[quote]EF5127 wrote:
[quote]KosanFalcon wrote:
[quote]EF5127 wrote:
[quote]KosanFalcon wrote:
[quote]EF5127 wrote:
Kosan, I notice like most BB’s you’re doing 1 muscle/body part training a day. Or at least primarily 1 a day. This was something I used to do a long time ago, when I was like 14. Do you think this is the best way to train for hypertrophy with all that we know about training? I’m only asking because this is how BB’s train. It’s just that I have not done it in so long and when I did do it, I was 14 and knew nothing about training or nutrition. The results I got then, surely can’t be a reflection of the effectiveness of this style of training. I could never imagine doing 16-20 sets of a single muscle like I used to, but at the same time although total training volume of the muscle is high, the training volume of each exercise is low. Doing 4 sets of an exercise at a fairly low intensity % is something I think I could easily do. Whether or not it would be effective though is the question. I know a lot of guys who do 4 sets, 4 exercises, 12,10,8,6 reps. The intensity would be very low in terms of the percentage relative to your 1 RM. I don’t see how this could in any way be effective. Anyways, I just want to know from somebody who’s obviously had success training this way why it’s their choice method of training. Cheers.[/quote]
I think it’s what works best for me. I like doing high volume (20-35 sets per bodypart, normally), and high intensity as well, so doing more than one bodypart per day I find to be too stressful. Lately, with the new 5-day split I’m on, I do 2 or 3 per day, but hardly ever two large bodyparts in the same day; normally something like bis and tris, chest and abs, hams and calves, etc.
Intensity, however, is not what you seem to term it as. If you completely fail at 1 rep or 50, as long as you completely fail, you’re using 100% intensity. % of 1RM is more correlative to strength gains, at least for me. I do believe staying within a 4-20 rep range, though, is where maximal hypertrophy is acheived (more around 6 reps for upper bodyparts, and around 20 for legs).
One main key to inducing maximal hypertrophy is definitely to fail at different rep ranges in the same workout. For instance, one thing I like to do often is to start out with a coumpound movement, work my way down to failing around 6 reps, then later in the workout use isolating exercises and fail around 15-20 reps. I feel this is how I often get the best pump and most hypertrophy. I always keep intensity high, though, by using intensity techniques such as forced reps, negatives, partials, etc., to ensure I’m reaching total failure on each exercise.[/quote]
Hmm I see what you’re saying…interesting. I’m tempted to go on an all out hypertrophy run just to see what I think of that style training again. Just have not done it in so long, I’m curious to see what the results would be like. Hypertrophy’s not my forte and I’m having trouble wrapping my head around working with weights that may or may not be a high % relative to my 1 rm, but do I dare?[/quote]
Hey, it all depends on what you want. If size is a goal of yours, it could definitely be beneficial. Strength also will increase, of course, but if it’s your main goal, it won’t be anywhere near as fast as if you were following a strength routine.
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Lets say I wanted to go ahead with it, focused on absolutely nothing but Hypertrophy. How would you suggest organizing it?
A. 4 exercises, 4 sets each, 12,10,8,6?
B. 4 exercises, 4 sets, exercise 1. 3-5 reps, exercise 2. 6-8 reps, exercise 3. 8-10 reps, exercise 4. 10-12 reps?
C. Non Linear model, Day 1. 8x3, Day 2. 4x6, Day 3. 2x12? This would be 3 Total Body sessions, more of what I’m used to.
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I’d say using all of those routine structures, switching up at least every 2 weeks or so, would be very beneficial. Some slight changes I’d suggest are possibly doing something like 2-3 exercises for smaller bodyparts and 4-6 for larger ones, anywhere from 3-7 sets apiece, depending on what you’re focusing on at that time. Variety is the key, above all except intensity. Also try adding in some intensity techniques in each workout: drop sets, forced reps, and slow reps are what I consider to be some of the most beneficial.
For max hypertrophy, though, you probably wouldn’t want to do any total body sessions, except perhaps during a light deload or rest week. Just go balls-out with proper form and attention to the feeling on each exercise, and NEVER do the same routine twice in a row.
For instance, I’ll do two weeks of somewhat similar workouts on separate days for hams and quads, then on the 3rd week I’ll do a full leg day, then repeat. But my routines are never exactly the same; I’ll change at least one exercise and rep range or intensity technique each time, and if I do the same overall structure (i.e., compound movements first, then targeting exercises) for the same bodypart twice in a row, the 3rd time, I’ll change it (pre-exhausting on one or more targeting exercises, then hitting compound movements, then finishing with a FST-7 [7 sets x 10-12 reps, 30-sec rest] or GVT [8x8 or 10x10, as short rest as possible] technique exercise [either compound or targeting].
Sorry about the run-on sentences; they’re my forte as far as grammatical errors go. 
Any questions you have, feel free to ask, dude. Glad to be of any help I can.
