HYPERTROPHY: best training, number of sets and reps

[nspaletta]

great info from everybody. its awesome how we can all learn from eachother, just want to say thanks

 

[jrs]

all of the above.

 

[gten79]

Guys different effects are achieved through different loads which can be achieved by adjusting the time under tension.

Very heavy loads, low TUT equals mainly CNS stimulation (strength)

Moderate loads, moderate TUT equals mainly myofibril growth (actual increase in fiber thickness)

Light load, higher TUT equals sarcoplasmic hypertophy which means increase glycogen and nutrient capacity and also musclular endurance.

Has nothing to do with Volume, HIT, or whatever flavor of the month program people are talking about. Its about load. Always has, always will and there are several methods to achieve it.

One guy swears by his program, the other swears by his. They ALL incorporate basic criteria to achieve some sort of hypertrophy so arguing which ones is the best without looking at HOW muscle grows and what stimuli exert different effects is a waste.


There is never just one muscle or one type of hypertrophy you want. You want them all to extent but focus on one area a bit more for your own personal goal.

 

[crams60]

6- 10 heavy best for me strength = size

 

[Sean.]

6- 10 heavy best for me strength = size

I have to agree. I've done them all and my best gains came from heavy weights. However, alot of people I know gain better with higher reps and less weight. For me it was like day and night. It does take a toll on your body/joints though.

 

[the student]

Does anyone think that body types (ecto, endo,) play a role in deciding which rep range would be most effective for an individual?

 

[sexyboy]

Does anyone think that body types (ecto, endo,) play a role in deciding which rep range would be most effective for an individual?

i think there could be. a real meso grows off anything were they are stimulating the muscle it dont matter 6-20 reps.

i dont think 6 reps are the best to add muscle but 6 reps do have there place in bbing def for upper body though not lower! How you lift the weight makes a difference lifting with the muscle and not joints/momentem.

i like 8-15 reps. I think you brought up some good pionts i think the better gentics you have for building muscle the higher in reps you could get with growth im sure if ronnie or dorian would have stuck with 20 reps on everything they still would have been big boys.

SB

 

[the student]

As an ectomorph and general hardgainer, I would be interested to see other guys state their general body types along with the rep ranges that they found most effective for them. I'm not sure that their is a difference but am interested to find out. If so, this would help some of us gravitate toward the suggestions of those with possibly similar genetics. I began working out at 5'5", 145#s. My joints are small, I would say, Back and clavicles, not wide. I wonder if someone is big framed would suggest that I stick with his preferred rep range or not. Should I stay close to six because I'm so small to make up for it or would guys say that I'm going to beat my small frame with too much weight? I'm not sure if this matters but wonder what you guys think. Thanks for letting me add that, guys.

 

[KTT]

Link

As an ectomorph and general hardgainer, I would be interested to see other guys state their general body types along with the rep ranges that they found most effective for them. I'm not sure that their is a difference but am interested to find out. If so, this would help some of us gravitate toward the suggestions of those with possibly similar genetics. I began working out at 5'5", 145#s. My joints are small, I would say, Back and clavicles, not wide. I wonder if someone is big framed would suggest that I stick with his preferred rep range or not. Should I stay close to six because I'm so small to make up for it or would guys say that I'm going to beat my small frame with too much weight? I'm not sure if this matters but wonder what you guys think. Thanks for letting me add that, guys.

Something to think about:
**broken link removed**

 

[Thor]

Cool

thanks for the link

 

[Dionysusedge]

Guys different effects are achieved through different loads which can be achieved by adjusting the time under tension.

Very heavy loads, low TUT equals mainly CNS stimulation (strength)

Moderate loads, moderate TUT equals mainly myofibril growth (actual increase in fiber thickness)

Light load, higher TUT equals sarcoplasmic hypertophy which means increase glycogen and nutrient capacity and also musclular endurance.

Has nothing to do with Volume, HIT, or whatever flavor of the month program people are talking about. Its about load. Always has, always will and there are several methods to achieve it.

One guy swears by his program, the other swears by his. They ALL incorporate basic criteria to achieve some sort of hypertrophy so arguing which ones is the best without looking at HOW muscle grows and what stimuli exert different effects is a waste.


There is never just one muscle or one type of hypertrophy you want. You want them all to extent but focus on one area a bit more for your own personal goal.

This could be the reason Phil's 5-10-15 idea works so well.

 

[scott riz]

Phil Hernon by far the best way. You can't go wrong 250.00 for the year and he will tailor what fits your needs and body.

 

[dunhill225]

as far as number of sets... there are so many things that go into that, I hope I remember to post here tomorrow when I have time and post my opinions on the issue.

As far as rep range goes... I believe TUL is what matters. ever notice that just about everyone that says "I grow best with high reps" just bangs their reps out and those that grow best from low reps tend to perform slower reps? I have. I would bet the TUL is pretty close between those that train higher or lower reps.

an example, I grow best on 3-6 reps.... why? well this is what my sets look like;

YouTube - reverse grip smith benches with 405

I could have easily "banged out" 6-8 reps if I went faster but I prefer to stay slow and controlled. my point just is that "time under load" matters more than a number of reps.

