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Mass Mantra #74

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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.

Doug Brignole on stage at the Mr. Universe competition

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.

Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
X-Rep.com
 

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Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Chris Beardsley, Doug Brignole, drug-free bodybuilding, fiber recruitment

Is This Bodybuilding? WTF?

Synthoil horror show

I’ve been harping on symmetry, proportion, and aesthetics lately. And I’ve seen some impressive representations of that on social media, such as Instagram…

One that comes to mind is [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Benny Podda, bodybuilding, drug-free, drug-free bodybuilding, GymFailNation, joesthetics, muscle beach, muscle oil, physique, proportion, synthoil

Blown Away by Before and After Pics

Q: I’m always totally blown away when I see Jonathan’s 10-week Size Surge before and after pics. I want to yell “bullshit,” but I’ve been reading your stuff for so long, I trust you guys. So he really didn’t use any steroids?

A: Okay, one more time: No, absolutely no steroids, GH, or drugs of any kind. Jonathan is natural for life. But keep in mind that he was REGAINING a lot of mass he’d already had—and it’s much easier to put it on the second time around. That’s one reason he added muscle so quickly—20 pounds in 10 weeks…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10-week Size Surge, 20 pounds in 10 weeks, before and after pics, belly fat burn, bodybuilding, drug-free bodybuilding, genetics, jonathan lawson, mass-4x, myofibrillar expansion, sarcoplasmic growth, Size Surge, steroids

X Factor Interview, Part 2

X Factor Interview, Part 2

Note: The X Factor Interview is an excerpt from Iron Man Magazine.

What if you could pack on a solid five pounds of muscle almost every month? What would you look like one year from now? Are you kidding? Your physique would be outrageous! Radically different and unrecognizable because of so much extra muscle hanging off your joints. Well, in my estimation, Jonathan Lawson added at least five pounds of muscle to his already advanced physique in only one month—not one year, one month—and he’s been training for about 15 years. Add to that the fact that he did it while he was on a a low-calorie diet, and you can see the enormous muscle-building implications for you—especially if you’re not limiting calories, as he was. (Could you add even more, like 10 pounds of muscle, in one month if you followed his lead? Who knows?) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: anabolic hormones, arnold schwarzeneeger, calories, diet, drug-free bodybuilding, gh production, growth hormon, hyperplasia, iron man magazine, jonathan lawson, larry scott, mike mentzer, nutrition, power partials, Steve Holman, tom platz, X Factor, X Reps

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