Q: You used to talk about taking a reload week after every four weeks of hard training. Do you still subscribe to that? I use the fifth week to do low-intensity workouts to insure full recovery, then I go back to intense ones for four more weeks. Works great. [Read more…]
Forgotten Factor in Fast Mass Gains, part 1
The new meta-analysis by Robinson, et al. (2023) found that 12 ALL-OUT sets a week per muscle is the good top-end goal for hypertrophy… [Read more…]
Your Best # of Sets for Mass—new study, part 1
I’ve ranted about the workout-recovery moving target: Your best number of sets per week and optimal intensity for hypertrophy can vary… [Read more…]
Mass Mantra #33
It’s becoming more clear that training efficiency that avoids damaging your joints and muscles is best for the fastest mass gains as well as for your future health.
Here’s a quote from high-intensity advocate and former pro bodybuilder Mike Mentzer on that subject (Wayne Gallasch photo). [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 177: Arnold’s Intensity
A rare photo of Arnold demonstrating the Stationary Torture Toboggan, a cardio machine popularized in his Austrian homeland. [Read more…]
Frequency, Intensity and Muscle Immensity (Study)
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…]
Mass-Building Puzzle Solved—For Now, Part 2
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…]
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…]
Energy, Synergy, and Mass Intensity
One of the thickest bodybuilders of yesteryear, before drug use went totally off the rails, was Mike Mentzer.
His last contest was the 1980 Mr. Olympia, the controversial comeback win for Arnold in Australia. Mentzer placed fifth, which triggered his retirement and a swim through the pool of madness for a few years. The photo on the left is from that contest. [Read more…]
Less Intensity = More Muscle Immensity?
Doug Brignole and I were discussing training sets to failure and the body’s response to that.
The common belief is that training a set until you can’t get another rep activates the most fast-twitch fibers possible. [Read more…]
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