Craig, I must say you improved a lot lately. You address everything about your diet and workouts in Titus Talks, but now I'm confused. I read a scientific study that said a muscle responds best with eight to 10 reps. Anything more than that and you lose tension. Now, you improve on a higher number of reps, right? I know everyone is different, but at the end of the day, the scientists say it all comes down to the time and tension. How can it be that you are growing on higher reps without maximum weights? Does it have something to do with hormones, amino acids, or other materials going to the muscles along with blood volume training? How does this blood mechanism work? I couldn't find any studies about it in the medical journals. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Good luck on your Arnold Classic prep!

Okay, wait up. Put all theories aside for a second. Forget about sets, reps and poundages. Let's just talk about going to the gym and training your ass off like an animal with the mindset that you have an important goal you're trying to achieve. If you go to the gym and train really intense, really hard, and keep in mind that you're trying to attain something while you're training, chances are you'll grow no matter how many sets and reps you do.
It's all about the intensity in the gym that results in how much muscle fiber you tear down, which will then result in how much muscle fiber will heal, and in turn, will result in how much muscle you will put on. So, whether I'm doing six reps or 12 reps, either way, I'm going to train those six or those 12 reps as intensely as hell and I'm making sure I'm going past the previously obtained point.

I've come to the realization that more reps helps me because it pushes more blood into the muscle and gives me better pumps. I don't have to use the maximum weights and that limits my chance of injury. Like you said, everybody's different. But keep in mind, if I don't train intense, it doesn't matter how many reps or sets I'm doing. I'm not going to grow.

I also train with the heaviest weight first and then lighten it up for the pump. But remember, if your first set of curls is nine reps with 100 pounds, and you're trying to continue to do nine to 12 reps, you have to come down in weight. So, essentially, it's the same thing: The weight is pyramiding down to keep the rep range the same.

People tend to over-analyze bodybuilding, and no offense, brother, but this is just getting too picky. Over the years, I've come to the conclusion that I like 16 sets per body part. It's a nice, comfortable number for me. I never do less than 12 or more than 16. If I do 12-16 sets with a 12-20 rep range, I know I've worked my ass off. I've done every workout in the book and this is what works best for me. Anybody out there who has not tried blood volume training, I guarantee it will work for you. Now, I'm not saying do blood volume training the rest of your life. No, you're going to have to change your training again, because it'll come to a point where you're stagnating in the gym. Change is required for progress. I change up my workouts all the time. Right now, blood volume training works very well for me, but don't kid yourself; I'm not using light weight. It's heavy- just not maximum poundages.

If you'd like some more information on my blood volume training, I have a new video coming out that will be entitled "Craig Titus' Arnold Preparation." The whole thing is going to be about blood volume training, so people can see exactly what I'm talking about. You're going to see heavy weights moved around for a lot of reps, and that's basically what it's all about: incredible gym intensity and training like a fucking animal!

I WANT TO SCREW YOUR WIFE
Hey Craig, a couple of things. I know you're sick of all the King Kamali shit (so am I), but I was sure glad when you beat him at the NOC! Anyway, you said you and Kelly use that Pinnacle Exotica thing sometimes. Are you fuckin' nuts? Why would you ever need any help in the bedroom when you have a little hottie like Kelly? Good luck to both of you!

Well, you gotta understand that little hottie is my wife, and she's been my wife for almost four years. When you look at my wife, Kelly, she's new and fresh to you. But every human being in the entire world knows that when two people are together for long periods of time, they might need a little help now and then. You know, just to get excited with each other, keep things going, and keep the marriage nice and fresh. I'm not saying that I need help in that area with my wife- we just use it to have a little fun because we need to freshen up our relationship a little bit. That is why our marriage is so strong and ongoing despite everyone saying it wouldn't last. We truly love each other and are honest about all aspects of our relationship. Not that it's any of your business!

X-QUAT
I was reading an article in MD about how to achieve that X-frame look of wide shoulders, small waist taper and big sweeping quads. The article said to avoid squats, because it thickens the mid-section. I was wondering if lunges would have the same effect? Could I do lunges instead?

For many years, I didn't do squats in the gym. I always felt it was an injury waiting to happen. I didn't like the way it made my lower back feel and the way the weight felt on my shoulders. The squat just seemed like a very dangerous movement to me. Later on in my career, I've found that I like them now.

I've had judges tell me I need to bring my glutes up and this is probably the result of not squatting over the years. I'm squatting now, but I don't go over 405 and prefer to do a lot of reps with it. I don't see where squats have made my waist larger, and I doubt this will happen to you unless you're doing extreme weight with low reps. When you start getting up to 500, 600 and 700 pound squats, then something will definitely grow besides your legs.

As far as lunges go, they won't make your waist grow, either. I've been doing lunges for years, and my waist has stayed the same- it is still 30-something inches. When I do lunges, I like walking across the gym and back instead of standing stationary. The walk is about 50 feet each way.

FEEL THE PAIN OF CRUSHIN' YOUR BRAIN
I have bad elbow pains when doing skull crushers. Is there anything to prevent this? What about an alternate triceps exercise that will put on the type of mass I get from skulls?

Brother, you are not alone. All my friends say the same thing when we do brain crunches. I don't really do those too much for that very reason. I tend to think that if a joint or tendon is hurting, you should simply avoid that exercise until you can do it without pain. If you can't do it without pain, then don't do it.

As an alternative, there are many variations of pushdowns and presses that you don't need to do the French press. Most of the people I know have hurt their elbows doing it. Treating the pain with ointments or liniments might minimize the pain for a while, but I really don't think it's worth it. Just find an exercise that doesn't hurt so you can maximize your potential for continuing to put on more triceps size.
Here's a lost of some brain crunch alternatives:
Cable pushdowns with V-bar
One-arm rope pulldowns
Dip machine
Close-grip bench press