The Distilled [Weight Training] Routine (from The Ultimate Guide To Male Enhancement)

The following weight training advice is taken from Chapter 50: Tips and Notes for Advanced Trainees from The Ultimate Guide To Male Enhancement.

Edited for content

The Distilled Routine

As of the writing of this book, my own personal training endeavors have spanned about 30 years and included many different forms of exercise. While there’s no one magic routine which works best for everyone, I’d like to outline some advanced principles I think apply well to very advanced trainees.

There are many different ways of increasing the intensity and effectiveness of your workouts, and as you advance in your training, you’ll need to find ways of going beyond standard training methods if you wish to keep up the momentum of your gains. This will allow you to offset the effect of diminishing returns from your training.

The challenge comes from balancing intensity and volume of your training with your recuperative abilities.

Over time, I’ve come to find not only is it possible for you to pare down your workouts to the mere essentials to maximize recovery and training efficiency, but this practice may actually lead to increased gains!

Before we proceed with the routine, I felt it was necessary to include this chapter for veteran trainees have found their latest training efforts stunted by a combination of hitting their recuperative ceilings and other factors which can interfere with training such as accumulated injuries. Many injuries veteran trainees suffer, may stem from reckless training done earlier in the trainee’s history. In my own case, I was very big on training through pain in order to achieve my goals. This has resulted in my having to omit certain movements and practices in my own training in order for these injuries to stop recurring.

While it is possible to overcome obstacles like the above, they involve switching mentalities from merely training hard to training smart. As an advanced trainee, you HAVE to be honest with yourself and learn to omit or train around certain practices or movements which cause recurring injuries.

Methods to Increase Intensity While Minimizing Volume

To summarize the routine below, what I discovered was much of the volume of training normally goes to warm up or preparation for the heaviest sets. While the preparation should not be omitted, it CAN be made more efficient.  For intensity, I’ve found methods like the following help to increase the intensity of your training while minimizing the volume.

The Rest Pause Technique You do a few reps with a heavy weight, then rack it for a short period when you hit fatigue; you resume after a very short break to try and crank out one to two more reps. This is continued until no more reps are possible

Partials You perform only a partial range of motion during an exercise depending on the range, you can usually use much heavier weights than you could with standard sets, or you can target a sticking point on a particular portion of the range of motion

Supersets/Flip Flop Sets Typically, supersets involve performing one exercise immediately after the other.  This can be done for singular body parts, but also beneficial when you use them for antagonistic or unrelated body parts. This method not only increases intensity, but when done for antagonistic/unrelated body parts, it
has the effect of trimming your overall workout time. A Flip Flop set is similar to supersets, except the time in between exercises doesn’t necessarily have to be very brief.

Timing Rest Between Sets If you’re going for strength and power, you’ll normally need more rest between sets than if you were training for size, endurance, or other aspects. Still, you might want to keep track of the time you take between sets and see where you can trim it, so it’s not excessive. While you do want to recuperate between sets, you do not want the rest to be so excessive; so you cool down and/or the quality of your training suffers.

PNF

Volume training does have its place in training, especially if you’re after pure size. The more intense your training is though, the more you’ll have to cut back on your volume in order to allow for full recuperation.

The Distilled Routine uses some variants of the abovedescribed methods, but with certain exceptions. As an example, while the rest pause method works well, the drawback comes from racking the weight and having to unrack it to continue. While this in and of itself can help you to develop functional strength, it does detract a bit from the momentum of your training. The solution in the Distilled Routine is to perform the most intense sets (especially in the latter portions of the training cycle) in “breather” style.

Here’s an example of this breather or prolonged set style training using the squat. If you wanted to do a set of breather squats, you’d pick a weight you’d normally do for ten reps on a typical set, but you’d do twenty instead. You do this by performing your standard ten reps, then (while remaining standing with the weight on your back) you pause to take several deep breaths, and you’d then proceed to crank out a few more reps. By the time you get to your final reps, chances are you’ll have to take many frequent pauses just to catch your breath and to allow some of the fatigue to dissipate. The training effect of one twentyrep breather set may be enough to offset a full typical quadriceps workout.

