Quite the contrary. Cortisol inhibits maximum protein synthesis (muscle growth) and might even lead to the over expression of the myostatin gene, more myostatin expression = less muscle
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No because more damage doesn’t necessarilyy mean more growth. What means more growth is the biochemical response to the training stimulus. And once you have triggered it, doing more damage will not enhance the stimulation.
And surcompensation doesn’t apply to muscle mass, only to glycogen stores. You do not “surcompensate” muscle tissue, you simply repair and grow it through an increase in protein synthesis.
Building muscle is all about increasing muscle protein synthesis; utilising the amino acids you have in your body (from the protein you ingest) to repair and build muscle tissue. The higher protein synthesis is, the more muscle you will build. Especially if it’s opposite, protein breakdown/degradation, is low.
In simplistic terms:
PROTEIN SYNTHESIS – PROTEIN BREAKDOWN = MUSCLE GROWTH
Protein synthesis occurs in response to training. Several biochemical elements can initiate it and these can be triggered by resistance training as well as nutritional/supplementation strategies.
Protein breakdown is due either to the micro-trauma imposed on the muscle through resistance training or an excessively high level of catabolic hormones; hormones that have (among other things) the purpose of mobilizing stored energy by breaking it down into usable elements. For example cortisol can breakdown glycogen stored in the muscle and fatty acids stored in fat cells (body fat). But it can also break down muscle tissue into amino acids which can then be turned into glucose to be used for energy.
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No, I’m saying that too much volume requires you to mobilize more glycogen. THE MAIN FUNCTION OF CORTISOL WHEN IT COMES TO TRAINING IS MOBILIZING STORED ENERGY… the more energy you need to burn, the more cortisol you release because cortisol’s function is to make energy available.
You seem to have a very limited understanding of physiology
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Thanks Coach. This is a wonderful program. I tried something similar many years ago, almost accidentally and got good results with it. I am sure this program will work wonders for a lot of lifters. However for the sake of simplicity can I try something like A1,B1,A2,B2 and repeat ?
Thanks for all the replies man.
Are you sure we are talking about the same thing? we don’t supercompensate muscle tissue?! so when a muscle fiber tears, it doesn’t grow bigger and stronger? cause that’s what I (and most physiology text books) call supercompensation.
I researched it again, Just in case, and found that “ACUTE” increases in cortisol doesn’t have any catabolic effects on muscle tissue and even helps the growth and remodeling process. it’s the chronic and on-going elevations of it that mess everything up.
I didn’t think so, Actually I’m a grad student studying Clinical Exercise Physiology, But it must be some truth to it if you say so 
If you’d like I could give you scientific studies and articles about the stuff that I said.
Thanks again CT.
I have similar studies and keep extremely constant with the most up to date literature, thanks. BTW I had a lot of students in my B.Sc. and M.Sc. classes and very few of them that I would consider apt at really understanding what goes on during training, much less design programs. In fact oftentimes those with the most diplomas are the worst “in the trenches”.
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Just to give my two cents here but I think your focus on acute effects of corotisol is an example of missing the forest for the tress. Workouts shouldn’t be look at just in terms of what happens during them and immediately after but in a larger perspective. I think Christians point and one I happen to agree with is that constant long hard workouts will elevate corotisol to a greater degree over time. It’s that higher constant corotisol release that’s going to great down the body more over time.
An extreme example being a marathon runner vs a sprinter. I think we all agree on which body of those two athletes we would prefer (and yes I know that’s an extreme example and different energy systems are being used. I too went to college for exercise science and have been in the nutrition field for nearly a decade now but I’m not looking into turning this into a pissing contest about who is more highly educated just pointing out I do have a base understand of such a topic).
Of course, I have no claims about knowing much about anything, let alone physiology.
But I would like to continue this discussion and gain a better understanding in this matter.
The books, articles and researches that I read were mostly written by guys like brad schoenfeld, John Berardi, Layne Norton, Jacob Wilson and many more who I think much like yourself, are masters in this field.
BTW, I love your birth place, and I’m learning french so I could immigrate there as soon as possible 
I already some time ago came to the conclusion that the use of high volume by professionals is closely associated with the use of insulin. Thus easier to pump muscle glycogen and other nutrients.
Is my reasoning is correct?
CT, can one add some trap sets to the pull days? Why no explosive type lifting such as SGHP’s? Are they too demanding?
I would assume as the sets need to go to failure and doing a sghp to failure would be to much of an injury risk due to the complexity of the lift and enevitable form break down as fatigue sets in!!
Good point, although it seems that you would be able to do a few sets at the beginning of the workout to “prime” the CNS. I just really like doing them and would hate to give them up. In the Pendlay article “Too Much Muscle” he talks about a 4 day total body push/pull split with lots of lifting at different speeds. I really enjoy this style of training and am trying so see if it is feasible to kind of combine the two programs so to speak.
The program that CT suggested in one of the threads discussing this article could allow some SGHP, I think - the one that starts with 6x2 at 80% (progressing up by 2.5kg per week) and then uses higher rep sets with last one to failure. You could do SGHP instead of deadlifts or alternate them on the deadlift day (i.e Squat day, bench day, deadlift day, OFF, squat day, bench day, SGHP day, off).
Yes,exactly! That’s what I’ve been doing start off my pulling sessions with 3-5 sets 2-3 reps at 80% 1rm then will increase that each training block as low rep strength work seems to be less glycogen depleting then I use the guidelines that Christian wrote about in his article so assistance exercises 1 set to failure using rest & pause etc!! Been working well for me so far
Yes and no.
That’s not where it comes from (volume was even higher in the 80s and insulin use was extremely rarer back then, other than Tim Belknap, who was diabetic, I don’t know if any bodybuilders who used it).
But it certainly make volume training more effective, not only by driving more nutrients into the working muscles but also by drastically reducing cortisol output and catabolism.
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Regarding the explosive lifting: this is strictly a bodybuilding program. Other programs combining the hypertrophy principles from this article with performance elements will come out in the future,
Traps “sets”? No, you can add one traps exercise with one all-out work set per session. But be careful, you seem to be of the mind set of wanting to do “just a little bit more” which might ruin the program.
Hey Christian,
I’ve read in another thread that you advise to add calves on the push days - would you suggest adding abs on the pull days only or do you suggest more frequent ab training? (max ab growth is my goal). Also which ab exercise/method combination would be best in your opinion?
Any particular diet advice on this regime? For skinny-fat body types would carb-cycling do the trick or would moderate carb loading daily be better?
Cheers!
Hi Christian,
Obviously I understand that this is geared for bodybuilding and I don’t want to change things to suit my mindset and be disrespectful to the principles you’ve presented as I know how frustrating that must be!
But if you wanted to keep a strength element to it could you do one of the main lifts using reps scheme of 3 x 3 or 5 x 3 at 80% then increase this with each block and then for the other exercises use the 1 set to failure as you’ve outlined? I know you’ve said your going to write about this so I’m happy to wait for you to advise further.
Many thanks
@jp1r9
He has written an upcoming article in which each training session starts with a strength movement with sets, reps, and progression model built in. Just have to wait for it to appear on the site.
Ok thanks CT! I will definitely have a hard time dialing the volume back but im looking forward to doing something different. Also will be keeping an eye out for your future articles