Q: After reading your new page, I’m not sure 35-minute workouts three days a week can build muscle. Wouldn’t it take more time and more than a couple of sets per muscle to get the fastest gains possible?
A: According to Richard Winett, Ph.D., a recent joining together of experts from multiple countries looked at empirical studies and systematic reviews on muscle hypertrophy…
One of the conclusions had to do with total sets per muscle over the course of each week. Here is their conclusion…
“A dose of approximately 10 sets per muscle per week would seem to be a general minimum prescription to optimize hypertrophy, although some individuals may demonstrate a substantial hypertrophic response on somewhat lower volumes.” (IUSCA)
Do the workouts in Old Man, Young Muscle adhere to that guideline? When you break it down, yes….
Steve calls the multiple phases on each ideal exercise one “extended set” because of the short rests between. But you could—and should—consider it three sets despite the brief rests between each…
After each ideal exercise, you follow with another move to cover one of the missing Positions of Flexion, usually for two sets.
After sissy squats, the ideal quad exercise, you would do either a squat move (midrange) and/or a leg extensions (contracted)…
So that is five sets per target muscle per workout—10 total sets a week, which is right in line with the recommendation for optimizing hypertrophy.
Keep in mind, however, that the consensus recommendations above are no doubt looking at multiple studies performed with less-than-ideal exercises, like the barbell bench press or bent-over rows…
In other words, if you are emphasizing the ideal exercise for each target muscle and using the progressive-fiber-loading method that efficiently exhausts an array of muscle-fiber types, you are getting more efficient hypertrophic bang for your effort buck…
Doing that, you no doubt need less than 10 sets per week for each target muscle to trigger optimal growth stimulation.
Even so, we like to use eight sets a week, around four per workout per muscle, as a minimum baseline, albeit with short rests between sets, as you can see in the new ebook (below).
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
New Release…
For a limited time, you can get the brand-new Old Man, Young Muscle at a 25% off (introductory price)
PLUS you’ll get the Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook F-R-E-E
That’s a two-days-a-week, shred-your-physique eating plan that can recharge your anabolic environment, build more muscle and melt body fat (see Steve’s photo on the cover shows his results).
Check it all out HERE