Article Debunking Bodybuilding Myths

Yeah these are all pretty much correct in my opinion. I thought these were pretty much common knowledge though to anyone who has studied this stuff at any length.
One thing I do not agree with is his opinion that 3-5 sets is optimum for major muscles. I have seen studies that confirm that gains are minimal from the second set on and that really one GOOD set done with good form and to failure is all you really need for bodyshaping. I do 2 sets myself. Speed of repetition is most important in my opinion.

Thanks for the article Soosan!
Trevor :)
 
Thanks for your reply, Trevor! Would you mind answering some questions and giving your opinion on a couple of points? (Although I know you're always hesitant to give your opinion... hee hee)

1. The author said that the stronger you get, the more rest you need and thus the fewer sets you should perform. He said that not enough rest was one of the major reasons most bodybuilders make little or no progress after a short time. Is he referring to recovery between workouts as well as fewer sets? How much recovery time do you allow between body parts?

2. He recommends that for maximum size and strength, you should employ high and low reps in each workout. Do the Pyramids do this? Would it be equally beneficial to do low reps one workout (e.g., Pure Strength or S&H) and then high reps the next (e.g. Muscle Endurance)?

3. Something he said surprised me: "Each trainee must determine for oneself how much recovery time is required. A simple guideline is that if you are stronger during your next workout you have recovered sufficiently. If you stimulate growth during a workout...you should be stronger the next time you train." He said that if this doesn't happen, you either didn't train with sufficient intensity to stimulate growth or you didn't allow sufficient rest between workouts. My ecto body cannot increase the amount of weight it lifts with every workout, especially in the upper body and particularly when doing high rep workouts, such as ME. I tend to increase weight amounts more frequently with strength workouts such as the Pyramids, PS and S&H but not with every workout! I feel I workout as intensely as I am able. Do I need more rest?

TIA for your opinions!:p
 
That was interesting, thanks for sharing.

However, I always say literature on exercise is a lot like the Bible or the US Constitution. For every one interpretation you read you can find 10 more that say the opposite.

Furthermore, every individual is different (as briefly referred to in the article). That's why I stopped reading pretty much everything about 10 years ago (other than my own personal bible--Schwarzenegger's guide to weight lifting) & started experimenting until I found what works best for me.

Also I take issue w/the statement "to say that a body part needs 48 hours rest is foolish." IMO it's foolish NOT to rest body parts. There is such a thing as overtaining & damaging muscles.
 
I thought it was good. I find myself perplexed when someone wants to "tone up" or "shape my muscles" or "tighten up". What do these terms mean? Why don't you lose some of the fat so you can SEE your muscles in the first place? But I think many many many folks do not want to hear this. It is the same thing when they realize that their 6 or 7 days of aerobics is not going to give them the results they want when they are eating too much or the wrong things. So you mention diet. And it's like 'I know I know but can you suggest a different ROTATION?' ARGH!!! A car runs best on good quality GASOLINE not maple syrup or water...you know?!?!?!?!

Another statement I saw somewhere that I suspect would be unpopular...

Formula for abs = 48% diet + 50% aerobics + 2% ab work.

I am ranting. Sorry. :)

Jen
 
Hey Susan!
I'll try to answer your questions. I am not an expert but have alot of workout experience.
1. I gotta admit I don't know what the hell he means by that. LOL! Strength training and bodybuilding are not necessarily the same thing. People who look for strength gains usually train like powerlifters by lifting super heavy weights for about 3-5 reps., or even less reps! I think in order to SHAPE the muscles correctly you have to lift through the spectrum of reps that work all the muscle fiber types in the body. You can do this in one workout by taking one bodypart through exercises at reps of 5, followed by 12, followed by 40 reps. OR you can do lower rep stuff for about 6 weeks, then switch to higher rep stuff for 6 weeks, then back, etc. I can give my workout to you via email if you like. I am sure people don't wanna read my "fast-twitch", "slow-twitch" stuff again. LOL! To answer the question directly, I think he is referring to rest between workouts. To me, that's an individual thing that each person needs to determine for themselves.
2. YES! And...YES! LOL!! I myself would prefer to do workouts of high and low rep stuff together instead of alternating every other workout. Or go 6 weeks doing one thing, then switch up. Seems less confusing to me when keeping track of weight lifted and that's what I do personally.
3. The simple answer is, if you feel abnormally terrible and tired from a previous workout then you need to back it off a bit. It's a fine line between pushing very hard and overdoing it. Alot of people have trouble finding that line. Most go way too easy. Some tend to drive themselves into the dirt. I am in that category. Learn where your "line" is located.....

