Vincentt

Muscular Hypertrophy

I used to believe that in order to get bigger you use big weight and low reps and to get more defined you use more reps with less weight. I now know that to be false, but there are still many people who believe this old adage.

Recently I have been working out in the gym almost every day, split routine, heavy weights and as many sets until failure.

But, is this really the best way?

I have been doing research, looking for some kind of scientific basis for this type of training. I can’t find any.

Does destroying each muscle once or twice a week always work towards getting bigger?

All the research I read seemed to say “Current bodybuilding concepts are incorrect.”

I did find this page
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/about.html

And might try the workout program (the products are just fancy named protein etc)

Has anyone else looked into the science behind gaining muscle?

Used mostly http://scholar.google.com/ to look for information.

Normal google.com returns to much crap.

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Carno

Hmmm... I only read the article about the HST method, and what I got from it was that they are just telling you to work out every other day to maximize muscle growth. The second page of the article showed a chart of a "normal" workout routine and a chart of the HST method. The HST method is not anything new or groundbreaking, it seems to me that the guy just wrote everything out using big words in order to impress people.

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Vincentt

I didn't really mean for the HST article to be the main point of my post.

More of, where is the science behind the workout plans that almost every site prescribes?

Bodybuilding.com 's articles etc.

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rsl12

exrx.net cites a lot of data supporting low volume training. It seems to say the same things as the HST cite does, but with less 'big word' BS.

http://exrx.net/WeightTraining/LowVolumeTraining.html

You said "I now know [low volume training] to be false, but there are still many people who believe this old adage." Why did you say this?

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soccerchamp76

Many of the articles written aren't based on science but built upon their [the writers] past experiences and from word-of-mouth.

My personal advice, for what it is worth, is to find the best routine that you find comfortable with, and stick with that. Alternate days and muscle groups to allow for growth and you'll be fine.

Something that I found that was extremely helpful was to use Excel (or any other program) to create a spreadsheet of my workout exercises, followed by 3 sets of each. I recorded each day what I did (3 sets of 30lbs = 3x30), and a new sheet (i resized the sheet to the size of a notecard and printed a bunch out) for each day. By following this you can quantitatively measure how much more weight and/or reps you were able to complete. If you are so inclined, you could plot this data on the computer and get a graph going of your performance. This way you can not only see your results, but also quantitatively measure your muscle gain as well.

On the sheet, record if you did cardio that day, and weigh yourself before you workout as well. Try and weight yourself at the same time everday to get a more accurate point.

Hope this helps.

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thingstodo

Lest we forget, genetics plays a very big role in this whole thing. Someone with the right genetics to grow will do so and attribue their success to their regime when it doesn't matter.

Tax the muscle fibers, feed them well and allow them to recover long enough, stretch those fibers and then repeat is the thing.

Higher reps have an advantage in getting cut in that they provide a lower heart rate cardio thing that burns more fat and also trains your body to process fat more effectively as fuel, which helps in the long run.

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stevie667

There also the fact that the body becomes adapted to a specific workout 'style' very quickly, and one needs to be rotating types over a longer period of time to acheive maximum results.

Simply staying on a heavy weight low rep style, unless you have super-man genes, won't cut it in the long term.

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Vincentt

rsl12

You cannot get more defined by doing 'low volume training'

The only thing that makes a muscle more defined is making it bigger + reducing body fat.

But, if you go to the gym people will still tell you that you can define your muscle by doing more reps.

I guess in the sense that more reps burn more calories that is true... but, you could just do cardio for the same effect.

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Titan_Uranus

I've read an article on bodybuilding.com recently about xrep training,& decided to try it out & it's been working wonders ,what it constitutes is basically keeping your range at about 2/3 of your normal full extension,so what you are doing is keeping constant tension in the muscle being exercised,anyway this is only a part of xrep training, Ronnie Coleman & Jay Cutler use these principles & they are huge.

rsl12

I think I hear what you're saying--you're saying that high intensity training alone won't make you more defined (because you won't be losing body fat)? I agree. I do the high intensity/low volume training + a good amount of cardio.

Did you read the exrx.net article I linked above? Is that the kind of thing you were looking for?

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JustJess

It's basic, honest:
When you build muscle, essentially what you're doing is tearing muscle fibers and then they scar, building up more muscle fibers. That's why you should only be doing the same exercises every other day, rather than every day: your muscles need time to heal those tears.

Low weight and many reps is best when you want to tone and strengthen - women would prefer this method as we generally don't want to be bulky, and it's best for rehabbing injuries etc. Helps burn more fat too.

High weight and low reps is for bulking up. But no one should be doing this solely. If you're looking to build up, you need some basic elements:
-high weight and low reps, yes,
-and also more protein, less fat (to assist in replenishing muscle)
-cardio training (what good is it to have muscle mass your heart can't support?)
-CORE STRENGTHENING (abs and back muscle - pretty and cut muscles are useless if you can't support them in your center of gravity)

Don't forget - diet is as important as exercising. Try not to aim for immediate results - in fact, be suspicious of that idea. True gains in health are gradual and related to changes in your habits. Sudden changes rarely stick.

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Vincentt

I somehow missed the article, I went back and read it now. Yes, that is what I was looking for.

That there is no proof that 3 sets is better then 1 set.

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Nimetic

If current bodybuilding principles are incorrect - explain the shape of current bodybuilders.

Ok ok. There may be a better way, or a faster way, but there've been people trying to sell their own special recipe for decades. Read it I reckon, but question it ok?

I can empathize. I've done a shitload of reading on this topic (years back). In the end it is valuable to read a few mags and books.

But...

A lot of what you read will be self-contradictory. Of the remainder, you'll find that there's a lot of unsubstantiated claims. Even worse, those studies that are reported are often one-offs and even a layperson (admittedly I am from a science background) can find flaws.

You have found one interesting site (I'm going to read it later) - but there are many.

In the end, the key thing in my view is

a) don't injure yourself
b) keep training
c) be willing to learn/try new stuff
d) see a)

If you are young and you train hard, you'll put on muscle no matter what you do. If you are older it is harder, in part because of work. Still, I seem to be able to regain muscle really fast now. If I could only loose some weight though... (!)