- Jun 25, 2006
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Posted by RazorCuts
Here is a e mail i got how Ironman Mag took a hybrid of DC training and ROB training.
RPM for Fast Muscle Mass
In the past few e-zines we’ve discussed our latest mass-boosting program that embraces specificity. At one workout we do straight sets for a max-force focus, and at the next workout for that bodypart we concentrate on extended tension with drop sets, double drops, tri-sets and supersets using the same exercises. It’s a variation of the heavy/light system—and it’s giving us some spectacular results in both size and strength.
Since we outlined that strategy, we’ve had questions about multi-rep rest/pause. Dante’s Doggcrapp (DC) method and Rob Thoburn’s Rest-Only-Briefly (ROB) method are versions of this rest/pause-max (RPM) tactic—and they can both produce quick results, if you use them correctly. Here’s a quick synopsis of each…
DC: With the this method you take a weight you can get about nine reps with and rep out. Then you rest for 20 seconds, and rep out again with the same weight, getting around six reps. Rest for 20 seconds one last time, and then do a third set with the same weight, probably hitting failure around rep four. It’s three sets with the same weight, 20 seconds of rest after each.
ROB: This method is similar in that you use the same weight on each set; however, you rest only 10 seconds and you do as many sets as it takes till you can only get one rep—and that becomes your last set. So you may do four or five sets with 10 seconds of rest after each. Your reps may go 9, 5, 3, 1.
Now we’ve mentioned how force production is the big key to anaerobic growth in muscle. It’s one reason we recentlty divided our workouts into a max-force day and an extended-tension day—max force trains the anaerobic aspect of the fast-twitch fibers, while extended tension attacks the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2As. That allows you to build those two layers of size to the max (most bodybuilders only focus on the anaerobic layer, which is a big mistake because it limits size). So are the above multi-rep rest/pause techniques better suited for max-force day or extended-tension workouts?
Consider this: Research shows that for max-force production you need 2 1/2 to three minutes after each set to clear the fatigue products that can derail power generation. That’s the very reason we consider both of these methods to be rush-to-exhaustion techniques. Because they call for very short rests between sets, they are less force oriented and more geared toward extended tension—which is the very reason they produce quick results when you start using them.
Due to the endurance-oriented nature of those methods, trainees get a surge in results when they first try either of them because most trainees aren’t used to working the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2A fibers (the big mistake we mentioned above). Think about it. Most bodybuilders do heavy straight sets with tension times that are too short to affect the endurance components of the 2As—six to eight reps at a rapid pace causes a set to last less than 20 seconds.
If they use a more endurance-oriented method like DC training or the ROB technique—or drop sets or even X Reps—the mitochondria in the muscle cells and the sarcoplasm and noncontractile proteins that do not directly contribute to the production of muscle force begin to develop, producing some new hypertrophy. It’s a layer of growth that’s been dormant, so you get bigger! The hitch is, if you use those methods exclusively, your force production and anaerobic stimulation may eventually suffer, which could result in loss of size in those anaerobic components. You want both to max out your muscle size!
As we said, you have to know how to use multi-rep rest/pause to get the most growth from it. We like both methods, but we’ve merged them, and—this is important—we only use our version on extended-tension day, usually on the big, or ultimate exercise for each body part (identified in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book). We prefer the shorter rest times of the ROB method, but for three multirep rest/pause sets, as in the DC method, and we usually do X Reps on the last set. It’s pretty simple. Here’s a sample extended-tension biceps workout:
Cable curls (multi-rep rest/pause; X Reps on third set) 3 x 9(6)(4)
Concentration curls (drop set; X Reps on second phase) 1 x 9(6)
Incline curls (drop set; X Reps on second phase) 1 x 9(6)
Remember, that’s extended-tension day—you’re mostly building the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2As. The next time you work biceps you go for max force—you do straight sets, with X Reps, on each exercise, and rest 2 1/2 to three minutes after each set. Simply adjust each bodypart workout to extended tension, with multi-rep rest/pause, drop sets and/or supersets as above, and on max-force day do straight sets as listed (no supersets), with longer rests between sets—then prepare to grow like never before!
