Unusual perspective on how to build muscle without sacrificing lifestyle…
Muscle building exercise theories vary from emphasizing only one muscle group per day or per workout, all the way to doing Turkish Get-Ups as your entire program. I’ve heard it all, and there’s merit in ‘almost’ all of it. The fact is, stress your muscles and they will grow; ‘stressing’ them means that you are taking them just past their failure point, and gaining either:
1.) Muscular endurance or
2.) Muscular strength
More muscle is your natural adaptation response when you take muscle just past it’s physiological threshold. The question is between muscular endurance (slow twitch muscle fibers) and muscular strength (medium and fast twitch muscle fibers.)
Generally speaking, if you perform greater than 8 reps of an exercise, you’re in the muscular endurance zone. There are plenty of exceptions to this when it comes to burnout sets, synergistic sets, and a bunch of other things that sound complicated but really are not. We’ll talk more about those in a moment…
When you want to build muscular strength, you’ll need to keep your repetitions low (8 or less), and keep your rest breaks long (2-5 minutes before repeating this muscle group.) By forcing your muscle to quickly and fully exert itself a few times until it is exhausted, your body identifies that you were attempting to lift something too heavy, and it grows bigger muscles to help you get it the next time. In other words, it pulls the quickest energy source, sugar, and demands energy from it right away. When it runs out, your body builds more sugar-consuming muscle fibers so that you can lift more weight the next time.
On the other hand, by repeatedly being able to do something, but running out of gas after 25 or 30 repetitions, your body identifies that it needs to get better at ‘pacing’ itself, so it builds more muscle fibers that thrive on oxygen; this way, your body can stop your muscle from ‘getting out of breath’ for awhile longer.
- Muscular endurance is great for running marathons.
- These are slow-twitch muscle fibers.
- Muscular strength is great for ‘building muscle.’
- These are fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Converting Muscle Fiber Type:
So, if the goal is to pack on some extra muscle, you’re going to need to either work with the muscle fibers you’ve got, or convert as many of them over to medium twitch as possible. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about the number of fast-twitch muscle fibers you have, although you may want to pick your parents better next time 🙂
Slow muscle fibers (endurance) can be converted to medium (consumes both energy sources, oxygen and sugar), and fast twitch (sugar consumers) can also be converted to medium.
Converting fast-twitch muscle fibers to medium twitch is never a good idea if your goal is to get lean or build muscle.
It’s very hard to switch back.
As a result, you’ll want to always incorporate some fast-paced strength training as a part of your workout program, independent of the periodization phase you are following. Even part of a workout every 2 weeks is enough to maintain muscle fiber type.
Conversely, once you change muscle fiber type over from slow-twitch to medium-twitch, do your best to preserve this metamorphosis. Continue this form of training for at least six weeks to stabilize the switch.
Preservation of Muscle Fiber Type:
This is where things can really take off and start to accelerate your results. Instead of looking at ‘burnout’ sets as an opportunity to burn everything ‘left’ in your muscle, look at them as an opportunity to preserve fast and medium-twitch muscle fibers. So, sprint through these reps, cleanly keeping form, and stop when you slow down.
Pretty simple, huh?
Exceptions, Muscle Building Secrets, & Set Variety:
The rules listed above are correct, but with any good science, we learn of new and innovative ways to produce results. Then, we do our best to explain them with new areas of research. As a clinical Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), it’s my job to observe what’s happening clinically, read any studies that support this, or convey my findings for others to start performing the studies. Furthermore, I believe it’s my job to discover new methods.
In my opinion, research is lacking in most of the exceptions listed below, or it could at least be done much better to offer scientific proof. Many of these techniques I’ve borrowed from others’ ideas, and some of them I’ve created on my own. From the training floor, we know these work:
- Reciprocal Inhibition Supersets & Giant Sets
Reciprocal Inhibition is the concept that suggests when you use one muscle group, the neurological signal to the opposite muscle group is turned off, temporarily. So, in the case of wanting to exert as much effort as possible through a muscle contraction, it stands to argue that following every ‘strength’ exercise, you can use the opposite muscle group to ‘turn-off’ the signal to the muscle you have just worked. Thereby, you’ll get more from each of the following sets.
