Strength Training For Size (It Makes Sense!)

[@boonb1]

I'm back in the gym after a terrible car accident. My bench was 280 now I'm at 90lbs but I know I'll be back better then ever

[@AlexLeonidas]

That's rough man, hope you're doing better and on the right track! You got this.

[@jeffriggins9106]

Keep it pushing brother !

[@ONE-pg7wd]

make it happen boss💯

[@ArminEghdamiDrums]

Stay strong! Your brothers in iron are all rooting for you!

[@gpkbase]

You still have that muscle memory! It will come back fast I promise

[@user-zb3lr3ke4f]

A man that reeked of garlic and honey once said "in what world does taking your bench from 315 to 405 not grow your chest." A lot of people forget that. Also when you have stronger main lifts, you can use heavier weights on accessory movements and that will definitely help your gains

[@hussainashour6367]

Was he sticky and the patriarch of the Van Hagen family?

[@AlexLeonidas]

Facts!!

[@00pedroboss00]

The bugeeez

[@ShredBundy420]

Common sense.

[@carlosrodrigueztebar6021]

You forgot to add that at the end of the day it’s all a mindset

[@grahamcallaghan5429]

I can tell by the title that this is going to be absolute gold!

[@AlexLeonidas]

Enjoy Graham!

[@davidthomas4394]

I can tell by the channel 😂

[@nomadicstrength]

"You cannot separate size from strength, even though a lot of marketers will tell you otherwise."

[@BalkanManic]

But you can. A lot of times when you get stronger it's just your neural input to your muscles increasing.

[@neil12011]

@@BalkanManic True, but once the neural adaptations are established, hypertrophy does occur.

[@albussd]

@@BalkanManic True, though this occurs in a virgin lifter and only in the beginning.

[@jaghad]

@@neil12011 I'm not sure if I got all the concepts down, but there are three ways I look at it: 1) How fired up you can become when doing a lift. 2) At what velocity can you do the lift? 3) Technique. If you got all of these three things down to a point, I believe you should grow. However, if you're running calorie deficit and is loosing weight. I don't think you can build any muscles unless you are very new to lifting.

[@neil12011]

@@jaghad I’ve actually put on some size during my cut. I did take 6 months off from lifting, so it may be a factor. One thing I have done is keep my protein high, sleep regulated and no alcohol. It may be anecdotal, but this is the first time I’ve “gaintained”.

[@curlean-x4443]

It's crazy how we're in 2020 and people are actually debating this idea

[@AlexLeonidas]

Crazy ain't it?

[@shoqed]

to be fair there is some new evidence in the area of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy so we don't exactly know what's going on... However I choose to train for strength regardless

[@curlean-x4443]

@@shoqed I don't think that's what the video is about. I think Alex was just stressing the importance of progression in strength on compound exercises being very important for size regardless of what you do.

[@harambey]

You get stronger as a result of lifting weights in the 8-12 rep range Eventually when you start doing 15 reps you increase the weight IMO this is optimal for muscle gains compared to just doing a shit ton of heavy ass lifting for 5 reps My body responds better to high reps

[@harambey]

Also progressive overload isn’t just strength It can be higher reps, lower rest times etc But y’all already knew that

[@JustLeein]

0:54 "Numbers going down, probably losing muscle mass". Fatigue can make you weaker temporarily from overtraining. That wouldn't necessarily mean that you're losing muscle mass. I'd go as far to say that in a recovery phase (deload), you may even gain some muscle. I agree that strength in combination hypertrophy is optimal for them natty gainz. Regardless of the details, the message was great and I stand by it. Good Vid!

[@AlexLeonidas]

Would be speaking long term spefically on a strength training routine but yeah I hear what you're saying

[@dannybautista8817]

Yo Justin

[@joshczuba]

I feel like Alex makes fitness vids for other fitness youtubers to learn from. Mans has superior knowledge and communication.

[@StrengthHacksCoaching]

Yeah he definitely does, he takes from the best and is helping pass it down to the next generation of strength coaches. He promotes many concepts from Louis Simmons and Matt Wenning, who have done so much for figuring out how to optimize the conjugate method.

