For most of us guys who just want to improve their strength, muscle mass, and feeling of well-being, one set per exercise done 2 or 3 days per week is perfect.
Excellent vid. I actually feel I gain strength much faster by doing one set to exhaustion per day. Maybe because the body recover faster and is less taxing to the system just as you said here.
Thanks Mike, this makes a lot of sense, I'm 73 years old and have been training on and off for about fifty years. I train as heavy as I could without injuring myself (sometimes) so it rakes me two to three days to recover before training again.
Love these channels, short video's with intelligent content without the bro science. If you like reddelta, you should also check K boges channel. These 2 channels changed the way I look at fitness completelly.
Great video thanks I use single set for each body part 12 to 15 reps I train twice a week weights and cardio in the same workout it definitely has helped me
I do a full body work out twice a week. I do one set of each exercise, but two exercises for each muscle group (example: squats and lunges). Slowly add to your working load by either adding reps or weight, and you will get stronger. You don’t gain muscle while you’re working out, you gain it while you recover. Your brain tells your body that it needs to increase its ability handle the tension you’ve put on it. Increase the tension, and your body will adapt. Will you gain more strength by doing more sets? Probably. Is single set training the fastest way to gain strength? Probably not. But gaining muscle isn’t for the impatient anyway.
Love the way you described this Matt! Ramping up to 1 or 2 hard (but not to failure) sets has long been my preferred way of training. I sometimes try more volume but always find myself coming back to some variant of this model. Great stuff.
I’ve doing Drew Baye’s Kratos program: I one slow set, five seconds concentric, five seconds eccentric using a progression that takes 60-90 seconds to MMF and I’ve had the best gains I’ve had in years.
Negatives are the ticket with 2-4 days rest in between. One set of negatives will do it for strength. I do 2 exercises with negatives then the elliptical for 30 minutes afterwards for cardio. The next day I do 2 different exercises then the elliptical. And the third day I do 2 different exercises then the elliptical. By the 4th day I am back to the original 2 exercises and elliptical. And continue on. This will give you strength and endurance without a lot of fatigue since you're rotating the muscles on different days with plenty of rest. Increase the weight for progression. I am not looking to be a body builder - Health and fitness is my goal. And this does it for me.
@@RedDeltaProject i just started a week or so ago training one set due to time limitations and i can agree that i don't feel like I've done anything. I guess i will go back to my 2 or 3 set workouts but with very little rest time in order to get my workouts done before leaving for work...any suggestions?
I’ve been doing the Jay Vincent HIT protocol. 1 set to complete momentary failure I do a full body 2 chest,2 back ,bicep,tricep, lateral raise or shoulder press, leg press ,leg curl, calve raise. Very intense workout done twice a week. He use a 5 second eccentric and 5 second concentric cadence for each movement. Has been working great for me. When you increase the intensity of your workout and you feel you don’t have the energy to finish the workout you can break it up into an upper /lower body workout for that week. You need more recovery time for this style of training but everyone does recover differently so base it on your own ability to recover then hit it hard again. 💪
Mentzer's wisdom is solid and stands the test of time and biologic. I wouldnt say its the optimal way to exercise, but it is extremely efficient and effective. I tested his basic premis many years ago. Over a period of 8 weeks a buddy and I did 3 specific exercises: dips, pullups and push ups. My starting numbers dips=16, pullups=12, push ups=42. We worked out 2x week (like tue and fri) shooting for complete recovery and compensation (growth). We did one warmup set roughly 60-70%. Then it was one all out total muscle-nerve-screaming-fight-for-your-life failure-set. And that was it. My ending numbers... dips=50, pullups=35, pushups=85. Is it optimal? I dont think it probably is, but I was astounded by the results. Definitely makes one think about the rampant overtraining and stunted results of many people oit there. I like this guys modern take on the age old idea. Good stuff!
Thomas Schmidt - Yeah, not the ideal muscle building protocol and we all know a lot more nowadays than when I did this. Just wanted to share my experience because its directly related to this video's topic. This was back when everything out there was pretty much saying 3-4 sets of 12 reps for multiple exercises targeting the same group yada yada... What I really took away from Heavy Duty is that often less is more, the body usually can use more recovery than people give it and if a person isnt seeing a consistent increase in performance then they might be overtraining. 24-48 hrs really..? Thats interesting and I'll check it out but seems like variable such as genetics and training intensity/volume would impact that considerably. Not to mention Im pretty sure protein synthesis is always taking place to some degree (assuming one isnt starving).
Muscle growth is not only determined by the time that the muscle grows. The total growth is also determined by the magnitude. Mathematically speaking, it's the integral, or the area below the curve. Currently, the data on what frequency is optimal is not conclusive and it seems to be dependent on a lot of individual factors. One can definitely say that training 2 times a week is better than one time, but beyond that the data is quite inconclusive (and often misinterpreted).
Phaedrus Gott i second that statement. Recently i took a werk off [was on vacation + nagging shoulder pain] and when it was time to get it again i looked much leaner, and had lost no muscle mass. Sometimes i get caught up in these cycles of "gahh my chest isnt growing, i need to do more!" But in reality the work i do is sufficient. The amount of time i give in between workouts sometimes is not, thus hindering progress and kinda putting you into a self destructive process of "more more more" when you really just need less
I agree with you 100% My bench had plateaued on 225lbs for 7 reps in 2013. I just couldnt get another rep or more weight. When I read a book call HEAVY DUTY II MIND AND BODY. I started to realize with my CRAP genetics 2 bench workouts a week 3 sets per workout. WAS TOO MUCH VOLUME AND FREQUENCY. I took it down to one workout every 6 days for chest 2 sets. And guess what. I BROKE THE PLATEAU. And didnt hit another plateau until 275lbs for 5. I them went 7 days between workouts. And AGAIN broke the plateau. 12 months later. I was on 365lbs for 3 reps. And I was HAVING TO REST 11 DAYS BETWEEN WORKOUTS. And thats what it took to get me up to that weight. The problem is the average guy DOESNT UNDERSTAND THIS. So they will plateau. And STAY plateaued until they either GIVE UP or hit ROIDS.
Umm.... you did it wrong ! You are supposed to start at a weight heavy enough where you can only get 6-8 reps, then get to the point after training for time (with adequate rest and 100% recover) where you can push the weight to 12 reps and then increase the weight so you can only do 6-8 reps again. It's called progressive overload. All you did was increase your endurance, NOT your strength. Mike Mentzer would facepalm your workout review because that is not what training heavy duty is about...
A key determining factor of 'how many warm up' sets before hitting that 'PEAK' working set is your mind to muscle connection. I find that the stronger the connection the less warm up sets needed.
