Myo-reps in English _ Borge Fagerli – aka Blade...
4/11/13
M yo- r eps in Eng l ish | Bo Bor g e Fag er l i – aka Bl ade: My blog and coachi ng ser vi ces
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By Borge / May 1, 2012 / Training / 224 Comments
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Welcome to my new blog. I thought I would start off with an article I wrote a while ago, first published at Welcome ww w.mou ntaindogdi ntaindogdiet.com, et.com, the site of of an a wesome coach and my good friend John Meadows. For those of you who followed my previous blog at www.myrevolution.no/blade – I will do my best to update more often with some new insights or just plain craziness. craziness.
Myo-reps – a time-efficient method for maximum muscle growth In 2006 I developed the first first version of Myo- reps reps,, and I later refined it to the current version in 2008. It has proven to one of the most effective tools I h ave ever used in both myself and my clients clients,, and I will present the basics of it in this article. Myo-reps is, simplistically speaking, a rest-pause method, and the most famous permutation of it is DC/Doggcrapp training. Most of you probably know how to perform a rest-pause set, and I didn’t just reinvent the wheel here, I refined it building on research on hypertrophy in recent years. First of all I must give credi creditt w here credit credit is due, to Mathias Wernbom, who pres presented ented the most comprehensive comprehens ive meta-review to date on strength and hy pertro pertrophy phy training in 2007 (1), and has been deep into the field of occlusion occlusion training the last few years. Matt has provided vast amounts of data to me, hooking both himself and subjects from various populations – a lot of them elite athletes (Toppidrettssenteret, Olympiatoppen) – to EMG machines and sticking huge biopsy needles into muscles (if you ever had a biopsy performed you will know how excruciatingly painful that experience is). Do a search on Wernbom at PubMed and you will see a list of published published papers papers by him. I ’m fortunate enough to have a ccess to some unpublished unpublished research as well, obviously. Much credit also goes to Dan Moore (originator of the Max Stimulation method), a brill brilliant iant man having what m ust be a photographic photographic recall of various studies studies and their results. results. And last, but but not least, all of my clients over the years who have provided me with valuable feedback and allowed me to fine-tune and evolve Myo-reps principle principless and templates.
Growing bigger Let’s first look at the primary identified mechanisms of hypertrophy: 1. Mechanical deformation: Stretch Stretch and contraction under load load will initiate a signaling cascade translating into a cellular response, response, increasing the contractile machinery of the muscle cell. Y ou need to lift weights to grow. Fundamental stuff, indeed. 2. Motor unit and muscle fiber recruitment: recruitment: The research research is pretty pretty clear on the fact that you eventually need to recruit most of/all of the motor units and muscle fibers in a muscle to stimulate max imum muscle growth. 1. At approx. 80%+ 80%+ of 1RM (a bout 5-8RM loads) loads) you a re pretty pretty much at 100% fiber recruitment recruitment from the very first rep. rep. I generally don’t use Myo-reps Myo-reps for loads heavier than 5RM. ’
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M yo- r eps in Eng l ish | Bo Bor g e Fag er l i – aka Bl ade: My blog and coachi ng ser vi ces . , , will have to call upon more muscle fibers to complete complete the set. set. The last few reps of a set will achieve 100% fiber recruitment, so e.g. a 12RM set has a ppr pprox. ox. 3-4 “effective” reps at the very end. Not saying that the first reps are ineffective, they are neede needed d to accum ulate sufficient fatigue to reach all fibers of the muscle. There has been a lot of research into occlusion-type training where dramatic hy pertr pertrophy ophy is observed observed even with very light loads (20-50% of 1RM) just by tying a blood pressure pressure cuff around an arm or a leg. The main m echanism seems to be be an earlier full fiber recruitment effect from the hypoxia ( oxygen deprivation) created from occluding the blood flow. Research by some of the m ost renowned scientists scientists in the field (2) has shown that lifting 30% loads to failure induced more muscle growth tha n 90% loads to failure, and we’ll have a look at how Myo-reps takes advantage of this mechanism and even improves it further. 3. Y ou will also achieve full recruitment transiently transiently by lifting a light load as fast as possible, possible, but but only in the turn-a round phase from the eccentric to the concentric concentric phase and in the early part of the rep when the w eight is still still accelerating. By using elastic bands or chains you ma y increase this acceleration acceleration phase by having to push harder vs. slowing down as leverages usually improves at the top of e.g. deadlifts, bench press and squats. 4. Metabolic stress stress,, calcium flux a nd volume: The muscle has to perform perform a m inimum threshold of w ork with the imposed load load and m echanical tension. Reps and the work:rest ratio sets the metabolic state of the m uscle. Short duration high-amplitude pulses pulses of calcium into the muscle by high load contractions and rest rest between sets sets induced muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy, longer duration low-am plitud plitudee pulses such as in cycling or running induces endurance endurance a dapti daptions. ons. Metabolic stress and volume is said to “modulate” the hypertrophic response, i.e. the load is the primary variable, the sets and reps deter determines mines the magnitude and duration of the muscle growth you will get out of it. Y our volume threshold increases increases over time, time, so as you get more advanced not only can y ou *tolerate* more volume, you w ill also *need* *need* more volume to stimulate further gains. This also explains why bodybuil bodybuilders ders are more muscular tha n w eightlifter eightlifterss or powerlifters, powerlifter s, even though the loads used are less, less, they perform m ore work in less time with it. Two additional benefits, benefits, and one ca veat: 1. Metabolic stress stress “sensitize “sensitizes” s” the muscle to growth signaling, i.e. you achieve more growth from less work. 2. Metabolic stress increases the supply of energy substrates to the muscle, i.e. glycogen stores,, blood flow, oxy genation, capillarization, mitochondrial stores mitochondrial function, a nd also the cardiovascular component of the heart and lungs w hich will improve intra-set and intra workout recovery in the long-term. 3. If y ou overdo it, you increase AMPK AMPK – one of the primary energy-sensors of the cell – and this can inhibit protein synthesis and initiate endurance adaptions. This is why extensive interval interval training (20+ minutes of sprints with short rest, rest, Tabatas with a 2:1 work to rest ratio etc) doesn’t doesn’t necessaril necessarily y lead to massive muscle growth – excessive metabolic stress stress and calcium flux combined with dep depletion letion of energy substrates turns on endurance and turns off muscle growth. 4. Hormones and amino acids: acids: The usual suspects suspects testosterone, testosterone, GH/IGF-1 , insulin, cortisol, cortiso l, protein. Some more important tha n others, and the hormones seem to play more of a permis permissive sive effect in muscle grow th, some studies show rapid hypertrophy hypertrophy in knock-out models where the receptor for various hormones are removed altogether. Getting hung-up on transient elevations from what you eat or how you train is pretty much irrelevant and more of a correlative than a causative effect. Amino acids are pretty much m andatory as they provid providee building building blocks for muscle growth, but the body is very good at recycling them which is why you can grow muscle even under fasting conditions.
A great summary of the above principles principles can can be found in Keith Baar’s meta-review (3).
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M yo- r eps in Eng l ish | Bo Bor g e Fag er l i – aka Bl ade: My blog and coachi ng ser vi ces . , , will have to call upon more muscle fibers to complete complete the set. set. The last few reps of a set will achieve 100% fiber recruitment, so e.g. a 12RM set has a ppr pprox. ox. 3-4 “effective” reps at the very end. Not saying that the first reps are ineffective, they are neede needed d to accum ulate sufficient fatigue to reach all fibers of the muscle. There has been a lot of research into occlusion-type training where dramatic hy pertr pertrophy ophy is observed observed even with very light loads (20-50% of 1RM) just by tying a blood pressure pressure cuff around an arm or a leg. The main m echanism seems to be be an earlier full fiber recruitment effect from the hypoxia ( oxygen deprivation) created from occluding the blood flow. Research by some of the m ost renowned scientists scientists in the field (2) has shown that lifting 30% loads to failure induced more muscle growth tha n 90% loads to failure, and we’ll have a look at how Myo-reps takes advantage of this mechanism and even improves it further. 3. Y ou will also achieve full recruitment transiently transiently by lifting a light load as fast as possible, possible, but but only in the turn-a round phase from the eccentric to the concentric concentric phase and in the early part of the rep when the w eight is still still accelerating. By using elastic bands or chains you ma y increase this acceleration acceleration phase by having to push harder vs. slowing down as leverages usually improves at the top of e.g. deadlifts, bench press and squats. 4. Metabolic stress stress,, calcium flux a nd volume: The muscle has to perform perform a m inimum threshold of w ork with the imposed load load and m echanical tension. Reps and the work:rest ratio sets the metabolic state of the m uscle. Short duration high-amplitude pulses pulses of calcium into the muscle by high load contractions and rest rest between sets sets induced muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy, longer duration low-am plitud plitudee pulses such as in cycling or running induces endurance endurance a dapti daptions. ons. Metabolic stress and volume is said to “modulate” the hypertrophic response, i.e. the load is the primary variable, the sets and reps deter determines mines the magnitude and duration of the muscle growth you will get out of it. Y our volume threshold increases increases over time, time, so as you get more advanced not only can y ou *tolerate* more volume, you w ill also *need* *need* more volume to stimulate further gains. This also explains why bodybuil bodybuilders ders are more muscular tha n w eightlifter eightlifterss or powerlifters, powerlifter s, even though the loads used are less, less, they perform m ore work in less time with it. Two additional benefits, benefits, and one ca veat: 1. Metabolic stress stress “sensitize “sensitizes” s” the muscle to growth signaling, i.e. you achieve more growth from less work. 2. Metabolic stress increases the supply of energy substrates to the muscle, i.e. glycogen stores,, blood flow, oxy genation, capillarization, mitochondrial stores mitochondrial function, a nd also the cardiovascular component of the heart and lungs w hich will improve intra-set and intra workout recovery in the long-term. 3. If y ou overdo it, you increase AMPK AMPK – one of the primary energy-sensors of the cell – and this can inhibit protein synthesis and initiate endurance adaptions. This is why extensive interval interval training (20+ minutes of sprints with short rest, rest, Tabatas with a 2:1 work to rest ratio etc) doesn’t doesn’t necessaril necessarily y lead to massive muscle growth – excessive metabolic stress stress and calcium flux combined with dep depletion letion of energy substrates turns on endurance and turns off muscle growth. 4. Hormones and amino acids: acids: The usual suspects suspects testosterone, testosterone, GH/IGF-1 , insulin, cortisol, cortiso l, protein. Some more important tha n others, and the hormones seem to play more of a permis permissive sive effect in muscle grow th, some studies show rapid hypertrophy hypertrophy in knock-out models where the receptor for various hormones are removed altogether. Getting hung-up on transient elevations from what you eat or how you train is pretty much irrelevant and more of a correlative than a causative effect. Amino acids are pretty much m andatory as they provid providee building building blocks for muscle growth, but the body is very good at recycling them which is why you can grow muscle even under fasting conditions.
A great summary of the above principles principles can can be found in Keith Baar’s meta-review (3).
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M yo- r eps in Eng l ish | Bo Bor g e Fag er l i – aka Bl ade: My blog and coachi ng ser vi ces
Two things to note here: 1. Kaa tsu (blood flow occlusion by pressure pressure cuffs) increases the EMG signal, and hence fiber recruitment earlier. 2. After the first set and a short rest period, you achieve higher fiber recruitment earlier in the subsequent subsequent set. This forms the basis for Myo-reps. (illustration from (4) ).
