Training for Hypertrophy: The function of Intensity, Volume, Recovery and Injury Prevention

[BigTomJ]

The following is an article I wrote for UGBB, and i believe it would provide some value here as well.




There has been a lot of debate on the subject of Hypertrophy in regards to training to failure, reps in reserve methodologies, volume, and injury risk. From what ive witnessed is a lot of this stems from a simple misunderstand on what these terms actually mean in most cases, a simply outdated view on the topic, or an unawareness/misunderstanding of the current body of literature we have on these topics.

In this article I aim to outline and define these terms for the communities greater understanding, give an overview of the most current literature we have as it pertains to these topics, and dispel some of the deep rooted, for lack of a better word, broscience surrounding these topics leftover from an era where we did not have access to the level of information that we do today.
Additionally I will be outlining what these terms mean to you, the lifter with the goal of hypertrophy, and how they all fit together for you to make the most out of your training.


Who am I?
A lot of you already know me, but for those that dont, and for those that stumble across this article later, I'm Tom.

I am, at the time of this article, 30 years old, 6' tall, and 240lbs, and my best in competition lifts in the 110kg raw category are: 255/180/300kg or 561/396/661lbs.
I am a competitive classic physique and heavyweight bodybuilder, competitive power lifter, and coach with over a decade of training experience. On top of that I am a tremendous nerd that has spent countless hours researching all things bodybuilding and strength sports, and I'm learning more every day.

While this article will mostly be targeted for a bodybuilding context, there is a heavy overlap into strength sports and powerlifting.


For starters we will define the various terms in the topic of this article.

What is hypertrophy?
Hypertrophy is the process by which we increase the SIZE of muscle fibers within a muscle group.
This is accomplished through the application of mechanical tension. Mechanical tension is a term to describe load, over time, placed upon a muscle through a targeted range of motion. The more common term, time under tension, can also be used to describe mechanical tension. It is, in essence the stimulus required to drive adaptation. Through this adaptation, an increase in the size of the muscle cells occurs, this is Hypertrophy and is the primary goal of bodybuilders, and most gym goers.
Within a given set, of any given load, the last 5 repetitions before failure stimulate the most hypertrophic response, while the reps prior to 5 RIR providing very little hypertrophic response.

What is Training to Failure?
Training to failure is exactly as it sounds, taking a particular set until you cannot perform another rep, through the full range of motion, with good form.
Based on the most recent data available training to failure (sometimes expressed as RIR-0(zero reps in reserve), or RPE10 (rate of perceived exertion 10/10) produces the absolute most hypertrophy in a given set, furthermore there are two types of failure; Positive failure, which is the point at which you cannot complete another repetition in the full range of motion without compromising form. and Absolute Failure, which is the point that under no circumstances can the muscle perform another complete repetition, regardless of form compromise.

Training "beyond failure" is a disingenuous term and inaccurate, training beyond failure in an absolute sense, is impossible.
"Training beyond failure" through the use of drop sets, forced reps, spotter assistance, and other intensifier techniques do not actually progress you beyond failure in an absolute sense, but only allow you to get close and closer to true failure.

For example, lets say you are performing an incline dumbbell press, you fail at 8 completed reps, but are able to push halfway to the 9th rep before you lose stability and cannot complete the rep, this is positive failure. If you utilize a spotter to aid you in getting that 9th rep, and aid you even more for a 10th rep, you have used intensifier techniques to get closer to true failure. You are no longer capable of providing enough force to complete that rep alone with that weight, so the use of a spotter takes some of that load to allow you to progress through the complete range of motion, getting you closer to actual failure.


What is intensity?
Intensity can be defined as "proximity to failure". Intensity is NOT fatigue, it is NOT feeling completely wiped out at the end of a set or workout, intensity is NOT going balls to the wall on some crazy super set or drop set, intensity is NOT heavy weight low reps. Intensity ONLY refers to proximity to failure in a training context. Intensity can be expressed with any weight, in any rep range.
Intensifier techniques (drop sets, forced reps, partials, ect) are tools used to get us closer and closer to true mechanical failure.

What is volume?
Volume can be separated into two categories, working volume and junk volume.
Working volume, is the number of working, adaptation driving sets for a given muscle group in a given session. Junk volume is any non-warmup, non-workup set, a set which does not stimulate a significant hypertrophic response. Examples of junk volume would be; pump sets, any set not taken to proximity of failure, supersets of more than one muscle group which neither is taken to proximity to failure (super setting leg extensions and leg curls with neither taken close to failure). These are referred to as junk volume, because they provide little to no hypertrophic response or adaptation and only contribute to fatigue and injury risk. In other words, they are worthless and counterproductive for building muscle.
Volume, when referring to rep ranges in a single set, is Set Volume. For the purposes of this article, and when discussing the topic of intensity vs volume in general, "volume" is referring to number of working sets.

What is recovery?
Recovery is the rate by which you can regain full capability in a muscle group after training. Additional fatigue from either intensity or volume increase recovery time. Recovery can be defined, for our applications, as "The time it takes after a session, to be able to train that muscle group again at the same or greater performance".
The absolute best way to gauge recovery is through performance and progressive overload, if you are coming into your leg days and consistently performing less than the prior week, recovery is the culprit. Conversely, if you are feeling good and progressing consistently on a given training day, your recovery is great.
In order to maximize our training blocks, we need to minimize the time we spend fully recovered in between sessions, If you are recovering several days before your next session, than you have a lot of room in your training to either add volume (as defined here) or frequency.
It is generally better to increase individual training session volume (more working sets) to achieve Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV), given that you are capable of adding more productive working sets to your session. If a single session is too fatiguing to add additional meaningful volume, then rather than falling into a hole of adding useless junk volume, it is better to increase frequency (reduce the number of days between training sessions for that muscle group

How they all work together
Now that these terms have been fully defined and explained we can move on to how these pieces fit together.
Hypertrophy is a function of intensity and volume limited only by recovery.
As ive discussed, training intensity on working sets should be a constant IE you should be training to failure or at least in very close proximity to failure.
If we think of this function like an equation is would look something like Intensity * Volume / Recovery. If we consider intensity as a prerequisite and a constant, that leaves volume and recovery as our working variables. Additionally we can assume recovery is a constant or at least relatively constant, given proper recovery practices (nutrition, supplementation, sleep, PEDS, stress management, ect).
So now that we have two relative constants that shouldn't change much week to week, our only variable remaining is volume.
If you want the most out of your training the goal now is to achieve MRV. We achieve this by titrating up and down working volume such that we are getting the most work in, but still recovering.

