May 12, 2018
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
A few weeks ago, a friend emailed me and said:
“I just got off the phone with John Jaquish, PhD, the inventor of something called the X3 bar. He is an inventor, author, and scientist who stumbled upon his life’s mission to promote bone health and advance osteogenic loading research after his mother was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Determined to help her and others suffering from musculoskeletal conditions and pain, John developed amazing biotechnology devices that increase bone density, strengthen muscles, and improve stability while reducing injury risk.”
The email went on to describe how you could use John's research to increase your bone density in just 10 minutes a week, and how you can put on more muscle in less time by leveraging John’s biomedical engineering wisdom – and this thing called an X3 Bar that he invented.
So I looked into Dr. Jaquish, and also got an X3 Bar for myself to play around with. Turns out, he began his experience in life sciences after being told by his Mother that she had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. John, in an effort to help his mother, created a device to place axial loading through bone to safely cause osteogenic loading events. The device was to trigger the effects of high-impact loading, but without the risk of injury.
After successfully reversing his Mother's osteoporosis, as part of his doctoral dissertation in biomedical engineering research at Rushmore University, he conducted four years of testing with human subjects focused on user comfort, biomechanics, and optimal musculoskeletal stimulation. Next, the device he designed was put into production, and has since been placed in over 240 clinics worldwide. Osteogenic loading has now helped over 12,000 individuals with their bone health. Published data has shown, treatment with this osteogenic loading device has resulted in over 14% gains in bone density in both the spine and hip over one year of once-weekly treatment.
Dr. Jaquish is currently advancing osteogenic loading research and speaking worldwide about its implications, as well as developing other biotechnology devices and products that will aid in the advanced health and wellbeing of people all around the world. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of American Bone Health, and the editorial boards of the Journal of Steroids and Hormonal Science, and Diabetes Open.
During our discussion, you'll discover:
-How John developed an osteogenic loading device to fix his mother's osteoporosis… 7:40
-How the X3 Bar came to be invented and the fascinating science behind it… 12:56
-The use of variable resistance training to get 3x increases in power and strength… 20:25
-The special kind of elastic bands that John integrated into the X3 Bar… 23:50
-The effect of variable resistance training on growth hormone and testosterone… 36:13
-What kind of workouts you would do on it if you're doing the 10 minute workout once per day… 49:05
-What John's 10 minute 1x/day workout looks like… 50:31
-Ways that you can “biohack” variable resistance training with tools such as vibration, blood flow restriction, balance board… 58:29
-And much more!
Resources from this episode:
–The X3 Bar – use code “Ben” to get an instant $50 discount
–Power Plate vibration platform
–A list of Osteostrong locations
Episode Sponsors
Four Sigmatic
Birdwell Beach Britches Use code word “Ben” and get 10% off your first order, and free shipping for orders over $99.
Organifi Use the code here to get 20% off your order.
Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for John or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!
Hi Ben, I’ve had the X3 Bar for over a year and wanted to experiment using it with blood flow restriction cuffs. Any recommendations on best protocol to use? Should I still use the BFR recommendation of lower weights?
Thanks,
Wade
I would check out this podcast: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/fitness-…
Any updates to this? Anyone love it? Hate it?
Check on the guy’s bio. Stanford (fine print: continuing education), Unaccredited Rushmore University, University of Phoenix MBA. .Lot of puff and no academic credibility.
Based on what I’ve seen on his site, some of which you point out, I wouldn’t get within a mile of this guy and his products except for one thing. Ben Greenfield recommended it.
Plus Jaquish was pretty articulate on the podcast. I ordered his book… it was $3.75 yesterday for the Kindle version, now it’s $6.29… guess the podcast with Ben worked.
If the book quells my b.s. alarm, I’ll get the bar. Can’t wait to pitch that idea to my wife.
I’ve had the X3 bar for about 3 months and it works. It’s a quick effective workout that’s helped me get my old body back with my gym shutting down.