The Myo-reps set from start to finish Simplistically Simplisticall y speaking w e basically need to lift a sufficiently heavy load, f or a suff icient number of sets and reps,, sufficiently often to build muscle at the optimal rate. There are many way s of achieving this, and reps Myo-reps is simply simply a very time-efficient and productive tool to hav e in your reper repertoire. toire. Don’t Don’t get m arried to one rep range or one method of training if you wan t maxim um results, a planned and strategic variation with both heavy a nd lighter loads, loads, high and low volume, high and low frequency is needed if you w ant to
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M yo- r eps in Eng l ish | Bo Bor g e Fag er l i – aka Bl ade: My blog and coachi ng ser vi ces maximize maximi ze re resu su ts ts,, ut t at is is an an exte extens nsive ive top topic ic to cove coverr an I wi save it or ate aterr arti articc es es.. Let’s see see how y ou perform a Myo- rep set set from beginning to end. I recommend 2-3 warm- up sets of progressively increasing loads of 8-12 reps prior to the work set both to increase neural drive, to provide additional additi onal volum e and to let y ou determine your daily strength level and hence, w ork set load. 1. Pick a load you can perform 9-20 reps reps with (depending (depending on your programming a nd exercise exercise selection). select ion). I will sometimes go even h igher, to 25-40 reps. 2. Go to failure or 1-2 reps short of failure, judged by by w hen rep speed speed slows slows noticeably. This is your “activation set” where y ou achieve full fiber recruitment. Total failure isn’t an absolute requirement, and leaving a rep or two in the tank w ill allow you to do more total reps, as we shall see soon. 3. By keeping constant tension tension on the muscle, i.e. shorten shorten the ROM by 10% on top (avoid locking out the weight) a nd 10% in the bottom (resting the weight or overstretching the muscle), you w ill mimic the occlusion effect and reach h igher fiber recruitment faster. 4. Now the important part – rerack the weight and rest for a max imum of 30 seconds – unrack the weight and keep going for several short short mini-sets of of 1-5 reps (depending (depending on the load used). used). By keeping keepi ng the rest period period short you will ma intain fatigue level, and hence – f iber recruitment recruitment at a high rate. All reps of the mini-set are now “effective” reps. I simplify the rest period prescription by counting deep breaths, breaths, similar to the DC method, where 5 deep breaths breaths (in+out) is a bout 10 second seconds, s, 10 is 20 seconds and so on. You can get away with the higher end (30secs) with heavier loads, at lighter loads you should keep rest rest periods periods short (5-15secs) to ma intain high fiber recruitment. I t is also productive on the Myo-rep series to keep constant tension on the muscle by shortening the ROM. Let’s illustrate the difference between a “traditional” 3 sets of 10 vs. a Myo-rep set, the asterisk ‘*’ denoting “effective” reps: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8* 9* 10* 1-2min of rest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8* 9* (a typical drop off in reps if using a 1 0RM load) 1-2min of rest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7* 8* 9* So you did 28 total reps in about 6 minutes, where 9 reps were “effective” reps (at sufficiently high fiber recruitment). Now a Myo-rep set: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8* 9* 10* – 15sec rest – 1* 2* 3* – 15sec rest – 1* 2* 3* – 15sec rest – 1* 2* 3* – 15sec rest – 1* 2* 3* – 15sec rest – 1* 2* 3* Here you did 25 total reps in about 2 minutes, where 18 reps were “effective”. The premise here is to *manage* fa tigue to get in more w ork in less time, and you hav e to balance the reps and rest period periodss in the Myo-rep set appropriately.
Auto-regulating your way to better results results There are two ways of managing volume here. First, you can prescribe prescribe a total nu mber of reps for an exercise, and I w ould recommend that you get a t least 10 reps after the activa tion set. An example w ould be (the ‘+’ denotes 10-20sec of reracking the weight and resting): 12 +3+3+2+2 (or 12 + 10). Lighter weights generally need more volume, so: 20 +5+5+5+5+ 5 (or 20 +25) w hich would also be a productive Myo-rep set. You generally just keep doing doing mini-sets of 2-5 reps until you hit the prescribed total rep count. The second way, and my favorite, is auto-regulation where you use a set of “rules” to let the total volume (number of reps) take care of itself based on how you feel that day – your individual recovery level. You will also see this this prescrip prescription tion in most of my programs where I implement Myo-reps. Myo-reps. Example protocols: protocols: 6-8 +2x 9-12 +3x 12-15 +4x 15-20 +5x 20-25 +6x The first part part (e.g. 9-12) denote denotess reps in in the activation set, the num ber after the + is how many reps you will do in the Myo-reps Myo-reps mini-series. mini-series. So 9-12 9-12 +3x w ill play play out like this:
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services 200lbs x 10 +3+3+3+3+2 – you weren’t able to do the third rep of the last set so you stop there Here’s how a uto-regulation works: Let’s say y ou had a good night’s sleep, ate w ell, had a day off from w ork, and generally feel great and well recovered. The 9-12 +3x protocol would most likely turn out like this: 200lbs x 12 +3+3+3+3+3+3+3+2 Now, let’s say you had a couple of drinks too many a t your brother’s bachelor party last night, your girlfriend broke up with y ou because you fondled the stripper, the neighbour’s cat kept you a wake, and you’ve been dieting for 3 months. The same protocol would most likely deteriorate to this: 200lbs x 8 +3+2 Doing less work when your recovery and adaptive reserves are compromised makes logical and practical sense, and you will most likely come back stronger the next time (provided you stay sober, stop dieting, kiss and make up w ith your girlfriend – or the stripper if she was really hot) v s. struggling to do the same amount of w ork you had planned to, or even m ore by adding sets and dropsets to punish yourself for being such a fa ilure as a hum an being. Stimulate, don’t annihilate. You will also note that various muscle groups and exercises have different recovery rates and volume tolerances, so if y ou consistently get something like 8 +3+2 I recommend the following adjustments: 1. Do 9-12 +2x instead of 3x. (3x instead of 4x etc) 2. Add more rest in the Myo-rep set, e.g. 15 deep breaths instead of 10 3. If you insist on going to absolute failure on the activation set, I strongly recommend a period of leaving 1-2 reps in reserve. There’s not so much to be gained from that last rep or two in terms of muscular stimulation – but it va stly increases the neural stress, and it is easily compensated by getting in more total volume at the end. If your recovery rate an d volume tolerance is exceptional and you seem to be able to just keep going forever with +3x, y ou wou ld obviously use the opposite strategy to compensate (4x, shorter rest, work closer to failure). Note that y ou can also do more reps in the Myo-rep series by doing short ROM partial reps.
What exercises? I w on’t go much into detail on exercise selection and template structure, there are many way s of programming your training strategy and I would rather save that for a later article. I will just briefly mention that I usually do at least 2 exercises for major muscle groups, and more if it is a priority muscle group (or another Myo-rep set of the same exercise). Dumbbell presses are less suitable for Myo-reps, as it requires a lot of energy to get them into position and stabilize them. Having only a few seconds of rest makes you ru n out of breath before you get the load to do sufficient work on the mu scles. I ’m also careful with Myo-reps on squats, deadlifts, and even bent rows as the accumulating fa tigue, in the lower back in particular, may compromise technique and increase injury potential.
Concluding remarks As you can see, a Myo-rep set takes advantage of the primary m echanisms of muscle growth – mechanical load, increasing fiber recruitment and m aintaining it at a high level to get more “effective” reps, increasing the muscle sensitivity to the growth stimulus via metabolic stress, modulated by the volume effect ( total
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services sets and reps) and doing more work in less time. With Myo-reps you can get in and out of the gym in 30 minutes if you are short on time, you can provide a different stimulus to a muscle group from the “traditional” way of structuring sets and reps, and it can even serve as a deload following a high-v olume phase. Myo-reps is a great tool to have in y our toolbox in the quest for a massive and strong physique, feel free to play a round with it and let me know if you h ave any questions or comm ents. Hate mail due to severe soreness is also more than w elcome…
Borge A. Fagerli
[email protected]
References:
1. Wernbom M, Augustsson J, Thomeé R., The influence of frequency, intensity, volume and mode of strength training on whole m uscle cross-sectional area in h umans., Sports Med. 2007;37(3):225-64. Burd NA, W est DW, Staples AW, Atherton PJ, Baker JM , Moore DR, Holwerda AM, Parise G, 2. Rennie MJ, B aker SK, Phillips SM., Low-load high volum e resistance exercise stimulates muscle protein synthesis more than high-load low volume resistance exercise in young m en., PLoS One. 2010 Aug 9;5(8):e12033. – PMID: 20711498 3. Baar K., The signaling underlying FITness., Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2009 Jun;34(3):411-9. 4. Yasuda T, Fujita S, Ogasawara R, Sato Y, Abe T., Effects of low-intensity bench press training with restricted arm muscle blood flow on chest muscle hypertrophy: a pilot study., Clin Physiol Funct Im aging. 2010 Sep;30(5):338-43. Epub 2010 Jul 4. Like
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224 Comments
May 5, 2012 at 6:51 am
trt
Great to have one by you in english.
May 11, 2012 at 3:04 pm
Martin
Hi Blade, thank you for posting in English. I intend to utilize myo- reps in the next 8 weeks, 3 fullbody workouts every w eek (mon/wed/fri), 1 exercise for chest (dips), 2 f or back (row /lat pulldown), 1 for legs (leg press) and 1 for shoulders (OHP, 3 sets across), hypercaloric diet. This week I ’m “dialing in”, adjusting weight a nd reps for each exercise. Myo-reps seems almost too good to be true, I’m enjoying it so far. Thanks once again a nd looking forward to your next articles.
May 13, 201 2 at 3:44 pm
Dave
Borge, This article is fantastic. Please put a facebook ‘Like’ button on each of these articles so we can recommend them to our friends easily and get more traffic. -Dave
Borge
borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/
May 13, 2012 at 4:10 pm
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services The plugin is installed, just trying to figu re out how to make it work…should be up soon, hopefully.
May 18, 2012 at 11:43 am
MM
Great a rticle and well written. For clarification, do you do all your sets with 80% ROM? Thanks.
Borge
May 18, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Primarily high-rep training but I do like some continous tension 4-6 rep sets on squats and bench, too.
May 24, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Trt
Blade, what do you think about Milos Sarcev’s Giant Set training method ? Is it legit like yours, which is based on science, or is this another useless training method ? Pros/cons of it ? I just noticed that few of the hug e guys do this recently..
Borge
May 25, 2012 at 6:42 am
Y ou wou ld have to be very particular about exercise selection and sequence to make it work. E.g. going from leg extensions to leg press to squat w ould have fatigue affecting technique too much, but if y ou go to complex to less-complex/isolation it could work. So split squats/lunges – squats – leg press – leg extensions
May 25, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Antonio
I have a rthritis rheumatoide that m anifests itself as a severe leg pain after stress and whatnot, but doesn’t affect that much my upper body for some reason, at least for now. How would you go on about if you had nothing to train but just the upper body ? (Just leav e this unpublished if this goes too mu ch on personal training side)
Borge
May 25, 2012 at 2:54 pm
I would train the upper body then. Not sure what you´re asking.
