Article at T-nation.com
Q: "Hey James, I read your article on Training for Ectomorphs and have decided to give that routine a try, as I have had trouble gaining on other routines. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on failure and whether or not I should be training to failure on any of the sets?"
Much appreciated,
Dan
My Answer: Well, it depends. If you are completely new to strength training, then going to failure would be good. A newbie needs to develop those neural pathways. However, if you've been seriously training for years, then going to failure would not be a good idea. Intermediate to advanced trainees can tap into larger motor units much better than newbies, because they have been training for a while. If they were to train to failure, then they would exhaust their nervous systems much more than a newbie and their recuperation period would be much greater. This is why really big guys tend to use split routines where they train each body part once or twice a week.
What I suggest is this: for the last 2 sets (6 reps, 15 reps) go to failure. This way the first 2 sets (10 reps, 8 reps) serve as a warm-up. The last 2 sets are the money sets, anyway, so it's best to go close to failure on those.
Q: "Hi, I wanted to ask if you can give me a good training routine program to gain mass gains?"
E. Dinkha
My Answer: I just had an article published at T-nation.com. It's an excerpt from Strength and Physique: The Articles titled: Five Battle-Tested Strategies for Size and Strength. That should give you plenty of ideas.
Much appreciated,
Dan
My Answer: Well, it depends. If you are completely new to strength training, then going to failure would be good. A newbie needs to develop those neural pathways. However, if you've been seriously training for years, then going to failure would not be a good idea. Intermediate to advanced trainees can tap into larger motor units much better than newbies, because they have been training for a while. If they were to train to failure, then they would exhaust their nervous systems much more than a newbie and their recuperation period would be much greater. This is why really big guys tend to use split routines where they train each body part once or twice a week.
What I suggest is this: for the last 2 sets (6 reps, 15 reps) go to failure. This way the first 2 sets (10 reps, 8 reps) serve as a warm-up. The last 2 sets are the money sets, anyway, so it's best to go close to failure on those.
Q: "Hi, I wanted to ask if you can give me a good training routine program to gain mass gains?"
E. Dinkha
My Answer: I just had an article published at T-nation.com. It's an excerpt from Strength and Physique: The Articles titled: Five Battle-Tested Strategies for Size and Strength. That should give you plenty of ideas.
Q: "For the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph, would it be ok to do different exercises? Like squat, incline dumbbell bench press, barbell rows, lateral raises, seated dumbbell curls and close grip press? Or even this approach:
Day One - Squat, Bench, V-bar pulldown, dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell curls and close grip press
Day Two - Leg Press, Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Barbell/Dumbbell rows, dumbbell lateral raises, cable curls, skull crushers
Day Three - Same as Day One
And so on and so on with a rest day or two between the days? I'd like your opinions on that please?"
Thank you,
Jeff
My Answer: Looks good young padawan. Now go forth and get big.
Day One - Squat, Bench, V-bar pulldown, dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell curls and close grip press
Day Two - Leg Press, Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Barbell/Dumbbell rows, dumbbell lateral raises, cable curls, skull crushers
Day Three - Same as Day One
And so on and so on with a rest day or two between the days? I'd like your opinions on that please?"
Thank you,
Jeff
My Answer: Looks good young padawan. Now go forth and get big.
Comments
Your blog rocks, nice work. Love the varied topics and your point of view. I tried to click on the link to your article but got an error message.
Congratulations on getting published!
Sandra