Q: In Old Man, Young Muscle you have about half the sets in each workout as Speed Sets [1.5-second reps]. You’ve said that those cause less damage because you de-emphasize the low-intensity negative stroke. But doesn’t the bounce at the bottom of each reps cause damage?
A: NOT a bounce, but an abrupt turnaround, where you shift from a semi-fast negative to a semi-fast positive, such as at the bottom of a decline press…
A Speed Sets is not explosive. And yes, it will cause damage due to that somewhat faster turnaround. NEVER bounce…
However, it also triggers more fast-twitch fibers to fire due to the myotatic, or stretch, reflex…
You get that fast-twitch-fiber activation from the very first rep; you can’t move fast without some fast-twitch action.
On the other hand, a standard 1/3-tempo set produces damage on every three-second negative PLUS the damage caused by the turnaround shift…
And you only get major fast-twitch activation on the last few reps of that standard-style set.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t do some 1/3-tempo sets. Those do have muscle-building merit…
But you want to limit the damage while maximizing hypertrophy stimulation so that you recover and then grow before your next workout.
That’s best accomplished by using some Speed Sets for each muscle along with those standard-style sets. I like a half-and-half split…
For a while, I stopped using Speed Sets, doing every workout with all 1/3 tempo sets. My mass began to regress…
I believe I was doing too much damage and not getting enough fast-twitch-fiber activation, a double whammy for halting hypertrophy.
Going back to the OMYM workout that includes Speed Sets, I now feel bigger. That means more confidence to scare the punks lurking in my neighborhood. Wait, is my catalytic converter gone? Son of a b…
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook : For complete mass workouts that include Speed Sets, the ideal exercise for each muscle, and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of 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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