VOLUME: By Fred Hutchinson

Hi Tim,

been lurking here, but your comments inspired me to sign up {again}
As ill hit 60 next year, i’m interested in staying in the game as long as possible… so please Hi-Jack the post [blame me- lol} Or start a new one [please}

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Longevity is a cornerstone element in everything we write. Ellington and I develop programs that promote insulin sensitivity, maximize growth signaling and protein synthesis, and preserve CNS. We instruct lifters to feel the muscles contracting and un-contracting on every rep and only change resistance when it’s too heavy or too light. (We now know going to failure hinders building muscle, and most often, you don’t need to increase resistance or reps to gain muscle.)

Everyone will get older, and performance will eventually decline, but all ages should be training with the same methods. No one should ever lift like a 20-year-old, including 20-year-olds. Young lifters are usually reckless and do dangerous things in the quest to build muscle. They get nothing for it but injuries that last a lifetime.

Lifters should train to one day be super-strong and healthy 80-year-olds. Living your training life with that overarching mindset will deliver your very best gains in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond.

Keep reading and asking questions until you own these concepts and see the gains you’ve always wanted.

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Thanks for responding Tim… Overall I feel as good as I was 20 to 30 years ago , thanks to abbreviated training methods . I know I ain’t gonna live for ever , but I refuse the so called enevitable decline. …. I ain’t going out quietly :grinning:

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This is something that has become more and more apparent to me as time goes on. It also defines the difference between bodybuilding and powerlifter/weight lifting.

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“Longevity is a cornerstone element in everything we write. Ellington and I develop programs that promote insulin sensitivity, maximize growth signaling and protein synthesis, and preserve CNS. We instruct lifters to feel the muscles contracting and un-contracting on every rep and only change resistance when it’s too heavy or too light”. Agree 100%. Mind- Muscle connection is real. Strict form, pure concentration on breathing and muscle worked with nothing else entering your mind, not number of reps, not anything will make just about any weight intense.

You should sign up for the Surge Challenge. You’ll learn a lot and have a great experience being coached by Dr Darden.

Hey @Chris581,

Looks like you’d be a great trainee for for the Surge Challenge. I’d to see you involved. I’m not going out quietly either. Stay tuned.

Ellington

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Sounds interesting. Extremely sore lats and chest from a highly focused workout yesterday. Supposed to be hoeing a garden with the world’s biggest hoe. Buy a lighter one? Winter is much easier.

In the 1980s, Ray Mentzer and I would discuss becoming “immune” to exercises by trying to stay ahead of adaptation.

Hi Tim, thank you for your fascinating comments in this thread. Could you please expand upon the above discussions with Ray Mentzer , i.e., what the two of you were thinking and the implications it may have for how we train? Thank you!

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Those discussions were all focused on creating the maximum stimulatory effect in the muscle. We found layering techniques worked the best.

Our new Surge Challenge program layers multiple techniques over three phases. Every workout includes a pump phase, a work phase, and a flutter phase for each body part.

You should sign up. It’s free.

Hi Ellington, absolute honour you asking me Sir. After 40 years of reading your material, it completely made my day.
However sorry I’ll have to decline right now… simply too much on

what is the link between 'cortisol-training to failure-insulin" and preserving CNS ? thank you

Overtaxing the CNS increases cortisol and decreases insulin sensitivity (both are very negative and opposite of what you want). Training one set to failure serves no beneficial purpose. It overtaxes the nervous system and isn’t required for muscle growth. (Muscle tissue recovers relatively quickly, whereas the nervous system takes much longer.)

Our goal is to stimulate the most muscle growth with the least CNS stress. Training three times per week – layering specialized techniques for each body part – is ideal for beginner and advanced trainees. Pump a muscle with performance-enhancing, buffering, and growth-stimulating nutrients, then train on the pump.

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Is this similar to how John Meadows trained? His Reactive Pump program was set up somewhat like that I believe.

The workout nutrition part, yes, for sure.

John similarly trained on a pump. And from our conversations, it was a significant focus of his system. But his volume was beyond insane and nothing like what we’re doing or recommending. I’ve never seen anything like it (with or without gear). One day, he trained for three solid hours in our gym.

John was indeed a volume “savant.”

Ellington, Christian Thibaudeau, and I have observed a particular type of lifter whose innate CNS potentiates and thrives on volume. It gives them a natural advantage in avoiding overtraining, but it’s not required to achieve rapid growth.

Most of us aren’t wired for extreme volume – even most elite athletes – and cannot adapt to the stress.

If you’re a volume savant, you’d most likely know it.

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Where does that 15% number come from?

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And can a few exercises for a muscle group with only one work set to stop shortly before the failure.

Thank you for the question. I need to prevent a potential misconception. The number came from a discussion I had with Christian Thinbaudeu and had to do with nuances relating to fast-twitch fiber recruitment. It’s complicated and I don’t want to get us off track. I should’ve said: Failure overtaxes the nervous system and isn’t required for muscle growth. I’ll edit the primary post to reflect the change.

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the “set to failure” is monumental and basic to every HD , HIT training variation/system in past 50 years ?! volume is wrong,failure is wrong ,frequency is wrong… what is right?

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Much information is to follow. Stay tuned.

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