What are sets and repetitions, supersets and maximum weight. How many approaches and repetitions to do depending on the training goals One exercise for 10 approaches

Mass training program 10 to 10, also known as GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING (NOTE), is a popular training method among professionals and advanced athletes to gain weight. muscle mass, giving muscles density and volume. Any will be effective only if the load progresses - the most important principle in bodybuilding. Load progression is not only a gradual increase in working weights, but also an increase in the volume of work. In this regard, German volumetric training is the best remedy for progress. The 10x10 weight training program will squeeze all the juice out of you, explode your muscles and make you grow!

Surely, you are already familiar, which is based on the 5x5 system. Low reps, high intensity optimally promotes gains. strength indicators. While the 10x10 training program, thanks to the monstrous increase in the volume of muscle work, is excellent for stimulating muscle growth, giving it density and volume. German volume training will simply explode your muscles. Try it and see for yourself!

Let's take a closer look at what the 10x10 training system is. In general, the 10x10 training program differs from other training programs except in the large volume of training load. That is, you will perform the exercises you are familiar with, but in an unusual number of approaches (sets) and repetitions. The working weight will have to be reduced slightly, otherwise you simply will not be able to complete all 10 sets in the given number of repetitions, adhering to correct technique execution. If your normal working weight is around 65-80% of your 1RM, then you need to reduce your working weight to 60% of your 1RM.

For example, let's take . Let's say your 1RM for this exercise is 100 kg. In this case, your working weight will be 60 kg. At first glance you may think that this is too easy. You won’t even feel the first approaches. However, starting from approach 4-5, the real work will begin. At 7-8 approaches you will want to give up this idea. The burning sensation in the muscles will be simply unbearable. You'll have to show real character to see it through to the end, completing all 10 sets of 10 reps each. And this is just the beginning!

It is worth noting that German volume training is ideal for people with excellent recovery abilities. Such athletes can train each muscle group at intervals of 4-5 days, building their muscles accordingly. This does not mean that athletes who do not use doping, with a busy work schedule, can forget about NOT. They will also benefit from a 10 x 10 training program, but they will need to optimize their diet and daily routine, as well as increase the rest time between workouts, working a muscle group no more than once every 7 days.

In any case, NOT should be used wisely and not for a long time, since this training system quickly depletes the body's resources, which can lead to overtraining and reluctance to train. Therefore, the 10x10 weight training program should not be used for longer than 6-8 weeks. As soon as progress stalls, you feel a loss of strength and energy, rest for 1-2 weeks and switch to another training program.

GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING - MASS TRAINING PROGRAM

MONDAY (Legs, abs)

1. Squat with barbell 10x10
2. Deadlift 10x10
3. Seated calf raise 3x15-20
4. Roman chair crunches 3x20

TUESDAY (Chest, back)

1. Bench press 10x10
2. Bent-over barbell row 10x10
3. Incline Dumbbell Press 3x10
4. Horizontal pull block 3x10

WEDNESDAY (Rest)

THURSDAY (Triceps, biceps, deltoids, abs)

1. Seated dumbbell press 10x10
2. Dips 10x10
3. Curls with dumbbells 3x10
4. Hanging leg raises 3x15x20

DAY 5-7 (Rest)

NOTES FOR THE 10X10 TRAINING PROGRAM

1. First of all, I would like to note that this is only an optimized example of the 10x10 system for advanced athletes who do not use anabolic steroid. You can replace some exercises with similar ones if you find them more effective.
2. German volume training is initially based on training antagonist muscles. However, you can use other options for working muscle groups.
3. The recommended rest time between sets is 90 seconds for the main exercises and 60 seconds for the accessory exercises. However, always listen to yourself. Nothing bad will happen if you rest a little more.
4. It is important to choose the right weight so that you can perform all 10 sets of 10 repetitions using the correct form and only reaching failure on the last set of the exercise.
5. Increase the working weight only if you can do the specified number of approaches and repetitions without compromising your execution technique.
6. Do not use the 10x10 training method for a long time, since NOT training greatly depletes the body's resources, which can lead to overtraining against the background of constant under-recovery. The optimal duration of a weight training program using the 10 by 10 system is no more than 6-8 weeks, depending on the fitness and recovery abilities of your body.

