From: Eddy Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 18:40:47 -0600 (MDT)Comments welcome - anyone who has been following this type ofprogram?, would be interested in results.THE BEST WAY TO TRAIN FOR SIZE by Walter EddyMany bodybuilders know less about 'weight training' than Medical rehabpersonal and Professional Sport Coaches. Ironic? - yes, after all -bodybuilding is weightlifting. Yet bodybuilders tend to seek outinformation from anyone who promises to make them big, tell them thesecret on how to get big like the Pro bodybuilders - when the only secretis that steroids are the ONLY way to get that kinda big.So what do Pro Sport Coaches and Med. rehab people know that you may not -that's what is about to be covered, so pay attention if you want to knowthe truth - go elsewhere if you're looking for a bunch of golden promises.Very little money has been spent on 'bodybuilding' research. On the otherhand millions have been spent on ways to improve the performance of Proand 'Olympic' athletes. Not to mention the years of research put intostudying muscle rehabilitation for medical purposes. It is from thesesources that the real information on getting 'big' (as big as is possiblewith or without steroids), can be found. The information is out there, youjust have to look for it - the important facts to you, the bodybuilder,will be covered in this article.Training/growth facts - what the studies prove.The goal of every bodybuilder is to get bigger muscles. With this goal inmind lets cover what research has taught us - and how to put it to use .FIRST: Muscle strength in the adult human is relative to cross sectionarea (size). An equal cross-sectional area of muscle from any averagetrained women or man has about the same 'strength' (i.e.: can generate thesame amount of force, 6 kg - cm2), there is very little variation. To putit another way, generally speaking - all human muscle tissue has (about) the same amount of strength, or is able to generate the same amount offorce. So the greater the size, cross-sectional, the greater the strength.However, it is important to point out that bone structure, muscleattachments, neural factors, etc., play a very important part inperforming 'feats of strength', so two people with equal cross sectionareas of muscle may still perform very differently -- not due to strongermuscle tissue, but due to other factors.What does this mean to the bodybuilder - it means that if you wish toincrease muscle mass you must train the muscle to be able to generate moreforce - which in turn means the muscle must grow. Don't confuseincreasing muscle size with increasing performance strength - performancestrength - for example the amount of weight a person can bench press -depends on a number of factors - neural factors being very important.Increasing muscle size will help increase performance strength -- butincreasing performance strength does not necessarily mean that you willincrease muscle size. That may sound confusing - re-read the paragraphbefore this one again if you still do not understand.Putting this information to use. To increase muscle size (or mass), youmust increase the cross sectional area. Because there is a limit to theamount of force (strength) a set cross-sectional area of muscle cangenerate -muscle tissue must increase in size (cross-sectional area) to beable to handle a greater force (to become 'stronger') - the result: biggermuscles. So the best way to make your muscle bigger - - train in such away as to increase the amount of force you can generate - and, of course,to make the muscle grow as fast as possible. This last statement 'as fastas possible' is another key term - most types of resistance training willcause your muscles to grow, the question you should be asking is, is thisthe fastest way? You will find the best answers research has to offerhere.Applying this information to your training.This is where powerlifters, bodybuilders and endurance athletes part ways. The goal of an endurance athlete is not to increase muscle mass - the goalof a powerlifter is to be able to generate as much power as possible - thegoal of a bodybuilder is to increase muscle size as much as possible. Sometraining principals apply to all three, but there are also somesignificant differences. What will be covered here is the best way to get'big'.SIDE NOTE: The untrained muscle responds much better than the trainedmuscle. This simply means that the untrained person will experience muchfaster gains in strength and growth than the person who has several monthsof GOOD training under there belt. This is a well known fact - notsomeone's opinion.TRAINING FOR GROWTHFirst - be sure NOT to skip the above material - the above facts play animportant part in understanding how to train correctly for growth.Different types of exercises will not be covered here - why? - the type ofexercise you do (i.e.: push-ups, sit-ups, presses, curls, etc.) havenothing to do with growth - - they determine which muscle(s) receive thestimulation. The 'method' you use is what will cause your muscle to becomebigger, stronger, faster, etc.. Let's make sure this is clear, as manypeople do not understand this, and it is an important point - it is HOWyou train - NOT the exercise itself - - that cause muscles to grow. Research on muscle recovery for medical reasons has been done for hundredsof years now - that's correct - 100's. Research was greatly stepped upafter World War 2 - it was at this time that the benefits of resistancetraining began to be understood. Over the last 20 years the benefits ofresistance training have been greatly accepted and researched. Over thelast few years new types of testing methods - and computers - have come along way in finding the best - and fastest - way to 'build' muscle. Why isthis important to people other than bodybuilders? - in the Medicalcommunity the information is considered important so that patients inrehabilitation may recover as quickly as possible. In sports it isimportant because it is now known that resistance training can enhance alltypes of performance. This is where the research is being done - and why. Bodybuilders are still on the bottom of the list - but are still includedin some studies - not to help 'bodybuilders' - but to gain moreunderstanding of muscle growth.So what does research tell us - some of this you may know - some maysurprise you. PRE - or Progressive Resistance training - is considered thebest method of training for size. Before you say 'big deal' read on - PREhas changed much over the years. It was first started by DeLorme, T.L. who did the research on it (Restoration of muscle power byheavy-resistance exercise. J. Bone Joint Surg. 27:645,1945). Many of theprinciples still hold true - but many refinements have been made as well.THE BEST WAY TO TRAIN FOR SIZE - WHAT RESEARCH HAS SHOWNSETS2 sets (of maximum effort), are far more effective that 