May 27, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Jam
Hi Borge , When performing the myo reps after the activation set, should they be to failure? Also, should one decrease the weights it they can’t complete the myo reps at the w eight used for the activation sets? What are some exercises that w ould work well w ith myo reps? Thanks!
Borge
borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/
May 28, 2012 at 6:32 am
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services Y ou have to balance fa tigue/failure in order to do enough work with a g iven load. Sometimes you´ll hit failure, sometimes it´s better to stay aw ay from fa ilure. It´s a means to a n end, not an end goal. Y ou may reduce the load, something also known as a “drop-set” so not really Myo-reps per se – but definitely doable. I specifically mentioned which exercises were less than optimal for My o-reps, so all other exercises than those m entioned would work w ell.
June 1, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Dieff
Borge, I will follow the suggestion of 2-split training given in the fourth part of the article on my o-reps on the site MyRevolution (http://myrevolution.no/s/myo-reps-del-4-baseversjonen/). However, since you suggest two exercises for the back, was in doubt concerning about the total v olume in my o-reps set. Must I mantain 1 5 reps in myo-rep set or, since they are tw o exercises for the same group, mu st decrease to 10 reps in myo-reps set for each exercise? Thanks in advance
June 1, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Borge
If you can handle it, more volume is generally better.
June 10, 2012 at 12:21 am
Jeff
Borge, Interesting stuff…gonna have to give it a try! Is there any way you could translate the article that Dieff linked to in the comment above? That’d be cool..if not no w orries. Thanks for your time a nd wisdom. Jeff
Borge
June 10, 2012 at 7:51 am
Nah…just use Google Translate I have several other articles in the works, I don´t want to spend time tediously translating something I´ ve already w ritten…
Dieff
June 11, 2012 at 4:16 am
http://blog.superbootcamps.co.uk/2011/w eight-training/myo-reps-part-1-the-evolution-and-revolution by-borge-fagerli/ Myo-reps in english! Enjoy
Massimo
June 15, 2012 at 2:30 pm
And what about the gradual increase of the weight on the barbell? Do you suggest to increase it when in the first set you go over the initial number of reps (example: from 8 to 10)? Many than ks in advance!
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June 15, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Borge
Y es.
June 15, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Luke
Is this recommended for beginners?
June 15, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Borge
Not needed until you have a t least 2-3 months of regular training under your belt.
June 20, 2012 at 5:40 pm
norath
I was really surprised by the strength gains you get from my oreps/rest-pause. I’m now doing a full dc template, after this going to try a fu ll myorep routine. Did you ever try rest-pause as Dan te Trudel explains it and did you like it?
June 20, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Borge
Y es, I did – I w as actually coached by Super-D for a while. For me, it was too little volume and I felt slightly burned out on it. I ´ve been doing various cycles of higher volume a nd higher frequency with mu ch greater success. I´m n ow training 6 days/w eek and feel better, look better, and improve more. Combination of RPE-based training and Myo-reps.
June 21, 2012 at 12:17 pm
norath
I ha ven’t felt burned out yet, low volum e and few exercise are keeping the recovery in check for me. What frequency do you use in 6x week training? It w ill take some time to adjust to that 6x w eek for sure after this. I’ll start with 1.5-2 frequency for four-three times per week when I’m done w ith this cycle of DC.
Borge June 21, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Right now I´m hitting every muscle 2x/week, up to 3-4x/week if there´s something I want to specialize in. You can see my general philosophy on dynamic periodization (I w ill get an article published in the near future) here: http://www.predatornutrition.com/An-Interview-with-BorgeFagerli-aka-Blade
norath June 21, 201 2 at 3:08 pm
Thank you.
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services July 1 0, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Serguei
Do you use a ny type of load’s strategic planning for Myo-R eps? I saw in y our earlier publications, that you used a sort of HST-like setup that time….
July 10 , 2012 at 7:54 pm
Borge
Y es, I constantly vary reps – just like I do in the program I’ve set up for you The linear progression is mostly for beginners.
January 3, 2013 at 7:39 pm
rihad
> The linear progression is mostly for beginners. What about linear progression (as in HST) combined with a period of Strategic Deconditioning? As its author says, HST is equally well suited for seasoned athletes. You wrote so much about it in the past. You do not believe in its principles any more?
Borge January 4, 2013 at 9:16 pm
I’m still not sold on SD, although there are studies showing you don’t lose much during a short period of rest, and growth plays “catch-up” once you start training again. I still wouldn’t necessarily recommend 1-2 w eeks of rest more than 1-2 times per year. Other than that, the HST principles of progression, frequency and overall volume a re still basic and true.
July 1 1, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Bruce
I read the predator nutrition interview, and it appeared that you recommend a ccumulation intensification phases in some situations. I ta ke it this is when you are not using a DUP model? Is accum /intense more appropriate for intermediates? Thank you!
Borge
July 1 2, 2012 at 6:06 am
As you get more advanced, some sort of volume increase is inevitable – and preplanning it in phases is a good way to go about it. I’m working on an article on dynamic periodization which w ill delve deeper into that area. You ca n apply DUP on top of accumulation and intensification phases.
Bruce
July 1 3, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Borge, I love myo reps because i don’t have a lot of time to train. Is a triple drop ok on Squats and RDLs since myo reps are not safe on these excercises? if so, would you use a longer than 30 second rest? Thank you!
Darren
borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/
Au gust 2 , 20 12 at 1 :58 a m
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services @Bruce, I’m sure Borge just missed your question but I have asked him similar on MyR evolution forum and it is fine to use drop sets with squat/deadlift etc. Should look here for ideas on how he uses drop sets- http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c? act=url&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=no&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://myrevolution.no/s/a regulering-for-optimale-%25C3%25B8kninger-i-styrke-ogmuskelmasse/&usg=ALkJrhhtvJCM9P0UFQzZC4OiikxfxKTLDw
Au gust 2 0, 2 01 2 at 2 :50 pm
Per Brisk
Borge I have a practical question about doing myo-reps. When using all the techniques to reach higher fiber recruitment, like doing every lift a s fast a s possible and also keeping constant tension on the muscle during a set, it limits the number of reps I can do in the activation set severely. I end up with being able to only do 10 or 11 reps with a weight I otherwise could lift 15-20 times. I seem to end up training with very light w eights, and it is quite tempting to skip the above mentioned techniques. So wha t should I do? Great to see you with your own site!
Au gust 2 0, 2 01 2 at 3 :21 pm
Borge
Well, you have to choose – do you w ant to train your m uscles to get stronger, or train your ego and stay where you are? By performing reps correctly you WILL get stronger.
Au gust 2 1, 20 12 at 3 :30 pm
Per Brisk
OK:)
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September 3, 2012 at 8:20 pm
2ndLtFjun
Super article. I got started with myoreps and experimenting a bit w ith the autoregulation “feature”. Really love the fast intense workouts, and I had some massive DOMS too from the high rep beginning workouts. Let’s say I get 11 reps on the activation set, then m ove on to +3 +3 +2 before dropping lifting speed significantly. Then it’s time to stop. Is this a good wa y to think? Or should I stop the activation set a bit earlier so I can get in m ore work afterwa rds to get closer to the 912 +1 5 recommendation, alternatively take longer pauses between the extra sets? What’s better? Thanks a lot.
September 3, 201 2 at 8:25 pm
Borge
Y ou got it right in the first example, and this will work itself out just fine – on some exercises (mostly pressing) you will see a significant drop off and thus get a lower total volume, whereas on back, bis and legs you usually get a lot more – wh ich ties in with mu scle fiber makeup and also what volume an d rep ranges these muscles respond better to. However, playing around w ith the rest period to get in more total reps now and then is also fine. Read my article on Dynamic Periodization for more info: http://myrevolution.no/s/tren-optimalt-med-dynamisk-periodisering/
2ndLtFjun
borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/
September 6, 2012 at 8:32 am
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services Thanks for the answer. I can see this in pressing exercises just as you say , and especially if I for example do a shoulder exercise after benching (wh ich is pretty logical). Doing an 8 w eek experiment combining myoreps and the biorhytm diet right now and feel awesome on it so far.
September 9, 2012 at 7 :46 pm
Frank
Borge, I’ve read your article about dynamic periodization (amazing article, by the way) and I have a couple of questions about the frequency progression that you outlined there. Y ou wrote that af ter a deloading period, it’s useful to train with high frequency (every muscle group 4-6 days a w eek) and 15-20 reps. How long generally this training phase last? Do you keep high reps/high frequency throughout it or do you scale both down while increasing intensity and v olume? Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!
Borge
September 9, 2012 at 10 :20 pm
As per the point of the article – “when it stops working”…or to be more useful, probably about 2-3 weeks as that is w hen you ha ve to increase loads further and a high training frequency might not be sustainable.
September 28, 2012 at 8:04 am
andrew
Hi Borge, I found out about you through the HST forums. Is it a good idea to run my HST cycle exclusively using Myo-reps with auto-regulation? This will be my 4th cycle, so I want to set it up with an undulating periodizaation style (monday 20 rep, wed, 8 rep, fri 12 rep). I’m not doing the usual 15, 10, 5 as I have done it the last 3 cycles already. The only difference between this and HST is that I w ill obviously be working with near m axes from the very beginning to use Myo-rep style. It w ill still be 3 days a w eek with 1 complex exercise per bodypart with a few iso’s (9 reps total).
Borge
September 28, 2012 at 8:32 am
Y es, that is actually a very good wa y to implement Myo-reps.
andrew
September 28, 2012 at 8:07 am
Edit: I mea n 9 exercises total
andrew
September 30, 2012 at 5:03 am
Hi Borge, thank y ou for responding to my question. As a follow u p question,since HST uses full body 3x a week,would it make sense to break the body over 2 days and maybe do 4 sessions per week which w ould work each bodypart 2x a w eek? The reason behind this thinking is that myo reps are a lot more demanding than straight sets, so my concern is that I would burn out u sing myoreps within a traditional HST cycle. What are your thoug hts ?
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October 2, 2012 at 8:31 am
I don’t really consider Myo-reps more demanding, in fact research demonstrates the restpause technique to be less demanding than straight sets. But sure, a 2x/w eek frequency, especially when y ou get into 5s, is fine.
October 8, 201 2 at 9:27 pm
Andrew
I really appreciate your help Borge. One fina l question… I outlined a routine for myself for my next cycle after this current HST undulating cycle I am doing. The routine that I outlined will exclusively use Myoreps auto-regulation style also with each day being a different rep range (Daily Undulating Periodization). The format w ill be A/B where A has one half of the body trained which includes squats and B is the other half of the body w hich has Sumo Deadlifts. Since I would do A and B each 2x per week on a Mon/Tues/Thur/Fri schedule, wou ld it be too much to do Squats day 1 , deadlifts day 2, squats day 4, and deadlifts again day 5 all using My o-Rep auto regulation? This is in addition to all the other exercises I would be doing. Don’t mean to ma ke this message too lengthy, but let me just quickly give you the proposed routine… A: reverse pulldowns, barbell rows, cable tri extension, deadlift, Abs B: shoulder press, dumbell laterals/rear, incline bench, bodyweight pushups, barbell curls, squats, obliques Day 1 – Light (20RM) Day 2 – Heavy (8RM) Day 3 – Medium (12 RM) So weeks 1 and 2 w ould look like this: Mon 20RM workout A, Tues 20 RM workout B, Thur 8RM workout A, Fri 8RM workout B, Mon 1 2RM workout A, Tues 12RM workout B, Thurs 20RM w orkout A, Fri, 20RM workout B My initial thoughts are to try out the routine as I plan on a 4 day per week schedule and if I feel like I’m overreaching and weights/reps aren’t going up every so often, then I would turn it into a 3x per week schedule: Mon – Wed – Fri (wk1 A B A) (wk 2 B A B). Also, I am strongly considering doing a 1 w eek break after every 4 w eeks of working out to keep the nervous system in check. I am still striving to follow HST principles as I really believe in them, but it feels like I’m a lmost going to be doing an HST / DC hybrid using Myo-Reps instead of rest-pause failure sets. Again, I didn’t mean to make the message this long, but I just wanted to get everything off of my chest. Thank you!
