Comments on: A Big Mistake When it Comes to Gaining Muscle Mass

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:30:18 +0000

Hey Rusty,

Are there any studies that prove that this method works, have you, or anybody you know, such as clients, had success with this?

By: jkg

jkg — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:02:05 +0000

Hey Rusty,

I understand the benefits of specialization, which is great aesthetically, but I must disagree as well. This is in large part because the studies in the journal of exercise physiology have demonstrated a considerable increase in growth hormone release using multi-joint exercises. That is not to say specialization is not good because you can apply other methods like short rest periods to increase intensity (something I think you extol on your site). I just consider it as a supplemental aspect of training.

I have a few questions to ask as I am trying to reconcile your other posts and their ideas with this one.

I know your general philosophy is gaining strength and muscles tone without developing 'soft' muscles from high rep to failure bodybuilding schemes.

You mention a lot about the low-rep high volume matrix supported by Pavel. If you are developing strength, you still do high volume but avoid failure which is also known as greasing the groove ("How to get Stronger at Push ups"), or if you are developing muscle mass, you sill do high rep low volume but you do go until exhaustion e.g. when you cannot maintain perfect form as in the article "A 'Sensible' Way to Build Muscle." The exception to the Pavel's strength program is your "Lift Light Weights For Low Reps" article in which to develop strength, you should go with low reps and low volume (i.e. sets). This makes sense to me because in Pavel's model, you are not focusing on your muscles contracting specifically, so you would reduce the volume. This is analagous to Dynamic Effort training but you are coupling the explosiveness with tension.

Okay, so my questions are this:

Are you still advocating a low rep scheme in conjunction with high volume here?
Does this mean that total sets of 15-20 are used per workout on the body part on interest while the maintaining body parts are done only 15-20 sets per week ?
Are you still avoiding failure while still maintaining low rep high volume?

I just want to make sense and synthesize all the information you provided so I can allocate as per my fitness goals.

(Btw, I should mention as well that Gymnasts experience a lot of negative movements for long periods of time as well as isometric or static holds, so we cannot ignore that completely )

Great stuff on this site Rusty. Thanks again.

By: Leonid

Leonid — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:28:22 +0000

I always wonder how something seems so simple when you know about it and you think "hey, how come I couldn't figure it out by myself?".

It is the problem after I had gained a lot of mass my proportions remained the same – thin arms in comparison with torso (38 inches chest and 13 inches biceps) and it is really difficult to get clear info on how to specialize.

I know a lot of guys who are generally thin (150-160 pounds) but they look just stunning shirtless, like the man in the photo above – definition, angular look, and they are strong also!

Thanks a lot, this blog is one of the best in terms of delivery of "doable" information.

By: zyzz

zyzz — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:54:39 +0000

I think even with identical stats when comparing two people it's purely genetics when it comes to visuals.

By: Wade

Wade — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:28:53 +0000

I had to post again, so i could get a follow up email, Sorry!

By: Wade

Wade — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:27:39 +0000

Hey Rusty.
I have been sticking to the "big lifts" since i starting working out about ehh 2 years ago. I'm now 17 and my numbers are pretty big, but like your article, i am basically exactly what you are talking about. I am really interested in getting my body image up. If you could recomend workouts that I could do at my house with a Powertec Rack with a incline bench of a ton of different postions, i also have some dumbells. I am looking into hitting my triceps, shoulders, upper/inner chest, and biceps. If you could put together a basic routine that i could work with weekly, I could GREATLY appreciate it, and help spread the word of the AWESOME website.

–

Wade.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:57:12 +0000

Great post. I see some guys at the gym with huge muscles, but they don't look so good. They do a lot of dead lifts and such exercises. I also see guys with great shoulders, arms and chest, and spindley legs.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:46:53 +0000

This is great info for me, since I have been back in my workout routine for the past few weeks. I have always been pretty small so I will still stick to my all round approach so I can gain some mass first. But thanks for the article, because I would have just continued my same routine every day for months. Now I'll be sure to target my upper body in a few weeks, thanks again!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:39:53 +0000

This is an interesting approach. Everytime I begin a muscle building phase I always put on A LOT of mass in my legs, to the point where my pants dont fit in the thighs and butt, but my upper body looks virutally the same. I am skeptical, however, because doing big lifts like squat have been shown to have the largest increase in serum testosterone and HGH levels. Muscle growth is next to impossible without an increase in these hormones. How can muscle mass be added in relatively small muscle groups without being augmented significantly by an increase in test. and HGH? Thoughts?