How to leverage your recovery periods to get the most out of your split
As ive touched on already, if we want to make the most out of our training week or block, we need to properly manage recovery periods such that we are fully recovering by the next time we hit a specific muscle group, but not spending copious time fully recovered, we grow as we recover, so any time not spent recovering is time spent not growing.
To minimize the time spent fully recovered we have two options, 1) increase working single session volume, or 2) increase our frequency. Both are effective options and one may be more favorable depending on the number of training days you have in a block, length of your training block, and individual work capacity.

If you are someone who leaves the gym after a session with no gas left in the tank, meaning it would be exceptionally fatiguing and near impossible to add more single session working volume to your training session, or if you are someone whos training is time limited, increasing frequency is your best option to minimize that amount of time spent fully recovered.

Conversely if the opposite is true, and you typically leave the gym with some work capacity remaining, and do not have a time constraint, adding a few more working sets is a great way to make the most out of your recovery periods.


What about injury risk?
A very common misconception is that training at a high level of intensity poses a greater risk of injury. This belief system is largely due to the misconception that high intensity training requires higher working loads in lower rep ranges. As stated earlier in this article, this is not the case, training with a proper level of intensity and even training to positive failure can be accomplished with any weight in any rep range between 5 and 30 reps.
There is currently ZERO evidence that training to failure intelligently poses any greater risk of injury, in fact the opposite is true. Higher volume training and higher repetition movements are a large contributor to systemic fatigue and common injuries such as tendonitis. Assuming proper form is maintained, proper load selection, and proper management of recovery periods, you are at absolutely zero additional risk of injury by training to failure than not.


Should we train to failure?
Based on our current understanding of the literature available, if you want to make the most progress out of your training, the answer is an undeniable "Yes".
It is currently suggested by the literature that hypertrophic response increases proportionally (and in some studies increasingly) with proximity to failure, with the majority of this response occurring between 5-0 reps from failure (some studies suggest 7-0). It has been shown time and time again that individuals grossly underestimate their RIR and are incapable of judging failure, without reaching it. Even for the most experienced individuals, whom train to failure regularly, consistently underestimate how many RIR they have. While training a rep or two away from failure has been shown to be effective at driving hypertrophy, consistently and accurately estimating a rep or two shy is a near impossibility.
For this reason, you, as a serious lifter, should be take at least some of your sets to failure.
You are at no greater injury risk, and while training to failure is exceptionally fatiguing, with proper rest intervals between sets, the overall session fatigue will be less than if you made up those reps with additional volume, which is far more fatiguing.

For example lets take two options for a particular movement.
3 sets of 10 to failure, yielding 15 total hypertrophy stimulating reps
or
5 sets of 10 with 2 reps in reserve, also yielding 15 total hypertrophy stimulating reps
Even assuming you estimated your RIR perfectly (which you almost certainly didnt) the 5 set option would be more fatiguing for almost everyone.


A Note on Effective Reps
As discussed in this article, we touched on how the last few reps before failure are the most effective
and driving hypertrophy according to the current literature.
@BigBaldBeardGuy (UGBB) has provided a great breakdown on force production and why this is the case

The concept of “effective reps” and why they work so much better than the other reps is because when you get closer to failure, the speed of the reps always slows.

With force of a movement measured as:
Force = mass x acceleration

The mass is constant and since acceleration slows close to failure your muscle fibers must produce more force which results in the tremendous amount of mechanical tension on the muscle fibers. You don’t see that at all and there is very little mechanical tension in the easy reps. You can curl a barbell 100 times and it moves fast and easy during the early reps. But eventually the barbell starts to slow and gets slowest in proximity to failure. That’s when you can feel the mechanical tension and those are the effective reps. The reps that maximize the number and recruitment of muscle fibers, which leads to the hypertrophic response. Stoping short of that simply because your program arbitrarily indicated “20-25 reps” stops well short of the effective rep range. The workout does nothing for muscle growth.

A note on motor unit recruitment and neurology.
@BRICKS (UGBB) provided some very useful insight and additional context on the subject of neurology and motor recruitment.

Muscle fibers contract all or nothing. A neuron depolarizes(fires) and a muscle fiber contracts. It's all or nothing. A neuron doesnt partially fire nor does a muscle fiber partially contract. When you're lifting a progressively heavier amount you're not contracting that muscle more, you are recruiting more muscle fibers within the muscle you are targeting. This is fact. It's a definitive physiological fact and it supports the OP in that for optimal adaptation and growth the goal is 100% recruitment of the muscle fibers of that particular muscle you are training. Common sense sais 100% recruitment will occur in the 5-0 (or 7-0) reps before failure range. Those studies serve to back up basic physiology.

It's not that you won't grow if you don't train to this level, and I believe the OP made that clear. But if you want to maximize your hypertrophy, then yeah. You need to push for 100% recruitment of muscle fibers in your targeted muscle. And that, gentlemen, is going to occur during the few reps before failure.

I hope this article clears up a lot of the confusion and misconceptions regarding these various terms and the topic of hypertrophy and that folks find it useful.





Sources directly cited, referenced, or used in this article.

Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 4;16(24):4897. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244897. PMID: 31817252; PMCID: PMC6950543.

Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods - PMC

Background: Effective hypertrophy-oriented resistance training (RT) should comprise a combination of mechanical tension and metabolic stress. Regarding training variables, the most effective values are widely described in the literature. However, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions

https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/295/590

STRENGTH AND HYPERTROPHY ADAPTATIONS BETWEEN LOW- VS. HIGH-LOAD RESISTANCE TRAINING:ASYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

https://sci-hub.se/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200

Chris Beardsley - How many stimulating reps are there in each set to failure?

https://sandcresearch.medium.com/ho...-are-there-in-each-set-to-failure-9d179f594dd

Muscle Activation Strategies During Strength Training With Heavy Loading vs. Repetitions to Failure

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/...Activation_Strategies_During_Strength.21.aspx

 

[mass gain]

Welcome to Meso-RX @BigTomJ
Thank you for writing up and sharing!

I saw another article on that forum I believe not too long ago (author not stated). It agrees with some of your points but also offers some counterpoints. Your article and the one below are both good reads for those considering different training programs and ideas on how to approach this lifestyle we live.


Instead of living in research journals, arguing on the Internet, and postulating wildly about matters of training and diet, I usually just try something and see how it works. Sometimes these experiments lead to "ah-ha" moments – the realizations that change everything.

AH-HA MOMENT #1: YOU CAN'T OUT-TRAIN A CRAPPY DIET​

The first time I completed a real bodybuilding-style diet, I remember being shocked by the results. Looking in the mirror I thought, "Now this is what all the workouts, all the fasted morning cardio, and all the fat burners were supposed to be doing!"


What was this magic diet? Nothing much; I just lowered carbs. The point is, I was stunned at how fast the fat came off. I learned right then that you can't out-train a poor diet.

Another time, years later, I adjusted my diet for fat loss and adopted Chad Waterbury's ABBH program. I lost about 10 pounds of body fat on this cutting plan. I upped my calories and carbs and did the same training program a couple of months later, and this time I gained 10 pounds. Same lifting program, different results.

The lesson is this: Hard training is the car, but diet is the steering wheel.

Most people focus solely on the training program. They skip the nutrition articles and go straight to the "Build Boulder Biceps!" articles.

"What's the best workout for mass gains?" they ask on forums. "What's the best training program for fast fat loss?"

But the truth is that major changes in body composition are driven more by how and what you eat, not by the specifics of how you lift weights or the type of cardio you do. High reps or low reps? Steady-state or HIIT? Full-body training or splits? If your diet sucks, it doesn't really make a difference.

Yes, you want to be training hard using big movements and lots of free weights. That's a given. But the results of that intense training are driven by the food you eat.

Always chubby-looking in spite of hours in the gym every week? It's your diet.

Always scrawny-looking in spite of using all the popular "get freakin' hyooooge" supplements? It's your diet.


If you aren't satisfied with your physique and your progress in improving it, it's most likely not your set/rep scheme, split, tempo, or exercise choices. It's your diet.

Most people are animals in the gym and wimps in the kitchen. They'll train hard and try any grueling workout program, but they don't have the willpower to choose the right foods at the right times in the right amounts. And their physiques reflect it.

Take control of your diet, once and for all, and you're guaranteed to have your own ah-ha moment.

AH-HA MOMENT #2: EFFORT TRUMPS TRAINING PROGRAMS​

There are men in just about every gym in the world who don't squat, use too many machines, lift with poor form, and curl in the squat rack.

They don't keep training logs, either. They ignore post-workout nutrition, they use partial movements, they do too much steady-state cardio, and they use a lot of isolation exercises. In short, they break all the supposed "rules."

And they look bigger and more muscular than you, Mr. 10,000 Forum Posts – the guy who does everything "right."


What the hell is going on? Well, some of them may have great genetics and use steroids, but a lot of them don't. So what's their secret? One word:

Effort.

They strain, they push themselves, they hit it with everything they have in every workout. And that effort, that crap-a-kidney, hold-your-breath, can't-help-but-grunt effort, trumps any magical training program from the latest Internet guru.

Effort is key. Train brutally hard. Make that vein in your forehead stick out. When you come close to blacking out when you rack the weight, you're doing it right.

You can go to the gym seven days a week, hold dumbbells, and lay on benches all you want. But you can't reach your physique goals through osmosis. Your gym attendance doesn't mean shit if you're not sucking wind, fighting nausea, and soaking wet after a workout.

All that said, programs are good. They force you to train in new ways you may not have tried on your own. But a poor program performed with intense effort will be more effective than the "best" program performed lackadaisically.


Hint: If you're lifting with one arm and talking on your cell phone with the other, your effort level is lacking.

Yes, choose a good program from one of the many experts here at Testosterone Muscle, but worry less about the minutia of the program and more about the effort you put into it.

AH-HA MOMENT #3: STEROIDS CHANGE THE GAME​

I touched the steroidal hot stove more than 10 years ago. It was a short little experiment, and I decided quickly it wasn't for me, but I got it. I learned firsthand that steroids make a huge difference in every aspect of bodybuilding.

If a steroid user offers you training or diet advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for a drug user may not work for you. In fact, some of the worst lifting, eating, and supplement advice comes from steroid users.

Steroids have changed the rules of the game. They allow for a whole lot of wiggle room when it comes to hypertrophy training, recovery, strength training, athletic training, diet, and just about everything else.

Sometimes the steroids keep the lifter ignorant. After all, why does he need to learn more about training and nutrition when he's already bigger than just about everyone else? What he's doing in the gym is effective (because of the drugs), so why seek more knowledge?


This often leads to the steroid user giving up on bodybuilding altogether once he's off the sauce: he just doesn't know how to make progress without drugs. And psychologically he can't handle going to the gym every day and watching himself get smaller. Sadly, his attitude becomes: "I'm not using, so why even bother?"

Steroids and related drugs don't work without effort, of course, but swallow enough pills and inject enough juice and just about any training and nutrition program will work. If I hear one more meathead talking about how well XYZ training program works or how effective liquid creatine is while he's sticking a couple of grams of anabolics in his ass every week, I swear I'll puke.

