Mike Mentzer’s quote on overtraining in Monday’s Mass Mantra newsletter is thought provoking…
He, along with some researchers, believe that it can lead to serious illness, such as heart disease and cancer, if it’s prolonged…
Volume, intensity, and frequency all play a part in the accumulation of stress and damage, as choosing biomechanically incorrect exercises…
The ideal exercises do the least amount of trauma to your joints due to “lining up” the target muscle properly and precisely with the active joint…
Joint damage is a traumatic stress on its own. Try to avoid it like you would a bar fight with Mike Tyson…
Joint stress is one reason running has been found in research studies to limit muscle growth while biking does not. The pounding from running causes excess stress and cortisol release, which can limit hypertrophy…
The next question is, Do we need to train our biomechanically correct “ultimate” mass exercises with all-out intensity?
That is, should we take every set to failure? Mike Mentzer would say absolutely, or you’re not getting all the muscle-building effects from your workouts; however…
It’s now known that going to all-out failure, while activating the most fast-twitch fibers, also causes the most muscle damage. Uh oh. Perhaps we should only take SOME sets to failure. Or maybe none? Hmm…
More on that in the next training newsletter.
Note: There is a Mentzer-based workout in Old Man, Young Muscle, Chapter 9, pages 71-72.
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
Recommended
Build MASS with bodyweight training
One way you’re guaranteed to pack on stacks of muscle is through a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS), which more than doubles 24 hours after an intense workout…
Until recently, MPS was only elevated when trainees would lift 70-90% of their one-rep max…
That’s not only dangerous for your joints, but it also sets you up for high injury risk every time you exercise…
It used to be believed that training with your own bodyweight couldn’t get you the same results as training with your 70-90% one rep max… Until NOW.