This is why Veterano Plus is perfect. I can train everyday, be loose with my eating habits, sleep only 6 hours a day, and still make progress a bit every week, and be pumped (even excited) and ready to do the workout daily. It's become a great habit, and I'm free to rollerskate often without feeling like it's too much. I'm feeling great!
im 49 and 2 working sets to positive failure is all i do. ( squats get 4 sets since its hard to go to failure ). full body 3 times per week. my total workout including a lite warm up is just under an hour. i have 3 different full body workouts to choose from based on how i feel. mostly compound. i never hesitate to take 2 or more days off. a 4 day split routine wont allow this without totally screwing up the schedule. ive been doing this for 30 years and i still look forward to every workout. try yhis if you hate being locked into a routine
I used to be really obsessed with lifting and eating 100% clean. After some years this clean eating and counting everything took away the joy in lifting for me tbh. Now I do 8 reps per exercise and eat what I like when I'm hungry. As long as u don't eat junk food all day all is good. Anyway to my surprise I'm still muscular without tracking a thing. Nice video
I bought your micro workout book. It’s terrific. This is an excellent video. At 58 years old and still busy life - recovery is so different and terrible. I injure myself on almost every workout. 🙄 Even with isometrics. Also takes forever to recover. I quit running marathons and that has really reduced my pain. Micro workouts are my only way now. Ray Romano jokes that when you are over 50 you just go to bed and then wake up with random injuries. It’s quite true.
Thank you very much for explaining what I have not been able to word so accurately as you just did. One can do 3 or 5 work sets, but what happens with the next exercise or the next training session. Recovery is key, specifically in the day and ago of volume training.
Love your channel bro especially the fact that you only calesthenics..im a beginer to intermidiate but you answer alot of the questions i ask myself ...thanks
i used to have sternum pain and i would be able to crack it by stretching. it's definitely not normal; didn't feel normal to me. however, i don't have it anymore. i got rid of it by taking a long break from dips, doing lots of pull ups, and low/moderate intensity push ups (don't push yourself too much on push ups). pull ups work out everything including chest, but it shouldn't add enough stress to cause the sternum pain.
I find that when I ramp up to 1 top set per exercise, I am more motivated to workout, and when I have to do a workout that consists of 3 sets per exercise, I find excuses for not wanting to workout, I'm just not as motivated. I used to do 2 x 5, then 3rd set was amrap, now I always try to challenge myself and beat my 1 set either by adding more weight or adding more reps. I usually do full body twice a week or a push / pull routine. I usually do 2-3 hard warmup sets, then give it all I got for that 1 final set. I'll alternate and do 1 x 5 or 1 x 8-12 reps, and try to beat those numbers each time, and when I can't, I'll just take out some weight and cycle it, and start over again until I can increase it.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us Victor Newman. Very smart and introspective perspectives for sure Congrats on your progress thus far and keep up the good work!
Your bell curve suggests three sets as useful, one to measure the ramp, the peak, and the decline respectively. I have been doing one set to failure for just over 2 years, switching to 3x sets just this month.
I started out doing push ups but they were fast and like cheat reps i got 100 like that then switched to strict slow past push ups like the pacers test and with it i am stuck at 30-35 push ups I do 10 more directly after i drop but on my knees I do that every day and on the eight day i rest and i do no upper body exorcize at all I also do max good form but fast paste pull ups and push ups Ive been stuck at 30-35 push ups over a week now. Lol probably need to really change it up
If recovery on a muscle isn't for the most part based on soreness, when do we know we've recovered? I've heard many opposing explanations from "experts". Saying small muscle groups is at least 48 hours and larger 72 hours plus, is way too general.
It is certainly enough to build strength. I often go back to Power to the People and Easy Strength, both use a similar method of very few exercises, daily practice of 1-2 sets and never to failure.
Your videos are very helpful and inspire me to continue with my fitness lifestyle. There is no closed-captions/subtitles in this video as your other videos do. Can you please look into this? Many thanks.
I'm currently using a routine with one "money" set per exercise extended with a drop set approximately 75 percent of the max weight. It's early to say how it will turn out, but I'm getting progressive overload so far with less volume and more rest days. I'm north of 50, and I don't get any chemical help (except creatine). It's hard for me to let go of the greater volume, but I have to see if I can get results with less time, less stress, and more recovery.
Excellent upload. Im 53 and train once a week. 5 exercises. 2 sets each. FIRST SET WARMUP (IMPORTANT) Second set TO FAILURE. Onto next exercise. Workout lasts 30 minutes max. Results phenomenal. Every single week my lifts go up by at least a rep or 5lbs weight. You will never PLATEAU. Until you reach the upper heights of your potential. EVERY SINGLE WEEK you should see PROGRESS. I know for A FACT. Most volume trainers do not see weekly progress beyond newbie gains. THE REASON IS SIMPLE. A-- most dont train INTENSELY enough to stimulate growth. And B-even if they do. They dont rest LONG ENOUGH to recover AND GROW.
You know nothing. Firstly im natural and now 55. So im not going to look like a roider. Im 5 8" and 179lbs. Best lifts BENCH 365LBS FOR 3 SQUAT 445LBS FOR 5 DEADLIFT 405 FOR 3 BARBELL CURL 135 FOR 4 Not too shabby for a 179lb natural 55 year old.
I was personally phone coached by Mike Mentzer. He told me he had clients doing 2-3 working sets per exercise. Mike says everyone has different rates of recovery. It is up to the individual to assess their own recovery. If you are growing stronger every workout with just one set to positive failure. You don't need to add more volume. This only creates a longer recovery time and will deplete your biochemical reserves if too much volume is carried on. The body will also adapt to the training stimulus.
Thanks for sharing your story. I agree the best set and rep numbers seems to be more about what's best for the individual and preferences play a big role. But yea, once you've pulled that trigger, no need to keep trying time after time.
RedDeltaProject I have found multiple rest pause works great for compound exercises. Only 2 rest pause sets after failure per 1 compound movement. Only if you fail to get stronger on that exercise.
"If you are growing stronger every workout with just one set to positive failure. You don't need to add more volume"....Not always, Some progress doesn't mean optimal progress. More is more if its giving you more. One set is a good newb. way to go for sure, then as you go, and grow, you will "know" if more is more.
Get Zapt I am mesomorph so one set to failure is brutal for me and works quite well. Also 110 on db flyes each hand is an intense stimulus for growth. I also will do multiple rest pause on some compound lifts. That will increase my volume. I believe you can grow optimal with just one set to failure. Over time the body will adapt to even the most intense loads. Then you can just go beyond failure. Since I train alone. I firmly believe rest pause will give you the most optimal strength n growth. You can also do reverse pyramids on a stubborn body part. However this actually diminishes the intensity. I do like to train only my chest twice per week with a higher rep and lower rep day. This has really brought up my chest
I totally agree with the jist of this video, there definitely is a disadvantage of doing too much volume. Recovery is one of the most important factors for strength gains! However, I feel that saying that "muscles cannot count" gives a wrong impression of how the body works. The body knows exactly what it has done. If you look at it from an evolutionary perspective, the body is a highly, highly optimized machine that uses all information available to adapt to its situation. Some information might not have any consequences for muscle growth, but they are in the system nevertheless. I feel that far too many people think that their brains are smarter than their body. That is really one of the biggest myths in the industry, as it is the other way around. That doesn't mean that you have to overanalyze everything, but some rigorous analysis of your training is definitely a sound way of optimizing the outcome.
