"The Truth" w/ Eric Broser (Q&A and Training Articles)

[dr intensity]

hey Eric,

i have been reading about muscle physiology and i am a bit confused about certain things.... so let me start with say.. a person does a 10 rep max set to failure, and the muscle group had 100 muscle fibers.

With the 1st "full range of motion rep" 10 muscle fibers were recruited and "x" number of microtraumas were produced now with every rep... 10 more fibers come into play producing causing "x" number microtraumas... and untill the person reaches failure at reps while using the SIZE principle of muscle recruitment...all the muscle fibers get recruited( ie slow twitch, fast twitch 1 and the 2)....
so overall "10x" micro trauma have been induced

1.now my que is if a person performs his reps with 70percent of the full range of motion.... then does that mean only 7 muscle fibers get recruited per rep and microtrauma induced will be "x-3" and when he reaches failure at the end of 10 reps.....
only 70 muscle fibers were recruited and 10(x-3) microtraumas have been produced.

2.how does the all or none law come into play in all this?


3.what is the reason for CNS overtraining?

is it that with every week person tries to increase his lifting poundages... which means CNS has to increase its neurotransmittor release every week But the rate of reuptake resynthesis of acetyl choline remains the same...when this difference gets out of hand... no more strength gains occur mainly die to deficiency of neurotransmitter by CNS..no more strength gains = no more muscle gains... am i thinking correct.?



wud appreciate
thank you

[bodyfx2]

hey Eric,

i have been reading about muscle physiology and i am a bit confused about certain things.... so let me start with say.. a person does a 10 rep max set to failure, and the muscle group had 100 muscle fibers.

With the 1st "full range of motion rep" 10 muscle fibers were recruited and "x" number of microtraumas were produced now with every rep... 10 more fibers come into play producing causing "x" number microtraumas... and untill the person reaches failure at reps while using the SIZE principle of muscle recruitment...all the muscle fibers get recruited( ie slow twitch, fast twitch 1 and the 2)....
so overall "10x" micro trauma have been induced

1.now my que is if a person performs his reps with 70percent of the full range of motion.... then does that mean only 7 muscle fibers get recruited per rep and microtrauma induced will be "x-3" and when he reaches failure at the end of 10 reps.....
only 70 muscle fibers were recruited and 10(x-3) microtraumas have been produced.

2.how does the all or none law come into play in all this?


3.what is the reason for CNS overtraining?

is it that with every week person tries to increase his lifting poundages... which means CNS has to increase its neurotransmittor release every week But the rate of reuptake resynthesis of acetyl choline remains the same...when this difference gets out of hand... no more strength gains occur mainly die to deficiency of neurotransmitter by CNS..no more strength gains = no more muscle gains... am i thinking correct.?



wud appreciate
thank you

Hmmm, this is a tough one to answer and really you would be better off reading a bit more about physiology and exactly how muscles work. The way you broke it down is far too simplistic and thus the answer your search for is more complex than you are likely aware.

Different ranges of reps, TUT's, rep speeds, etc are going to recruit different sets of muscle fibers and we cannot guarantee just how many we will cause "trauma" to during any one set or any one workout. The idea is to work hard and intensely at every session and to try and be progressive in some way or your body will never have a need to overcompensate and add new muscle. Every time you workout you make your body more resilient at resisting muscle fiber trauma so you must continually work harder and use unique stimuli to induce the anabolic machinery into action.

CNS overtaxing is also quite complex and has to do with many factors. Yes, you CAN "use up" neurotransmitters and put your system into overload causing a breakdown leading to decreased performance, illness, and even death at the worst level. Training volume/intensity/frequency, amounts of rest, stess levels, nutrition, supplementation, genetics and more all factor into the equation when we are talking about muscular or systemic overtraining.

[bodyfx2]

Just wanted to share with TEAM PRRS a method I have been experimenting with that has led to great results for those that I have tested it on.