My three boys, 13yo and 11yo are basketball and soccer players, respectively, both talented and aiming for the highest level. The basketball player is tall and gangly and would like to gain strength, agility, and power. At what age do you recommend using various strength training for boys? Can they use my x3? How often? Kettlebells? Any furth suggestions are VERY welcome.
Btw, thanks for all the discounts you influenced me to bye a plethora of biohacking and health upgrading devices, Hager’s, supplements, coffee, etc .. Im your number one sucka. 😁
*Two sons, the third is an artist…
*buy 🤣
*Hager’s = gadgets in autocorrect
Confused about the need to rest one day between muscle loading workouts and the once a day routine with this program.
Muscle biopsy studies indicate that protein synthesis is complete unit 36 hour window, therefore the every other day protocol per group.
Ben – as we age I understand we want to hit fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. I liked Bruney’s Neuromass for combining the types of exercise. Do you think, from the perspective of overall combating aging with functional fitness there is a need or a way to supplement/modify the X3 program? Maybe by doing some combination of slow, iso and power? I was struck by how well Alex Fergus claims he is doing with a modified and intense Neuromass workout 1x/week.
I don't think we know enough about variable resistance yet to specifically determine what is best for different ages, but if you go to Dr. Jaquish's instagram page, you can see a pre/post DXA showing 6lbs of muscle gained, and 17lbs of fat lost doing the 12 week program, and this guy was 55. The training applied to stimulate fast vs slow twitch is turning out be be conflicting. The most conclusive evidence shows that momentary fatigue using resistance stimulates growth of both types the same. See this meta-analysis study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20847704
Have a hard time believing at age 55, gaining 6 pounds of muscle sans steroids. Even steroid kings have trouble hitting 2 pounds a month in muscle growth, add in his age of 55 – I smell bs.
You can’t train exclusively for fast twitch or slow twitch muscle fibers. If you are training a muscle, you are training both fibers. The difference in the rate of fire between fast and slow twitch muscles is about 50 milliseconds. That is indistinguishable to a human and there would be no way to separate and train just the fast or slow one.
Why the fuss over price? A top quality fitness tool for the price of 3 pairsof high end running shoes, and it will last a lot longer…use it 6 days a week for 10 years, and it works out to $0.15 per use…
What are the rated pounds of resistance for each band? I can’t find the specs anywhere.
The super-light band:
15 to 50 lbs, then doubled over 100 lbs (the band is doubled in the bent row, and chest press, but greater than that for the deadlift as the stretch is even greater)
The light weight band:
25 to 80 lbs, then doubled over 160 lbs (the band is doubled in the bent row, and chest press, but greater than that for the deadlift as the stretch is even greater)
The middle weight band:
50 to 120 lbs, then doubled over 240 lbs (the band is doubled in the bent row, and chest press, but greater than that for the deadlift as the stretch is even greater)
The heavy weight band:
60 to 150 lbs, then doubled over 300 lbs (though as you can see in the load cell video over 400, so it depends on the band AND the movement/stretch of the band) you can also combine the middle and heavy to go over 500lbs.
What is the length of the bands?
Also,..are these the same or similar to Serious Steel bands?
td
Yes, in the early versions of the X3 bar they were shipped with Serious Steel bands. Many people supplement the X3 bands with the very light pink and purple SS bands because the white may be too heavy.
Ben and John, just curious how come the return policy is only 14 days? Seems quite short for a product that is espoused to be so transformative for improving strength and putting on muscle? I can think of many supplement companies that offer a better guarantee. Any thoughts on offering a 30 or 60 day guarantee? Thanks!
From John: We have the same return policy as Apple Computer. You will know from your first workout if you like it or not. Its a superior workout, and the exhaustion you will feel will be beyond anything possible with weights. We have thousands of units in circulation, and less than a 1% return rate, whereas online consumer products have an average return rate of over 30% (invespcro.com). If you look at comments and reviews of the product, owners love their X3s… The negative comments are from people who have never seen or used the product. If some really wants to try for an extended period of time we have 30 demo centers around the world that are listed on our website.
