HYPERTROPHY: best training, number of sets and reps

[strongrhino]

Everones god given muscle fiber type ie fast(white) or slow(red) twitch is different but there can be some change. Easier to convert red (slow) to white (fast power) so what good for you may not be good for me. I seen some NFL dudes grow on 30 reps and some grow on 6 reps. For what its worth 8 is ideal on working sets for me. I warm with 12-15 then hit 3 sets of 8 till failure on everything. At 42 I have tried it all and it works for me. With my clients and my pro's of various sports- and I got alot I can eyeball their body and make assessments and changes regarding reps. And then things subtly change and ya must make adjustments for yourself and if your in the game- for your clientelle. I trained T.O. in his infancy here in Atlanta during his offseason. I really dont think he had to do shit pre NFL.Talk about a narcissitic mofo. But thats another story. We good and talk to this day but I made his ass work and he did great with 20-30 reps and grew and kept his speed. I had other named NFL players go as low as 6. So it is a difficult question you pose cause their aint no clear answer.

 

[manly327]

on squats bench press and seated shoulder presses i like to incorporate rest pauses at the bottom of the movement with explosive movement on the postive. i i throw them in and it seems to really confuse everything and also seems to break through plateaus

 

[strongrhino]

on squats bench press and seated shoulder presses i like to incorporate rest pauses at the bottom of the movement with explosive movement on the postive. i i throw them in and it seems to really confuse everything and also seems to break through plateaus

remember tho- science says eccentric portion of lift (down heavy negative) best hypertrophy- ya need a good spot so ya go down controlled heavy ass where ya cant get up un assisted. Second is concentric (way up) on those lifts and third (distant) isometric- same place hold weight.

 

[dr intensity]

I have been doing Big A`s routine for the past 6-7 years (it has delivered the best results), however i have made a few Modification

1. Added a 3rd Exercise Decline Bench Press after the inclines

2. My rep range is different for different exercises
For Chest + Shoulders (6-10)reps so on 4 reps increment = 5kg-7.5kg adding on previous lifting poundage.

For Barbell rows,Deadlifts (10-15) reps so here 5 reps = 5-10kg add on

For squats i used to do (8-10) but from last year i have increased the rep Range(15-20) my ultimate best squats is 455 x 15(PR), for leg-press 750lbs x 35(PR) reps.
there is no specific reasoning behind these specific rep-ranges, its just that i like that specific rep-range.

This is working awesome

as for form---i just try to keep my tempo Explosive--positive and Controlled negative, i don`t think one can over-intellectualize the compound movements(Trying ultra-slow negatives, peak contraction etc etc on barbell rows is not possible)
As for isolation movements--these techniques are ok, but i wont do them

So for me the rule for every exercise--> Explosive--positive and Controlled negative.

Workset:- I do one all out set to positive failure, i would throw in techniques like rest pause or drop sets on the last 6th or 7th week periodization (After 6th or 7th week i take a week "off training").

 

[petedw]

Number of Reps - Fail somewhere between 6 - 15 (controlled negative, explosive lift)

Number of Sets/Exercises - Depends on the training frequency. If you seem to grow better on less sets, you will usually be able to train that body part more frequently (every 3-5 days). If you seem to grow better on more sets, you will more than likely be able to train the same body part less frequently (every 5-7 days).

Training Frequency - Often enough to allow you to progress with your lifts (either more reps with the same weight as your last workout or more weight making sure you still fail within your chosen rep range).

If you're not progressing then you are either not recovering between workouts or leaving it too long between workouts. Of course, that's taking into account that other contributing factors are optimised (nutrition, rest, hormones, etc).

 

[luckyone]

Low or high reps, more emphasis and slower pace on the eccentric half has always worked better for me. Nowdays I'll do a heavy low volume, low rep day and then the next time I hit the same bodypart a lighter, higher volume, higher rep day. At age 56, it seems to work best for me as far as allowing sufficient recovery time and avoiding injuries while still pushing the muscles to the max. Hope that made at least some sense.

your brother in Christ,

Lucky

 

[manly327]

maybe i should explain a bit more when i said rest pause and explosive movement on the positive.here is what i should of said i do a slow negative portion, at the bottom of the movement rest pause (one one thousand) then explode up but doesn't mean i push the weight up rapidly means when coming out of the rest pause at the bottom i explode up but i use enough weight where i need a spot or just can't move quickly up in the positive movement

 

[spude]

Moderate weight, moderate volume, short breaks between sets.
I also like isolating the muscle and using pre-exhaustion every once in a while...Basically always concentrating on the famous "mind-muscle-connection". I personally am not a big fan of all that progressive overload crap...unless we talk about gh/tren/eq/test -combo...

