| Anybody who has achieved a little success with | | | | against heavy weights and these contractions |
| their weight training is always bombarded by the | | | | controlled by the CNS. If the CNS is not |
| same question: How did you build that physique.... | | | | recovered from the day before we cannot |
| high weight or high reps? Naturally, the majority | | | | possibly hope to have a chest workout that will |
| of trainees who have been in a training plateau | | | | produce the desired results. We would be much |
| for the last several months (or years), seek | | | | better suited to have a day of complete rest and |
| advice from those who have proven to be | | | | to train the chest (or whatever the next |
| successful. There are two types of people who | | | | scheduled workout happens to be) when we are |
| just can't seem to stop gaining muscle: those with | | | | actually capable of doing so productively. Of |
| those one-in a million genetics that allow them to | | | | course the reasoning of most serious trainees is |
| put on muscle with any haphazard training | | | | that if they were not strong on chest day, then |
| program, and those who have intelligently | | | | they simply need more chest work. Additional |
| manipulated their weight training program to keep | | | | sets, reps, and possibly an additional training day |
| their training dynamic and the muscle gains | | | | during the week are then added-this only |
| coming. If you are one of those genetic freaks | | | | contributes to the problem in the first place, |
| that respond to anything, then this article is not | | | | ensuring that with all that extra hard work we are |
| for you. If you are a person who religiously hits | | | | breaking even, at best. It should also be noted |
| the gym like an animal with a good nutritional plan, | | | | that this is a cumulative problem, the deeper the |
| but still seems to be merely spinning their wheels | | | | ditch we dig into our recovery ability, the harder it |
| instead of making the progress they want, then | | | | is to get out. |
| this article will be extremely helpful. | | | | So now that we have identified the problem what |
| Before we get into the nuts and bolts of | | | | do we do now??? |
| manipulating your weight workouts to avoid | | | | Unfortunately, there is not one answer to this |
| training plateaus, three important points need to | | | | question, but there are a few general strategies |
| be emphasized: | | | | to manipulate your training program to keep the |
| 1. 99% of trainees are over-trained on volume | | | | gains coming. The most fundamental rule here is |
| and under-trained on intensity. More is not always | | | | that the human body responds very quickly to |
| better. | | | | change. It is not adequate, however to simply |
| 2.The human body will respond to any acute | | | | change the workout in an arbitrary manner-we |
| stimulus, but quickly adapts to maintain | | | | must have a systematic way of manipulating our |
| homeostasis. The workout that did wonders for | | | | weight training workouts to produce the desired |
| the first few weeks will surely stall if no changes | | | | results. Training an exercise from a different |
| are made. | | | | angle, or changing the order in which the |
| 3. In order to keep the body adapting in a positive | | | | exercises in a workout are performed are both |
| way to our training efforts, we must: | | | | good ways to achieve this end in the context of |
| - increase the intensity of the training stimulusor | | | | your more general weight training plan. This is not |
| - change the training stimulus all together | | | | enough, however to avoid a training plateau-the |
| While the three principles above are fundamental | | | | overall volume and intensity of the workout must |
| to program design, The following points also need | | | | be cycled in a systematic manner. |
| to be considered in designing the any weight | | | | Volume, Intensity and Overload Explained |
| training/fitness program... | | | | With the countless ways in which the words |
| The all or nothing principle | | | | volume and intensity are thrown around in the |
| Muscle fibers fire on an all-or nothing principle-the | | | | muscle magazines and popular books on weight |
| magnitude or strength of the contraction is | | | | training and fitness, the lack of consensus on |
| dictated by the number of fibers that | | | | exactly what these terms mean is not surprising. |
| simultaneously fire. Heavier weights activate more | | | | So you had a tough workout- was it |
| muscle fibers/ rep. (although this is not the only | | | | high-intensity? or was high- volume? The formal |
| means to influence the amount of fibers | | | | definition of training volume is the overall amount |
| exhausted during a workout ) The more fibers | | | | of work that was performed during the workout; |
| exhausted the greater the overload, the greater | | | | take all the sets that you performed and multiply |
| the overload the greater the gains. | | | | the weights x reps....add these numbers together |
| There can be too much of a good thing | | | | and you have your overall training volume. |
| There is such thing as too much of a good thing; | | | | Intensity is defined by the percentage of your |
| with increasing amounts of overload in a given | | | | one-rep max in which the exercises were |
| workout and decreasing amounts of recovery | | | | performed; the higher percentage of one-rep |
| time there is a point of diminishing returns. The | | | | max a set is performed at, the higher the |
| average trainee will see that things are working | | | | intensity. It should then make sense that there is |
| well and in an effort to keep the gains coming, | | | | an intrinsic equilibrium between volume and |
| they reason that if a little bit is good, then a lot | | | | intensity. If you are performing heavier sets at a |
| must be better so they add more sets and reps | | | | greater percentage of your one rep-max, then |
| and use heavier weights. Most people are | | | | you will necessarily be doing less repetitions and |
| constantly flirting with over training because of | | | | the overall volume will go down. Like-wise, with a |
| this. The actual weight workout is only a stimulus | | | | ton of sets and reps we will not be able to train |
| for muscle growth.....muscles grow when we are | | | | as heavy-volume increases and intensity drops. |
