We’ve determined that pausing between each rep at the stretch—stretch-pause—is less damaging than standard sets using a controlled “explosion” at the turnaround. [Read more…]
Quick Set Mass Effect
Q: I really blew up when I went to your 20-second rests between sets. Pump was crazy for me. I’m not sure I can reduce it to 10 seconds before my last set. Is that really necessary? I’m not a wuss. I just want 10 extra seconds of rest. LOL [Read more…]
Muscle on a Scarecrow: Ah-ha Mass Moment
I’m a slow-twitch-dominant “scarecrow,” a.k.a, ectomorph. For some reason, though, I’ve never quite understood why I gain more mass with higher reps. Maybe a wizard can help with my brain thing… [Read more…]
Muscle Genes vs. Skinny-Lean Mass Workouts
I was Iron Man magazine’s editor in chief for 27 years, and for 20 of those I worked out with our advertising coordinator Jonathan Lawson, who was about 15 years my junior.
But youth wasn’t the only thing he had over me from a bodybuilding perspective. He was also much more [Read more…]
Easier Sets Build More Mass?
I’ve mentioned that going to failure—grinding until you can’t get another rep—can derail mass gains. Too much of that and you can’t recover by your next workout, which cancels out growth…
The reason is usually said to be muscle damage. Hitting failure on multiple sets creates a lot of trauma, but not just to the target muscle… [Read more…]
Crappy Move First = Mass Burst?
Q: Reading Old Man Young, Muscle and how an initial high-rep set tires the slow-twitch fibers makes sense. But wouldn’t using a continuous-tension exercise be best for that first set? The blood-blocking [or occlusion] on those exercises you talk about in OMYM should tire and shut down the slow-twitch sooner, right?
A: That’s an interesting idea and one I addressed a few newsletters ago: “Occlusion and the Mass-Exercise Shuffle.” It’s great that you’re thinking about making our workouts more efficient rather than just blindly following… [Read more…]
Occlusion and the Mass-Exercise Shuffle
In Old Man, Young Muscle I talk about mechanical tension as being one of the bigger mass triggers.
It’s basically providing the target muscle with enough resistance to elicit activation of fast-twitch growth fibers. [Read more…]
Intensity Guru: “Pull Back for More Mass”
In recent newsletters I’ve laid out some new theories on training to failure—basically that it can slow hypertrophy.
Not always, but too much creates severe damage, which saps recovery and growth. Doing only one set to failure while stopping others a rep or two short appears to be a better way to stimulate massive amounts of fast-twitch growth fibers (more on that below). [Read more…]
More Muscle: How Did I Miss This?
I’ve been putzing around with my workouts, trying to put more mass on this 62-year-old body while staying healthy and injury free. The older I get, the more elusive extra muscle becomes…
Through all of my tweaks, I let one important mass accelerator fall by the wayside—and I didn’t even realize it until I looked back at my workouts listed in Old Man, Young Muscle. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 161: Arnold’s Superman Pose
Not many people know this, but women used to pay Arnold to sit behind him and watch him rhythmically flex his buttocks. [Read more…]
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