 

[weight78]

Reps are different for each muscle group.

 

[emeric delczeg]

I have been doing Big A`s routine for the past 6-7 years (it has delivered the best results), however i have made a few Modification

1. Added a 3rd Exercise Decline Bench Press after the inclines

2. My rep range is different for different exercises
For Chest + Shoulders (6-10)reps so on 4 reps increment = 5kg-7.5kg adding on previous lifting poundage.

For Barbell rows,Deadlifts (10-15) reps so here 5 reps = 5-10kg add on

For squats i used to do (8-10) but from last year i have increased the rep Range(15-20) my ultimate best squats is 455 x 15(PR), for leg-press 750lbs x 35(PR) reps.
there is no specific reasoning behind these specific rep-ranges, its just that i like that specific rep-range.

This is working awesome

as for form---i just try to keep my tempo Explosive--positive and Controlled negative, i don`t think one can over-intellectualize the compound movements(Trying ultra-slow negatives, peak contraction etc etc on barbell rows is not possible)
As for isolation movements--these techniques are ok, but i wont do them

So for me the rule for every exercise--> Explosive--positive and Controlled negative.

Workset:- I do one all out set to positive failure, i would throw in techniques like rest pause or drop sets on the last 6th or 7th week periodization (After 6th or 7th week i take a week "off training").

Add extra weght to the negative part only.

 

[Phidias]

Honestly...

Use max intensity (that can be reached using many different methods), stop before overtraining, then eat properly and rest enough.

Genetics and supps will then either help you to get there faster or unfortunately slow you down.

 

[Athlete]

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

Because I like experimenting, I actually did this test today.
Overall I ended up on the "Fast gainer" side.

Two things struck me as wrong though.
1. I can't build good calves, yet I still ended up on the fast gainer scale for them.
2. I got 7 reps for quads, yet I've gotten the best results ever for them doing DC training.. meaning one heavy set followed by a 20 rep widowmaker.
Doing many sets of 4-8 didn't yield as good results.

Overall though it was pretty much what I expected.. on shoulders I only got 5 reps, and I've always gotten my best results from few sets and really heavy weights for them. For biceps and triceps I got 11 reps, and in the past when I switched to doing more sets and reps for my arms I got better results.

 

[doctorwest]

Depends specifically on the muscle group. Delts respond best to low to moderate weight for moderate to higher reps due to their fiber type distribution. Hamstrings are different, etc.

 

[BarbaraBush]

for pure hypertrophy its like 50% 1rm and around 60s TuL


hmm, weird, this thread was at the top of the first page when before my post it was inactive for over a month

 

[RazorCuts]

Again it comes down to over a 30 sec TUT no matter what rep range you use or % of 1rm.

 

[james12]

What has been most productive in size for me has been;

Chest, 1-3 reps then a stripset, same with delts
Back 6-8 reps, then stripset.
Legs, I dont squat due to back injuries, but rest pausing/stripping 45% leg presses ending up in the 20 rep+ range has transformed my legs.

Ps all 1 working set, chest is one pressing exercise + extreme stretching, back is usually 1* BOR and 1* width exercise with the extreme stretch.

 

[Ruff Ryder Titan]

HIT

I have had great results with HIT. I trained volume for 20 years and while I did pretty good as some local and state BB shows I still lacked size on my 6'4" frame. I finally gave in at 35 years old and tried HIT training. I was thinking there was no way HIT was going to work. One all out work set per exercise with 3-4 exercises per bodypart simply wouldn't be enough for me ( becuase I was special of course).

Well I found out different after 2-3 months of steady HIT, I felt better, my strength and size increased. I dont believe it was a magic bullet, but rather I was just over training using the volume methodology.

