thecaste
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Introduction:
Through constant strength training we want to achieve hypertrophy of the muscle cells as a result of stress (work hypertrophy). Hypertrophy refers to the enlargement of individual cells, in this case the muscle cells. In order to achieve the greatest possible hypertrophy, some important steps have to be observed, which I will explain to you in the following guide. Of course, muscles can also be built up without following the various techniques to maximize hypertrophy, but this is done more slowly and laboriously. So I recommend all those who want to train seriously and achieve a good physique (body halo) to follow the following tips.
Basics (Progressive Overload):
This principle involves continually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal system to continually make gains in muscle size, strength, and endurance. Simply put, in order to get bigger and stronger, you must continually make your muscles work harder than they're used to. Progressive overload is a very simple but crucial concept, laying the foundation upon which successful resistance training is built. To ensure progressive overload effectively, it is important to periodize the training.
Periodization:
Periodization is the systematic planning of physical training. The aim is to reach the best possible performance in the most important competition of the year. The "competition" in my case would simply be the summer, because I want to look the best at the beach, pool party etc. Periodic training systems typically divide time up into three types of cycles: microcycle, mesocycle, and macrocycle. The microcycle is generally up to 7 days. The mesocycle may be anywhere from 2 weeks to a few months, but is typically a month. A macrocycle refers to the overall training period, usually representing a year or two. In this guide we will only cover the Microcycle and the Mesocycle, as the Macrocycle is of little importance for normal Gymcels (not pro bodybuilders).
Mesocycle:
A mesocycle represents a phase of training with a duration of 4 weeks (=4 microcycles). So every month of our training can be considered as one mesocycle. To ensure progressive overload, each Mesocycle should be harder than the previous one. You should therefore be stronger after each Mesocycle than before and therefore be able to increase your weight on ALL exercises. In practice, this means, for example, that after one month (1 Mesocycle) you will increase your bench press by 10 kg. However, there is no weight increase within the Mesocycle. So the progressive overload within a Mesocycle is not ensured by increasing the weight but by another method, which I will explain in the next section.
Microcycle:
A microcycle is a week. After each microcycle you should be able to move more weight than before (progressive overload). As I wrote before, this is not done by increasing the weight. The progressive overload after each microcycle is ensured by increasing the volume. This means that after each microcycle, within the same mesocycle, you increase the number of weekly sets. So within a mesocycle, each microcycle becomes more and more demanding as it contains more volume. After the last microcycle of a mesocycle a new mesocycle starts and the first microcycle of this new mesocycle contains a dramatically smaller volume than the previous one. Why is this important? Quite simply, every first microcycle of a Mesocycle is a so-called deload Phase in terms of volume. In this deload phase the bones, joints, nervous system and muscles can recover well. In addition, the muscle cells are resensitized for more hypertrophy. But how many sets per muscle group do I have to perform in each microcycle within the same mesocycle? This will be explained in the next sections.
Minimum Effective Volume/MEV (in the 1. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
This is the amount of training that actually grows your muscles: anything below this amount may only maintain them. Your MEV is a great place to start the first week of your mesocycles and build up from there. The MEV varies from muscle to muscle, for larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 10 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 6 sets.
Adaptive Volume/AV (in the 2. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
This area is slightly higher than the MEV. You build muscles at a good pace without accumulating too much fatigue. The AV varies from muscle to muscle, for larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 15 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 10 sets.
Maximum Adaptive Volume/MAV (in the 3. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
Finally: the range of volumes in which you make your best gains. For larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 20 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 15 sets. But the MAV is highly individual, so you shouldn't cling too tightly to the set guidelines but make your own experiences.
Slightly Below Maximum Recoverable Volume/MRV (in the 4. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
Your body can only recover from so much. Once all of your body’s recovery systems are in full use, any more disruption to the system (training being a big one) will cause incomplete recovery during that time. So, while your MEV tells you about the minimum volume you need to grow, your MRV tells you about the maximum. Going all the way up to your MRV right before deloading can actually make you grow even more via the process of “supercompensation via functional overreaching,” but chronically training above your MRV will not result in any significant gains. For larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 25-30 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 20 sets. But note: You should not train up to your MRV, but a little bit below!
Frequency:
The frequency can be arranged as desired, but each muscle should be trained again immediately after its full recovery and the weekly set numbers must be kept. Best for most people is to train each muscle/muscle group twice a week.
An Example of Periodization:
Month 1 (1. Mesocycle):
Week 1 (1. Microcycle), deload phase: 10 Sets (minimum effective volume) for chest
Week 2 (2. Microcycle): 15 Sets (adaptive volume) for chest
Week 3 (3. Microcycle): 20 Sets (maximum adaptive volume) for chest
Week 4 (4. Microcycle): 25 Sets (maximum recoverable volume) for chest
Month 2 (2. Mesocycle), the weight on all exercises is increased:
Week 5 (5. Microcycle), deload phase: 10 Sets (minimum effective volume) for chest
Week 6 (6. Microcycle): 15 Sets (adaptive volume) for chest
Week 7 (7. Microcycle): 20 Sets (maximum adaptive volume) for chest
Week 8 (8. Microcycle): 25 Sets (maximum recoverable volume) for chest
etc.
The combination of increasing weight and volume within a fixed cycle (Periodization) is extremely important for constant muscle growth without injury and without cumulative fatigue!
It is a rather complex topic, so if questions arise, just do not hesitate to ask! Soon I will also publish a guide to supplements and amino acids.
