Gulfport Biloxi

The Power Of One

This is a very profound statement. In our day of more is better, we are all lured into thinking that it applies to everything... You know... more money, more toys, more vacations, more pretty women, more, more, more. This is clearly an economic principal that does not apply to bodybuilding. Be warned, although the muscle magazines and supplement companies would have you think so, more is not better.

The body has specific and limited recovery ability and does not deal with volume and intensity together well. You can train long or you can train hard, but you can't do both.

A perfect example of this is the distance runner and the sprinter. The distance runner performs a great volume of work over a large duration of time in a very low intense fashion. The sprinter performs very little work, yet full bore, very intensely, over a short duration of time. It would be impossible for the sprinter to run full bore for miles, he would have to pace himself right? But look at the difference in the legs of the two. The distance runner's legs are stringy and the sprinter's legs are muscular and larger.

In order to develop large muscles the intensity of contraction is paramount. Of course, as a beginner, anything that you do will induce stimulation and require the body to compensate by an increase in muscle size, but the key word here is intense.

Much like going out in the hot August sun to get a tan, your muscles require an intense contraction to turn on the growth mechanism within the body. The body must them compensate for the exhaustive effects of the workout and then overcompensate by laying down muscle. This takes time and is not done in a day or two. The body recovers systemically and not by part.

In the gym, we are sprinters. It is not longer is better but harder is better. We have all seen those in the gym who spend hours doing endless sets and reps yet stopping at a predetermined number. I have asked many why they do what they do and they say, "Well, I read it in a Muscle Magazine and that is what So and So does"... They don't even know why they do it. These are the distance runners in the gym folks. They may progress to a certain point and stop and don't know why their progress has ceased. I get them ringing my phone daily. They are confused, bewildered and ready to quit in many cases because they think they do not have the genetic predisposition to succeed as a bodybuilder.

Once you stimulate muscle growth, you go home and rest and there is where your gains are made. What does it take to stimulate muscle growth? Let's discuss that... is it eight reps, ten reps, six reps...what is it? Well your body doesn't really know how many reps you are doing. Every rep up until your last almost impossible rep, the one that turns on the growth mechanism is nothing more than a warm-up! That's right! So much for the magic number eh? How many rep again... the last, the almost impossible one!

Now that we have that cleared up, how many sets are optimal per exercise and why? Is there a magic number for that? Should we start with five sets, four set, three sets... how about one? Yes one! Like going out in the hot August sun, we do not have to be out there for hours. It only takes one good exposure to get a tan and if we were out for hours we would burn and possibly blister. Same thing here... once you stimulate muscle with one set per exercise, that is all it takes. You don't have to stimulate then re-stimulate over and over again. Sounds easy? Not really. Many of my clients have thrown up after a 12 minute leg workout with me. That leg workout consisted of three sets... three sets to failure! Failure means carrying the set to a point of momentary muscular failure whereas you could not perform another repetition in good exercise style. That is what intense is people.

Arthur Jones said this:

"Everything of any value related to exercise can be stated in less than a thousand words, can, in fact, be fairly well covered in only a few words, as follows: Train hard, Train briefly, Train infrequently, and always remember that your final results will primarily be a consequence of genetics" -Arthur Jones

Most of my clients train using 2 - 5 exercises per workout (1 set per exercise) every 4-7 days. They make progress each and every workout and the majority of them are natural athletes. If you do this right you will reach your genetic potential within a year or two.

Stop wasting precious time and apply the principals of High Intensity Training correctly. If you do, you will never have to wonder what your next step is in your workout progress.

Bill Sahli is a 36 year veteran X Competitive Bodybuilder, HIT Trainer, Author and Life Coach.

Bill is author of the E-book "R U Serious ?- The Foundation, High Intensity Powerbuilding- The Next Step and the Audio Teleseminar - High Intensity Mindset found at http://www.ruserious.info

He is available for personal instruction on a limited basis. He has trained bodybuilders, athletes, professions, the handicapped & both men and women. His amazing techniques save hours in the gym, with most clients training 15-30 minutes within a week, allowing them to reach their goals in record time. You can reach Bill at rruserious@gmail.com

posted by santa-rosa-petalumaodr @ 1:20 AM