Sorry, but if you're a heavy juicer, your advice has very little value to the natural trainee. If a person wants really good info, he'll talk to a natural lifter who's accomplished the same goal he's chasing, not the local 'roid monkey.

AH-HA MOMENT #4: IT'S ABOUT BODY COMP, NOT SCALE WEIGHT​

I started seriously lifting weights when I weighed 159 pounds. At my heaviest trained weight I was around 230. And you know what? I looked like crap.

It was psychologically painful to accept the fact that I looked my best under 200 pounds. After all, that 200 mark had been a goal when I weighed 159. But what's the point of getting "big" if a whole lot of that bigness is just excess body fat? I didn't look good, I didn't feel good, and women didn't turn their heads. But hey, I was "big" and the other chubby guys in the gym would slap me on the back.

I had to learn to ignore the scale and focus on the mirror, and the mirror told me I was still carrying around too much fat. It took the Velocity Diet to finally get me below 10% body fat.


And yeah, I'm now (gasp!) under 200. Sure enough, a few of my "big" friends at the gym like to give me a hard time about it. That's okay. My last three girlfriends were a Playboy model, a figure competitor, and a former NFL cheerleader. So I don't mind so much that my "full blown" buddies at the gym don't like my scale weight.

I didn't (entirely) write that last part to brag but rather to make a point: If you're an experienced lifter who trains mainly to look good, then another bulking diet when you already sport love handles may not be the answer. It may be time to simply drop the body fat and see what's under there, scale weight be damned.

For years we've heard the advice, "You gotta eat big to get big." And while it's true that you need adequate calories to build muscle optimally, you don't need so many calories that it spills over into excess fat gain.

Gross overeating and the accompanying fat accumulation leads to no more muscle gain than just eating adequate calories. "Adequate" may mean higher than maintenance, but it doesn't mean bingeing on junk foods.

As men who like to eat, we really want to believe that we should pig out on just about anything we want. That's fun, and after all, eating is classified as a sensual impulse, just like the sex drive. So, it's not hard to convince most guys to eat a lot. It's pleasurable. But the "just fuckin' eat" attitude is bullshit rationalization, thin excuse-making, and, when it comes right down to it, laziness.

This super-size-me attitude has led to a generation of hard-training chubby guys who either think they have to overeat all the time to get bigger or who've been doing it for so long that they've developed bad habits and wrecked their health.


Know what else? Breasts on men just aren't that attractive. Neither are pregnant bellies. Do you train to impress the other fat guys in your gym, or do you train to impress yourself and the opposite sex?

If it's the latter, then drop the fat. You may be surprised. Assuming you have some muscle under there, you may even look "bigger" after dropping a couple dozen pounds, like Testosterone Muscle reader Gus Pancho below.

Gus looks more muscular today (pic on right), even though he's about 40 pounds lighter.

You've built the muscle. Now uncover it. Think body composition, not scale weight.

AH-HA MOMENT #5: LISTEN TO EVERYONE, IDOLIZE NO ONE​

In spite of their ridiculous drug use and Zeus-like genetics, I've learned a thing or two from pro bodybuilders. Say what you want about them, but the top guys have Ah-Ha Moment #2 above nailed.

I've also learned lots of things from coaches who specialize in athletic performance. The same is true for powerlifting coaches, strongmen, and Olympic lifting experts. But the worst thing I've ever done is embrace one training philosophy while disregarding all the rest.

Sorry performance coaches, but curling works, at least as far as bodybuilding is concerned. So do leg presses and several machine exercises. I get tired of hearing performance coaches bash training techniques and exercises that have built thousands of great physiques over the years. These exercises may not be "functional" or carry over to sports, but they build muscle, and that's good enough for the aesthetic bodybuilder.

On the other hand, performance coaches have taught me a lot about posterior-chain exercises and how some types of performance training can also lead to hypertrophy and rapid fat loss. I've also learned that sprinting makes my butt look good. So thanks for that.

And I'm sorry powerlifting coaches, your DVDs about how to shorten the distance the bar has to travel so I can bench more weight just don't apply much to me. I don't compete, and I only bench to build my chest, triceps, and other pushing muscles. I wanta long range of motion because it makes me work harder and helps to build more muscle. But thanks for the great tips on bringing up the triceps. You guys know more about triceps training than a lot of bodybuilding experts.


And sorry Olympic lifting dudes, I just don't give a rip about your sport or the lifts it involves, but I'll use some of them because they give me better traps.

Are you getting the idea here? Don't close your mind to any type of training, but don't swallow the Kool-Aid either unless you plan on competing in that specific sport. Most of us are just average guys who want to train hard and, well, not look average. We're not elite athletes or competitive bodybuilders with our hearts set on the Sandow.

But we can take a little from every discipline and use that knowledge to make us better: bigger, leaner, stronger, healthier, whatever your goal.

This is the time in the article where I'm supposed to paste in that wise but overused Bruce Lee quote. You know the one. And if you don't, you should.

AH-HA MOMENT #6: THE MORE YOU COOK, THE BETTER YOU LOOK​

The title of this one says it all, but let me add this:

Since I've been flexing my culinary muscles I've never once come across a recipe that called for trans fat, high-fructose corn syrup, or any of that other garbage you find in packaged foods and even some restaurant meals.

Funny how that works.

AH-HA MOMENT #7: IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD​

Back in college I battled obesity while at the same time getting a psychology degree. Now that was an ah-ha moment as those two worlds – the study of behavior and physique transformation – came together.

Fat people know why they're fat. And they generally know what to do to get rid of it. They're not ignorant. They know, but they just can't do.

Whether it's fat loss or any other aspect of improving your body, knowledge isn't power; applied knowledge is power. And that begins in the head. Telling the overweight person not to eat crap foods is like telling the alcoholic not to drink.