Agree 100%, I was just trying to break away from the idea that it's a number that's most important. The body certainly records and uses every second of input we give it, we just sometimes think that our quantification systems are the same the body uses.
I agree, they are definitely not the same, that's for sure! In the scientific literature in powerlifting, it currently seems to be the "trend" to look at the total tonnage lifted to make predictions about the training outcome. While I agree that it's better to look at some measure of training volume, I feel that using the tonnage is increadibly arbitrary, as there are so many more that one could use and some of them are probably more specific to strength gains (number of reps divided by rep-max, number of working sets, time under tension, ...). I did a numerical literature analysis on that topic, I should really publish it at some point.
Try Grease the groove method if you can, I went from 3 Pull-Up's to 15 pretty quickly using that method. Essentially whenever you see something you can do a Pull-Up on do it, leaving at least 15 minutes in between each set, test yourself once a month and only do it on days you feel fresh.
Stay away from failure and just keep doing one perfect rep as often as possible. Here is a guide to improve your Pull-Up. www.strongfirst.com/one-good-rep-perform-perfect-pullup/
I think there is no harm in going to 1 set max during your training schedule . Sometimes you get sick of straight across sets all the time and it’s a good change of pace and also U can break plateaus etc . And also if your ramp up sets are sort of 60% and above the. There is a training stimulus
Interesting and it makes sense. What about rest between sets? I have been trying the German method of 10 sets recently and find that when I did them with just 10 to 15 secs between sets I really felt it in my muscles the next day BUT if I did a 1 minute rest between sets but a bit heavier weight I felt NOTHING the next day!
how about 1 set each day, that sound better than 2 set every other day. i am sure most people only train the body 2 times a week, for example the chest gets 2 workouts each week. 2 or 3 sets. then my idea that you can get more volume by training the chest each day but only 1 set and get to the peak set and you are done. naturally the amount of exercises is limited since you train whole body each day, so the core are in focus. and you can change up your exercises easier since you have only used up a limited set of exercise types.
Matt, your website and TH-cam videos are excellent. Please keep up the great work. Question, it seems that CC only focuses on two planes, frontal and sagittal leaving exercises done in the transverse plane out. Your thoughts please.
Unilateral exercises like Archer push-ups and pull-ups involve the transverse to some degree. CC2 does a much better job addressing the lateral chain with human flag progressions and the trifecta. You can check out the book here: goo.gl/BLZDml
Great video thanks, I needed this because I put together my own exercise routine and I have 38 moves I want to complete (total body calisthenics) and was trying to figure out 1 or 2 sets, Im going with 2 and I will be doing my workout with 48 hours recovery. QUESTION: Is it better to do a certain number of reps per set (12 reps) OR seconds per move (20 seconds of bicep curls, 10 second reposition, 20 seconds of tricep kickbacks, 10 second reposition, etc...…..) Am I overthinking this????????
Max Szura climbers/gymnastics chalk will help with calluses and maybe gloves too. get the calluses you already have healed first though for your grip, i would say one of those grippers and rope pullups. or do pullups on branches and doorframe
Gloves make your grip weaker so I only use them when I do muscle ups. WIth calluses, should I take a break for like 2-3 days? Allow it to heal and then it should be betteeer?
it took a while for my callouses to develop. Once they did my hands were pretty tough. I found letting blister heal was a key part of growing them so I let them heal for a few days before using my hands again with a lot of pressure on my hands.
I would do one or two light sets just to get the muscles ready and set. The first set I would take to about 30% fatigue and the second to 60%. Then I would take a moment to mentally get ready for the work set, visualize it as best I can, review my workout log to see where I need to make progress and then I would hit it with everything I had in me.
coach its realy weird when i train with a regular pull ups bar i get no pump and tension in my whole back and arms but when i used a thick bar i get a huge muscle activation in the forearms and biceps and back too
I find the back of the shoulders are the key to getting the tension in the arms to flow into the back. Try keeping your rear delts on and you may find the lats turn on more. Something about the thick bar might be helping you do that.
Hello sir thank you for the really good information . So basically what you’re saying is stop doing the workout when you feel that you’re losing reps for example let’s say I do 225 x 12 on the bench then my next set x 10 then the following 7 should I just call it a day and stop doing bench press ? My form is still the same cause I’m doing pause bench but I’m nowhere near as strong as the first set and the weight is moving slower.
Hi, if I'm getting ready to bench press 220 lbs for example and my previous maximum was 1 rep at 215 lbs, what kind of bench weight would you suggest to warm up with?
RedDeltaProject Thanks a lot good sir, great video , my tendonitis could be eradicated by that change of form you suggested. Please keep the good work up , it has saved a lot of people many times
It only depends on how much you get your nervous system involved. Brain muscle connection. I really found this out from having a stroke. I am beginning to think that just about all of it is in your mind. Bruce Liptons biology of belief my apply as well. Dr. Stephen Myers work as well. The better your nervous system recovers is possibly the most important. I don't have time or space to go into everything but keep up your great work
You're absolutely right. Everything about fitness is what's going on between the mind and the muscle and the more beat up and fatigued that neurological highway is the harder it is to make progress.
I'm about to start "strength" training all the major muscle groups. The idea of doing 1-set to failure using 30-35% of my 1-RM would be ideal for me as I'm not interested in getting huge, just stronger and better proportioned. What is your opinion of this approach? By the way, I'm 65, lean and fit. Also, I will have 48-hours recovery time between all pull-movement exercises and 48-hour recovery time between all push-movement exercises.
Welcome Mike, If strength is your goal, you'll probably want to use more resistance than 30-35%. To keep size down, just go to about 60% fatigue for 1-2 sets. So if you can do 10 reps stop at 5-6.
The Old School Calisthenics article you linked on Twitter recently recommended high volume training, i.e. lots of sets and reps. Wouldn't high volume training like this be subject to diminishing returns as you described here? If not, why not? Thanks!
Not necessarily. Sometimes high volume training can help with this as the first few exercises can be light variations of the exercise you're going to do and this is your ramp up period. The next exercise is your peak sets and then you might have a regression set or two kind of like a finisher. it's very similar to what Paul Wade describes his book C-Mass (goo.gl/TcKqsp) which is all about building muscle with calisthenics
It can impact sleep to some degree, but in some ways it may make it easier to sleep since you need more recovery. I would bet it has more to due with when you're training. if your'e training later in the day, particularly in an evening you may have a harder time falling asleep if your adrenaline is high
Doing one set to absolute positive failure (with a couple of warm up sets) as long as progressive overload is applied and you get stronger, is all you need. And you will save a TON of time in the gym.
I'm a soccer player. If I do only one set (NOT to failure) per exercise at high intensity always the same weight during the season will I be able to mantain? I'd like to only one because I not only do main compounds but injury prevention exercises too. Thank you
so say if i train monday wensday friday 3 times a week everythime i hit the gym a couple of warmup up sets for each exercise and then 1 working set stopping 1 rep before failure do i still build muscle that way? i was thinking of training that way i always feel burned out i doing high folume right now 2x upper and 2x lower per week, was thinking on full body only squats weighted pullups overhead press bench pendlay row only 1 working set and progressing every time i train
You can build muscle training most anyway you like. That's the great thing about building muscle and strength, it doesn't require a very specific formula, but rather consistent habits that you can progress over time.
