On a related note, I think this was one of the best articles published on T Nation.
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Today’s legs were as so…
Leg curls - 1 50% set
Leg Extensions - 1 50% set
Sumo Leg Press - 10 plates per side x 10, 8 plates per side x 15
Smith Machine Glute Thrusts - 365 x 10
That’s it.
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I guess one take away here is not all sets are created equal. As in a set on decline bench taken to failure for 2 sets with adequate rest between them vs a set on decline taken to failure plus a few forced negatives. I guess thats where the “knowing yourself” comes into play. They could both have similar effect or one greater stimulation than the other. I suppose it would depend on the effort put in and the lifter.
When you pick set extending technique+ lift combination do you rotate weekly or stick with that combo for a few weeks? Example: hammer press with drop sets.
Interesting, to say the least 
Why are you still going on about steroids? There is a pharma section here, those guys will set you straight about whatever misconceptions you have.
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???
TCLuoma is your address for that- he is the author!
I’m not saying that the article is wrong, I’m saying that there is no reason for you to post stuff like that here because it is a dead argument. On top of that, the topic in the article is totally irrelevant to what was discussed in this thread. So please, move on.
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Did you even bother reading the article?
There is a decent amount of information about our topic:
“Muscle growth is accompanied by the addition of nuclei from stem cells to help meet the enhanced demands of larger muscle cells,” explained Schwartz
As well as the “ ballooning effect of the muscle which leads to…
“This is why you sometimes see some 180-pound strength athlete easily out-bench a 250-pound bodybuilder. “
… bigger muscles are always NOT equals to power, as I mentioned before and was highly criticized here as me being wrong!
Just to name two takeaways from that article to our question about the driver of gainz!
“so that when a muscle shrinks or atrophies due to misuse or disuse, the number of myonuclei decreases.”
Meaning that Training should take care of everything opposite.
This is moving on in our topic
I actually don’t see the relevance of that article to this topic. Maybe it’s just me…
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Do you think such low volume would still be optimal for someone like me who is far from being as strong and jacked as you are? Not trying to relaunch the argument, if anything, I like making my session quicker.
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To me it explains/states:
A.) the importance of myonuclei for gains
B.) puts your body as example into a different light ( you were and, to a certain degree still are with TRT, in a different state than everyone else )
C.) muscle size is not equal to power
A. - overly nuanced to worry about
B. Which would matter if my training had changed from being natty to using gear, to going TRT. It never did.
C. No way??? I coulda had a V8
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I can’t tell you that. You’d have to experiment to find out the minimum dose for the maximal response. That’s what I always do.
That proves nothing. Do you really think that this hypothetical 180lb strength athlete wouldn’t bench more if he gained a substantial amount of muscle mass? You get good at what you train for, and bodybuilders aren’t normally training to increase their 1rm.
@Paul_Carter
Just wondering since we are discussing your training, what exactly are your goals these days? I know you have been at this for a long time so what you do and why will be different from 99% of the people reading this.
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I have some goals in terms of weight x reps I want to hit on certain movements within the year.
None of course are the big three. I have some sumo leg press, RDL, hack squat, barbell row, hip thrust, and a few other movement based goals.
Right now I’m dieting my ass off along with my better half just for summer. Normally I wouldn’t care but she’s trying to get into peak condition for summer so I’m doing it with her.
My conditioning is ridiculous right now. I did 15 100-yard sprints the other day at basically full speed with only the 100 yard walk back as the rest, and could talk normally the whole time. Getting back into that kind of condition beats anything in the weight room. Not even close.
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Do you train to be able to do this basically by just doing it and working up? I know, crazy right?
Nah I get into condition like that really fast. My normal steady state pace is borderline jogging for most people so I literally did four internal sessions before that one. But my ability to recover from all out high rep sets in the gym benefits from this a lot. Which means my workouts take like 35-40 minutes max. Which I like. No reason to be in there for hours.
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Is there any benefit to lowering the weight and getting more reps in if you’ve already got a solid 3-4 sets of your working weight in? As in couldn’t do any more complete sets with working weight.
Like have you read through this whole thread?
How are you doing 4 “working sets” of a movement, then have the energy to do a back off set for high reps?
You’re not working hard enough if that’s the case.
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