CONCLUSIONS

German volume training is not a panacea, but a means with which you can both break through your genetic ceiling and drive yourself into deep state overtraining. It is important to objectively assess your capabilities so as not to harm the body. Train smart and be careful!

Greetings to all lovers healthy image life and sports!

I continue to introduce advanced and newbies to bodybuilding and fitness with techniques training process. "10 by 10 training program" to overcome the plateau, build quality. The method was used by bodybuilders of the “golden era”, A. Schwarzenegger,.

To begin with, I may disappoint inexperienced visitors to gyms and fitness centers. Presented within the capabilities of experienced gym athletes. Therefore, it is not recommended for beginners to immediately start with such a complex.

Throughout its existence, it has proven itself and justified itself. If you have stagnant growth, progress has stopped, you want to change the stress effect on muscle groups. Try similar exercises using new, old technology.

What you need to know about German volume training

The quality mark is the technical aspect and the real capabilities of your body. Pay attention to this. Choose exercises. A suitable working weight is selected from the formula 70% of 1 RM. If you’re not familiar, hang weights on a barbell and perform the bench press to failure 15 times. It turns out it’s supposedly yours weight category. Strive to find a middle ground. The lower the weight, don’t expect hypertrophy, the more you can’t complete the program.

The technology is as follows. You will need to perform two exercises in a row in a superset of ten approaches, with ten repetitions. The weight of the weights does not change throughout. Let's move on to the second set, two exercises. Minimize rest between sets to one minute. Otherwise, the effect of such training will come to zero.

Be sure to distribute your activities throughout the day. It will be difficult, but it is necessary. If you want to inflate your muscle fibers so that they experience killer stress, motivate yourself to the fullest.

I assure you, muscle hypertrophy will come to you much faster than you think.

The theoretical part has come to an end

let's start building muscles

Day 1 (legs superset), abs

day 2 (chest, back superset)

Day 3 (shoulders, arms superset), abs

A reasonable question is how to distribute the described activities of proven bodybuilders of the past by day. Still, we don't professional athletes, we pay attention to barbells and dumbbells in our free time.

If you are an endomorph. Feel free to do the first workout (Monday, Thursday), the second (Tuesday, Friday), the third (Wednesday, Saturday).

Who can’t work out every day or you have a mesomorph figure. Then make it a point to train every other day. On the sixth day, start from the first day. Remember, great.

I have no doubt that most gym athletes will become tired during the German volume training session. In order not to slow down the complex, take and remove a couple of plates from the bar if you cannot complete the specified number. As soon as the load is back on track, return the reverse weight.

In this situation, each muscle group will be worked out as efficiently as possible. Moreover, there will be time for recovery and proper rest, 8 hours. Everyone knows that muscle mass grows during the rest period. I almost forgot my diet. Killer workout will require additional raw materials from you in the form of protein foods. Plus sports supplements. I recommend choosing, high quality and reliable.

I wish you success in mastering "10 by 10 training program" Just don’t get carried away and change the complex after a while. If you would like to receive an individual complex for weight loss, relief, mass, please contact us. Subscribe to news. Until next time. Best regards, Sergei.

Remember, in our previous article we looked at theoretical issues in determining the number of sets and repetitions. So, I decided not to procrastinate and wrote its continuation. From this note you will learn about two (and one more, my favorite) methods in determining quantitative indicators of the training process. We will break everything down piece by piece and as a result, you yourself will decide on the option you like and learn how to derive similar numbers, without even resorting to help. personal trainer, i.e. without throwing money away :).

Make yourself comfortable, there will be a lot of interesting things, let's go.

Number of approaches and repetitions: so how many?

For those who have just joined us (or just in a tank), let me remind you that the first part of the article is here: . And we’ll start the second one with this...

As I said earlier, the numbers regarding the number of approaches and repetitions have long been known and they look in the following way (see image).

...where, under the numbers, such functional indicators as development are indicated:

1. maximum strength;
2. strength, speed and power;
3. functional muscle hypertrophy (sarcoplasmic, SG);
4. structural muscle hypertrophy (myofibrillar, MG);
5. endurance (including the ability to train for a long time).

