DON’T REVERT TO TYPE
Brains and brawn go hand in hand if you introduce a smarter, better- targeted workout routine
When you’re new in the gym, just about any workout or exercise you do will produce results. Whether you’re lifting big or small, or sticking to body- weight exercises, as long as you’re challenging yourself, you’ll start to look fitter and feel stronger.
But if this isn’t your first time at the weights rodeo, and you’re looking to get some decent hypertrophy ( just the fancy word for muscle growth), you need to work out a little smarter to get those results.
I’ve written in the past about how to specifically train hypertrophy — as a quick recap: you should be looking to do three to four sets of between six and 12 reps, with 30 to 90 seconds rest between each set.
For an extra level of accuracy, if you know your one rep max on an exercise, you should be performing in a range of 65- 85 per cent of that.
Research shows that this maximises the growth of type- two muscle fi bres, the largest and most powerful muscle with the greatest potential for gain.
The issue with doing this is that you completely disregard type- one muscle fibres. Yes, they are smaller and less powerful, and have less growth potential, but they still grow – and can grow heaps.
So, if you want to squish some extra lean mass into those “size too small” shirts ( I see you!) you need to show your type- one fibres some love, too.
What do you do now? It’s easy. Simply add in a few drop sets at the end of each exercise. What I mean by this is, once you’ve finished your heavy weight sets, following the hypertrophy training borders, strip that weight way down and perform the same exercise for three more sets with 12 to 20 reps, with no more than 30 seconds rest in- between the sets. This high volume and limited rest way of training will target those endurance- focused type- one fibres that have been left out in the cold.
In addition, it will add an extra burn to crack through your daily calories. Just prepare for the lactic acid build up ( see below).
“You need to show type- one fibres some love, too”