My hit training recommendations

[ghettostudmuffin]

Tom, what's the point in taking any set to failure when you have found it totally unnecesary?

Failure for me is not needed and is in fact detrimental to optimal training progress for me. I'm not saying 1 set here and there is gonna cash me out recovery wise, but I have found training to failure at all for me is just not needed.

I respond best to heavy weights, low rep sets, lots of rest time between sets and more volume and frequency of workouts, and NO FAILURE.

I have no interest in purposely training to failure now or ever again.

Been there, done that many different ways.

 

[Allon]

Ghetto, I tottaly get what you are saying.
A few questions:

1 rep squats are not for hypertrophy correct? Do you see any substantial growth? Sure the muscle gets harder and stronger and more defined but no real size gains? If you do then that is the opposite of anything I have been taught, that 6 -12 reps is needed to gain size...

If you never hit failure do you work out each body part more than once a week or do you still rest 7 days between each body part?
I personally like the idea of doing a month or two of full body workout with low volume and barely hitting failure three days a week (HST style) and then a month or two of 2-3 day split hitting each body part every 4-6 days. I just think that ok it is great to hit each body part once a week a give it all that time to rest but there is also lots of gains to be made by working out every other day, different type of gains and benefits for the body providing I avoid injury and overtraining.... Whats your opinion on this?

How about volume? Lets say I never hit failure but I do like 10 sets or more per body part, would that be better than doing 5-6 sets and hitting failure just once or twice?
I mean, doesn't volume also count for something here, not only the failure itself....?

I agree with robholmes man, I like your posts and appreciate your feedback and knowledge bro....

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

thanks man, so nice of you

ill answer your question towards ghetto concerning volume and growth in my own way. your growth will depend on the fitness of your body. if you are new to working out or have not gotten near a peak, single rep sets will make you grow. if you have been lifting a while ( a year plus ), and normally do five reps or more per set, you might even lose some size but gain density and strength. ghetto still gets some volume, but its in the form of warm up sets.

so, growth depends on how accustomed your body is to working out, and the routine that it is used to. thats the whole theory behind hst, constantly change the reps, weight, and decondition so that your body can never adapt- thus you should always get growth.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Thanks for the kind words.

Singles training can lead to hypertrophy. Any low rep training can cause significant hypertrophy if you do enough sets of it and eat a caloric surplus. How much you grow from it is probably entirely up to your body as everyone responds differently. If low rep training doesn't cause much hypertrophy then how do explain heavyweight and higher weight class powerlifters and weightlifters size? The key is overall volume of reps and frequency along with plenty of rest and FOOD.

But, no, my singles squatting is not geared towards size. It's mainly for overall power and strength. I just happen to grow off it too.

When I say I don't train to failure, it's not as if I don't train hard and not that you're implying that either. I stop my sets at the last rep I can complete. Why bother straining on the rep after which you don't get and that hasn't "SCIENTIFICALLY" been proven to stimulate additional growth. All you are doing is straining for nothing imo. The last rep I can complete is a hard rep anyway and requires a certain amount of "strain". I have done every set to failure of every exercise as well as just 1 set to failure on an exercise since I was 14. About 5 years total training time over the course of the last 10 years with 2 years being my longest stretch of steady lifting. During those years I trained to failure ALOT. I DO NOT respond well to it. I get stronger sure, but it really taxes my system too much and eventually I require greater and greater lengths of time between workouts to the point that it becomes ridiculous. I have trained a bodypart every day, every other day, every 3rd or 4th day, whatever. Once a week works best for me generally. I do multiple sets.

Look at a typical training schedule not including warmup sets for chest:

bench 3x10
incline 3x10
flye 3x10

That's 90 total reps.

My chest workout right now:

bench 10x3
DB bench 1x10
Incline 1x10
Flye 1x10

60 total reps. MY volume is still lower than your average Joe's generic chest workout, but there is still a certain amount of volume as you can see.

I believe you need a certain amount of TOTAL REP volume if you want good hypertrophy from low rep training.

I you do 3x3 for an exercise then probably don't expect much hypertrophy, but expect decent strength gains.

So ya, I believe there is a certain amount of total rep volume needed for hypertrophy.

I can train a muscle more than once a week if I setup my routines around it. It's more a matter of how many days a week and how hard I push my training that dictates how often I can train a bodypart.

For example, I have been training on a 4 day split training chest/back/rest/shoulder-arms/legs. Each bodypart geting hit once per week.

But, I am switching to 3 days a week for awhile to hit certain bodyparts more than once a week.

 

[Allon]

OK, thanks for answers, got that.