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

[u2pride]

 

[BRICKS]

I'm going to add this in here because it helps explain what I posted pretty well.

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Read the caption paragraphs.

 

[BigBaldBeardGuy]

I'm going to add this in here because it helps explain what I posted pretty well.

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View this content on Instagram

Read the caption paragraphs.

Paul Carter is the MAN when it comes to explaining all these sciences in an easy common sense way. Everyone should subscribe to that IG page. The dude puts out a ton of free content.

 

[TomJ]

I've never seen this guy before, definitely earned a follow from me

 

[BigBaldBeardGuy]

Paul Carter does a podcast with Chris Beardsley on Spotify. “The Chris and Paul show”. All science based. All hypertrophy. It’s really good.

 

[Test_subject]

I've never seen this guy before, definitely earned a follow from me

Paul Carter is a good dude. “Maximum Muscle Bible” is a good read.

 

[PZT]

I remember Paul from Tnation years ago

 

[LethalAnimal]

My takeaway:
A mistake I've been making is stopping short of failure and effective reps by strictly following a program's rep range. Often I've found myself doing pretty light work in the first half of a program and should be adding in more reps, rest pauses, and partials. This type of optimal training is meant for the 8 to 12 rep range, with weight that's 75% to 80% of 1RM.

Questions:
What do you do when a program has overlapping exercises, like bench press and then incline press? How can you train to failure on bench and then do the same for incline? Is going to failure advice that shouldn't be applied in this case?

If a program doesn't intentionally hit RPE 9 or 10 until halfway through, is it a suboptimal program? I've done a few that have said don't go to failure or only indicate RPE 10 for one of the many exercises it lists. I'm doing novice or intermediate programs.

 

[TomJ]

My takeaway:
A mistake I've been making is stopping short of failure and effective reps by strictly following a program's rep range. Often I've found myself doing pretty light work in the first half of a program and should be adding in more reps, rest pauses, and partials. This type of optimal training is meant for the 8 to 12 rep range, with weight that's 75% to 80% of 1RM.

Questions:
What do you do when a program has overlapping exercises, like bench press and then incline press? How can you train to failure on bench and then do the same for incline? Is going to failure advice that shouldn't be applied in this case?

If a program doesn't intentionally hit RPE 9 or 10 until halfway through, is it a suboptimal program? I've done a few that have said don't go to failure or only indicate RPE 10 for one of the many exercises it lists. I'm doing novice or intermediate programs.

I wouldn't program incline and flat back to back, but if your program does, and it were me, I'd go to failure on the last set of bench and last set of incline, then up intensity of recovery allows. But, again, I wouldn't program them back to back, or even on the same day honestly, so I can't say for certain.


For hypertrophy, basically yes. There is some jestification for RPE block training, pretty much every powerlifting program does this, and I could see an argument for their use in true beginners (those who are still so new that they simply can't make it through a session at that intensity due to CNS fatigue, but that's really only for true beginners in their first few months of lifting) but even then I'm not really convinced it's best.

This doesn't mean you need to take absolutely every single set to failure, a lot of programs have you only really going to failure on the last set.
But to to take an entire training block at less than rpe9 or 10 is going to be less time efficient for building muscle

 

[LethalAnimal]

Are you supposed to go to failure only on the last set of an exercise or try to do it for every set?

 

[LethalAnimal]

Are you supposed to go to failure only on the last set of an exercise or try to do it for every set?

Ugh, never mind. I just need to start a better program in general that tells me more clearly what I should do.

"This doesn't mean you need to take absolutely every single set to failure, a lot of programs have you only really going to failure on the last set."

 

[TomJ]

Are you supposed to go to failure only on the last set of an exercise or try to do it for every set?

You can start with your last set to failure. Then gauge how well you've recovered for next time. If you haven't fully recovered, cut out some of the volume, if you have, take an extra set to failure

 

[slowasfk]

I always wonder the difference you gain in mass using the different techniques on natural and enhanced athletes. When I started in the 70s it was your tearing muscle and scare tissue causes growth now a complete lol. I now think enhanced growth from glucose and nitrogen retaining proteins accounts for 90% of enhanced growth. Also some growth will come from the body adapting to the heavier loads. So some extra muscle that will stickis create.Natural seems get alot of the growth from adapting to the overload principle mostly. Some minor increase in glucose retention does happen.
With enhanced you get swelling of individual fibers and thickening of the sheaths holding groups of fibers together from from enhanced retention. Explains why we shrink so quick without a solid pct and naturals lose little to nothing over the same period. I get three types of strength before completing set reps. Locking the fuck up from pump and muscle exhaustion. Mentzer took a portion of some of what wrote to the extreme by allowing inflammation to totally dissipate if he was not lying. I feel his programs fit naturals more than enhanced guys due missing out on quicker recovery times. Thank you for such an informative write up I'll reread it 9 more times and I grasp half of it lol. Let me have it men I'm fucking positive there's fucked up shit in my post lol.

 

[LethalAnimal]

Rest-pause vs amrap as a finisher
I prefer to do a rest pause, it helps me refocus and not be as overwhelmed like with an AMRAP
What is the gain difference between the two, substantial enough to shift over to AMRAP even if I enjoy it less?

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

Rest-pause vs amrap as a finisher
I prefer to do a rest pause, it helps me refocus and not be as overwhelmed like with an AMRAP
What is the gain difference between the two, substantial enough to shift over to AMRAP even if I enjoy it less?

Rest pause is just AMRAPx3, except it allows you to target heavier weight for more reps than if you just bulldozed through AMRAP.

 

[TomJ]

Rest-pause vs amrap as a finisher
I prefer to do a rest pause, it helps me refocus and not be as overwhelmed like with an AMRAP
What is the gain difference between the two, substantial enough to shift over to AMRAP even if I enjoy it less?

I think they each have their place for different things.

I like using a dropset + amrap if I'm going to go for amrap.


Rest pause is just my standard way of lifting, almost every working set has a pause for a breath or two at some point. So naturally my preferential intensifier is rest pause

 

[LethalAnimal]

Rest pause is just AMRAPx3

What do you mean by this?

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

What do you mean by this?

Rest pause is literally:
1 set =
Do as many reps as you can, to failure.
Rest 20-30seconds.
Do as many reps as you can, to failure.
Rest 20-30seconds.
Do as many reps as you can, to failure.
Done

 

[Bleach]

First off this article is amazing. I think it's so informative and I really appreciate it. I just wanted to mention that as I was reading it I noticed Tom's example of junk sets being leg extensions super set with leg curls without going to failure. I was literally doing that 2 hours ago. I feel like a total fkin idiot

 

[TomJ]

First off this article is amazing. I think it's so informative and I really appreciate it. I just wanted to mention that as I was reading it I noticed Tom's example of junk sets being leg extensions super set with leg curls without going to failure. I was literally doing that 2 hours ago. I feel like a total fkin idiot

There is a benefit to antagonistic super sets.

But the same rules apply, they still need to be taken close to failure to really gain a benefit.