In the last training newsletter I said that volume, intensity, frequency and choosing the correct exercises are all factors governing damage that produces overtraining…
Everything from joint trauma to systemic recovery to muscle damage to stress-hormone elevation are to blame.
So the question is, if we have the correct volume, frequency and exercise choice, do we train all of our sets in the gym to failure? Mike Mentzer would say yes…
He contends that if you don’t go to failure, you’re not getting all the muscle-building effects possible. It worked for him—but keep in mind his steroid use and stellar genetics; also, he was in his late 20s here…
The training-to-failure question is hard to answer because for one thing, everyone has unique recovery ability and pain tolerance…
If you have a low-pain threshold, you may need to go to failure on most sets to get at enough fast-twitch fibers for optimal hypertrophy…
But even if you have a high-pain tolerance, fatigue can cause you to crap out early. For example, in the Old Man, Young Muscle workout your rests are 20 seconds between sets…
Short rests can cause you to terminate the set early—even though you think you’ve gone to all-out failure. Is that a bad thing?
It’s complicated. Fatigue can prevent muscle damage; however, fatigue in and of itself can be damaging…
But similar to going to failure, it can also elicit more fast-twitch activation, according to researcher Chris Beardsley. Again, complicated.
The bottom line: You cannot avoid damage in a workout—unless you just skip the gym altogether. But you can minimize the growth-limiting trauma.
For example, on the ideal exercises in the OMYM workout, 20 seconds between sets means that the second set is simply extending the first…
That’s why a Speed Set—with 1.5-second reps—is so effective on set 2…
Do your first 20-rep set of the ideal exercise to all-out failure. I think I heard Mentzer cheer.
After that, rest 20 seconds, then you do a Speed Set. You should get very close to failure, but fatigue will probably stop you short…
That’s not a growth inhibitor because you’re involving more fast-twitch fibers from the very beginning of your Speed Set. It’s just the nature of muscle activation when you move fast….
You get the benefit of a slower 1/3 tempo set to failure on the first set, then fast-twitch mass activation on the Speed Set from the very first rep.
Tomorrow you’ll see the 6 best ways to get your size to surge by limiting muscle damage…
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
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