I know that progressive overload is NEEDED to get bigger. But I would like some input on which strategy seems to work better overall: Progressive Overload Training to failure every time while upping weight every week, or Dynamic Set Training while Progressively adding weight every week? In other words, is it enough to just add weight every consecutive workout, or should I train every muscle group to failure and add weight every consecutive workout? I lose mass quickly when I don't go to the gym. I absolutely CANNOT gain mass working a muscle group just once per week. I have to workout each muscle group twice per week or more to stay big or make gains. Anything over 175 lbs. is not natural for my body and it always wants to go back to that weight really quickly if I stop lifting. The biggest that I have ever been was 205 lbs. and it took training every muscle group twice a week and eating like an elephant. It was natural gains. I want to stay big, but have time to do other things in life as well. I have a teenager and 2 young kids that need attention. I recently purchased a high dose, long term (20 weeks) cycle, but I do not want to lose gains afterward because my natural weight is so low. If I make large gains in strength, so that I am lifting alot heavier weights, will that be enough, along with a very successful PCT, to keep most of my gains? Will I always have to eat like a horse to keep my weight up?
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Progressive Overload vs. Dynamic Set Training
- Thread starter nbhuge
- Start date
mentalflex
Registered
Progresive overload doesn't necessarily mean heavier weight every session, it can be increasing the number of reps, adding a static, adding a drop set, slowing down the negative, adding a set... Progressive overload means that in consecutive sessions training that muscle your increase the stimulus placed on it. The easiest way to do this is to add weight or reps, but other methods are also useful and effective.
One thing to consider with the other question you pose about training a muscle more than once a week is that the more recovery and growth cycles you have the more progress you will make. If you have enough mechanical tension and can cause enough muscular damage and metabolic stress to create a hypertrophic response more often and recover from it, the more growth you will see. They key is recovering and the balance lies in how much you break down the muscle, as the more you break it down the more potential for growth exists, versus how frequently you break it down. This is where you need to adjust volume and intensity appropriately for your body so that you can ensure optimal stimulus on the muscle and optimal recovery.
One thing to consider with the other question you pose about training a muscle more than once a week is that the more recovery and growth cycles you have the more progress you will make. If you have enough mechanical tension and can cause enough muscular damage and metabolic stress to create a hypertrophic response more often and recover from it, the more growth you will see. They key is recovering and the balance lies in how much you break down the muscle, as the more you break it down the more potential for growth exists, versus how frequently you break it down. This is where you need to adjust volume and intensity appropriately for your body so that you can ensure optimal stimulus on the muscle and optimal recovery.
That's good advice. I know that recovery time is where the growth occurs. I don't think that I was training hard enough after a plateau, so I was still recovering within 2 or 3 days even when I trained to failure. I am about to start a high dose Adrol/Test cycle and my recovery time is going to feel even quicker to me. I've heard that training extremely hard once per week for each muscle growth can be the best because of the time that you allow for growth. But I could never seem to make that work for me. I would always start to lose size in a muscle after 4 or 5 days if it wasn't trained even on cycle. Any advice on how I could try to make the High Intensity/ Once per week method work for me, or how I could test it out the best?
mentalflex
Registered
What research proves "training extremely hard once per week" is the best? Seems like it is just an opinion... and a lame on at that. Honestly, it shouldn't take one 7 days to recover. You should be recovered much much faster than that... It seems as if you haven't spent much time learning your body and need more overall experience with different training programs to determine what your body responds to best.
HIT, by nature has less volume, which means hitting each muscle more than once per week. Volume training with a moderate to high intensity will require more time to recover. IMO, hitting each muscle once per week isn't optimal. IF you wanted to hit each muscle once per week I would use a relatively high volume and high intensity, so taking sets to failure, adding in drop sets, isotension, partials, forced reps, bands...
If you want advice on how to test it, just do it and see what happens.
