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Other/Mixed HIT failed me, looking for something else

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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MichaelJ

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After experimenting with different training methods over the years, I’m thinking about going back to the sub maximal set based methodologies. Last year I followed HIT principles which promised muscle gains with a one set to failure performed once a week. Unfortunately, my results are very poor. My strength didn’t increase at all and, ironically, I actually lost about 5 kg of mass, I don’t know exactly how much of it is lean muscle mass, but still… I'm probably one of these people with slow twich fiber dominance, which probably explains the need for higher volume. Now I’m looking for something different.

My goals:

- regain the weight, actually, I was thinking about looking for some kind of different hypertrophy program, more suitable for my body type, but it doesn't have to be a priority
- increase and then maintain some reasonable level of strength

preferences:

- low tech: bodyweight, isometrics etc.
- no “metabolic conditioning”, HIIT, puking etc.
- joint friendly - no ballistics, plyometrics etc.
- I don’t mind working hard, but getting back to the 10-20 sets type of workouts is not ideal.

Any suggestion will be appreciated!
 
I think @North Coast Miller might be able to help you out.

Considering you prefer "low tech" like bodyweight exercises. Since you can't strip weight of the bar with those, Rest-Pause sets would be a good option here.
Or you could do drop sets, e.g. feet elevated pushups -> pushups -> hand elevated pushups.

joint friendly - no ballistics, plyometrics etc.
plyos yes, but ballistics are not joint un-friendly.
 
Simple and Sinister is the way to get started on an A+A protocol, both working on your strength and endurance.
Why do you think that ballistics are bad for your joints? Kettlebell swings actually improve joint health by strengthening the connective tissue.
 
First question is how lo-tech are we talking here? Might DIY sandbags, DIY suspension straps, some sort of iso strap/bar set up be on the menu?

The following is what has worked for me and I have seen to work for other people if applied along with a good diet. These are general guidelines that while not necessarily Party approved, fall in line with what Schoenfeld and others have documented, and work with any type of resistance training in my experience. The trick is adapting whatever you are using to follow these guidelines.This is not an actual program, more of guideline. Many existing programs can be modified somewhat to get more hypertrophy.

You will need to up your calories.

For Hypertrophy you really want to be in an 8-12 reps range, 5-6 minimum, 8-10 is about perfect. You want 3 sets per lift/movement, dropping to 2 sets for peripheral work if included to avoid burning out. An additional set for warmup on bigger movements might push the set count to 4. I'd do two lifts per, so about 6 sets total for the bigger movements, 2-4 for peripheral work. Peripheral work might be calves, tricep, bicep, grip. I have a hard time uttering the word "isolation", but depending on how important the size and definition gains are, you will want to include some isolation lifts/movements for peripherals.

You want to include a bit of heavier work periodically using just a couple of compound lifts/movements with bigger loads/tougher movements etc and work in a 3-5 rep range with lots of rest between sets without going to failure (but right to the edge). Work about 5 sets per. Get 4-5 minutes rest between sets. You could omit this bit of periodizing but eventually you'll plateau and without including the heavier lifts it will be tough to continue progressing on a Hypertrophic regimen. However, you might have gotten all you wanted at that point anyway, or all you're liable to get without eating ever increasing amounts of food. Still, the strength component is a serious metabolic boost and should be included.

It helps a lot if you can go to momentary failure or at least incorporate a drop set of some kind - some way of reducing the load mid stream so you can start with a 3-5 rep load, reduce it at the point of momentary failure and get the remaining reps to hit 8-10. You get the metabolic benefit of doing assisted/forced/to failure reps without needing a spotter or actually "failing". If doing bodyweight one arm pushups for example, you might grind out 4 and do another 4-6 off one knee. If doing pistols you might brace with a rope or pole to get extra reps.

You really only want to do this on the last set of each lift, unless like the example, you are doing a movement that you can't hit minimum 6 reps even when fresh. But save something for the last set, torching yourself every set is a recipe for burnout. 1-2 minutes rest between sets.

You want to make sure you are making good use of the eccentric phase of every rep, even if it means reducing the load.

Based on your specs, I feel with bodyweight and iso you can get plenty strong and ripped, but you are going to have a tougher time gaining mass - primarily because manipulating resistance to stay in the rep range can be problematic. The addition of sandbags at least, suspension gear etc will make this a lot easier to do. With weights you might bust this out to a three day cycle, but for bodyweight and making use of more compound movements a two day cycle will work. Sessions should take no more than 35 -40 minutes max. You're training in a glycolytic state part of the time, so as much of the good and as little of the bad metabolic stressors are what you're shooting for. No puking, but pain and pump OK and you should feel trained but not wasted after a session.

Chest and upper back really benefit from a max compression/shortening of the muscles, as do calf, bis and tris. You need squat, hinge, push, pull. With bodyweight and iso as a limiting factor I'd structure it as:
Day 1 - Squat x2 lifts, push x2 lifts , peripheral x1 or 2
Day 2 - hinge x2, pull x2 , peripheral x1 or 2

Bodyweight examples - I am not any sort of bodyweight guru but here are some examples:
squat - Pistols, skater squats, split squats
hinge - single leg deadlift, back bridge
push - pushup variations galore, dips
pull - pullups, inverted bodyweight rows, scapular retractions
additionally there are heaps of isometric movements that can be done with a rope or towel, and by suspending a light weight such as a ten or fifteen pound kettlebell at the midpoint these are turned into more of an external load resistance. You can hold the free end or anchor it to a door etc and have a poor man's cable machine. Personally I cannot execute intense isometric for more than 15-20 minutes or so per session and my joints don't seem to appreciate a regular diet of it since I've gotten older. So as far as gaining mass IDK - I use iso primarily for increasing speed with very few exceptions and occasionally for variety.