Borge
October 9, 2012 at 8:04 am
I have lifters doing squats 4-6 days per week, often on the same day a s deadlifts – so it just depends on how you manag e the volume/intensity and what your exercise tolerance is. And you know that better than me. Exercise tolerance is also trainable. How long is a rope? It depends.
Andrew
October 10, 2012 at 4:06 am
Thanks for your advice Borge. I think the best thing for me to do is try the routine as outlined with squats and deadlifts 4x a week and if m y body tells me that it cannot ha ndle it after a given period of time, then I will listen to my body and back down a bit. The changes that I would ma ke would either be to change to a 3x A B A routine O R to keep 4 days per week but only do squats and deadlifts 2x per week instead of 4x per week.
john
October 15, 2012 at 11:04 am
hey Borge..regarding frequency per muscle group do you think that for an intermediate lifter it’s better to hit everything two times per week/every 5th day in a training circle as ma ny recommend or given sufficient volume once per week can be optimal? note that I ’m talking about strictly size gains. Thanks a lot.
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Borge
October 15, 20 12 at 11 :48 am
I think twice/week is minimum, but frequency should vary – use Google Translate on my article here: http://myrevolution.no/s/tren-optimalt-med-dynamisk-periodisering/
October 21, 2012 at 11:36 pm
andrew
hey Borge, I know this may sound like a very beginner and amateur question, but if I were to do myo-reps and ONLY myo-reps for the rest of my life hitting each muscle group 2x a week with 1 compound exercise per bodypart, wou ld it be possible to reach my genetic muscular potential assuming that diet is 100% in check?
Borge
October 22, 2012 at 8:21 am
It sounds more like a hypothetical but somewha t unrealistic question to m e, people get bored over time and w ill not stick to the same method and frequency forever – but the answ er is: yes.
October 22, 2012 at 9:34 am
andrew
I can assure you Borge that boredom for me has no bearing on how I workout… only the effectiveness of the workout routine. Results aren’t ever boring and I ca n continue doing the same thing every w eek for 20 years if it will bring about continuous results without me having to devote a lot of time in changing to different workout routines. So that “Yes” you gave me means that for the next year, I will only do myoreps on a 4x a week basis hitting each bodypart 2x a week. Utilizing myo-reps means that workout will probably take 45 min to an hour each w hich fits into my schedule quite well. As long as results keep coming, I will remain very happy.
October 29, 2012 at 7 :42 pm
Andrew
Hi Borge, I w as just wondering… if following a routine that exlusively consists of myo-reps can bring me to my genetic potential, then what is the point of “switching it up” so to speak. A lot of bodybuilders mention that no routine w orks forever, which is there reason for switching their routines every 6 weeks or so, but you mentioned that only doing myo-reps with 1 or 2 exercises per bodypart 4x a w eek can bring one to their genetic muscular potential.
Borge
October 29, 2012 at 8:57 pm
I don’t believe a huge a mount of v ariation is needed, and it will be counterproductive to just “switch it up” randomly, but if you want to know how I periodize you will have to wait for my Dy namic Periodization article.
Andrew
October 29, 2012 at 9:43 pm
I will definitely read that once it comes out. I would also like to mention that my myo-rep routine will already include undulating daily periodization which I would think wou ld provide all of the “change” I need without actually having to create new routines. Also, I think hitting each bodypart 2 x a week in an upper/lower split using exclusively a uto-regulation my o-reps for every exercise w ill provide all the stimulation the muscle needs. And since it is auto-regulation, my body will tell me w hen it is ready to go up in weight an d/or reps for each exercise in all of the different rep ranges I would be using. I don’t think I would ever need to change my routine again. I ’m assuming that you agree with me.
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Borge
October 29, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Well, it might and it might not. There is a volume threshold for optimal hypertrophy and as you get more advanced you ca n tolerate more volume – and you probably also NEED more volume. However, this must be balanced with a sufficiently high frequency, and I consider 2x/week minimal. Some short phases with less volume but higher frequency (4- 6x week) ca n be very productive. The basic routine, or at least exercise selection and structure might not need to change much at all, no.
October 29, 2012 at 10:18 pm
Andrew
Ok, thank you!
October 30, 201 2 at 12:39 am
andrew
“Borge, allow me to beg your indulgence once more. I reread your last message and I realize what you mean by “volume threshold for optimal hypertrophy”. However, this seems to contradict the w hole idea of auto-regulation w here your body regulates the volume based on a set of certain parameters, in our case, Myo-Reps. Even if one w ere to switch to a higher frequency protocol working each body-part 4 times per week, then wouldn’t myo-reps still take care of the volume aspect? From your m essage, it almost seems as if you are saying that we should set a total volume per body-part goal within a week’s time, but in the same time, based on your article, you are saying that auto-regulation within the parameters of Myo-Reps is the best approach. Are these two aspects of auto-regulation vs. volume threshold dualities or is there a solution to this conundrum?”
Borge
October 30, 2012 at 7 :51 am
Well, obviously as you g et more advanced and your volume threshold increases, your volume *tolerance* also increases – so a uto-regulation takes care of it, at least w ithin reason. However, you still have to monitor progress and determine whether w hat you are doing is working for you. Ev en with an effective training method and a “perfect” program there is still no guara ntees. The downside of auto-regulation is that some m ay not be able to push themselves to the point where optimal progress is realized. Let’s say you started grinding on rep 6 and thought to yourself “ok, I’ll stop here, this is an RPE 9″. Then someone offered you a million dollars if you could get to 10 reps, and if not you they wou ld empty your bank accounts and kill your fa mily. Could you get 10 reps? Just a thought experiment, of course… My point is that although My o-reps is an effective training method, and training twice a week with 1 -2 Myo-rep sets on a couple of exercises SHOULD be sufficient to get you to where you w ant to be, there are too many variables involved to say that you w ould reach it in the shortest amount of time possible, or that m ore volume/frequency/intensity w ouldn’t work better. I’m sorry if that triggered your paranoia/OCD, but that is just a cold, hard truth you hav e to accept – it is one of the driving motivators behind my own eternal search for whatever training va riable and programming idea will improve results in both myself and the people I share m y know ledge with. Also read this: http://myrevolution.no/blade/2011/11/02/the-perfect-program/
andrew
October 30, 201 2 at 9:29 am
I appreciate the explanation, thank you. I’m sure you recognized my OCD/paranoia, hahaha. I definitely like the idea of My o-Reps because it reminds me of DC w hich I know ga ve ma ny people good results, on AAS and and not on AAS. Rest-pause seems to be very effective. It seems like the best thing that a trainer who is training to achieve a mu scular physique can do is keep a written log of their progress and make sure that numbers are going up (weight or reps). By the way, I’m just wondering what your input is on how the biggest guys around such as champion bodybuilders mostly train each body part once per week. I noticed that you mentioned various times that each bodypart should be trained at least 2x a w eek. Other than steroids, why do you think training each body part once a week with high volume allows them to get so
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October 30, 2012 at 10 :27 am
Borge
It is really all that simple. With AAS, the grow th response is alwa ys ’on’ and even subjects using AAS and NOT training at all grow m ore muscle than people do without AAS and training. In a natural trainee, even with an optimal load and volume, the growth response lasts for only 48hrs – and the more advanced you are the shorter duration the growth response is. I’m not saying that training a mu scle once/week doesn’t work, because clearly it does, just that you are wasting a lot of time not training it more often.
November 1, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Frank
Wow, the comm ents section is almost as enlightening as the article I should check it more often. Borge, I know what you mean about changing the variables of the training routine to get out of our own confort zone and a ddress weak points, but have you ever meet someone who just seems to simply respond better to a certain type of stimulus (mainly for mu scle growth of course)? Like high frequency/low volume ( or viceversa) or high(er) intensity/low reps or (or viceversa)?
November 5, 2012 at 10:10 pm
Borge
Sure…for a w hile. Which is something my Dynamic Periodization article series will talk a bout (coming soon).
November 2, 2012 at 10 :18 am
Darren
Borge, I like to w ork around the 6-8RM range most of the time for m y compound exercises. Do you think myo-reps or your RPE method is better suited to that rep range? BTW, are you still going to post new articles on MyRevolution or is this you new home?
November 5, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Borge
Myo-reps is better suited for higher rep ranges, RPE for lower. I do not work with MyRevolution any more.
Darren
November 8, 2012 at 9:17 am
Hmm, I thought MyRev was your project from the start. I think most came there looking specifically for your insights and knowledge. On to bigger and better things. I ha ve tried both myo’s and RPE in the 6-8 range and feel myo’s are a little too much for my joints at my age (41). RPE gives me a better warm up as I reach my top set then I get a bit of relief from the drop sets rather than continuing with a 6RM load. I f I understand correctly, if I keep the rest periods short between the drop sets I should still have high fiber activation and hav e much the same effect a s myo-reps correct?
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It was my project, but having two full-time jobs when you are closing in on 40 gets a little tedious after 6 years. I wanted to focus on coaching people, not running a webshop (I am too nice to be a salesperson). You have ma x fiber recruitment from the very first rep at around 5-6RM loads so Myo-reps shines at higher reps to achieve full fiber recruitment and more “effective” reps. Use the RPE-method and keep rest periods longer to get in sufficient work at a higher load, don’t try to make it into a Myo-rep hybrid.
November 8, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Mark
Wow. Wha t a great exchang e!!! Thanks for sharing your insight.
November 12, 2012 at 11:31 pm
Sam
Do you believe a lower rep activation set and back off sets are possible? Like 3-5 reps +1+1+ 1+1+ 1+1 ?
November 13, 2012 at 12:20 am
Borge
Possible, but since you ha ve full a ctivation from the very first rep at heav ier loads, it is kinda pointless to do an a ctivation set. Y ou can just do regular cluster rep training, e.g. a single rep every 10-1 5 seconds.
November 13, 2012 at 9:45 am
Sam
Okay great, have y ou ever seen the benefit of adding an additional activation set if you go over your target reps? So say you want 6-8 and you reach 10, could you a dd 2.5-5 and reattempt? Cheers Borge!
Borge November 13, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Of course. We’re not paranoid of adding volume here, are we?
Sam November 14, 2012 at 3:13 pm
I see, i will likely do that then. What did you think of CT’s hypertrophy clusters? 5 RM – aim is 10 reps total per set 5 reps + 2-3 + 2-3 , rest 3-5 min 5 reps + 2-3 + 2-3, rest 3-5 min 5 reps + 2-3 + 2-3, rest 3-5 min I quite liked the idea of doing with with y our method, say
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Borge November 14, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Cluster training is old and he seems to recycle some of his methods in 2-3 year cycles. It w orks just fine. The muscle reacts to the mechanical tension and how m uch time it is subjected to this tension, at a sufficently high intensity (as % of 1RM) you have max fiber recruitment from the first rep, so there is no real practical difference between 5 +2-3+2-3 or 6+2+2+2 or 5+4+3+2+1 or 4+4+3+3+2+2+1+1 or whatever.