1 (fastestincreases in growth and strength), and it appears that 3 sets are slightlymore beneficial than doing 2. There is no evidence that doing more that 3sets will help - or hurt. Rest between sets should be at least 1 min. andno more than 5 min. - no difference has been shown between taking a 1 min.or 5 min. rest - in terms of growth and strength increases - the choice isyours. All sets should be done to the point where another rep is notpossible. (Warm up sets should be done first).REPSReps ranging from 3 to 12 are all considered good variations - this is notnews to anyone - however this may be - it appears to be important to do atleast one set of 10 RM each session. (I'm not going to go into details onthis - this is what studies have concluded - take it or leave it). Forthose who do not understand - this means that you should do one set withenough weight so that you are only capable of doing 10 reps. You may mixup the sequence any way you like, examples: 3-6-10; 12-11-10; 3-10-12;10-10-10. Any combination is acceptable - just do 1 set of 10 RM eachtime. (Side note: I myself am not exactly clear on the point of doing oneset of 10 each session but shall continue to research this point - Ibelieve that it may be important as a 'control' as much as any otherfactor.)PROGRESSIVEThe progressive part of PRE means that it is very important to increaseyour 'load' on a weekly basis. Your 10 RM is the control. You mustincrease the amount of weight you use for your 10 RM each week by at leasta small amountSPEEDShocker number two - it has been shown that fast movements (contractions),produce the greatest increases in strength and growth. This really shouldnot come as a surprise. The speed of movement when lifting a weight thatyou are only capable of doing 10 reps with, even performing the reps asfast as possible with good form, is still very slow compared to manysports movements - such as swinging a bat, throwing a ball, running - etc.The concentric part of the movement should be done as fast as possible -however this does not mean to 'jerk' the weight - it is also veryimportant that the movement be done in a 'smooth' manner. This isimportant - 'jerking' the weight may cause an increase in strength due toneural factors - but it is not the best way to increase muscle size.FREQUENCYBenefits from PRE can be achieved by training a muscle(s) as little asonce a week. The best results for the TRAINED individual APPEAR to betraining a muscle no more than 3 times a week, HOWEVER THIS IS NOTCONCLUSIVE - it is possible that training more or less may have a SMALLadvantage - the new trainer can get best results training a muscle up to 5times a week.. Another possible shocker - training when muscles are'sore' may help speed recovery and is recommended - however you should nottrain to the point of causing 'pain' (or if you are already in 'pain').Working a muscle that is sore - even one that has been injured - willcause the muscle to recover much more rapidly that resting the muscle -you must know the difference between pain and soreness however - andshould not do anything that will cause pain. (If you are recovering froman injury please be sure to follow your Doctors instructions.)NUTRITION and SUPPLEMENTSNutrition is a very important part of getting 'big'. This should be verysimple to understand but still many people don't. If you want to build ahouse there is one thing YOU HAVE TO HAVE - materials. If you want tobuild muscle you have to feed them - plain and simple. To gain mass youhave to eat more calories than your body needs - or at least the exactamount that it needs for energy, repair, etc. (because there is no way ofknowing your exact needs it is wise to eat a bit more than you feel youneed). If you don't YOUR MUSCLES WILL NOT GROW.Supplements are another story. Research has shown that only drugs willmake your muscles grow beyond 'normal'. Other supplements do have theirplace. It is important that your body has all the nutrients it needs - anyless will slow your progress. There may be a very slight advantage togetting a little more of some things than your body needs - but there islittle doubt that if your body is not getting enough of something it willhurt your progress. For example, most people are known to be deficient inZinc (there is not enough of it in our diets), in which case it has beenproven that supplemental Zinc will increase the testosterone levels (inmen). It has also been shown that taking twice as much as you need willnot be of benefit - and may even have adverse effects on your health. INFORMATIONThis training information is the result of over 50 years of research onPRE - - by hundreds of researchers. They know what their talking about.There are two important last points to make , researchers will be thefirst to tell you that everything is not known about the best way to train- but any improvements made on what is currently known - about trainingmethods - will be very slight. Every possible combination of trainingmethods (within reason), have been studied. If big improvements are to bemade in 'muscle building', it will be in areas other than training. The PLATEAUNow the bad news - if you train correctly you will 'level off'. Thetraining methods covered here have been shown to be better (produce fasterand better results), than any other researched training methods. (Again,it is possible that slight variations will be found to have some slightbenefit). Here's what to expect - if your train correctly for maximumgrowth you will make very fast gains for the first 3 to 6 months. At thispoint you will gradually start to taper off - after two years of trainingyou can expect the gains to come very slowly - at some point, to betotally honest, further 'overall' gains will be almost impossible unlessyou take anabolic steroids or other types of anabolic drugs. (Which I donot recommend). This does not mean that you can't continue to improve yourappearance. It is at this time that you should start paying more attentionto your weak areas, your diet, etc. - you can always improve - and hope -that more can be learned on how to increase muscle size through naturalmethods - without the use of steroids.LAST NOTE: SHORT ON TIME?A 1 rep max (1 RM), done once a week, (after warm up) - has been shown tobe very effective in increasing strength and size during 6 week studies.REFERENCESPRIMARY SOURCE:McArdle, W.D., and Katch, F.I., and Katch, V.L., Exercise Physiology,fourth edition, Williams and Wilkins, 1996. (includes 178 sourcereferencences pertaining to the above subject). Other References:Guyton, A.C., Function of the Human Body, fourth edition, Saunders, 1974. Nobel, B.J., Physiology of Exercise and Sport, Times Mirror/Mosby, 1986. Hendler, S.S., The Doctors' Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia, Simon andSchuster, 1990. Hatfield, F.C., Bodybuilding a Scientific Approach,Contemporary, 1984.