[AnimalMass]

Originally Posted by Ramstein II

It’s a thrill to have you contributing. I hope the newcomers to this board realize how lucky we are to have your contributions.

I agree with the idea of frequent/chronic bouts of progressive tension to induce hypertrophy, specifically sarcomere hypertrophy.

However, what about sarcomplasmic hypertrophy? It seems to me that this is fatigue induced and results from a supercompensation of sarcoplasm, mitochondria, ATP, and CP stores which are exhausted from repetitive or high volume work. Do you think 1-2 sets for a muscle group in the 10-15 rep range is sufficient to induce this fatigue?

Exactly Ramstein.

Bryan, you make this point...

1) The concept, and research indicating, that mechanical load, rather than neuromuscular fatigue is the primary trigger of muscle hypertrophy.

And for the most part, I agree with you. I think that load/ muscle teniosn is MORE responsible for growth than damage, especially concerning sarcomere hypertrophy. But for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy to take place, (which is a significant factor concerning hypertrophy) a person would need to occasionally do high volume is terms of sets and reps (ie. 10x10) occasionally.

I think the true issue here is that hypertrophy is still something of an enigma, and no one fully understands it. But I do agree that you have set up a very efficient means for helping guys to grow without becoming stagnant.

2) The concept that muscle tissue grows unabated in the face of continued loading. In other words, if you load a muscle, it will begin to grow and finish growing even if the load is never removed. This flies directly in the face of the common belief that full recovery is critical for optimal muscle growth. Think of skin being able to tan even while still exposed to sunlight.

I agree completely here. However, I do think it would be beneficial to incorporate periods of loading verses periods of deloading into a hypertrophy program as well. Science has shown that the body responds to periods of heavy loading (loading that can only be sustained for maybe a 2 week period without totally overtraining) and then follow that heavy loading period with a deloading period where specifically volume is dropped (intensity or frequency could be reduced as well - but I'm a fan of reducing volume during periods of deloading.)

3) The acknowledgement of the "repeated bout effect" and the incorporation of a strategic way of overcoming its growth inhibiting effects (i.e. Strategic Deconditioning).

Also, other than reading HST writings, I have never heard of the "repeated bout effect" in other training texts, and wonder if you coined this term yourself? Could you point us to some studies showing that complete rest is needed in order to induce maximum hypertrophy rather than a period of deloading?

AnimalMass