November 13, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Dan
Borge would you recommend +10 (2,2 etc) with a 6-8 rep max weight. Or would less be enough, like 7+2+2+2
November 13, 2012 at 11 :09 pm
Borge
Define “enough”. The auto-regulation takes care of the volume if you re-read the article, but whether it is sufficient to get an optimal volume for that m uscle group is impossible to answer – it depends not only on wha t muscle group you a re training, but also the training frequency and your training a ge (i.e. volume tolerance and needs).
November 14, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Dan
Okay, thanks borge
Sam
November 14, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Okay cool, when using that cluster method for the heavy work, should i just work up to a 3 rep max a nd go from there and retest say in 6 weeks, or should i alway s attempt to beat that 3 rep max depending on how i feel? So far i preferred the method of 6 + 2′s. The 5 followed by 3 w as a bit mu ch for me.
November 14, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Sam
Should you increase the frequency of muscles you w ant to focus on, or just increase the volume? Like 4 days a week, or 2 days with extra volume?
Borge
November 14, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Both will w ork, it depends on what you are doing now. Wa it for my article series on Dynamic Periodization, will publish it here soon.
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Sam
Hey man, cheers. At the moment i wanted to em phasize shoulders. I do a push pull routine, but including some biceps on my push days so it’s 4 x weekly as you recommended before. I’m a lso doing an overhead press on both pull days.
November 14, 2012 at 11:07 pm
David
Hey Borge, First off, I w ant to say thank you for posting all these incredibly informative articles and then continuing to follow u p by taking the time to a nswer peoples’ questions. The question I have is about how to best implement Myo-reps into a HST routine. I’ve been using Myoreps in an auto-regulatory fashion for a while now and really love the way I feel after finishing a set, but I recently started reading up more on HST training and I decided that I w ant to give it a try. My question is: since HST calls for specific periods of higher-rep max training, where y ou are working under your 15RM for 4-5 of the 6 sessions, would it be best to set a rep mark for your Myo-reps or just continue to try it utilizing auto-regulation? The reason I ask this is because, while I think that auto-regulation is definitely the way to go when working from a particular RM, if I’m w orking say, 10-15lbs under that RM, I could probably bang out subsequent +3s or +5s for the next hour (which I feel may be SLIGHT overkill). For the final (max) session of each block, I definitely can see auto-regulation w orking swimmingly…just may be not so much for the sessions using w eight under that specific RM. Any insite you could give into whether it would be better to continue trying to auto-regulate or better to set a rep target (like +20 (or so), for 15R M) wou ld be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the time!
November 15, 2012 at 9:45 am
Borge
Y ou can still auto-regulate, you just think RPE 8 at the beginning of each rep cycle, transition into RPE 9 and finish off with R PE 10s.
November 15, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Andrew
Borge, just to ma ke sure I understand…. RPE stands for perceived effort?
November 16, 2012 at 11:00 am
Borge
Rating of Perceived Effort.
November 18, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Sam
Not to cau se a stir here Borge, but other then fatigue control, what other benefits does Myoreps have over DC if you used the same 2 way split (with biceps on the lower day).
Borge
November 27, 201 2 at 8:56 am
DC uses fatigue as a measuring stick, I try to control fatigue to get in more effective reps/volume. Myo- reps leads to more hypertrophy and less CNS burnout I MO.
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November 18, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Dan
Hey Borge, i want to do less exercises but more myosets, would i be best doing the heavier set first? Ie 6-8+2+2+2 etc, 3-5 min rest then 9-12+3+3+3 etc or 9-12+3+3+3 etc, 3-5 min rest then 6-8+2+2+2+2 I was going to include the “occlusion” (10% top and bottom) on the 9-12 set.
November 18, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Dan
Sorry should have asked would it be more optimal to repeat them on the same day, like 2 myorep sets of 6-8 then do the 9-12 sets on a completely different day?
November 27, 201 2 at 8:59 am
Borge
Muscle responds to a combination of tension and volume, studies show that non-linear periodization – i.e. varying load from day to day or week to w eek is usually better than a straight linear progression where loads increase and reps drop as time goes by. The spread between 6-8 reps and 9-12 reps is about 5% of loading so pretty m uch irrelevant. There are benefits both to combining high loads and lower load, high rep training in one workout – there are benefits to separating them into tw o workouts. We hav e no data show ing if one is better than the other, and I MO this is a lot less important than a sufficient load x volume integral.
rihad January 3, 201 3 at 9:40 pm
Hm, this does put HST under pressure If it’s not too much to ask, could you link to the relevant studies?
Borge January 4, 2013 at 9:21 pm
http://journals.lww.com/nsca jscr/Abstract/2002/05000/A_Comparison_of_Linear_and_Da http://journals.lww.com/nsca jscr/Abstract/2009/07000/Nonlinear_Periodization_Maximize There are others, but I am sure you can find them yourself by using Google Scholar or Pubmed
December 14, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Sam
Borge, can increasing your 9-12 rep max, actually increase your overall strength (ie 1 rm)?
Borge
December 16, 201 2 at 7 :38 pm
Y es, it can.
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December 22, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Sam
Can you tell me if i have this right… Because of the last few reps of a set to failure, (ie 8,9,10 of y our 10rm) take full activation of your m otor units, it’s not really any different on strength building then using a heav ier low rep load, because the max effort is the same? The only benefit of the heavier low rep load is that every rep is classed as a ma x effort because of the w eight used?
Borge December 22, 2012 at 1 2:15 pm
Not quite. For strength increases, you cannot totally disregard intensity, i.e. load on the bar. Effort is just part of the picture.
December 18, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Sam
Another thing, if under 8 reps provides “full activation” for each rep. What is the reason for rest pausing it? Would their be any benefit to rest pause in the 5-8 range if your already fully activated? Cheers
December 19, 201 2 at 9:47 pm
Borge
I mainly use Myo- reps on 8-9 reps and up.
December 20, 2012 at 10:41 am
Sam
Hey, yeah i thought as much… I f that’s the case why do people do lower rep clusters? Like 5+3+2, 6+2+2+2… Is there any real benefit over straight sets? Or just to get more w ork in quickly in that range of intensity?
Borge December 20, 201 2 at 8:45 pm
I g uess you should ask “people” and not me about this, but yea h – a benefit of clusters is more w ork within a shorter period of time.
rihad January 3, 201 3 at 9:19 pm
Then can m yo-reps be assumed to essentially w ork on same thing a s cluster reps, namely doing most effective work in limited time, with one obvious exception tha t heavier cluster sets, by their very nature of being fully activa ted, don’t require limiting
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Borge January 4, 2013 at 9:17 pm
It is a matter of training different growth pathways, and although Myo-reps is great in its own way I do not want to rely on only one tool for everyone, all the time.
rihad January 5, 2013 at 11:12 am
Borge, one last question if you don’t mind: I’ve been training myself following HST principles 3 times a week (MWF), and the last 2 weeks of 5′s or negatives are really kicking butt taking up to an hour and a half, although I’m only doing 2 sets per major exercise, which totals to 2-4 sets per muscle considering some overlap. I w as thinking of combining myo-reps with HST on those hard 5′s like this: Mon & Fri continue doing HST normally. O n Wed switch to high-rep (15 +5x) myo- reps. Is my oreps likely to allow m e to rest from heavier, neural CNS work of 5′s, and would heavier HST allow me to rest from metabolically taxing my o-reps style training?
Borge January 5, 201 3 at 4:22 pm
That would be one non-linear periodized way of setting up the training w eek, yes.
December 30, 20 12 at 9:20 pm
Sam
Hey Borge, few m ore questions as usual Ever found a benefit of a rep target? Ie Bench Press with 10rm, then rest pause to a rep goal, like 50 total reps? Is there an ideal rest period? I’ve been using 30 seconds, is that too long? Should i try shorten it? Bit confused on what y ou say is the ideal rep total per week of a m uscle group?
December 31, 201 2 at 12:02 pm
Borge
Depends on training age, individual m uscle groups, overall training program structure etc etc – but y es, there is an optimum volume threshold. On Myo-reps, limit rest periods to 20sec.
Sam
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December 31, 2012 at 1 2:10 pm
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services Well i really like your one of basically do what you ca n mana ge on the day, i was a little worried it would affect the next exercise, like doing benching, doing a ton of volume because i feel good that day, but w hen i go to overhead press i have barely anything left in the tank? Also, if people have a certain goal, say strength and explosiveness, is there a rep range they should never really wander into because of fiber conversion etc?
Borge December 31, 201 2 at 12:13 pm
Then take longer rest periods, e.g. do another exercise for an antagonist in between and you will have recovered for the OHP. I h esitate to use the word “never” as it is a matter of degrees, but obviously a lot of 20+ rep training is going to detrimental for power and explosiveness if you overdo it.
Sam December 31, 2012 at 7 :13 pm
Haha, it would be a lot lower then that, yeah i get you, i w ill try that thanks
December 31, 201 2 at 9:30 am
Dan
Hey, i’m doing this split twice a w eek, what do y ou think? Is it m issing any thing? D1 – Bench press, incline bench press, rope pressdowns, overhead dumbbell extensions (single arm), dumbbell side laterals D2 – Chin-ups, pull-ups, chest-supported rows (or seated rows), rear delt flyes, preacher curls D3 – Rom anian deadlifts, front squats, leg curls, leg extensions, standing calf ra ises, seated calf raises
December 31, 201 2 at 12:01 pm
Borge
Not missing any thing, I would personally drop or replace some of those exercises but this is an individual choice and exercise selection should both hit all ma jor muscle groups without creating any major overlap, as well as a ddress your weaknesses.
December 31, 2012 at 1 2:07 pm
Dan
Hey Borge, what ones was you thinking of? I heard the triceps should have tw o because of it’s structure? I don’t really have any glaring weak points, i was going for a general routine, if there’s anything you w ould advise i should remove / add please say
Borge December 31, 201 2 at 12:16 pm
It is a complex topic, but in general you shouldn’t need the rope pressdowns if you are doing overhead extensions for triceps. Chins or pullups, but not both in the sam e workout. I rarely use rows anymore, I prefer face pulls for upper/mid-back/trap work. I would alternate preacher curls with incline curls (more stretch).
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January 2, 2013 at 6:09 pm
rihad
Hi, Blade. You said: “At approx. 80%+ of 1 RM (a bout 5-8RM loads) you are pretty much at 100% fiber recruitment from the very first rep. I generally don’t use Myo-reps for loads heavier than 5RM.” Maybe you mean you don’t use myo-reps for loads heavier than 9RM?
January 2, 201 3 at 6:23 pm
Borge
That is correct, but read the discussion, this topic has been covered previously.
January 4, 2013 at 9:12 pm
rihad
> Amino acids are pretty much m andatory as they provide building blocks for > muscle growth, but the body is very good at recycling them which is why you > can grow m uscle even under fasting conditions. Wow, you mean w e don’t have to eat over maintenance (wha tever that is) even during a bulk? I’d be glad to eat less, as I tend to get fat, but would I still grow?
