the new high intensity training vs living longer stronger

Friday - Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 10-12 repsĪ simple change like this actually results in better strength gains, which we know can contribute to greater hypertrophy in the long term.Wednesday - Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps.Monday - Bench Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps.Here's a look at the same program over a 3-day split: Those of you who have missed the boat exercising for a few months know the effects are quickly fleeting compared to how long it takes to build them up. The reality is, it shouldn't take that long to recover and once you do recover you're losing your adaptation (growth, strength, etc) if it isn't being used. How long does it take to recover from a workout like this? If you look at most training programs it takes about 7 days. Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps.In fact, the 3 times per week group saw 40% better gains.įact: Without changing your current program you can make better progress by spreading the same work over 3 days than doing it all in one day per week.īroken down it might look something like this: Work by McLester and colleagues showed that when frequency and volume were held equal 3 times per week training approach was superior to a 1 time per week, and these were in trained subjects. Well, if increased frequency is the key to enhancing muscle gain, why aren't you using higher frequency from the get go? It's not just an anecdotal observation either, research supports frequency over volume for muscle growth.

The typical response is to add more work on another day for that body part, right? But here's the kicker-let's assume you have a lagging body part. High volume is the classic approach to muscle gain-and it does work, at least to an extent. It's a minor tweak on the classic 3 sets of 10 reps scheme that originated from research done in 1948! There's no way that we haven't learned a thing or two in the past 50 years. Is there not enough volume, frequency, intensity, or something else? Chances are you've identified with the classic bodybuilding approach: 3-4 exercises for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps or something close to that. The Big Objection: There's Not Enough Stimuli I'll tell you now they work, both from an in-the-trenches perspective as well as a research one. I'll address each of these concerns and show you how to put all the components of a program together to yield the best results long term. I know there are a number of objections going through your head now: 'It's not enough work', Yea, maybe less training days but crazy long workouts', and 'How can it really work long term?' Use careful analysis as you read and feel free to follow up with questions where you feel more justification is needed.

I know I haven't won you over yet, but hold on to this thought: you shouldn't always believe what you read and you shouldn't just read what you believe. The critics already hit 'back' on the browser.

The new high intensity training vs living longer stronger