Note:

SG – associated with an increase in the size of the non-contractile part of the muscle;

MG - increase in the contractile apparatus of muscles (number and volume of myofibrils).

This is the so-called generally accepted extended (American version) template for the “dosage” of approaches and repetitions. The Russian version, which is most often fobbed off and advised to everyone actively visiting the gym, looks like this (see image).

As can be seen from the figure, to develop strength it is necessary to perform 1-5 reps per set. Here you can use Weight Limit projectile and perfectly stimulate muscles to grow due to MG. Number of reps in range 9-12 times, it has the best effect on SG. As soon as the number of repetitions exceeds the mark in 12 times, processes muscle hypertrophy decrease and anaerobic endurance begins to develop.

It is believed that if you want to get as big as possible you need to balance between the two types of hypertrophy and work both types of fibers (fast/slow), which means that the set should consist of 6-8 repetitions, the total number of them (approaches) should ideally be 3 . Beginners are usually advised to “job” in the gym according to 3 once a week and train the whole body while doing 2-3 exercises for each muscle group. Everything you need to do 2-3 approach to 10-15 repetitions. All this will allow you to improve your basic level well. physical activity and prepare the body for more serious stress in the future.

So that's what it's about standard scheme number of approaches and repetitions, there is also a scientific and intuitive method, which I consider the most adequate and correct and which I will teach you at the very end.

Now let's look at the scientific approach to the issue of the number of sets and repetitions, so here we go.

Recently, wandering around the Internet in search of new research in the field of bodybuilding, I came across an interesting study on one authoritative foreign resource related to our topic today. It said that definitive answers had been found regarding the ideal number of reps and reps to achieve maximum results. It is precisely his calculations that I will give below.

Note:

The study was conducted on both beginners and advanced athletes, so its results are valid for these categories.

Let's start with...

BEGGINERS

No. 1. Number of approaches.

The study found that newcomers (experience up to 1 of the year) should work with more repetitions and less weight. Per approach it is necessary to perform from 12 before 15 repetitions. This amount allows you to develop the strength of adaptation of the nervous system to the load. Lifting weights teaches the nervous system how to quickly and efficiently turn on the right amount of “right” things. muscle fibers to lift weights. Using a high number of repetitions allows the nervous system to get more practice in this matter, because. she must control every repetition performed.

The study says that to get good “volume” results, beginners should perform about 3-4 sets for each body part. Those. must be fulfilled 3 approach one exercise for each muscle group.

Moreover, it should be taken into account that this one exercise should be basic or conditionally basic - not a single muscle group should be included in the work. The following exercises are perfect: bench press lying on a horizontal (incline) bench; dumbbell shoulder press; squats; barbell/dumbbell biceps lift, bench press narrow grip for triceps. Given the low volume of exercises, you can do one workout for the whole body at once or divide muscle groups into 2 day (1 day – chest, thighs, triceps, quadriceps; 2 day – back, shoulders, calves, biceps).

Note:

The best type of training is considered 2-3 day split (separation of muscle groups on different days).

No. 3. Training frequency.

Beginners should train each muscle group three times a week. They can split their split into two workouts, resulting in 6 days of classes per week. High-frequency training quickly trains the beginner’s nervous system and it adapts to working with iron at a faster rate. fast pace. At first glance, it may seem that it is nonsense for a beginner to practice so many times. However, the basis of this concept, “bicycle”, is one simple phenomenon - practice, i.e. The more often certain actions of the same type are performed, the faster the body learns them. Remember when young children ride a bicycle; the more often they “climb on it,” the faster they begin to ride.

We're done with the beginners, let's move on to a more advanced level...

ADVANCED

No. 1. Number of approaches.

For more advanced athletes (more than 1 of the year) the greatest benefits come from heavy weights and lower (unlike beginners) number of repetitions. The optimal number of repetitions per set for the development of strength and muscle performance is from 6 before 8 . The principle of gradual overload already works here; this is when the muscles have adapted to the weights and they must be retrained with heavier weights.

No. 2. Total training volume.

