Training has to do with adaptation!!!

[Ronnie Rowland]

Training has to do with adaptation. Both volume and intensity have its limitations. For e.g.; If you perform 1 intense set of heavy barbell curls twice a week, the neural pathways will eventually adjust themselves by getting stronger so they can handle an even heavier weight load next time you train. Yes, the biceps will get stronger, but not necessarily a lot bigger. Stay with me here! When you take advantage of the added strength gains made by using less volume and then co-mingling those added strength gains with additional training volume while not over-training, you can be assured you will grow bigger muscles! That is how you create a true progressive overload! You can use all the fancy beyond failure training methods such as drop sets and rest-pause for hours on end and never create a true progressive overload because limitless adaptation equals a heavier workload in conjunction with additional volume to breakdown down more muscle tissue, while never going past the point of diminishing returns.


It’s important that you understand that a good burn (good pain) obtained from using high reps with straight sets equals over-load, but an ever intensified burn (bad pain) obtained from applying beyond failure techniques like triple drops sets, super sets, or a sharp pain or intense pressure (bad pain) from doing rest-paused reps or very low reps (1-3 reps) does not promote the same degree of over-load to the muscle tissue. Also, it’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that a certain amount of volume is needed when utilizing any rep-range with straight sets. Over-load and intensity should come through weight selection and the amounts of straight sets performed, not to burn or fatigue the muscle beyond belief in one minuscule set. I think this is where some tend to get confused. A progressive over load is brought forth by increasing the amount of weight lifted or by performing more reps with a given amount of weight using straight sets. A true progressive over-load is simply increasing the total number of straight sets used for a muscle group. Rest pause works better for creating a progressive overload to the muscles than drop sets, where as drop sets are better for producing a true progressive over-load. Straight sets work better than both rest-pause and drop sets for creating both a progressive overload and a true progressive over-load.

Getting a nice pump is not the same as trying to see how hard you can burn the muscles. Your primary focus should be overloading the muscles while obtaining a nice pump. A good burn is less important and should only be sought after during high rep sets. Obtaining a good pump by moving rapidly between sets should be avoided like the plague if your goal is to add size-strength.

A few bodybuilders have equated overloading the muscle with decreasing the amount of rest taken between sets. We bodybuilder's refer to this as the pump . Their purpose of moving quicker between sets is to burn the muscle beyond a point that can’t be achieved with straight sets. I think some tend to forget that burning a muscle with high reps is not equivalent to burning the muscles by moving faster between sets. High repetitions will still allow you to train with a heavier workload on a progressive basis, given that you wait long enough between sets to allow ATP restoration. On the other hand, when you move rapidly between sets, ATP cannot regenerate itself fast enough to support a progressive over-load in the amount of weight lifted. It's been proven that any form of training that requires moving rapidly between sets will crush one's immune system. Along with that comes less stimulation to the actual muscle tissue itself.


High reps will create a greater demand on the nervous system if you move rapidly between sets (for i.e.; 60 seconds or less). This is why so many have become severely over-trained with beyond failure techniques such as descending sets, super-sets, and drop sets. Anytime you move rapidly between sets or extend a set beyond failure you drastically cut into your energy supplies and lower your immune system defenses. For example: Rest-pause utilizes low reps, but it can flat out over-train you in no time because you’re trying to perform additional reps in the same set.

The secret to sparing the nervous system is combining both high, medium and low reps in the same workout while using only straight sets with adequate rest periods of 2 to 3 minutes between sets. There are plenty of training techniques exist that won’t allow you to produce an effective over-load to the muscles. Do not let yourself fall victim to useless routine after useless routine that applies no science, when all that’s needed is changing things up with straight sets.

The more simplistic you makes things the more effective they work. I want you to understand that many have wasted a lot of precious time and energy using beyond failure techniques and they have the injuries to prove it! Now let me ask you this; what good do you think can come from building the foundation of your workouts around training techniques whose primary focus is on nervous system/joint over load as opposed to progressively overloading the muscles? Beyond failure methods like giant sets always cause a severe burn in the muscles and this burn always carries over to the joints/tendons. This can produce tendonitis in short order. I’m here to tell you that using these extreme training methods with any consistency will only hold you back by causing injury and nervous system fatigue.

[moush]

good read Slingshot! im cant wait till this prime period is over i feel so small right now plus i miss the weights bad!

[UberSteroids]

So this is basically the Anabolic blast period type of training right?

Since we have about 5-6 total sets for chest for example, including light, moderate and heavy weight, with different rep ranges in one workout.

[sonnygll]

One thing you might want to consider, is that you can lower rest periods by not getting close to failure. You can also do antagonistic or unlike pairs. So If you do bent over row with bench press, while you only have 1 minute rest between sets, you have 2 minutes before working the same muscles. If you are doing 75% of 1RM for 8 reps, or 85% for 3 for example, it is easy enough on the CNS to go that fast. If you do enough sets, you will be able to overload the muscle despite being so far from failure.

Here is an interesting technique for straight sets. You load enough weight to where you can do 6 reps, but you only do 3. But you do 12 sets with 30 to 60 seconds rest. So it is the same volume and the same time of 3 sets of 12, but you are lifting 83 or 84% of 1RM rather than 70%.

With both of these you are likely to reach failure on the later sets, but it is momentary muscle failure from accumulated fatigue, and not the usual failure that stresses the CNS.

I agree on the beyond failure stuff though.