The Secret To Adding Muscle and Strength as fast as possible
February 18th, 2010
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by Mike T Nelson · Filed Under: Strength
The Secret To Adding Muscle and Strength as Fast as Possible
Bob Diry, circa 1914
I know you see this advertised everywhere and everyone seems to have their own secret on how to do it.
I would know, since like you, I have spent well over half of my life looking for the secret to gaining muscle and strength.
I’ve read supplement ads from cover to cover, more research studies than you can shake a stick at, physiology text books, interviewed and chatted with many top strength and nutrition coaches, attended several conferences, certifications and seminars. Heck, I’ve even given seminars on those topics.
I’ve spent 14+ years full time in college and paid a couple hundred thousand in tuition (and still will be paying–yikes) looking for the “secrets’.
I’ve even spent money on supplements, most of which turned out to be utterly worthless and only made my wallet lighter.
A new version of Supertraining came out and I was so stoked to get it as a Christmas present and bring it on vacation to read and relax.
Pay attention now and I will reveal this secret for training.
Are you ready?
Are you sure?
Here it comes!
Here is the secret from the very wise words of Dr. Zatsiorsky
Lift
* As often as possible
* As heavy as possible
* As fresh as possible
That is the “secret” to progress! Seriously it really is as much of a secret as you will get.
How you do that is the art portion of the equation.
While there are many methods I find testing your movement (biofeedback) to be the best way to put you on track.
Summary
You job now is to accumulate as much volume (weight x reps) as possible, while putting the least amount of effort (staying fresh) as often as possible (frequency).
I did not say it would be easy though, did I? Anything worth attaining will require work, but you need to work intelligently.
What are your secrets dear reader? What has helped you make progress in the fastest way possible? Let me know by posting a comment as I love comments!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
PS
I need to give my buddy Geoff Neupert a shout out for publishing a post recently that reminded me of the secrets. Be sure to check out his blog post here at Chasing Strength
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Mike,
I have been following yours and Adam’s series on biofeedback for a while now and have watched all the videos he has up on youtube, but I am struggling! I have been (trying to) implement(ing) it for over a month now, and I barely ever increase my ROM significantly (I am using the toe touch as I find it’s pretty hard to use an arm/shoulder test on your own – my hamstrings are quite tight, not sure if this has anything to do with it?) while testing exercises. (I am testing exercises which cover all movements, push, pull, core and leg work). Any suggestions? I have a couple of videos on youtube, and the most I get is an inch or tube of increased ROM.
Another thing I can’t seem to work out is deciding on sets/reps. Do I keep repping out until my breathing changes? Also how many sets should I do?
Thanks in advance, and keep up the great work!
-Ifor
PS. If it helps I am following the Convict Conditioning (bodyweight only) model as a break from my kettlebell and olympic weight work due to a partially prolapsed disc (L4 I think).
Thanks for the post
Can you point me to the videos?
You are not looking for huge changes in most cases. 1-3 inches is about all I see most of the time, so it sounds like you are on the right track.
Keep doing reps until something changes–speed, breathing, tension (esp in the face), form.
I like to do as many sets as I can to push the volume aspect. When movement drops, you are done.
Let me know if that helps!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
I want to live a LONG, healthy and active life.
If this is the goal (and for many it’s not), I think there are inherent problems associated with the mindset of ‘gaining muscle AS FAST AS POSSIBLE’.
Lift as often as possible, for as heavy as possible, as fresh as possible is fine …
But if you’re only gonna do this for a month, a year, or three years etc. … whatever ‘gains’ you’ve acquired won’t mean much over the long term …
Over 90% of the dudes I started training with back when I was twenty (2 decades ago) are no longer training … Now whilst many of them, got A LOT stronger than me, more muscular, leaner, fitter etc. they all stopped training for one reason or another (injury being a major one). The point being … I am stronger, more muscular, leaner and fitter than all of them now … many were able to apply the ‘lift often, lift heavy, lift fresh’ mantra for a given period of time … but not many were able to ‘lift long’.
The length of time you’ve been training, in my opinion, is also an important factor to consider, albeit not as sexy as the others.
Cheers
mike another great post i am working bofeedback and having great results good stuff, like you when rom increases i am looking for volume and pr every workout steady gains no injuries.
Lately I have been making amazing gains. All I do is focus on technique not effort and I stop a set before it turns into effort. Very counter to what everyone has always been told by the masses but then again, the masses aren’t Olympic champions and struggle with the same weights for years.
Tonight I quartered 66 cards and it was a medium effort. I remember when just a full deck (52 cards) felt hard as heck! Now that isn’t even a warm up.
I have been using biofeedback to determine which exercises my body will best respond to and it has been working pretty well.
For those of you struggling with biofeedback here is the deal. It can be very subjective, your goal should be to make it as objective as possible. Always use the same speed to lower, feet in same position, same breath pattern. Can’t compare apples to oranges. Figure out how to cheat the biofeedback so you know not to do that when you want to test for real.
I have been lifting heavy with volume 5 days per week with Z-Health (R, I and S and custom sports positions) thrown in daily and am on a non-stop train of progress. So Mike’s and Zatsiorski’s advice is solid.
Mike,
I can’t get onto YouTube at work, but if you search for iforwms biofeedback you should be able to find it.
Keep doing reps until something changes–speed, breathing, tension (esp in the face), form. – So when one of these changes I stop, and wait until my ROM returns to what it was before I started the exercise?
I like to do as many sets as I can to push the volume aspect. When movement drops, you are done. – Do you a set a time limit to how long you’ll wait for the ROM to return then?
Finally, a few times I tested all the different movements and none tested. Should I just rest then? This is something quite difficult for me to do!
Thanks for the quick response,
-Ifor
Thanks for the comments Kira!
I agree 100%! Consistency is key as is what type of cost do you want to pay?
I feel you can follow those 3 “rules” and keep the cost low; although almost nobody does that!
Injury from a controlled environment (read gym) should be very rare. Unfortunately, as you point out, it is quite common. Most of the athletes I see need movement help to work through/fix an injury.
I am 35 now and when I was growing up I was the last guy to get picked for everything. I was the most unathletic person around, even through most of college (er college the first 8 years). Now I can run circles around most people my age and I am stronger now at a lower cost than ever before!
Thanks for the wise words!
Rock on
Mike N
Awesome new Mike! Thanks for sharing!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
Thanks for the great words Brian!
You are right on! Part of it is not caring what the “end result” of testing is and let it guide you in the correct direction.
Do Olympic athletes make it look hard or easy? They make hard things LOOK easy. As you point out, your training should match that.
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
Greetings Ifor!
Yes!
My general time limit to wait for it to return is around 5 minutes, but that is not set in stone.
If nothing tests well, yes, you probably need some rest. I like to test mobility work as it normally tests well.
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
I experienced my fastest progress to date using a program that had me doing a 90% of 1 RM (estimated) for overhead press, squat or dead 3-4 times a week. I did from 1-3 singles at 90%+ followed by a set of 5 around 80% of estimated max. I put about 50 lbs on my parallel Anderson squat (325 to 375), 20 lbs on my overhead press (170 to 190) in a 4 month period while not gaining any appreciable weight. I rotated exercises and used partial movements in the lifts alternated with full range from session to session. Started to burn out after the 4 months though due to not enough calories. My body wanted to grow very badly, but I wasn’t giving it the resources.
Thanks Wade!
Sounds like you already had that figured out! Nice work!
Yes, for growth you need extra calories, no question! Need gas for the brick layers as my buddy Dr. Lowery likes to say.
Keep in touch!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson