Exercise Scientist’s Masterclass On Building Muscle - Dr Mike Israetel (4K)
12 Feb 2024 (7 months ago)
- Lack of consistency is the biggest mistake people make when training for muscle growth.
- Consistency is important, but it's not the only factor.
- If you're going to be consistent, you might as well do it well.
- Optimizing on the margins is important when you're committing a lot of time to something.
- To build muscle, choose exercises that target the desired muscle group.
- Proxies for stimulus, such as tension, burn, pump, and perturbation, can indicate whether an exercise is effectively stimulating the target muscle.
- Perturbation, weakness, soreness, and individual response can be used to assess the effectiveness of an exercise.
- If an exercise causes muscle cramps or weakness during or after a workout, it likely stimulated the targeted muscles.
- If an exercise significantly reduces your strength in subsequent sets or even basic movements like push-ups, it effectively fatigued the targeted muscles.
- Persistent soreness or weakness for hours or days after an exercise indicates that the targeted muscles were stimulated.
- The stimulus to fatigue ratio is a way to measure the effectiveness of an exercise in building muscle.
- Fatigue can be categorized into joint and connective tissue fatigue, axial fatigue, and systemic fatigue.
- Joint and connective tissue fatigue should be minimized, while axial and systemic fatigue can be beneficial for building muscle.
- The desire to train is a good indicator of systemic fatigue.
- The stimulus to fatigue ratio is a cost-benefit analysis of an exercise in terms of muscle building.
- Dr. Mike Israetel, an exercise scientist, recommends 10 exercises for effective muscle building.
- The exercises target different muscle groups:
- High bar squats for quadriceps, adductors, and glutes.
- Overhead barbell press for midline bracing and overall strength.
- Barbell skull crushers for triceps development.
- Overhand chin-ups for back muscles.
- Barbell bent rows from a deficit for hamstrings, spinal erectors, and glutes.
- Stiff-legged deadlifts for hamstrings.
- Cambered bar bench press for chest development.
- Incline cambered bar bench press for further chest development.
- Dr. Israetel suggests a full-body workout routine with these exercises, emphasizing personal motivation and enjoyment.
- When choosing exercises for muscle building, the stimulus to fatigue ratio (SFR) is an important consideration.
- Exercises that target multiple muscles or have a limited range of motion may have a lower SFR for a specific muscle compared to exercises that target a single muscle or allow for a deep stretch of the target muscle.
- Personal preferences and staleness should also be considered when selecting exercises, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise selection.
- Partial range of motion exercises that are not in a lengthened and deep stretch position, rack pulls, and exercises that are primarily done to impress others are not ideal for hypertrophy.
- Proper technique focuses on targeting specific muscles based on biomechanics and should prioritize stability to maximize force production.
- Stability is crucial for muscle growth, and controlling the eccentric phase of a lift can further enhance growth and reduce injury risk.
- Full range of motion is generally beneficial for muscle growth, but deep stretching during resistance training can lead to 5-10% more muscle growth compared to partial range of motion exercises.
- While partial range of motion exercises can still build muscle, deep stretching is more efficient and effective for maximizing muscle growth.
- Focusing on the stimulus to fatigue ratio and using controlled eccentric and deep stretch techniques can reduce the risk of injury.
- Stable exercises are less injurious than unstable exercises.
- Repetition consistency is important for injury prevention and targeting the desired muscle.
- Controlling the eccentric phase of an exercise allows for better mind-muscle connection and technique regulation, potentially reducing injury risk.
- Focusing on tempo becomes more important as individuals age, as it allows for reduced weight usage and lower injury risk.
- Injuries can have long-term consequences, making injury prevention crucial at any age.
- Prioritizing tempo in training can provide benefits with minimal downsides.
- Proper form and technique are essential to avoid injuries and maintain long-term physical well-being, especially as individuals age.
- Gaining muscle is important for people of all ages, including older individuals, and the benefits outweigh the risks.
- Isometrics in a stretched position are hypertrophic, but not in a contracted position.
- Pausing at the contracted position (e.g., squeezing at the top of a cable fly) is not essential and may be a downside as it takes away energy that could be put into the eccentric phase.
- Pausing at the stretched position (e.g., bottom of a squat) reduces the risk of injury, as it is the most dangerous time for muscular injury.
- Pausing at the stretched position allows for more time under tension in the lengthened position, which may be more hypertrophic.
- Pausing at the stretched position requires less weight on the bar, which can be beneficial for certain individuals.
- Warming up is important to reduce the risk of injury.
- There is no one-size-fits-all approach to warming up, as the best warm-up will vary depending on the individual and the activity.
- A good warm-up should gradually increase the heart rate and body temperature, and should include dynamic stretches that mimic the movements of the activity being performed.
- A general warm-up is not necessary if a specific warm-up, such as the 1284 system, is done.
- The 1284 system involves starting with a lighter weight and gradually increasing the weight while decreasing the repetitions.
- For strength building, sets of 3-6 repetitions are recommended, while for hypertrophy, sets of 5-35 repetitions are effective.
- The optimal rep range for muscle growth is between 5 and 30 repetitions.
