Optimal Hypertrophy Training

[VWMeatHead]

Male
27 years old
210 lbs
~15% bf

So recently I have moved from a "bro-split" to hitting everything 2x/week.

Legs/shoulders
Chest/back
Arms
Off
Repeat
*Calves and abs are trained 2x/week prior to chest/back and arms respectively.
*15 -30 minutes light cardio 3-4 days per week post weight training.

I have been doing one day of heavier training (3-6 reps) and one day of hypertrophy (10-15 reps) for each body part.

My question is this- for OPTIMAL growth, how does this schedule look?

Should I just stick to hypertrophy rep ranges and rest periods on BOTH days for each body part? Or should I still do the heavier day I have in place now in conjunction with the hypertrophy days?

 

[Matthew1237]

I would switch your routine. You will find over time that chest/back together will just be too taxing. I would go with LPP (legs,push,pull) and incorporate arms and shoulders in appropriately (bis and rear delts on pull, tris and remaining shoulder on push.)

As far as hypertrophy is concerned 3-4 sets of 8-12 is the way to go - short rest, high volume.

 

[BeastFitness]

Hypertrophy will occur in every rep range not just 8-12. I highly advice any form of undulation working in lower, moderate, and high rep ranges as well as some way to increase cell swelling such as a BFR approach

 

[Rostam]

As far as hypertrophy is concerned 3-4 sets of 8-12 is the way to go - short rest, high volume.

High volume? 3-4 sets per body part?

 

[bolt10]

Hypertrophy will occur in every rep range not just 8-12. I highly advice any form of undulation working in lower, moderate, and high rep ranges as well as some way to increase cell swelling such as a BFR approach

Something like this OP. While you may want to spend most of the time in what the typical hypertrophy range is, I wouldn't neglect any rep range.

Your approach now is fine, but change it up over time, don't stick to the same thing forever (but I would say your approach now is better than same rep range in both days if doing twice a week).

 

[VWMeatHead]

Thanks for feedback everyone.

Sounds like I will stick with the rep schemes I am currently employing.

I may now switch to a PPL structure though, as I can definitely see how my chest and back days may become over taxing.

I do have BFR straps that I have used for arms and get a ridiculous pump...however I can't say that I noticed any additional growth from them.

 

[BeastFitness]

Thanks for feedback everyone.

Sounds like I will stick with the rep schemes I am currently employing.

I may now switch to a PPL structure though, as I can definitely see how my chest and back days may become over taxing.

I do have BFR straps that I have used for arms and get a ridiculous pump...however I can't say that I noticed any additional growth from them.

Have you done BFR for 6+ weeks consistently?

 

[VWMeatHead]

Have you done BFR for 6+ weeks consistently?

I did it for 4 weeks.

Perhaps I did not do enough volume with it? Too much?

I would do 4 sets of 20-30 reps for bis and tris after my regular arm training.

 

[BeastFitness]

I did it for 4 weeks.

Perhaps I did not do enough volume with it? Too much?

I would do 4 sets of 20-30 reps for bis and tris after my regular arm training.

I would suggest doing the protocol they found to be optimal

http://www.biolayne.com/training/blood-flow-restriction-training-the-next-generation-of-anabolic-exercise/

 

[VWMeatHead]

Thanks man.

So do you follow this exact protocol? Do you do your standard training first?

 

[BeastFitness]

Thanks man.

So do you follow this exact protocol? Do you do your standard training first?

Yup. After about 6 weeks you'll notice a massive increase in vascularity. After 8 weeks you'll begin seeing more growth from it

 

[VWMeatHead]

Sounds like a plan.

If you don't mind me asking, what does your weekly routine look like?

 

[BeastFitness]

Sounds like a plan.

If you don't mind me asking, what does your weekly routine look like?

Don't mind at all! So I recently switched from an U/L split to a compound emphasized split.

I was previously squatting, benching, and deadlifting 3-4x per week with 40-60+ sets per workout only taking a rest day maybe once every 4 months. I've since lowered my frequency to some body parts to a min of 2x per week but focusing on overloading intensity wise with failure training vs JUST simply volume. The split is kind of hard to breakdown without full explanations TBH

 

[VWMeatHead]

Sounds fun!

I'm really liking hitting everything 2x/week as opposed to the bro split I've always followed. I'm actually sore lol.

My biggest focus right now is increasing arm size. I have a large chest, back and legs. Bench 415, deadline 605, squat just under 500...but for some reason my arms have always been lacking in comparison.

 

[Matthew1237]

High volume? 3-4 sets per body part?

no no - like any given exercise - For example after my one heavy compound I do hypertrophy work and most lifts I do 3-4 sets (or 7 depending on the exercise and my energy level) for 8-12 reps.

Deadlift 3x3-5
Clean 3x8-12
Cable Rows3x8-12
Face Pulls7x8-12
Pull Ups 7xAMRAP
Barbell Curls 7x8-12

This is an example of my upcoming split on pull day - aiming to incorporate Bodybuilding+Powerlifting+Olympiclifting/Crossfit into my routine.

 

[BeastFitness]

Sounds fun!

I'm really liking hitting everything 2x/week as opposed to the bro split I've always followed. I'm actually sore lol.

My biggest focus right now is increasing arm size. I have a large chest, back and legs. Bench 415, deadline 605, squat just under 500...but for some reason my arms have always been lacking in comparison.

It definitely is man! Im almost in a similar boat with my arm development. Always lagged behind so around 6 months ago I began prioritizing them. Now they're starting to catch up to my shoulders which always overshadowed them. Still need a lot more time though haha

 

[NoAddedHmones]

I would suggest doing the protocol they found to be optimal

http://www.biolayne.com/training/blood-flow-restriction-training-the-next-generation-of-anabolic-exercise/

http://suppversity.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/blood-flow-restriction-in-athletes-did.html?m=1

 

[BeastFitness]

http://suppversity.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/blood-flow-restriction-in-athletes-did.html?m=1

Haven't seen this! DUDE thanks for posting!

 

[NoAddedHmones]

Haven't seen this! DUDE thanks for posting!

You are welcome, also read through the previous articles. BFR may be useful for acute strength gains but it appears to blunt hypertrophy.

 

[Gutterpump]

I do a similar thing and hit everything 2x per week. I think it's pretty optimal this way.

I have a max effort upper body day, where I start with my max effort bench (work up to reps of 3). Then I do loads of volume for chest (8-15 rep range). Bit of a break then I switch to back. Strength lift first, then loads of volume for back, plus supersets (Pendlay rows, then KB rows + band pullaparts, chins, etc).

My 2nd upper body day I save for more dynamic work and volume. Banded/chained bench press, floor press, straight DB bench press. DB rows, chins, etc.

My lower body days are similar, 1 max effort day where I squat up to a 2-3RM, then I throw in tons of volume, like 5 sets of 10, plus some RDL's, abs, etc.

My 2nd lower body day is more dynamic, split squats, box jumps, explosive movements.

This seems to be working well for me. It's a variation of Westside Barbell. Going to stick with this for a while, I don't see it plateauing quickly.

 

[VWMeatHead]

Gutterpump,

That sounds like a pretty solid plan.

What is your ultimate goal? Strength or size?

 

[Gutterpump]

Gutterpump,

That sounds like a pretty solid plan.

What is your ultimate goal? Strength or size?

Both. I want to be strong but also look the part. Training in both rep ranges also facilitates max hypertrophy, and added strength also facilitates increased volume capacity, so it all works out

My only problem is how to add endurance into this mix, without sacrificing strength/size gains.

 

[VWMeatHead]

Fast paced beating off?

 

[Gutterpump]

Naw, my stamina is already good lol

 

[Matthew1237]

Both. I want to be strong but also look the part. Training in both rep ranges also facilitates max hypertrophy, and added strength also facilitates increased volume capacity, so it all works out

My only problem is how to add endurance into this mix, without sacrificing strength/size gains.

Honestly I would just do endurance stuff if you want. If you're recovery work and rest/food are managed you should be able to benefit from endurance without a strength loss. Just eat more to accommodate for the calories used and make sure you're strict with getting sleep.

 

[Gutterpump]

http://suppversity.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/blood-flow-restriction-in-athletes-did.html?m=1

Interesting, I've never heard of this before. I usually use wraps like this for pre-workout "flossing", for mobility reasons. Tie up the area, do some stretching, full range of motion, and instantly have looser joints/muscle.

 

[Gutterpump]

Honestly I would just do endurance stuff if you want. If you're recovery work and rest/food are managed you should be able to benefit from endurance without a strength loss. Just eat more to accommodate for the calories used and make sure you're strict with getting sleep.

Thanks, yeah I'm trying to find that balance with my diet to support all of this, while still being able to recomp. Not an easy feat! My strength always suffers when I drop down carbs, even if I have lots of carbs peri-workout. I'm getting this thread off topic now though.

 

[VWMeatHead]

I can't post the link (need 20 or more Posts lol) but I'm thinking of switching to a PPL routine I found called "6 Day Push, Pull, Legs Powerbuilding Split" on M&F. Juts type in "best push pull leg split" on Google and it should be the second result.

My only concern is that, aside from leg days, the number of exercises per body part seems quite low.

Any thoughts?

 

[Gutterpump]

It looks good to me. You can always start the program as prescribed and then adjust volume up a bit if you want by adding in more sets.

 

[VWMeatHead]

Cool.

I had just become so accustomed to the good ol' bro split that I feel weird not giving each body part extensive attention.

 

[MBZ]

Cool.

I had just become so accustomed to the good ol' bro split that I feel weird not giving each body part extensive attention.

I know what you mean man. Before I got injured I used a split more often than not. These days I'm running something similar to dc training and it definitely feels weird using such low volume.

 

[VWMeatHead]

Nice.

You like it? Seen consistent gains/progress with it?

 

[MBZ]

I do like it so far, and there has been a lot of progress but I am just getting back from a pretty long layoff due to an injury so I'm not sure how fast the gains will be once I've caught back up to where I previously was. But so far so good!

 

[ManuR]

I am doing something similar.
As a natural athlete, i am convinced that a higher frequency (around 2 times per week) and a lower workout volume is optimal for growth.
you should aim for progression. Try to increase your working weight every 2-3 workouts by 5lbs
Also, you should incorporate a Deload week every 4-8 weeks (depends on how you feel)
My leg workout, which will be later today, will look something like this
Squats - Warmup, 3 Cluster sets (last time i did 120kgx 8+3+1, 130kg + 5+2+1 and 140kgx 3+1+1)
Glute-Ham raises, 3 straight sets (imo the best ham excersise apart from deadlifts which i never do after squats) x 6-8 reps
leg press lower stance, 2 sets of 6-8 reps
3sets calves, 8-12 reps

as you can see, pretty low volume but intensity is on the higher end.