Steroids Source Talk | Anabolic Steroid Forum - View Single Post - A Training Philosophy For Solid Mass Gain

Cornish_Celt · #2 (**permalink**) 07-08-2010, 01:55 PM

6. When is not getting enough work in an issue?

Realistically, unless you’re referring to idiotic style Mentzer type HIT routines, (5 total reps per bodypart once a week or whatever), adding a crapload of volume just to get more total work in isn’t gonna make much of a difference in the big scheme of things and is not nearly as important as the increasing bar weights that you lift. Some idiots will use extreme examples to prove their point that total work and volume is extremely important and give examples why bodybuilders shouldn’t train with heavy weights. They’ll use idiotic examples such as comparing one guy who lifts 400 lbs on the squat for 5 total reps per week and another who lifts with 250 lbs for 50 reps per week. Will the 250 pound squatter get better results? Probably so, but realistically speaking, who the heck only does 5 total reps per week for a bodypart? Hell, even a powerlifter will get 20 or 25 reps in for a bodypart twice week. Now, if we compare a program where one guy lifts 350 pounds per week for 40 reps and the other guy lifts 400 pounds for 26 reps I’d put my money on the 2nd guy. But enough nonsense. A good general recommendation is to always keep the reps per workout approximately the same while you add bar weight over time as you get stronger. Here is an example of how you might do that over the course of a 9 week mesocycle:

Week 1-3 – Sets of 8-10 (ex: 3 x 8-10)
Week 4-6 – Sets of 6-8 (ex: 4 x 6-8 )
Week 7-9 – Sets of 4-6 (ex: 5 x 5)
Week 9 (unload - 2 sets of 12-15 easy)
Week 10-12 Start over with sets of 8-10

See how the number of reps stays around 25 while the rep range decreases?

6a.What is the ideal repetition range?

Sets with as few as 1 reps per set and as many as 20 reps per set can both be effective. Keep in mind the total number of reps per workout is also key. With total reps being equal, the heavier loads will tend to stimulate more growth yet also require more sets. (8 sets of 3 vs 3 sets of 8 ). Quadriceps in particular seem to respond better to higher reps. (8-20 reps per set)

7. Tension vs Fatigue

Results that come from tension take place over a long period of time and tend to stick around for a long period of time. Results that come from “fatigue” (a.k.a. – the “pump”), occur much quicker and dissipate just as quickly.

8. Different adaptations to tension vs fatigue

It could be said that a muscle will adapt to tension by adding more protein to it’s structures to deal with that tension. The muscle adapts to fatigue by storing more “energy” (aka – glycogen.) to better deal with the fatigue induced. The amount of extra glycogen storage that can be stimulated with even very brief bouts of fatigue training (a triple drop set for example), is very impressive, nearly rivaling that of specific short-term endurance protocols designed to double glycogen storage increases.

9.Fatigue makes muscles "swole"

Although the growth that occurs from fatigue only accounts for maybe 5-10% of the size increases, it gives the impression of contributing a lot more then that, since the glycogen storage increase and training methods associated with it also give one a tremendous and immediate “pump.” That pump, which occurs from blood engorging the tissue, can temporarily increase the size of a muscle by probably 20%. (which is why you never measure your arms cold or carb depleted).

10. If you increase your muscle mass by 50 lbs, about 45 pounds of that mass will come about through improvement in tension related processes, and about 5 pounds will be from “fatigue” processes. However, the extra 5 pounds of fatigue related growth will be very “pretty.”

11. The Recipe

Take a bodybuilder and give him a heavy dose of progressively increasing muscle tension over a long period of time, along with some fatigue, big eating, and big scale weight increases, and you get a really big bodybuilder with round and full muscles

12. A Real Life Example

Let’s say you take a 250 pound powerlifter at 10% body-fat who has only trained with singles, doubles, and triples his entire life, (and thus only dealt with low volume “tension” related growth). Let’s say he had taken his bodyweight from a natural 150 when he first started lifting and ate and trained his way up to a 250-pound powerhouse. Now, lets say you decide to convert him to standard bodybuilding training by having him train with more volume, more “fatigue” training, and more total work for all his major muscle groups (such as more sets overall, higher rep sets, volume training, drop sets, rest-pause etc.). With all that additional bodybuilding stuff and without changing his diet, you might be able to put an additional 10 or 15 pounds of muscle mass on him (100 pounds lean muscle mass gained plus ~10%). About half of that extra mass would occur within weeks and it would be related to an increased ability he has to store muscle glycogen. The other half of that 10 or 15 pounds would be “real” muscle that would come about from the increased workload. Both of those would pale in comparison to the gains he had already made simply taking a no holds barred low volume powerlifting approach to making strength gains over time, but those traditional “weider” methods would put a pretty nice “finishing touch” on his physique.

13. Bar Weight Increases plus Scale Weight Increases are Key

Strength gains manifested through bar weight increases plus scale weight increases are key. The one who makes the most continual strength improvements and scale weight increases over time, also gains the most muscle mass in the shortest time.

14. Neural Strength Gains vs Structural Strength Gains

Strength can be gained from increases in neural efficiency or it can be gained from increases in the size of your muscles. What mainly determines what you gain is how much food you eat. The main difference between whether you just gain “relative” strength (strength per pound of bodyweight), or whether you gain large amounts of muscle with strength, contrary to popular belief, is not time under tension, repetition range or any training variable, it is simply the amount of food you eat in the process of getting stronger and the amount of scale weight you gain. To illustrate, over a very long period of time, a lifter trying to stay in a lower weight class might be able to take their bench from 200 to 400 pounds whilst eating like a bird and only gain maybe 15 or 20 pounds of bodyweight. In contrast, a bodybuilder or a lifter not trying to keep his bodyweight down could train EXACTLY like the weight class guy yet gain 50, 60, or 70 pounds of muscle and take their bench from the same 200 to 400 pounds much quicker. A bodybuilder should ideally strive to get the biggest muscle mass increases per unit of strength gain possible.

15. 3 Different Approaches With The Same Result

Regardless of whether you train like a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, or Olympic lifter, if you take your high bar full squat from 250 to 500 pounds, while also taking your bodyweight from 150 to 200 pounds, you will have a minimum of an extra 4 to 5 inches of thigh circumference. The only common denominator in all 3 approaches are the bar weight increases and scale weight increases.