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Vince
Vince is a lifelong bodybuilder and former Mr. Nevada. He authored The Sports Supplement Review 4th Edition and No Mistakes, in addition to having been involved in the sports nutrition industry for over 20 years as a consultant to numerous major companies.
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The Formula for Making Gains in the Gym

by: Vince Andrich

It wasn’t long after first starting to lift weights that I was hooked on bodybuilding. Visual results always struck me as the ultimate prize, maybe because sports performance paled in comparison to having the body I wanted. The other thing that drew me into bodybuilding were the relentless search for the right combination of variables that would unlock my best body. I obsessed on how much protein, carbs and fats to eat, as well as how many reps, sets and exercises to do for the greatest effect.

Optimizing these factors can vary under different conditions, but we still know a lot about what it takes to consistently stimulate muscle growth. We previously learned through experience that performing sets of 6-12 reps while constantly pushing yourself intensely within this rep range will overload your muscles with the 3-key factors: mechanical stress, local muscle damage and metabolic stress. Knowing this fact, we can expand this into a training program that keeps us interested, motivated, and progressing.

    Sets x Reps x Weight = The “Work”    

Research has consistently proven that for bodybuilding, performing a higher-volume of work through multiple-set programs, performed in the moderate 6-12 rep range are vastly superior to single sets. This approach is even better than multiple sets in the low, 1-5 rep range Scientists believe this is due to greater amounts of work being performed by the target muscles, which in turn causes more metabolic buildup leading possibly to an acute, but significant increase in growth hormone release.



Even better, is that by playing the numbers game, we can figure out how much work we’re doing in a given session.

The amount of work you do for each bodypart, in a single workout, is calculated by multiplying; sets x reps x weight. So 5 sets of 8 with 100-lbs = 4000–lbs total weight lifted. Exercise scientists call this number volume, but I like to refer to it as “tonnage”.  By tracking total weight, not max weight in a given lift you’ll have a much better gauge for progression. Here’s an example using a typical “get to my max weight” pyramid plan, in the standard bench press:

Set 1––135-lbs for 15 reps = 2025 (warm up)

Set 2–– 225 for 8 reps = 1800

Set 3––275 for  6 reps = 1650

Set 4––295 for 2 reps = 590

Set 5––315 for 1 (maybe) = 315

Total= 6380-lbs lifted

To a lifter this looks great since they hit the magic 315-lb bench. To a bodybuilder it’s a disaster, because you’re actually doing less work than if you’d stayed in the 6-12 rep range. In other words, a bodybuilder staying within 6-12 reps for his sets would look something like this:

Set 1––135-lbs for 15 reps = 2025 (warm up)

Set 2–– 185 for 12 reps = 2280

Set 3––  200 for 10 reps = 2000

Set 4––  200 for 8 reps = 1600

Set 5–– 215 for  6 reps = 1290

Total= 9195-lbs lifted or 44% more WORK than the example above.
Pacing Your Work, The Growth Tempo.

Understanding the simple math above will keep your training loads or weights in the right range to stimulate muscle growth. Now, to stay even more focused and to inflict he most stress onto your muscles, we’re going to explore rep cadence and rest between sets, which I call “tempo”. Here again it seems that a moderate approach rather than really fast or slow does the job best. For individual reps, stay focused on a 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down tempo, with a 1 second pause whenever the muscle is in the contracted position. Rest intervals between sets are classified into 3 broad categories: short (30 seconds or less), moderate (60–90 seconds), and long (3 minutes or more). While all 3 ranges provide unique benefits for muscle building, moderate rest intervals appear to provide a the best compromise between long and short rest periods for maximizing muscle growth.

Moreover, since research indicates that most of your strength capacity is recovered within the first minute after ending a set, locking in on a pace of 60-90 seconds rest between sets, should be your target.

Summing Up
Learning how to put the right amount of stress on your muscles is key to making gains––something most bodybuilders never learn. You’re now ahead of the game, ready to gauge your work and begin charting your progress.





CATEGORY: Training