How To Overcome The Two Major Limits To Muscle Growth

[@Fitsuuu]

So put other muscles groups to maintenance and 8 hour arm day. Got ya, thanks Mike.

[@pablowentscobar]

Came for a lesson on body building, ended up learning city planning for Taylor Swift concerts. Thanks Dr Mike?

[@warrioratthewall1969]

and orphanage planning

[@warrioratthewall1969]

and college party transportation scheduling

[@Thomas54965]

Dont forget you can get a Uber at Vegas in two minutes but good luck finding shit in Detroit

[@AsrielSalazar-w9d]

Your poor

[@alextirnovean4146]

Might be useful in Cities Skyline

[@nicoldevilliers6102]

Learning harder than last time. Wait, wrong channel

[@gyrozeppeli7296]

Learning hard or learning while hard?

[@folkmarcmetal]

No this is the right channel, the other channel is the wrong one

[@gn01717682]

I love it when more attention is given to beginner to intermediate lifters. so few of us are actually advanced lifters. Sometimes I just dont know if any of these specialized, detailed oriented approach is for someone like me whos only been lifting consistently for a year.

[@PanzerTheTortoise]

not only do i learn a TON from these videos, but the fact that they come every day is sometimes the only thing that gets my ass up and moving that day

[@kynshra8960]

Sad

[@PanzerTheTortoise]

@@kynshra8960 your motivated to work out every day? damn dude

[@InternationalManofMystery1]

Honestly dude. I relate to this so much. I'm a 4th year law student (in the UK) I also play American football (I know you probably didn't realise some of us did that here lol) and honestly. Even though I'm really happy, the combination of getting beaten up in the gym/on the field and then also worrying about becoming a lawyer makes me want to hide in bed till the late afternoon some days. Thankfully I'm happy, and I love my fiends and my girlfriend, I'm progressing well etc both in football and in my degree and the weight room so I'm managing to motivate and be disciplined. But christ, it'd be so easy to take the next week off (I am doing a holiday soon which I'm looking forward to) we all just have to keep pushing

[@InternationalManofMystery1]

Should also have added that I hope you're okay! It's fine to be at your limit and needing to take a break, it's also okay to not be close to that and still having to rest. Wishing your health and your mental health the best

[@adammiller9179]

@@PanzerTheTortoise I am... I get out of bed in the morning because I know I get to go to the gym.

[@pronealamo2249]

I have a bachelors in exercise physiology and Dr Mike, you provide literally the best fitness information content i have found on the internet. I am certainly an intermediate lifter and have been for a number of years now. I love exercise and have a lot of passion for it but have failed to prioritize lifting to my limits for the last 5 years or so. I have basocally been in maintanance for all this time. 3 sessions per week hitting all muscle groups, but without adequate volume to really produce change. This has been one of the most motivational videos I've watched.

[@vegetasaijan6052]

24:16 "Your soul is tired" That describes perfectly how I feel when I overdo it during swimming. I usually don´t do that, because it takes me too long to recover from, but it just feels so satisfying.

[@jakemortensen7683]

I just finished a mesocycle that ended with deadlifts. I pushed them so hard and I shot my systemic fatigue to the roof. Now I have to take an active rest week instead of a deload week and it’s difficult to even get my steps in because I’m so crushed. This video helped me to contextualize this problem, deadlifts are getting pulled from the next program. Thanks Mike!

[@lukedavid6640]

For me, specialization is the final piece of the puzzle that has allowed my arms to grow properly. I was always just adding volume on an already maxed out program and was tired all the time with minimal extra growth. Thanks Dr Mike for helping me finally see results after years of spinning ym wheels.

[@infra_r3d133]

Dang, the last time I came this early, I had my last kid! Also, I am on my 2nd meso with the RP+ app and loving how easy it is to program! Keep grinding peeps.

[@koltaipeter1637]

words cant describe how much value you have given me Mike. Im grateful for you. 🙏

[@josimarzevallos385]

That’s why we don’t train legs boys, can’t limit those upper gains 😭😭

[@Bdavis2475]

Honestly it's working for me. I only do 2 sets of leg press a week and they are maintaining and my arms are growing

[@demarkusjones9725]

I train legs.

