This article is part three of a series of blogs that will combine into the formation of a book called, From Giants To Pyramids; The 4 x 10 Workout. It will be hard to understand the content of this blog if you have not read part one and two of the series. If you need to read the preceding blogs that lead up to this blog, please click on the following link:
The following is the next installment of the book, and part three of the series:
Chapter 6
Muscle Damage
Of the three mechanisms that stimulate strength and muscle growth, the first two have been addressed including, metabolic stimulation, and mechanical tension. The third mechanism is muscle damage. The most likely indicator that muscle damage has occurred is the presence of muscle soreness the day after a workout.
Causes of Muscle Damage
Muscle damage is often the result of an unfamiliar training stress that your muscles are not accustomed to. This can come in the form of more metabolic stress and fatigue that your muscles are not accustomed to, and it can also come in the form of an increased load that your muscles are not accustomed to. When you consider this, muscle damage will tend to be a byproduct of metabolic stress and mechanical tension, which are the first two triggers of muscle growth that were the topic of discussion in the previous chapters.
Muscle damage can also be activated by a change of exercise motions and angles that your body is not familiar with, and it can be activated through an increase in volume or frequency that your muscles are not accustomed to.
The extent of the role that muscle damage plays in the activation of muscle growth and strength is not well understood. Perhaps the most recognized mechanism for triggering muscle growth and strength is mechanical tension. Metabolic stress also seems to play a role, but among the scientific researchers within the weight training community, some believe that muscle damage does play a role in muscle growth, while others are uncertain as to whether it plays a significant role. It also seems that more is not better. While some degree of muscle damage may lead to muscle growth, there comes a point at which too much damage is detrimental to the growth process. However, in this chapter and the next chapter, one more training strategy will be discussed that can lead to muscle damage in the case that it does have a positive effect on muscle growth.
At this point, it is important to know that the progressive changes that occur within the four types of training that have been discussed so far will stimulate some degree of muscle damage. Just to review, the four types of training that have been discussed include:
1. Giant-sets for the same muscle group
2. Super-sets for the same muscle group
3. Super-sets for opposing muscles
4. Giant-set circuits for four different muscle groups.
All of the methods listed above are used in conjunction with four sets of ten reps, which means the four methods do not provide a significant change in training volume. If a significant increase in volume is included, it will provide an unfamiliar stress to your muscles, and you may find that it results in another round of muscle damage. You must then decide from your results whether it is beneficial for muscle growth in the context of your own experience. Increasing your training volume is an optional strategy that you can use if you choose to. If you don’t include it, some degree of muscle damage will take place anyway just by engaging in the changes of training that will naturally occur as a result of using the first four strategies. However, if you wish to include a temporary increase in training volume, proceed to the next chapter.
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Chapter 7
Increase Training Volume
There are four phases of training in this system, and they are all based on performing four sets of ten reps for each muscle group. You can make a temporary change to this by doing a second round of four sets of ten reps for each muscle group. In other words, you will do eight sets of ten reps for each muscle group. If you choose to include this option, it is an extension of the fourth and final training phase, which means that you will do eight sets in conjunction with giant-set circuits for four different muscle groups.
Decrease Training Frequency
In order to increase to eight sets of ten repetitions without overtraining, I suggest you decrease your training frequency from training each muscle group three times per week to twice per week. While you can recover from training your whole body three times per week with four sets of ten reps, it can easily escalate into overtraining if you double the volume of your whole-body workouts to eight sets of ten reps. This being the case, I recommend a split routine for those who choose to increase their training volume to eight sets of ten reps, and to limit each muscle group to two training sessions per week.
The split that I would recommend is to divide the muscle groups of your body into two separate groups.
The first group consists of the following muscles:
Back muscles
Chest muscles
Quadriceps
Hamstrings
.
The second group consists of the following muscles:
Deltoid muscles of the shoulders
Calf muscles
Biceps muscles
Triceps muscles
The muscle groups in the first group should all be trained in the same workout, and should be trained twice per week. For example, you can train them on Monday and Thursday. The second group of muscle should also be trained twice per week on different days. An example would be to train them on a Tuesday and Friday.
When performing two rounds of four sets of ten, it is important to use giant-set circuits while pyramiding your weights which was discussed in chapter five. The giant set circuits provide the most rest time between sets for the same muscle group. This enables you to avoid the rapid build-up of fatigue while keeping the volume high.
Example of Two Rounds of Giant-Set Circuits
An example of doing two rounds of giant-set circuits would be to do a first round for 4 sets of 10 reps using the following circuit for chest, back, quads, and hamstrings:
Chest Muscles: Bench press for 1 set of 10 reps
Back Muscles: Seated Pulley Rows for 1 set of 10 reps
Quadriceps: Goblet Squats for 1 set of 10 reps
Hamstrings: hyperextensions for 1 set of 10 reps
Repeat this giant set circuit until you have completed four circuits.
After completing four circuits, do another four circuits for the same muscle groups but change the exercises. The following is an example of a second giant-set circuit that you can perform:
Chest Muscles: Incline Dumbbell Press
Back Muscles: Lat Pull Downs
Quadriceps: Sissy Squats
Hamstrings: Leg Curls
Remember that when you perform a giant-set circuit of four sets, you should start out light for the first circuit and increase the weight of each exercise when proceeding to the next circuit until you reach the third circuit. The weight then remains the same for the third and fourth circuits. The poundages should be pyramided as follows:
Circuit 1:
Use 50% to 60% of the top weight you will be using for the third and fourth sets.
Circuit 2:
Use 75% to 80% of the top weight you will be using for the third and fourth sets.
Circuit 3 and 4:
Use 100% of the weight that you can use while maintaining
the ability to use a steady even rep pace for ten reps.
At this point, you should understand that metabolic stress, mechanical tension, and muscle damage are the three basic mechanisms that trigger muscle growth and strength. This program is designed to activate these mechanisms through four training strategies which include:
1. Giant-sets for the same muscle group (explained in chapter 2).
2. Super-sets for the same muscle group (explained in chapter 2).
3. Super sets for opposing muscle groups (explained in chapter 4).
4. Giant-set circuits for four different muscle groups (explained in chapter 5).
An optional extension of the fourth strategy is to do two rounds of Giant-set circuits for each muscle group for added training volume.
In the coming chapters (and blogs), examples of whole-body workouts will be given for each training strategy, and an example of a split routine will be given for the fourth training strategy if you choose the option of doing two rounds of giant-set circuits. May God bless you with the best of training.
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