Research says that the optimal number of sets is from 4 before 6 for each part of the body, i.e. This results in three approaches in two exercises for one muscle group. The most the best option is to choose one main exercise for each muscle and one auxiliary (exercise help).

TO basic exercises may include: chest – bench press/dumbbell; shoulders – vertical press overhead barbells/dumbbells; back - one-handed dumbbell row to the waist, cable traction on the simulator; legs – squats or “cart” (leg press in platform) followed by lunges; triceps - weight press down on a cable machine, close-grip press, dips; biceps – lifting a barbell while standing or extending an arm with a dumbbell.

As auxiliary exercises, it is necessary to use those that are performed in a similar manner to the basic ones and prepare it for the main work. Examples of such “helpers”: chest - butterfly on the simulator, bringing the arms together in a crossover; shoulders – raising the bar to the chin; legs - extensions in a sitting machine; triceps - extensions on a block with a handle, etc.

No. 3. Training frequency.

Advanced athletes should not train a muscle group more than twice a week. Nervous system such people are already adapted to the loads and therefore increase strength (and as a result muscle mass) occurs due to adaptation of the muscle fibers themselves. Heavy weights and more sets cause a serious blow to the body and therefore it needs more time to recover. During the recovery period, enhanced regeneration occurs muscle proteins and the muscles become bigger and stronger.

Actually, we’ve also finished with the advanced level, now let’s sum it up...

Global output

The research presented here tells us what “number tricks” work best for most athletes, but that doesn't mean those recommendations will work best for you. Try the proposed calculations in practice and record the result. If it is positive (there is an increase in strength/muscle mass), then use them often in your training program, otherwise change any “variables” and try again.

So, I laid out everything I knew on this topic, now you just have to re-read everything again and draw a conclusion, and it’s simple - listen to your body and determine the required number of approaches and repetitions yourself. Well, in order to do this as correctly and effectively as possible, and in general, in order to once again “settle down” all the above information, remember the following tips:

• don’t adhere to any standard clichés, just take it, try it, record the result and adjust the numbers depending on it;
• include in your training program work in the entire range of “repeats” (for example, Monday - 5 ; Wednesday – 15 , Friday - 10 repetitions);
• Focus on these extreme rep ranges: 1-3 – development of maximum strength; 4-10 – simultaneous increase in muscle endurance and strength development; more 11 – working out the relief/burning fat;
• focus on the following extreme ranges of approaches: work on relief - 2-3 ; weight gain – 3-4 ; strength development – 4-5 ;

It is also very important in determining the number of approaches and repetitions to answer yourself simple questions: 1) how old am I; 2) training experience (level physical training) ; 3) body type.

Based on the answers, your logic and the above information, you can easily derive specific digital values ​​taking into account your body characteristics. They will be the starting point in the matter of pulling iron, from which you will have to dance.

Actually, that’s all for me, about three methods (standard, scientific, independent) I told you about determining the quantitative indicators of the training process, so my conscience is clear :).

Afterword

Today we dealt with the questions - “who, what and how much?” do in gym. I’m just sure that now you can easily answer this question, not only for yourself, but also help your less experienced hardware brethren understand it. Well, something like this, see you again my dears, don’t be bored!

PS. We write down comments, questions, wishes and other miscellaneous things, I will be glad!

P.P.S. Did the project help? Then leave a link to it as your status social network- plus 100 points for karma, guaranteed :).

With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.

This is an article on strength sports terminology for beginners.
Sports, like other sciences, have their own terminology. Therefore, many beginners, starting
to training, at first they don’t understand what they want from them. For you to talk with athletes
in the gym in one language I will explain some basic terms:
sets, repetitions, rest between sets, superset, maximum strength, basic exercises,
cardio, free weights...
I will also show you how to record the necessary parameters in the training program.