Hey Ben, First, thanks for all that you give and share, I’ve learned so much. I also just finished Dr. Pompa’s TCD, so thank you again for offering that! With regard to Organifi, do you know how they crack the cellular wall of the chlorella that they use? Catherine Arnsten mentions that chlorella cracked with glass beads can have lead in the chlorella and Energy Bits sources chlorella that uses sound to crack the cellular wall. Since you are an Organifi affiliate, I figured you would be able to find out for sure. I’ve been using it for months, but now just learning about the importance of knowing the source of chlorella, so I thought I’d check in with you.
They use a gentle, chemical-free, low temperature physical-mechanical method to disrupt cell wall without loss of nutrients.
Ben,
Any word on how it affects fascia in any length of time studied? Or is this all about the myofibrillar hypertrophy (sometimes the sarcoplasmic)?
James
Hi James, here's a response from X3:
PHASE1
As users start a set, fatiguing the strong range will have a powerful myofibril effect, because the user is not out of ATP/Glycogen/Creatinephosphate (ATPGCp) just showing structural fatigue of the muscle… This is the most powerful effect of X3.
PHASE2
Next, in the same set, users begin to diminish range and go to fatigue in the lesser ranges. Here is where the sarcoplasmic fatigue begins, so stores of ATPGCp are depleted, thereby triggering sarcoplasmic growth, and the associated blood flow to recover the muscle, and because a portion of myofibrils are switched off, and lighter weight is used with diminished range reps, we fatigue the muscle to a greater degree from both the sarcoplasmic and myofibril perspectives. The blood flow to recover will be stronger to compensate for this deeper level of fatigue ("large pump, many would call it"), and this forces a stretching of the fascia (not specifically studied with X3, but this is the academic understanding). The combination of all of these elements executed to a safer and more powerful degree explains the accelerated muscle growth of X3 use.
I am a fan of OesteoStrong and the x3 bar. However using them in conjunction with whole body vibration may be problematic. Based upon some research from the Russian space program presented at the Bulletproof conference I was intrigued by Whole Body Vibration Plates and, in fact, worked out on the Power Plate. However the multi-direction vibration did not seem like it was helping me. After reading the a study by OSHA and Clinton Rubin I changed my tune. Clinton Rubin, a biomedical engineering professor at State University of New York at Stony Brook, says he believes excessive vibration may cause brain damage. Along with brain damage, the vibrations can also cause blurred vision and hearing loss. These dangers and problems can occur with prolonged exposure to the vibration plate, according to Rubin. Specifically he believes that vibrations over 1G can be problematic; most popular plates vibrate at 8G.
Hi David. Thanks for the info. Do you have a link to this study?
Ben,
There are two reports; this is the link from the article written by Clinton Rubin
http://www.bme.sunysb.edu/people/faculty/docs/crubin/safety-1-11-06.pdf
And here is the link to the OSHA report that deals with working conditions but is relevant
:
https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2015/02/02/Vibration-Hazards.aspx
How did Dave Asprey respond to this being that he sells the fixed 30 HZ Bulletproof Vibe? I have read that vibration plates with multiple motors or that vibrate horizontally are not good. Is that what Rubin was referring to?
both links are dead?
Really Ben I can’t believe you’re even giving this light of day. Ive been reading your stuff here and up until this guy, been giving you some room when your offer to help sell products at a discount to you reader. but when I read this I couldn’t hold back, Im sure John helped his poor old mother. But have you looked at his website, and the claims? He’s pushing muscle growth not so much bone health. I’ve been around for some time now, but this is just a recycle of past B-&^%# Back in the day Mike Mentzer sold us on a 1 rep work out and you’ll look like Mike in 30 days , will where is Mike today DIED. Blah Blah Blah. Ive been looking at your stuff thinking wow this guys onto something here, but when I see you helping promote products like this, and this is not the only one I seriously question your intentions.
