Get Big and Ripped

Let’s face it, if you have come to a website that is entitled Get Big and Ripped then you are interested in getting as big and as strong as you can.  However, many times the very workouts that we perform keep us from achieving the size and strength that we were meant to achieve.   What do I mean?   Let me explain.

We get bigger as we get stronger.  The more weight that we can lift the more our muscles need to adapt.  In other words the more we are able to lift the larger our muscles will become in order to be able to handle the weight.  So obviously it is important to be able to lift heavy if we want to get big.  Swinging around 15 pound dumbbells is not going to get the job done.

Now I know it doesn’t surprise you that we have different size muscle motor units throughout our body.  There is a progression for the activation of these motor units.  The smaller ones are activated before the larger ones.  This only makes sense.  If the load is not heavy there is no reason for the larger motor units to kick in.  They are not needed.  Ideally we want to work the larger motor units but there is a slight catch to when and how this happens.

Stop and think with me for a minute.  I am sure that you would agree that we have a better chance at creating size and strength if we are able to do more reps of a heavier weight.  So what is the best way to accomplish this during your workout?  Before I answer that let’s consider a few other things.

If you fatigue your muscle (lift to failure) what has occurred?  In doing so you have not only tired out your larger motor units but as you pushed yourself to failure you also wore out your smaller muscle units.  When you wear out your smaller muscle units it makes it difficult to engage your larger motor units in future sets and reps.  Why?  Because you must engage your smaller motor units before you engage your larger motor units.  If they are worn out they sort of set up a roadblock preventing you from recruiting your larger muscle units.

How does this work in real life.  Let’s say for instance you perform an opening set of 10 reps.  On your tenth rep you couldn’t get the weight back up and had to get help from your spotter.  In other words you hit failure in your first set.  How will you perform in your second set?  The answer is that you won’t get as far as you did in your first set.  You will be lucky to get 6 – 8 reps unless you are waiting quite awhile between sets.  By the time you hit your third or fourth set you may be down to 4 reps.  By your fourth set it is a struggle just to lift the darn weight.  Maybe you walk away from your workout thinking you did a great job but did you perform a workout out will increase your muscle size and muscle strength?  Well the answer would be that you benefited from the workout but not as much as you would have if you had managed your workout better.

If you want to see big gains in strength and size then you need to scale your first set back.  Never train to failure in your first set.  You goal is to perform as many reps as you can with heavy weight.  If you tire too quickly you make this impossible.

Don’t misunderstand me.  You are not to go easy in your workout.  You are going to go balls to the wall before all is said and done just get yourself through those first sets without lifting to failure.  And make sure to lift explosively.  The slower you the quicker you fatigue.  Slow lifting is not for building strength it is for building endurance.  If you want to get big and strong then lift explosively.  As you start to slow down you reps then you should think about ending your set if it is one of your first few sets.  This way you will be able to lift heavier weights for more reps.

I hope this wasn’t too confusing.  If it was you can read more about the concept here in Chad Waterbury’s book, Huge in a Hurry.    Chad discusses this concept in great depth in his book.  Give it a look.

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