Mr. America Doug Brignole’s Training, Part 16

In this multi-part installment about Doug Brignole’s training evolution, I’ve mentioned how it influenced my workouts and how our ideas were rapidly converging before his death in October 2022. One of his final conclusions…

I believe twice per week is the ideal frequency, assuming each muscle is worked with the “ideal” intensity (which I believe is 3 sets performed at 95% maximum effort, regardless of whether it’s a 30 rep set, a 20 rep set, or a 12 rep set). More frequency would require a compromised intensity effort, per muscle, per workout…and that would not be better.

Doug was training each muscle twice a week, using 30, 20, and 12 reps on the ideal exercise. He stopped short of failure on all sets and supersetted with an opposing muscle group. For example, alternating the ideal chest exercise with an ideal back exercise.

You can see much of this reflected in my Old Man Young Muscle workouts that include the ideal exercises and three sets per target muscle; however…

I prefer very short rests between sets instead of supersets. I achieve better focus and fast-twitch activation with that Density training style, pioneered by Vince Gironda. (More on that in the ebooks below.)

Here again are a few of the last shots taken of Doug as he prepared for an exhibition. He passed away a few weeks prior to that appearance…

We were both in our early 60s during our correspondence, which brings me to a few things to consider about Doug’s final hypertrophy training conclusions…

1) He had almost 50 years of training under his belt; that means a highly developed nervous system for better muscle activation on each set

2) His final conclusions were reached at age 62, which means a more compromised recovery system, but…

3) He was on testosterone, a.k.a. hormone-replacement therapy, to get his levels to the normal range, which can improve recovery

4) He was very good at analyzing exercises and tweaking them to his structure to make them even more effective—which comes with age and experience

5) His genetics were ecto-meso—muscular but on the thinner side, which is great for bodybuilding, but he was not in the mass-monster category

Does the above mean that if you don’t fit Doug’s parameters, that his workout ideas will not work for you? Absolutely not—especially when it comes to the ideal exercises. They are the best of the best, and you should emphasize them; however…

If you’re younger with excellent genetics, perhaps you could tolerate and benefit from more volume and/or frequency. Even so, the latest studies show that there is a non-linear dose-response relationship…

In other words, your first intense set is the most important, while the sets after decrease in added growth stimulation significantly. According to a recent study analysis by hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley…

The first set provides 100 units of growth activation, set 2 may add another 40 units, set 3 an additional 20. The drop-off in stimulation after set 3 is severe due to muscle-damage accumulation and nervous system fatigue.

Hence the term “junk volume.”

So Doug’s final training conclusions appear to be right on the money; however, there’s a key factor we haven’t discussed. More on that hidden hypertrophy booster tomorrow.

Note: To find out more about Doug’s Brig20 ideal exercises, go here: https://www.smarttraining365.com/brig20

Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.