September 1, 2015

Special 5 Year Anniversary Article - The Most Effective Muscle Building Strategy: Recruit, Then Fatigue

Freedom within a structure

As far as training is concerned, bodybuilding, or rather training to build muscle, is primarily the result of recruiting and fatiguing as many muscle fibers within a muscle as possible (without overworking the body’s capacity to recover). The most appealing characteristic about bodybuilding training is the freedom you have when it comes to structuring a workout, just as long as it remains within the recruit and fatigue framework. Within this structure you can pretty much do whatever you want (as long as it’s not completely idiotic), while still promoting the desired result.

To Know The Right Answers You Must Ask The Right Questions

Before performing any exercise, it’s important to ask the right questions – as the answers to the right questions will provide guidance in terms of what you should be doing, and when. Once you’ve determined which muscles you want to load, and have chosen the exercise that best allows you to do so, the most important question you need to ask yourself is – what do I want to get from this set?

Is the goal to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible (via overload), or is it to fatigue as many muscle fibers as possible (via time under tension)? If the goal is to recruit, which exercise and/or methods best apply?

Is the purpose of this upcoming set to prepare you for the one to follow (as it would be when “warming up,” which is better thought of as rehearsing), or are you as prepared as can be to put forth an all-out effort? If the goal is fatigue, which exercise, or sequence of exercises and/or methods best apply?

Recruitment Methods

Some of the more popular and effective recruitment methods are:

Intention to produce maximal force (ex. lifting heavy, or fast) – simply put, the more weight you attempt to lift, or the faster you attempt to lift it, the more your brain will have to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible to contribute, and the faster they must be called upon to best contribute in completing the lift.

Eccentrics – because of the way in which the body is designed, more weight can be lowered than that which can be lifted, making eccentrics a valuable method to induce overload of the targeted musculature/trained pattern.

Isometrics – as with eccentrics, because of the way the body is designed, it’s possible to recruit more muscle fibers during an isometric effort than during a dynamic concentric effort.

Partials – because the amount of weight we can work with is limited by how strong we are in our weakest position, performing partials through the range in which we are strongest enables us to overload specific movement patterns by handling greater loads, albeit through a smaller range of motion, than would otherwise be possible.

Drop sets – drop sets facilitate performance of multiple maximal voluntary contractions performed in succession, which otherwise wouldn’t be possible (because it’s only possible to perform one maximal voluntary contraction at a time, without at least a brief rest period). By marginally reducing the weight just enough so that another rep (or two) can be performed with minimal rest in between efforts, and this maximizes the training effect. Depending on how much weight is used, this method can also be used effectively to thoroughly fatigue as many muscle fibers as possible.

Rest-pause/cluster sets – as with drop sets, rest-pause/cluster sets enable you to perform multiple maximal voluntary contractions in succession, only in this case without a reduction in load, but rather by taking brief intermittent breaks between efforts, and this maximizes the training effect. Depending on how many reps are performed, this method can also be used effectively to thoroughly fatigue as many muscle fibers as possible.

Fatigue Methods

Some of the more popular and effective fatigue methods are:

Prolonged time under tension (ex. performing a high amount of reps) – simply put, the more reps you perform, or rather the greater duration in which the muscles remain under tension, the greater levels of exhaustion that the recruited muscle fibers will undergo, which furthermore results in more muscle fibers needing to be recruited to sustain enough force production to continue the set. Therefore, this method could also be used interchangeably as a recruit method, albeit a rather ineffective one in comparison to the ones presented above.

Reduced rest – simply put, the less you allow your muscles to recover between efforts, the more muscle fibers that must be recruited (as other fibers fatigue) during subsequent efforts to produce enough force to perform the exercise.

Slow reps – the amount of force that is produced can actually result in less work needing to be done by the targeted muscles, because the momentum generated from producing high levels of force can be great enough to propel the resistance into motion, thus limiting the amount of work the targeted muscles need to do to lift a weight through a full range of motion. By deliberately performing a lift slower, momentum is minimized and thus the targeted muscle actually has to do more work to lift the weight through a full range of motion, which can maximize the training effect.