[@tipbrad4493]

I am going2try this and limit the legs for 2months 😂

[@leonidasg2257]

You still need a symetric physique man. Just alternate cycles and improve what you want with a clear goal and plan.

[@LatimusChadimus]

Technically you are limiting yourself because you're not getting me max amount of testosterone and growth hormone from training the largest muscle group in the body 🤦

[@garreteide9174]

Started training for a marathon this year, and it taught me a lesson about systemic fatigue pretty quickly. Tried to maintain 6 lifting sessions a week with running and by week 2 I had to deload. Watched a bunch of RP videos around this topic and now my running is improving, and my strength is maintaining. Thank you for all the info you put out!

[@mattoniy2840]

I did 6 months of 50+ weekly miles with 6 days heavy training. I’m was pretty knackered but I have never been so fit

[@payamux8933]

What did you do exactly ? Trained at maintenance ?

[@mcfarvo]

Yeah, I've now done concurrent training and I find that being at maintenance on lifting and diet supports endurance running much better than being in an energy deficit and/or trying to pursue great muscular gains at the same time I'm trying to increase cardiovascular-respiratory performance adaptations. Likewise, I can maintain some degree of cardio capacity with much less road running volume during periods where I prioritize muscle gain or fat loss (with muscle maintenance), so I try not to chase two rabbits at the same time, I chase one while I keep an eye on the other(s).

[@garreteide9174]

@payamux8933 Dropped my lifting volume to maintenance, im down to just 3 sessions per week with upper body emphasis. Leg volume is very low to let them recover for my endurance training. Slowly increasing running volume 10% week over week, then deloading both running and lifting every 5th week.

[@jaku8513]

Just run the marathon one day and get it over with. If you think about it, all it takes is like 5 hours of hard effort and then you completed a marathon.

[@urizen2000]

Implementing deloads as a methodology in a way actually makes me train harder. Now, I'm sort of training FOR the deload, in a way. To put it another way, earning it.

[@nacholibre6129]

Started lifting 5 years ago. Was 20 years old, 135 lbs. Never looked at a weight in my life. Got serious in year 2 and been seriously training whole body 3-5 times a week for the last 4 years. Now im sitting at 200 lbs. But feel stuck at this point. Like I'm just maintaining. But haven't seen noticeable growth in a while. Obviously over the last few years ive seen gains. And mostly massive strength gains but to most people, If you just see me in a T shirt, dont know how i used to look, you wouldn't think I even lift. Lack of progress combined with working 50 hours a week in hvac has really squashed my motivation recently. Found your videos while looking for what I'm missing. You've got me motivated to get back at it and I feel like I better understand what's happening with every set that I do. I've increased my food intake, started taking every set to failure, and making my time in the gym actually count again. Well see what happens 💪

[@Bdavis2475]

Dr Mike doesn't advocate for taking every set to failure. Start at 3rir then work towards failure after 6 weeks. Also if the scale is stuck, that means you're not eating enough. Training doesn't make you bigger, it just diverts nutrition to muscles instead of fat gain

[@renaissanceman5847]

beginner gains dude. you're gonna need to change up everything. gains from here are more towards strength rather than size... only way most get over it is with PEDs... hence the reason many fall into that trap

[@rakugothdajjal527]

I'd transition to a more focused split at this point. Some form of push, legs, pull, push legs, pull, rest is what i'd suggest. Throw in smaller muscles like mid delt, biceps, etc every other workout so you hit them 3 times a week. Work in the hypertrophy zone (a weight heavy enough it stops you around 10-16 reps) for 6 to 8 weeks followed by a 4 week strength phase ( 1st week 8 reps, 2nd week 5 reps, 3rd week 3 reps, and try some PRs on the last week. Adjust this based on your ability to recover with needed deload weeks. Shoot for 8 to 12 intense working sets each workout. A good push day would look something like 3 sets bench, 3 sets dips, 3 sets flys, and 3 sets triceps pushdowns.

