Q: I commend you on your Positions-of-Flexion training methodology. What a logical way to completely work each muscle. It’s helped me improve my muscle size and physique considerably at age 56. Sometimes I do all positions at each workout, while other times I’ll use the split-positions approach [in Old Man Young Muscle 2]. Question: Do you switch up your exercises a lot, or do you have a core group that you always use?
A: Thank you for your confidence and thumbs-up for POF. I truly believe it’s the most concise, efficient way to train for maximum muscle growth….
Once you train all of a muscle’s torque curves, which means the ideal exercise and missing-position add-on moves, you’ve completely stimulated the target for maximum growth—like this for triceps…
And for many muscles, you don’t need machines, as shown above and in the original Old Man Young Muscle. Those workouts use only dumbbells, an adjustable bench, and a doorway chinning bar.…
Of course getting the most hypertrophy possible involves other factors, like finding your optimal volume to match your current ability to recover.
But as far as exercise choice goes, POF lays it out in simple, logical terms…
The ideal exercise + the missing torque-curve positions
As for changing exercises, if all you have are dumbbells, your choices are limited. You’ll see my improvisation in OMYM in a bare-bones home gym; however…
I’ve now added a cable unit, as explained in OMYM2. That allows me more options to switch things up—even workout to workout…
Sticking with triceps as the example, I may do a pushdown variation for the contracted position rather than kickbacks.
While both have maximum torque at the full-flex position, the angle of pull is somewhat different. Theoretically each of those exercises have slightly different mass-building effects.
More on those size effects in the next training newsletter.
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