Mechanical drop sets – because of the effect that leverages have on force production, modifying the manner in which an exercise is executed by first performing your reps in a position of disadvantage enables you to extend a set without first decreasing the amount of weight used by simply positioning yourself into a more advantageous position.

Supersets/giant sets – chaining two, or more, exercises together in succession with minimal rest between completion of one movement and beginning the next movement.

Pre-exhaust superset – performing an isolation, single joint movement, prior to performing a compound, multi-joint movement for the same muscle group. This technique is not limited to performing an actual dynamic movement to pre-exhaust the targeted musculature, as modifying the conditions in which a lift is performed can take the place of an actual dynamic isolated movement. For example, performing partial reps, or holding an isometric contraction can be used to pre-exhaust the muscle.

Post-exhaust superset – performing a compound, multi-joint movement, prior to performing an isolation, single-joint movement for the same muscle group. This technique is not limited to performing an actual dynamic movement to post-exhaust the targeted musculature, as modifying the conditions in which a lift is performed can take the place of an actual dynamic isolated movement. For example, performing partial reps, or holding an isometric contraction can be used to post-exhaust the muscle.

Practical Application

As stated, as long as you remain within the recruit and fatigue framework, you can essentially mix and match any of the methods above without screwing it up, and still promote the desired result. To do so picture your workout as two separate training sessions, with the purpose of the first segment to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible, and the purpose of the second segment to fatigue as many muscle fibers as possible. Here are some practical examples of workouts designed to first recruit, and then fatigue the targeted musculature:

Back Workout

Recruit segment

A) Pull-ups, 3 x 6-8
B) Chin-ups, 3 x 6-8
C) Neutral-grip pull-ups, 3 x 8-10
*Perform weighted if possible

Fatigue segment

D1) (Pre-exhaust with 30 second squeeze before performing scheduled reps) Hammer strength high row or hammer strength pulldown x 8-10
D2) Straight-arm pulldown x 8-10
D3) Wide, neutral-grip pulldown to clavicle x 8-10
*Perform 3 tri-sets

E1) Barbell shrugs (behind back) x 10-12
E2) Reverse pec-deck or reverse cable flye x 10-12
E3) Barbell shrugs (with same weight as behind the back shrugs) x max reps
*Perform 3 tri-sets

F1) (Pre-exhaust with 30 second squeeze) Band pull apart (across forehead) x 30 seconds
F2) Face pull x 8-10
F3) Cable shrugs (with rope attachment) x 8-10
*Perform 3 tri-sets

Or you could chain the “E” exercises together with the “F” exercises as part of one giant set, looking like this:

E1) Barbell shrugs (behind back) x 10
E2) Barbell shrugs (with the same weight as behind the back shrugs) x 10
E3) Reverse pec-deck or reverse cable flye x 10
E4) Cable shrugs x 10
E5) (Post-exhaust with 30 second squeeze after performing scheduled reps) Band pull apart (across forehead) x 10 + 30 seconds
*Perform 3 giant sets

Don’t obsess over the actual sets and reps listed – this is nothing but a representation of a strategy, and in this case the purpose is to perform a few relatively heavy sets, progressing from the weakest mechanical position to the strongest to extend your efforts, followed by a high volume of work performed in a manner in which a lot of work is performed in a limited amount of time to maximize the training effect.

Chest Workout

*This workout isn’t as segmented, in that there’s no separate recruit segment, or fatigue segment, but rather each exercise consists of its own individual recruit and fatigue segment. This workout demonstrates the versatility of the drop set method, as it can be used to both recruit and fatigue. Once again, this is a representation of a strategy, so don’t obsess over the actual sets and reps listed.