No shit, Sherlock.

You must go deeper to really make a permanent, healthy change. Make no mistake: Psychology – the mental aspects of training and nutrition – is the beginning, middle, and end of your bodybuilding story. It's not just foundational; it permeates every level.


Behavior modification, bad habit removal, good habit installation, defense mechanisms, motivation, mood, and a hundred other topics fall under the umbrella of psychology. Ignore that stuff and your dream physique will remain just that: a dream.

AH-HA MOMENT #8: HEALTH MATTERS​

Try worrying about your calf development after your doctor tells you that you might have cancer or heart disease.

It can't be done.

Health and the pursuit of longevity are just as important as big muscles and shredded abs. None of those things matters much without basic good health.

This is why I now believe that your supplement dollars should first go to things that can help prevent disease and maybe even extend your life. Things like Flameout and Superfood come to mind immediately.

Be smart: Work to add years to your life as well as life to your years.

WRAP-UP​

My ah-ha moments may not be your ah-ha moments. That's okay. We all have different backgrounds, different genetic predispositions, and different goals.

But maybe I've given you a few things to think about. Hopefully you'll try out a few of these ideas and experience your own epiphany worthy of a resounding "ah ha!"

 

[BigTomJ]

Welcome to Meso-RX @BigTomJ
Thank you for writing up and sharing!

I saw another article on that forum I believe not too long ago (author not stated). It agrees with some of your points but also offers some counterpoints. Your article and the one below are both good reads for those considering different training programs and ideas on how to approach this lifestyle we live.


Instead of living in research journals, arguing on the Internet, and postulating wildly about matters of training and diet, I usually just try something and see how it works. Sometimes these experiments lead to "ah-ha" moments – the realizations that change everything.

AH-HA MOMENT #1: YOU CAN'T OUT-TRAIN A CRAPPY DIET​

The first time I completed a real bodybuilding-style diet, I remember being shocked by the results. Looking in the mirror I thought, "Now this is what all the workouts, all the fasted morning cardio, and all the fat burners were supposed to be doing!"


What was this magic diet? Nothing much; I just lowered carbs. The point is, I was stunned at how fast the fat came off. I learned right then that you can't out-train a poor diet.

Another time, years later, I adjusted my diet for fat loss and adopted Chad Waterbury's ABBH program. I lost about 10 pounds of body fat on this cutting plan. I upped my calories and carbs and did the same training program a couple of months later, and this time I gained 10 pounds. Same lifting program, different results.

The lesson is this: Hard training is the car, but diet is the steering wheel.

Most people focus solely on the training program. They skip the nutrition articles and go straight to the "Build Boulder Biceps!" articles.

"What's the best workout for mass gains?" they ask on forums. "What's the best training program for fast fat loss?"

But the truth is that major changes in body composition are driven more by how and what you eat, not by the specifics of how you lift weights or the type of cardio you do. High reps or low reps? Steady-state or HIIT? Full-body training or splits? If your diet sucks, it doesn't really make a difference.

Yes, you want to be training hard using big movements and lots of free weights. That's a given. But the results of that intense training are driven by the food you eat.

Always chubby-looking in spite of hours in the gym every week? It's your diet.

Always scrawny-looking in spite of using all the popular "get freakin' hyooooge" supplements? It's your diet.


If you aren't satisfied with your physique and your progress in improving it, it's most likely not your set/rep scheme, split, tempo, or exercise choices. It's your diet.

Most people are animals in the gym and wimps in the kitchen. They'll train hard and try any grueling workout program, but they don't have the willpower to choose the right foods at the right times in the right amounts. And their physiques reflect it.

Take control of your diet, once and for all, and you're guaranteed to have your own ah-ha moment.

AH-HA MOMENT #2: EFFORT TRUMPS TRAINING PROGRAMS​

There are men in just about every gym in the world who don't squat, use too many machines, lift with poor form, and curl in the squat rack.

They don't keep training logs, either. They ignore post-workout nutrition, they use partial movements, they do too much steady-state cardio, and they use a lot of isolation exercises. In short, they break all the supposed "rules."

And they look bigger and more muscular than you, Mr. 10,000 Forum Posts – the guy who does everything "right."


What the hell is going on? Well, some of them may have great genetics and use steroids, but a lot of them don't. So what's their secret? One word:

Effort.

They strain, they push themselves, they hit it with everything they have in every workout. And that effort, that crap-a-kidney, hold-your-breath, can't-help-but-grunt effort, trumps any magical training program from the latest Internet guru.

Effort is key. Train brutally hard. Make that vein in your forehead stick out. When you come close to blacking out when you rack the weight, you're doing it right.

You can go to the gym seven days a week, hold dumbbells, and lay on benches all you want. But you can't reach your physique goals through osmosis. Your gym attendance doesn't mean shit if you're not sucking wind, fighting nausea, and soaking wet after a workout.

All that said, programs are good. They force you to train in new ways you may not have tried on your own. But a poor program performed with intense effort will be more effective than the "best" program performed lackadaisically.


Hint: If you're lifting with one arm and talking on your cell phone with the other, your effort level is lacking.

Yes, choose a good program from one of the many experts here at Testosterone Muscle, but worry less about the minutia of the program and more about the effort you put into it.

AH-HA MOMENT #3: STEROIDS CHANGE THE GAME​

I touched the steroidal hot stove more than 10 years ago. It was a short little experiment, and I decided quickly it wasn't for me, but I got it. I learned firsthand that steroids make a huge difference in every aspect of bodybuilding.

If a steroid user offers you training or diet advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for a drug user may not work for you. In fact, some of the worst lifting, eating, and supplement advice comes from steroid users.

Steroids have changed the rules of the game. They allow for a whole lot of wiggle room when it comes to hypertrophy training, recovery, strength training, athletic training, diet, and just about everything else.

