ketsugo
Active member
- Mar 28, 2016
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Ezine #120
Brand new study: Muscle-growth myth shattered
We harp on the Size Principle of Muscle Fiber Recruitment a lot. Why? Because understanding it is important to get the most muscle growth possible--in both the fast-twitch as well as slow-twitch fibers…
The Size Principle basically says that in any set, the earlier reps fire a majority of slow-twitch fibers. And as the reps get harder, more and more fast-twitch fibers are brought into play. At failure, the majority of fibers firing are fast-twitch.
With that in mind, a new study looked at lighter, high-rep vs. standard lower-rep training in experienced lifters (not beginners)--and the results basically shattered the myth that you need heavy weights to get optimal growth in the fast-twitch fibers…
In fact, 3 sets of high-rep (30) sets produced fast-twitch growth almost exactly equal to a heavy set (80 percent of 1-rep-max). The bonus with the high-rep sets is that they produced almost DOUBLE the growth in the slow-twitch fibers [J Appl Physiology 2016: In press]…
Recall that we've been discussing recent findings that slow-twitch fibers appear to have much more size potential than previously believed. So using some higher-rep sets stimulate more growth in the slow-twitch. That means...
It may be that higher-rep training is the get-bigger trigger you've been looking for if you're after extreme muscle growth because you get hypertrophy in the slow- AND fast-twitch fibers…
If you use high reps exclusively--because you're older and/or injured--the key is going to failure on your high-rep sets--so that you get as many fast-twitch fibers to fire at the end of each set. That way you get plenty of stimulation for BOTH slow-twitch (early in the set) and fast-twitch (toward the end of the set).
All of that may explain why we got a burst of new muscle-size when we added TORQ (tension-overload repetition quantity) to our workouts. Like the study, that is three or four high-rep sets to failure (for example: 30, 20, 15--there's more on TORQ and Super-TORQ in The Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0).
If you still use heavy work, try a TORQ sequence at the end of your body part routines. For example, in the Phase 1 workouts in Super-Size Crash Course, Jordon Williamson did four sets of one or two exercises, then ended with a 3-set TORQ sequence of an isolation move. It was a key to him packing on 18 pounds of drug-free muscle in 12 weeks…
We would guess that his gains were so fast because he was getting optimal growth in BOTH the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers--as opposed to training ONLY in the 8-ish rep range the way most bodybuilders train
Till next time, train hard--and smart--for BIG results.
--Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
X-Rep.com
Copyright
2016 Homebody Productions
I'm big fan if these dudes
Brand new study: Muscle-growth myth shattered
We harp on the Size Principle of Muscle Fiber Recruitment a lot. Why? Because understanding it is important to get the most muscle growth possible--in both the fast-twitch as well as slow-twitch fibers…
The Size Principle basically says that in any set, the earlier reps fire a majority of slow-twitch fibers. And as the reps get harder, more and more fast-twitch fibers are brought into play. At failure, the majority of fibers firing are fast-twitch.
With that in mind, a new study looked at lighter, high-rep vs. standard lower-rep training in experienced lifters (not beginners)--and the results basically shattered the myth that you need heavy weights to get optimal growth in the fast-twitch fibers…
In fact, 3 sets of high-rep (30) sets produced fast-twitch growth almost exactly equal to a heavy set (80 percent of 1-rep-max). The bonus with the high-rep sets is that they produced almost DOUBLE the growth in the slow-twitch fibers [J Appl Physiology 2016: In press]…
Recall that we've been discussing recent findings that slow-twitch fibers appear to have much more size potential than previously believed. So using some higher-rep sets stimulate more growth in the slow-twitch. That means...
It may be that higher-rep training is the get-bigger trigger you've been looking for if you're after extreme muscle growth because you get hypertrophy in the slow- AND fast-twitch fibers…
If you use high reps exclusively--because you're older and/or injured--the key is going to failure on your high-rep sets--so that you get as many fast-twitch fibers to fire at the end of each set. That way you get plenty of stimulation for BOTH slow-twitch (early in the set) and fast-twitch (toward the end of the set).
All of that may explain why we got a burst of new muscle-size when we added TORQ (tension-overload repetition quantity) to our workouts. Like the study, that is three or four high-rep sets to failure (for example: 30, 20, 15--there's more on TORQ and Super-TORQ in The Power-Density Mass Workout 2.0).
If you still use heavy work, try a TORQ sequence at the end of your body part routines. For example, in the Phase 1 workouts in Super-Size Crash Course, Jordon Williamson did four sets of one or two exercises, then ended with a 3-set TORQ sequence of an isolation move. It was a key to him packing on 18 pounds of drug-free muscle in 12 weeks…
We would guess that his gains were so fast because he was getting optimal growth in BOTH the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers--as opposed to training ONLY in the 8-ish rep range the way most bodybuilders train
Till next time, train hard--and smart--for BIG results.
--Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
X-Rep.com
Copyright
2016 Homebody ProductionsI'm big fan if these dudes
