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Mr. America Doug Brignole’s Training, Part 13

Doug Brignole in a T-shirt at the beach flexing his biceps

Doug had an interesting take on recovery and growth after a workout, something I totally agree with: 48 hours, or two days, is usually not enough… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Doug Brignole, Mr. America, muscle growth, recovery, recovery time

Your Muscle Recovery Moving Target

Steve demonstrating the ideal setup for cable curls

Q: I’m 75 with years of lifting experience, but the [40-minute] Old Man Young Muscle 2 workout 3 times a week feels like too much at times. I do great for two weeks, but then I lose motivation and feel tired. Am I overtraining? Any suggestions?

A: I’ve mentioned here many times that your recover ability is a moving target… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: muscle recovery, recovery, recovery time

Ultra-Hardgainer Hypertrophy

Steve demonstrating one-arm lateral raises

Q: After your recent newsletters on rest weeks, add-on exercises, and recovery, I’m starting to wonder if I’m doing too much to grow. I just turned 50 and am a hardgainer, more so than yourself. Do you think I would do better with just a few sets of the ideal exercise for each muscle, not doing any add-on exercises? [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: add-on moves, hardgainer, hardgainers, hypertophy, recovery, recovery ability

Muscle Gainer, Sore Loser

Jonathan doing curls, red tinted photo

In the last training newsletter, we discussed muscle soreness, damage, and how it can prolong recovery and even stall growth. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: mass gains, muscle gains, muscle recovery, muscle soreness, recovery, soreness

Fewer Reps, More Mass?

Doug Brignole doing a dumbbell decline press

Q: After my 20-rep set with a 1/3 tempo on the ideal exercise, I rest 20 seconds, then do a Speed Set (1.5-second reps) on that exercise. You say that you get 10 or fewer Speed Set reps, but I get 13, sometimes more. Should I cut my rest down to 10 seconds so I get fewer reps on my Speed Set? [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: high reps, low reps, recovery, speed sets

Your Muscle-Recovery Tightrope

Steve posing in his backyard, October of 2023

With almost 50 years of training experience, I’ve come to realize that incomplete recovery is the #1 roadblock to achieving the fastest hypertrophy your genetics will allow… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: alcohol, illness, mass building, muscle building, muscle recovery, recovery, volume training

Mass Mantra #44

Tom Platz in a most muscular pose on the beach

Here’s an eye-opening quote is from former pro bodybuilder Tom Platz, who was third in the Mr. Olympia was third in 1981… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 1981, arnold, mass mantra, mr. olympia, recovery, recovery ability, recovery time, tom platz

Mass Mantra #42

Steve doing heavy barbell curls

Here’s an eye-opening quote from hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley on muscle repair and recovery: [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Chris Beardsley, glycogen, glycogen depletion, mass mantra, muscle glycogen, muscle recovery, muscle-repair, recovery

Mass Mantra #40

Steve at the top of a deadlift

Another on-point quote from Dr. James DiNicolantonio (@drjamesdinic)… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: Dr. James DiNicolantonio, efficiency of effort, mass mantra, recovery

Your Best # of Sets for Mass—new study, part 2

Steve with a belly vs. smooth and muscular vs. cut

In the last training newsletter, I looked at a new meta-analysis that determined the best number of sets per week and optimal intensity for hypertrophy… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: age, failure, hypertrophy, mass building, muscle building, recovery, research study

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