Extras

Practical Mass

 

The Truth About Sets, Reps & Mass Games

 

Repetition Selection For Size & Strength

  • 1-3 repetition range dense strength
  • No weak links - structural balance
  • Eccentrics
  • Pauses & Pulses
  • Volume of tension
  • Pump
 

Anabolic Repetition Types

If there is already tension in a muscle because it’s stretched and THEN it fires there will be more total tension on the muscle and connective tissue. Think about doing dumbbell bench press with very light weights. You can’t get much stretch. As you go heavier you’re going to be able to get deeper. The weight is adding to the stretch. Stretch is another word for tension. The passive and active structures of the muscle are longer and more damage is going to happen.
We use these movements in lower repetition ranges when working closer to 1RM.
Some stretch movements don’t work well with very heavy loads.
 

Rest Periods & Mass

  • Long rests are over-rated.
  • Most old time lifters trained up-tempo.
  • CrossFit has also shown that total work done is more important than resting to get maximal tension repetitions.
  • As you get fitter training more dense will become easier.
 

Muscle Fuel Usage

Longer duration of tension requires more fuel.
For a set caloric intake:
  • Using more fuel makes you leaner.
  • Using all the muscle glycogen also makes you leaner.
 

Body Weight Muscle

Q. Can you get maximal natural mass with bodyweight only training?
A. 100%
Push = Push-ups, Dips
Pull = Pull-Ups, Chin-Ups
Squats = Deep Knee Bends, Pistols
Hinge = Standing Good Mornings, Nordics
 
Calf & Tib Raises
Ab Wheel
Bar Hanging
Horse stance and side planks
Dips / push-up lockouts and behind the head extensions
Ring spider curls, pelican curls.
*Extra band work will also be great if you need to get more blood to an area.
 

Lazy Muscles

Are you more TRICEP or PEC dominant in bench press?
Are you more LAT or BICEP dominant in chin-ups?
Are you more QUAD or POSTERIOR dominant in squats?
Is your LEFT or RIGHT easier to grow / stronger?
 
We all have less active and higher activity muscles.
Working lagging muscles with short and long range movements can grow lagging muscles.
Lagging muscles are generally easier to injure if we can get them firing well which means we should focus on SHORT RANGE tolerance initially and moderately loading on long range movements.
Practically this would mean for someone with lazy pecs that they would use dumbbell or banded cross body presses for 50-100 reps for multiple sets before working heavy or explosively on deep dips and fly variations.
 

Staying Healthy

Focus on lighter, higher volume, shorter range if tendons and muscle are struggling to keep up with the loading.
This sounds very simple but most won’t do it.
Less intensity gives us space for MORE volume.
We can make great gains and be ready for more work when the tissues and nervous system are ready for peak tension again.
 

Muscle Rabbit Holes

Topics:

Absolute Maximum Muscle
Desiccated Liver
Liver King - MyoStatin gene alteration (2018 - Singapore - iced coffee podcast)
Steroids
Peptides
Protein supplements
Other supplements
Muscle super foods
Fat person calves - maximal muscle potential.
Does “Full Range Matter”
Fat people and muscle mass - Insulin is being over-secreted. Getting some of the nutrients into the muscles means less has to be stored as fat. More muscle is needed to carry around all the fat.
Thoughts on popular systems for muscle gain
 

Additional Complimentary Products

Maximal Strength
Athletic Power
Advanced Dense Strength Protocols
Maximal Mass Diet
Fast Athletic Transformation Diet
Stretch Strength
Advanced Bodyweight Movements
Better Programming
 

Measuring Progress

  1. SKULPT
https://www.skulpt.me/
This device is a good investment for coaches or those wanting more number accountability to support their gains.
Dexa and body scans are more expensive versions of the same with similar results.
Apps that give fat % from photos are becoming more accurate also.
 
  1. Waist Measurement + Scale Weight
Simple as it sounds these results are often quite accurate.
 
  1. Photos Over Mirror
Looking in the mirror tells you something but not everything.
Because you see yourself very often it can be difficult to know what’s really happening.
 
  1. SCALE Weight
Scale weight can lie a lot. Generally people will maintain a similar scale weight in the initial phases when they are losing fat and gaining muscle rapidly. Fat loss will gradually outpace muscle gain in overweight individuals.