Yesterday I listed the major factors that cause damage…
1) Too many sets to failure—high-rep and low-rep sets both cause damage in different ways.
2) Too much volume—with each additional set there is diminishing returns.
3) Too much heavy negative, or eccentric, emphasis.
4) Too much muscle-stretch work.
So my first tip for natural bodybuilders is to use only one high-rep set per muscle per workout—18 to 25. The sets after should be 8 to 12 reps.
That’s because high-rep sets appear to do more muscle damage due to calcium-ion-fatigue mechanism; however, too many lower-rep sets will create excess nervous system trauma.
Now, everyone has different tolerances and recovery ability—and you may not be an old man like me. That means your best set number for each muscle per workout may be more than mine.
Still, I’d say that one high-rep set is enough. Follow it with a short 20-to-30-second rest, then do your second set. Even with the same poundage, your reps should fall to around 10 to 12.
If you can get more than that with the same weight, increase the poundage a bit on your second set.
Should you do a third set on that exercise? You can. As outlined in Old Man Young Muscle, I sometimes rest 10 seconds and then do a third set for 7 reps; however, lately, I’ve been experimenting with only two sets on the ideal move. Then I go to a second exercise…
I get to that add-on move as quickly as I can, trying to maintain the 20-second break. The weight I choose allows me to stay in the less-traumatic low-end range, 8-to-10 reps.
That’s three sets for that muscle. If I do a fourth, I maintain the 20-second rest.
Is four sets per muscle twice a week enough—eight sets total every seven days? For me, at age 63, it appears to be. Depending on your age, recovery ability, life circumstances, etc., you may be able to grow with more.
Your individual tolerances and circumstances dictates that you experiment, but…
I’d say err on the cautious side. Keep this in mind: If you’re doing four sets and decide to try five, that’s a 25 percent increase in work—a huge jump.
More to think about on this subject in the next training newsletter.
Sculpt your perfect physique: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best stretch and contracted add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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