[@rakugothdajjal527]

@@renaissanceman5847 PEDs are not the only way big dog.

[@kalash_nikov]

Sounds good, but if he has been training for 5 years I really doubt 12 sets per session is enough. @@rakugothdajjal527

[@iAntonio.Patterson]

Cool vid. I’m on week 2 of chest specialization now. Feels good. Can’t give feedback yet.

[@Mzamojali963]

In my last cycle the week before the deload I was like a zombie, I was taking naps everyday sometimes 3 from how tired I was(this was with consistent sleep and enough food) it felt normal at the time. After the deload I realised like yeah being that tired wasn't normal for me.

[@dexterm2003]

As a beginner, my recovery was garbage. I would be sore for days after just a couple of sets. Things have gotten slightly better, but recovery has always been an issue for me. A video on increasing recovery, especially tendon and ligament recovery, would be great!

[@highstax_xylophones]

I think he covers this in splitting sets troughout different lift days. Try cutting the exercises for particular muscle in half doing the leftovers another lift.

[@rogerm4959]

That is also why he is covering this. Recovery and staying healthy is the goal. Overtraining is real. Tendons and muscles can turn into something chronic within a few weeks. So I can relate to the video. But for these tendons require care and time to ease them out. I used the foal roller and send days hitting these area's without lifting. Maybe walk or job. Gym days go light. And like 2 sets of twelve. Work your way back up.

[@IamtheFREY]

As someone who tries to run, rock climb, and lift weights, the systemic fatigue of trying to do all 3(and actually make gains) at the same time is a huge concern for me. My best gains came from prioritizing. I wouldn't consider myself advanced in any of those 3 categories, but because it's so much together the overall systemic fatigue is a huge factor.

[@funygameur]

This. ​@@unemployed_clown

[@kwadwoadjepong-boateng8737]

The transition from “we’re gonna get cancelled,” to “you run an orphanage” ENDED me 😂

[@djskinztech]

😂😂😂

[@AbortedUnicorns]

Dr. Mike has some really great analogies! Really helps me understand better.

[@Pwnr145]

The construction analogy really got me. I recently renovated my bathroom and had people helping but it became quite obvious that only two people could fit in there at the same time. My calves must be a coat closet

[@RichMeadeFashion]

The hardest thing for me to do is take an off day. But the explanation of systemic fatigue really hit home. I've been doing recomp for 3 months , and about a month ago I hit a patch were I couldn't sleep, I got a cold that took forever to go away...but I kept working. 30min of zone 3 cardio every day, and moderate sets on muscle groups. Every day. Finally saw a Dr. Mike vid on recovery and switched up my routine to include a rest day. Incredible difference it made! Switched to 10min of zone 2 cardio to warm up, and do a 4 day split with rest on the 5th day and it's been a game changer. Sleeping like a baby... excited to workout each day. So I feel like I got the systematic recovery dialed at the moment. Now I'm focusing on really finding my limits for local recovery, and the only one I've gotten close to so far is my calves, which really was accidental...(first real sets on a calf machine since starting). Damn things are still super sore (3days post)...but I've got another day before they're due to be worked again. But everything else is recovered after the 2nd day pretty consistently. Gonna try an wreck my triceps tomorrow as bad as I wrecked my calves. ... Anyway, thanks Dr. Mike, your videos really have given me some understanding of what's happening to my body as I work through this!

[@markalvord7834]

Great timing for this video to come out. I am dealing with the Nervous system issues today. Took the day off from the gym

[@jpsIV]

Mike, was that the best growth explanation I’ve ever heard I think it was. Thank you so much.

[@youknowwho9247]

Mate, I just recently found your videos because I was looking for advice on how to build muscle in adverse conditions (had a son, less sleep, less time, getting older, so on). Your advice on diet did something, but man, your app f*cking slaps. I'm that guy who's been hovering around the same plateau in the gym for years and kinda accepted it. One week with your app and I realized what's holding me back is sh*t technique that was taught to me two decades ago by apparently sh*tty trainers. I get better pump and burn in fewer sets with less overall fatigue in the gym now. Feels more effective than it has for like 18 years. Bloody insane. Thanks, big time!

