Ezine #194
Full-Range “Freak-Physique” Workout
Q: I just got the Stretch-Overload Workout ebook. I’m ready to hit the 3D Power Pyramid Program because I like the idea of full-range Positions of Flexion for each muscle instead of breaking it up. My problem is that I’m in my 40s, and that’s a lot of lower-rep pyramiding [adding weight so reps go 8, 6, 3-4] on the big midrange exercises. How can I make it safer for my joints? I’ve hurt my shoulder doing low reps on bench presses in the past.
A: You’re right: As you get older you should focus on safer muscle-hypertrophy stimulation, not jacking your joints with low-rep loads…
With that in mind, we suggest you use the high-rep-set-first STX method on the midrange exercise that leads off each body part routine. For example, for biceps…
Midrange: Barbell curls, 1 x 20, 1 x 8 R/P 5
Stretch: Incline curls, 2 x 8-12
Contracted: Concentration curls, 1 x 8-12
Only use the STX method on the first move. Note that “R/P” stands for rest/pause, 10 seconds. [For a full description of the method and why it works, see Chapter 4: Pure-Positions STX Mass Workout in that same ebook].
You’ll still be getting the 3 max-hypertrophy requirements outlined by Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D.: mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage—all of those each time you train a target muscle twice a week…
Plus, it will be safer AND you’ll get a lot of new slow-twitch fiber growth from that initial high-rep set. Here is something Schoenfeld discovered in his recent study, “Inducing hypertrophic effects of type 1 skeletal muscle fibers”…
“Due to the lower fatiguability of type 1 muscle fibers…a greater time under load is necessary to stimulate an accentuated growth of these fibers. An increase in time under load can be achieved when training with lower loads.”
That’s precisely what you’re getting with your very first set of your very first exercise for each target muscle—high-rep stimulation for slow-twitch mass creation.
NEW: The Freak-Physique Stretch-Overload Workout contains new mass-building research and workouts supercharged with anabolic stretch, including Pure-Positions STX, 3D Power Pyramid (full POF workouts), Double-X Overload and T/NT (traumatic/non-traumatic). For a limited time, you can add it to your mass-building library, a $19 value, for ONLY $9 HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
ATTENTION OVER-40 BODYBUILDERS:
One of the most interesting read-me pages on Testosterone and other muscle-building hormones we’ve seen is The Truth About Testosterone.
It even talks about a fruit, a specific part, that can up your T naturally. Cranking up your testosterone will not only get you jacked in the gym but in the bedroom too—not to mention help rip up your midsection as it ignites fat burning. If that interests you, there’s more from our colleague and registered dietician, HERE.
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