WHAT ARE SET AND REPS
Let's say you did 10 barbell squats, then rested for 2 minutes and did
10 more squats, again rested for 2 minutes and did 10 more squats.
In sports language, this means that you did THREE sets of 10 repetitions.
In this example, the rest between sets was 2 minutes, but the rest could be different,
it depends on the purpose and the program used.
The number of approaches and repetitions in each exercise also depends on the purpose of the training.
Additionally, the training program indicates the load for each exercise.
Sign up for sports program looks like that:
Squats with a barbell on the shoulders 3x10/50kg Rest between sets 2 minutes

Note #1
IN English language approaches are called "SET"
Therefore, in our country, too, in the English manner, approaches are often called “sets”
They say: three sets of ten repetitions. Repetitions in English would be "reps" which is short for the word
“repetition” which in translation means repetition, repetition.

Note #2
Previously, in Soviet sports, approaches were sometimes called “series”
So the task sounded like this: four series of 12 repetitions

Note #3
The recording form may vary
In bodybuilding it is most often written like this:
Bench press 3x10/50kg Rest between sets 2 minutes
This means doing three sets of 10 repetitions with a load of 50 kg.
In other types of strength sports, the recording may look like this:
Squats with a barbell on the shoulders 120/3x5 (or 120x3x5)
This means 120 kg for three times in five approaches, the essence is the same, just the order of recording is slightly different.
Besides, in strength sports the load may be indicated not in kilograms, but as a percentage of the maximum.
For example, like this: Squats with a barbell 80%/3x5 (or 80% x3x5)
This means using a weight of 80% of your maximum and doing five sets of three reps.
You can choose any convenient recording type for yourself. If you take a ready-made program, then there should be
it is indicated how approaches and repetitions are designated, what load to use and how much rest between sets
recommended in this program.

WHAT IS A SUPERSET
Superset - performing two different exercises one after another without rest.
You do the first exercise, then immediately the second, and only then rest - this is one superset approach.
Then do the first exercise again and immediately the second - this will be the second set of the superset.
Let's look at an example
Superset for arm muscles:
Exercise No. 1 – Standing barbell curl
Exercise No. 2 – French press with a barbell lying down
Task: 4x10 Rest 2 minutes
How to do it:
First, do the Barbell Curl – 10 reps.
Then immediately without rest “French press” - 10 repetitions.
This will be the first set of the superset!
After this, rest for 2 minutes and do the next set of supersets and so on.

In fact, there is a short break between exercises in a superset while you change the machine
or take another barbell or dumbbells. It is advisable to quickly move from one exercise to another,
so that the break does not exceed 10-15 seconds.

MAXIMUM WEIGHT (ONE-REP MAX)
Maximum weight (maximum strength, one-repetition maximum) is the largest weight that can be
you can raise in this exercise for 1 repetition. In programs it may be designated as “1RM”
When people at the gym ask how much you can bench press, they usually mean how much you can bench press for one rep,
that is, they ask about your maximum strength.
Attention– for beginners, in the first six months of training, I recommend not lifting the maximum weight
for one repetition (do not go to the maximum as athletes say). Firstly, it takes time to prepare
your ligaments and joints to maximum loads, secondly, you need to master and consolidate a clear exercise technique,
otherwise you can get serious injury. Take your time, develop your capabilities gradually.
To find out maximum strength, athletes do “walking”, you also need to be able to do this correctly!
You can’t immediately take and lift the maximum weight... I’ll write more about this in another article.

AND A LITTLE MORE TERMINOLOGY...
Free weights- barbells, dumbbells, weights.
Basic exercises– basic developmental exercises for a specific sport.
In bodybuilding, powerlifting and weightlifting it is various exercises with a barbell.
Additional information in the article - aka cardio training, aka aerobic training.
These are the following types of exercise: light long running, active walking, aerobics, exercise on an exercise bike,
stepper, etc. Roughly speaking, these are endurance loads of low to moderate power.
Basically, these loads are aimed at burning fat, warming up/warming up, training the heart, and developing endurance.

TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR REAL RESULTS
Friends, so that you do it right, I developed detailed programs training

Each program contains all the necessary instructions and plans for each workout.
Each program is unique - you will train with pleasure and get excellent results.

Want to know what's new on the Athletic Blog?
– and live with sports!