Some things I do in my workouts that may help:
1. I do alot of explosive interval work for my cardio. You get better results in your fat-burning as well as in your cardio abilities in a shorter amount of time. I mix in a longer workout too to work slower twitch muscles and to give myself a break from the intensity of intervals. You gotta move that heart rate around! :)
2. I like supersets or tri-sets when I lift. They enable you to work a muscle intensely from different angles, etc.
3. You do not need to constantly try to lift more weight to get results. Change the speed of the lift, change the order of the exercises, change the exercises.....switch things up. I don't use videos for lifting but I am sure you probably already know how to group them to create either a strength workout, or a shaping workout rotation.
4. I use mostly compound exercises simply because you hit more muscle overall with these exercises. Pick one isolation exercise per bodypart to complement them.
5. Remember that most of the body is basically 50/50 typeI and type 2 muscle fibers. You increase density in the type ones by lifting light and MANY reps....upwards of 50 reps. Type 2 fibers respond in the 8-10 range for increased density. BUT, type twos are bigger than type ones so the density increase in these shows much more readily.
6. I suggest two seconds up and four seconds down on the lift speed. Switch this up as I suggested above.
7. I base the various weights I lift as a percentage of my one-rep max for that lift. There are various programs online that will calculate these percentages for you.
8. Work your weak areas accordingly. For instance, if you have awesome shoulders but a flat ass......welllll, perhaps prioritize your glute work ahead of shoulders. Not saying forget shoulders, just perhaps do MORE for the weak area.
9. Be creative. I see tons of people doing the same stuff ALL the time. At the club, I actually know some people's workouts by heart because they do the same stuff week after week and year after year! And.....they look the same as when they started!!!!
10. I suggest abcbodybuilding.com It's a great site!

I am sure I am forgetting something but I think that's pretty much how I go about doing things. For now anyway! I am no muscle-head but I have been able to reach my goal of adding about 20 pounds of what I think is mostly muscle to my body. I went from 165 to 185 lbs at 6 feet tall. So this works for me.
Anyway, another wordy diatribe from Trevor!! LOL!! Sorry! If you wanna ask more or share workouts just let me know.....
Edited to say that I work one bodypart per week these days along with 3 cardios totalling about 110 mins. Mostly VERY intense cardio.(not alot of mins. huh!) When I do more lifting I alternate upper and lower....
Trevor
:)
 
Hi Jen!!
Rant away! I'd say abs are at least 75% diet.......
T. :)
 
Hi, Susan, I'm not Trevor, but in response to point #3: when I was doing P90X, which works each upper body muscle only once per week (in addition to yoga, which also works the muscles), I was able to increase either reps or weights almost every workout.
 
Kathryn, I just got the complete P90X set off of the Ya-Ya swap (for $95 including shipping!) this week and have previewed several of the workouts. I'll start the classic rotation in a week or two. I hope I get the same results as you!

For the past month and a half I've expanded my "week" to 9 days (primarily in order to fit in more power yoga and Pilates) and have noticed more definition overall as well as much-increased lower body strength. I've also varied the intensity of my cardio more, still staying fairly intense, but not going as intensely for every workout. My cardio capacity has also improved.

Hmmmm...maybe sufficient recovery is what I've been missing. Let's see what P90X does for me! (Although I'm quite the push-up weenie and can't even come close to doing a pull-up.)
 
I don't believe that speed of movement is that important. I think that doing more "total" work is what makes muscles grow (more work (reps) in the same amount of time). That causes overload. Are we really making progress if we just keep doing the same workouts? Without increasing density?

Wayne.
 
Wayne, the lift speed is very important. If it wasn't then people who jerk the weights up and down would be getting results as well.
The negative portion of a lift is where you are getting the microtears in the muscle fibers and where the blood is being forced into the muscle.
Don't take this the wrong way but aren't you a trainer? If so, what are you telling your clients when it comes to lifting? Just thought I'd ask. And please don't take that as me flaming you. Just interested is all.
If you mean more reps in a given set when you say more work then you are leaning towards building the smaller type 1 muscle fibers. That does cause overload via more repetitions. But you can overload by slowing the lift speed as well. As you get heavy with the weights to the point where it is very difficult to add more, then playing with the lift speed is a way to freshen up the workouts and hit the muscles differently. To me you can overload by many ways.....lift speed, increasing weight, changing number of reps, changing exercise routines, to name a few.
And yes I firmly believe in switching up the workouts. You really should go about 6 weeks on a given rotation. Switching up too much(like weekly) with lifting programs doesn't accomplish a whole lot. Now cardio, to me that can and should be switched up much more often via different equipment, videos, etc.
Trevor
 
More work in the same amount of time (density) will create overload. Fact. Overload is what were looking for to create a change in body shape.

I didn't actually say "throw the weights around or use any speed" i said that speed isn't the be all and end all. There is more to weight training than just the 4 second rule (three seconds down, one up).
Look up the writings on Charles poliquin, charles staley, TC Locuma, and john berardi.