- Experiment with different rep ranges to find what works best for you.
- Vary your rep ranges within several months to promote growth and prevent overuse injuries.
- Choose a weight that allows you to lift with good technique between 5 and 30 times in one set.
- While lifting heavy is important for muscle growth, it's not the only factor. Light high-rep training can also be effective if taken close to failure.
- Training to failure generates more fatigue and may lead to slightly greater muscle growth compared to stopping a few reps shy of failure.
- Training close to failure but not to failure allows for more volume and better recovery, leading to great hypertrophy results.
- Gradually increasing weight or reps over time (progressive overload) helps you reach failure and learn your true strength.
- The optimal number of sets per muscle group per session is between 5 and 8, with a total of 10-15 sets per muscle group per week.
- Adjust the number of sets week over week for any given muscle group based on your recovery status, aiming to recover just in time for the next workout.
- Rest between sets should be based on muscle recovery, not a fixed time interval.
- The four factors to consider when determining rest time are:
- Cardiovascular system recovery (normal breathing).
- Neural strength (feeling ready to push close to failure).
- Synergists (supporting muscles) no longer being a limiting factor.
- Target muscle having enough recovery for at least five more repetitions.
- Some exercises, like calf raises, may require shorter rest periods due to minimal cardiovascular and neural demands.
- If a muscle has recovered and you feel ready to go, perform another set.
- If you need more stimulus, add more sets instead of resting longer.
- After about 2 hours of consistent hard training, systemic fatigue becomes so high that recruiting individual muscle fibers becomes difficult, resulting in minimal gains.
- Cutting off the session and getting rest is more beneficial than continuing for longer durations.
- Some people can train up to two hours with good performance, especially with an intra-workout drink for fuel.
- The optimal session length for most people is between 45 minutes and an hour and a half.
- Workouts shorter than 45 minutes can be effective but may require more technical efficiency.
- Going much longer than an hour and a half is not recommended unless there is still a lot of energy to keep going.
- Training frequency for a muscle group can range from 2 to 4 times per week, with 2 being suitable for many people and 3-4 being more appropriate for specialization phases or individuals with rapid recovery.
- The total number of gym sessions per week depends on individual goals:
- For general health and fitness, 2 full-body weight training sessions per week can provide significant benefits.
- For serious efforts at changing body composition, 3 to 5 gym sessions per week, each lasting around 1 to 1.5 hours, are recommended.
- While increasing gym sessions beyond 4 or 5 per week may yield diminishing returns for non-professional bodybuilders, individual responses can vary.
- When troubleshooting a client's lack of muscle growth, it's important to ask a series of questions to identify the root cause, including non-training-related factors such as sleep habits and diet.
- Progressive overload, achieved by gradually increasing weight or repetitions, is crucial for building muscle.
- Tracking workouts ensures consistent progression and reveals if you've been training hard enough.
- Periodization involves adding load or repetitions until you can't hit the same personal record (PR) in two consecutive sessions.
- When you can't match old rep PRs, deload by reducing load, reps, and sets by half for a recovery half week.
- A Deload (DLo) week is necessary when multiple muscles reach a breaking point, causing systemic fatigue and decreased performance.
- During a DLo week, reduce training volume and intensity by half for a week to allow recovery.
- The duration of progression cycles before needing a DLo week varies based on training intensity and frequency, ranging from a year for beginners to every 4-8 weeks for advanced lifters.
- The best workout split allows you to train each muscle group hard and recover adequately between sessions.
- All muscle groups should be trained within each session, and muscle groups should be spread evenly or in a way that allows for recovery between sessions.
- When designing a training split, consider the recovery time needed for each muscle group and reduce the volume of each session if a muscle group is trained multiple times per week.
- The most important factors to consider when choosing a training modality are training sufficiently close to failure, training in a proper repetition range, and following the four-factor rest model.
- To gain muscle, consistently eat enough calories and track your repetition strength over time.
- Ensure you're consuming enough nutrients to support muscle growth.
- Prioritize nutrition and make time for meals, even with a busy schedule or stress.
- The speaker encountered an individual using an unconventional approach of "Quantum healing in The Fifth Dimension" to guide cryptocurrency investments.
- The speaker suggested inviting guests like Brian Kaplan to discuss the economics behind recent cryptocurrency events.
- The speaker criticized Martinelly's communication style.
- Motivation, which includes inspiration, motivation, habit, willpower, and passion, is essential for going to the gym.
- To increase motivation, set clear and achievable goals, surround yourself with positive influences, make the gym easily accessible, and choose exercises you enjoy.
- Consistency is key, so develop a habit of going to the gym regularly, even for short workouts.
- Gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts as you become more comfortable and experienced.
- Ensure progressive overload by increasing weights or reps to promote muscle growth.
- Assess your recovery status and adjust training intensity accordingly.
- Prioritize sleep (6-9 hours per night) and ensure adequate nutrition to support muscle growth and recovery.
- Follow a well-structured training program that includes progressive overload, proper recovery, and sufficient sleep.
- Muscle building requires a combination of progressive overload, adequate nutrition, and sufficient rest.