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How many repetitions should you do to increase muscle mass? Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Head of the Department of Theoretical and Methodological Foundations physical culture and sports of the Russian State University of Physical Education L.P. Matveev in his textbook “Theory and Methods of Physical Culture” (“Physical Culture and Sport”, 1991) answers this question as follows: “... from 5–6 to 8–10 repetitions until failure , which corresponds to a burden of approximately 70–80% of the individual maximum.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his famous three-volume Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (Physical Education and Sports, 1993), co-written with Bill Dobbins, names the following numbers: 8–12 repetitions for the upper body and 12–15 for the legs, “ and perform each approach “to failure” - until the muscles become unable to do at least one more repetition.”
Joe Weider in his work “Bodybuilding. Fundamental Course" ("Wider Sports-SU", 1993) writes: "Research has shown that to increase muscle volume it is necessary to perform at least 6 and no more than 15 repetitions per set. If you do less than 6 repetitions, you develop strength, and if you do more than 15, then muscle endurance. Beginning bodybuilders should practice 8-12 reps for 1-3 sets.” We are told approximately the same numbers in numerous fitness training courses, only slightly increasing the lower limit. Usually up to 8 repetitions.
What does practice tell us? I worked as a trainer in a fitness club for more than 10 years. And practice shows that there is a certain category of people who categorically refuse to grow by performing the specified number of repetitions, despite enthusiasm and full compliance with all accompanying recommendations, such as proper rest between workouts, increased protein content in the diet, additional fortification, etc. Others progress, but only from a certain number of reps in that range. And the range is large. 6 reps and 15 is a huge difference, and it takes too long to empirically search for the optimal number of reps.
But in fact, everything is not so complicated if we remember that all people have a strictly individual muscle composition.
Muscle fibers can be classified according to two main criteria. The first is by the activity of the ATPase enzyme and, accordingly, by the speed of muscle contraction - into fast and slow muscle fibers. The activity of this enzyme is inherited and cannot be trained.
The second classification is based on the number of mitochondria in the muscle fiber. Let me remind you that mitochondria are cellular organelles in which glucose, and to be very precise - pyruvate - a product of incomplete breakdown of glucose, is broken down into carbon dioxide and water, releasing ATP, necessary for muscle contraction, and without acidifying the muscle. Outside the mitochondria in muscles, pyruvate can also be broken down into ATP, but this produces lactic acid, which acidifies the muscle and contributes to its fatigue.
Based on this feature, muscle fibers are divided into 3 groups:
1. Oxidative muscle fibers. The mass of mitochondria in them is so great that a significant increase in it during the training process no longer occurs.
2. Intermediate muscle fibers. In them, the mass of mitochondria is significantly reduced, and lactic acid accumulates in the muscle during work, but quite slowly, and they tire much more slowly than glycolytic ones.
3. Glycolytic muscle fibers. They have a very small number of mitochondria. Therefore, anaerobic glycolysis with the accumulation of lactic acid predominates in them, which is why they got their name. (Anaerobic glycolysis is the breakdown of glucose without oxygen into lactic acid and ATP; aerobic glycolysis, or oxidation, is the breakdown of glucose in mitochondria with the participation of oxygen into carbon dioxide, water and ATP.)
In people who do not exercise, usually fast fibers are glycolytic and intermediate, and slow fibers are oxidative. However, when proper training To increase endurance, intermediate and part of the glycolytic fibers can be made oxidative, and then they, without losing strength, will stop getting tired. It should be noted that there is no sharp transition of fibers from one group to another. It is smooth, both in terms of an increase in ATPase activity and an increase in the number of mitochondria in the muscles, so the division of muscle fibers into 2 and 3 groups is quite arbitrary. If necessary, it would be possible to further increase the number of groups, but in modern science this is considered inappropriate, since this classification satisfies all the questions of representatives of all scientific fields.
Another important term you need to know to understand this process is motor unit. The muscle contracts under the influence of a nerve impulse, which is electrical in nature. Each motor unit (MU) includes a motor neuron, an axon, and a set of muscle fibers. The amount of MU in a person remains unchanged throughout life.