+RedDeltaProject I have a question I need some help with, I have started to do pull ups with a towel and I usually take like 5 mins break in between sets and I wanted to know how long I should take between each arm because they are both used. sorry if this is hard to understand it is a little hard to word, Thanks
I usually rest about 1 minute. As you put more resistance on one arm and less on the other you won't need to rest as much. I also suggest alternating which arm you start with for each workout. So if you start working the left arm/leg in a workout today, start your workout on the other side in the next workout.
Hey Matt, I'm training both the hanging straight leg raise and hanging knee raise with twist for my obliques. Would the hanging straight leg raise train the full core sufficiently? Thanks
Decine sets are when your physical ability declines from one set to the next. You can decrease the resistance during these sets if you like, but you don't have to.
so if one goes for 5 sets of a single workout (eg inclined bench press) what should be a better distribution of the sets among warm up, peak and decline sets (and with how many reps)? can you suggest?
Hey RedDeltaProject, what can one do about a naturally hyperextending elbow? Only my left elbow hyperextends. This makes straight arm exercises like tuck planche and even scapular shrugs hard to balance on my left side. It feels like the elbow makes the shoulder unstable. For instance in tuck planche position, with elbows locked out, my left arm "wants" to supinate. My right side is solid. I have to fight this one-sided supination so that my body doesn't tilt to the left. Also my left side has slightly greater ROM in terms of supination and pronation. Any ideas to remedy this?
I'm not sure, but you might want to slightly kink your elbows just the slightest bit while keeping your biceps and triceps super tense. That may help with your stability and balance things out.
X weight set number 1 for 10 reps. Set number 2 same weight same reps after resting 2 minutes, feels heavier. Is the peak not the first set in this specific case?
Probably not, I would bet it might even be in your third set in this case. keep in mind that peak can change day to day too. Sometimes if you're feeling a bit off that second set can be harder than the first.
@@RedDeltaProject Speaking about feeling off, 2 days ago my 10 rep max on squat had me tired at 5 reps, still pushed through though but dang. Felt so heavy.
One question though.. Ive recently started getting a sharp pain in my left shoulder every time u do pullups.. Ive just really started to master pullups now im doing 10 a set.this pain is holding me back. Could you please do a vid on what steps i should take.thanks
Can someone answer one question for me please? I just started getting into training, I have barbell, weights, dumbells, forearm bar, chinup bar, kettlebell. I know how to use them but my question is (because I get pretty exhausted quick lifting) can I do 1 set per excercise 3X per day instead of 3 sets everytime and still have good results? Thanks in advance.
RedDeltaProject Thanks for the tip. I spent the last month doing scattered sets through the day, and now I feel my joints are more stable So im gona try to amp it up and start doing consecutive sets of 1 excercise before i move to the next. I definitely feel stronger already, i just dont see much difference visibly yet
Hi, Matt! I have a question. Should i start every workout with the hardest progression of the session? Example: -dips x2 set -side to side push ups x2 -diamond x2 -normal x2 Or do 1 set of each and repeat?like circuit? Btw, to diamond push ups my triceps are fatigue. I have rest between 1-2 min.
I did full body everyday (5 days a week) only compound movements and i did the one set training., I got really good results but I was a noob so anything I did was good. If im out of the gym for too long I somtimes do a week of one set training and i blow back up to my strength,. one set full body training is a great tool in the tool box.
Here are my tips for better recovery: - Sleep a lot - Eat for satisfaction and pleasure - Chill out and have fun - When in doubt, get outside and into nature.
RedDeltaProject sleep alot is my hardest issue. =/ sometimes i sleep like a rock and other days i toss and turn and get max 4 hours of choppy sleep, which totally sucks considering i work in the mornings
I do 5x30 pushups 3 times a day = 450 pushups a day, but I start at noon. Any advice?Should I start in the morning? Anything else I should change?Thank you in advance.
For most of us guys who just want to improve their strength, muscle mass, and feeling of well-being, one set per exercise done 2 or 3 days per week is perfect.
Excellent vid. I actually feel I gain strength much faster by doing one set to exhaustion per day. Maybe because the body recover faster and is less taxing to the system just as you said here.
Rock on Teo!
Thanks Mike, this makes a lot of sense, I'm 73 years old and have been training on and off for about fifty years. I train as heavy as I could without injuring myself (sometimes) so it rakes me two to three days to recover before training again.
Excellent presentation, great advice, no hype. Well done. You're one of the best.
Love these channels, short video's with intelligent content without the bro science. If you like reddelta, you should also check K boges channel. These 2 channels changed the way I look at fitness completelly.
would love to hear an updated version!
You really explained the sets curve very well. Thanks a lot ☺️
Great video thanks I use single set for each body part 12 to 15 reps I train twice a week weights and cardio in the same workout it definitely has helped me
I do a full body work out twice a week. I do one set of each exercise, but two exercises for each muscle group (example: squats and lunges). Slowly add to your working load by either adding reps or weight, and you will get stronger. You don’t gain muscle while you’re working out, you gain it while you recover. Your brain tells your body that it needs to increase its ability handle the tension you’ve put on it. Increase the tension, and your body will adapt. Will you gain more strength by doing more sets? Probably. Is single set training the fastest way to gain strength? Probably not. But gaining muscle isn’t for the impatient anyway.
Love the way you described this Matt!
Ramping up to 1 or 2 hard (but not to failure) sets has long been my preferred way of training. I sometimes try more volume but always find myself coming back to some variant of this model.
Great stuff.
I’ve doing Drew Baye’s Kratos program: I one slow set, five seconds concentric, five seconds eccentric using a progression that takes 60-90 seconds to MMF and I’ve had the best gains I’ve had in years.
Negatives are the ticket with 2-4 days rest in between. One set of negatives will do it for strength. I do 2 exercises with negatives then the elliptical for 30 minutes afterwards for cardio. The next day I do 2 different exercises then the elliptical. And the third day I do 2 different exercises then the elliptical. By the 4th day I am back to the original 2 exercises and elliptical. And continue on. This will give you strength and endurance without a lot of fatigue since you're rotating the muscles on different days with plenty of rest. Increase the weight for progression. I am not looking to be a body builder - Health and fitness is my goal. And this does it for me.
5 minute video posted 6 minutes ago already 9 likes. STRONG and SOLID advice time and time again NO BULLSHIT whatsoever! 💪🏻🙌🏼
I don't have time for BS as I'm sure you don't either, that's why I don't put any out there.
And this is way we love your project, Matt. Stay awesome!
@@RedDeltaProject i just started a week or so ago training one set due to time limitations and i can agree that i don't feel like I've done anything. I guess i will go back to my 2 or 3 set workouts but with very little rest time in order to get my workouts done before leaving for work...any suggestions?