[@cashflow2k412]

To me your a kid thats super intelligent in your own range of knowledge ..proves to people you can learn from any age group ..im 42 and get something from every video i watch...i appreciate your knowledge 💯💯

[@AlexLeonidas]

Aye I appreciate that man, real recognize 💯

[@CraigCastanet]

yep, I'm 62 and all these young guys have taught me how to train so much more effectively. The internet and KZbin are a beautiful thing.

[@Flexatron86]

As a Personal Trainer. I totally agree with you. I preach the same message to my clients as well. Keep up the phenomenal content.

[@johanneskohler8465]

For a whole year I trained bench in the 8-12 rep range ... could not add more weight to the bar. Huge mistake. You have to actually go to the 3-5 rep range to build strength, to push more volume thereafter with newly acquired strength. Otherwise, like me, you get stuck. Thanks for this vid man.

[@thomas.thomas]

At which weight were you when being stuck?

[@mahri9022]

Idk how true this is. My dad has been training naturally for close to 20yrs now and only does high reps cuz it was the way he was taught to workout. So he does 15 reps or more for pretty much all his lifts and he’s pretty big(6ft 240lbs) he’s got 18inch biceps and is pretty strong aswell. He’s trained with kai Green and Larry wheels before and was able to keep up with them in strength and even was able to out lift Larry(early into his career) by doing 120s on incline for 15 rep sets. Weather you choose to believe me is up to you but I’m sure you can get pretty strong naturally training in that rep range if you do it long enough. sure you'd be stronger in lower rep ranges but you can still be strong af in higher ones too

[@spark5558]

​@@mahri9022 how was his volume like sets?

[@patootie3529]

​@@mahri9022 yes you can still progressively overload doing high reps. the thing between ur father and OP is that OP probably didn't even eat enough to support his recovery and strength gain... your father is strong because he has hypertrophied his muscles so much that he is huge and to progressively overload with hypertrophy focus still needs strength gain. he may not be anywhere as strong as he could have been but he is still strong

[@mahri9022]

@@patootie3529 yeah exactly 📌

[@ArminEghdamiDrums]

That soundeffect at 1:30 on "visual" haha. Great video as always Alex!! Like you said: Better to be number obsessed than body obsessed

[@lewisstrongofficial]

1:30 that ringtone brought back so many memories

[@ScottBurnhard]

My man Alex with the Knowledge!!

[@AlexLeonidas]

Much love as always Scott!!

[@borabaycora3926]

What about a video regarding injury prevention when doing high frequency training alex? That would be very helpful for a lot of people.

[@AlexLeonidas]

It's a good topic for sure!

[@borabaycora3926]

@@devthegod298 yes but what I ment was how to avoid overuse and stuff like that. Of course no offense taken man thanks for replying.

[@antebasic2418]

@@borabaycora3926 Deload every 4th week, in addition to good form, eating enough, sleeping enough etc.

[@crazybay8mile]

I found that doing strength training with some hypertrophy on the side 4 days a week works great! Squat twice a week, deadlift heavy once a week unless you count lighter RDL for hammies and then bench press twice a week. Works great and i have the energy to really hit my workouts hard! Monday- Lower Body Tuesday- Upper body Wednesday- off Thursday- upper body Friday- off Saturday- deadlift/lower body Sunday- off

[@frankwoods3819]

Whats your exact routine and exercise selection if you dont mind sharing?

[@jarilo8639]

90% of powerlifting training is about training for size. strength training specificity is about getting good at that specific movement and only lasts a few months while you peak. even if you are bodybuilding and training purely for size you should be looking for some kind of progression, but not specifically 1RM progression. A 1rm from 185 to 275 is a huge increase and you will build a lot of muscle. but going for 185 to 205 can be simply attributed to peaking, especially if you lift drops back down after 2 weeks. But if your going 185x20 and get to 205x20 that isn't peaking, you are actually gaining muscle

[@publicrestroom5075]

Hard to put it into words man but you are spot on.

