Q: I’m getting excellent results using a Speed Set after my normal-tempo high-rep set [as in the Old Man, Young Muscle workout]. But on some cable moves the Speed Set feels incomplete, specifically cable chest press. Should I do two Speed Sets to compensate? [Read more…]
Mass Jolt: Rep-Speed Revolt
Throughout my training career, it’s always bothered me that so many top bodybuilders talk about the importance of slow rep speed—especially on the negative or lowering stroke, yet most don’t follow that protocol… [Read more…]
Move Fast for More Mass: Neurophysiologist
Readers of this newsletter sometimes send me research articles on topics I’ve discussed.
One who is always on the money is astute reader Steve (no relation to me, Reeves, or McQueen). His recent toss to me was by neurophysiologist Chad Waterbury, and it has to do with Speed Sets—fast reps… [Read more…]
Stretch-Mass Acceleration
Q: Your discussion on Speed Sets has me experimenting. Should I do the second set of each exercise with those 1.5-second reps? That would give me half my sets in regular 1/3 tempo and the other half Speed. It seems like that would help reduce damage overall from negative-stroke work.
A: That will be an interesting experiment to see if you start to add mass faster due to reduced damage from fewer so-called “garbage negatives”…
They’ve been called that because even on sets to failure, at the end the negative stroke is still fairly easy—not enough resistance to tax the muscle much but still doing damage as the actin-myosin pairings drag over one another causing “friction.”
Speed Sets eliminate those garbage negatives as the eccentric stroke is quick—less than a second; however…
One type of exercise I don’t recommend Speed Sets for is most stretch-position moves, like incline curls, dumbbell flyes, etc. (For a complete list of stretch exercises, see the Positions-of-Flexion Exercise Matrix on pages 42 and 43 of Old Man, Young Muscle.)
The reason is that putting the target muscle in a fully elongated state makes it more vulnerable to injury, as in tendon tears, etc. But…
You can do the stretch moves slightly faster than 1/3—for example 1/2 or even 1/1.
Just stay in complete control of the weight—no heaving, jerking or throwing. Remember, 1/1 means lift in “one-thousand one” and lower in “one-thousand one.” That’s still a controlled tempo…
Use your best judgement as to which stretch exercises you feel are the safest for a faster rep speed. For me and my bum shoulder, for example, doing dumbbell pullovers faster than 1/3 is a no-no.
While 1.5-second reps are my ideal choice for Speed Sets, any increase in negative-stroke tempo should produce a reduction in muscle damage with more recovery substrates left for mass accumulation. At least that’s the theory.
Sculpt your perfect physique: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best stretch and contracted add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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New Look at Rep Speed and Muscle Growth (studies)
Q: You said that maybe doing sets with a slow negative on each rep causes too much damage and can impair growth. But don’t studies show that lifting in one second and lowering in three seconds on all sets is best for mass?
A: My point is that a 1/3 tempo is the best rep speed for a few of your sets for each muscle; however… [Read more…]
Your Strength, Genetics, and Change to Gain
I’ve touched on the top-six change-to-gain methods below over the past few newsletters…
1) Exercise switch
2) Altered rep speed
3) Stretch overload
4) More or less rest between sets
5) Exercise shuffle
6) Rep-range change
Speed Set Mass Jack?
Q: Your last few newsletters on muscle damage have been interesting and have me rethinking some of my workouts. My question is, do you think the Speed Sets you have in the Old Man Young Muscle workouts are more damaging than regular sets? Should I keep doing them?
A: First, let’s establish that speed reps are not plyometric—they are not ballistic moves. In OMYM I describe them as slightly faster than the standard 1/3 tempo… [Read more…]
Speed Reps = Fast Mass
If you’ve been a bodybuilder for decades like us, you may remember Nautilus-machine creator Arthur Jones say this about muscle-building repetitions… [Read more…]
Rep Speed on 10×10 Sets
Q: I have two questions. I’m using The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout, one [Ultimate] exercise per muscle. Killer results so far, with 40-minute workouts, but I was wondering what should I use as my rep speed on 10×10 sets? Also, is there anything I can take so I tolerate the burn a little better? I think I could make even faster gains if I could push further past the insane burn to get at more fibers.
A: Our former colleague, the late olympic coach Charles Poliquin, said that one of the most underused get-bigger triggers is rep-tempo change, or cadence manipulation. Since you’re only doing one exercise for each muscle, we suggest you vary the cadence throughout the 10×10 sequence… [Read more…]
Slow Down, Grow Muscle
In a recent article, we discussed how inflicting more muscle trauma requires more recovery time. If you do enough damage, you may only need once-a-week training for each muscle. And if you slow down and use the right techniques, your workouts will still be relatively short… [Read more…]