Many thanks :) I agree 100%!!! I always focus on "one set"... but I need a couple of sets to get there. Then, it's on to the next exercise.
Perfect approach. Simple and right to the point.
I have to say yes. As it got me closer to my genetic limit in 18 months..something volume couldnt do in 30 years.
I’ve been doing the Jay Vincent HIT protocol. 1 set to complete momentary failure I do a full body 2 chest,2 back ,bicep,tricep, lateral raise or shoulder press, leg press ,leg curl, calve raise. Very intense workout done twice a week. He use a 5 second eccentric and 5 second concentric cadence for each movement. Has been working great for me. When you increase the intensity of your workout and you feel you don’t have the energy to finish the workout you can break it up into an upper /lower body workout for that week. You need more recovery time for this style of training but everyone does recover differently so base it on your own ability to recover then hit it hard again. 💪
Mentzer's wisdom is solid and stands the test of time and biologic. I wouldnt say its the optimal way to exercise, but it is extremely efficient and effective. I tested his basic premis many years ago. Over a period of 8 weeks a buddy and I did 3 specific exercises: dips, pullups and push ups. My starting numbers dips=16, pullups=12, push ups=42. We worked out 2x week (like tue and fri) shooting for complete recovery and compensation (growth). We did one warmup set roughly 60-70%. Then it was one all out total muscle-nerve-screaming-fight-for-your-life failure-set. And that was it. My ending numbers... dips=50, pullups=35, pushups=85. Is it optimal? I dont think it probably is, but I was astounded by the results. Definitely makes one think about the rampant overtraining and stunted results of many people oit there. I like this guys modern take on the age old idea. Good stuff!
Thomas Schmidt - Yeah, not the ideal muscle building protocol and we all know a lot more nowadays than when I did this. Just wanted to share my experience because its directly related to this video's topic. This was back when everything out there was pretty much saying 3-4 sets of 12 reps for multiple exercises targeting the same group yada yada... What I really took away from Heavy Duty is that often less is more, the body usually can use more recovery than people give it and if a person isnt seeing a consistent increase in performance then they might be overtraining. 24-48 hrs really..? Thats interesting and I'll check it out but seems like variable such as genetics and training intensity/volume would impact that considerably. Not to mention Im pretty sure protein synthesis is always taking place to some degree (assuming one isnt starving).
Muscle growth is not only determined by the time that the muscle grows. The total growth is also determined by the magnitude. Mathematically speaking, it's the integral, or the area below the curve. Currently, the data on what frequency is optimal is not conclusive and it seems to be dependent on a lot of individual factors. One can definitely say that training 2 times a week is better than one time, but beyond that the data is quite inconclusive (and often misinterpreted).
Phaedrus Gott i second that statement. Recently i took a werk off [was on vacation + nagging shoulder pain] and when it was time to get it again i looked much leaner, and had lost no muscle mass. Sometimes i get caught up in these cycles of "gahh my chest isnt growing, i need to do more!" But in reality the work i do is sufficient. The amount of time i give in between workouts sometimes is not, thus hindering progress and kinda putting you into a self destructive process of "more more more" when you really just need less
I agree with you 100%
My bench had plateaued on 225lbs for 7 reps in 2013. I just couldnt get another rep or more weight. When I read a book call HEAVY DUTY II MIND AND BODY.
I started to realize with my CRAP genetics 2 bench workouts a week 3 sets per workout. WAS TOO MUCH VOLUME AND FREQUENCY. I took it down to one workout every 6 days for chest 2 sets. And guess what. I BROKE THE PLATEAU. And didnt hit another plateau until 275lbs for 5.
I them went 7 days between workouts. And AGAIN broke the plateau. 12 months later. I was on 365lbs for 3 reps. And I was HAVING TO REST 11 DAYS BETWEEN WORKOUTS.
And thats what it took to get me up to that weight. The problem is the average guy DOESNT UNDERSTAND THIS. So they will plateau. And STAY plateaued until they either GIVE UP or hit ROIDS.
Umm.... you did it wrong ! You are supposed to start at a weight heavy enough where you can only get 6-8 reps, then get to the point after training for time (with adequate rest and 100% recover) where you can push the weight to 12 reps and then increase the weight so you can only do 6-8 reps again. It's called progressive overload. All you did was increase your endurance, NOT your strength. Mike Mentzer would facepalm your workout review because that is not what training heavy duty is about...
A key determining factor of 'how many warm up' sets before hitting that 'PEAK' working set is your mind to muscle connection. I find that the stronger the connection the less warm up sets needed.
A very good point Marco, thanks for commenting
This is why Veterano Plus is perfect.
I can train everyday, be loose with my eating habits, sleep only 6 hours a day, and still make progress a bit every week, and be pumped (even excited) and ready to do the workout daily.
It's become a great habit, and I'm free to rollerskate often without feeling like it's too much. I'm feeling great!
Glad to hear Richard!
What is Veterano?
best calistenics channel
im 49 and 2 working sets to positive failure is all i do. ( squats get 4 sets since its hard to go to failure ). full body 3 times per week. my total workout including a lite warm up is just under an hour. i have 3 different full body workouts to choose from based on how i feel. mostly compound. i never hesitate to take 2 or more days off. a 4 day split routine wont allow this without totally screwing up the schedule. ive been doing this for 30 years and i still look forward to every workout. try yhis if you hate being locked into a routine
NICE PRESENTATION COACH,THANKS.
Cool ! Another new Matt's tips vidéo ! :)
Thank you coach it was very interesting
I used to be really obsessed with lifting and eating 100% clean. After some years this clean eating and counting everything took away the joy in lifting for me tbh. Now I do 8 reps per exercise and eat what I like when I'm hungry. As long as u don't eat junk food all day all is good. Anyway to my surprise I'm still muscular without tracking a thing. Nice video
I can really rate as I was much the same way. Glad you're finding the joy of training again.
I bought your micro workout book. It’s terrific. This is an excellent video. At 58 years old and still busy life - recovery is so different and terrible.
I injure myself on almost every workout. 🙄
Even with isometrics. Also takes forever to recover. I quit running marathons and that has really reduced my pain. Micro workouts are my only way now. Ray Romano jokes that when you are over 50 you just go to bed and then wake up with random injuries. It’s quite true.
happy the MW are helping there Peter, here's to hopefully a lot less pain and injury in your future.
Great advice
This is a good method if you have any small aches and pains. You don't aggravate any injuries by doing a lot of reps and plenty of time to recover.
Thank you very much for explaining what I have not been able to word so accurately as you just did. One can do 3 or 5 work sets, but what happens with the next exercise or the next training session. Recovery is key, specifically in the day and ago of volume training.
I always do 1 set 15 reps
Love your channel bro especially the fact that you only calesthenics..im a beginer to intermidiate but you answer alot of the questions i ask myself ...thanks
good advice! thanks
This was really helpful for me. Love your channel
Thanks Andrew and thanks for watching. Train hard!
Attention magnifies or energizes, intention transforms or changes.
i do warm up sets of 5 and a single work set of 20-30 for each exercise everyday. It's been working well for me.