I call it PRRS Burst Cycling and it is simply a modified method of the basic format. Here is what it looks like:

P/P/P/RR/RR/RR/S/S/S/P/P/RR/RR/S/S/P/RR/S

Now the idea here is to focus on one hypertrophy "pathway" a bit more than usual. What this can allow for is stength adaptions to take place within each of the weekly protocols (P-RR-S) more efficiently. Down the road, more reps with the same weight or the same reps with more weight will lead to better gains.

Thus, the idea here is to choose a set of the most effective exercises for you (and/or ones that focus on weak points, such as upper chest, brachialis, mid-back, etc) and to stick with them for this entire Burst phase. The goal is to move more weight at each corresponding P-RR-S session so by the final 3-weeks you are far ahead of where you started.

This is just another way to use the principles behind PRRS.

[BigRick]

I have done the above specifically for a single bodypart as well, and have made good strength and size gains. For me, it was a good way to change things up or when bringing up a lagging body part.

[cortiz23]

I cant wait to try this today when I hit shoulders....thanks E for all of your helpful info

[tank316]

I call it PRRS Burst Cycling and it is simply a modified method of the basic format. Here is what it looks like:

P/P/P/RR/RR/RR/S/S/S/P/P/RR/RR/S/S/P/RR/S

To all that follow Erics PRRS system..This is something to try. Great results with Burst cycling.

[bodyfx2]

I cant wait to try this today when I hit shoulders....thanks E for all of your helpful info

More than welcome my friend!

[Gunner87]

I kinda had the same problem with my arms especially my biceps but your advice really helped me. Thanks a lot. DO you have anything for chest, I'm struggling to get it bigger and to get my bench up. I have been stuck at maxing out with 275 and I'm trying to get to 315. Any tips or advice? I would greatly appreciate it.

[bodyfx2]

I kinda had the same problem with my arms especially my biceps but your advice really helped me. Thanks a lot. DO you have anything for chest, I'm struggling to get it bigger and to get my bench up. I have been stuck at maxing out with 275 and I'm trying to get to 315. Any tips or advice? I would greatly appreciate it.

You may want to stop benching for about 4-6 weeks and focus on getting your flat DB press, incline BB press and weighted dips #'s up. Then, come back to benching and I bet your max will begin going up weekly.

[rantorcha]

Eric, can you give me 3-4 hardcore exercises for Back if I wanted to split up Back between a "width" day and a "thickness" day?

Thanks!

[BigRick]

Mr. Broser, what are your thoughts on using the rest pause technique in the 4-6 rep range on compound movements for strength gains? Do you think Rest Pause or a Drop set would be more effective in the 4-6 rep range? Thanks.

[tank316]

Eric. Whats a day look like from start to finish for you?

[bodyfx2]

Eric, can you give me 3-4 hardcore exercises for Back if I wanted to split up Back between a "width" day and a "thickness" day?

Thanks!

Thickness:

-DEADLIFTS IN THE RACK
-BB BENT ROWS
-ONE ARM ROWS
-SEATED CABLE/HAMMER ROWS

Width:

-PULLDOWNS WITH VARIOUS GRIPS
-PULLUPS WITH VARIOUS GRIPS
-STIFF ARM PULLDOWNS
-PULLOVERS
-PULLOVER MACHINE

Definitely make sure to stretch the lats hard after every back workout!

[bodyfx2]

Mr. Broser, what are your thoughts on using the rest pause technique in the 4-6 rep range on compound movements for strength gains? Do you think Rest Pause or a Drop set would be more effective in the 4-6 rep range? Thanks.

For strength gains, I would go rest-pause. For hypertrophy I would go with drop sets. That said...our main goal with training should be variety and unique forms of stimuli for the muscles and CNS. This is what will keep you gaining in the long term. So, feel free to employ both techniques from time to time.

[bodyfx2]

Eric. Whats a day look like from start to finish for you?

Wow, that is a tall order so I will give you the abbreviated version by simply telling you all the basic things that comprise my normal days...

-eating
-working
-napping
-training
-more eating
-more working

Except for the 30 minutes I try to lay down for before I hit the gym (normally around 5 pm) I am going non-stop pretty much...and it goes that way almost till bedtime!