When “healthy” athleticism turns on you

[equipoise]

3 days at the moment. I was doing a full body split for 3-4 months low volume (3 sets per muscle group) where I lifted 3 days a week and gained some muscle and definition. Am switching to a different style, not full body, but still going to train 3 days a week for the next 6-9 months. After that I might come back to the full body split and compare, we'll see. I definitely liked doing a full body split.
The full body split was between 4-12 reps, depending on the exercise. So mostly heavy and moderate intensity. I'd say I'm close to my genetic potential at 100kg, 5'8", 18" arms, but I'm going to push it this next 6-9 months and see if I can add extra mass, try to go 18,5-19" arms (mass in general ofc). But my main goal with this new cycle is strength.

Wait you're only 172 cm? And you're saying you weigh 100 kilos? At what body fat is that? Damn, I'm the same height and weighing 90kg was way too much.
True weight around 80kg, with proper weight distribution and clear seperation of the muscle bellies etc. 100kg is a territory for 6'2'' guys

 

[Hans]

Wait you're only 172 cm? And you're saying you weigh 100 kilos? At what body fat is that? Damn, I'm the same height and weighing 90kg was way too much.
True weight around 80kg, with proper weight distribution and clear seperation of the muscle bellies etc. 100kg is a territory for 6'2'' guys

177cm :)
Yes, I've been weight stable at 100kg for about a year now. My heaviest yet was 103kg, but I dropped that down a little. I'm probably at around 15% BF atm. Here is a recent physique update.

 

[equipoise]

177cm :)
Yes, I've been weight stable at 100kg for about a year now. My heaviest yet was 103kg, but I dropped that down a little. I'm probably at around 15% BF atm. Here is a recent physique update.

That's actually almost 5 ft 10 in. Nontheless that's very nice mass you've acquired and I suspect if you chose to cut some day you'd be left of with nice striations. Good on ya

 

[Hans]

That's actually almost 5 ft 10 in. Nontheless that's very nice mass you've acquired and I suspect if you chose to cut some day you'd be left of with nice striations. Good on ya

Thanks man. I thought of cutting this year, but strength is the main priority for now. Maybe next year.

 

[jerry.j]

View attachment 23737

Thanks man. I thought of cutting this year, but strength is the main priority for now. Maybe next year.

0.807 * 12 = 9.684 inches => 5' 10"

 

[Hans]

0.807 * 12 = 9.684 inches => 5' 10"

Right! I'm 5.8 foot, but 5 feet 10 inches.

 

[equipoise]

Right! I'm 5.8 foot, but 5 feet 10 inches.

I'd say that the latter varient is commonly used when switching back and forth between customary and imperial.'

 

[Hans]

I'd say that the latter varient is commonly used when switching back and forth between customary and imperial.'

Yes, sorry, my bad, I forgot about that.

 

[aadrock]

Do

3 days at the moment. I was doing a full body split for 3-4 months low volume (3 sets per muscle group) where I lifted 3 days a week and gained some muscle and definition. Am switching to a different style, not full body, but still going to train 3 days a week for the next 6-9 months. After that I might come back to the full body split and compare, we'll see. I definitely liked doing a full body split.
The full body split was between 4-12 reps, depending on the exercise. So mostly heavy and moderate intensity. I'd say I'm close to my genetic potential at 100kg, 5'8", 18" arms, but I'm going to push it this next 6-9 months and see if I can add extra mass, try to go 18,5-19" arms (mass in general ofc). But my main goal with this new cycle is strength.