January 4, 201 3 at 9:21 pm
Borge
That is what I said, yes. Not only does the body make use of ingested calories, but also stored calories in the body (fa t stores). The more fat you ha ve, the greater the ava ilable energy (unless you cut ca lories too hard).
January 5, 201 3 at 10:01 pm
rihad
Borge, just to top things off, this assumes tha t an individual is training 100% naturally? I .e. no tren, slin, gh or some such? BTW the distinction between dieting for bulk/cut seems blurry. Does it mean a person willing to cut would lower calories even further, or he wou ld just “lean bulk” this way forever?
Borge January 6, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Of course, I don’t recommend the use of illegal drugs anyw here in the article or here in the comment section, do I? That is because I ha te the terms “bulk” and “cut” in the traditional sense of the wording. People will diet for 3-6 months on excessive deficits and cardio, get lean but lose a lot of muscle. Then they switch to bulk-mode and eat 1000kcals or more above maintenance needs and gain muscle at the sam e rate as they would on a more moderate surplus, but also gain a ton of f at. Which they proceed to spend the next 3-6 months dieting off while losing all the muscle they just gained. And on and on it goes. I recomm end you adopt a more gradua l approach, adjusting calories according to progress weekly or bi-weekly, being patient and monitoring strength, bf%, weight, hunger, energy to nam e a
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rihad January 7 , 2013 at 6:07 pm
Thanks, very instructive overall. > People will diet for 3-6 months on excessive deficits and cardio, get lean but lose a lot of muscle. Looks like here you’re not thinking in terms of HST training (obviously ). The idea is SD coupled with progressive overload would keep protein synthesis elevated at all times, and losses during cutting wou ld be minimal. In ca se you’re interested, you can see this thread http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php? 41707-Balanced-diet/page5#42 as not everyone thinks wha t you’re saying is true. I do like your idea that eating less would allow me to lose fat (25%) while bulking (hopefully), that’s wha t I did today eating half of what I did before. And strangely, I’m not starved at all, even though I had a workout today.
Borge January 10, 201 3 at 11:42 am
I am not omnipotent, no – but I do this all the time with my clients and it is measured via DXA. It does require that a lifter is still below his genetic potential, and someone like Totentanz w ho is at the very upper limits of what he can achieve naturally – and also quite lean if he looks anything like his avatar pic – it will be impossible. So it is about context. And you can quote me on that. And to add: “I know very few people making progress who bulk on 1000 ca lories over maintenance, or w ho use excessive deficits with too much cardio.” He must have a very special and competent circle of friends then, because this is the way most people in the general population approach bulking an d dieting and even how many quite competent coaches approach it. If everyone is using sensible approaches, how come there aren’t more lean and muscular people who ha ve achieved their dream physiques in gyms everywh ere? Where are these people who can do sensible bulks and moderate deficits with just enoug h cardio to create steady rates of fat loss without muscle loss? I fear that his competence has created myopia for w hat others are actually doing.
Sam
January 6, 2013 at 1:38 am
Hey Borge, atm i’m doing 5 days per w eek training. I w ant to primarily go for strength, power explosiveness etc. But i w ant to include may be 1-2 days of higher rep work like this system. Any ideas on how i should best
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January 6, 201 3 at 10:23 am
Borge
My preferred sequence during a w eek is moderate loads moderate volume early in the w eek, high load low v olume in the middle, and high volume low loads at the end of the week.
January 6, 2013 at 1 2:57 pm
Sam
Okay i think i get what you mean, but would adding two hypertrophy based days to a 3 day strength routine be okay? Should the hypertrophy training be seperate from the strength days basically? I f so, would two be okay ? So two days of a push pull or upper lower hypetrophy training. Then the other 3 days a re low rep strength based?
Borge January 6, 2013 at 1:13 pm
Have you seen PHAT? 2 strength/power days, 3 hypertrophy days. So it can work just fine – although I think the volume and sequence of PHAT could be different. I would simply sit down a nd design the routine from scratch and not just a dd 2 extra days to an existing 3 day routine, but that is beyond the scope of this article or comment section.
Sam January 7 , 2013 at 6:04 pm
Is this a form of DUP? (daily undulating periodization)?
Borge January 10, 201 3 at 11:42 am
Y es.
Sam
January 6, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Okay borge, thanks for all of your input
Darren
January 7 , 2013 at 4:21 am
“I u sually do at least 2 exercises for major muscle groups, and more if it is a priority muscle group (or another Myo-rep set of the sam e exercise).” So a set up similar to Lyle’s Generic Bulk where y ou hav e bench/incline, chin/row, squat/leg press, RDL’s/leg curl and one exercise a piece for arms/delt/calves/abs would be a solid base plan?
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services “If y ou overdo it, you increase AMPK – one of the primary energy-sensors of the cell – and this can inhibit protein synthesis and initiate endurance adaptions.” How much volume would this take? I ask because a guy called Kelei on BB.com is pushing a myo reps routine using a 10rm for 50 reps/2-3 exercises per muscle group (so 1 00 reps minimum rest paused) each muscle twice a week. My first thought w as that it w as a bit overkill if we consider Wernbom’s data but perhaps as you alluded to here in your posts a more advanced trainer ma y need to push the volume like that for short periods.
January 10, 201 3 at 11:46 am
Borge
I cannot give you a generic answer to how much volume it takes, as it depends on your volume tolerance. If y ou have w orked up the capacity to do more volume, you w ill also be able to handle more volume. Going by Rhea and Wernbom’s meta-reviews, however, we can infer that more than 80-100 reps per muscle group per bout over time could be excessive. There is an optimal am ount, and doing m ore isn’t going to be better. Finding that elusive optimum is going to be difficult, and erring on the conservative side is for most people better than erring on the excessive side and risking regression.
January 12, 2013 at 7 :13 am
Darren
Thanks Borge, so going by the available research 30-60 reps per bout is about optimal for most and 80-100 being the practical limit ( although there w ould be diminishing returns for time/energy invested). Now this is based on straight sets right, so my understanding is using myo reps/rest pause that we would need around half that because we a re racking up m ore ‘effective’ reps? So 15-30 up to 40-50 my o’s after the activation set (with heav ier loads requiring less and lighter loads requiring more)?
Borge January 12, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Something like that, yes.
Darren January 13, 2013 at 4:46 am
Thanks again Borge. Must get annoying to keep going over the same things w ith all of us. Very appreciated.
Borge January 13, 201 3 at 5:15 pm
Something like that, yes. (I kid I kid)
daniel
January 7 , 2013 at 8:21 pm
Hola Borge: Querìa saber si podrìa resultar provechoso convinar el Myo-Reps con el sistema de Tensiòn Dinàmica de Charles Atlas. Personalmente he logrado muy buen resultado con esta convinaciòn y ademàs ha go un ayuno intermitente (IF) del tipo LeanGains. Todo esto me ha llevado a un ràpido mejoramiento de mi estado fìsico. Daniel Sìvori
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January 10, 201 3 at 11:39 am
Borge
I don’t speak Spanish.
January 29, 2013 at 10:50 am
Andreas
Hello Børge, I was simply w ondering if this w as the exact sam e program as the one published in Norwegian on myrevolution.no (4 parts) in Ja nuary 2010, simply translated? Or is this an altered or improved version?
January 29, 2013 at 10 :57 am
Borge
This is a summary of the 3 first articles.
March 2, 2013 at 11:09 pm
Tibor
Hello Børge, If your goal is to increase 12RM for a competition where according to the rules you hav e to do 8-12 repetitions with as m uch w eight as possible on a given exercise – as this is a “volume”-contest, you obviously would like to shoot for 12 – w ould you rather suggest a My oreps 9-12+3x a pproach or a DC 1012 + RP approach? What are the trainee-dependent things to consider? The questions are little vague, but I would appreciate your insight. Thanks a lot!
March 4, 2013 at 8:13 pm
Borge
I would use Myo-reps since the point there is to get in more volume, but if you w ant to get stronger in the 12RM range you also need to increase absolute strength, so a heav y/light program with one in the range you are competing in and one training day in the 3-6 rep range is recommended.
March 4, 2013 at 9:38 pm
Tibor
Børge, thanks. That is what I have come up with: a traditional 5×5 part and a “repping” part in the 10-12 range ( using Myoreps in my next training cy cle). Thanks for your input! Best regards, T.
Anthon
March 8, 2013 at 1:52 am
Dear Borge: If you have to choose only 2 rep ranges for hypertrophy, to do in a workout, two exercise for a muscle group, what would you choose: 9-12 + 12-15 or 6-9 + 9-12 or 9-12 + 15-20 or 6-9 + 15-20 For example for chest (dips + flies)
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Borge
Depends on who I ’m working w ith. Someone less advanced or slow-twitch dominant m ight respond better to higher rep ranges, m ore advanced/elite and fast-twitch dominant, lower rep ranges. If someone had been doing low reps exclusively I might hav e them do higher reps for a while, and vice versa. My favorite would be the 6-9 + 9-12, though.
March 8, 2013 at 6:15 pm
Anthon
Why do you recommend 30-40 seconds for 6-9 reps? Other rest-pause methods recommends maximum 12 deep breaths (20-25 seconds)
Borge March 8, 2013 at 8:47 pm
I go by breaths, and it will end up in that same range. But seriously, you are stressing over 5-10secs difference? In a m ore neural range w here fiber recruitment is already high, I will actually go with norma l sets instead of Myo-reps most of the time anyway.
Anthon March 8, 2013 at 1 0:55 pm
in my experience, probably that m uch time (specially if you are using auto – regulation) avoid the h igh-fiber-recluiment. Do you agree that in this case (auto-regulation) would be a better choice to short rest to 15-20 secs maximum, even with the higher loads that you recommend for myo reps (6-9 + 2x)?
Borge March 9, 2013 at 9:11 am
At higher loads (80-85%+), you hav e high fiber recruitment from the first rep, so it becomes more of a cluster rep strategy and you don’t lose fiber recruitment by extending the rest period.
March 9, 2013 at 12:59 pm
Anthon
Y es, but if a I leave 1 -2 reps in the tank, I’m not really in my 80-85%. You use 30-40 seconds personally for the 6-9 range? O r you use 15-20 seconds instead?
Borge
March 9, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Why do you leave 1 -2 reps in the tank? The activation set should be very close to failure. Use 25 seconds, and hopefully the universe can be at peace again.
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Frank
He recommended me by e-mail 10 deep (20 secs or so) breaths for the 6-8 range. I think it’s a good general recommendation.
March 9, 2013 at 10:19 pm
Dmitr
Dear Borge, I’ve been lifting weights for 3 years, a nd I’ve been competing in wheelchairs bodybuilding shown in the last year. A friend of mine (wheelchair bodybuilder also) is trying your program, and I want to g ive it a try. Could I have your opinion about my routine?. It’s a push – pull, twice a week pull, twice push. PullDB Row 6-9 + 2x Chin 9-12 + 3x Shrugs 12-15 + 4x Biceps 12-15 + 4x PushLow Incline Bench press 6-8 + 2x Incline Flies 9-12 + 3x Shoulder DB Press 8-10 + 3x Sidehev 12-15 + 4x JM Press 12-15 + 4x I was going to send you an email, as my friend did, but it does not work, don’t know why. I hope you will read it hear. Sincerely, Dmitr Apapelkhin, Россия 676058750
[email protected]
March 10, 2013 at 9:31 am
Borge
The general format looks fine to me, knowing nothing about you or having worked with you I cannot go into more specifics wrt exercise selection, volume etc.