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
Here is a e mail i got how Ironman Mag took a hybrid of DC training and ROB training.
RPM for Fast Muscle Mass
In the past few e-zines we’ve discussed our latest mass-boosting program that embraces specificity. At one workout we do straight sets for a max-force focus, and at the next workout for that bodypart we concentrate on extended tension with drop sets, double drops, tri-sets and supersets using the same exercises. It’s a variation of the heavy/light system—and it’s giving us some spectacular results in both size and strength.
Since we outlined that strategy, we’ve had questions about multi-rep rest/pause. Dante’s Doggcrapp (DC) method and Rob Thoburn’s Rest-Only-Briefly (ROB) method are versions of this rest/pause-max (RPM) tactic—and they can both produce quick results, if you use them correctly. Here’s a quick synopsis of each…
DC: With the this method you take a weight you can get about nine reps with and rep out. Then you rest for 20 seconds, and rep out again with the same weight, getting around six reps. Rest for 20 seconds one last time, and then do a third set with the same weight, probably hitting failure around rep four. It’s three sets with the same weight, 20 seconds of rest after each.
ROB: This method is similar in that you use the same weight on each set; however, you rest only 10 seconds and you do as many sets as it takes till you can only get one rep—and that becomes your last set. So you may do four or five sets with 10 seconds of rest after each. Your reps may go 9, 5, 3, 1.
Now we’ve mentioned how force production is the big key to anaerobic growth in muscle. It’s one reason we recentlty divided our workouts into a max-force day and an extended-tension day—max force trains the anaerobic aspect of the fast-twitch fibers, while extended tension attacks the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2As. That allows you to build those two layers of size to the max (most bodybuilders only focus on the anaerobic layer, which is a big mistake because it limits size). So are the above multi-rep rest/pause techniques better suited for max-force day or extended-tension workouts?
Consider this: Research shows that for max-force production you need 2 1/2 to three minutes after each set to clear the fatigue products that can derail power generation. That’s the very reason we consider both of these methods to be rush-to-exhaustion techniques. Because they call for very short rests between sets, they are less force oriented and more geared toward extended tension—which is the very reason they produce quick results when you start using them.
Due to the endurance-oriented nature of those methods, trainees get a surge in results when they first try either of them because most trainees aren’t used to working the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2A fibers (the big mistake we mentioned above). Think about it. Most bodybuilders do heavy straight sets with tension times that are too short to affect the endurance components of the 2As—six to eight reps at a rapid pace causes a set to last less than 20 seconds.
If they use a more endurance-oriented method like DC training or the ROB technique—or drop sets or even X Reps—the mitochondria in the muscle cells and the sarcoplasm and noncontractile proteins that do not directly contribute to the production of muscle force begin to develop, producing some new hypertrophy. It’s a layer of growth that’s been dormant, so you get bigger! The hitch is, if you use those methods exclusively, your force production and anaerobic stimulation may eventually suffer, which could result in loss of size in those anaerobic components. You want both to max out your muscle size!
As we said, you have to know how to use multi-rep rest/pause to get the most growth from it. We like both methods, but we’ve merged them, and—this is important—we only use our version on extended-tension day, usually on the big, or ultimate exercise for each body part (identified in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book). We prefer the shorter rest times of the ROB method, but for three multirep rest/pause sets, as in the DC method, and we usually do X Reps on the last set. It’s pretty simple. Here’s a sample extended-tension biceps workout:
Cable curls (multi-rep rest/pause; X Reps on third set) 3 x 9(6)(4)
Concentration curls (drop set; X Reps on second phase) 1 x 9(6)
Incline curls (drop set; X Reps on second phase) 1 x 9(6)
Remember, that’s extended-tension day—you’re mostly building the endurance components of the fast-twitch 2As. The next time you work biceps you go for max force—you do straight sets, with X Reps, on each exercise, and rest 2 1/2 to three minutes after each set. Simply adjust each bodypart workout to extended tension, with multi-rep rest/pause, drop sets and/or supersets as above, and on max-force day do straight sets as listed (no supersets), with longer rests between sets—then prepare to grow like never before!
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson