A simple theory, some of us may overlook....

[Freak Show]

but I'm beginning to think it may help. Ok so maybe this ain't technically a "theory" and I'm sure its not NEW or REVOLUTIONARY but hear me out.
Its quite simple. Take one bodypart that's lagging and absolutely beat the shit out of it for one day. I'm talking an absurd amount of volume. For example, one day try doing 25 sets or so for chest, or back, or biceps, etc. I'm sure most of us train with the typical 3-4 sets of 3-4 exercises. So if things aren't progressing why not shock the living hell out of your system? Obviously, this would be limited to say, once a month or so due to the fact that if done regularly you wouldn't be able to recover. Poliquin recommends something similar in his book. its not in front of me so I can't give details but I believe he calls it "supercompensation." I have tried this recently for my laggin hams and it has worked UNBELIEVABLY well. If anyone else has done this, lets hear your experiences. To every one else, try it. you have nothing to lose. Opinions?

 

[theoak01]

i ahve always been a strong believer in this theory,ive done high sets before and they are exhausting,but i feel they have there place maybe once every three months

 

[jww13]

Sounds interesting and w/o trying it out I'd have to say that it wouldn't work (but of course I'm just guessing) as well. The reason being overtraining. If you stress a muscle sooo much then it will be VERY hard and VERY long for it to recover. It seems to me that it would be better to do just the once per week workout per muscle, and let it recover a week, and so on.

Just some thoughts but I've thought similarly before

 

[AMP 33]

Thats a good idea. Im gooing to try it sometime soon.

 

[Freak Show]

Sounds interesting and w/o trying it out I'd have to say that it wouldn't work (but of course I'm just guessing) as well. The reason being overtraining. If you stress a muscle sooo much then it will be VERY hard and VERY long for it to recover. It seems to me that it would be better to do just the once per week workout per muscle, and let it recover a week, and so on.

Just some thoughts but I've thought similarly before

what you're saying is indeed true, but remember this is limited to once a month or like C. Oak suggested, once every 3 months. When you go back the next week or so to train the bodypart again, the reduction in volume will almost seem "easy" to your body. Of course I can't give detailed scientific evidence of how or why it works, but it has some credibility I'm sure.

 

[MonStar1023]

Freak Show

Good point.

100% Agreed.

 

[flex4life]

I like it!
it makes sense... got nothing to lose... will give it a try soon- thanks for the thought

 

[Belial]

Very simple: by the time the muscle has adequately recovered, the detraining effect will have long since begun. The idea is to strike a balance between giving enough time for recovery, yet not allowing the muscle to detrain, and therefore actually weaken.

Shocking a bodypart with ultra-high volume may seem like a good idea, but it's probably a step in the WRONG direction with regards to "bringing up" a lagging muscle group.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[liftah]

I used a similiar type thing to bring up my arms. I would train my arms 2 to 3 days in a row with high volume so on the second and third day they would be sore while training them. It worked very well. Although, I wouldn't recommend doing it all the time because it does really tire you out.

 

[Robboe]

have you ever thought of why the part may be lagging in the first place?

most likely cause it's not getting enough rest to grow.

for example, a guy in my gym asked me how to sort out his lagging triceps. I asked his routine and was as follows:

mon: chest
tues: bis, tris
wed: rest
thursday: delts, legs
friday: back
sat: rest
sun: repeat cycle.

i told him it was cause his tris weren;t getting enough rest in the first place to grow.

his tris were getting hit hard 3 times in 4 days!

i told him to get rid of the arm day and do tris after chest and bis after back.

4 weeks later he thanked me for the noticeable difference he was witnessing.