Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
In yesterday’s newsletter, I was NOT saying that if you get stronger you will get bigger. Leverage, learning the movement, and neuromuscular efficiency can account for strength increases.
I knew a skinny guy who worked up to a 350-pound bench, and his pecs and arms sucked. He still looked skinny all over—although he was a little beefier than if he’d never lifted at all… [Read more…]
Q: Do you think that it’s essential to increase training weights or at least reps on a given exercise over time to increase muscle growth significantly?
A: I do think you need to get stronger to a degree to get bigger—at least from a fast-twitch-growth standpoint, which is known as myofibrillar hypertrophy…
Something in your workout has to change. If everything stays the same, so will your physique. However… [Read more…]
Q: Your analysis of stretch and stretch exercises has been interesting to say the least. You’ve said that you often include an ideal-exercise set on which you pause for a count in the stretch position on every rep. Do you think stretch-pause sets cause more damage than regular sets? [Read more…]
You’ve seen how stretch-position weight-training exercises produce significantly more hypertrophy than stretching alone; however…
With full-stretch-resistance moves you inflict more muscle damage—unless your freehand stretch is jumping off a table into a full sissy-squat (not recommended—but definite viral-video potential). [Read more…]
Hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley has said that a muscle recovers after only 48 hours—but as Mr. America/Mr. Universe Doug Brignole noted, that doesn’t include the supercompensation “growth” phase, which occurs after damage is repaired… [Read more…]
I mentioned that hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley has said that a muscle recovers after only 48 hours. That’s two days. So does that mean we should train each muscle three times a week: M-W-F, for example?
There are considerations, such as intensity, muscle damage, and supercompensation… [Read more…]
I like puzzles—but most people would give up on one that lasts 50 years and is constantly changing…
Building muscle is a moving target because the body adapts, is subjected to various life stresses, plus it’s always aging. Those factors make finding the perfect long-term mass-building routine difficult, if not impossible. [Read more…]
The longer I’m in this bodybuilding maze, the clearer it becomes that everyone responds differently due to unique needs.
Sure, there are some basic facts about efficient hypertrophy you should adhere to, like the best mass-building resistance curve on any exercise is hardest at stretch and easiest at contraction… [Read more…]
Q: Lately there have been studies on how stretch is most important for growth. In Old Man, Young Muscle you use stretch add-on exercises after the ideal move. You also have contracted-position exercises as add-ons. But the research suggests that those are not necessary, or at least inferior, for hypertrophy. Considering the stretch studies, do you still use contraction exercises? [Read more…]
Stretch-mediated hypertrophy has been a dominant theme in this newsletter for a while, but especially lately. That’s due to many recent studies pointing to stretch “overload” as being a key get-bigger trigger… [Read more…]