Motor units have their own excitability threshold. If the nerve impulse sent by the brain is less than this threshold, the MU is passive. If the nerve impulse has a threshold value for this MU or exceeds it, the muscle fibers contract. Low-threshold motor units have small motor neurons, a thin axon, and hundreds of innervated slow muscle fibers. High-threshold motor units have large motor neurons, thick axons, and thousands of innervated fast muscle fibers. IN Everyday life We work mainly with slow fibers and do an excellent job with this. The muscles do not become acidic; in the mitochondria, energy substrates are broken down into carbon dioxide and water without forming lactic acid, and the muscles function throughout the whole day without getting tired. Fast-twitch fibers are activated only if significant muscle effort or acceleration is required. And with such a load, we immediately feel muscle acidification, shortness of breath and rapidly developing fatigue.
That's basically all you need to know. In order to force muscle fiber to grow, we must acidify it so that structural changes occur in the myofibrils, as a result of which, after completion of the load, the mechanism of hyperplasia will be launched.
So, the certain category of people I described, who refuse to grow while performing the specified repetition range in the approach, have extremely few glycolytic and intermediate MVs. And they cannot acidify their oxidative fibers with either 6 or 15 repetitions. The muscle works, but is not trained. Mitochondria “eat up” all the lactic acid, and no structural formations occur in the muscle. To acidify oxidative MVs and make them grow, a special mode of operation is required - static-dynamic, without muscle relaxation. This mode of muscle work was developed at the Institute of Sports by Professor V.N. Seluyanov. In this case, tense muscle fibers compress the blood vessels and block the access of oxygen with the blood to the mitochondria. And we can acidify this category of fibers with a run time of 30-60 seconds. Bodybuilders who need maximum hypertrophy of all muscle fibers have empirically reached this mode of work - a mode of limited amplitude at constant muscle tension, and they use it successfully, although not everyone understands the mechanism of its operation.
Well, as for the number of muscle repetitions, the rep range we identified from 6 to 15 affects glycolytic and intermediate MVs. How could the luminaries of Russian science miss the situation with muscle composition? Yes, they simply did not have such a goal. Research in sports has been conducted on the development of strength. Increased muscle mass was noted as a side effect, although it was carefully recorded. And what is most important, and what everyone forgets, is that the research was mainly carried out on weightlifters and throwers, not of the mass categories, but on athletes at the level of a master of sports. As a result of natural selection, athletes who have mainly fast muscle fibers in their composition reached this level. That is, the sample of subjects was extremely incorrect.
So, we have figured out the training of individuals who have predominantly oxidative fibers in their muscle composition. How many repetitions do athletes who have mainly glycolytic and intermediate fibers in their composition need to do? Everything is simple here. If glycolytic ones predominate, then the number of repetitions in the approach should tend to the lower limit. These athletes have a huge number of high-threshold motor units, and when working with a projectile weighing less than 6 rep maxes, they simply will not be able to fully utilize them. Conversely, athletes who have a predominant number of intermediate fibers should strive for the upper limit of the number of repetitions, that is, 15. So for everyone, you can find your own optimal number of repetitions. Naturally, to achieve maximum effect you need to work out all your fibers. But the bulk of your training time is those that prevail in you.
How can you practically determine muscle composition? A very good test was proposed at one of the forums by athlete, coach and endocrinologist Mikhail Klestov. An exercise is taken to test a specific muscle group, such as the bench press to test the pecs and triceps, and the maximum weight per 1RM is determined. In the next workout, the subject is asked to perform the maximum number of repetitions with a weight equal to 80% of this value. If the number of repetitions is from 4 to 7, then glycolytic fibers predominate in the composition of this group; if from 7 to 12, then intermediate fibers; more than 13 – oxidative fibers. It is advisable to test several muscle groups, since the ratio of fibers in different muscles may be different. Modern research has shown that in muscle groups The upper body always has a greater number of fast-twitch fibers than the leg muscles (bravo, Arnold!). The ratio of the proportions of muscle fiber types in other groups is very individual. For example, I had a young man training with me, pectoral muscles and whose triceps responded maximally to 6 repetitions per set, and latissimus muscles and biceps – by 10.
So search and try. Test your muscles for composition, select the required number of repetitions per approach, and the result will surprise you! Training, if it is based on knowledge of the biochemical processes occurring in the muscles, always gives a positive result!