
First, the cardio workouts in the Hardcore series are a lot longer than the cardio workouts in XTrain. Back when the Hardcore series were made steady state cardio workouts were considered to be the best way to burn fat as it was felt that you needed to workout at a moderate intensity to stay in what was referred to as the "fat burning zone". However, even back then we were already incorporating our high intensity "interval blast" into our workouts, but not to the degree we do in XTrain.
Today, research indicates that HIIT training is one of the best types of cardio workouts to burn fat because of the afterburn effect that you only get when your heart rate reaches over 85%. XTrain utilizes HiiT and metabolic training to maximize calorie burn while reducing the amount of time of each of your cardio workouts.
Second, current thinking is you can best stimulate a muscle by changing reps in a routine and by going to failure. In Burn Sets we go to failure on at least every third set of each exercise. The last rep is really the most important rep in a set because this is where most of the benefit for stimulating the muscle occurs. In Gym Styles we really didn't emphasize going to failure like we do in XTrain. This may seem like a minor difference, but really is an important difference. We also vary the rep patterns a little more in the XTrain upper body workouts than we did in the Gym Styles.
Thirdly, in the Gym Style workouts we didn't promote using one rep max testing and selecting the correct weight like we do in XTrain. Sure, you can do this on your own for the Gym Style workouts, but I bet most people don't. In XTrain we really emphasize using the correct weight and resistance tubing to maximize your workout results. We then allow you the ability to schedule, track, record and print workout cards for your XTrain workouts online.
Fourthly, in XTrain all of the four upper body workouts follow the same muscle group pattern of "chest/back/shoulders" and Bi's/Tri's. In in undulated periodization program this is important because you can do and Xtrain "chest/back/shoulders" and a day later do a "Burn Sets "Bi's/Tri's". By making sure that each upper body workout utilizes the same muscle groups it makes scheduling and substituting workouts each week a breeze and allows us to easily mix up rep variations. In the Gym Styles we only had one group of upper body workouts, so the workout rep variations and exercises are more limited than in XTrain.
Fifthly, the Gym Styles only had a very limited amount of Premixes. The XTrain workouts will feature many more premixes and even offer you the ability to do one body part per day. We've learned from experience and from our CTX series that a lot of people prefer only working one body part per day along with their cardio. This is not something the Gym Style workouts really offer.
I could keep going, but I think as we release more information over the next month you will start to see how XTrain is one of the most thoroughly researched and produced programs on the market today. Both the Gym Styles and XTRain are great workouts, but XTrain has some tweaks and improvements that make them worth having even if you regularly use the Hardcore series. And remember no matter which series you select to workout with, you need to change things up after a while to prevent plateaus and mental fatigue. If you love the Gym Style workouts I think you will be a fan of XTrain too! They're both at least in the same category of heavy lifting videos, but there are enough differences to enjoy both.
) for updates. I look forward to reading more about XTrain.