More on the 1-Set Mass Workout

Yesterday I had comments from a 60+ trainee who is making eye-opening muscle gains doing only one STX set per muscle two times a week…

He uses only the ideal exercise—15-20-rep set to failure, rest 20 seconds, then Speed Set with the same weight…

Doing one STX sequence for each target muscle two times a week has him “looking more muscular [and] I’ve got a vein in my biceps for the first time in eons.”

I won’t reiterate why the STX sequence is such a safe and powerful hypertrophy stimulator…

I do want to mention that I believe an extended fiber cascade on phase 1 is important for muscle growth…

Type-1 (endurance) —> 2a (endurance/power) —> 2b (power)

That’s something legendary bodybuilder Tom Platz talks about in his IG posts. He says that for him, higher reps have been “magical—the gold” for hypertrophy (Michael Neveux photo)…

Our 60-plus trainee accelerated his gains by pulling back to one STX “set” per ideal exercise, allowing his muscles to recover and then grow before the next workout. That’s key…

Yes, everyone’s recovery capacity is different, and as you age, it becomes more compromised…

But even younger trainees should not be afraid to try more abbreviated training. Even a four-week block may do wonders for accelerating growth…

There’s something to be said for brief, focused workouts with a bit more frequency…

I’ll end with an interesting quote from Paul Carter (@liftrunbang1), hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley’s in-the-gym colleague…

Data shows that 3 sets done once a week basically nets you no gains. But 1 set done 3 times a week get you LOADS of gains.

If you’re younger, you could try one-set workouts three times a week for each muscle. If you’re older, one set twice a week may be the gold, as our 60+ trainee has found.

Or maybe with STX, you need no more than two one-set workouts a week, as it makes the 1 set more effective at setting the growth mechanism in motion.

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