Is the ideal exercise all you need to fully stimulate a target muscle? Doug said absolutely—but he never convinced me. [Read more…]
Mass Mantra #74
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.
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A Muscle’s Unique Mass Response, Part 1
Recent studies seem to place stretch-loading and stretch exercises at the top of the mass-building food chain… [Read more…]
The Size Principle and Speed Sets
The Size Principle of Muscle Fiber Recruitment tells us that on a standard-tempo set of lifting in one second and lowering in three, the slow-twitch fibers dominate on the earlier, easier reps of a set… [Read more…]
The Need for Speed: Your Get-Bigger Trigger
Let’s pick up the Speed Set discussion with more from neurophysiologist Chad Waterbury:
To produce more force, the nervous system must recruit more motor units. Think of each motor unit as being a football player, and imagine your car is stuck in a ditch. The more football players you have to pull the car out, the easier the task will be.
The same is true with the nervous system: the more motor units recruited, the greater the force you’ll be able to produce. So to lift the largest load or to lift any load as fast as possible, you must recruit as many motor units as possible.
So again, speed equals force. You can NOT lift a weight faster by recruiting fewer motor units. That means the more motor units you recruit, the faster you’ll move…
Arnold knew that instinctively and did many of his sets with controlled explosive reps…
Of course, you don’t want to start jerking the weight, as that can cause you to get injured. But by doing some of your sets in Speed style, with 1.5-second controlled reps, you will stimulate more muscle mass at each workout…
Back to Waterbury…
Make no mistake about it, speed is the omnipotent ruler. Indeed, the most reputable research has demonstrated time and time again that a faster tempo leads to the greatest hypertrophy and strength gains. And I’m not just talking about the concentric (shortening or lifting) phase of muscle contractions; I’m talking about both phases.
But what about the Size Principle of Muscle Fiber Recruitment? It tells us that the slow-twitch fibers dominate on the earlier, easier reps of a set, gradually giving up and giving way to the fast-twitch fibers toward the end of a set.
At least that’s how it works on standard slower-rep sets: slow-twitch domination early leads to fast-twitch domination late…
But what about a Speed Set, which creates high force early? Could that be key in accelerating hypertrophy? We’ll delve into that tomorrow.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For more mass-building tips like the above plus complete workouts that include the ideal exercise for each muscle and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
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Vary Your Exercise for More Muscle Size (study)
People often ask why I use some “inferior” exercises along with the ideals…
“If the ideal exercises are so great, why not just use those and not waste time with less-ideal moves?”
Sounds good on paper, but there’s that variation-in-fiber-recruitment thing that I harp on a lot… [Read more…]
Stretch-Pause for New Mass
Q: Recently you mentioned using a pause at stretch on every rep of a set. You said you were giving it a try to see if it produced more muscle growth. I’m thinking about giving it a go. What’s your verdict?
A: To clarify, I’ve been using it on the first high-rep set of my ideal exercise—like dumbbell decline extensions for triceps… [Read more…]
Fatigue, Fiber Activation, and Muscle Growth
Q: I can’t wrap my head around lighter weights getting me as big as heavy weights. Wouldn’t fatigue from high reps cause you to stop a set short before you get enough fibers involved? [Read more…]
Energy Cost: Lousy vs. Ideal Exercises
A few newsletters back I discussed energy cost and how multi-joint exercises that don’t optimally load the target muscle can take from your hypertrophy gains in exchange for some strength…
However, I also mentioned that you can focus on barbell squats at one leg workout and the ideal quad exercise at the next. Just keep in mind that it’s not the most efficient muscle-building strategy… [Read more…]
Study: Double Your Muscle Growth
We harp on the Size Principle of Muscle Fiber Recruitment a lot. Why? Because it explains how to get the most muscle growth possible—in both the fast-twitch as well as slow-twitch fibers… [Read more…]