speed sets Archives

Mass Mantra #41

Here’s a quote from former bodybuilder and physique coach Scott Abel, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years… [Read more…]

All Speed Sets for More Mass? Part 2

Yesterday I mentioned why it’s best to do the first set of your ideal exercise with a 1/3 cadence…

The first set acts as a warmup, a slow negative appears to have hypertrophy benefits, a slower-rep set exhausts the slow-twitch fibers transitioning to fast-twitch on the last reps and from the very first rep of the Speed Set that follows. [Read more…]

All Speed Sets for More Mass? Part 1

Q: Speed Sets [1.5-second reps] feel great and are working. Just wondering why not do the first high-rep set with speed to get at more fast-twitch fibers. Or how about all sets in the entire workout in Speed style?

A: Have you been watching elite-bodybuilder training videos? Mr. Olympia winners like Jay Cutler use a rapid-fire cadence on almost all of their work sets… [Read more…]

Mass Mantra #35

Speed Sets—with 1.5-second controlled reps—are a big part of the Old Man, Young Muscle workout. Most of the top bodybuilders have been using them throughout their careers due to instinct—like Arnold.

Another is eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney. Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview (photo by Michael Neveux)… [Read more…]

Mentzer’s High Intensity: Right or Wrong? Part 3

For older bodybuilders, haphazard training is more of a threat than ever—if they’re not on anabolic steroids that is…

The older you get, the more precise and efficient your training should be to avoid over-stressing your recovery ability and creating excess muscle damage. [Read more…]

Fast Reps, More Damage?

Q: In Old Man, Young Muscle you have about half the sets in each workout as Speed Sets [1.5-second reps]. You’ve said that those cause less damage because you de-emphasize the low-intensity negative stroke. But doesn’t the bounce at the bottom of each reps cause damage?

A: NOT a bounce, but an abrupt turnaround, where you shift from a semi-fast negative to a semi-fast positive, such as at the bottom of a decline press… [Read more…]

Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 214: Arnold’s Relaxed Mass

Here’s a rare security cam still of Arnold saying bye-bye to his blankie as a robber pillages his home. Luckily, the crook was caught, “Schnitzel” was found unharmed, and Arnold was able to sleep soundly once again… [Read more…]

Speed Sets: Fast-Twitch Mass Jolt

Q: Researchers say that the most important reps of a set are the last ones, which slow down. But when I do a Speed Set [with 1.5-second reps], none of the reps are slow toward the end. I hit a wall and have to terminate the set. Am I doing something wrong? [Read more…]

Speed Sets: Study says I’m wrong?

My friend and elite trainer Vince McConnell sent me a post by researcher Chris Beardsley in which he presented a study on fast eccentrics: Mori, T., et al. (2014). Stretch-speed dependent myofiber damage and functional deficits in rat skeletal muscle induced by lengthening contraction. Physiological Reports, 2(11), e12213. [Read more…]

Faster Workouts, No Cardio for More Mass

My daughter and her firefighter husband were over to celebrate his academy graduation to engineer—he can now drive those big red trucks. He’s getting back to training now and brought up my recent newsletter on how cardio may limit muscle growth… [Read more…]