June 1, 2017

Pull the hypertrophy trigger

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/pull-the-hypertrophy-trigger

Here's what you need to know...

If you're moving a weight that allows no more than 5 reps on the first set, then you're already doing all you can for optimal motor unit recruitment.
You can use light weights and still build muscle, but you need to figure out what weight allows no more than 22 reps (about 60% of 1RM) on the first set and on subsequent sets, no matter how much the reps drop, don't use a lighter weight.
When training with lighter weights, you must accelerate during the concentric phase, consciously tense the muscles hard at the point of maximum contraction, lower the weight in a controlled manner and limit the duration of each set to 10 seconds if maximum recruitment of the motor units is the goal.
The strongest motor units can only sustain their activity for about 10 seconds before exhaustion sets in and they drop out.

There are a number of ways to induce hypertrophy, but just because you build muscle doesn't mean you'll be a more explosive athlete. Cyclists, for example, build impressive muscular thighs through countless hours on the bike. What's not so impressive are their performances in sprints or squats.

If your goal is hypertrophy with accompanying gains in explosiveness and athleticism, then it's important to recognize the role of the nervous system. I'm talking here about maximal force production, which is the impetus for all the gains in strength and growth you're after.

The force a muscle can release is determined by 2 factors:

The number of motor units recruited.
The pulse frequency rate of the motor units.

In the neuroscience literature, recruitment of motor units and impulse frequency rate are mentioned separately, but they go hand in hand. Forget which factor plays a more important role. Your goal is to optimize both and you will follow the guidelines I have laid out below. The key is to recruit and fatigue a maximum number of motor units with each exercise. If you do this, then you won't have to worry about anything else - except maybe buying new clothes.

If you are moving a weight that allows no more than five repetitions on the first set, then you are already doing all you can for optimal motor unit recruitment. These heavy weights require intense focus, so the idea of trying to speed up these weights or consciously tighten the muscles even harder at the point of maximum contraction is a futile labor of love. There is no cognitive space left for this. In other words, it's hard to screw up a heavy training session. But you can't train hard all the time, nor should you.

However, if you keep moving further and further away from maximum weights, then things can go wrong. This is because you have significantly more cognitive and motor control over the speed of movement and your muscle activity. It's what you do during these workouts with lighter weights that can really make the difference between success and failure.

Here are the most effective ways I know of to simultaneously develop muscle and explosive athleticism when you're not using maximal training weights.

How far can you reduce weights and still build muscle?

The first logical question regarding training weights is: how far can you reduce weights and still build muscle? Research by Kumar and colleagues showed that 60% of our maximum weight for one repetition is the lowest training weight before protein synthesis decreases significantly - and to build muscle, you need to stimulate protein synthesis.

This requires a weight that is sufficient to recruit your strongest motor units. If you were forced to train with a 10 kilo dumbbell for three months, it is unlikely that you would achieve visible gains in muscle mass. The weight is simply too light for any hard-training strength athlete to recruit their largest motor units - even if they accelerate the weight as much as possible with each repetition.

Since the weight you choose obviously plays a significant role in how much muscle mass you'll build, I'll explain how you can choose the correct weight without having to determine your 1RM weight for each exercise and perform a calculation with it. For most exercisers, 60% of the maximum weight for a repetition is a weight they can perform 20 to 22 repetitions with when rested. Let's say you want to determine 60% of your 1RM weight for single arm dumbbell rowing. You'll probably have a rough idea of what weight you should choose to get into the 20-22 reps range. Let's assume this is a 25 kilo dumbbell.

So you perform a set with a 25 kilo dumbbell with as many repetitions as possible. It's important that you don't worry about maximum acceleration or any other esoteric elements. Simply perform the set at a normal pace until muscle failure. If you can do 20 to 22 reps, that's great. If you can do 18 or 19 reps, that's fine too. The Kumar study showed optimal protein synthesis with weights that ranged from 60 to 90% of 1RM. So if the weight is a little heavier and only allows 19 reps, it still does the job.

The really important point at this point is that you should not choose a weight that allows you to do more than 22 reps on the first set when you are rested. I realize that 22 reps is not a perfect number and that reps at certain percentages of max weight can vary from person to person, but I have to draw the line somewhere and I drew it at 22 reps.

Rule #1: Determine the weight that will allow you no more than 22 reps on the first set and no matter how much the reps drop, don't reduce the weight below that on subsequent sets.

How to induce hypertrophy with lighter weights

Now that we know how to determine the lower limit for training weights, I will describe how you can activate the strongest motor units and trigger muscle growth. To do this, it's important to know that a weight that allows 20 or 22 reps on the first set will not activate your largest motor units if you perform each set at a normal pace.

The slower you move the weight, the further away you will be from activating the motor units you want to activate. The strongest motor units only come into play when the force is near maximum and they won't be active for long. Any explosive athlete should run away from coaches who have them train at slow speeds and submaximal loads. Exceptions are rehabilitation training and exercises like Turkish Get-Up (http://func-fit.de/turkish-get-up-und-wozu-das-ganze-gut-sein-soll/), which are designed to develop complete motor control.

To activate the strongest motor units when the weight is light, it is optimal to accelerate the weight during the concentric phase and consciously tense the muscles hard at the point of maximum contraction.

Bodybuilders have been extolling the benefits of consciously contracting the muscles hard for decades, many top bodybuilders with impressive upper arms see consciously contracting hard at the point of maximum contraction as key to their development. I agree and all EMG research confirms this. Last fall, I spent 5 months under the tutelage of Chris Powers, Ph. D., at his Movement Performance Institute. When he hooked up his EMG electrodes to me, I was amazed at how much electrical activity I was able to achieve by consciously contracting different muscle groups without any additional weight in my hands.

With this information in mind, two of my favorite exercises when performing explosive workouts are goblet squats(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaQPfi8f27E) and push-ups. The special thing about this exercise pairing is that you can perform these exercises in two different ways to achieve optimal recruitment of the motor units: either by maximizing acceleration or by maximizing tension at the point of maximum contraction by deliberately tensing the muscles hard.

First, determine what weight will allow you to do about 20 to 22 repetitions of goblet squats at a normal pace. For push-ups, determine how far your feet need to be elevated to limit the maximum number of repetitions on the first set to less than 22. For both exercises, the load should be determined when you are not fatigued.

The following exercise pairings can be performed at the beginning of your training sessions to activate your nervous system, at the end of your training session as a powerful finish or as an additional stand-alone training session if you simply want to blow off some steam.

Exercise pairing for maximum acceleration

The following exercise pairing is an excellent way to minimize deceleration at the highest point of the movement. In other words, this exercise pairing will prepare you for an explosive exercise.

1A. Goblet jump squats with as many repetitions as possible within 10 seconds
1B. Push-ups with clapping hands with as many repetitions as possible within 10 seconds.

Pause for 30 seconds and repeat 1A) and 1B) for 6 to 10 rounds.

Exercise pairing for a maximum contraction at the highest point of the movement

Here you will consciously contract the muscles hard at the point of maximum contraction for maximum intensity. During the goblet squats, you will consciously contract the gluteus and abdominal muscles hard at the highest point of the movement. During the push-ups, you will consciously tighten the chest muscles hard by trying to pull your hands together at the highest point of the movement.

1A. Goblet squats for 8 repetitions or 10 seconds. *
Pause for 15 to 30 seconds.
1B. Push-ups for 8 repetitions or 10 seconds. *

Pause for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat 1A) and 1B) for 6-10 reps.

* Accelerate during the concentric phase and deliberately contract the muscles at the highest point of the movement intensely for 1 to 2 seconds

Another popular explosive full-body circuit uses kettlebell swings, push presses (standing shoulder press with some momentum from the legs) and dumbbell rows. I mention this circuit because kettlebell swings are one of those exercises where it's hard to find a true max weight for 20 to 22 reps. In this case, it doesn't matter. Just choose a weight that is challenging but light enough to maintain an explosive pace from start to finish.

1A. Kettlebell swings for 12 reps or 10 seconds.
Rest 30 seconds.
1B. Push Press for 12 reps or 10 seconds.
30 seconds rest.
1C. Row bent over with dumbbells for 12 reps or 10 seconds.

Pause for 30 seconds and repeat 1A) to 1C) for 6 to 10 reps.

Note that regardless of the method I use to optimize motor unit recruitment, the sets do not last longer than 10 seconds. This is because the strongest motor units can maintain their activity for about 10 seconds before exhaustion sets in and they drop out. This limitation is based on the short-acting ATP-CP energy system that the largest motor units rely on. As described in Principles of Neural Science, muscle strength decreases gradually by scheduling the activity of the motor units in reverse order from the strongest to the weakest.

Keep this 10 second rule in mind whenever you perform explosive exercises such as sprints, sled pulls, farmer's walks and the like. This does not mean that you should never work longer than 10 seconds, but if the goal is maximum recruitment of motor units without regard to the development of other fitness qualities, then the 10 second rule should be honored.

There are certain other ways to develop explosive power and rate of force development without the use of additional weights. Exercises such as box jumps and triple long jumps are essential for the complete development of an athlete. While all of these exercises may not be the best muscle building exercises, they need to be incorporated somewhere in the weekly training cycle - preferably at the beginning of training sessions. Regardless of the exercise you choose, you should perform 6 to 10 sets with as many repetitions as possible within the 10-second time window.

Rule #2: When training with light weights, speed up the concentric phase, deliberately tighten the muscles hard at the point of maximum contraction and limit the duration of each set to 10 seconds if maximum recruitment of the motor units is the goal. Perform 6 to 10 sets.

The need for proper training nutrition

You can't talk about muscle growth without mentioning nutrition. What you do before a strength training session should be significantly different from what you do before a low-intensity cardio session.

In many cases, I like performing cardio training in a fasted state. Once the glycogen stores in the liver are depleted, the body will begin to use fatty acids for energy. This is great for fat loss. However, when it comes to strength training and the increased protein synthesis you're after, it's a completely different story. A positive nitrogen balance is necessary for muscle growth. This net protein gain occurs when protein synthesis is higher than protein breakdown. Obviously, our goal is to maximize protein synthesis and minimize protein breakdown.

The AMPK-mTOR signaling system is a key regulator of protein synthesis. Think of the MPK-mTOR system as an on/off switch for muscle growth. When the mTOR system is activated, it increases protein synthesis and when AMPK is activated, it reduces protein synthesis.

The mTOR pathway is activated by insulin and amino acids - especially leucine. This is the reason why it is essential to consume carbohydrates together with protein sources rich in leucine before a training session to stimulate protein synthesis and muscle growth by activating the mTOR pathway.

Since protein synthesis reaches its peak approximately 3 hours after exercise, it is important to consume high quality food or complete protein sources during this time.

Rule #3: Consume high quality carbohydrates and leucine-rich protein before training sessions to maximize protein synthesis.