Sometimes the steroids keep the lifter ignorant. After all, why does he need to learn more about training and nutrition when he's already bigger than just about everyone else? What he's doing in the gym is effective (because of the drugs), so why seek more knowledge?


This often leads to the steroid user giving up on bodybuilding altogether once he's off the sauce: he just doesn't know how to make progress without drugs. And psychologically he can't handle going to the gym every day and watching himself get smaller. Sadly, his attitude becomes: "I'm not using, so why even bother?"

Steroids and related drugs don't work without effort, of course, but swallow enough pills and inject enough juice and just about any training and nutrition program will work. If I hear one more meathead talking about how well XYZ training program works or how effective liquid creatine is while he's sticking a couple of grams of anabolics in his ass every week, I swear I'll puke.

Sorry, but if you're a heavy juicer, your advice has very little value to the natural trainee. If a person wants really good info, he'll talk to a natural lifter who's accomplished the same goal he's chasing, not the local 'roid monkey.

AH-HA MOMENT #4: IT'S ABOUT BODY COMP, NOT SCALE WEIGHT​

I started seriously lifting weights when I weighed 159 pounds. At my heaviest trained weight I was around 230. And you know what? I looked like crap.

It was psychologically painful to accept the fact that I looked my best under 200 pounds. After all, that 200 mark had been a goal when I weighed 159. But what's the point of getting "big" if a whole lot of that bigness is just excess body fat? I didn't look good, I didn't feel good, and women didn't turn their heads. But hey, I was "big" and the other chubby guys in the gym would slap me on the back.

I had to learn to ignore the scale and focus on the mirror, and the mirror told me I was still carrying around too much fat. It took the Velocity Diet to finally get me below 10% body fat.


And yeah, I'm now (gasp!) under 200. Sure enough, a few of my "big" friends at the gym like to give me a hard time about it. That's okay. My last three girlfriends were a Playboy model, a figure competitor, and a former NFL cheerleader. So I don't mind so much that my "full blown" buddies at the gym don't like my scale weight.

I didn't (entirely) write that last part to brag but rather to make a point: If you're an experienced lifter who trains mainly to look good, then another bulking diet when you already sport love handles may not be the answer. It may be time to simply drop the body fat and see what's under there, scale weight be damned.

For years we've heard the advice, "You gotta eat big to get big." And while it's true that you need adequate calories to build muscle optimally, you don't need so many calories that it spills over into excess fat gain.

Gross overeating and the accompanying fat accumulation leads to no more muscle gain than just eating adequate calories. "Adequate" may mean higher than maintenance, but it doesn't mean bingeing on junk foods.

As men who like to eat, we really want to believe that we should pig out on just about anything we want. That's fun, and after all, eating is classified as a sensual impulse, just like the sex drive. So, it's not hard to convince most guys to eat a lot. It's pleasurable. But the "just fuckin' eat" attitude is bullshit rationalization, thin excuse-making, and, when it comes right down to it, laziness.

This super-size-me attitude has led to a generation of hard-training chubby guys who either think they have to overeat all the time to get bigger or who've been doing it for so long that they've developed bad habits and wrecked their health.


Know what else? Breasts on men just aren't that attractive. Neither are pregnant bellies. Do you train to impress the other fat guys in your gym, or do you train to impress yourself and the opposite sex?

If it's the latter, then drop the fat. You may be surprised. Assuming you have some muscle under there, you may even look "bigger" after dropping a couple dozen pounds, like Testosterone Muscle reader Gus Pancho below.

Gus looks more muscular today (pic on right), even though he's about 40 pounds lighter.

You've built the muscle. Now uncover it. Think body composition, not scale weight.

AH-HA MOMENT #5: LISTEN TO EVERYONE, IDOLIZE NO ONE​

In spite of their ridiculous drug use and Zeus-like genetics, I've learned a thing or two from pro bodybuilders. Say what you want about them, but the top guys have Ah-Ha Moment #2 above nailed.

I've also learned lots of things from coaches who specialize in athletic performance. The same is true for powerlifting coaches, strongmen, and Olympic lifting experts. But the worst thing I've ever done is embrace one training philosophy while disregarding all the rest.

Sorry performance coaches, but curling works, at least as far as bodybuilding is concerned. So do leg presses and several machine exercises. I get tired of hearing performance coaches bash training techniques and exercises that have built thousands of great physiques over the years. These exercises may not be "functional" or carry over to sports, but they build muscle, and that's good enough for the aesthetic bodybuilder.

On the other hand, performance coaches have taught me a lot about posterior-chain exercises and how some types of performance training can also lead to hypertrophy and rapid fat loss. I've also learned that sprinting makes my butt look good. So thanks for that.

And I'm sorry powerlifting coaches, your DVDs about how to shorten the distance the bar has to travel so I can bench more weight just don't apply much to me. I don't compete, and I only bench to build my chest, triceps, and other pushing muscles. I wanta long range of motion because it makes me work harder and helps to build more muscle. But thanks for the great tips on bringing up the triceps. You guys know more about triceps training than a lot of bodybuilding experts.


And sorry Olympic lifting dudes, I just don't give a rip about your sport or the lifts it involves, but I'll use some of them because they give me better traps.

Are you getting the idea here? Don't close your mind to any type of training, but don't swallow the Kool-Aid either unless you plan on competing in that specific sport. Most of us are just average guys who want to train hard and, well, not look average. We're not elite athletes or competitive bodybuilders with our hearts set on the Sandow.

But we can take a little from every discipline and use that knowledge to make us better: bigger, leaner, stronger, healthier, whatever your goal.

This is the time in the article where I'm supposed to paste in that wise but overused Bruce Lee quote. You know the one. And if you don't, you should.

AH-HA MOMENT #6: THE MORE YOU COOK, THE BETTER YOU LOOK​

The title of this one says it all, but let me add this:

Since I've been flexing my culinary muscles I've never once come across a recipe that called for trans fat, high-fructose corn syrup, or any of that other garbage you find in packaged foods and even some restaurant meals.