Dmitr
March 10, 2013 at 11:42 am
Thanks for the answer, and for your great work
Dmitr
March 10, 2013 at 1 :44 pm
Forgot to talk to you a bout something else. I ’ve been thinking about taking the following split: Monday Thursday- Back + Shoulder Tuesday a nd Friday- Chest + Arms Looks fine? Sincerely,
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March 10, 2013 at 6:04 pm
Francesco
Dear Borge, For rest periods, I feel that may be a progressive increase in them may be superior to just go with the sam e rest. For example Activation set: 9 reps, 5 deep breaths, 3 reps, 7 deep breaths, 3 reps, 9 deep breaths, 3 reps, 10 deep breaths, 3 reps… Activation set: 7reps, 10 deep breaths, 2 reps, 12 deep breaths, 2 reps, 14 deep breaths, 3 reps, 15 deep breaths, 3 reps So 5-10 in the first example, and 10-1 5 in the second.
Borge
March 11 , 2013 at 9:54 am
This is already mentioned in the original article, and is obviously completely fine.
March 10, 201 3 at 6:38 pm
Steve
Hi Borge, I’ve been using Myo-rep as my primary intensification technique for a w hile now, and enjoy it very much. I n that regard, I ha ve a question regarding exercise variation. In your opinion, what role (if any) is there for varying exercise selection from one workout to the next on a high-frequency program employing the Myo-rep technique? For example, say someone trains C hest Myo-rep style on M/W/F–is there an hypertrophy advantage to be gained by performing the same 2-3 exercises on each of those training days? Or would it be better to program different exercises for each of the three C hest workouts? Thanks.
Borge
March 11 , 2013 at 9:56 am
I would recommend you f ind a selection of exercises and stick with them for as long as possible. If you want to change out some isolation stuff or use va riations of the compounds lifts to avoid boredom or pattern overload that is fine – but people who change exercises too frequently only fool themselves into thinking they a re getting new grow th due to the neural learning aspect which increases strength when y ou implement a new exercise.
March 10, 201 3 at 7 :38 pm
Andrew
Borge, do you recommend myo-reps for 6-8 reps? In the articles you give the 6-8 reps range. But in your answers, you say that you don’t use myo-reps for higher than 9RM load. Doing 6-8 reps, not hitting failure, means tha t you a re in reality at an 8-10RM? So i’m not really at an 8085%RM??
Borge
March 11 , 2013 at 9:56 am
This is already covered in the comments thread.
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March 10, 201 3 at 10:06 pm
Katia
Borge, I’ve read all you r and norwegian a nd english articles about this wonderful system, I ha ve read all the articles, and some seem to disagree with y ourself, because you give different rep ranges. Today, wha t is your overall recommendation of rest between sets for different rep ranges (i.e. 7-9; 9-12;1215…)? From a girl who admires your work, Katia
March 11, 201 3 at 10:03 am
Borge
This is covered both in the article and in the comments thread. Listen people: Myo-reps is about achieving high fiber recruitment by w orking close to failure on the first set – called the activation set. The lighter the loads, the more important it is that you go to fa ilure. In the 6-8RM range you are already achieving close to full fiber recruitment from the very first rep. This is basic physiology. When you reach the high fiber recruitment point, you ma intain this by inserting short rest periods and keep doing series of reps – balancing the work:rest ratio so that you can get in more “effective” reps and thus get in more quality work in a shorter amount of time. Going back and forth on whether you should use 20secs or 25secs rest or starting at 5secs and increasing to 15secs, doing 3 or 4 reps in the series etc etc – these are irrelevant details and you are missing the point completely. I just implemented a set of rules so that people would understand the concept faster, it is by no means a hard and fast rule you ca nnot deviate from or else lose all the effects – or modify the param eters so much that you make a set last forever (which would induce endurance adaptions and not strength/hypertrophy). So within the framew ork given there are plenty of options and variations, feel free to play around with them – I will not respond to further questions or validate whatever minor adjustment you have so brilliantly come up with. Chances are I have already done it, I spent a couple of years developing and refining the method in collaboration with reknowned scientists such as Mathias Wernbom, and hundreds and thousands of clients who ha ve tried it in the programming in the 3-4 years since I first released it.
March 11, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Katia
Then you don’t recommend my o-reps for the 6-8 reps range? I can find in the article the 6-9 range, but in your comments you apparently say that you would not use them. In your words: > I mainly use Myo- reps on 8-9 reps and up. Then you w ould not use them for the 6-9 range in a regular basis? Katia
Borge March 12, 2013 at 9:38 am
No.
mad3bris
March 11, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Borge to see if I u nderstand … After a set of activa tion, each set is equivalent to a straight set? For example, 7 + 2 + 2 + 2 (7 + 2x protocol) instead of 7 +7 +7 +6(4×7 or whatever). Is it correct?
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March 12, 201 3 at 9:38 am
Borge
Y es.
March 16, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Vasilo
I don’t think do. 24 reps are effective in the normal series, whereas in the MYO S 12 repetitions would be effective … actually less work.
March 11, 201 3 at 10:10 pm
Katia
OK, I ’ve been reading articles and more information on my o – reps, thanks to google translator (bork, bork: S) I found this: Week 13-14: 80-85%, 6-8 +4, reduce load by 10-20% and continue 5-10 +6 (6-8 +2 +2 # 5-10 +3 +3) Could do such a thing in a routine for calves: 1 – Calf Raise 6-8 + 2x – 3x + 10% 5-10 2 – 3x + 9-12 Seated Calf Please bear with me Fagerli, I am particularly clumsy, and English is my second language
March 11, 201 3 at 10:13 pm
Katia
Sorry, typing mistake, I meant: 1 – Calf Raise 6-8 + 2x drop weight 10% 5-10 + 3x 2 – 3x + 9-12 Seated Calf Other example: 1- Bench Press 6-8 + 2x drop weight 10% 5-10 + 3x 2- Pec Deck 9-12 + 3x
March 12, 2013 at 9:37 am
Borge
Y es.
March 12, 201 3 at 12:43 am
Francesco
6-8 + 1x w ith 10-15 deep breaths is fine?
Borge
March 12, 2013 at 9:37 am
Y es.
Heikki
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March 12, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Borge
No. Please read the comm ent thread. edit: Alright, I will indulge you this one time, but I swear if I get another question on those 69 reps I will block further comments. Regular: 1* 2* 3* 4* 5* 6* Myo-reps: 1* 2* 3* 4* 5* 6* 2* 2* Regular: 1 2 3* 4* 5* 6* 7* 8* Myo-reps: 1 2 3* 4* 5* 6* 7* 8* 2* 2* 2* As you can see, the benefits of Myo-reps don’t become apparent until you hit higher rep ranges since heavier loads already hav e a high MU recruitment from the very first rep.
March 12, 201 3 at 8:33 pm
Heikki
Yes, i w as thinking something like that… Today for example, for back I did: DB Row 6-8 + 2x perform as 8+2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 (8+24) 20 seconds rest between sets. Those are about 30 ”effective” reps. With 4 sets with longer rest, I w ould take 30 ”effective reps”, even less. Would it be possible, for a bodybuilder, not use lower reps than 8 reps? For example, being the range of 8-10 reps the lower. Then do something, as a regular basis, with DUP, like 9-12 + 12-1 5. Exam ple with shoulders: DB Shoulder Press 9-12 + 3x Sidehev 12-15 + 4x instead of using ”straight sets”, like DB Shoulder Press 4×6 Sidehev 3×10 P.D. Are you accepting new clients right now?
Borge March 13, 2013 at 7 :11 pm
I think you are missing out on growth potential by not going down into 3-6 rep territory. The more advanced you a re, the heavier loads you will benefit from. Not to m ention that e.g. hamstrings which are in general 70% fast-twitch dominant just “dies out” above 8 reps, so I do my hip-dominant training in the 3-8 rep range 95% of the time. My client and wa iting lists are currently full. Check back w ith me in another 4 weeks, I will have a better overview then.
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Ok, my last question: The range of 42-66 reps for optimal hypertrophy count the ”non-effective”. Those are more or less 30 ”effective” reps right? For example, in a typical 5×5 + 3×8-12, those are 25 ”effective” reps + 9 ”effective” reps = 34 effective reps. That’s right, or I’m missing the point?
Borge March 14, 2013 at 9:56 am
Something like that, yes – but it depends on the loading range.
March 13, 20 13 at 6:59 pm
Blas
Borge, do you prefer, DUP in the same training routine or throughout the week. Instead of a heavy day and one light (as in Layne Norton PHAT) do light and heavy at the same day (as in the routine of Lyle Mcdonald).
March 13, 201 3 at 7 :09 pm
Borge
Usually on separate days.
March 13, 201 3 at 10:51 pm
Heikki
Borge, where can I find the RYP program?
March 14, 201 3 at 9:56 am
Borge
https://www.tn.no/drivkraft/artikler/release-your-potential-ver-20 (note that this is their updated version, there are a few cha nges since the first version I w as involved in designing, many of which I don’t agree much with).
March 14, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Heikki
Thanks for the link. > 6-9 reps – 1 or 2 reps on Myo-reps series, 15-20 breathing pause – notation 69 2 x or 9.6 x 1 could I use both? 6-9 + 2x + 1x. i.e 8+2,2,2,2,2,1,1,1 i can’t do 1 rep anymore so I stop there.
Vasilo
March 16, 201 3 at 12:49 pm
Borges, dones not the effort matters at least the same a s the MU?
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March 17 , 2013 at 10:22 am
Borge
Of cou rse it does. You cannot go to the point of failure without applying effort to the bar. Was that w hat you a sked?
March 17 , 2013 at 11:55 am
Dalinda
Borge, I’ll be very busy in the coming days and I need a program that allows me to be a few hours in the gym. I follow a routine made by my coach, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. It is this: Leg Press 2-3×68-3 ‘ Leg Curl 2-3×6-8-3 ‘ Quads Extensions 2-3×12-15-90 secs. Leg Curl 2-3×1 2-15-90 secs. Calf Ra ise 23×5-3 ‘ Seated Calf 2-3×10-12-90secs How could I add the myo-reps to the routine? My coach says this system is to burn fat, not ga in muscle by short breaks … Is it true?
March 18, 2013 at 2:20 pm
Borge
Y our coach is an idiot. There aren’t really any specific “fat burning” or “muscle building” routines per se. Y ou can do some short-rest metabolic w ork to increase caloric expenditure and fat ox idation, and I frequently do that w ith my clients – but the diet is the main determinant ( creating a ca lorie deficit). The same stimulus that built the muscle and strength on a surplus will ma intain it in a deficit, so the training program looks fine (except for the dominance of machine training) for that purpose.
March 17 , 2013 at 2:13 pm
assasswe
Borge, 6-8 + 3x is fine? Which are the differences between 6-8 + 2x and 6-8 + 3x?
March 18, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Borge
I swear I will ban your ass if you don’t read the comments thread before asking the next question. I am serious.