Superset Example: Biceps Curls (strength set) x 6 reps, followed by Assisted Dips x 25 reps as your rest period, then repeating Biceps Curls.
- Angular Supersets & Giant Sets
Angular supersets (2 exercises back to back) and Giant Sets (3-5 exercises in a row, without rest) are extremely useful for muscle groups that have multiple actions or a large variety of muscle fiber direction. For example, your pecs have three muscle actions: internally rotate shoulder/arm, aDduct your shoulder/arm, and flex your shoulder/arm in front of you.
Each muscle action has corresponding muscle fibers that are directionally-oriented such that when they shorten, the muscle action is performed. So, there are certain positions that work well to get almost every muscle fiber, but they often miss others at the same time.
Likewise, other exercises are really only meant for one section of one action of a muscle, like Bench Press. This is really only doing a good job of getting the middle and outside regions of your pec, but not necessarily the upper, lower, or inner.
Angular supersets and giant sets can be used to get the ‘missing’ sections of the muscle from an exercise, thereby increasing the number of reps you’re doing, but not necessarily for the ‘missing’ muscle areas.
- Synergistic Supersets & Giant Sets
Synergistic muscle groups are muscle groups that work together to perform a common movement. An easy example to envision would be your lats (on your back) and biceps. In order to perform a pull up, you have to use your lats to pull yourself up, but your elbows are bending at the same time, so that’s your biceps. These muscles are working together, or synergistically.
Since it’s very difficult to do a strength-based pull up set without getting your biceps involved, anyway, it makes sense to finish off the work you’ve been doing. So, biceps, and related muscles, are next in line, and without a rest break. Cumulatively, this adds up to more than 8 reps for your biceps (say 6 pull ups + 6 biceps curls = 12 reps for your biceps.)
On other days, you’ll want to work your biceps first, even though you’ll sacrifice pull up strength. This way, you can hit a lower number of overall reps and cause faster muscle growth to take place.
This type of set is important and relative for all closed-chain exercises, or exercises that look like squats, push ups, pull ups, and lunges; exercises where your hands or feet are fixed and your body is moving towards them.
- Pyramid and Reverse Pyramid Sets
This is where you start with a single rep of an exercise or movement, and then you do two reps, then three, etc. Often times, the rest breaks are minimal, or you are doing 2 or 3 exercises in a row before proceeding to the next rep range.
Naturally, you are doing many more cumulative reps than 3 sets of 8 reps, but you are allowing short rest breaks in between. This requires both endurance and strength, so it’s beneficial for medium-twitch muscle fibers more than anything else.
- “Twitch” Sets
“Twitch” Sets are used for purposeful selection of movement speed for the targeting a particular muscle fiber type. In other words, this is another form of muscle balancing, in that you are specifically targeting all muscle fibers your ‘strength’ program might be missing. So you’re taking time out to work on the ‘rest’ of your muscle by working muscular endurance back into the picture, but only for a portion of your workout.
Here, you are generally using these 3 speeds:
- Superslow Method – 10 seconds, both directions
- Normal Speed – 2 seconds concentric, 1 second isometric, 4 seconds eccentric
- Sprint Sets – as fast as you can go, cleanly and with good form
- Power-based Movements
Power-based movements are incredible for building strength, especially functional strength that requires the use of your core to succeed with the movement. By slowly loading your muscle (eccentrically) and then exploding against gravity (concentrically), you are teaching your muscle how to generate massive amounts of work in a very short period of time.
This is great for building muscle, but it comes with some inherent risk. If you are not an athlete and you’re not doing this for sport, it’s generally better to stay in the higher rep range and decrease your weight significantly. Aim for 12-15 reps, and sacrifice a bit of speed in muscle development for safety. You are already biasing your fastest-twitch fibers, so you’re good to go.
