Q: In Old Man Young Muscle, you mention that adding volume can improve muscle gains. After your newsletter on using a back-off week [same workout but with sets further from failure], I was thinking about adding a set to each muscle every week. Then after five weeks, do a back-off week, going back to the original set total and begin again. Would that work?
A: I don’t suggest adding a set for EVERY muscle each week—but I’m old (65 now)…
I’d end up skipping workouts as the volume got out of hand and/or napping all day due to overwhelming damage.
But don’t shit-can this strategy yet. I think your method would work well for a couple of body-parts each phase. For example…
Try it for biceps and chest for a month…
Add a set to each of those muscle groups each week for a month, back off for a week, then…
Begin a new phase with triceps and calves…
What’s interesting is that research shows that muscle gains can be maintained with only 3 intense sets once a week. (Bickel, et al. Med & Sci in Sports & Exercise, 43(7) 1177-1187. 2011).
That indicates that when you back off to the three sets TWICE a week in the OMYM or OMYM2 workout, you won’t lose your gains on the muscles that you volumized…
In fact, you’ll continue to stimulate hypertrophy, perhaps just not as quickly, as more recovery resources will be diverted to the new volumized duo.
By the way, this method is a great way to get bursts of new mass on lagging muscles.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
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