Q: I haven’t seen you mention Speed Sets in the newsletter. Are you still using them? You have them in Old Man, Young Muscle.
A: In the spirit of change to gain, absolutely. I generally do speed reps on the last set for a body part…
While studies show that the best rep tempo for building mass quickly is lift in one to two seconds, lower in three, using a different cadence can produce unique size effects…
That’s where Speed Sets come in. Each rep lasts only about 1.5 seconds—that’s the total for lifting and lowering.
Faster reps seem counterintuitive to efficiently stimulating the muscle, but it can actually supercharge hypertrophy. Muscle-training researcher Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., has this to say about speed reps:
Altering the style of training may affect changes in serial hypertrophy. Increases in fascicle length have been reported in athletes who replace heavy resistance training with high-speed training. These findings suggest that performing concentric actions with maximal velocity may promote the addition of sarcomeres in series even in those with considerable training experience.
That’s exciting stuff. He’s saying that you can get another “layer” of growth by working in sets with faster reps, even if you’re advanced. And in fact, you often see advanced competitive bodybuilders using piston-like rep speeds…
As late Olympic coach Charles Poliquin said, one of the least used hypertrophic stimulators is changing rep tempo…
That’s exactly why you’ll find strategically placed Speed Sets in the Old Man, Young Muscle workouts.
That’s not to suggest that you should do them on every set or throw the weight—no heaving or jerking allowed unless you want to add to your orthopedist’s bank account.
Maintain complete control, but move fast—about 1.5 seconds per rep…
And avoid speed reps on riskier exercises, like those that put the target muscle into full stretch—for example, semi-stiff-legged deadlifts or dumbbell flyes.
New: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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