I purchased the X3 bar after listening to the podcast. It’s awesome. I’m cancelling my gym membership.
His X3Bar is a different website to OsteoStrong which is why you might be confused.
X3Bar and OsteoStrong are two different things.
1. The technology that John helped his mother with is a medical device called OsteoStrong. Not X3…
2. His research into bone showed him that people can take a muscle to a far deeper level of fatigue with the highest level of variable resistance. This would then trigger more growth, hence X3bar was created.
3. University research that was performed on Cornell athletes that did not use the strongest levels of loading that X3 employs, and even so this work delivered 3-times the results compared to the control group. Hence the name X3.
4. These two technologies are not gimmicks. They have a scientific backing, but of course fitness is full of junk products so we understand your apprehension. Read the product reviews on the site. Many have put on over 10lbs of muscle.
The biggest complaint on the X3 Bar I’m reading almost everywhere is the $500 price tag. Even a $50 discount isn’t going to help. He’s probably going to have reduce it down to $199 or something to move them. Maybe just selling the bar alone and let others DIY the base and bands? I don’t know. While it does look interesting. I’ve more tools/techniques/methodologies in my training toolbox I know what to do with that can get me similar results. There are dozens of bio-hacking tools to spend that $450 on.
Reminds a bit of using objects to accomplish the same thing as the original Charles Atlas physique transformation systems you would see advertised in comics. Still affect, and cheaper (back in the day.)
Great Podcast and the most costly for me, just ordered one! Super stoked to see how it helps me with Xterra series.
I had actually gotten one of these X3 bars around October 2017, when my gym membership was running out, and I never re-upped at the gym. I use this thing in my office (have a door), and I love it. Plus, I’ve made gains I never experienced before. So I highly recommend this thing. I know it’s a lot to pay, but if you see it as a substitute for several years of a gym membership, with a lot more convenience and time savings, then it starts to make a lot more sense.
Hello,
Would you think any resistance bar would work? Or is there something special about the x3 bar?
Honestly, I think the game changer is the source of his elastic bands and the special nature of that twisting bar that he uses. I haven’t found anything comparable!
Typically I don’t comment, but on this one I have to. A $500. pole with bands and a foot plate, really? Does it come with the magic quartz crystals as well? Even for you Ben, this a stretch, pun intended.
Hey Ben,
No idea if this would help or not but I have 7 year old twin boys that were diagnosed with constitutional growth delay. Basically they will be short stature and in the zero percentile until sometime in high-school. Not a lot of info out in the web but to really just wait it out. I’m not one to wait it out. If there’s something that is low risk and healthy for the boys to do with a possibility of a extra growth spurt then I’m willing to give it a go.
I’m wondering if the vibration platform is safe for kids and could help.
I love the podcasts and any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
I’ve been diagnosed with osteopenia from treatment related to breast cancer. Does the X3 Bar build bone as well as muscle? There are no clinics near me, unfortunately, so I can’t try the Osteogenic loading device at a facility.
Great podcast! I can’t for the life of me find the literature between layered latex and no latex bands though. Any links?
What type of literature are you looking for exactly?
Thanks for a great podcast Ben!
Would it be possible to get a discount code to x3bar.eu for your european listeners?
I'll see what I can do and get back to you.
Same for you Australian listeners, Ben!
Hi Ben,
Were you able to make any progress with this for UK listeners please?
BW
Neil
As someone who was diagnosed with Osteopenia about 8 years ago (doc said cause I am male it is really Osteoporosis because measurements were developed for females) I found this podcast possibly life saving. I emailed the local facility. I wonder if insurance covers any of it? Probably not. It does give me some hope.
Also want to buy that muscle building X3 Bar, but will need to wait for a while.
In the last few podcasts I have picked up so much valuable information. The under desk elliptical!!! Another lifesaver. And that cool health retreat in the Alps.
Thanks Ben!
Bill