Muscle Mania Part VIII: Beyond the Basics
Upgrading our hypertrophy tactics
I recently received feedback asking for a post that goes beyond resistance training basics and, “grants [my] reader[s] an edge,” with regards to hypertrophy. Though I feel that most experienced lifters will find that these last few posts in the Muscle Mania Series dive much more deeply than those lifters have previously in terms of how training variables actually work – particularly regarding the actual research surrounding these variables – it is a fair point that things like volume-load and progressive overload are common tongue in the weight lifting world. So, today, I’ve aimed at providing some concepts and data that go beyond the basics and offer advantages to lifters seeking to take their hypertrophy, “from JV to the varsity level,” as an old instructor of mine used to say. Specifically, we’ll break down how leveraging the mind-muscle connection and volume cycling can improve muscle gain. You can begin by checking out the recap below where you’ll find links to all of the topics we’ve already covered here in the Muscle Mania Series.
Check out my reference list for Part VIII here.
Recap
Myology 101 (I): the structure and function underlying your muscles.
Muscle Protein Synthesis and Breakdown (II): how muscle is made
Micro Mechanisms of Hypertrophy (III): the cell signaling behind muscle growth
Macro Mechanisms of Hypertrophy (IV): mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage
Training Variables 01 (V): volume, proximity to failure, and intensity
Training Variables 02 (VI): training frequency/split and repetition tempo
Training variables 03 (VII): rest intervals and exercise selection
Targeted Volume Cycling
Anybody who’s dipped their toes into the resistance training world is likely familiar with the concept of beginner gains – commonly referred to as noob gains – in which new lifters exhibit large improvements in muscle size and strength during their initial training period. This concept generally expands outside of the fitness world as well, in that going from doing or knowing absolutely nothing in a given field to doing or knowing anything in that realm results in dramatic increases in relative abilities and/or outcomes. If you, as a completely untrained player, have ever found yourself helplessly dominated while grappling with a friend that just finished their first week of jiu jitsu class, you understand what I’m talking about. Anyways, unfortunately, the beginner gains period – where seemingly doing anything at the weight rack produces hypertrophy – eventually comes to an end, at which point, more and more input is progressively required to continue making gains – spoken through the analogy made by Eric Helms, PhD in strength and conditioning and renowned voice in the space of hypertrophy, “it takes more squeeze to get the same amount of juice.” The long-term pursuit of greater hypertrophy is ultimately defined by this battle to surpass plateaus and elicit further adaptation, and programming progressive overload through training variable manipulation is the main tool for doing this. There are many approaches to periodization, but here we’ll focus on the tactic of targeted volume cycling.
This strategy is built off of a few observations in the data and gym alike. The first, in which beginners exhibit far greater relative returns on investments in hypertrophy than trained individuals, we already covered. The second, in broad strokes, is the idea that the body can be re-sensitized to a stimulus after a period of decreasing or eliminating exposure to that stimulus. In this case, we’re looking at how reducing training volume re-sensitizes subjects to resistance training. For example, in this study, subjects were separated into two bench pressing groups, one that continuously trained across 24 weeks and the other that trained periodically with 3 week detraining periods every 6 weeks (i.e. 6 weeks of training → 3 weeks of no training → 6 weeks of training → 3 weeks of no training → 6 weeks of training). Both groups’ early results exemplified typical beginner gains, showing roughly 0.23% and 0.39% increases in cross-sectional area (CSA) of the triceps and pectoralis major, respectively, per day after the first 6 weeks. (III) At the conclusion of the study, the continuous training group exhibited 0.13% and 0.22% increases in triceps and pectoralis major CSA per day, respectively, across the 24 week study period – nearly half the rate of muscle gain as they experienced in the first 6 weeks. (III) The periodic training group came out with similar results, gaining 0.11% and 0.21% in triceps and pectoralis major CSA per day, respectively, from baseline to the study’s end; however, each of their 6 week training periods that followed 3 week detraining periods produced statistically identical hypertrophy as their initial 6 week training period. (III) In other words, they were able to repeat their noobs gains by ceasing their training – which, in theory, re-sensitized their muscles to the bench press stimulus – and ultimately gained as much muscle as the continuous training group, despite them completing 33.5% less volume overall and losing some muscle size during those 3 week detraining periods. (III) Check out Figures 1 and 2 for a depiction of that study’s results.