[@spencersivco8503]

This basically describes what happened to me at the end of my last block. I was up to 5-7 sets of side delts 4× a week, and my desire to train went completely in the trash. I didn't want to be there, the pumps weren't great, it was a pretty bad time. Note to self, tell the app when it's too much

[@olkid]

I thought the app automatically told you when to deload?

[@kwerby3285]

@@olkidit does but he’s saying in the weeks leading up he wasn’t being honest with the feedback so it kept piling up more sets

[@olkid]

@@kwerby3285 ahh okay, I'm with you. Thanks for clarifying.

[@Mo-jj1kl]

One of the best videos so far. Learned so much.

[@joediesel8267]

Excellent video. I was worried about overtraining. I am in year2 of my serious bodybuilding program. I train 25 - 30 sets of side delts per week, training every other day. I was thinking this was too much. I do not get sore or fatigued ever in the shoulders. Thanks for making this topic clear in layman's terms.

[@alexmoosz-montreal-realestate]

That was an incredible example of explaining something very complex and scientific in terms that the rest of us can understand. You have a gift. Thx

[@Darnokg]

A couple months ago I was so tired I needed up at the dr to get checked. I made sure to get enough sleep, food etc. It’s until I specialized ( stopped doing full body) I finally got back to normal. And actually started seeing some gains. Dr Mike confirmed what I suspected!

[@xpresso_joe]

Dang, that taylor swift example hits true when the concert was here in Seattle. The day I blamed traffic thanks to T Swift.

[@kimberlysadberry6757]

This video put a TON of stuff into context for me. I didn't understand why I would get so tired so fast. I didn't understand the systemic concept. I work a very physical job so it makes everything make sense to me now, THANK YOU!

[@StayTh1rsty]

Always here for the nervous system considerations! 🎉🎉🎉 Another great video

[@StayTh1rsty]

I live with chronic systemic fatigue due to ptsd, and balancing the benefits of working out with the intentional titration to healthier forms of nervous system fatigue and more effective rest and recovery has been... interesting, to say the least 😂😅. Some days, often irrespective of muscle fatigue, I have ten minutes of qigong in me before I'm tapped out. It's a humbling experience to have, to exist in my body on those days. But the good days when I crush it and recover are absolutely worth it, and more and more common as time goes by. I have a lot to be proud of, and I'm so appreciative of the information you keep giving us ❤

[@kwnfitbykira]

I’ve watched almost every RP video, this is the one that made me buy the app. Thank you.

[@Davide-bx3js]

This are the contents that keeps my intrest high about this channel, please never stop to do more serious talk about training theory

[@ryderliftz]

hey dr mike if u see this someone at the gym last night recognized me as a fan of the channel by the way i trained. i hope i make you proud father

[@Tropicocitwo]

YESSSSS THE BLACK BACKGROUND INFOGRAPHICS!!! I freaking love these so much over the white oldschool powerpoints. BIG PROPS TO QUALITY CONTENT.

[@Doogp75]

If Paul Carter sees this video and the amount of worksets being thrown around he will explode in a fit of demented rage.

[@doctorhludvik]

Have made great strides using the app the last 5-6 months along with Dr. Mike and RP's videos; my latest full body meso has been an absolute slog to get through and this video is so timely

[@hak116]

I'm basically at the point of my training career that if I don't specialize, I won't grow. Fullbody routines worked 3 years ago, now I seem get so systemically tired by week 4 of a meso that I can't overload and push any more volume. A year ago I specialized delts for 3 mesosycles in a row and they visibly grew from that training. I was damn near pushing 35 sets a week (in the last weeks) while still feeling quite fresh systemically!