That's an interesting idea
Could you do a video on sternum pain during push-ups and dips? Thanks
mine just clicked!
i used to have sternum pain and i would be able to crack it by stretching. it's definitely not normal; didn't feel normal to me. however, i don't have it anymore. i got rid of it by taking a long break from dips, doing lots of pull ups, and low/moderate intensity push ups (don't push yourself too much on push ups). pull ups work out everything including chest, but it shouldn't add enough stress to cause the sternum pain.
I'll get right on it and post it tomorrow.
I find that when I ramp up to 1 top set per exercise, I am more motivated to workout, and when I have to do a workout that consists of 3 sets per exercise, I find excuses for not wanting to workout, I'm just not as motivated. I used to do 2 x 5, then 3rd set was amrap, now I always try to challenge myself and beat my 1 set either by adding more weight or adding more reps. I usually do full body twice a week or a push / pull routine. I usually do 2-3 hard warmup sets, then give it all I got for that 1 final set. I'll alternate and do 1 x 5 or 1 x 8-12 reps, and try to beat those numbers each time, and when I can't, I'll just take out some weight and cycle it, and start over again until I can increase it.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us Victor Newman. Very smart and introspective perspectives for sure
Congrats on your progress thus far and keep up the good work!
Your bell curve suggests three sets as useful, one to measure the ramp, the peak, and the decline respectively. I have been doing one set to failure for just over 2 years, switching to 3x sets just this month.
Thanks for this video :)
Glad it was helpful!
you explained this perfectly. everyone is different so why not try to do the least volume then go from there?
I started out doing push ups but they were fast and like cheat reps i got 100 like that then switched to strict slow past push ups like the pacers test and with it i am stuck at 30-35 push ups I do 10 more directly after i drop but on my knees
I do that every day and on the eight day i rest and i do no upper body exorcize at all
I also do max good form but fast paste pull ups and push ups
Ive been stuck at 30-35 push ups over a week now. Lol probably need to really change it up
I workout in the evenings. That helps me recover
So brilliant
Thanks Jackson!
If recovery on a muscle isn't for the most part based on soreness, when do we know we've recovered? I've heard many opposing explanations from "experts". Saying small muscle groups is at least 48 hours and larger 72 hours plus, is way too general.
It is certainly enough to build strength. I often go back to Power to the People and Easy Strength, both use a similar method of very few exercises, daily practice of 1-2 sets and never to failure.
Easy Strength is a great book, I should reread that. Lots of great stuff in there.
Your videos are very helpful and inspire me to continue with my fitness lifestyle. There is no closed-captions/subtitles in this video as your other videos do. Can you please look into this? Many thanks.
oops, will definitely look into that
Super and pls let me know when cc/subtitles becomes available on your video.
plain gold
🙏👊💪Thanks for watching!
Thanks coach!
I'm currently using a routine with one "money" set per exercise extended with a drop set approximately 75 percent of the max weight. It's early to say how it will turn out, but I'm getting progressive overload so far with less volume and more rest days.
I'm north of 50, and I don't get any chemical help (except creatine). It's hard for me to let go of the greater volume, but I have to see if I can get results with less time, less stress, and more recovery.
Excellent upload. Im 53 and train once a week. 5 exercises. 2 sets each. FIRST SET WARMUP (IMPORTANT) Second set TO FAILURE.
Onto next exercise. Workout lasts 30 minutes max. Results phenomenal. Every single week my lifts go up by at least a rep or 5lbs weight.
You will never PLATEAU. Until you reach the upper heights of your potential. EVERY SINGLE WEEK you should see PROGRESS.
I know for A FACT. Most volume trainers do not see weekly progress beyond newbie gains.
THE REASON IS SIMPLE. A-- most dont train INTENSELY enough to stimulate growth. And B-even if they do. They dont rest LONG ENOUGH to recover AND GROW.
PROJECT DX I know for a fact you don't look like you lift.
You know nothing. Firstly im natural and now 55. So im not going to look like a roider. Im 5 8" and 179lbs.
Best lifts
BENCH 365LBS FOR 3
SQUAT 445LBS FOR 5
DEADLIFT 405 FOR 3
BARBELL CURL 135 FOR 4
Not too shabby for a 179lb natural 55 year old.
Do you do 2 sets for every muscle?
Yes
I was personally phone coached by Mike Mentzer. He told me he had clients doing 2-3 working sets per exercise. Mike says everyone has different rates of recovery. It is up to the individual to assess their own recovery. If you are growing stronger every workout with just one set to positive failure. You don't need to add more volume. This only creates a longer recovery time and will deplete your biochemical reserves if too much volume is carried on. The body will also adapt to the training stimulus.
Thanks for sharing your story. I agree the best set and rep numbers seems to be more about what's best for the individual and preferences play a big role. But yea, once you've pulled that trigger, no need to keep trying time after time.
RedDeltaProject I have found multiple rest pause works great for compound exercises. Only 2 rest pause sets after failure per 1 compound movement. Only if you fail to get stronger on that exercise.
"If you are growing stronger every workout with just one set to positive failure. You don't need to add more volume"....Not always, Some progress doesn't mean optimal progress. More is more if its giving you more. One set is a good newb. way to go for sure, then as you go, and grow, you will "know" if more is more.
Get Zapt I am mesomorph so one set to failure is brutal for me and works quite well. Also 110 on db flyes each hand is an intense stimulus for growth. I also will do multiple rest pause on some compound lifts. That will increase my volume. I believe you can grow optimal with just one set to failure. Over time the body will adapt to even the most intense loads. Then you can just go beyond failure. Since I train alone. I firmly believe rest pause will give you the most optimal strength n growth. You can also do reverse pyramids on a stubborn body part. However this actually diminishes the intensity. I do like to train only my chest twice per week with a higher rep and lower rep day. This has really brought up my chest
I totally agree with the jist of this video, there definitely is a disadvantage of doing too much volume. Recovery is one of the most important factors for strength gains! However, I feel that saying that "muscles cannot count" gives a wrong impression of how the body works. The body knows exactly what it has done. If you look at it from an evolutionary perspective, the body is a highly, highly optimized machine that uses all information available to adapt to its situation. Some information might not have any consequences for muscle growth, but they are in the system nevertheless. I feel that far too many people think that their brains are smarter than their body. That is really one of the biggest myths in the industry, as it is the other way around.
That doesn't mean that you have to overanalyze everything, but some rigorous analysis of your training is definitely a sound way of optimizing the outcome.
Agree 100%, I was just trying to break away from the idea that it's a number that's most important. The body certainly records and uses every second of input we give it, we just sometimes think that our quantification systems are the same the body uses.
I agree, they are definitely not the same, that's for sure! In the scientific literature in powerlifting, it currently seems to be the "trend" to look at the total tonnage lifted to make predictions about the training outcome. While I agree that it's better to look at some measure of training volume, I feel that using the tonnage is increadibly arbitrary, as there are so many more that one could use and some of them are probably more specific to strength gains (number of reps divided by rep-max, number of working sets, time under tension, ...). I did a numerical literature analysis on that topic, I should really publish it at some point.