 

[Garol]

for me ,the best range is 6 to 12 reps; it depends of the movement...
6 to 8 for the first movement { bench press, squat,deadlift, curls and french press ( triceps ) ...}
8 to 10 for the second one and 12 to 15 for the third ...

 

[forklift28]

YOU ALSO GOT TO TAKE IN CONSIDERATION IF YOU ARE "ENHANCED" OR NOT.I FEEL NATURAL I DO BEST STICKING TO 8 TO 12 REPS WITH MODERATE WEIGHTS ON ALL BODY-PARTS..WITH ABOUT 3 TO 4 MOVEMENTS.ON THE DARKER SIDE YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH MORE VOLUME AND TAKE PRETTY MUCH EACH SET TO FAILURE SINCE YOUR BODY WILL RECOVER SO MUCH FASTER..A MIX OF HEAVY /LOW REPS AND LIGHTER /HIGHER REP SCHEME IS GREAT FOR ANYBODY IMO..DOING THE LAST SET TO MAINLY FLOOD THE MUSCLES WITH BLOOD.THE LONGER YOU WORKOUT THE MORE YOU WILL REALIZE WHAT YOUR BODY RESPONDS TO.BUT ALWAYS MIX UP THE ORDER OF YOUR EXERCISES TO KEEP THE BODY GUESSING ALONG WITH STRIVING TO LIFT HEAVIER WEIGHTS BUT WITH PROPER FORM..AND LEARN TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY WHEN TO TELL YOU WHEN TO REST..RECOVERY IS THE TIME WHEN YOU BUILD YOUR BODY.I KNOW I PROBABLY ALREADY MENTIONED THE SAME THINGS OTHER GUYS SAID IN THIS POST..BUT THATS MY TWO CENTS.

 

[rippedyearround]

Guys different effects are achieved through different loads which can be achieved by adjusting the time under tension.

Very heavy loads, low TUT equals mainly CNS stimulation (strength)

Moderate loads, moderate TUT equals mainly myofibril growth (actual increase in fiber thickness)

Light load, higher TUT equals sarcoplasmic hypertophy which means increase glycogen and nutrient capacity and also musclular endurance.

Has nothing to do with Volume, HIT, or whatever flavor of the month program people are talking about. Its about load. Always has, always will and there are several methods to achieve it.

One guy swears by his program, the other swears by his. They ALL incorporate basic criteria to achieve some sort of hypertrophy so arguing which ones is the best without looking at HOW muscle grows and what stimuli exert different effects is a waste.


There is never just one muscle or one type of hypertrophy you want. You want them all to extent but focus on one area a bit more for your own personal goal.

I agree. When you look at bodybuilders from all genres of training, they ALL achieve results in the form of size. Dorian Yates was HUGE and did only 1 working set per exercise per session, for a total of somewhere around 5 total working sets. Jay Cutler, and others notorious for high-volume training, can do up to 40 sets per workout! (I just watched one on bodybuilding.com where jay did 9 exercises at 4-6 sets each.)

I think rather than trying to figure out the 'magic bullet' for training protocols, it may prove to be more effective to identify commonalities of training protocols that underly the foundations of results and go from there.

 

[Equalizer]

There is an article in the latest Musclemag written by Johnny Fitness called the 5-10-20 training system. He calls it like doing 3 workouts in one. The way it's layed out, it has you doing 3-4 sets of each exercise. Each exercise gets one of the three rep ranges. Three exercises for 3-4 sets each per bodypart.

 

[ronnieron]

I may get more responses starting another thread.
but what about rep speed? used to be 2 secs up and 3 secs down, now I see more people saying faster reps (within reason) are better.

 

[csmith8]

If I am not done with my weights in 45 minutes per session, maybe 60 minutes for legs, my recovery is shit as of lately. Crap, sometimes I am done in under 40 minutes depending on the muscle group...blast it and get out - intensity molds my workout...but I am pretty frequent about my sessions on weekly basis, just less sets. However, here and there I will boost volume up to change things up. I still do cardio to boost nutrients and appetite, nothing difficult - light cardio.

Hey Lenny that is an interesting perspective. Just wondering if you could post up your current split to give an idea about "I am pretty frequent about my sessions on weekly basis." ?? Thanks for any info.

 

[mike ross]

the negative portion is what matters most in terms of speed...when we work with the college guys, its explosive and i mean as fast as possible positive movement, then controlled slow negative movements. TUT is very key from our standpoint as well..

for instance, we have lineman who we demand be explosive as possible on the up movement of a squat...its sports related, same with any kind of bench...explosive, need fast hands...the negative gives you the tearing down of tissue you need to build it all back up

nutrition is still the single most important aspect IMHO...period