Now, because there’s a drastic omission in warm up sets, it’s vital you warm up prior to your weight training session in order to be very thorough. I also suggest finishing most body parts with a PNF style stretch in order to help put a final stretch on the muscular fascia.

A PNF stretch for specific body parts involves a slow passive stretch for ten seconds, contracting in the stretched position for six seconds, then stretching again for five to ten seconds.

Sample Format:
Monday:

Quads Leg extensions: 1×20, Full Squats 1×15, 1×68
Flip Flop sets

Hams Leg curls 2×1520

The exercise order is as follows for above: leg extensions > leg curls > full squats (1×15)> leg curls > full squats (1×68)

The terminology of “breather” training is courtesy of the author of “Super Squats”.

For a great resource of exercise description images and videos please visit EverKenetic.com.

The Ultimate Guide to Male Enhancement

How it works: The protein that stimulates muscle growth

Research findings may help identify drug targets for neuromuscular disorders

Date:  April 27, 2022
Source:  University of Houston
Summary:  Using genetic approaches, researchers have demonstrated how a certain protein is involved in skeletal muscle growth. The findings open new avenues to develop drug targets for neuromuscular diseases and other pathological conditions.

This article is a repost which originally appeared on ScienceDaily

Edited for content.

Our Takeaways:

· Consuming specific proteins can accelerate muscle growth

· Protein TAK1 (Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-activated kinase 1) helps with immunity and recovery

· Current research in TAK1 focuses on preventing muscle wasting from disease or sarcopenia

In the gym, you are not just pumping iron, you are oxygenating muscle cells which keeps those muscles healthy, strong and growing — a process called hypertrophy, or an increase in muscle mass due to an increase in muscle cell size. Conversely, under the covers, lounging, your muscles may begin to atrophy, or shrink.

Scientists understand that a few signaling proteins are activated in various conditions of muscle atrophy and hypertrophy, but they have been stumped about the role and mechanisms by which TAK1, a protein that regulates innate immunity and the proinflammatory signaling pathways, regulates skeletal muscle mass, until University of Houston researchers began exploring.

“We demonstrate that supraphysiological activation of TAK1 in skeletal muscle stimulates translational machinery, protein synthesis and myofiber growth,” reports Ashok Kumar, UH College of Pharmacy Else and Philip Hargrove Endowed Professor and chair, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in Nature Communications.

Using genetic approaches, Kumar and research assistant professor Anirban Roy demonstrated that TAK1 is indispensable for maintaining healthy neuromuscular junctions, which are involved in transmitting nerve impulses to skeletal muscle and allow muscle contractions.

“Our findings demonstrate that targeted inactivation of TAK1 causes derangement of neuromuscular junctions and severe muscle wasting, very similar to muscle wasting observed during nerve damage, aging and cancer cachexia. We have also identified a novel interplay between TAK1 and BMP (Bone Morphogenetic Protein) signaling pathway that promotes muscle growth,” said Roy.

Nutrients, growth hormones and weight training all result in an increase in skeletal muscle mass in healthy individuals. Conversely, many disease conditions often lead to a loss in lean muscle mass. Understanding the mechanisms regulating protein and organelle content is highly important to identify drug targets for various muscle wasting conditions and neuromuscular disorders.

The team also reports that activation of TAK1 in skeletal muscle beyond normal levels can prevent excessive muscle loss due to nerve damage. Loss of muscle mass has a devastating impact on standard-of-care treatment during aging and terminal illnesses, such as cancer, COPD, kidney failure and in many genetic neuromuscular diseases.

“Recognizing the impact of TAK1 signaling in supporting muscle growth, our research opens up new avenues to develop therapies for these and many other pathological conditions and improve quality of life,” said Roy.

Future studies will investigate whether the activation of TAK1 using small molecules is sufficient to promote muscle growth and prevent atrophy in the elderly and various disease states.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Houston. Original written by Laurie Fickman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Anirban Roy, Ashok Kumar. Supraphysiological activation of TAK1 promotes skeletal muscle growth and mitigates neurogenic atrophy. Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29752-0

How Much Muscle Can You Gain in a Month?

How Much Muscle Can You Gain in a Month?

Written by Daniel Preiato, RD, CSCS on February 2, 2021 — Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M.S., NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Healthline

Edited for content.