Do you find you gain as much muscle as say maybe 2 exercises or 3 exercises with maybe 3 sets per exercise per muscle group maybe 2 times per week… like upper day and lower day maybe twice a week each. I find I need maybe at least 2 exercises to get growth… or maybe I don’t push myself enough each set lol but then I feel less energetic during the day also the more days a week I train

 

[Hans]

Do

Do you find you gain as much muscle as say maybe 2 exercises or 3 exercises with maybe 3 sets per exercise per muscle group maybe 2 times per week… like upper day and lower day maybe twice a week each. I find I need maybe at least 2 exercises to get growth… or maybe I don’t push myself enough each set lol but then I feel less energetic during the day also the more days a week I train

I definitely experience hypertrophy on 3 sets per muscle group per week. A variety of exercises is not needed at all for optimal hypertrophy. All you need to do is to chronically overload the muscle and that's easy with good periodization. It's easy to want to do more exercises and think that it's better (I've been there), but you can really get away with only 1 or 2 exercises per muscle group.
If you're a competitive bodybuilder, then you'll have to do more exercises to make sure your symmetry is perfect.

 

[aadrock]

I definitely experience hypertrophy on 3 sets per muscle group per week. A variety of exercises is not needed at all for optimal hypertrophy. All you need to do is to chronically overload the muscle and that's easy with good periodization. It's easy to want to do more exercises and think that it's better (I've been there), but you can really get away with only 1 or 2 exercises per muscle group.
If you're a competitive bodybuilder, then you'll have to do more exercises to make sure your symmetry is perfect.

Well I’m far from competitive… I’ll listen to you and give it a try for a bit and see what happens…

 

[Hans]

Well I’m far from competitive… I’ll listen to you and give it a try for a bit and see what happens…

Just make sure you're hitting your macros. Also emphasize recovery. Don't train close to failure all the time. Make sure you do the necessary volume (sometimes at a lower intensity) to make sure you're sending the right signals for hypertrophy.

 

[Sefton10]

I’ve been feeling good using a Myo-reps approach for upper body. I do a push, pull, legs type split over 6 days each week so each muscle group gets hit twice.

Pick a movement, say a pull down for back. I’ll use a weight where I can get around 15 reps before it starts to get too uncomfortable (key is avoiding too much burn/lactic acid), have 5 breaths, then do another 5 reps, 5 breaths, 5 reps, 5 breaths, 5 reps. I make sure I’m not too near to failure. Say 2 or 3 reps left in the tank. I might then do the same with a bicep movement and that’s pull done.

A “workout” literally takes 7 or 8 mins max. Push is something like a weighted push up and an Arnold Press. For “leg day” I just throw in some sets of lunges on my afternoon walk, I’ve always had decent legs and find squats or deadlifts too fatiguing on the CNS and it sets me back energy wise for a few days.

I find this pattern gives me a nice balance of volume/frequency/intensity and really fits in with the bioenergetic approach. It’s not too fatiguing, but you get a decent bit of frequency to keep an anabolic stimulus going for each muscle group and the volume over a week is a sweet spot for me. In the past I did MYO-reps but I did them balls to the wall and they helped dig me into a whole.

 

[Yucca]

Training using high resistance bands with a pull up bar+hooks is quite effective, and you can just make daily 10mn session, using high rep range (between 15-50), and still gain muscle.
Just look the X3 bar training, but you can custom your own for much less money.

 

[Hans]

I’ve been feeling good using a Myo-reps approach for upper body. I do a push, pull, legs type split over 6 days each week so each muscle group gets hit twice.

Pick a movement, say a pull down for back. I’ll use a weight where I can get around 15 reps before it starts to get too uncomfortable (key is avoiding too much burn/lactic acid), have 5 breaths, then do another 5 reps, 5 breaths, 5 reps, 5 breaths, 5 reps. I make sure I’m not too near to failure. Say 2 or 3 reps left in the tank. I might then do the same with a bicep movement and that’s pull done.

A “workout” literally takes 7 or 8 mins max. Push is something like a weighted push up and an Arnold Press. For “leg day” I just throw in some sets of lunges on my afternoon walk, I’ve always had decent legs and find squats or deadlifts too fatiguing on the CNS and it sets me back energy wise for a few days.