This leads us to question how much more muscle they could have gained if, instead of ceasing training entirely, they maintained a reduced volume. And, this encompasses the question behind the third pillar underneath targeted volume cycling: how much volume is required to maintain hypertrophy? As a whole, it appears that it takes much less volume to maintain hypertrophy and strength gains than it does to achieve them. (IV, V, VI, VII) For example, this study consisted of 3 groups, all of which trained for 16 weeks at the start of the study, after which point the first group stopped training entirely, the second group reduced volume to 1/9 of their original volume, and the last group reduced volume to ⅓ of their original volume for the remaining 32 weeks in the study. (VII) Half of each group consisted of subjects aged 20-35 years old with the remaining half composed of 60-75 year-olds. All of the subjects conducting zero training during the latter part of the study lost all of their hypertrophy gains from the first portion of the trial. On the other hand, after detraining at 1/9 and ⅓ volume for 32 weeks, the younger subjects showed no statistical difference in thigh lean mass from their initial gains – they maintained ~80% and ~95% of their gains, respectively, from the first 16 week training period. (VII) Compared to their baseline results, this means that the subjects gained a net 6.5% and 5.4% in thigh lean mass, respectively, after the total 48 weeks. (VII) On the contrary, the older subjects training at 1/9 and ⅓ their previous training volume showed no statistical difference in thigh lean mass from their baseline measurements, despite maintaining ~32% and ~36% of their gains from the prior 16 week training period; therefore, the minimum training volume to maintain hypertrophy may be greater for older individuals. (VII) With that said, interestingly, though they lost their hypertrophy gains from the initial training phase, the older subjects detraining at 1/9 and ⅓ their original volume continued to increase their knee extension 1-rep-max (1RM) throughout the second part of the trial – though not statistically significantly – improving by 21.8% and 17.6% compared to their 1RMs after the initial 16 week training period. (VII) In fact, even the group of older subjects that ceased training entirely for the 32-week detraining period maintained ~62% of their 1RM strength gains from the initial training period. (VII)
So, what do these observations mean in combination, and what the hell is targeted volume cycling? To answer the first question, these data suggest that rotating through periods of high and low volume could potentially increase gains in the long run by minimizing muscle loss while re-sensitizing muscles to follow-on resistance training. (IV) For the second question, targeted volume cycling is one flavor of this strategy, where, instead of gradually increasing then reducing volume for the whole body simultaneously, the lifter prioritizes high volume for one or a couple of muscle groups at a time while reducing volume for others to maintenance levels. In this way, the lifter cycles each muscle group through beginner-like training periods, ramps their volume up over time, and eventually largely reduces their volume and swaps them out for another muscle group. (IV) For example, one could spend 6 weeks focusing on their arms with progressively higher volumes for the biceps, triceps, and shoulders while utilizing ⅓ their normal volume for their chest, back, and leg muscles. (IV) Then, they could reduce their arm volume and orient their next 6-week cycle towards chest and back, followed by a cycle targeting high volume for their leg muscles. (IV) In theory, the gains for each muscle from this type of strategy could look something like those portrayed in Figure 3 below.
Mind-Muscle Connection
If we are trying to really hone in on hypertrophy, it’s important to remember our goal when it comes to resistance training. Falling back on the principles previously discussed in the Muscle Mania Series, we know that the whole point of resistance training when hypertrophy is the desired endstate is to apply mechanical tension to the target muscles, ultimately stimulating them to grow. With this in our sights, it theoretically makes sense to prioritize the mind-muscle connection, or your ability to selectively activate a given muscle, when training. After all, your biceps don’t grow according to how much weight moves from Point A to Point B; rather, they grow according to the tension they receive, which is largely reduced when, for example, a chunk of the weight is propelled by the swinging of your torso or the activation of your anterior deltoids during a curl. And, though the data are limited, research around different attentional foci – either thinking about contracting the target muscle during the movement (internal focus/mind-muscle connection) or only thinking about moving the weight (external focus) – supports this theory. (I, II) For example, in this study, Schoenfeld and colleagues found that subjects completing standing biceps curls with internal vs. external foci exhibited 12.4% and 6.9% relative increases in elbow flexor size, respectively, across 8 weeks of resistance training – a roughly 80% difference in relative gains. (I, II) Check out Figure 4 below for a visual representation of those findings.
Interestingly, subjects in that study exhibited no statistically significant differences in muscle growth of the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis (quadriceps muscles). (II) On first glance this seems to reject the idea that the mind-muscle connection improves muscle growth; however, it actually strengthens the hypothesis, in that it is logical that selectively activating arm musculature, the biceps for example, is easier than selectively activating leg musculature. In fact, subjects in the internal focus group of that study reported greater difficulty mentally isolating the thigh muscles as compared to the elbow flexors – perhaps explaining the difference in outcomes between the muscle groups. (II)
So, how can you improve your mind-muscle connection? First, identify what the target muscle(s) actually is/are for the exercise you’re completing – you’re unlikely to maximally activate your rear deltoids if you think your face-pulls are meant to stimulate your biceps. Secondly, it’s important to only use weights that you can control and to use them with proper form, meaning no swinging, heaving, or incorporating muscle groups outside of those you are targeting – remember, the goal of hypertrophy training isn’t to lift the most weight, it’s to lift the most weight with the target muscle. There are some theoretical exceptions to this, such as slightly breaking form on the last couple of reps in your last set to get through the concentric motion and reap the additional benefits of controlling the eccentric load; however, the vast majority of your repetitions should be done with proper form that places as much of the load as possible on the target muscle throughout the whole movement. Thirdly, in combination with solid technique, control your tempo to the degree necessary to feel the target muscle(s); particularly, it is helpful to pause for a second at the end-range of the contraction and maximally squeeze the target muscle(s) because doing so familiarizes you with that muscle’s contraction and gives you a sensation to search for during the follow-on repetitions.