Likewise, certain muscles in your body aren’t meant to get huge. For example, movements that require back stability are often, at least in part, endurance-based movements. For example, power-based pull ups are functional to do at a higher rep range, as this is pulling your bodyweight quickly. Think about this functionally — do you really ever have to pull more than your bodyweight quickly? If you do, you should train lower reps, but if you don’t, you have your answer.
- Plyometrics for the Non-Athlete
Plyometrics are bodyweight exercises that work on reaction speed and muscle timing. Muscle timing, in this sense, is the ability to fire opposite muscle phases, back and forth, as quickly as possible. For example, as you load your quads eccentrically when you land from a jump, how quickly can you get back off the ground, or use your quads concentrically?
The faster you can change the phase of muscle contraction, the more you are biasing the fastest-twitch muscle fibers that you have. The goal in plyometrics is to run out of steam quickly, in just a few reps, so you are only utilizing one muscle fiber type when you selectively recruit them.
This is amazing for power and athletic development, but there’s another hidden benefit here: Joint Stability.
Joint stability increases as you train plyometrically, as there are many moments when your muscles are just a tad late, and your ligaments and capsules take a small, but repeated stretch. In time, they respond by strengthening, and being able to withstand more. The end result is improved joint stability.
In the non-athlete, there’s no reason to risk injury by going absolutely as fast as you can, which would lower the number of repetitions you’d do. So, I usually recommend that you aim for 8-12 reps if you are not taking on this risk for increased performance for sport. Athletes are very well accustomed to taking on a controlled amount of risk for their sport, and they are also well adept at getting injured. If you’re just looking to build muscle or get lean, there’s no point in getting hurt…
- Tonic Muscle Groups
Your ‘true core’ is comprised of a different type of muscle tissue than other muscles in your body. These muscles have the job of stabilizing your spine and pelvis, so they need to be able to work at all times, instead of turning on and off, depending upon the action you need to perform.
‘Tonic’ muscles are postural, or ‘core’ muscles, while ‘Phasic’ muscles are reach and grab type muscles, that turn on and off repeatedly, and do so well, but they cannot sustain a maximal contraction for more than 10 seconds.
Your tonic muscles are:
- Internal Oblique
- External Oblique
- Transversus Abdominus
- Multifidus
- Psoas
- …and depending on the source you read, Quadratus Lumborum
These muscles should be trained with all phases of muscle contractions, and at all numbers of repetitions. In the case of isometrics (like a plank), work on building as much time as you can without losing form. This is the most functional way to train your ‘tonic’ musculature.
- Postural Phasic Muscles
As mentioned above, ‘Phasic’ muscles are your reach and grab muscles, as they do a great of turning on and off. Examples here might include your delts, biceps, triceps, quads, etc.
However, what about muscles like your lats, pecs, erector spinae, rotator cuff, etc.?
In these cases, your muscles are used throughout the day, but they don’t have the characteristic of tonic muscles that allow them to contract nonstop. Instead, they need to have incredible levels of muscular endurance in order to perform in real life. Simultaneously, because they are so important in daily life, they require adequate strength to perform.
Postural Phasic Muscles should be trained both high repetitions and low repetitions, but low always comes first (8 or less). You can alternate days, or you can choose to always superset with high rep based, multiple speed-based exercises.
- Functionally-Based Exercises
At the end of the day, we’re talking about exceptions that have been tested and implemented to adapt to functional demands of daily living. This includes movements that require power, alternating motions, quick muscle recovery, or prolonged holding of posture or position. There are all sorts of functions of muscles that take place outside of the gym.
If you can think of an activity that you currently do as a part of your daily living, albeit your career or at home, and there isn’t an exercise in your routine that specifically addresses this issue, you need to add that movement to your program and train it for muscular endurance. Equally important is to add any strength-based movements to your routine that simulate activities that require you to have strength.
For example, an endurance-based daily activity you may perform:
Cleaning the cabinets – overhead position, prolonged time period holding core in this position without arching spine, simultaneously lifting moderately-weighted objects from above.