I read about a study where the difference between 1 and 3 worksets were 23%... No doubt about diminishing returns.
That sounds about right. There are a number of factors involved but the drop off from each set is quite a lot.
Makes sense
Another great video .. thanks a lot Matt. I just have one question: how do I know when I reached fatigue ?
Oh you'll know :)
You'll probably find a steep drop off in the number of reps you can do, so your numbers might be like 10,10 5.
RedDeltaProject got it 👍🏼. Thanks Bro.
i hope so. I can only do 2-3 proper pull ups on a good day so instead i simply do many sets of one with 15 second ish breaks
Try Grease the groove method if you can, I went from 3 Pull-Up's to 15 pretty quickly using that method. Essentially whenever you see something you can do a Pull-Up on do it, leaving at least 15 minutes in between each set, test yourself once a month and only do it on days you feel fresh.
Thanks ill try that
Stay away from failure and just keep doing one perfect rep as often as possible. Here is a guide to improve your Pull-Up. www.strongfirst.com/one-good-rep-perform-perfect-pullup/
That's a good strategy too. I used to do that a lot with close push-ups and it really helped.
I like to do an ascending ladder up to a top set and then move on.
I think there is no harm in going to 1 set max during your training schedule . Sometimes you get sick of straight across sets all the time and it’s a good change of pace and also U can break plateaus etc . And also if your ramp up sets are sort of 60% and above the. There is a training stimulus
Excellent points Lone Pine, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us.
Interesting and it makes sense. What about rest between sets? I have been trying the German method of 10 sets recently and find that when I did them with just 10 to 15 secs between sets I really felt it in my muscles the next day BUT if I did a 1 minute rest between sets but a bit heavier weight I felt NOTHING the next day!
rest is another variable of progression just like weight and reps. less rest = more difficult and so on.
how about 1 set each day, that sound better than 2 set every other day. i am sure most people only train the body 2 times a week, for example the chest gets 2 workouts each week. 2 or 3 sets.
then my idea that you can get more volume by training the chest each day but only 1 set and get to the peak set and you are done.
naturally the amount of exercises is limited since you train whole body each day, so the core are in focus.
and you can change up your exercises easier since you have only used up a limited set of exercise types.
Yes, just very little, be ready for a slower process for change.
Mentzer should have gone into this.
Matt, your website and TH-cam videos are excellent. Please keep up the great work. Question, it seems that CC only focuses on two planes, frontal and sagittal leaving exercises done in the transverse plane out. Your thoughts please.
Unilateral exercises like Archer push-ups and pull-ups involve the transverse to some degree. CC2 does a much better job addressing the lateral chain with human flag progressions and the trifecta. You can check out the book here:
goo.gl/BLZDml
Great video thanks, I needed this because I put together my own exercise routine and I have 38 moves I want to complete (total body calisthenics) and was trying to figure out 1 or 2 sets, Im going with 2 and I will be doing my workout with 48 hours recovery. QUESTION: Is it better to do a certain number of reps per set (12 reps) OR seconds per move (20 seconds of bicep curls, 10 second reposition, 20 seconds of tricep kickbacks, 10 second reposition, etc...…..) Am I overthinking this????????
Should I do one set then just so I recover because I like to take everything to failure just so I know I'm working hard enough
Can you make a video about how to strengthen your grip and how to deal with the bumps that pop on your hands from the bar? They hurt quiet a lot.
Max Szura climbers/gymnastics chalk will help with calluses and maybe gloves too.
get the calluses you already have healed first though
for your grip, i would say one of those grippers and rope pullups. or do pullups on branches and doorframe
Gloves make your grip weaker so I only use them when I do muscle ups. WIth calluses, should I take a break for like 2-3 days? Allow it to heal and then it should be betteeer?
it took a while for my callouses to develop. Once they did my hands were pretty tough. I found letting blister heal was a key part of growing them so I let them heal for a few days before using my hands again with a lot of pressure on my hands.
How would you use single set training to make it work for you?
I would do one or two light sets just to get the muscles ready and set. The first set I would take to about 30% fatigue and the second to 60%. Then I would take a moment to mentally get ready for the work set, visualize it as best I can, review my workout log to see where I need to make progress and then I would hit it with everything I had in me.
RedDeltaProject Cool thanks.
coach its realy weird when i train with a regular pull ups bar i get no pump and tension in my whole back and arms but when i used a thick bar i get a huge muscle activation in the forearms and biceps and back too
Yes, pullups on a thicker bar are way more difficult. You work your forearms way more.
I find the back of the shoulders are the key to getting the tension in the arms to flow into the back. Try keeping your rear delts on and you may find the lats turn on more. Something about the thick bar might be helping you do that.
next time, turn your volume up. great video though, well done.
Hello sir thank you for the really good information . So basically what you’re saying is stop doing the workout when you feel that you’re losing reps for example let’s say I do 225 x 12 on the bench then my next set x 10 then the following 7 should I just call it a day and stop doing bench press ? My form is still the same cause I’m doing pause bench but I’m nowhere near as strong as the first set and the weight is moving slower.
one set to failure master race
still doing it mate?
@@untitled6391 not all muscle groups, but for some this works the best in my opinion
Hi, if I'm getting ready to bench press 220 lbs for example and my previous maximum was 1 rep at 215 lbs, what kind of bench weight would you suggest to warm up with?
Could you do a video on elbow pain during pull-ups ?
Done, here ya go:
th-cam.com/video/Y2HGY70TTp4/w-d-xo.html
RedDeltaProject Thanks a lot good sir, great video , my tendonitis could be eradicated by that change of form you suggested. Please keep the good work up , it has saved a lot of people many times
Yes 💪
It only depends on how much you get your nervous system involved. Brain muscle connection. I really found this out from having a stroke. I am beginning to think that just about all of it is in your mind. Bruce Liptons biology of belief my apply as well. Dr. Stephen Myers work as well. The better your nervous system recovers is possibly the most important. I don't have time or space to go into everything but keep up your great work
You're absolutely right. Everything about fitness is what's going on between the mind and the muscle and the more beat up and fatigued that neurological highway is the harder it is to make progress.
I'm about to start "strength" training all the major muscle groups. The idea of doing 1-set to failure using 30-35% of my 1-RM would be ideal for me as I'm not interested in getting huge, just stronger and better proportioned. What is your opinion of this approach? By the way, I'm 65, lean and fit. Also, I will have 48-hours recovery time between all pull-movement exercises and 48-hour recovery time between all push-movement exercises.
Welcome Mike,
If strength is your goal, you'll probably want to use more resistance than 30-35%. To keep size down, just go to about 60% fatigue for 1-2 sets. So if you can do 10 reps stop at 5-6.
Thanks! I'll give it a go.
The Old School Calisthenics article you linked on Twitter recently recommended high volume training, i.e. lots of sets and reps. Wouldn't high volume training like this be subject to diminishing returns as you described here? If not, why not? Thanks!