Funny how that works.

AH-HA MOMENT #7: IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD​

Back in college I battled obesity while at the same time getting a psychology degree. Now that was an ah-ha moment as those two worlds – the study of behavior and physique transformation – came together.

Fat people know why they're fat. And they generally know what to do to get rid of it. They're not ignorant. They know, but they just can't do.

Whether it's fat loss or any other aspect of improving your body, knowledge isn't power; applied knowledge is power. And that begins in the head. Telling the overweight person not to eat crap foods is like telling the alcoholic not to drink.

No shit, Sherlock.

You must go deeper to really make a permanent, healthy change. Make no mistake: Psychology – the mental aspects of training and nutrition – is the beginning, middle, and end of your bodybuilding story. It's not just foundational; it permeates every level.


Behavior modification, bad habit removal, good habit installation, defense mechanisms, motivation, mood, and a hundred other topics fall under the umbrella of psychology. Ignore that stuff and your dream physique will remain just that: a dream.

AH-HA MOMENT #8: HEALTH MATTERS​

Try worrying about your calf development after your doctor tells you that you might have cancer or heart disease.

It can't be done.

Health and the pursuit of longevity are just as important as big muscles and shredded abs. None of those things matters much without basic good health.

This is why I now believe that your supplement dollars should first go to things that can help prevent disease and maybe even extend your life. Things like Flameout and Superfood come to mind immediately.

Be smart: Work to add years to your life as well as life to your years.

WRAP-UP​

My ah-ha moments may not be your ah-ha moments. That's okay. We all have different backgrounds, different genetic predispositions, and different goals.

But maybe I've given you a few things to think about. Hopefully you'll try out a few of these ideas and experience your own epiphany worthy of a resounding "ah ha!"

interesting article, but it seems to me to be almost entirely unrelated to the subject matter of my original post.


as always, thank you so much for your invaluable on-topic contributions Lifter

 

[mass gain]

interesting article, but it seems to me to be almost entirely unrelated to the subject matter of my original post.


as always, thank you so much for your invaluable on-topic contributions Lifter

uh, read it again? It is not entirely unrelated. There is training talk in the other article. The point being that one program for training and all its aspects are not good for everyone.

Like the other article, I believe that taking the best aspects from different types of training to suit individual needs is best. Its not a one size fits all approach. While your article is a decent write up, it is full of opinion and a bit misleading in some spots.

There is a difference between strength training and hypertrophy training you know. Sometimes they overlap and training to failure will fit some people but not others depending on what type of program (strength or hypertrophy) they are shooting for based on their personal goals.

You are new here and the other place you mentioned is fine with you ramming one style down everyone's throats. I am just helping you here by telling you if you bring that same attitude here (that your opinions are the only correct opinions), it won't go well for you.

PS- If your goal here is to gain coaching clients lets be completely transparent and let everyone know that you have been in 1 local powerlifting meet and 1 local bb competition in your entire life. Like the rest of us, you have a lot to learn. I was surprised to see you claim that you are coaching.

Additionally, as you are a rep for KOAG, you should know you can't solicit members to your source through PM. If you rep him still, I believe you sign up as a subscriber and then you can post something after you meet requirements.

 

[BigTomJ]

The point being that one program for training and all its aspects are not good for everyone.

this article has nothing to do with any training program, only training principles. they can be applied to any hypertrophy driven program.

There is a difference between strength training and hypertrophy training you know. Sometimes they overlap and training to failure will fit some people but not others depending on what type of program (strength or hypertrophy) they are shooting for based on their personal goals

i dont know if you caught it, but the subject of the article is hypertrophy. i might be mistaken but i think its even in the title. the subject of this article is focused on hypertrophy and not strength, and ive said as much in plain english in the post.

You are new here and the other place you mentioned is fine with you ramming one style down everyone's throats. I am just helping you here by telling you if you bring that same attitude here (that your opinions are the only correct opinions), it won't go well for you.

And we all know you are NOT new here @lifter6973 how many alts do you have to make?

 

[mass gain]

this article has nothing to do with any training program, only training principles. they can be applied to any hypertrophy driven program.



i dont know if you caught it, but the subject of the article is hypertrophy. i might be mistaken but i think its even in the title. the subject of this article is focused on hypertrophy and not strength, and ive said as much in plain english in the post.


And we all know you are NOT new here @lifter6973 how many alts do you have to make?

Incorrect buddy. Don't forget, no soliciting for KOAG through PM and be honest about your background if you are trying to coach clients.

 

[BigTomJ]

Incorrect buddy. Don't forget, no soliciting for KOAG through PM and be honest about your background if you are trying to coach clients.

I dont shill or solicit for anyone. And i will not be taking any paid clients from any forum i am a part of.

I will never make or take a dime for the contributions i make anywhere.

 

[mass gain]

I dont shill or solicit for anyone. And i will not be taking any paid clients from any forum i am a part of.

I will never make or take a dime for the contributions i make anywhere.

Word. Welcome to this forum again bud. I'm not your enemy. Take a look around. This place is pretty decent.
Let's start over.
Later.

 

[Jin23]

I also learned a lot from Mike Israetel. Other good sources too, but the MRV stuff, I think he was the first or at least the most prominent voice who brought these concepts to the broad masses.

It's seldom a pita when people go on cycle whilst not having a clue about their mrv's; in regards to specific muscle groups or the accumulation of fatigue in general. And thus they also haven't a clue about programing. Then when they go on cycle everything just goes fubar ... I mean, some people are still willing to delce them selfs in to arguments about bro splits being equally good as anything else ...

 

[BigTomJ]

I also learned a lot from Mike Israetel. Other good sources too, but the MRV stuff, I think he was the first or at least the most prominent voice who brought these concepts to the broad masses.