Through constant strength training we want to achieve hypertrophy of the muscle cells as a result of stress (work hypertrophy). Hypertrophy refers to the enlargement of individual cells, in this case the muscle cells. In order to achieve the greatest possible hypertrophy, some important steps have to be observed, which I will explain to you in the following guide. Of course, muscles can also be built up without following the various techniques to maximize hypertrophy, but this is done more slowly and laboriously. So I recommend all those who want to train seriously and achieve a good physique (body halo) to follow the following tips.
Basics (Progressive Overload):
This principle involves continually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal system to continually make gains in muscle size, strength, and endurance. Simply put, in order to get bigger and stronger, you must continually make your muscles work harder than they're used to. Progressive overload is a very simple but crucial concept, laying the foundation upon which successful resistance training is built. To ensure progressive overload effectively, it is important to periodize the training.
Periodization:
Periodization is the systematic planning of physical training. The aim is to reach the best possible performance in the most important competition of the year. The "competition" in my case would simply be the summer, because I want to look the best at the beach, pool party etc. Periodic training systems typically divide time up into three types of cycles: microcycle, mesocycle, and macrocycle. The microcycle is generally up to 7 days. The mesocycle may be anywhere from 2 weeks to a few months, but is typically a month. A macrocycle refers to the overall training period, usually representing a year or two. In this guide we will only cover the Microcycle and the Mesocycle, as the Macrocycle is of little importance for normal Gymcels (not pro bodybuilders).
Mesocycle:
A mesocycle represents a phase of training with a duration of 4 weeks (=4 microcycles). So every month of our training can be considered as one mesocycle. To ensure progressive overload, each Mesocycle should be harder than the previous one. You should therefore be stronger after each Mesocycle than before and therefore be able to increase your weight on ALL exercises. In practice, this means, for example, that after one month (1 Mesocycle) you will increase your bench press by 10 kg. However, there is no weight increase within the Mesocycle. So the progressive overload within a Mesocycle is not ensured by increasing the weight but by another method, which I will explain in the next section.
Microcycle:
A microcycle is a week. After each microcycle you should be able to move more weight than before (progressive overload). As I wrote before, this is not done by increasing the weight. The progressive overload after each microcycle is ensured by increasing the volume. This means that after each microcycle, within the same mesocycle, you increase the number of weekly sets. So within a mesocycle, each microcycle becomes more and more demanding as it contains more volume. After the last microcycle of a mesocycle a new mesocycle starts and the first microcycle of this new mesocycle contains a dramatically smaller volume than the previous one. Why is this important? Quite simply, every first microcycle of a Mesocycle is a so-called deload Phase in terms of volume. In this deload phase the bones, joints, nervous system and muscles can recover well. In addition, the muscle cells are resensitized for more hypertrophy. But how many sets per muscle group do I have to perform in each microcycle within the same mesocycle? This will be explained in the next sections.
Minimum Effective Volume/MEV (in the 1. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
This is the amount of training that actually grows your muscles: anything below this amount may only maintain them. Your MEV is a great place to start the first week of your mesocycles and build up from there. The MEV varies from muscle to muscle, for larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 10 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 6 sets.
Adaptive Volume/AV (in the 2. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
This area is slightly higher than the MEV. You build muscles at a good pace without accumulating too much fatigue. The AV varies from muscle to muscle, for larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 15 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 10 sets.
Maximum Adaptive Volume/MAV (in the 3. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
Finally: the range of volumes in which you make your best gains. For larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 20 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 15 sets. But the MAV is highly individual, so you shouldn't cling too tightly to the set guidelines but make your own experiences.
Slightly Below Maximum Recoverable Volume/MRV (in the 4. Microcycle of each Mesocycle):
Your body can only recover from so much. Once all of your body’s recovery systems are in full use, any more disruption to the system (training being a big one) will cause incomplete recovery during that time. So, while your MEV tells you about the minimum volume you need to grow, your MRV tells you about the maximum. Going all the way up to your MRV right before deloading can actually make you grow even more via the process of “supercompensation via functional overreaching,” but chronically training above your MRV will not result in any significant gains. For larger muscles (back, chest, quads) it is about 25-30 sets, for smaller muscles (biceps, delts, triceps) it is about 20 sets. But note: You should not train up to your MRV, but a little bit below!
Frequency:
The frequency can be arranged as desired, but each muscle should be trained again immediately after its full recovery and the weekly set numbers must be kept. Best for most people is to train each muscle/muscle group twice a week.
An Example of Periodization:
Month 1 (1. Mesocycle):
Week 1 (1. Microcycle), deload phase: 10 Sets (minimum effective volume) for chest
Week 2 (2. Microcycle): 15 Sets (adaptive volume) for chest
Week 3 (3. Microcycle): 20 Sets (maximum adaptive volume) for chest
Week 4 (4. Microcycle): 25 Sets (maximum recoverable volume) for chest
Month 2 (2. Mesocycle), the weight on all exercises is increased:
Week 5 (5. Microcycle), deload phase: 10 Sets (minimum effective volume) for chest
Week 6 (6. Microcycle): 15 Sets (adaptive volume) for chest
Week 7 (7. Microcycle): 20 Sets (maximum adaptive volume) for chest
Week 8 (8. Microcycle): 25 Sets (maximum recoverable volume) for chest
etc.
The combination of increasing weight and volume within a fixed cycle (Periodization) is extremely important for constant muscle growth without injury and without cumulative fatigue!
It is a rather complex topic, so if questions arise, just do not hesitate to ask! Soon I will also publish a guide to supplements and amino acids.
