Q: Do you think that it’s essential to increase training weights or at least reps on a given exercise over time to increase muscle growth significantly?
A: I do think you need to get stronger to a degree to get bigger—at least from a fast-twitch-growth standpoint, which is known as myofibrillar hypertrophy…
Something in your workout has to change. If everything stays the same, so will your physique. However…
There are other things that add to muscle size—like capillary proliferation and mitochondrial density, which is related to sarcoplasmic expansion. The sarcoplasm is the energy fluid in the muscle…
I’m beginning to think that the reason ectomorphs tend to grow better with higher reps and/or short rests between sets is primarily due to that factor. Perhaps they have better capacity for sarcoplasmic expansion because they are better suited for endurance.
When I started using short rests between sets, I was able to get decent muscle size without getting a lot stronger…
And it’s still working for me at age 63, as outlined in Old Man, Young Muscle.
With rep ranges above 15, ectomorphs appear to get more sarcoplasmic growth while still triggering fast-twitch hypertrophy on the last few reps. And they are no doubt limited in myofibrillar growth due to fewer fast-twitch fibers…
So using high reps and/or short rests between sets are efficient ways to achieve appreciable muscle size for us ectos.
And because ectomorphs are limited in fast-twitch fibers, getting stronger is a much greater challenge than for mesomorphs or even endomorphs.
It’s just a theory, so no emails saying that I’m full of shit please—although I do look constipated in the above photo.
Latest Release: 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.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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Ripped Muscle Now: Harvard Research
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Plus, it can help bodybuilders get freaky ripped faster than ever (see the pic of the 69-year-old who is shredded at the link below).
Remember, when you’re leaner, you look bigger than ever… And best of all, your body can MAKE this fat-blasting enzyme by eating these specific foods… and they taste GREAT.
Our colleague, the man who owned the gym that Lou Ferrigno trained at in “Pumping Iron,” turned us onto this. He’s using it himself to shed fat faster than ever, and he’s in his 50s. Get the details and see his photo HERE.