A strength-based example might be:
Landscaping. Jumping into and out of the truck to grab supplies, up to 12 times per day. In this case, that sort of propulsion-based movement that requires coordination between your upper and lower body for jumping into the truck would belong in your exercise program, but for reps, and with specific form cues. You’d do less reps of this, because you only really need to be able to do it 1-3x every time its asked of you.
Muscle Building Program Design… interested?
200 comments and I’ll put up a full post on Muscle Program Design 🙂
80 Comments
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I do landscape and build fences for a living love to find more workouts to help in this line of work.
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Just a question about this statement: “your pecs have three muscle actions: internally rotate shoulder/arm,
aDduct your shoulder/arm, and extend your shoulder/arm behind you”…as all the pectoral attachments are anterior, what part of the pec extends the arm behind the body? As far as I know, there are no single-joint muscles that both flex and extend a limb.
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hey Andrew,
That’s actually a typo – you’re absolutely correct. Your pecs ‘Flex’ not ‘Extend’ – I appreciate you pointing this out… don’t quite know how I wrote that 🙂
thanks!
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I think this article just goes to show that you need to do two things when you begin a workout program:
1. Decide what your goal is e.g. weight loss, muscle gain etc.
2. Get someone who knows what they are doing to design the workout e.g. like Dr. KI used to just make up workouts and then wonder why I couldn’t get results, why my body was riddled with asymmetries and why I got bored.
The FTFL workout builder is looking more and more like a bargain every day.
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Might I add that I can’t believe how much amazing information on workout design is in this article. Absolute gold. Thanks Dr. K.
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the human body reacts to external stimulus. Humans are very adaptive to their external surrounding. If your daily activity revolves around a table and computer, then the only way to trigger muscle growth is to engage in activity that utilizes those muscles on a frequent basis. Early morning 10~20 minutes workout daily sessions over a period primes the body and doing heavy lifts 3~4 times a week at the gym pumps them up. THe controlling factor has always been conditioning the body to such demands. You stop, they revert back to average body demands but you retain the ability to quickly “pump” up. Memory within the body cells. The body aclimatizes to the new demands every 6~8 weeks so the program should change in that duration. how the new program builds muscle is the question. Most people shift emphasis from muscle building to endurence hence the vicious cycle all over again thus the long litinay of complains of no results.
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Great Job Kareem….. We sometimes forget that the exercise we need to perform have to benefit our general day to day wellbeing. We are not all Olympians in the making. Quality of life should be paramount so if we are able to function well on a day to day basis, our life experiences will most likely be positive. Knowledge is Power – Power gives you total Control over your actions.
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This is another excellent article by the Doctor which explains the physiological make-up of what our exercises should consist of in order to obtain or maintain our goals. Thank you Dr. K.
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I feel like I have taken a mini course after many of your blogs. Thanks Dr. K for all your knowledge.
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If you understand this and it intrests you be sure to check out the best program on the planet to reach these goals. LEAN HYBRID MUSCLE: RELOADED !!! WE guarantee gain more T3M!!! TYPE THREE MUSCLE, thats what we call HYBRID mutated muscle fiber over in the best training forum on the planet! You should come check it out and be part of the rapid growth movement we are experiencing!!!!
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I’m very thankful that there are people in the world such as yourself. You’re giving up your time to educate others in ways they cannot do themselves. This article is awesome, very detailed, but not to the point where one couldn’t understand. Keep doing what you’re doing mate 🙂
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Hi Dr K
I am in a bit of trouble Because I copied the wrong program on your double edge fat loss program and I was kicked off no more information any more. But that is great because since doing your program I have got heaps of upper body strength. I was just getting the hang of doing lungers and squats Though not travelling at the same speed as all the other persons on your workouts I took my time and spread the workout over many months I joined the inner circle and unable to pay because of overextending myself have been locked out. I am having trouble at the moment as just last friday I got this terrible pain in my leg and it turned out to be a DVT. Deep Vein Thrombosis. I was advised to stop my intense workouts for something lighter. but upper body is OK.
