In the previous newsletter, I was discussing 1970s bodybuilder Frank Calta and his Rotation for Recuperation workout split…
He trained on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, alternating two different workouts: Workout A and Workout B—which means one of the workouts would be trained only once a week, the other twice…
Workout A: chest, back, biceps
Workout B: legs, shoulder, triceps
Is this a viable plan with the Old Man Young Muscle and OMYM2 workouts, which are upper-body/lower-body splits?
It can be; however, you need to consider that the muscles you train once a week with three to four sets will be getting 5 days of recovery—Wednesday to the following Monday:
Week 1: Mon., upper…Wed., lower…Fri., upper
Week 2: Mon., lower…Wed., upper…Fri., lower
Week 3: Mon., upper…Wed., lower…Fri., upper
Week 4: Mon., lower…Wed., upper…Fri., lower
Here are average recovery rates for volume quantities per muscle, according to hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley:
8 sets > 4 days
6 sets > 3 days
4 sets > 2 days
2 sets < 2 days
Keep in mind that this is an average. If you have below average recovery ability, which is almost guaranteed if you’re older, you will need extra days for recovery and supercompensation (growth)…
Research also suggests that 1 to 2 sets per week for a muscle can maintain its size.
So if you’re doing 3 to 4 sets per muscle with the RFR split, as with the OMYM and OMYM2 workouts, you’re training a muscle to grow one week, then maintaining that growth the next—when it gets only one workout…
Remember that you’re using high intensity, the ideal exercises plus an add-on move. In addition, the higher-rep STX method efficiently trains the muscle-fiber array, so 3 to 4 sets per muscle should build muscle consistently—at least on the weeks you train this muscles twice…
What volume did Calta use and how should you alter the OMYM workouts—or should you alter them—for his RFR split? I’ll have answers in the next training newsletter.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
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