Not necessarily. Sometimes high volume training can help with this as the first few exercises can be light variations of the exercise you're going to do and this is your ramp up period. The next exercise is your peak sets and then you might have a regression set or two kind of like a finisher. it's very similar to what Paul Wade describes his book C-Mass (goo.gl/TcKqsp) which is all about building muscle with calisthenics
RedDeltaProject That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification!
Is it normal for me to not be able to sleep if I train too hard and spend too much time in that decline set category?
It can impact sleep to some degree, but in some ways it may make it easier to sleep since you need more recovery.
I would bet it has more to due with when you're training. if your'e training later in the day, particularly in an evening you may have a harder time falling asleep if your adrenaline is high
What about 1 set per body part, 15 reps ,adding 5 pounds per exercise a day, 5 days on 2 off.
Doing one set to absolute positive failure (with a couple of warm up sets) as long as progressive overload is applied and you get stronger, is all you need. And you will save a TON of time in the gym.
I'm a soccer player. If I do only one set (NOT to failure) per exercise at high intensity always the same weight during the season will I be able to mantain? I'd like to only one because I not only do main compounds but injury prevention exercises too. Thank you
so say if i train monday wensday friday 3 times a week everythime i hit the gym a couple of warmup up sets for each exercise and then 1 working set stopping 1 rep before failure do i still build muscle that way? i was thinking of training that way i always feel burned out i doing high folume right now 2x upper and 2x lower per week, was thinking on full body only squats weighted pullups overhead press bench pendlay row only 1 working set and progressing every time i train
You can build muscle training most anyway you like. That's the great thing about building muscle and strength, it doesn't require a very specific formula, but rather consistent habits that you can progress over time.
+RedDeltaProject I have a question I need some help with, I have started to do pull ups with a towel and I usually take like 5 mins break in between sets and I wanted to know how long I should take between each arm because they are both used. sorry if this is hard to understand it is a little hard to word, Thanks
I usually rest about 1 minute. As you put more resistance on one arm and less on the other you won't need to rest as much.
I also suggest alternating which arm you start with for each workout. So if you start working the left arm/leg in a workout today, start your workout on the other side in the next workout.
What you say about one set of 3 min squat? And after that 5 sets of lunges? Can build muscels?
Nice to see you have more subscribers now bro!
Thank you Kiva, always growing and improving.
Hey Matt, I'm training both the hanging straight leg raise and hanging knee raise with twist for my obliques. Would the hanging straight leg raise train the full core sufficiently? Thanks
I just got learnt. God damn this was a great vid
lol, i love that saying. I'm so going to use it. it will help me talk gooder :)
God forgive for you
God forgive for us
are decline sets the same sets but using low reps/lighter weights??
Decine sets are when your physical ability declines from one set to the next. You can decrease the resistance during these sets if you like, but you don't have to.
so if one goes for 5 sets of a single workout (eg inclined bench press) what should be a better distribution of the sets among warm up, peak and decline sets (and with how many reps)? can you suggest?
With 1 set workouts, you probably will be able to do, say bench or squat 2 or 3 times a week instead of 1 or 2.
Good point and an excellent consideration for sure.
I do some 10 movement 8 - 15 reps
Hey RedDeltaProject, what can one do about a naturally hyperextending elbow? Only my left elbow hyperextends. This makes straight arm exercises like tuck planche and even scapular shrugs hard to balance on my left side. It feels like the elbow makes the shoulder unstable. For instance in tuck planche position, with elbows locked out, my left arm "wants" to supinate. My right side is solid. I have to fight this one-sided supination so that my body doesn't tilt to the left. Also my left side has slightly greater ROM in terms of supination and pronation. Any ideas to remedy this?
I'm not sure, but you might want to slightly kink your elbows just the slightest bit while keeping your biceps and triceps super tense. That may help with your stability and balance things out.
X weight set number 1 for 10 reps. Set number 2 same weight same reps after resting 2 minutes, feels heavier. Is the peak not the first set in this specific case?
Probably not, I would bet it might even be in your third set in this case. keep in mind that peak can change day to day too. Sometimes if you're feeling a bit off that second set can be harder than the first.
@@RedDeltaProject Speaking about feeling off, 2 days ago my 10 rep max on squat had me tired at 5 reps, still pushed through though but dang. Felt so heavy.
One question though.. Ive recently started getting a sharp pain in my left shoulder every time u do pullups.. Ive just really started to master pullups now im doing 10 a set.this pain is holding me back. Could you please do a vid on what steps i should take.thanks
yes, try to keep your shoulders down and back. Sort of like you're pulling your chest up under the bar slightly.
Can someone answer one question for me please? I just started getting into training, I have barbell, weights, dumbells, forearm bar, chinup bar, kettlebell. I know how to use them but my question is (because I get pretty exhausted quick lifting) can I do 1 set per excercise 3X per day instead of 3 sets everytime and still have good results? Thanks in advance.
I would keep the sets consistent for now. It'll help build up your stamina.
RedDeltaProject Thanks for the tip. I spent the last month doing scattered sets through the day, and now I feel my joints are more stable So im gona try to amp it up and start doing consecutive sets of 1 excercise before i move to the next. I definitely feel stronger already, i just dont see much difference visibly yet
Hi, Matt! I have a question.
Should i start every workout with the hardest progression of the session?
Example:
-dips x2 set
-side to side push ups x2
-diamond x2
-normal x2
Or do 1 set of each and repeat?like circuit?
Btw, to diamond push ups my triceps are fatigue.
I have rest between 1-2 min.
I would go with easiest first to ramp up to the harder exercises.
I did full body everyday (5 days a week) only compound movements and i did the one set training., I got really good results but I was a noob so anything I did was good. If im out of the gym for too long I somtimes do a week of one set training and i blow back up to my strength,. one set full body training is a great tool in the tool box.
Coach Matt, now you gotta explain/give tips on how to maximise recovery in modern day life tbh hehe
Here are my tips for better recovery:
- Sleep a lot
- Eat for satisfaction and pleasure
- Chill out and have fun
- When in doubt, get outside and into nature.
RedDeltaProject sleep alot is my hardest issue. =/ sometimes i sleep like a rock and other days i toss and turn and get max 4 hours of choppy sleep, which totally sucks considering i work in the mornings
@@alexhowley9834 do you sleep worse after a hard workout? I learned that was my problem. When I’m overtraining I don’t sleep good
To do one set wouldn't we have to work hard to the *motherload* to drive ourself to the floor?
Potentially, but again, remember that it's more important if that one set is progressive over time.
The real question is can you fatigue that muscle enough to get growth in that 1 set. 1 drop set , absolutely.
I do 5x30 pushups 3 times a day = 450 pushups a day, but I start at noon. Any advice?Should I start in the morning? Anything else I should change?Thank you in advance.
let's try an experiment, do 50 one day, than 400 the next, then 50 then 400.
I'm willing to bet you'll have more strength and energy for each workout.
RedDeltaProject Ok, thx. I'll try it. And thank you for always replying.
Indoctrination with no studies done to factually verify. I love and appreciate the way you think. Thanks for your efforts.
The Russians and Bulgarians have done many many studies on this subject.