Bench press “conditional” drop set (conditional meaning the conditions are changed to allow for the set to be extended)
A1) perform 5 reps with resistance bands
A2) remove bands and perform another 5 reps
A3) reduce weight and perform 10 reps
*Perform 3 drop sets

Or if you don’t have bands, you could simply do something like:

Bench press drop set
A) Perform 3 heavy reps
B) Drop weight and perform another 6-8 reps
C) Drop weight again and perform another 6-8 reps
*Perform 4 drop sets

Dip drop set
B1) perform 6-8 reps weighted
B2) remove weighted belt (or dumbbell) and perform as many reps as you can (aiming for at least 4)
B3) use assisted machine (or stand on resistance bands attached to dip bars) and perform 8-10 reps
*Perform 3 drop sets

Pec-deck mechanical drop set
C1) perform 8-10 reps with underhand grip
C2) perform 8-10 reps with neutral grip
C3) perform 8-10 reps with overhand grip
*Perform 3 mechanical drop sets

Or if your pec-deck only has a neutral grip handle option, you could simply raise or lower your hands to change the stimulus on the pecs:

C1) Hands at, or above eye level x 8-10
C2) Hands at shoulder level x max reps
C3) Hands at abdominal level x max reps
*Perform 3 mechanical drop sets

Shoulder Workout

Recruit segment

A) Behind the neck press, 4 sets of 8-10

Fatigue segment

B1) Seated dumbbell press x 12-15
B2) Machine shoulder press (using standing calf machine) x 10-12
*Perform 3 supersets

Dumbbell raise complex
C1) Top range front raise (from in front of body to overhead) x 6
C2) Lateral raise x 6
C3) “Y” laterals (arms turned out, raising away from the body on a 45 degree angle) x 6
C4) Reverse “Y” front raise (arms turned in 45 degrees, bringing the arms towards each other in front of the body) x 6
*Perform 3 complex sets

D) (Pre-exhaust with partials + drop set) Lateral raise machine x 30 heavy, bottom range partials + 10 full range reps with lighter weight

Recruitment Shoulder Workout #1

*This is strictly a recruitment workout, as part of a strategy which would generally be a part of a broader system in which the delts would be fatigued in a completely separate workout.

A) Behind the neck press, or seated dumbbell press x 7/5/3/7/5/3/7/5/3
*Perform 9 total sets in a wavelike manner, starting with 7 reps on the first set, 5 on the second, and 3 on the third. Upon completion, start over at 7 with slightly more weight than what was used initially.

B) High incline dumbbell press, 4 sets of 6-8

C) Bench press, 4 sets of 6-8
*The bench press is placed here as it is assumed that a recruitment only workout is indicative that the shoulders are being specialized, and therefore volume for the chest is reduced, and chest work is performed where it wouldn’t interfere with recovery of the delts.

Recruitment Shoulder Workout #2

*This is another recruitment workout, as part of a strategy which would generally be a part of a broader system in which the delts would be fatigued in a completely separate workout. The purpose of showing another recruitment only workout is to demonstrate the freedom you have as long as you work within a given framework.

A) Push press, 6 sets of 3 (with 85% of max, or a weight that you could handle for roughly 5 reps)
B) Military press (with bands), 4 sets of 4-6
C) Military press (using the same weight, but without the bands), 3 sets of as many reps as possible

Fatigue Shoulder Workout

*This is strictly a fatigue workout, as part of a strategy which would generally be a part of a broader system in which the delts would have been recruited in a previous workout.