It's seldom a pita when people go on cycle whilst not having a clue about their mrv's; in regards to specific muscle groups or the accumulation of fatigue in general. And thus they also haven't a clue about programing. Then when they go on cycle everything just goes fubar ... I mean, some people are still willing to delce them selfs in to arguments about bro splits being equally good as anything else ...

Bro science runs deep, and all we can do is our best to sift what is useful and credible from it and throw out the rest.

With the science, data, and information we have at our disposal today, there is little excuse for the perpetuation of broscience.



PS; i dont think there is anything inherently wrong with the bro split, or any split for that matter as long as the limitations are recognized.

 

[skinnyfatboy]

Would have agreed 25 years ago when DC training ,Mentzer and later Yates where all about INTENSITY and working to failure all the time.Nowadays I train with high frequency volume spread out over the week and I train a rep or two short of failure.Better gains,less injuries and I look forward to training.

 

[BigTomJ]

Would have agreed 25 years ago when DC training ,Mentzer and later Yates where all about INTENSITY and working to failure all the time.Nowadays I train with high frequency volume spread out over the week and I train a rep or two short of failure.Better gains,less injuries and I look forward to training.

if thats the type of training you enjoy and keeps you going to the gym then thats the best for you.

there are multiple ways to skin a cat.

The point and focus of this article is primarily driven with efficiency in mind and to dispel a lot of the myths and misconceptions surrounding training to failure (such as increased injury risk, which is simply not true)

A lot of folks feel more comfortable training a rep or two away from failure, and make good progress doing so. But to get the most out of your sessions and recovery periods those few reps saved are a few reps lost.

frequency and volume are not mutually exclusive to training with intensity. Training to failure can be applied to any amount of volume, at any frequency.

As far as recovery goes, everyone's individual recovery periods and times are different. When it comes to recovery for the purposes of frequency, Its my personal preference to maintain intensity and modify volume until its in a recoverable range, rather than scale back intensity in favor of keeping unnecessary volume.


Everyone expresses fatigue differently, but for myself personally, and ive found for many others this excerpt from the article stands true.

For example lets take two options for a particular movement.
3 sets of 10 to failure, yielding 15 total hypertrophy stimulating reps
or
5 sets of 10 with 2 reps in reserve, also yielding 15 total hypertrophy stimulating reps
Even assuming you estimated your RIR perfectly (which you almost certainly didnt) the 5 set option would be more fatiguing for almost everyone.

I have no intention of shitting on anyone's method of training, or too try and convince anyone towards one methodology or another. The purpose of me writing this article is to clearly define what some of these misunderstood terms mean, dispel a lot of the misinformed bias around these terms, and provide some practical explanations on how they can be intelligently applied to improve ones training methodologies.
I realize most people are not training for the stage or the platform and are completely comfortable progressing at their own pace utilizing the gym and lifting for their own reasons (be it physical health, aesthetics, to lose weight, mental health, ect ect ect) and respect anyone's individual reason for lifting.
but this is for those that want to make the most out of each individual session, each week, long term to progress the most they can in a given time frame.

 

[VenomYo]

This is a toughie. My experience tells me that hypertrophy is such a roll of the dice. Train heavy, train light, high frequency, low frequency, lots of reps, few reps.

The only constant in my hypertrophy has been the drugs I use. The harsher the drugs, the bigger the dose, the better the hypertrophy.

 

[VenomYo]

If training style had such a huge impact on hypertrophy then by now we would have evolved a hypertrophic specific set of rules, but alas we have not. 70 years later and we are still pondering the machinations of muscle hypertrophy. Like I said, the only thing you can earnestly rely on when it comes to hypertropy is the type of drugs you use

We should rather be talking about injection frequency, heavy or light doses, how many injection reps, intensity of the compounds, instead of talking about actual training when it comes to hypertrophy

 

[mass gain]

If training style had such a huge impact on hypertrophy then by now we would have evolved a hypertrophic specific set of rules, but alas we have not. 70 years later and we are still pondering the machinations of muscle hypertrophy. Like I said, the only thing you can earnestly rely on when it comes to hypertropy is the type of drugs you use

We should rather be talking about injection frequency, heavy or light doses, how many injection reps, intensity of the compounds, instead of talking about actual training when it comes to hypertrophy

Ok, I really didn't ignore and mute you. That was kind of funny.

 

[BigTomJ]

Train heavy, train light, high frequency, low frequency, lots of reps, few reps.

none of these have any bearing on hypertrophy focused training.
you can train as heavy as you want, as often as you want, with a ton of volume, and lots of reps, but if it isnt in proximity to failure the hypertrophic response is going to be less than ideal.

The entire point of this write up is to show how proper management of recovery periods, and proper training intensity can be directly applied to any preffered training style.

You can absolutely go lighter weights higher reps (within reason) with high frequency, and so long as youre sets are in sufficient proximity to failure, youll be progressing well.

you can also go heavier with lower reps for a similar effect, again, so long as the sets are sufficiently close to failure, ideally reaching failure.

 

[BigTomJ]

If training style had such a huge impact on hypertrophy then by now we would have evolved a hypertrophic specific set of rules, but alas we have not. 70 years later and we are still pondering the machinations of muscle hypertrophy. Like I said, the only thing you can earnestly rely on when it comes to hypertropy is the type of drugs you use

We should rather be talking about injection frequency, heavy or light doses, how many injection reps, intensity of the compounds, instead of talking about actual training when it comes to hypertrophy

someone who puts their drug protocol ahead of their training has no business talking about either.

 

[VenomYo]

Okay so it boils down to "going to failure" then? If that's the case, cool, I can work with that

 

[VenomYo]

someone who puts their drug protocol ahead of their training has no business talking about either.

You can enjoy training and you can train hard, whilst still being well aware of the fact that drugs matter a whole bunch

 

[BigTomJ]

Okay so it boils down to "going to failure" then? If that's the case, cool, I can work with that

going to failure, and then using that as your constant, your foundation, and changing frequency and single session volume to get to a point where you are still recovering for your nexxt session, but not spending several days fully recovered