Adding sandbags at a minimum will expand the options greatly to include Zircher squat, offset back squat, sandbag deadlift, bent rows, sandbag floor press. Suspension gear opens up a huge variety of chest and back exercises that incorporate a plank as well, so compound exercises that also target a specific muscle group. Kettlebells will open up a wide variety of exercises and add the swing to the list of hinge movements.

I do not train 100% as laid out above, but I have found I do very well on "sub maximal set based methodologies". Of late I've been drifting back to it more and more. My training log has more detail from pg 3 on.

Lastly - I incorporate swing and some ballistics, but listen to my joints as well. I can see where American swing might cause issues, but the standard swing is good strong medicine. I really appreciate what circular cleans do for me as well.
 
The only once-per-week hypertrophy program I've ever really gained on was Super Slow (and that was so brutal you couldn't do it twice per week). If you're looking for other minimalist approaches I strongly recommend you read Brawn by Stuart McRobert. My favourite sub 30 min workout for around twice per week (maybe 3 some weeks) is five exercises (compound push, compound pull, isolation push, isolation pull, squat or deads). For push/pull 2 to 3 sets, building from 8 to 12 reps, 60-120s rest. When you can do 3x12 add minimum weight and dial back to 8 (so every workout you are adding reps or weight). For squat/deads a single tough set with reps around 10, add minimum weight once you can do 10. Eat a lot. Sleep a lot
 
Wow, great answer, thank you.

Hey, it was a slow morning at work - you're very welcome, I hope its useful.

Keep in mind this is an every other day sort of thing. Off day should be some light cardio, MA practice, nothing, etc. If your off days require a lot of activity, be careful not to overtrain.

Also, being a mostly glycolytic workout you should add some fruit to the diet an hour or so before exercise. Nothing crazy, even one orange will go a long way toward keeping energy levels up.

When training like this I follow my breathing, 20 slow breaths between sets. If its a single sided lift/movement I'll half that between exertions to ten breaths, then 20 before the next set.

You can tell when the overall buildup in your system is getting up there, twenty breaths won't get the heart rate back down and your output will begin to drop at that pacing. The workout should be at or very close to ending about then. It is more common to overtrain than to undertrain on this protocol, and to be underfeeding yourself.

And add weight or reps per the above as you get in and out of the target range. You can also tweak the loading and reps of the drop sets and this can be an effective way to get a response if your overall loads on a given lift aren't progressing as you'd like. That is also a good sign you need to drop back to more strength work.
 
Yeah, I used superslow, but, as I read now, I'm probably slow twich fiber dominant - I wasn't making enough muscle inroad with a single set.
 
I read a lot about the soviet methodology for getting strong (high volume, far from failure etc.) and now I'm wondering if there is some kind of soviet method suited specifically for hypertrophy? Thanks for your feedback!
 
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This is fairly recent research accumulation and for me really exemplifies what has worked best for hypertrophy...along with a good diet plan.


http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy.pdf

IDK about other strategies - there are more for endurance and strength than for hypertrophy in my opinion, tho it is relatively easy to tweak many programs one way or another.

What I found personally and have observed in others most often is:

- multiple sets 4 at most, 2 at least
- progressive loading
- 6-12 rep range with 8-10 being the sweet spot
- emphasis or at least equal attention/timing given to eccentrics
- to failure or at least to close to failure at a given load and continuance of the movement at a slightly reduced level of resistance (drop sets, spotter assisted reps) at the final set of a movement (not to exceed the 12 rep max recommendation).
- and (unfortunately) isolation movements.

I have done a fair amount of other strategy and gotten the results (stronger 1 RM, faster hand/leg speed, better aerobic endurance), but for me the above guidelines work 100% of the time for hypertrophy (and strength stamina) as long as my diet is sound. As a protocol one can easily burn out if the diet isn't there - you'll get ripped and then you'll get tired and sore.

I realize it is pretty far from SF leanings and much more DeLorme/BroScience, but in reality it has a lot of evidence behind it for hypertrophy. For strength/power expression the field opens considerably.
 
This is fairly recent research accumulation and for me really exemplifies what has worked best for hypertrophy...along with a good diet plan.

http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy.pdf
Brad Schoenfeld seems to be very knowledgeble in the hypertrophy area. I was wondering if protocols similar to "pull up ladders" i.e. 1-2-3-4-, 1-2-3, 1-2, 1 with short breaks in between would serve as a hypertrophy stimulus? It's basically a high volume with short rests.
 
In the Rite of Passage section of Enter The Kettlebell, there is a good explanation of rest periods in ladders. Basically, yes, short rest periods would do what you want.

-S-
 
In the Rite of Passage section of Enter The Kettlebell, there is a good explanation of rest periods in ladders.

I was just reading that earlier today. You always know when to bring us to what has already been written, Steve.
 
... It's basically a high volume with short rests.

One thing to keep in mind, as you start working with higher %1 RM you need to add longer rest periods - this is where the burnout becomes a problem. Shorter rest periods run concurrent with lower %1 RM. This where the equation leads to higher rep counts than would be used with a strength/anti-glycolytic strategy.
 
I did this on a deployment once and was pretty happy with my upper body physique/strength and overall athletic performance.

M: Pull-up + dip ladders > 200m Sprints
T: 800m Sprints + Lunge for distance
W: Pull-up + dip ladders
Th: Long slow run
F: Pull-up + dip ladders > 400m Sprints
 
Hello,

@Bro Mo
I like it :) Lots of variety. Are there some number related to pull ups and dips ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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