[@voss9933]

facts. ive always had the same ideology to natural lifting, its usually the strongest naturals who are also the biggest. it would be hard to have a 315 bench, 500 deadlift/squat and not have a good amount of muscle

[@janfischer861]

I've done ineffective exercises for years. Came to the same conclusion myself. I kept training arms and they werent getting bigger until I got stronger and gained more size

[@jugi1231]

Arms didn't get bigger before you gained more size? Damn how smart people are.

[@resurrectiontraining]

Strength is always the biggest key for naturals! Great video

[@CarpDiemBaby]

Spot on bro. I've been following the Texas method for 12 weeks now, my lifts have kept increasing by 10-20 lbs a month, and the number on the scale has as well. My shirts fit tighter, my jeans do too. Bodybuilding is strength training and vice versa, 100%

[@claudiamarianidamato9499]

What is the Texas method ?

[@j.a.6866]

Alex has progressively overloaded this channel with great content... and look at the growth! 🤙🏼

[@Paroex]

That's why I'm personally using daily undulating periodization. I get to train in rep ranges from 4-15 depending on the day. An added bonus is that the variation keeps me from getting bored.

[@ollvi]

i like to train both individually, like doing strength block and hypertrophy block, seems to work better for me and i just get times when i'm only interested in doing one of them, like now i have zero interest in lifting heavy, but lifting in 8-10 rep range and some leg exercises like leg press in 20 rep range is fucking fun and i'm exited to go to the gym and i'm making progress, but in few months i probably get thirsty for heavy lifting and then i'm in the "zone" for lifting heavy, you know what i mean and if i would then try to have "volume days" they would be more of a burden and i would just want to skip it and jump right in to the intensity day

[@Paroex]

@@ollvi Whatever method that keeps you motivated for your workouts is the way to go! I've used the exact same periodization that you're describing. The best thing we can do is train in a way that keeps us hungry for more work and progress. If we're not, then all the theory and planning in the world won't compensate for it.

[@bestprimal9790]

With all the free high quality value information Alex gives to us on a consistent basis, it would be a dishonor not to watch the ads he put up that make him money

[@GR-uc1gq]

My chest didn't look that much bigger when my bench went from 225 to 315 but my shoulders are popping. But once I added some chest flies and incline work. Definitely saw some improvement.

[@mohammedwael4724]

Probably you have good shoulder genetics

[@kristsostad7571]

Prob benching wrong like me for years

[@thomas.thomas]

@@kristsostad7571 yeah that's quite likely, i see people with bad form at the gym every day, sometimes they look huge and still have horrible form

[@claudiamarianidamato9499]

If you check out jay vincents KZbin he explains why the bench press isn’t the best exercise to grow your chest. He promotes using the chest fly machine, and not dumbells

[@jugi1231]

​@@thomas.thomaswhat is horrible form to you?

[@loadedtherapy]

The stronger you get, the more weight you can lift and therefore the greater the stimulus when you do any kind of work in the hypertrophy rep ranges. Stronger = bigger. The more muscle you have, the more physical tissue you have to be stimulated by nervous system impulses. Therefore the greater strength potential you have. Bigger = stronger. In natural athletes these things are so intertwined that if you want the most of one of these (strength or size), it’s best to train for the other.

[@craigcordi3106]

I started lifting when I was 17. I'm 49 now. Gaining size and strength has always been my focus for most of my lifting career, but my primary focus and source of my body dysmorphia was always been trying to gain more size (relative to my interest in gaining strength). However, now at 49, I tend to focus way more on strength gains because honestly, I haven't grown much in several years. Sometimes I think I might have hit my natural potential (which ain't much). I bought Naturally Enhanced a few weeks ago and I am currently on my second week of my first four week wave. I' m hoping that focusing on neck, traps, shoulders, forearms and glutes will spurt some new changes in my physique. Intensity Day is my favorite of the two (for reasons already stated). My volume day is of course done with the intention of gaining muscle mass but in reality I fear that it's probably more muscle retention; loss prevention at this point, which is still a positive thing.

[@Derwynn]

How’s it going?