EDT is perhaps something that would benefit you grately. Think about it this way... If on week one you did 10 sets of 5 reps on of chins. It took you about 30 minutes (with rest). Then 5-7 days later you did that same amount again but it took you 35 minutes. What has been acheived? is muscle mass likely to activated? Don't you think that density plays a major role?

Every workout i do is timed. My total workout volume is 40 minutes. Seperated into two 20 minute workouts. I keep a record of the amount of reps and sets i perform. Then next workout (for hte same muscle group) i make sure i do more total reps in the same workout. When i can do more than 10% i either, (a) increase the weight or (b) change exercises. Simple.

Look up EDT and see if it might benefit you.

Wayne.
 
I'm no longer a push-up weenie (I used to do all of them on my knees, but now do all, or most all, on my toes. When I can't do the toe version, I try a "1-knee" version, with one leg held up behind me, sometimes with the other knee on a balance disc), but I still can't do one real pull-up! I can do about 3/4 of a pullup, plus several 1/2 pull-ups, but I need a foot on the back of a chair to get over the bar.

Sounds like your plan for P90X is a good one!

P90X taught me about the importance of recovery between workouts for building muscle and strength, the importance of recovery weeks, and the effectiveness of yoga (before P90X, I'd dabbled in yoga off and on over the years, but never got into it much. I only liked the "yoga-inspired" workouts of Karen Voight. Now, I have about a dozen yoga workouts!)
 
I don't know if switching workouts is necessary. I read an Arnold article some years ago that said if you like what you're doing & you're not bored, than it's fine to stick w/it. However if you do tend to get bored than switching is OK too. As always, it depends on the individual.

I used to switch every 2-3 months, then my work schedule got a lot more hectic & I've been doing the same workout for about 7 years now. I'm very pleased w/the results. The only thing I ever change is weights, which I try to increase periodically. But I've even relaxed on that b/c I think at this point, for my size, I'm probably lifting enough.
 
Wayne,
I am semi-familiar with that workout scheme you described.
My question is: in order to squeeze more reps into a given amount of time what is being compromised? Would you not have to go faster to squeeze more reps in? Doesn't this tend to compromise lifting form?
And, in your example you mentioned doing 10 sets of 5 reps. I am not sure 5 reps is enough to even really stimulate muscle growth. That's more of a powerlifting rep range. Why not do 5 sets of 10?
You can overload muscles in the examples I stated above without squeezing out more sets and reps.
Lastly, I have seen info before that suggests gains are minimal beyond even ONE set. What's your take on that since you seem to do many sets?
T.
 
T,

You must understand that every-body is different. But with that in mind, muscle is muscle.

I have no idea why you think that low rep training doesn’t build muscle. Shouldn't this by in the myths! Low rep training (five and under) with a large weight (85 to 100% of one rep max) recruits the greatest percentage of Type IIB fibers, which have the highest potential for muscle growth. And isn't that what we want???

Total volume determines the amount of muscle growth, not just reps (re - high or training to failure), so the secret to low rep muscle growth here is high sets. Ten sets of three to five reps is one of my most successful methods for adding muscle mass. Ask yourself, what is the difference between 3 sets of 10 reps and 6 sets of 5 reps? Other than being able to use more weight (the volume is still the same) plus your lifting form should be greater (less reps - assuming you don't go silly on the weight) and if you keep the rest the same or slightly under your normal rest period, the volume will take care of growth.

But like i said above, muscle is muslce, but what works for some doens't work for others.

You may not agree, and i'm fine with that, but it does give another perspective on muscle training.

Wayne
 
Wayne,
You need to be in the 6-12 rep range to stimulate both types of type II fibers. This is based on muscle testing done after said muscle has been exposed to various rep ranges over a given time, according to things I have read. Wish I had a link in front of me....
I also have seen studies suggesting gains are minimal after ONE set, like I mentioned. I guess this proves on a small scale that there are as many weight training schemes as their are people!
At least we both agree that type II fibers are the ones to try stimulate for best hypertrophy effects, since they are the largest. I go after the type I fibers as well but that means 40 reps per set and that is just killer!!!
To answer your question about the difference between 6 sets by 5 reps and 3 sets by 10 reps. There is a difference. In the 3 set scenario, the muscle is under tension for a longer period of time(reps. 6 thru 10)with no rest and is forced to work under the tension with a greater buildup of waste products, blood, AMP, etc. More microtearing of the fibers is occurring. The trick is to force yourself to maintain form and lift timing while the muscle is under that stress.
Also if you need to do 6 sets of certain exercises, how can you fit in various different lifts before you run out of time? I like to superset and tri-set muscle groups in order to work them in different ways. I could never fit it all in having to do so many sets.
I am glad your system works for you. Mine works for me. One similarity is we both stick to a certain total workout time and don't dilly-dally around. And I think that's good. Maybe I will try your system sometime. I am always up for a change now and then.
T.
 
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