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I just tried to open Your Fat/Loss program and nothing happens-Why Jim Brooks
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How would I use these tips to design a program to build a bigger. Butt?
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Great article, I loved it!
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Dr Kareem. This is brilliant. Thanks for the explanations of the different muscle fibers. The examples really help to clarify exactly what your explaining and I’ll definitely apply these principals to my training. Looking forward to more insight and your AWESOME articles.
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WOW!…..who would have thought ofl of this. Grea article DR.K
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To bad I found the registration closed, would have love to view it
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I read so many articles from you guys – I train 2 -3 times per week with all the usual exercises, squats lunges press ups etc. and I get good results – a bit of belly fat left due to some poor diet choices – but I know my metabolism is good and I can lose weight quickly with a couple of days clean eating. My question is what exercies to stretch my hamstrings – I have around 40 degrees in my right leg and about 55 in my left leg – really poor and my squat technique is still rubbish after about 3 years of training.
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Interesting & detailed insight. Helped me to understand each one. You are definitely detailed and precise in your articles.
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wow! that’s alot of incredible information! I will be printing it out and reading it more than once for sure. I just don’tnow how to pull it all together to make a plan. I’m a 52 year old female and would like to build strenghth AND endurance. I haven’t been doing too bad, I get compliments on my arms and legs but need belly help(I can hide it pretty well but it’s there!)
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Awesome stuff
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thanks for the info, looking forward to the next part 😉
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Interesting info…please keep it coming & thank you for sharing!
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Great info- but I have no idea what Im supposed to do with it. What exercises should I be doing, in what frequency, and how do I integrate it in with my other DEFL workouts?
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Thank you Doctor K! Please give more info
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Very interesting – a lot to try to understand….confused as to what to with it and how to make it work for me. I am a 61 year old female, very strong with a great deal of endurance. I’ve recently taken up triathlon so I’m more interested in athletics rather than bodybuilding.
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These articles get to be too complicated for me. I don’t understand the exercises you describe. I am interested in building muscle, but I am mainly interested in just staying in the best healthy condition possible.
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This is one of the greatest articles I’ve read in a while!! Keep the good posts… 🙂
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Great innovative info! I pride myself on knowing quite a bit about fitness training and there are some new concepts here I’ve never come across. I LOVE new information, so thanks! I do see how the novice wouldn’t really know where to go from here though, so posting an actual program based on these principles would be great. Can’t wait to see it.
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What a wealth of information! I will need to read it over a few times to let it all sink in. Now I see why my standard workout is at a standstill regarding results!
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Great post. Thanks!
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great info thanks, bryan
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Great article. It gave me the better way to make my workout more productive. Thanks.
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keep the GREAT info coming!!! THANK YOU!
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Great info, thanks. Love your programs wish I could pick up all your programs.
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got a headache trying to comprehend all the info))) Thank you very much, Dr.K! you’re incredible!
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Yeah, a little bit of technical information overload and not sure how to apply any of it. A well-defined program would be great!
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Love all the info you give.
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Thanks for the info, would like more!
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This comment is worth at least 200 comments! Love your work, you have a lot of useful information that I incorporate into my workouts almost daily to improve my posture, stability, and form.
Question: Do you reside in Canada, or the US?
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I would definitely love a “dummy” version of all of this! LOL As a newbie you’ve got my head spinning!
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Here, here. I agree, let’s see more – love it!
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Thank you Dr Kareem, this information is excelent to improve my workouts. I hope that you send some videos with examples of all this soon.
Best regards
Pablo , Buenos Aires , Argentina -
Wow, this information clarifies alot for me! Wish I had known before about the value of fast twitch muscles and how they need to be trained and preserved. I wonder if I have any left at this point! Hopefully I can build up whatever’s left. Thanks for all the info Dr. K!
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Wow! Interesting info. Would love a full muscle program design.