I find this pattern gives me a nice balance of volume/frequency/intensity and really fits in with the bioenergetic approach. It’s not too fatiguing, but you get a decent bit of frequency to keep an anabolic stimulus going for each muscle group and the volume over a week is a sweet spot for me. In the past I did MYO-reps but I did them balls to the wall and they helped dig me into a whole.

Do you do any heavy work as well?

 

[76er]

Training using high resistance bands with a pull up bar+hooks is quite effective, and you can just make daily 10mn session, using high rep range (between 15-50), and still gain muscle.
Just look the X3 bar training, but you can custom your own for much less money.

I do have the X3 bar and it is a quality product that supports heavy bands.

I don't agree with Jaquish's key exercise and nutritional philosophies but he
and Alkire did make a darn good product.

The X3 system does have cons such as poor range of motion (ROM) depending on
your height and arm/leg length as all bands are 41". Band shortening or
lengthening solves this but feels hacky. ROM is poor for chest press so I
also do banded pec-crossovers and deficit push ups. Bent rows are terrible
with bands so I skip'em for pull ups on rings.

Your rep count seems high for hypertrophy. I limit the upper range to 15 reps
before moving up bands to ensure I'm doing heavy enough movements.

Don Matesz has great articles on the X3 to help your evaluation:

X3 Review

Review of Jaquish's and Alkire's book

 

[OccamzRazer]

The best short, lowish-stress resistance workout I've ever done is this:

10 pullups
10 narrow grip pushups (keep elbows narrow on the way down, to work the triceps eccentrically)
9 pullups
9 pushups
8 pullups
8 pushups
7 pullups
7 pushups
6 pullups
6 pushups
5 pullups
5 pushups
4 pullups
4 pushups
3 pullups
3 pushups
2 pullups
2 pushups
1 pullup (hold for a while)
1 pushup (hold for a while)

For best results, do these at a playground in full sun while playing with your kids! You could also swap out the pushups for dips if your playground has parallel bars.

 

[OccamzRazer]

I do have the X3 bar and it is a quality product that supports heavy bands.

I don't agree with Jaquish's key exercise and nutritional philosophies but he
and Alkire did make a darn good product.

The X3 system does have cons such as poor range of motion (ROM) depending on
your height and arm/leg length as all bands are 41". Band shortening or
lengthening solves this but feels hacky. ROM is poor for chest press so I
also do banded pec-crossovers and deficit push ups. Bent rows are terrible
with bands so I skip'em for pull ups on rings.

Your rep count seems high for hypertrophy. I limit the upper range to 15 reps
before moving up bands to ensure I'm doing heavy enough movements.

Don Matesz has great articles on the X3 to help your evaluation:

X3 Review

Review of Jaquish's and Alkire's book

Interesting...how does the X3 bar compare to similarly heavy barbell compound movements, for you?

 

[Yucca]

@76er
"Your rep count seems high for hypertrophy. I limit the upper range to 15 reps
before moving up bands to ensure I'm doing heavy enough movements."

Thanks for the link.

About my rep range :

At least twice in Weightlifting Is a Waste of Time (pages 39 and 55) Jaquish and Alkire state that the optimum time under load is 30-60 seconds, and then they recommend performing 15-40 repetitions of each exercise at a 2/2 cadence, i.e. 4 seconds per repetition (pages 218, 230).

...with X3 (or any heavy resistance band) you don't put stress on your joints. And still gain strength and some muscle (depends mostly with your diet I think)

 

[Sitaruîm]

Just make sure you're hitting your macros. Also emphasize recovery. Don't train close to failure all the time. Make sure you do the necessary volume (sometimes at a lower intensity) to make sure you're sending the right signals for hypertrophy.

What would you say are the right signals for hypertrophy? Would something like moderate amount of reps in each set + staying far enough from failure to avoid excess stress + decent amount of volume to make sure we are breaking muscle fibers sound like a decent strategy to you?