Arnold was known for his mass, but he could also hit some aesthetic poses, as in this Caruso shot of him in his Invisible Top Hat pose. [Read more…]
Elite Trainer On Stretch-Loading for Mass
Elite trainer Christian Thibaudeau promotes stretch loading as a major hypertrophic trigger. He uses both static holds and partials in his clients’ workout as well as his own training to build mass and strength… [Read more…]
New Stretch-Partials Mass Workout
Q: I’ve followed you over the years. Your Positions-of-Flexion method has given me muscle gains beyond my expectations. Logical and precise. I have your Old Man, New Muscle and am using the full-POF Stretch-First Workout inspired by the great Mike Mentzer. With all the research on stretch-partials being best for growth, can I do the stretch exercise in those workouts with only partials? That exercise is first for each muscle, so it should be high reps. Do I just do 20 partials? [Read more…]
Best Exercises for the Stretch-Partials Mass Tactic
Q: The study showing that partial reps in the stretch position are better for growth than full-range reps is intriguing. I’ve started using partials, and so far I’m impressed. I’ve noticed that they don’t work well on short-stroke exercises, like shrugs. Do you do them on those? [Read more…]
Is Stretch Loading All You Need for Mass?
Yesterday’s newsletter contained an overview of a new study…
“Partial Range of Motion Training Elicits Favorable Improvements In Muscular Adaptations When Carried Out at Long Muscle Lengths.” [Eur J Sports Sci. Pedrosa, et al. 2022] [Read more…]
Tips to Grow Mass Like Crazy, Part 3: Stretch Overload
I’ve been discussing how to mitigate the major factors that cause damage—too much of which can derail growth… [Read more…]
Squeeze the Muscle for Mass? Maybe Not…
Q: Should I flex and squeeze the target muscle at the top of each rep? I don’t like wasting time in the gym. I want to get the most out of each set.
A: Only on specific exercises should you squeeze at the top of each rep… [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
How to Add More Mass With Stretch, Part 2
Yesterday you saw the difference between stretching a muscle without contraction vs. stretch-position resistance exercises…
To recap, damage appears to trigger the hypertrophy produced by both; however, growth is usually significantly more with stretch against resistance PLUS contraction, as in stretch-position resistance exercises. [Read more…]
How to Add More Mass With Stretch, Part 1
Q: You’ve been diving into the growth-promoting potential of movements that emphasize the stretch phase of a muscle’s range of motion. Your science and logic seem pretty solid and correlates with some of the exercises I’ve done that cause significant soreness in a target muscle group. Do you think this could be as much a result of micro-damage from stretching as enhanced fiber recruitment? I could see this micro-trauma also causing hypertrophy, but I was curious if you had an opinion on this. I remember the sorest I’ve ever been was from an overly exuberant dive into stiff-legged deadlifts. I know biomechanics says that it’s almost exclusively a glute movement, but hamstrings do get a significant stretch under load at full extension, which my soreness verified.
A: Here’s a quote from hypertrophy researcher Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., on a human study using stretch only, which produced impressive muscle hypertrophy (from Old Man, Young Muscle)… [Read more…]
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