rep ranges/sets for more permanency of mass

[Quester]

How does one build muscle which lasts? Sure, gear and maintaining a lifting program are a big part of this but all things being equal, let's take that out and simply focus on lifting styles which build mass that lasts longer.
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Specifically, different rep ranges, resting between sets, type of modifiers (like clusters and drop sets) all cause growth. From my undertanding, chasing the pump leads to a lot of fluid in the muscles which causes greater mass. But, when those dudes stop chasing, it quickly goes away. Low rep ranges seem to lead to more permancy of mass.
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Can anybody elaborate on this (rep ranges, pump, etc.. (not gear or other factors)?
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TY

[GearHeaded]

great topic ! and a whole lot could be said about this topic .

heres my thoughts in as simple a way as I can put it.

theres a difference between Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy and Myofibril Hypertrophy .
the former emphasizes the hypertprhy of sarcomeres and a 'cell swelling' effect. basically your filling the cells with more water, nutrients, etc.. and filling the muscle with blood and causing the cells to hypertrophy and 'swell' . now this is still an increase in muscle no doubt. its not 'fake' muscle, its really muscle growth.
the later is more the hypertrophy of actual tissue and the putting on of new structural tissue , and not just the swelling of existing tissues.
its this myofibril hypertrophy that builds permanent and dense muscle, imo.


muscle cells are a multi nuclei cell, ie., they contain more then one nucleus. not only do they have more then one nucleus they have the ability to create more nucleus and more until eventually hyperplasia takes place (forming a whole new cell).
not only this, but muscle cells also contain satellite cells . these are basically like little 'brains' that observe and learn everything thats going on within a cell. its gathering information, and when a cell splits and forms a new cell the satellite cell can provide this learned information.

I believe the actual stimulus you provide your muscle is going to be information for these satellite cells. if you provide a stimulus of lots of mechanical tension and heavy loads over time, the satellite cells learn this and react accordingly. likewise, if all you provide is a pump and metabolites the satellite cells learn this..


so, for Myofibril hypertrophy, and the building of permanent muscle , MECHANICAL TENSION is the key. the muscle needs to go through its entire range of stimulus and fatigue under a certain load (tension) in order for all fibers and fiber types to be recruited.
example -
lets say your doing chest flies. your going to fail around 12 reps.. well at reps 1-5 probably only 20% of your muscle fibers are being recruited. as those muscle fibers fatigue more fibers begin to be activated to 'help out'. those fibers fatigue and more fibers are activated. the tension is fairly high and fast twitch fibers are being activated. as those fibers fatigue slow twitch fibers are being brought in to help continue the set .. eventually you reach all out failure, and the goal is that as many fibers as you could recruit in that set were recruited.

your not just pumping up the muscle. your fatiguing and breaking down tissue and recruiting more and more fibers.

this can only be accomplished with enough mechanical tension

your bicep muscle is not going to need to recruit every fiber of its being in order to lift a 5 pound dumbbell for 40 reps. sure there is going to be some lactic acid, blood, metabolites, etc.. but thats different then muscle fiber recruitment.

now lifting a 40 pound dumbbell for your biceps for 8-10 reps to failure.. yes, that is the type of mechanical tension that is going to recruit all your muscle fibers to accomplish .

and when you continue this stimulus again and again , bout after bout, day after day,, the muscle has to adapt. tissue is broken down. its repaired, more cell nuclei are created. Satellite cell proliferation occurs. and eventually myofibril hypertrophy and hyperplasia takes place and you build new permanent and more dense muscle .


now having said all that . when you are building new permanent muscle tissue, keep in mind, pumping up that new tissue with higher reps 'pump' style stimulus is still a good idea. heck you got more muscle cells now to 'pump up' and get that cell swelling effect.
you've got new and more muscle to 'pump up' now. . so yes still do pump workouts as well. grow new muscle with mechanical tension, then pump it up, grow new muscle, pump it up, etc.. repeat.

[Quester]

Genius!
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I really appreciate that you provide such thorough answers in ways that I understand.
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As always, TY GH.

[SampsonandDelilah]

So reading correctly a combination of working sets, high weight low rep, drop sets and super sets combination? Always tried to incorporate a variation and utilizing different weights with different ranges with isolation but also forcing myself to go heavy as well.
Not always going to failure but running into it on occasion as well

[GearHeaded]

So reading correctly a combination of working sets, high weight low rep, drop sets and super sets combination? Always tried to incorporate a variation and utilizing different weights with different ranges with isolation but also forcing myself to go heavy as well.
Not always going to failure but running into it on occasion as well

YES .. but its very situation, context, and person dependent . the set up is going to depend on a persons current physique and where they are trying to go and what they are trying to accomplish.

so for some people I set up their programming like this -
they will have 3 phases and 7 different workouts that make up their micro cycle (or 'split').

phase 1 is mechanical tension focus and has 3 separate workouts (usually a push pull legs).. these are all heavy sets and compound movements in the 8 or so rep range
phase 2 is metabolite and pump focus and also has 3 separate workouts, push pull legs.. there are all higher reps with drops sets and super sets incorporated.
phase 3 is just a single workout focused on accessory work and weak body parts

^ so through these 7 workouts in the micro cycle your hitting multiple stimulus , just like your post suggested. this is a great set up for hypertrophy and adding size


but for another person I may set it up totally different and hit multiple stimulus within the same workout.. heres another example split
Monday - heavy compound chest, followed up by metabolite/pump focus shoulders
Tuesday - heavy compound arms, followed up by metabolite/pump focus back
Wednesday - heavy compound legs, followed up by metabolite/pump focus chest
Friday - heavy compound shoulders, followed up by metabolite/pump focus arms
Saturday - heavy compound back, followed up by metabolite/pump focus legs


each body part is getting hit twice per week , but each body part is also getting hit hard with heavy compound and mechanical tension, and then for its second session is getting hit with the lighter weight pump and metabolite focus .
a bit different way to hit both stimulus from my last example ..


and a third example ..
you set it up in meso cycles .
so meso cycle 1 , you run all heavy compounds for all your workouts for about 4 weeks straight , you take a 1 week de-load then you come back for meso cycle 2 and for 3 weeks straight you only do higher rep metabolite work . over an 8 week period you hit both stimulus, just like the above examples do, just in a much different way .

lots of ways to set things up . you can also add strength phases, or conditioning phases in,, again depending on the situation and persons goals