glycogen storage Archives

Extreme Muscle Size: Forgotten Hypertrophy Method

Q: At your suggestion, I’ve been including higher-rep sets in many of my workouts. I’m seeing much more size and vascularity. My question is, do sets of around 20 reps work because I’m getting growth in more slow-twitch fibers or are the fast-twitch ones getting larger as well?

A: Yes, both—and as bodybuilders, we want to maximize ALL hypertrophic pathways, even size in the slow-twitch fibers. Higher-rep sets also give you anabolic hormone surges…

According to Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., who conducts studies on muscle hypertrophy,

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Get Bigger, Fuller Muscles with Wow-Factor Workouts

Q: I’ve been using the Full-Range 4X Mass Workout [on pages 46-48 of that e-book] for a month, and I’ve noticed that my muscles appear to be not only bigger, but rounder. I’m looking more like a bodybuilder! I’m not imagining this, as people have told me that at my gym. It’s fantastic, but I’m wondering why. Is it because of the extra sets with 4X on 3 exercises for each bodypart? I was only doing one or two exercises for each muscle before, so it must be the added volume.

A: That’s part of it. The extra volume with short rests during a 4X sequence helps deplete more glycogen from the muscles, and therefore they supercompensate and store more. That extra glycogen gives the muscles a fuller, rounder look, like Bob Paris’, who is pictured below (but there’s more to it than that, as you’ll see)… [Read more…]

Sore Muscles for More Mass?

Q: I get sore muscles after almost every workout, and then I’m still sore the next time I go to the gym. Is it bad to train a muscle when it’s still sore?

A: Scientists believe that sore muscles are caused by micro-tears in the fibers. In other words, it’s damage. Training a muscle hard while it’s still sore is like scratching the scab off of a wound before it’s completely healed. It impairs the healing process and can cause damage that retards proper recovery.

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