[@Bdavis2475]

I'm a recent vid Dr mike said he trains 3 or 4 weeks on then does a deload. Seems common for advanced lifters

[@horses2572]

I think the systemic limits are less likely to be reached early in a training career, or at least they are more "elastic" since you still have plenty of room to increase your work capacity. But once you are more advanced, this kind of specialization makes a lot of sense.

[@user-en5vj6vr2u]

I'm intermediate and full body routines simply do not work for me either. . . think i'm just gonna disobey mike here and put a couple muscles on low volumes

[@seattlegrrlie]

As a cyclist, I can absolutely confirm doing a bunch of riding plus upper body at the same time is a disaster. Lift during the off season, dial the riding up and the lifting down in the spring, and drop lifting completely during peak riding. Something has to give

[@ToddMatthewsFitness]

...maybe even more important for the older advanced lifter. Excellent vid Dr Mike

[@JackPalmeriLaw]

long time, first time. respectfully, I think you might be overlooking another factor: age. I’m on the wrong side of my 40’s, only 5 months into a regiment I haven’t done for 20 yrs. To the extent I am back in a beginner phase, I absolutely run into MRV and other new limitations.

[@Mrsingingdude1]

He actually has videos where he talks about the gains you can expect at certain ages and how you can maximize them. Definitely worth a watch

[@StrangeCloudSs]

@@Mrsingingdude1 One of his best videos I must say

[@1mropz1]

The party analogy clarified everything.

[@Kabia11]

Honestly Dr Mike you are a legend. You keep it real and give out top quality advice. As I listen, questions pop into my mind, then as the video progresses all those questions get answered by you. I really appreciate all the work you put into this for us.💪🏽

[@dougrivera1989]

Can we appreciate how Mike is the KING of analogies?

[@АлексиШакая]

You can't imagine how on time was this video. Thanks a lot!

[@gold3nhorus]

Extremely timely video. Been doing a full body three day split for four weeks and am taking a deload week due to overwhelming systemic fatigue. Great info for when I get back in on Monday. Going to do about half the weight for two weeks then lower the sets by one for each muscle group when i get the weight back to to what I've been doing. If i get systemic fatigue again then I'll specialize for a while

[@markomijac7992]

very good comparisons (stadion, uber, house building,..). I like it when you use these. is much easier to understand.

[@scientistMUC79]

Perhaps one of the most important videos on this channel.

[@Skizodubz]

The analogies are on point. Makes it super easy to understand

[@PrinceSamurai45]

This is a super helpful and informative video. My conclusion is definitely that I need to specialize now. Been lifting since I was a teenager and definitely start to feel systemic fatigue before I hit MRV these days. I have always done damn near full body workouts and not seeing as much gain as I’d like. Thank you Dr. Mike.

[@7Sabbath7]

8:00 “well ima also do some trap work” Setup up my workout plan to include everything, calves, forearms and then.. traps, saw minimal increases in general, cut out the extra trap work and boom everything started growing quicker. Hilarious that I accidentally figured this out before Dr Mike made a video about it. If only I was forewarned sooner

[@Aliashavoc]

I've been stuck as a beginner lifter for upwards of 5 years, never being able to lift consistently for more than 4 months at a time. I'd always hit a massive wall training my whole body every week. My gains would stagnate and I'd start overthinking my routines and eventually stress myself out of even wanting to go to the gym at all. Last month I decided to try to simplify my routine as much as possible. So I made a plan where I just do heavy barbell movements at high volumes 5 days a week. I have 3 focus days where I do 6x6 heavy of one barbell movement (bench press, row, squat to start) and the other 2 are maintenance where I do 3x6 of the rest. Then I cycle out every 2 months. So far I've managed to bring my bench up to my previous max working weight in 5 weeks and I've never felt stronger in it. I'm going to stick to this for a year and see where it takes me. I don't expect this kind of thing to work as well for anyone beyond my level, but it's been a game changer for me to help keep me motivated to training when every week I'm not only putting weight on the bar, but I'm putting on MORE than I expected to be.

[@Artist-pi8ek]

This video explains a lot of what happening to my body. Thank you, Dr. Mike!