A1) Top ½ barbell shoulder press x 6-8
A2) Seated dumbbell press x 10-12
A3) Machine shoulder press x 15-20
*Perform 4 tri-sets

B1) Incline lateral raise x 8-10
B2) Seated lateral raise x 8-10
B3) Incline lateral raise partials x 8-10
B4) Seated lateral raise partials x 8-10
B5) Front raise x 8-10
*Perform 3 mechanical drop sets

C1) Incline front raise x 8-10
C2) Seated front raise x 8-10
C3) Incline front raise partials x 8-10
C4) Seated front raise partials x 8-10
*Perform 3 mechanical drop sets

D1) Reverse grip smith machine shoulder press x 6-8
D2) Underhand dumbbell front raise x 10-12
*Perform 3 supersets

E1) Lateral machine partials x 30
E2) Dumbbell lateral partials x 30
*Perform 2 supersets

Fatigue Arm Workout

*This is strictly a fatigue workout, as part of a strategy which would generally be a part of a broader system in which the arms would have been recruited in a previous workout.

A1) Close-grip reverse preacher curl x 6-8
A2) Standing med-grip reverse curl x 10-12
A3) Hammer curl x 15-20

A4) California press x 6-8
A5) Lying dumbbell extension x 10-12
A6) Rope pressdown x 15-20
*Perform A1, A2, A3 without rest, then take a minute and a half and perform A4, A5, A6 without rest, performing 4 tri-sets each

B1) Close-grip preacher curl x 6-8
B2) Standing med-grip bar curl x 10-12
B3) Standing wide-grip curl x 15-20

B4) Close-grip bench press x 6-8
B5) Floor dumbbell extension x 10-12
B6) Close-grip push-ups x max reps
*Perform B1, B2, B3 without rest, then take a minute and a half and perform B4, B5, B6 without rest, performing 3 tri-sets each

C1) Machine arm curl x 8-10 + 8-10 bottom partials
C2) Machine arm extension x 8-10 + 8-10 top partials
*Perform 3 supersets

The possibilities are endless

As you can see, there’s an unlimited amount of ways in which you can structure a workout that is designed to build muscle, as long as you remain within the recruit and fatigue framework, and even then you are not limited to what is presented above. Hell, you could even combine some of the methods above to accomplish both – for example, you could modify the way in which you performed your reps and turn a “recruitment” method into a “fatigue” method by performing your reps slowly, but clustering them to allow for greater loads to be used, and follow them up with a drop set in which you reduce the weight to allow for another 8-10 slow reps to be performed consecutively.

You could recruit by using heavy weights (or light but performed with explosive force, ex. 4 sets of 3 with 60% of max) and then performing drop sets, mechanical drops, or rest-pause sets, then fatigue by performing three different mechanical drop sets, and finish with a standalone movement for a rep goal (ex. 50 dips as fast as possible, not counting how many sets it takes to get there). You could begin a workout by performing heavy mechanical drop sets, then follow it up with a rest-pause drop set combo (ex. perform 8-10 reps, rest 10 seconds, perform as many more reps as you can, reduce the weight and perform another 8-10 reps, rest 10 seconds, perform as many more reps as you can).

“Heavy” itself has room for interpretation as it could mean to perform 3 sets of 4, followed by 3 sets of 8, or 3 sets of 3, followed by 3 sets of 6 and 1 set of 10, or in reverse order with 3 sets of 6, followed by 3 sets of 3, or even working up to a daily limit and followed by performing a higher volume of work at a given percentage of what you peaked at.

“Fatigue” has even more room for interpretation as it could mean performing 3 sets of 8 followed by 2 sets of 10+5 (performed as 10 peak contraction reps followed by 5 full reps without the added peak contraction), which in this case suggests that you can alter the conditions in which the lift is performed to further exhaust the muscle, without actually changing the weight or the exercise.

When you understand that a workout is a representation of a strategy to create a physiological response, it changes the whole way in which you go about things. You become less stressed about whether or not what you’re doing is right or wrong, and have greater confidence in that as long as you put forth your best effort, you’re putting yourself in position to get the best result – just as long as what you’re doing is not completely idiotic. This in turn allows you to confront your workout with greater focus and intensity, which are two key elements to maximizing your return per investment of time and effort.

If you have any questions about the strategy presented, feel free to contact me at ben@paramounttraining.ca. I'm available for online consulting and personalized program design (based on everything presented in this article), as well as one on one training if you are located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

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