By John Romaniello
Last time, we discussed one method of structuring training for the purposes of hypertrophy.
As I mentioned, while high-rep training is probably the fastest route towards mass gain, it is also an entirely single-purposed method. Great for beginners, and used even at the highest levels of bodybuilding, high-rep/high-volume training is good for gaining size and very little else.
On the other side of the spectrum, if you’re looking to get both big and strong, you have a more difficult road ahead of you, but with a greater goal at the end. In this case, we’d be talking about training with heavier loads and lower volume.
Strength increases are the result of training with heavy weight, which by default will place a pretty stringent limit on the amount of reps you can perform on a given set. Strength-oriented training relies on performing sets using anywhere from 1-5 reps, with the average being 3.
Heavy training is not only optimal for strength gains, but it can also be used to accrue a serious amount of muscle. Training with high weight recruits what are known as type IIb muscle fibers, which are the densest fibers and have the most potential for muscle growth. By lifting heavy, we activate these bad boys faster than I turn on sorority girls, which can potentially lead to gaining mass. Heavy lifting that is, not sorority girls.
As you might imagine, it becomes necessary to change things around in a given workout to meet our goals. As we’ve seen, it’s quite possible to increase size without strength, and the reverse is true here: you can get a lot stronger without getting bigger.
Once more we need to look at things from the perspective of volume. In order to allow for the necessary weight, we need to keep the reps per set pretty low. If you followed the generally bullshit training most clueless meatheads drop on you, the upper limit for sets would be 3 or 4 per exercise. With heavy training, this would leave you at about 9-15 total reps. Your strength would increase, but this is just not enough to stimulate growth.
So, to bump up the volume to a level that will be optimal for growth, we increase the number or sets. However, because of the heavier weight and the toll such training takes on the body, it is better to aim for just about half the total volume of the previous type of training we discussed. Or, simply put, around 60-75 reps
Once again, here is an example using chest:
Low Incline Bench Press – 10×4 (40 reps)
Weighted Dip – 8×3 (24 reps)
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press – 2×5 (10 reps)
So we’re topping out at only 75 reps, but the heavy weight makes each set pretty brutal.
Training in this way is, in the long run, probably more effective than high-rep training. Not only will you be stimulating type IIb fibers growth, but the constant exposure to heavier weights will lead to much greater strength increases; which, in turn, will allow you to continue to push out more reps with heavier weight should you ever decide to return to high rep training.
The main drawbacks here are the effects on your body. Firstly, it must be mentioned that constant use of heavy loads puts you at much greater risk of injury, particularly if you’re training any sort of pressing movement in this way.
When you use “lighter” weight (as in higher reps), the stress on your joints and connective tissue is lesser by far.
For this reason, it becomes more important to employ proper warm up techniques and practices nearly every workout, especially as you reach the upper levels of strength work. This is often time consuming and boring—sometimes multiple warm-up sets with just the bar—but it is of paramount importance.
In fact, in a recent interview with T-Nation.com, Bench Press Tzar Dave Tate stressed the importance of warm-up sets saying, “Don’t leave the weight and jump up until you’re absolutely ready to. There’ve been times at Westside where we used the bar for eight sets. These are world-record holders who aren’t ready to go to 95 pounds.”
And if there is anyone worth listening to with regard to benching, it is, as he is known in the industry, Dave Fuckin Tate.
Secondly, another consequence of heavier training is how very draining it is. Not only during the workout itself—necessitating longer rest periods and thereby slower paced workouts—but also after. Training with weight so heavy you can only lift it 3-4 consecutive times is phenomenally taxing on your body.
In order to recover properly, you need to pay extra attention to your para-workout nutrition, in particular your post workout shake.
More importantly, there needs to be more time between training sessions to allow for adequate recovery. Generally speaking, when training in this way, I recommend one training session per muscle pairing per week. Contrast this with high rep training, where you can probably squeak in two workouts per week with only a day or two of rest between.
Because of the less frequent—albeit more intense—stimulation, while you stand to allow for great muscle growth, it is sometimes a bit longer in coming.
Now, as mentioned in the beginning of the discussion, one of the larger factors in all of this the specific fiber make up of the individual in question.
Depending on their unique typology (if you’ll forgive the use of some pseudo-scientific industry jargon) some people will just always react better to higher reps, while others respond particularly well to low reps. And of course, there are the freaks who tend to grow well on any training program, regardless of set structure, rep range, or weight.
Again, as previously mentioned, it is pretty hard to ascertain your own fiber make up, and so the obvious approach is trial and error—switch the structure of your programming every few weeks and figure out what you respond best to.
In the mean time, come back tomorrow for some ideas about advanced levels of programming for size.