[@tristanbaars6036]

Tried tricep specialisation with your recommendations, put delts and chest on the backburner and made amazing strength gains!

[@naturelife418]

❤ Fing awesome, I trained so hard at times and at the last week of the mesa i just was cooked, why? because I cheated and trained to lower reps in reserves the weeks before, OR stuff like my PT grabbed me and f-ed me up with 20 sets of pullups in one session 😂 like dropsets starting with 10reps going to 1.. first with weights and then bodyweight 10 sets 10reps to 1. i had to put muscle balm on and i could NOT do pullups for like a week 😅.. im 44 so i guess i dont recover ultrafast.. it was mad.. but fun. the worst part is my glutes and hams.. i NEVER was sore in those muscles.... i have strong hams.. i could try lower weight more volume perhaps on the hams.. .. im super greatful for all the work you guys do and fun and info i get.. this channel is the best.

[@Stringmartyr]

I have been doing a full body split that has treated me well but lately when I do it, I’m just so tired that the next few days I can feel my body wanting to rest so I rest. I had been thinking it was time to stop doing that and then this video popped up. It was just what I needed to convince me even further that this is exactly what I needed. I ended up specializing chest today and just added a little bit of arms but I definitely outperformed in both of them didn’t feel so fatigued after the gym, so thank you Dr. Mike!!!

[@eric9369]

This helped immensely. Thank you Dr. Mike.

[@josephsmith7996]

Bro. I'm getting back into working out slowly. Appreciate the workout tips and info but I could just listen to you bullshit. Halerious. Makes my day better.

[@theonlypoagester]

Very well explained. This info came at the perfect time.

[@buffdude1457]

Mike’s metaphors are something else 😂 god i love his content , great work Mike i learned a lot thank you !

[@robindueckdegen5503]

You have validated my current 40 sets per week of chest and triceps (beginner lifter).

[@realfaithlife2104]

Two Gems from Dr. Mike: 1) Time Under Tension (TUT) and 2) train as often as that body part recovers. These two alone have increased my biceps a 1/2” in a month. TUT changed the game for me…size and strength 📈.

[@d3rpn1nj47]

Seems like you're taking some creative liberties interpreting our current understanding of physiological limits. Super cool how you use metaphors instead of actual physiology and also thanks for your references.

[@AaronOysterPT]

This is really helpful. I was considering specializing in my next bulk but I'm only 2 years in so I'm going to just keep doing the whole body thang. Thanks for the tips!

[@michaelhood2312]

I dont know if anybody has told you this today Dr. Mike, but you're a really smart guy 🤔

[@finditmakeitliftit]

Such a useful video, I am someone who is/was always filled with motivation and the ability to push hard, but the last couple of months I've been struggling to put the work in hard on every session. I just feel beaten up and by the time I get to my last session of the week, I'm done, and feel like I'm just going through the motion. So thanks to this video I'm going to look at what may need to go on the back burner. Thanks again Mike for some serious advice.

[@richheaton4008]

I'm doing a back and chest specialization program (second time in a row now) and for the first time ever I'm really growing. It's really motivating. After hearing you can do 40 sets in a week though I'm thinking maybe I should really try to do more volume maybe 3x per week and really minimize the rest of my body work

[@highstax_xylophones]

Thanks for all your informative content. Been lifting for over a decade. Never had such quality appearances throughout the recovery periods than when taking your advice on splitting exercises up for particular muscles mixed in with adding sets for tbe same muscle of choice once recovered. I'm very happy with the recurring good feel and look all the time instead of part time. Adding biceps in 3 days a week and certain shoulder exercises and triceps is just amazing results. I hope many novices try this out and appreciate the free advice. Wish I had this stuff round when I was 15 yrs old starting out. And the hypertrophy stuff, wow! What a gamechanger.

[@RHFIV]

This made a lot of sense!! This is why I wasn't gaining mass. Thank you!!

[@mikefoster732]

I'm 62, nearly 63 and still try to train like I'm 25 but hit systemic fatigue much quicker these days. I would love to see some content for the 'elderly' among us, pleeeeze!

