I've been training folks for hypertrophy and performance for a long time. Still learning, adding new exercises and techniques every year it seems with great success. All the new techniques have to do with performance. Because I have had the muscle gaining thing down for a long time, nothing has changed with 30 years of training. The performance techniques like breathwork, knee conditioning, sprint technique take the program to the next level and same method we apply to hypertrophy we can apply to performance with the same results.
First the basics, how to induce hypertrophy:
To start, let’s take a look at the laws of hypertrophy (muscle gain), since it’s a logical transition from there to all forms of exercise. Hypertrophy can be broken down into three basic laws, which are common to every single exercise endeavor:
1) You must impose a significant enough stress to cause micro-damage (soreness, lactic acid buildup) and nervous-system response in the targeted muscle or muscle group.
2) You must allow the targeted muscle, nervous system and all associated body parts to recover to through rest, nutrition and sometimes supplementation.
3) After recovery, you must allow the muscle and associated anatomy (including the brain) to overcompensate and be able to handle the same stress exposed to it next time with less energy expenditure.
For example, after a workout, your muscles may have recovered their original strength in four days, but it may take another three to six days to allow the body to add extra lean tissue.
Or say you're practicing an instrument, until hands get sore and blister (stress). You will not be able to practice at the same level until they are not only recovered, but have overcompensated by callousing. In addition your brain needs a night sleep to rest and process, using 25-30 percent of the body's energy. Many studies show the link between sleep and memory retention. This includes muscle memory.
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For strength gains This last law is often neglected for many reasons. But neglecting this last law will have you spinning your wheels.. Let's address recovery, the prerequisite step before overcompensation.
Steps for efficient recovery
A) Working (stressing) a specific muscle group once a week is usually enough time to for body to allow for overcompensation.
How do we organize bodypart exercises to maximize recovery? The push/pull/ lower exercises performed with a 7 day rest will allow each bodypart to be hit with sufficient intensity and have time to overcompensate.
How do we get such dramatic progress? One set, as many reps as possible, progressing in weight or reps every week. Choosing an exercise that hits the largest muscles in that group, working on speed/balance in same workout at end.
Why not add an extra set or two for exercises? Protein synthesis is the highest metabolic demand the body has, overcompensation is the ultimate goal, doing just one more set doubles the amount of recovery time for that exercise and bodypart.
What constitutes failure? Most will stop when the intensity and discomfort reach a certain milestone. Some will stop at first hint of discomfort, some will take an exercise past what anyone thought possible. Ability to exist in those discomfort zones and perform increases and contributes just as much or more to gains as muscle mass. Increasing either will yield results.
