In yesterday’s newsletter, you saw why a higher-rep set first can do great things for efficient hypertrophy stimulation, not to mention safety…
Using a lighter weight to failure reduces injury risk and joint trauma, acts as a precision warmup, and allows you to train more muscle-fiber types compared to a lower-rep set…
The 15-to-20-rep-set fiber cascade is: 1 (endurance) —> 2a (endurance/power) —> 2b (power)
While all of those fiber types have growth capacity, the 2b have the most (illustration above by Larry Eklund)….
But to stimulate all of those fiber types in one higher-rep set to failure, aren’t you creating too much fatigue right off the bat? No…
You go no higher than 20, so cumulative fatigue is not a significant limiting factor. Drug-free Mr. Universe Doug Brignole liked 30 reps.
In fact, the fatigue it does create allows you to stimulate more growth with the next “set,” especially with a rest of only 20 seconds. How?…
The quick follow-up is a Speed Set—1.5 seconds per rep—with the same weight, getting around 8 reps. It’s really a fast-tempo extension of the first set that does some important things…
1) It brings in more high-growth type 2b fibers from the very first rep
2) It trains the fourth fiber type to a degree, type 2x
But wouldn’t longer rests between those sets produce more hypertrophy? Many studies suggest yes; however, this is not a SECOND set…
It’s actually an extension of the first set. The 20 seconds is a rest/pause, which allows you to harness fatigue so you fire more fast-twitch fibers from the very first speed rep…
Keep in mind that the studies showing a hypertrophy advantage for longer rests compare 3-to-5-minute rests with 1-minute rests, not 20 seconds; however…
A recent study did compare longer rests with 20-second rest/pause training, and the 20-second R/P group got slightly better muscle growth in half the workout time. (More on that study in Old Man, Young Muscle 2, Chapter 7: Density for Immensity and Faster Workouts).
So with STX, you get a growth-fiber cascade—a full array of muscle-fiber-type stimulation with that double-barreled approach. And it takes only a quick 2-to-3-minute effort. It’s allowed me to grow with 35-minute workouts three to four days a week at age 64…
Interestingly, there’s another reason that a higher-rep set and condensed workout can benefit older bodybuilders. It’s exciting stuff. More on that in the next training newsletter.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
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