[@subhanahmad9517]

I used to do a back and arms day where I would do all my back workout then tricep and then bicep. I remember in one session after doing all my back and tricep workout, I did dumbell curls. Usually i get 10 reps but I only got like 3 reps. Now all that make sense, I was just so tired at that point that I couldnt do anymore.

[@WolfePackFitness]

Dr. Mike’s comedic timing is unmatched in the fitness community.

[@chris6048]

Thanks for the Taylor Swift analogy Dr. Mike. As a dedicated Swifty this makes so much more sense now. ❤

[@DogginsFroggins]

A similar video focusing on the nervous system would be cool or "The major limits to increasing strength".

[@aspektn.5066]

10:41 This is gold. Maintenance volume is a third or less of the total volume you need [for growth]. Cut calves down to maintenance and you can grow quads better with more sets.

[@aspektn.5066]

19:53 Maintenance volume is very low, a third or less of total volume. Dropping half of muscles down to maintenance, and then alternate every few months upper and lower, alternate which of them is at maintenance. Gold. Especially as I progress.

[@shumuss]

I think I've had systemic fatigue for the last 15 years

[@bigguspeepus9596]

I think thats called depression

[@ayuntey69]

​@@bigguspeepus9596underrated comment

[@Colt-ii4qn]

It can be or lack of sleep 😴

[@HoofingIT09]

Episode idea, for people that work out first thing in the morning, with considering the neurological system isn’t “awake “it’s a difficult to notice systemic fatigue variation

[@BostonRobK]

Dr Mike is a genius! Great video.

[@GigaAMV]

The quality of dr mikes videos have rly gone up recently- keep it up!

[@am-yx6mr]

This was great Mike and thank you, stuff I sort of understood but not to the clarity you just offered. Excellent. Cheers.

[@LegaliseFinland]

I've been doing full body workouts for a year, just graduated to push/pull with legs and abs 😎.

[@r34ct4]

Getting deja vu from that morning grip-strength stapler bit.

[@ken-dog]

To Editor Max, this video's quality is top notch. Excellent work, my man ♥️

[@CarlosLopez-ez7bz]

I love his hilariously varied analogies he uses to explain certain concepts..beacuse they work and leave me laughing therefore hard to forget ... don't train too many muscles if you want to specialize on a certain one..like a Tylor swift concert and a systemic Uber issue..or the house of orphans analogy lol

[@hannahrial2820]

Can having a super busy life besides gym also play into systemic failure? I am in college and I work and live alone and try to work out 6/7 days a week and honestly I feel like I hit that systemic failure by the end of the week and I’m just gassed, I always hit my main days but I feel like I haven’t made significant progress in a while, my muscles don’t look as big and round, and I’m usual tired all the time either mentally or physically or both. I love the gym though it usually even makes me feel better even if I’m exhausted or stressed, but after watching this video I feel like maybe I could benefit from setting up my split so that I’m mostly just hitting legs instead of what I normally do which is: glute/hammies, pull, quads, push, glutes/hammies, and then I call my Saturday like a clean up day where I do extra cardio and triceps and traps and abs or whatever I feel like I didn’t hit throughout the week, and I usuallly have at least one day where I do rest, and yeah also on top of that I do cardio every day too. lol I’m aware I could probably benefit maybe from doing less but it’s hard to mentally let go?

[@deanwatts68]

So all these full body fanatics are now going to block Mr Mike. Im so pleased that you posted this. It backs up what I have been thinking for a long time. Tried full body... only because so many "experts" push it as THE BEST way to train these days... hated it and felt like crap. Back to push pull legs I thinks :)

[@FacelessOfficial1]

11-13 exercises (depending on the "day"...I was doing push pull legs), due to me training every other day (3-4 times a week), I needed too much volume in every single session, all exercises were 3 sets, last set was always to failure, by the end of each session I was feeling kinda sick, my urine came out slightly darker than it should... now I'm doing half the volume in every single session but I'm more consistent since progressive overload on that last program got me to a point that I wasn't even doing 3-4 time a week anymore..