| resting. In order to be efficient, we must perform | | | | The cycling of volume and intensity keeps the |
| just enough work, but not too much to send the | | | | gains coming by keeping the CNS off-balance. Our |
| message for the muscles to grow and change in | | | | CNS is lazy by nature-the first time we perform |
| response to the weight training workout. We need | | | | and exercise we use the most muscle-each |
| to create maximum overload with a minimal | | | | successive time the exercise is performed the |
| demand on the recovery ability to achieve | | | | CNS "learns" how to contract that muscle more |
| maximum gains. | | | | efficiently by the way in which it recruits the |
| It's all about the CNS! | | | | muscle fibers to contract. Many strength gains, |
| Our central nervous system controls the muscle | | | | for this reason, are due to the CNS becoming |
| groups of every body part that we train, yet little | | | | more efficient, rather than the muscle actually |
| attention is given to the large effect that this has | | | | growing. When the CNS becomes more efficient, |
| on recovery. Anybody who has had a great | | | | the same weights, sets, and reps that caused an |
| weight training workout on one day, only to be | | | | overload in previous workouts will fail to do so |
| disappointed on the next can attest to the fact | | | | indefinitely. Hence the fundamental rule of |
| that there is an aspect to the recovery ability | | | | overload: In order to keep the gains coming we |
| that is independent of the body part trained | | | | must either increase the intensity of the stimulus |
| during the previous workout. | | | | (use progressively heavier weights), or change the |
| We have covered many important points | | | | stimulus all together by: |
| regarding muscle physiology and exercise....so what | | | | - implementing different exercises |
| does all of this mean in the context of an actual | | | | - changing the angle or rep-tempo of existing |
| workout??? For example, imagine that you have | | | | exercises |
| just had the best leg workout ever and you feel | | | | - (most importantly) changing in volume and |
| great. You even achieved a personal best on a | | | | intensity over time in a planned, systematic |
| ten-rep max set of squats. Fired up for the next | | | | manner |
| workout, you attempt to tackle the gym with | | | | The most profound way to change the nature of |
| equal fervor the next day-only to find that your | | | | the training stimulus is to change volume/intensity |
| bench press has decreased by about 20%! | | | | of the workout- in this way we are ensuring that |
| Common sense would tell us that if we have just | | | | any adaptations are due to muscular gains rather |
| trained legs and will train chest the next day, then | | | | than a CNS that has learned how to do more |
| we will be fine-even if the leg workout was very | | | | work with less fatigue on the muscle. |
| intense. The problem with this logic is that the | | | | Unfortunately, there is no magical formula to |
| CNS controls the ability of these muscle groups to | | | | accomplish this, but as a general rule of thumb, |
| contract. As stated above, muscles contract on | | | | workouts should be organized into two phases of |
| an all-or nothing principle-the more fibers that | | | | training lasting 4-6 weeks. Phase I is the higher |
| contract the stronger the contraction. The CNS, | | | | volume workout which lasts 4-6 weeks, then |
| after having been stressed during an intense leg | | | | after a one-week "break-in" period, begin |
| workout, is still recovering and not able to fire up | | | | increasing the weights and intensity while dropping |
| all those muscle fibers needed in the chest for | | | | training volume during phase II training. Additionally, |
| maximum strength. The ramifications of this | | | | within the individual phases of your workout, |
| situation are extremely important: a fatigued CNS | | | | changes in exercises themselves, rep tempo, |
| will not be able to generate the required workload | | | | angle of execution, etc should be further utilized |
| to cause an overload in the target muscle. | | | | to keep your body guessing (and gaining). Most |
| Translation: YOU WILL NOT GROW! This | | | | any popular training system is compatible with |
| illustrates the very reasons that most people do | | | | this; during the high-volume phase "German |
| not experience the progress with their weight | | | | volume" training works extremely well, while any |
| training that they should. Your nutrition may be | | | | high-intensity protocol such as "heavy duty" or |
| great, you may be getting plenty of rest, but you | | | | otherwise will work great. |
| are still not gaining due to a dysfunctional training | | | | So now you know the "secret" to making muscle |
| protocol that does not allow sufficient recovery. | | | | building is really just intelligent program design. |
| We've all been in this situation before and | | | | Think twice before jumping on the latest |
| pondered endlessly to the cause of the sudden | | | | fad-workout bandwagon or wasting time by |
| decrease in strength....Was it the diet? Possibly | | | | trying out the latest workout in a magazine, as |
| stress? Or maybe you just forgot to wear your | | | | described by a pro-bodybuilder. The best training |
| lucky underwear? The answer, of course is that | | | | protocol is dynamic and custom -designed to the |
| all other things being equal (and of course you did | | | | goals, lifestyle and schedule of the trainee. While |
| not forget the lucky underwear), the CNS is still | | | | many people respond great to a new training |
| fatigued from the previous workout. If our | | | | program, lack of a planned cycling of volume and |
| pectoral muscles are capable of pushing 20% | | | | intensity to keep the workouts productive leads |
| more than our CNS will actually allow on this | | | | inevitably to a training plateau. Those who have |
| particular day, it is no wonder that the chest | | | | been and continue to be successful in this game |
| workout will be unproductive.... In order for a | | | | have become expert at manipulating their weight |
| muscle to grow it must be overloaded, in order to | | | | training and fitness workouts to keep the |
| achieve overload we must contract the muscles | | | | progress coming. |