Precise Variation = More Mass Creation

In the last few newsletters, I was discussing how exercise-comparison studies can be misleading…

One exercise may show more hypertrophy; however, the other exercise may produce development in a different part of the muscle.

That means doing both exercises, not necessarily at the same workout, can produce more OVERALL mass.

Much of it has to do with variation in fiber recruitment and area-specific development.

There’s a relative study in OMYM2, Chapter 6 on using key add-on exercises…

Researchers compared the hypertrophy effects of doing the same exercise vs. different exercises throughout the week. (Costa, et al. Int J Sprts Med. 2021)

For biceps it was barbell curls only for one group three times a week. The other group did barbell curls on Monday, preacher curls on Wednesday, and dumbbell incline curls on Friday.

Volume was the same in both groups over the 9-week period—and both were doing full-body workouts…

Result: All muscles in the exercises variation group grew more, but get this: biceps growth in the exercise-variation group was almost double that of the barbell-curl-only group.

While not definitive, the conclusion from the researchers is that varying exercises produces unique and/or faster development.

And that’s precisely why the OMYM and OMYM2 workouts emphasize the ideal exercises, but you add-on a different move at each session—stretch or contracted.

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