To find out more CLICK HERE
Last time, we discussed one method of structuring training for the purposes of hypertrophy.
As I mentioned, while high-rep training is probably the fastest route towards mass gain, it is also an entirely single-purposed method. Great for beginners, and used even at the highest levels of bodybuilding, high-rep/high-volume training is good for gaining size and very little else.
On the other side of the spectrum, if you’re looking to get both big and strong, you have a more difficult road ahead of you, but with a greater goal at the end. In this case, we’d be talking about training with heavier loads and lower volume.
Strength increases are the result of training with heavy weight, which by default will place a pretty stringent limit on the amount of reps you can perform on a given set. Strength-oriented training relies on performing sets using anywhere from 1-5 reps, with the average being 3.
Heavy training is not only optimal for strength gains, but it can also be used to accrue a serious amount of muscle. Training with high weight recruits what are known as type IIb muscle fibers, which are the densest fibers and have the most potential for muscle growth. By lifting heavy, we activate these bad boys faster than I turn on sorority girls, which can potentially lead to gaining mass. Heavy lifting that is, not sorority girls.
As you might imagine, it becomes necessary to change things around in a given workout to meet our goals. As we’ve seen, it’s quite possible to increase size without strength, and the reverse is true here: you can get a lot stronger without getting bigger.
Once more we need to look at things from the perspective of volume. In order to allow for the necessary weight, we need to keep the reps per set pretty low. If you followed the generally bullshit training most clueless meatheads drop on you, the upper limit for sets would be 3 or 4 per exercise. With heavy training, this would leave you at about 9-15 total reps. Your strength would increase, but this is just not enough to stimulate growth.
So, to bump up the volume to a level that will be optimal for growth, we increase the number or sets. However, because of the heavier weight and the toll such training takes on the body, it is better to aim for just about half the total volume of the previous type of training we discussed. Or, simply put, around 60-75 reps
Once again, here is an example using chest:
Low Incline Bench Press – 10×4 (40 reps)
Weighted Dip – 8×3 (24 reps)
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press – 2×5 (10 reps)
So we’re topping out at only 75 reps, but the heavy weight makes each set pretty brutal.
Training in this way is, in the long run, probably more effective than high-rep training. Not only will you be stimulating type IIb fibers growth, but the constant exposure to heavier weights will lead to much greater strength increases; which, in turn, will allow you to continue to push out more reps with heavier weight should you ever decide to return to high rep training.
The main drawbacks here are the effects on your body. Firstly, it must be mentioned that constant use of heavy loads puts you at much greater risk of injury, particularly if you’re training any sort of pressing movement in this way.
When you use “lighter” weight (as in higher reps), the stress on your joints and connective tissue is lesser by far.
For this reason, it becomes more important to employ proper warm up techniques and practices nearly every workout, especially as you reach the upper levels of strength work. This is often time consuming and boring—sometimes multiple warm-up sets with just the bar—but it is of paramount importance.
In fact, in a recent interview with T-Nation.com, Bench Press Tzar Dave Tate stressed the importance of warm-up sets saying, “Don’t leave the weight and jump up until you’re absolutely ready to. There’ve been times at Westside where we used the bar for eight sets. These are world-record holders who aren’t ready to go to 95 pounds.”
And if there is anyone worth listening to with regard to benching, it is, as he is known in the industry, Dave Fuckin Tate.
Secondly, another consequence of heavier training is how very draining it is. Not only during the workout itself—necessitating longer rest periods and thereby slower paced workouts—but also after. Training with weight so heavy you can only lift it 3-4 consecutive times is phenomenally taxing on your body.
In order to recover properly, you need to pay extra attention to your para-workout nutrition, in particular your post workout shake.
More importantly, there needs to be more time between training sessions to allow for adequate recovery. Generally speaking, when training in this way, I recommend one training session per muscle pairing per week. Contrast this with high rep training, where you can probably squeak in two workouts per week with only a day or two of rest between.
Because of the less frequent—albeit more intense—stimulation, while you stand to allow for great muscle growth, it is sometimes a bit longer in coming.
Now, as mentioned in the beginning of the discussion, one of the larger factors in all of this the specific fiber make up of the individual in question.
Depending on their unique typology (if you’ll forgive the use of some pseudo-scientific industry jargon) some people will just always react better to higher reps, while others respond particularly well to low reps. And of course, there are the freaks who tend to grow well on any training program, regardless of set structure, rep range, or weight.
Again, as previously mentioned, it is pretty hard to ascertain your own fiber make up, and so the obvious approach is trial and error—switch the structure of your programming every few weeks and figure out what you respond best to.
In the mean time, come back tomorrow for some ideas about advanced levels of programming for size.
To find out more CLICK HERE
