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Researcher Chris Beardsley contends that short rests between sets can blunt the central nervous system…
In other words, you can’t reach as many high-threshold motor units on the next set or sets after only a rest of 1 minute vs. 3 minutes… [Read more…]
After months with 3-to-4 sets per muscle on only the ideal exercises, Doug sent me an email… [Read more…]
In the previous newsletter, I mentioned that Doug gradually reduced his training volume through his 50s. At one point, he was doing 12-plus sets per muscle. [Read more…]
Q: I’ve been training for about 10 years, so I consider myself advanced. Don’t I need more volume (sets) to continue growing?
A: At first glance, that seems logical. But there a few things that make the opposite true, according to hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley…
So basically, being advance means you’re taxing the muscles and nervous system more, creating more fatigue and damage at every workout…
Adding sets piles onto that damage—and could be the very reason so many bodybuilders plateau and can’t grow. Most add sets as they progress…
Kudos to Mike Mentzer, who was saying this back in the ’80s. He went from using more volume early in his career down to three or four sets per muscle in his bodybuilding prime.
And he got bigger, denser, and more defined…
Why choose between the hot-hit muscle-building Old Man, Young Muscle (1 & 2) best sellers when you can get them both?
Get both Old Man, Young Muscle best sellers PLUS the physique-shredding, muscle-building Muscle-On, Belly Gone “Diet” and Ultimate-Mass Exercise Guide ebooks… all for only $29!
Here’s another science-based quote on hypertrophy from respected researcher Chris Beardsley…
When a muscle is fatigued, the recruitment (force) threshold reduces. So high-threshold motor units are recruited at lower levels of force [lighter weights]. This means that when a muscle is very fatigued, it can display a very high level of motor unit recruitment, despite only producing a low level of force. Fatigue therefore contributes to hypertrophy by increasing the number of high-threshold motor units that can be recruited in any given muscular contraction with a sub-maximal load.
That explains how lighter-weight training with higher reps can produce growth. In fact, Drug-Free Mr. Universe and biomechanics expert Doug Brignole liked to begin with a 30-rep set to near failure into his 50s and 60s.
It works. A study by Schoenfeld, et al., showed that higher-rep training to failure produced somewhat better muscle growth than standard heavier lower-rep work. (See OMYM)
That’s a godsend for older geezer bodybuilders (like me) who don’t want to use—or can’t use—heavy, low-rep training any more.
You don’t have to blow out your joints to build muscle and use a walker around the gym as you age.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Why choose between the hot-hit muscle-building Old Man, Young Muscle (1 & 2) best sellers when you can get them both?
Get both Old Man, Young Muscle best sellers PLUS the physique-shredding, muscle-building Muscle-On, Belly Gone “Diet” and Ultimate-Mass Exercise Guide ebooks… all for only $29!Here’s another thought-provoking quote from respected hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley… [Read more…]
This quote from respected hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley relates to yesterday’s newsletter on stretch- and contracted-position exercises… [Read more…]
Q: I just read your newsletter on Position-of-Flexion [ideal exercise plus stretch- and contracted-position exercises]. I thought the natural strength curve of muscles is hard at the stretch and then tailing off at contraction. Doug [Brignole] said the ideal exercise is all you need. If others were beneficial, wouldn’t he have said so? [Read more…]
Here’s a quote from respected hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley on volume as you become more advanced… [Read more…]
Here’s a quote from hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley that corresponds with the first Top-5 Efficiency, Productivity, and Safety Factors of exercise (on page 15 of Old Man, Young Muscle): [Read more…]