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:50:43 +0000

I've tried to gain muscle for years, sometimes with success, sometimes without success. Whenever I do proper gym work, deadlifts, bench presses etc… I do get stronger and weigh more with a slight improvement to my look. The best success I've had with looking better is a combination of press-ups, sit-ups and light jogging to lower body fat and make the muscle more visible.

By: Paul O'Brien

Paul O'Brien — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:26:07 +0000

I think bumping up the volume on excercise i.e 15-20 sets for one body part to build density etc is the single most ridiculous approach to training i have ever heard. Being ripped shredded is a function of body fat lean body mass ratio, body builders sometimes have a puffy look due to excess water retention caused by supplements or anabolic hormones they use. The idea of focusing on simple lifts is because with compound lifts like squats, deads etc u can go HEAVY, which stimulates the release of your bodies own hormones. Just try 15 sets for your biceps at high intensity (clean- no juice) and u will see absolutely no results and more importantly will hold u back for important excercises like rows, pulls etc, look at modern day powerlifters from japan they train with no isolation of the biceps, shoulders etc and are absolute animals, ripped to shreds

By: abdominal muscle gain

abdominal muscle gain — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:16:17 +0000

abdominal muscle gain…

Carrying around extra fat becomes deadly due to the extra stress that is places on the heart. Because the heart needs to work extra hard to ensure that blood is being circulated throughout the body correctly. Because of the extra work the heart has to …

By: juan

juan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:56:25 +0000

What type of workout can you do to get larger arms?

By: Karsten88

Karsten88 — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:34:04 +0000

Guess I am asking if you think i should put on more muscle before i start cutting fat.

Just to give you an idea of how my body looks, my arms are very similar to the guys arms in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q5v3WaT-yY

By: Karsten88

Karsten88 — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:33:33 +0000

Wow good stuff Rusty!

How big does a guy need to be if he wants to get really lean?
I mean how much muscle mass?

I do NOT have a lot of muscle. To be honest my body looks a lot like a womans, with a little more muscle. Building more muscle is ONE of my goals but i dont want to start there.
Im tired of my flabs, and want to get rid of them and get lean, before i start building. In my opinion there no reason to start a muscle building phase when you're not happy about your current bodyfat level.

Im 176cm Heigh
I weigh 65kg
Bodyfat is around 10-11%

I wanted to ask what you think. Is there any health risks for me if i get ripped? Do you think i should?

By: dr. pepper

dr. pepper — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:41:30 +0000

wow… very interesting, I might have to rethink my program. Great Post!

By: Bree

Bree — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:31:19 +0000

Love your site…. Problem i have is that i have don tons of weighted squqats and deadlifts for my rear end…i love the results But i now have over developed Traps and Shoulders my arms are naturally Musculer but i still like to work my chest and Triceps for a nice Neck and jawline….HELP…..hate my shoulders and Traps love my Butt what can i do??

By: Extreme Muscle Building

Extreme Muscle Building — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:11:46 +0000

I like the what you have to say. Good job.

By: Sway

Sway — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:37:30 +0000

I like your idea of having dense muscles – I am a female and I have been trying to increase my upper body muscle definition and was wondering if you could suggest a routine, post, or reference a book or type of training.

I like the was the fitness models upper body looks – nice dense muscle that don't look so outrageous like a female bodybuilder.

I only use weights for my upper body – any lifting or sprinting incrases my leg size to an undesirable look.

Thanks

By: JespBT

JespBT — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:31:56 +0000

Hi
Another great post with some good points to note.

I have a small question.
I training 3 days a week all with a day in between.
Would it be of any benefit for me to split my workout up so I'm doing Back, Chest, abs one day and Shoulders, Triceps, and Biceps the other day and then just change between them?

Hope anyone can help.

Thanks in advance.