When looking to gain muscle, it’s no secret that exercise and proper nutrition are key.

Additionally, numerous factors contribute to the rate of muscle gain, including your training experience, sex, age, and the type of exercise you do. As such, you may wonder how much muscle you can really gain in a month.

This article covers how much muscle you can gain in a month, including how to get started and supplements that may be worth taking.

How much muscle can you gain?

In most cases, gaining muscle is a slow, gradual process, and it can take years rather than months to see sizeable results.

That said, beginners and some intermediate lifters may be able to see small changes after just a few months of intense training.

Though it’s nearly impossible to determine exactly how much muscle you can gain in a month, some studies can give you a good idea.

One study in 30 college-aged men with previous training experience observed a 23% increase in vastus lateralis size — one of the leg muscles — after 6 weeks of purposeful resistance training.

However, it’s important to note that this muscle growth was largely attributed to increases in water and glycogen stores, which is the stored form of carbs.

Similarly, one small older study observed a 5.6% increase in muscle size after 21 weeks of strength training in 8 non-strength-trained athletes, while 8 strength-trained athletes experienced less growth.

This suggests that trainees without prior strength training experience have a greater potential for muscle gains than athletes with training experience. What’s more, your genetic makeup may also mean you respond better to muscle growth stimulus.

While data is limited on exactly how much muscle you can gain in a month, these studies suggest that short-term muscle growth is modest in natural athletes.

Summary

Though data on the specific amount of muscle you can gain in a month is limited, select studies suggest that new trainees can yield noticeable muscle gains in less time than those with resistance training experience.

How to get started

When looking to gain muscle quickly, there are a few factors you can focus on to get the most efficient results for your efforts.

High intensity resistance exercise

Arguably, the most important factor is to focus on high intensity resistance exercises in the 8–12 rep range.

These include compound movements like variations of the squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, snatch, and clean and jerk. These work multiple muscle groups at once, thus improving exercise efficiency and stimulating muscle growth.

In addition to compound exercises, include various isolation exercises to target specific muscle groups. Unlike compound exercises, isolation exercised target one muscle group at a time, providing maximal stimulation and growth potential.

While cardiovascular exercise is important for overall health, it does not play a major role in muscle gain.

Ultimately, it may be helpful to consult a certified trainer to help you put together a suitable exercise program.

Proper nutrition

Another significant component of gaining muscle quickly is proper nutrition.

For the best results, it’s recommended that you eat 10–20% more calories than your metabolic rate, which is also known as your total daily energy expenditure. This means consuming slightly more calories than you burn, as gaining muscle is an energy-expensive process.

This is often referred to as bulking and sometimes accomplished using a “clean” or “dirty” approach depending on your dietary choices and dedicated time for the process.

In addition to a calorie surplus, it’s important that you ensure a sufficient protein intake of 0.7–1 gram per pound (1.6–2.2 grams per kg) of body weight, as protein serves as the major building block of muscle.

You may want to seek advice from a registered dietitian for further nutritional guidance.

Summary

Two important factors when looking to maximize short-term muscle gains include high intensity resistance exercise and proper nutrition that prioritizes a calorie surplus and adequate protein.

Different populations

One of the main factors in the rate of muscle gain is your training age, or how long you’ve been training.

Two other important factors to consider are age and sex, which can also greatly affect muscle building.

Beginners

When just getting started with strength and hypertrophy (muscle building) training, you have great potential for muscle growth.

This is because training is a new stimulus, and as your muscles are worked, growth occurs to prepare them for future training.

That said, muscle growth is still limited during the initial stages of resistance training, while most of your strength gains are due to neural adaptions. This means that as you train, your brain gets better at recruiting muscle fibers to contract during a particular exercise.

Therefore, if you’re a beginner to resistance training, you’re unlikely to see any sizeable muscle gains in your first month of training, even if you’re gaining strength.

Intermediates

After training consistently for at least 1 year and grasping the fundamental movements, you move toward the intermediate phase of training.

This tends to be where trainees spend the most time, with some never progressing onto the advanced phase.

During the late–beginner and early–intermediate training phase, you have the most potential for muscular growth, as you have moved past the neural adaptation phase.

