In my previous post I mentioned that I switched from strength training to a more balanced strength and muscle mass training. Why the switch? There are several reasons.
First and foremost, it so happened that I have plateaued in most of my exercises. Especially bench, rows and pull-ups. I wanted to have some change in the routine to keep me moving without tiring myself to loss of motivation. I wanted to go back to my 8 reps exercises as I have done before I switched to 3x5 back in February 2010 so I can keep moving.
Second, it is a well known fact that low rep (4-6) high weight (90-100% 1RM) exercises are useful in developing strength and high rep (8-10) and low weight (70-80% 1RM) exercises help in developing muscle mass. There are literally thousands (if not millions) of articles on this very subject. I will not elaborate especially because I do not know the mechanics or the biology behind the theory. So it is natural that I decided to go with some muscle mass trying to break the plateau.
But I was worried that if I only concentrated on 8 reps, I will lose my edge on strength. I wanted to keep or increase my strength (the 1RM) while developing more muscle mass. So what configuration should I use? Why not mix strength training and muscle mass training.
Although I am writing as if I came up with the routine, I actually borrowed this technique from a book that I finished reading a couple of months ago. The book is called "Muscle Revolution" by Chad Waterbury. In the book the author explains how one should concentrate both on strength and mass at the same time so as to avoid losing the edge on one or the other. I have so far always alternated strength training and muscle mass training every 3-4 months since 1.25 years. This is the first time some one told me to concentrate on both at the same time.
The strength to mass and back switch that I have been doing is called linear periodization. The author explains that the linear periodization is a technique in which you emphasize one motor ability in each phase. So you might start by emphasizing muscle endurance in the first phase, hypertrophy in the second phase, strength in the third and speed-strength in the fourth. Linear periodization has a major drawback: When you focus all your effort on improving one strength quality, you can be sure that you'll go backward in the other qualities.
Thus the author recommends using Undulating periodization. Which he describes as a constant change in sets, reps, and sometimes load with each subsequent workout. Ever since I read the book I wanted to implement his theory (although I always take these theories with a grain of salt) to experiment and see if it works for me. But I have been doing so well in my 3x5s that I did not want to lose focus. Now the time has come with the my plateau. I will experiment with his technique and see if I can break my plateau and report back with the results in a few weeks.
First and foremost, it so happened that I have plateaued in most of my exercises. Especially bench, rows and pull-ups. I wanted to have some change in the routine to keep me moving without tiring myself to loss of motivation. I wanted to go back to my 8 reps exercises as I have done before I switched to 3x5 back in February 2010 so I can keep moving.
Second, it is a well known fact that low rep (4-6) high weight (90-100% 1RM) exercises are useful in developing strength and high rep (8-10) and low weight (70-80% 1RM) exercises help in developing muscle mass. There are literally thousands (if not millions) of articles on this very subject. I will not elaborate especially because I do not know the mechanics or the biology behind the theory. So it is natural that I decided to go with some muscle mass trying to break the plateau.
But I was worried that if I only concentrated on 8 reps, I will lose my edge on strength. I wanted to keep or increase my strength (the 1RM) while developing more muscle mass. So what configuration should I use? Why not mix strength training and muscle mass training.
Although I am writing as if I came up with the routine, I actually borrowed this technique from a book that I finished reading a couple of months ago. The book is called "Muscle Revolution" by Chad Waterbury. In the book the author explains how one should concentrate both on strength and mass at the same time so as to avoid losing the edge on one or the other. I have so far always alternated strength training and muscle mass training every 3-4 months since 1.25 years. This is the first time some one told me to concentrate on both at the same time.
The strength to mass and back switch that I have been doing is called linear periodization. The author explains that the linear periodization is a technique in which you emphasize one motor ability in each phase. So you might start by emphasizing muscle endurance in the first phase, hypertrophy in the second phase, strength in the third and speed-strength in the fourth. Linear periodization has a major drawback: When you focus all your effort on improving one strength quality, you can be sure that you'll go backward in the other qualities.
Thus the author recommends using Undulating periodization. Which he describes as a constant change in sets, reps, and sometimes load with each subsequent workout. Ever since I read the book I wanted to implement his theory (although I always take these theories with a grain of salt) to experiment and see if it works for me. But I have been doing so well in my 3x5s that I did not want to lose focus. Now the time has come with the my plateau. I will experiment with his technique and see if I can break my plateau and report back with the results in a few weeks.
Comments
Post a Comment