[@folkmarcmetal]

I once squatted every other day to feel like what it was like to bury myself. Suddenly didn't want to go to the gym anymore, progress stalled and i thought nothing of it. A week later i started regressing... fast, and thought i just had a bad couple days, blamed everything but overtraining. Another week later, i didn't want to go to the gym, lay in bed and cry, only then it hit me, i found my limit. I was so locked in on going as hard as i could, i ignored ALL the signs, but i learned a lot from it, mainly that i should program in deloads and actually do them.

[@LawBlade_CC]

I would be interested to see what Dr. Mike would say about systemic recovery based on age (as opposed to beginner/intermediate v. advanced).

[@edymarcas775]

Nervous system is currently fucked. Can’t lift any weight with my left arm. 3 days without gym so far and each day makes me crazier

[@Thomas1998ful]

Liking the new Bullet point format.

[@SuupaNinja]

I’ve been plateaued for a while but I think thats due to a couple things, I’m nearing the end of my first year of (not a day missed) consistent training, I havn’t been really counting reps the entire time but I aim for 6-8 reps, therefore I think I’m actually training too hard, my muscles have gotten used to 6-8 reps and I need to increase the reps and decrease load, and I’ve been bulking for the entire year and my excess fat is messing with my hormones. This week I started a cut 500 cal deficit with exercise and work it adds to about a 800 cal deficit daily, I’m going to decrease the weight on all of my workouts and shoot for 8-15 reps, as well as eat more protein to make up for the calorie deficit anti anabolic effect. And after my 90 day cut I’m going to actually track all of my reps and push more reps over pushing more weight

[@Naxtee]

If you decrease the amount of weight you do during your cut chances are you will lose muscle mass. When your on a cut you want to maintain as much strenght as possible as you had on your bulk. Whatever you did on your bulk in terms of training is what you should do during your cut.

[@SuupaNinja]

@@Naxtee possibly, but what if I’ve been plateaued on a bulk for 4 months straight. Don’t you think a slight change in tactics, lowering the weight and increasing the reps allowing for the same intensity would stimulate more than the same thing that had me plateaued for months? I have to lower the weight anyways because for example, my PR on the leg press last week before I started cutting was 726 for 6, this week while cutting I couldn’t even do 726 for 2.

[@aronmamarsh]

Thanks for this video. I believe I’ve been overtraining but this video reaffirmed what my body was already telling me, yes idiot you’ve been overtraining. Low energy. Unable to lose the fat. Overall aches and pains. Strength going down. I’ve been trying to make my legs grow, but realize I need to dial back everything else because I’m killing my nervous system. Need to let my body recover more or my cortisol levels go too high and my body starts doing the opposite of what I want and my goals are. Need to find other activities besides the gym. Up here in Oregon that’s really only just now becoming possible now that spring is finally here. Vitamin D and natural melatonin production helps with relaxation and fat reduction as well. Body dysmorphia in winter time is a real thing. I miss Mexico.

[@CrazedCorgi]

I'm going to take the whole month of April as a deload/maintenance. I believe I have too much stress from working out.

[@obsidianportal5925]

Dr. Mike I love all your videos and the education you give on fitness and health!! Recently I broke my hand at work and I’m unable to use it. Is there anyway I can still train my body or other muscles groups with risk of further injury. I would just hate to see all my progress go to waste. My expected recovery time is about 2 months.

[@DrRRaza]

this took me a while to figure out, working out all my muscles as a med student with no sleep, and extremely high cortisol. i found specializing is the only way to make any progress

[@ΑλεξανδροςΑμανατιδης-ι7ε]

Yeah low sleep is impossible to overcome ....

[@MostlyCloudy]

Now I understand what I was doing wrong in my last meso. Full bodies every other day was not enough rest time. I made it to the fourth week and was burnt to shit by the end and I still had one more week planned. Think I'll start my next meso and intentionally wait a minimum of two days between full body work outs. I'm old and tired and it takes longer to recover.