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I’d definitely love a design program, seeing as the gyms in my area are either extremely expensive or very poorly equipped. And thanks for the info doc. You rock!
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good article
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Nice information. Looking forward to seeing your post on muscle program design. Thank you, Dr. K.
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Thanks Dr. K! In your other programs, do you integrate all of this? I’d love to see something that helps me understand how all of this fits together. Thanks!
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You’re very welcome!
I appreciate each of you for taking the time to comment, your warm feedback, and your questions/concerns. This is AWESOME.
Yes, I do incorporate this stuff into my programs, although I’ve only released a limited # of workouts that are muscle building, to date. Pending a bit more interest and seeing at least 200 comments up here, I’d strongly consider putting something together for you.
In the meantime, I’d love for you to think about the following:
Is there one or two pieces of information from today’s article that I can incorporate into my workouts right now?
That’s it – forward progress, then, check bank for the next 1-2 in a month or so when you’re ready.
Keep up the great work!
-k
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Very surprised to hear that fibers can be “converted.” I was under the impression that you could increase the size of your muscle fiber but not the nature of it. Interesting stuff!
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Yep, was under the same impression. Would like more info as to how this is possible. Indeed interesting. Not sure though if I want to trade fast twitchers for medium.
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love this. Look forward to seeing it organised into a workout
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Thanks Dr K, you explain things so well I can actually understand the concepts now after years of hearing about them but not actually having them gel in my head. Once this stuff is understood you know why you are doing something, and it works so much better! Also motivates me more when I know why I am doing something a certain way. Thanks again.
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Thank you Dr for this great post. I really enjoy the learning involved with this lifestyle… and I was just going to lift weights and get bigger 🙂
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Article was very informative .Thank You
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Thanks Doc! I appreciate the technical information and the fact that you make it understanable.
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Very interesting approach to muscle building. I’m naturally lean, so I will definitely be focusing on converting slow twitch to medium twitch. Can’t wait to see your muscle building program design.
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I love learning these concepts and an excited to get a muscle building program!!
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I would like to learn as much as I can about building Muscle correctly for MY body and the results I am looking for!
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my dear sir
i want big and strong muscle. if u tell me how i get big arm muscle exercises. step by step -
Great stuff !!! Looking forward for more
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I’m interested in learning more about how to build muscle I can’t seem to build a strong core and my upper body is so weak and I have been working out for a year now. My problem is knowing which exercise to do to work the right muscle group to get the results I want.
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This article is very interesting and instructive. Learning what the programs are designed to do helps us to do things more appropriately and gives us more confidence in them. Thanks!
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Wow – I’ll need to read this a couple of times to absorb it. The next article should help a lot. Thanks.
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Nothing short of AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A lot to absorb but so informative.
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Full of useful information! Cool
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Great job! Thanks for the useful info!!!
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I found this informative! I am curious if size (muscular hypertrophy) is incorporated by these particular exercises. For example, if I want to increase the size of my chest or back/lats, which protocol would I incorporate?
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too much information! please post a paint-by-number system that works 🙂
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Good info, but need to see how women differ from men in types of muscle recruitment and goals.
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Very nice Dr K, thanks.
One question, is plyo and twitch the best way to build medium and fast twitch muscle for an older athlete?
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Good info. Useful when going to the gym next time.
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Thanks, Makes me want more.
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great info but overwhelming. Leaves me wondering if what I’m doing at the gym is right…sort of at the mercy of the programs offered at my local gym. Looking forward to m more practical application and less theory
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Lots of info to digest! I imagine that the best thing to do is to cycle through these options to gain the maximum advantage. I need to develop more medium twitch fibers (no fair that I can’t get fast ones!). I love spinning but I find that my muscles fatigue fairly quickly doing standing sprints with resistance. How can I improve? Short hill sprints on off days?
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Fab…Do tell more
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I am absolutely interested in gaining muscle. I have three herniated discs in my low back starting with L-5/S-1 and have trouble finding the right exercises to build muscle without harming myself.
Comments are closed.
