For all of our followers who shoot us questions on our Twitter and Facebook Page, this one is for you. Each week, we are going to faucet into our pool of editors and specialists to assist with any questions or challenges you’re having along with your health routine. This week, Dan Trink, C.S.C.S, Director of Personal Training Operations at Peak Performance NYC and founding father of TrinkFitness, solutions your questions on fundamental, elementary muscle-building.
1) High Reps vs. Low Reps— requested by Roger Walgrin: I discover that sure muscle teams develop after I prepare them with excessive reps whereas others with low reps. Why is that?
“It has to do with the muscle fiber type of each muscle group. There are two main muscle fiber types, conveniently named Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 muscle fibers are more closely associated with endurance work and respond best to higher rep sets in the gym. Type 2 muscle fibers are responsible for producing the force needed for strength and power. Certain muscle groups tend to be dominated by one or the other muscle fiber type. So your quadriceps, for instance, are usually Type 1 dominant and are respond well to strength-endurance protocols while your hamstrings are usually more Type 2 dominant and do well with more explosive movements or low rep sets. But just because a muscle group may have a higher ratio of a certain muscle fiber does not mean that it exclusively has this muscle fiber type. The deltoids, for example, are traditionally a mixed muscle fiber type group and respond well to a combination of higher and lower rep sets.”
2) Male Muscle Building vs. Female Muscle Building— requested by Evan Fa: My girlfriend and I like to coach collectively however she needs to develop longer, leaner muscle mass and I need to get massive. Is there a coaching program on the market that we are able to do collectively?
“If you and your girl are looking to develop muscle, you both can do the exact same program. Physiologically, there is no such thing as long, lean muscle tissue or big, bulky muscle tissue. A muscle either grows or does not. How “long and lean” your muscles are depends on limb length, joint size and the origin and insertion points of the muscles. Now, your girl can gain the appearance of long, lean muscles by reducing her body fat as added definition tends to be interpreted as the longer and leaner look. It goes without saying, however, that your training program needs to be smart and progressive in order for it to build anything.”
3) Routines for Everyone— requested by Bill Britton: My buddy and I’ve been coaching collectively for some time doing the identical exercises. And whereas my chest and again appear to be getting larger, his arms are getting large. How can this be if we’re each doing the identical factor?
“The answer is, most likely, genetics and technique. Like it or not, your genetics play a huge role in where muscle tissue gets preferentially laid down. Subtle differences in technique, such as pulling with your back as opposed to pulling with your arms on chin-ups, will also make a difference. Interestingly, one usually feeds into the other. So if you’re more genetically disposed to having more muscular limbs you are more likely to use an arm-pulling technique as it is your most efficient way of completing the task and you have probably ingrained this motor pattern over and over again. The solution? Alter your technique to focus on the lagging body parts. And get different parents.”
4) Lifting Days vs. Rest Days— requested by Ryan Dailey: How many occasions per week ought to I prepare every muscle group?
“There is no ideal number of days per week you should be blasting, say, your legs. It really all depends on your goals, program design, recovery capabilities and training experience. With that being said, if you are doing a classic body part split in an effort to gain mass, you should probably hit one to two body parts per workout with quite a high amount of volume (total work) and then back off those body parts for 5 to 7 days. If you are following an upper body/lower body split, you’d be well served to hit each twice per week. And if you are a beginner focusing on total body routines (a smart idea, particularly when you are just starting out) try to get after it 3 times per week, utilizing different exercises for each of the days.”
5) Beating Genetics— requested by Rob Herchkowitz: Which muscle teams are most probably to answer coaching and that are genetically set in stone?
“Genetic components reminiscent of limb size, variety of satellite tv for pc cells, joint dimension, neural innervation and a bunch of different components play a job within the skill to construct any and each muscle group. With that being mentioned, I’ve but to see somebody attain their genetic restrict in creating muscle so it could serve you properly to persistently prepare even probably the most lagging of muscle teams. Calves are likely to get a foul rap for being genetically predetermined however I’ve by no means seen any science or analysis that proves that. In any case, you’d be higher served worrying in regards to the issues you may management within the fitness center and never the genetic playing cards you’ve been dealt.”
