Jeff Roark
Level 7 Valued Member
I don't post a lot on here but I do read quite a bit. There seems to be hypertrophy threads popping up all the time on here now. I am stunned at some of the recommendations. I see quite a few asking for advices, and then turning around and giving other people advices(I love using "advices").
My advices to the majority of you is to listen to whomever is posting under puddleduck. He has provided the best advices for hypertrophy that I have read on here. Something that baffles me is how many make out strength training and hypertrophy training to be almost polar opposites. From my 35 years of experience, real strength and hypertrophy training is one and the same. The suggestion of "increasing volume" just for the sake of it is idiotic. Someone mentioned when you get to certain advanced levels of strength "you need to increase the volume to progress". I am an advanced trainer and have had close to elite level lifts for someone who is drug free. I have found over the years that I can only increase volume for a short period of time, and then I start to go backwards. I'm not talking about big volume increases either. The truth is the more advanced I become, I actually need much less volume . The weights I am using now push me to the edge and anymore would simply send me backwards in a hurry.
I am doing 1 single full body workout per week now due to my circumstances, but, with my limited sets I continue to gain strength, and I have added some definite size to my upper back. Why would I need more volume for volume sake? I don't and neither do the majority of you on here. You need to focus on progressive poundages in the 4-8 reps ranges for a couple sets.
I retire this month after 25 years behind the wall and will have more flexibility with my training. I plan on making myself 3 full body workouts and rotate through them doing one every 5 days or a Mon-Fri-Wed-Mon type set up. I'll have 4-6 exercises and do each for 1-3 sets of 3-6 reps for my own personal goals. My goals are more hypertrophy oriented, but I continue to focus on progressive poundage's. Don't you think that if I push any of my exercises 6RM up 25-50lbs that my 1rm will have gone up and if I am eating enough I will have had added a bit of muscle?
So, if you all want hypertrophy, listen to puddleduck's advices.
My advices to the majority of you is to listen to whomever is posting under puddleduck. He has provided the best advices for hypertrophy that I have read on here. Something that baffles me is how many make out strength training and hypertrophy training to be almost polar opposites. From my 35 years of experience, real strength and hypertrophy training is one and the same. The suggestion of "increasing volume" just for the sake of it is idiotic. Someone mentioned when you get to certain advanced levels of strength "you need to increase the volume to progress". I am an advanced trainer and have had close to elite level lifts for someone who is drug free. I have found over the years that I can only increase volume for a short period of time, and then I start to go backwards. I'm not talking about big volume increases either. The truth is the more advanced I become, I actually need much less volume . The weights I am using now push me to the edge and anymore would simply send me backwards in a hurry.
I am doing 1 single full body workout per week now due to my circumstances, but, with my limited sets I continue to gain strength, and I have added some definite size to my upper back. Why would I need more volume for volume sake? I don't and neither do the majority of you on here. You need to focus on progressive poundages in the 4-8 reps ranges for a couple sets.
I retire this month after 25 years behind the wall and will have more flexibility with my training. I plan on making myself 3 full body workouts and rotate through them doing one every 5 days or a Mon-Fri-Wed-Mon type set up. I'll have 4-6 exercises and do each for 1-3 sets of 3-6 reps for my own personal goals. My goals are more hypertrophy oriented, but I continue to focus on progressive poundage's. Don't you think that if I push any of my exercises 6RM up 25-50lbs that my 1rm will have gone up and if I am eating enough I will have had added a bit of muscle?
So, if you all want hypertrophy, listen to puddleduck's advices.