The Value of a Back-Off Set
"I’ve enjoyed your Pyramid Program for Ectomorphs, and thank you for answering all the questions regarding it from many people on your blog. May I ask: what is the purpose of the final set of 15? Why not just do 10-8-6 and stop there?”
Cheers,
Steve Murphy
My Answer: The last set where you perform a high number of reps is good for growth. In my upcoming book Strength and Physique V2, I go into greater detail about why flushing sets or feeder sets are an important component of hypertrophy training. But for now, just understand that flushing sets of 15 reps will increase blood flow to the muscle, which transports nutrients into the muscle being worked. This aids in recovery and growth through increased amino acid and glycogen uptake.
“My name is Alessandro, and I’m 17 soon to be 18. I’ve been working out for about a year but properly maybe 6-8 months. I weigh anywhere between 160-165. I’m somewhere between 6′0 and 6′1. In the past few months I’ve put on a decent amount of muscle. My arms probably measure in around 14.5-15 inches, and my chest about 42-43. I was wondering if i should be using the Workout for the Ectomorph you wrote an article about. Everybody seems to tell me I look big, but in my own eyes I still can’t see the physique I want, I don’t know if this email will reach you, but a response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.”
My Answer: Don’t listen to your friends, because the measurements you’re giving me indicate you still have lots of growth to go. I don’t know what sort of program you’re doing now, but chances are you will benefit from the 10-8-6-15 progam. Most beginners train like the pro bodybuilders (split routines, high volume), when they should be doing the exact opposite in nearly every training parameter. You’re not big yet and you’re not on steroids, so why train like a pro bodybuilder? The Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph article outlines everything that you should be doing as a beginner, but you need to unlearn this BS that muscle mags have been feeding you about how to train.
“I read your articles on Bodybuilding.com and was very impressed. It’s great to have someone that understands how difficult it can be for officers to find time to work out. I work at Alamance County Sheriff’s Dept. in North Carolina as a Correctional Officer. I liked the workout that you provided on Bodybuilding.com, but noticed you recommended powerlifting for correctional officers, but I could not find a recommended workout for us.
“I have been doing everything I can to try to cut down on my body fat, to no avail. I adapted a strict low carb/high protein diet, and began doing everything I can to eat healthy foods. In the first 2 weeks I lost 10 pounds, that was 2 months ago, and I haven’t lost anything else. I don’t seem to be losing any inches or gaining any muscle. I am seriously starting to give up hope of trimming down.
“I can not stop working out though. I am also in the National Guard, and will be deploying back to Iraq for my second tour in a few months. So being in shape is a great concern for me right now. I also have attached a recent snapshot of myself, so you can see just why I want to transform out of this flabby body that I have. My typical workout is as follows:
Day 1 Chest/Biceps
-Flat bench press 4×4-10
-Incline Dumbell Flies 4×6-10
-Cable Crossovers 3×15
-Standing E-Z Bar curl 4×4-10
-Hammer Curls 4×10
-Preacher curls 4×10
-Standing Cable curls 3×15
-30 minutes of cardio, either stepmill or elliptical (treadmills kill my joints)
Day 2 Back/Triceps
-Pullups 4×5 (trying to build more reps)
-Bent over rows 4×10
-T-bar rows 4×6-10
-Pulldowns 4×10
-Close grip press 4×3-10
-Nose breakers 4×10
-Overhead Dumbell press 4×10
-Cable kickbacks 3×12-15
-Superset triceps with Dips and pushups after every tricep workout
Day 3 Shoulder/Abs/Cardio
-Upright Rows 4×6-10
-Dumbell Shrugs 4×10-12
-Lateral raises 4×10
-Front Raises 4×10
-Haven’t found a steady ab routine, usually do swiss ball crunches and leg raises.
-30 minutes cardio
Day 4 Legs
-Have to admit, I have to force myself into legs. They get neglected alot.
-4×10 Hack squats
-3×10 Lunges
-4×30 standing calf raises
“If you have a free minute, could you glance at this and tell me where I’m going wrong? I notice that no matter how hard I work myself, I’m not even feeling sore after I workout. I even tried switching recently to a Chest/Tricep and Back Bicep routine, and still did not feel sore the next day. I’m so confused about the whole Push/Push or Push/Pull theory on muscle groups, everyone has a different opinion on that. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.”
-Adam Rose
My Answer: I don’t give much credence to the push/pull split routines, so don’t worry about those. You can switch back and forth between push/pull routines and non-push/pull routines, and it wouldn’t make a difference in your gains.
Anyway, I didn’t give a powerlifting routine in the Return to Copland article, because 1) that would have been a very distracting sidenote to the article and 2) there are plenty of powerlifting routines out there to choose from. But if you’re focus is losing fat, then a powerlifting routine isn’t good for you anyway.
It sounds like you want to lose fat and stay fit for deployment. If that’s the case, then a good training program to follow is the one outlined in the Building a Bigger Engine article. You better start working out your legs more, because those bad boys will burn more calories than your upper body. If you want soreness, then working out the legs with low rest will bring it. Be careful what you wish for.
Strength and Physique V1 available on Amazon.com
