Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

Muscle-Building Programs
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The Many-Named System
The phosphagen system, which fuels your high-intensity muscle contractions, is
sometimes referred to as the ATP-PC system, where PC stands for phosphocreatine.
Some textbooks refer to it as the ATP-PCr system, where the r is added to indicate
that the C stands for creatine. Some scientists don’t even use the word phosphocreatine;
they call the molecule creatine phosphate, using the letters ATP-CP to describe
the system. And here’s yet another: the anaerobic alactic system, a name devised
to distinguish it from the anaerobic lactic system, aka anaerobic glycolysis. (Lactic
means it produces lactic acid, while alactic means it doesn’t).
TABLE 8.5 Time to Completion for a Full-Body Workout Using the Drop
Set Method
Movement
Upper body pull: 4 sets × 20 sec × 30 sec rest 02:50
Rest: move to upper body push 01:00
Upper body push: 4 sets × 20 sec × 30 sec rest 02:50
Rest: move to lower body movement 01:00
Lower body movement: 4 sets × 20 sec × 30 sec rest 02:50
Time spent resting
Time spent lifting
Total workout duration
Duration (min)
06:30
04:00
10:30
each subsequent set because of incomplete replenishment of the ATP-PC system,
which fuels your intense muscle contractions. Therefore, you get less volume per
exercise per workout, which is not ideal for muscle growth (Schoenfeld, Ogborn,
and Krieger 2017). For the majority of your training time, it’s recommended to
rest at least 3 minutes before repeating an exercise so you can maintain the load
and repetitions. Longer rest periods are probably better, especially when you
want maximal strength development to accompany your hypertrophy. Therefore,
you’ll often see longer than 3 minutes of rest for the programs in this chapter.
Repetitions and Sets
Now we discuss how many repetitions and sets are recommended. With regard
to repetitions, anywhere from 3 to 30 per set have been shown to be equally
effective for muscle growth (Morton et al. 2016). However, 3 repetitions per set
are better for gaining maximal strength with the hypertrophy (Schoenfeld et al.
2017). Building strength early in a program helps you generate more muscular
force to recruit more motor units. Then, when higher-repetition sets are added
later in the program, you can lift a heavier load than if you had skipped the earlier
strength training. In any case, sets with repetitions that range from 3 to 30 per set
are programmed to get maximal stimulation of all motor units.
For optimal hypertrophy, the minimum number of sets per major muscle group
per week appears to be 10 (Schoenfeld, Ogborn, and Krieger 2017). We consider
10 sets to be the minimum effective dose, with more sets likely being even better