Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

If you work hard enough and consistently enough, you’ll make impressive
gains. You’ll get bigger and stronger, and at first you may also get leaner at the
same time. That’s the magic of newbie gains. The less trained your body is, the
greater your potential for fast, dramatic results.
But then two things happen: Your strength gains slow down significantly
as your body gets closer to its peak potential, and muscle growth often seems
nonexistent. You also max out your time, energy, and ability to recover. You can’t
keep adding volume to your workouts, or workouts to your schedule. And if you
focus on intensity, trying to lift heavier and push yourself harder in the time you
have, you’ll eventually learn a simple fact of physiology: The harder you work,
the more recovery you need.
I set out, many years ago, to find new or forgotten ways to trigger muscle
growth without adding volume or impeding the body’s ability to recover. My first
breakthrough came when I tried manipulating sets and reps. What would happen
if, instead of doing the classic 3 sets of 10 reps, you did 10 sets of 3? You would
• spend more time doing the primary movement patterns—presses, pulls,
squats, deadlifts—and less time doing accessory exercises,
• do more work with heavier weights without increasing your injury risk, and
• improve your strength and skill on key exercises.
Some of this was old-school stuff. Pre-steroid-era bodybuilders spent most of
their time doing basic barbell and dumbbell exercises, with the goal of getting
stronger rather than chasing the pump. But it wasn’t what I saw in gyms or read
about in magazines or websites.
My second breakthrough came when I manipulated frequency. Most people,
when they’re starting out, will train all their muscles two or three times a week.
But some muscles recover faster than others, and as I discovered, they respond
better when they’re trained more often.
My experiments with high-frequency training led to my third breakthrough:
figuring out when and how to use more advanced training methods.
Those methods were developed by people who were trying to solve specific
problems. But in my experience, most of the people using them didn’t have the
problem the methods were created to address.
Instead, I saw people who grabbed onto the latest thing they came across
because they were bored or frustrated with their current programs. Over time,
their workouts became the fitness equivalent of a potluck dinner: lots of stuff to
sample, some of which would be excellent on its own, but nothing a professional
chef would ever combine and offer to the same person at the same meal. I wanted
to find systematic ways to incorporate the right techniques at the right time to
get the best possible results for my clients and readers.
That brings me to you.
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