Hey Doc, my age is 32, I have been training since I was a teenager. Didn't do first cycle until age 21. My Biceps recover VERY quickly and they lose size after just 2 days after recovering. I can tear down every muscle group except my shoulders and biceps. I can practically NEVER get those 2 groups sore. I am going to try very high rep range/ very high volume for a few weeks and see how that works. Seems to be the only thing that I haven't tried. My Bi's and Shoulders have always been behind in size, but my strength is way up there. I can curl just as much as a guy with arms twice my size. Strength goes up while size stays the same. I have also just started my first long term/ high dose cycle of the strongest stuff that's out there. 1400mg/week TEST/ 100mg per day Adrol for 7 weeks. I'm going to carb load for the first 3 months and keep protein intake very high with lean meats and LOTS of eggs (whites). Eggs are cheap and I can get 150g per day just with raw egg whites. I'm at 190 right now with a body fat % around 15%-18%. I want to lose fat as well but I will worry about that after the Adrol is over with. I want to be at 220 with 12%. Any tips would be awesome. Thanks
raysd21
Banned Member
Raw egg whites have a 50% malabsorbtion rate. So you are only getting like 70g of protein for being lazy. Why don't you grind up the shells in a coffee grinder while you are at it. There is probably more nutritional content in the shell than what you are getting from the raw white. This may attribute to your lack of growth. Also blood nitrogen after ingestion of the raw egg is significantly lower compared with the cooked. And since you are having trouble growing why are you only eating whites? Yolkes have all the nutrition fat and calories....nothing really makes sense here. I could pick this thread apart all day long....
I would lift heavy 5-8 reps 3 sets 3-4 exercises with your trouble areas. Or 5 sets of 5 or something for like a month or two. You having a high metabolism just doesn't make sense doing high volume. I would give heavy/low reps with lots of food and lots of rest a try. I think you are overtraining and not growing. Plus the egg thing doens't help. Just cook your damn eggs people.
TBC
Lose size 2 days after recovery? What does that even mean. Tearing down muscles is not the objective either. I think you are digging a 5 foot hole with only 4 and a half feet of dirt to fill it back in. Try digging a 3 foot hole with 5 feet of dirt to fill it back in....
I would lift heavy 5-8 reps 3 sets 3-4 exercises with your trouble areas. Or 5 sets of 5 or something for like a month or two. You having a high metabolism just doesn't make sense doing high volume. I would give heavy/low reps with lots of food and lots of rest a try. I think you are overtraining and not growing. Plus the egg thing doens't help. Just cook your damn eggs people.
TBC
Lose size 2 days after recovery? What does that even mean. Tearing down muscles is not the objective either. I think you are digging a 5 foot hole with only 4 and a half feet of dirt to fill it back in. Try digging a 3 foot hole with 5 feet of dirt to fill it back in....
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mentalflex
Registered
Still never answered my question...
And why on earth would you want to train trouble areas once per week?
And why on earth would you want to train trouble areas once per week?
Raysd has a good point.... I found in my own training that I wasn't gaining much size as I was strength when I was training 6 days a week...I t wasn't until I switched from high volume to high intensity (because it's physically impossible to do both) that I realized my best gains....I would train only twice a week training half the body in 1 session & half the other...the added recovery time was key for me...train to absolute failure...2-300g protein daily divided 5-6 meals...3000 or better calories daily...training this way for 10 weeks brought me from 205-240lbs solid gains without being soft...
The advice these guys are giving is golden. Take note from em bud like a sponge 
raysd21
Banned Member
I just started making a conscious effort not to work out 2 days in a row while lifting heavy. I will do low intensity cardio on my days off so I can still eat. But I am looking fuller and am hitting new PRs weekly. Then again it could be the dbol I am running. Legit as a mofo...
Once my body gets used to this routine I will probably do high volume. Read some of Glycoman or VictorZ06's posts. You will find some very, very good information in those guys posts. Like Glycoman says...
Once my body gets used to this routine I will probably do high volume. Read some of Glycoman or VictorZ06's posts. You will find some very, very good information in those guys posts. Like Glycoman says...
That's really all you can do...