At this point, you can proficiently perform most movements and stimulate significant muscle growth.

Advanced trainees

The advanced phase of training takes a significant amount of time and effort to reach, usually at least 2 years for even the most gifted athletes.

At this point, most trainees have achieved most of their muscle and strength gains, and new muscle mass is hard to come by.

Progressing as an advanced trainee often requires advanced training techniques that provide maximal muscle stimulation.

Even in the best-case scenario, natural advanced trainees may not see more than a few pounds of muscle gain per year.

Men

In general, men have a few advantages over women when it comes to gaining muscle.

According to both older and new research, men tend to have larger, more numerous muscle fibers, allowing for overall bigger muscles and increased strength potential.

What’s more, men have higher levels of testosterone, the major circulating male sex hormone that’s responsible for male characteristics like muscle development, body hair, and deepening of the voice.

Considering these factors, men tend to gain more muscle than women over a month’s time.

Women

Women are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to quick muscle and strength building due to genetic and hormonal differences.

That said, women have an advantage over men when it comes to exercise fatigue and recovery, as they’re often able to handle more exercise volume and recover quicker.

This is mainly due to higher levels of estrogen, one of the primary female sex hormones, which is thought to have a protective effect on skeletal muscle.

Thus, although men may gain muscle at a faster rate than women, women appear to recover from exercise more efficiently, potentially allowing them to handle more training volume over time.

Older adults

Muscle and strength loss, also called sarcopenia, is one of several factors associated with the aging process in both men and women.

Fortunately, resistance training has been shown to slow, or even slightly reverse, this effect in older individuals.

While the rate of muscle gain tends to be slower in the aging population, improvements in muscle strength and functional mobility are still seen. This stresses the importance of following a regular exercise regimen that includes resistance training as you age.

Summary

The rate at which you can gain muscle varies greatly between populations, with beginners and intermediates seeing significantly more progress than advanced trainees.

Do supplements help?

During your quest for muscle gains, various supplements may enhance your results.

While many supplement companies claim their products can help you pack on muscle quickly, only a few types of supplements boast extensive scientific backing.

Here are the muscle-building supplements with the most scientific support.

Protein powder

Protein powders are the isolated form of various types of protein, including milk proteins like whey or casein or plant proteins like pea or brown rice.

When looking to promote muscle gain, getting enough protein is essential, as it provides the building blocks of skeletal muscle.

Experts recommend getting 20–40 grams of a high quality protein, meaning protein that contains all essential amino acids and is easily digested, within 2 hours of resistance exercise to maximize muscle gains.

While protein powders are not necessary, they can serve as an excellent tool to help you meet your daily protein needs, especially if you have trouble reaching them through your regular diet.

Creatine

Creatine is another highly researched supplement shown to promote muscle gains by increasing exercise capacity during high intensity training.

It plays a vital role in the phosphocreatine system. This system provides energy for muscle contractions that last less than 15 seconds, such as when you start sprinting or complete a heavy lift.

Creatine is found in foods like salmon and beef, but supplementing with it is an easy way to maximize its stores in your skeletal muscle and may be a worthwhile strategy when you’re looking to promote muscle gains.

HMB

Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a metabolite — an end product of metabolism — of an essential amino acid called leucine. It has shown some promise in promoting muscle and strength gains when combined with resistance training.

Supplementing with HMB appears to increase muscle protein synthesis and reduce muscle protein breakdown, leading to gains in muscle mass. However, these benefits have mainly been observed in new trainees and the elderly.

This means that HMB may be worth trying for those who are new to resistance training, as well as older adults looking to retain muscle mass, but not for those with resistance training experience.

Summary

While numerous supplements claim to boost muscle mass, only a few are backed by research. The main ones include protein powders, creatine, and HMB.

The bottom line

How much muscle you can gain in a month varies greatly depending on factors like your sex, age, and training experience.

While select populations can see noticeable muscle gains in just 1 month, achieving significant changes in your body’s musculature takes effort and time — often several years rather than months.

To maximize your muscle gains, follow a consistent, high intensity resistance training program, stick to a proper diet that includes sufficient calories and protein, and consider taking select supplements.

It’s best to consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting an intense resistance training regimen, especially if you have any underlying ailments or injuries.