 

[penance]

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.

very good post. Should be a sticky on all bodybuildingboards, would keep forums clean from the endless "whats the best rep/ set range" threads.

btw took this post from getbig (not my post):

I was thinking the other day about why powerlifters, despite their greater strengh, as well as those who do one-set-to-failure protocols, do not grow muscles like bodybuilders who do a greater volume of work. These are my conclusions: hypertrophy of muscle fibers is but one mechanism through which muscles increase in strengh. Increasing strengh with few reps cause an increase in nervous as well as metabolic muscular efficiency without, necessarily, concomitant increases in the cross-sectional area of muscle. Strengh can be increased via increased ATP expedenture by increased mitochondrial density, creatine phosphate synthesis, increased motor neural number and/or activation via increased receptor sensitivity to Calcium ions, efficiency of lactic acid clearance ratio, etc. Only when muscular and neuromuscular metabolic function is maximized does the muscle increase it's cross-sectional area to increase strengh, because increasing strengh via improved metabolic function is less straining and a more efficient use of bodily resources than building more muscular tissue. The workload imposed by powerlifting style training doesen't strain the muscle fiber's ability to increase it's contractile force beyond what it can by becoming more efficient.

The problem is that there are limits to which muscle efficiency can be maximized. Following this point, only increases in the cross sectional area of muscle will result in strengh increases. Suppose you load a bar with 200 lbs and you have enough motor neuronal efficiency, ATP reserves and mucle fibers to bench it once for 300 lbs. If you bench it once, 100% of your motor neurons will fire and all ATP will be used. Now, imagine that instead of benching it once for 300 lbs, you load the bar with 200 lbs and do 10 reps. You will use the same amount of stored ATP for those 10 reps that you'd use for benching 300 lbs for one and you'll be demanding as much from your nervous system and all muscle fibers will need to contract for you to complete your tenth rep. Now you rest for a minute, and go again. Only 50% of your fibers will have recovered from the first set, and ATP will have been depleted significantly as well as the lactic acid won't have been completely removed from sites. The demand you put on the muscles will indicate that the further strengh increases with this work load exceeds what the current muscle fibers can accomplish with it's size. Since it is impossible to increase strengh by increasing the density of actin/myosin bridges that compose muscular fibers and are responsble for their contractive ability, the only way to increase the muscle's strengh is to increase the proteinaceous volume of actin and myoson itself. Result: hypertrophy. This explains why a powerlifter has similar muscular efficiency to a bodybuilder but less muscular volume.

Conclusion: muscular hypertrophy is only one of the mechanisms skeletal muscle have to become stronger and it is secondary in activation to several others. To achieve muscular hypertrophy, huge weights with low work load is ineffective because there is enormous room for your muscles to grow in strengh before growing in size. You'll need to use gigantic weights to achieve only a moderate degree of hypertrophy with a few contractions.

Conclusion II: To maximize hypertrophy, increase strengh enormously first via powerlifting or one-set-to-failure protocols, then stagnate the weight you're using and work on increasind the amount of work you can perform with that weight. Huge gains in the cross sectional area of muscle will follow. Once volume has increased to the point where you have observed that your gains have stagnated, work on increasing your strengh agains via powerlifting type training. Repeat ad infinitum.

 

[flapique]

I've been training for about 2 years now and I just changed my routines about a month ago. I thought for sure I would have to do 25+ reps per body part in order to gain size and strength. for the past month I did a full body work out one day on and one day off and got some great gains in strength, especially on my chest and back. I just went to a 3 day split and I'm 2 work outs in and I feel great!

here was my back and bicep work out yesterday

3 sets wide grip pull ups til failure
3 sets seated row 12 reps
3 sets hammer strength high row 10 reps
3 sets lat pulldown behind the neck 10 reps

3 sets of 21's with the straight bar
3 sets dumbell hammer curls 12 reps
3 sets preacher curls 8-10 reps

29yrs old
5'9''
188lbs
prob 12-13% bf
diet 3500+ calories 200-250 grams protien
no gear

 

[Gaintrain]

I like heavy as possible for 8-10 reps, volume training at 12 - 20 reps.
Usually alternate every other week between the two