March 17 , 2013 at 9:10 pm
Olsen
Borge, I tend to lose in minors details, generally I get lost in details … Do you ha ve any routine, without any kind of difficult progression for muscle growth? i.e do the same every workout
March 18, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Borge
I see you are Norwegian, so read this: http://myrevolution.no/s/myo-reps-del-4 baseversjonen/
Olsen
March 18, 2013 at 7 :44 pm
Borge, today I’ve done: Row 32kgsx8 + 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 with 20-30 secs between sets=> activation set (8 reps) + 16 mini-sets of 2 reps Shoulder press 18kgsx8 + 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 with 20-30 secs between sets
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services Chins 48×12+3,3,3,3 with 10-20 secs between sets Sidehev 6×11 + 3,3,2 with 10-20 secs between sets Shrugs 26×13 + 3,3,3,3,2 with 10-20 secs between sets That’s correct, or would you change somethins? Maybe to much mini-sets? I did for Rows and Shoulder Press 8+2x and for chins, sidehev and Shrugs 12+3x… Olsen
Borge March 19, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Shorten your rest between sets in the myo-rep series on the 6-8 rep range. You should usually hit 3-6 sets after the activation set (e.g. 8 +2+2+2+2 or thereabouts). Or do 6-8 +3x instead of +2x. This is all in the article.
Olsen March 19, 2013 at 11:27 pm
Which one would you try/is better (short rest periods vs 3x)?
Borge March 20, 2013 at 9:35 am
Scroll up to my response earlier in the comment thread, the second line starts with “listen people”. Read that before asking any m ore questions, please. My patience is at the point of exploding right now .
March 20, 201 3 at 12:34 am
Darren
Oh m an w e are so gonna lose Borge if people keep asking inane questions!#$! Borge, I u nderstand Muir reps in the 6-8 range but w hat about 5- 7 reps?
Ron
March 20, 2013 at 9:30 am
Agreed
Ron
March 20, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Borge, I’ve read all your stuff at my revolution, and I have a few question about setting up my routine. For Hypertrphy, probably stay in a rang e of 4-1 2 reps most of the time is optimal, and a frequency of 2-3x w ith 42-66 reps (30-40 effective reps more or less). Add some ”metabolic work” is just fine and can help. So i’ve been thinking in the following set-up of DUP on the routine you recommend in Myo-Reps Part 4 (2-split): Mon. Upper Tuesday. Low er Wednesday. Rest Thursday. Repeat As you can see, I end with frequency 2 one w eek, frequency 3 the other… So, could it work something like
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services this (example of lower body) Week1 Tuesday- Heavy ( 4-8 reps) Friday- Medium (8-12 reps) Week 2 Monday- Heavy (4-8 reps) Thursday- Medium (8-12 reps) Sunday- Light (1 5-25 reps) 2 heavy days, 2 medium days, 1 light day Looks fine?
March 21, 2013 at 7 :37 pm
Borge
I would probably skip the light day altogether and just add it on to the Medium day if y ou are moderately advanced.
March 21, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Said
Borge, which time-efficient method do you recommends for heavier w eights (3-6 reps)?
March 21, 2013 at 7:35 pm
Borge
Cluster training. Still, depends on you r goals, you can be time-efficient by doing a total of only 10 reps for a lift if your main focus is neural strength. If you want hypertrophy, you’re going to need to increase the time-tension integral and get m ore total reps (at least 20-40 reps, up to 60-100 reps, depending on y our level of a dvancement, loading range, frequency etc), so being time-efficient is for all intents and purposes going to be in direct conflict to the need for sufficient volume.
March 21, 2013 at 9:05 pm
Said
To substitude let say a 5×5 with cluster training, how would it look like? 5 sets of 10 reps with my 5RM? For chest, back, and legs I use one compound (5×5) and one isolation movement (3×12-15). I could use them 5 sets of 10 reps with my 5RM (first exercise) plus 12-15 + 4x? Thanks for your patience Borge
Borge March 26, 2013 at 8:07 pm
Yes, something like that.
Darren
March 23, 2013 at 3:54 am
How does reverse pyramid training compare to clusters/rest pause? I s one better for strength vs growth etc? With clusters/RP you ca n rack up some decent volume with a heavier load and with reverse pyramid your dropping the load each set but may get more overall
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Borge March 26, 2013 at 8:05 pm
You need a sufficient load, volume and frequency to induce strength and hypertrophy. The loading range and volume cha nges with training experience and absolute strength levels, the more advanced you are the more volume you can tolerate (and need) to grow, and while 60% of 1RM might work just fine for beginners you w ill need to get into the 80-90% range the more advanced you get. There doesn’t seem to be a major difference between training 2 or 3x/w eek at this point, except for powerlifting/strength where the neural effects of high-frequency training with a more limited volume are well documented.
March 21, 2013 at 11:11 pm
Tjark
Hey Børge, not really a question with regards to MyoReps (which is awesome, btw), when doing auto-regulated training via the RPE/RTS method with straight sets in the 6-8 range, would you rather do a “rep-drop” with the same w eight, instead of the standard load-drop? I’m thinking, a load-drop would put the load below the threshold for full fiber recruitment. Whats your take on that and wou ld it even matter?
March 26, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Borge
Not a major difference IMO, try both and see which one allows you to get in more quality work. And varying between them isn’t going to be detrimental either. I think you should stop trying to look for the answ er to perfection. There aren’t any. I f it w ere, I w ould get rich writing a 50-page pamphlet, and lifters all over the world could just throw aw ay a ll their training literature.
March 26, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Tjark
Very nice points, thank you so much!
March 22, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Birt
Børge, I’m using this routine for pecs: Bench Press 5×5 with 3′ rest Incline Flies 9-12 + 3x For the 5×5, I don’t really know how to do the RPE, I don’t really feel the difference between RPE 8,9 or 10… I s there any other auto-regulation m ethod easier to implement? With myos is easier because I repeat myo-sets until I hit failure in the rep 3.
Borge
March 26, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Don’t overthink it, just end the set when rep speed noticeably slows down and you start grinding reps. This is not necessary when loads are sufficiently heavy.
Daniel
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March 28, 2013 at 1 1:35 pm
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Myo-reps in English | Borge Fagerli – aka Blade: My blog and coaching services Hi Borge, I am starting your recommended 2-split routine with Myo-reps. Can I start with auto-regulation or should I use a f ixed set pattern for the first cycle according to article #4 guidelines? Thanks.
March 30, 201 3 at 6:19 pm
Borge
If you can properly define and a pply the RPE-scale, i.e. being able to honestly determine whether you ha ve 0 or 1 reps in reserve, you can go ahead with auto-regulation.
March 31, 201 3 at 3:38 pm
Chan
Borge, could I ha ve your opinion about the following Split(for a bulking cycle)? Mon- Back+Chest+Abs Tuesday- Delts + Arms 5×5 and 9-12+3x for each muscle (except arms, in which I do just 9-12+3x or 12-15 + 4x), and for shoulders, I do 9-12+3x (Shoulder ^Press with dumbbells), and Sidehev (1 2-15+4x)
March 31, 20 13 at 3:39 pm
Chan
**Tueday- Delts+Arms+LEGS
Borge
Ap ril 3 , 20 13 at 6:3 5 a m
Y our delts and arms are getting hit on chest/back day as w ell, so I wouldn’t count on tolerating that kinda frequency forever.
Ap ril 2 , 20 13 at 1 1:4 5 p m
daniel
Daniel 7 januar 2013 kl 20:21 Svar Svar Hei Borge: Jeg lurte på om kunne med fordel Myo-reps convinar systemet med Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension. Personlig har jeg oppnådd meget gode resultater med denne convinación O g gjør periodisk faste (IF) LeanGains type. Alt dette har ført meg til en rask bedring i fitness min. Daniel Sivori
Borge
Ap ril 3 , 20 13 at 6:3 6 am
Y ou are joking, right? Except for in rank beginners, there are no muscle or strength building effects of just flexing and contracting a m uscle without resistance.
daniel
Ap ril 3 , 20 13 at 1 0:3 1 p m
Borge. I’m not kidding. The dynamic tension requires strength but without any equipment, using your own body weight, plus he has served thousands of men to grow worldwide. There are many exercises that require no equipment, such as the squat Sissi and have been unjustly neglected in gyms just for this. Curiosity led me to try and I have had excellent results, rock hard to keep my 50 years, with a weight of 100kg to 1.90 meters. A big hello to you
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Borge
Ap ril 4, 20 13 at 8:25 am
I love bodyweight exercises, as long as you can load them. It is pretty much a given from all the research and practical experience we have a vailable to us, that you eventually w ill need to move loads heavier than your 10-12RM (70% of 1RM) if you are advanced, to get the sufficient mechanical tension on the contractile structures for strength and h ypertrophy stimuli. By “dynam ic tension” I interpreted it as e.g. flexing your biceps and the only resistance provided is from the antagonist, i.e. triceps. If that is the case, it is not going to work, sorry – and hello to you, too.
daniel
Ap ril 1 1, 20 13 at 2:1 4 am
Borge “Expand+Journal of Applied Physiologyjap.physiology.orgPublished online before print December 8, 2005, doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01267.2005 Journal of Applied Physiology May 2006 vol. 100 no. 5 1460-1466 Article Muscle size and strength are increased following walk training with restricted venous blood flow from the leg muscle, Kaatsu-walk training Takashi Abe1, Charles F. Kearns1, and Yoshiaki Sato2 + Author Affiliations 1Department of Ex ercise and Sport Science, Tokyo Metropolitan U niversity, and 2Department of I schemic Circulatory Physiology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: T. Abe, Dept. of Exercise and Sport Science, Tokyo Metropolitan Univ., 1–1 Minami-Ohsawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192–0397, Japan (e-mail:
[email protected]) Submitted 3 October 2005. Accepted 29 November 2005. Abstract Previous studies have show n that low-intensity resistance training w ith restricted muscular venous blood flow (Kaa tsu) causes muscle hypertrophy and strength gain. To investigate the effects of daily physical activity combined with Kaatsu, we examined the acute and chronic effects of walk training with and without Kaatsu on MRI -measured muscle size and maximum dynam ic (one repetition maximum) and isometric strength, along w ith blood hormonal parameters. Nine men performed Kaatsu-wa lk training, and nine men performed walk training alone (control-walk). Training was conducted two times a day, 6 days/wk, for 3 w k using five sets of 2-min bouts (treadmill speed at 50 m/min), with a 1-min rest between bouts. Mean oxygen uptake during Kaatsu-walk and control-wa lk exercise was 19.5 (SD 3.6) and 17.2 % (SD 3.1) of treadmill-determined maximum oxygen uptake, respectively. Serum growth hormone was elevated (P < 0.01) after acute Kaatsu-walk exercise but not in control-walk exercise. MRI-measured thigh muscle cross-sectional area and m uscle volume increased by 4–7%, and one repetition max imum a nd maximu m isometric strength increased by 8–10% in the Kaatsu-walk group. There was no change in muscle size and dynamic and isometric strength in the control-walk group. Indicators of muscle damage (creatine kinase and my oglobin) and resting anabolic hormones did not change in both groups. The results suggest that the combination of leg mu scle blood flow restriction with slow- walk training induces muscle hypertrophy a nd strength gain, despite the minimal level of exercise intensity. Kaatsu-w alk training ma y be a potentially useful method for promoting muscle hypertrophy, covering a w ide range of the population, including the frail and elderly. muscle hypertrophydynamic a nd isometric strengthanabolic hormonesischemia Copyright © 2006 the American Physiological Society"
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