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When
I say "muscle building," I'm sure the
first thing that jumps into your head is NOT high-rep
training!
In fact, when trying
to build muscle, most trainers will actively stay
FAR away from anything resembling high reps (and
when I say high reps, I mean anything more than
13 to 15 reps per set).
Here's the thing...that
can actually be a HUGE mistake!
Just like heavy
weights and low reps, the higher rep ranges
can be a VERY valuable and even ESSENTIAL tool
in your muscle-building arsenal.
I've got three high-rep
training techniques I want to share with you right
now. And I'm going to explain EXACTLY why each
one is critical to your muscle-building success.
1.
Very Light Weight, Very High Reps
Yep, I know this
sounds absolutely CRAZY. How can light weight
and very high reps do ANYTHING for building muscle?
Here's a hint…it's not about resistance…it's
about physiology.
In order for a muscle
to grow, first you've got to stimulate growth
by overloading it with resistance - no argument
there. But AFTER you've stimulated the growth,
you've got to supply NUTRIENTS to the muscle cells
to help them rebuild.
What if your blood
supply is poor to the trained muscle? Got a muscle
group that doesn't pump up very easily? It's probably
one of your hardest muscle groups to develop.
Poor circulation means fewer nutrients get
to that muscle for recovery and rebuilding, leading
to reduced growth.
THAT is where light
weight and very high reps come into play. You
see, VERY high reps have the effect of increasing
capillarization in muscle tissue (simply defined,
capillaries are the tiny blood vessels where blood
cells release their nutrients to the rest of the
cells in the body).
Bottom line, you
do a set of 100 reps and your body responds by
increasing capillary density in the targeted muscle,
which SETS THE STAGE for future muscle growth.
The high reps sets
don't directly CAUSE muscle growth (the resistance
isn't high enough), they just improve blood circulation
to the target muscle so when you DO train heavy
and for lower reps, your target muscle gets more
nutrients and can grow and recover more easily.
Want to put this
tip to work?
Pick a "hard
to pump" muscle and at the start of EVERY
workout you do for that bodypart (e.g. every time
you train biceps), do a single set of 100 reps
with a VERY light weight. Basically, pick an exercise
and just CRANK out the reps. Do this EVERY time
you train that bodypart and you soon will start
to notice a difference in how easily that muscle
pumps up and how well it grows.
2.
Moderate-Weight, High-Rep Training
This sure sounds
like an oxymoron. After all, how can you use moderate
weights when you're performing high reps!
As a matter of fact,
you CAN. In fact, it's one of THE best training
techniques you can use for building muscle FAST.
It's a technique even elite powerlifters (who
normally train with VERY low reps) use to increase
muscle mass.
There are definitely
certain exercises that lend themselves more to
heavy-weight, high-rep training. Squats, for example,
are the best example for this technique (you may
be familiar with the popular "20-Rep Squat"
program),
This moderate-weight,
high-rep training has many of the same circulation
benefits of the VERY high rep training but with
the advantage of increased resistance, which will
help directly stimulate muscle growth in addition
to helping improve circulation.
Using myself as
an example, I used squats with this technique
and worked up to performing a set of 40 reps with
315 lbs (believe me, THAT was fun…). I've
also managed a set of 25 reps with 225 lbs and
a set of 70 reps with 135 lbs on the bench press.
This technique can
be used with any exercise, really. You'll find
some exercises work better for it than others
but basically, you're taking a weight that is
a bit lighter than your normal working weights
and you're just focusing on cranking out the reps.
Like the previous
technique, I find this is best done at the
beginning of a workout when you're still fresh.
You'll be able to get more reps out of the exercise
that way. Some trainers like to use it as a back-off
set (powerlifters generally use it this way),
doing the high-reps with moderate weight after
finishing with the heavier stuff.
So next time
you're about to do squats, put a moderate weight
on the bar and just see how many reps you can
crank out! Forget about what you're going
to do on the rest of your sets - just get as MANY
as you can. Your legs will be hit with a whole
new muscle-building stimulus!
3.
High-Rep Partial Training
This final tip brings
us into an interesting area. High-rep partial
training actually allows you to do high-rep training
with HEAVY weight! In fact, you will be AMAZED
at how much weight you can use with this style
of training.
We're going to be
getting the benefits not only of the increased
circulation that I mentioned with light-weight,
high-rep training, but we're also going to get
the substantial muscle-building benefits of using
HEAVY weights at the same time.
Another benefit…because
you're using heavier-than-normal weights, you're
going to be working your connective tissue very
effectively as well. And, because you're using
high-reps, you're going to be forcing a LOT of
blood into that connective tissue, which is notorious
for its normally poor blood supply. This helps
immensely with strengthening and healing.
High-rep partial
training is fairly straightforward to perform.
It's best done in a power rack, where it's easy
to adjust the range of motion. For example, using
bench press, you can set the safety rails to a
few inches below the lockout position.
Working in only
that top range of motion (which is the strongest
segment of the range of motion) means you can
use a LOT more weight than you normally could
for the full-range exercise.
So you set up the
bench, set up the rails and add some weight. Now
you just perform as many partial reps as you can!
To give you an idea of weight and reps, I've done
sets of 50+ reps with 315 lbs on high-rep lockout
partial bench press.
High-rep partial
training can be done at any point in your workout,
as an addition to your "normal" training
(1 or 2 sets) or as the complete bodypart workout
on its own.
The
Final Word
Overall, I'm a big
fan of high-rep training for building muscle,
when PROPERLY used. These three techniques are
VERY effective for not only setting the stage
for muscle growth but actually building the muscle
itself!
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If you're
interested in a program that makes use
of ALL of these techniques, definitely
check out my book "Muscle
Explosion! 28 Days To Maximum Mass."
I make use
of each one of these techniques during
various phases of the program. When it
comes to building muscle FAST, I've not
found a program that works better.
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Check out this great feedback I've received from
one of the users of the "Muscle
Explosion" program:
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"I
finished the last workout of 'Muscle Explosion'
yesterday. I've
gained close to ten pounds during the
month of workouts. Not bad
at 45 years old! I had the feeling this
was going to be a tough system, and I
was more than a little afraid of the five-days-in-a-row
of heavy deadlifts. But I stuck with the
plan, endured the feelings of physical
shock during the workouts, and the soreness
afterward.
Nick, you're
really on to something here. I don't think
I could personally continue at this intensity
week after week, but what
a fantastic growth spurt method.
I love the
way you're 'pushing the envelope' and
refining and advancing the art and science
of natural bodybuilding. You don't just
rehash the great ideas, you turbo-charge
them!
- Tim Lauber
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