Forward from: Paul Waggener Official
While I’m here:
I received an email from a young fella this week with a plethora of questions regarding lifting, many of them centered around the old “volume versus intensity” argument.
Simply put, is it better to lift as heavy/intense as possible with more rest between workouts, or to hit high volume (lots of reps) throughout the week with moderate rest.
My answer to these questions is always…
“Yes.”
Autistic bodybuilders and strength coaches desperate to make it seem like lifting weights and getting jacked is some super esoteric pursuit that requires graphs and charts and studies have convinced people of a load of bullshit, one of these myths being “either/or.”
It’s not either or:
Lift for a reasonable amount of sets and reps at a challenging weight on every set so you’re not wasting time on any of your sets.
In simple, knuckle dragging terms:
Warm up with a few light sets.
Then:
Run 3x8-12, run 4x6-8, run 5x5-6…
Whatever it is, between 30-50 really challenging reps spread over 3-6 sets for hypertrophy work is a good spot.
You don’t have to obsess over every new study or piece of data that some high pitched Canadian “natty” lifter or whoever your favorite trenned out IFBB pro with $300 programs is selling.
Unless you’re trying to go pro, you can get in and out of the gym in 45-60 mins or less by not wasting a bunch of time with eldritch equipment, ridiculous workouts that call for “micro plates” or anything that looks like it involves the application of a nearly encyclopedic amount of PEDs to recover from.
Get a decent program.
Run it with focus and intensity on every rep of every set.
Eat well and rest adequately.
You’ll get jacked.
IT’S SCIENCE.
I received an email from a young fella this week with a plethora of questions regarding lifting, many of them centered around the old “volume versus intensity” argument.
Simply put, is it better to lift as heavy/intense as possible with more rest between workouts, or to hit high volume (lots of reps) throughout the week with moderate rest.
My answer to these questions is always…
“Yes.”
Autistic bodybuilders and strength coaches desperate to make it seem like lifting weights and getting jacked is some super esoteric pursuit that requires graphs and charts and studies have convinced people of a load of bullshit, one of these myths being “either/or.”
It’s not either or:
Lift for a reasonable amount of sets and reps at a challenging weight on every set so you’re not wasting time on any of your sets.
In simple, knuckle dragging terms:
Warm up with a few light sets.
Then:
Run 3x8-12, run 4x6-8, run 5x5-6…
Whatever it is, between 30-50 really challenging reps spread over 3-6 sets for hypertrophy work is a good spot.
You don’t have to obsess over every new study or piece of data that some high pitched Canadian “natty” lifter or whoever your favorite trenned out IFBB pro with $300 programs is selling.
Unless you’re trying to go pro, you can get in and out of the gym in 45-60 mins or less by not wasting a bunch of time with eldritch equipment, ridiculous workouts that call for “micro plates” or anything that looks like it involves the application of a nearly encyclopedic amount of PEDs to recover from.
Get a decent program.
Run it with focus and intensity on every rep of every set.
Eat well and rest adequately.
You’ll get jacked.
IT’S SCIENCE.