[@jeffriggins9106]

Always a fine day when my man uploads

[@davindeptuck7905]

6:05 I feel like this is alluding to Sean Nalewanyj's recent critique of Ryan Humiston

[@dakotajegels]

It thought the same thing, man. 👌

[@naturalsculpting1270]

Lifting heavy makes lifting super exciting

[@Chasetaylorlifts]

Dont forget guys you can get strong with any rep range. Pick what feels good for you and get stronger with it. Doing 20 reps with 135 then a year later doing 225 for 20 you got stronger. Dont think its just a low rep game.

[@shrimpanzee001]

There is a great question to ask when determining whether you gained size or not. Are your sets of about 8-20 increasing over time, with consistent form and passable recovery from session to session, even if you haven't trained the exercises recently (and therefore are not particularly neurologically adapted)? If so, you are very likely gaining muscle. Looking at reps of 5 or less, the neurological adaptation is much greater, and a gain of 5-10lbs on the bench starts to demand questions of how much was due to neurological adaptation, calling into question how useful your last training block was. Taking it further, if you train using reps of 3 or less or even just singles such as in a powerlifting peak block, you really have no idea if you gained any size at all despite likely significant weight jumps. Obviously if you put 100lbs on your bench you WILL have gained size. But for relatively small increases in weight you may need to look at your higher rep ranges to get a more accurate look at how useful the last training block was for muscle gain. It wouldn't be optimal to look at 1RM as a metric for muscle gained. It's OK, but not optimal, especially if a large proportion of your training is with low reps. There is simply no need to treat low rep numbers with more importance than higher rep numbers, given the neurological issue, where muscle gain is concerned.

[@00pedroboss00]

This is the truth right here . We need more people like Alex. Telling how REAL naturals should train. Great video, man

[@apathak34]

Even though I agree with whatever you said I saw a recent video of Jonnie Candito and it's unbelievable how smaller he looks compared to 2012-13 despite him getting significantly stronger and adding hundreds of pounds on his total. It's not just visual change he legit lost muscle. He used to be ripped at 180 pounds or so and now he's the same weight but a lot fluffy and lot less muscular. Can you do a video on him and explain what then hell is going on?

[@Monaleenian]

What's going on is that he has lost muscle but has become more skilful at performing the few lifts required in powerlifting. If he had to lift some random object in a way that didn't let him use his highly-grooved powerlifting techniques you'd see that he is most likely much weaker than when he had much more muscle.

[@bettinadimitrova]

Alex has one of the most honest channels in KZbin!

[@thomaspappas2712]

Another issue is that a lot of guys add load at the expense of a breakdown in technique. So the question is have they actually gain muscular strength in a lot of times the answer is no. To gain a true strength everything else must be consistent. it's for testing your bench press with a 1-second pause with 18 in of space between your index fingers, then adding weight for the purpose of determining a strength gain should be accompanied by the same variables in terms of grip spacing, length of the pause, smoothness of the press, if the first pres was done without your buttocks leaving the bench and without grinding the weightbut you add 10 pounds in your but leaves the bench and you end up grinding the weight or letting it sink into your chest so you can kind of get a rebound effect then you haven't gained any strength. if both presses were performed in that same manner then yes you have gained strength. The point is, if you have mastered a certain type of technique that will pass muster in a powerlifting contest and allow you to lift the most weight but will put additional stress on your joints including radical back arch, an ultra wide grip, letting the resistance sink into your rib cage to get a little bit of rebound, it is fine to look like thata few weeks before your meet and during your meet to win. however it might be more prudent as far as remaining injury-free and having more longevity to train with more precise form for most of the year. Bringing your grip in closer and relaxing your arch while stayingtight and following all the other protocols of a good bench will help your competition press. The training the way you lift when your maxing out in a competition with a very wide grip in a radical back arch all year longwill put much more wear and tear on your body and is not going to help your muscles get strong as quickly. As Louie Simmons says, a close-grip training bench helps a wide grip competition bench, but a wide grip benchdoes not help a close grip because a close grip is harder and builds more overall muscle and strength so why not focus on getting great at harder movements that will benefit the easier movement. If you can build your flat press with a close grip incline press why not do that since it's easier on your shoulder and get us all your joints arrest from the super heavyweights you're capable of lifting on the flat press that you are kind of stuck at. Iron out your weaknesses and the strength of the chain will improve.

[@zigapesjak2814]

@ Greg Ducette and Alex ~ harder than last time💪

[@markbrown7106]

congratulations on the continued growth in content and delivery. Not everyone, either on-line or in the gym, manages to evolve and mature successfully in this field and you have ---keep it up sir!

[@davenewton2680]

Haven't watched a bit of Alex for a while. Great video my man 💪. Personally, I mix both strength training and 'other' training. Start my session with a 'big' compound strength exercise then base the rest of the session on various higher rep moves. Love this way of training.

[@Oi-mj6dv]

Man I'm a simple dude I see a video of yours, I give it a like. I'm currently running your novice program to stop fucking around in the gym and actually see some progress. Keep up the good work my dude

[@adamzeller1399]

Strength is the first and most important step for size! Thats just the most basic fast on muscle growth.

[@thomaspappas2712]

I couldn't agree more that size and strength are directly related and you need to continue to push strength. But as a 48 year-old man who has beaten his joints to hell pursuing strength, by improving technique and moving weight focusing on pure muscle contraction you can continue to develop strength although the load might not be as great. If you can cheat curl 225 but you can't strict curl 135 for 10 reps, your biceps are probably not that great. if you go back to doing all of your curls with strict technique and gain strength using that technique, even if you are no longer as good at cheat curls your biceps are probably much larger because the biceps themselves gained strength. The other thing that I agree with you on is gaining more from less. your body will take more of a beating from doing deadlifts with 6 plates on each side then doing good mornings with three plates aside, that is if you are doing strict good mornings with three plates aside for the same number of reps as you do with six plates per side on the DL. The fact that you have much less leverage on a good morning indicates you are gaining strength in the same muscle groups without requiring the same load. 600 pounds versus 315 pounds, despite the fact that the moment arm on a good morning makes it far more difficult,, still makes it a safer movement if trained correctly using strict movement and adding weight slowly. Consistently deadlifting six to seven hundred pounds or more over a decade-plus is going to wear out your discs, cartilage in your hips and knees and cause all kinds of joint pain down the road. How do I know?🏴 because I'm the guy that trained too heavy for too long without incorporating deloads, and without considering the fact that if you get a major injury once a year that takes you out for a couple months you would have made more gains training with a greater variety of loads and only really pushing 85% + every third or fourth training session for a particular lift. It's important to go heavy when you're younger and challenge yourself and once you've hit some benchmarks as you're approaching your mid-30s start figuring out how to make lighter loads induce greater strength development. You can develop a lot of strength with intelligent manipulation of load and leverage. Although most people never take into consideration the most intelligent cliche in strength training which is " you train to develop strength not to demonstrate it." If you're constantly performing Max singles doubles and triples on barbell presses, deadlifts and squats, be extremely careful and cycle your poundages accordingly looking to peak only three or four times a year. You will get stronger in the long run with less miles on your joints than if you are pushing ever-increasing load as your primary goal workout to workout. The fact of the matter is you gain more strength by coaxing gains thru intelligent training and planning than you do through animal balls-to-the-wall intensity day in and day out. That style of training is great for short-term strength gains when you're young and healthy but after a few years of that it's a guaranteed injury. I wish I had been smarter during my thirties and early forties because now I'm paying for it. Although there's a light at the end of the tunnrl. After 3 surgeries lots of rehab and intelligent training the past four years I've managed to put most of my strength back on but I just develop it differently now and only occasionally test it.

[@farhanhussain_]

Agreed. Natural lifters need to focus on basic lifts and simple programming. Progressive overload is the main driver for strength and hypertrophy....not the pump, not the soreness, not the burn, nothing else.

[@cashflow2k412]

Had alot to say but didnt want to be long winded ... Keep doin yo shit fam. We watching

[@jesselazansky]

Alex, can you make a video on “basics”? I am constantly changing workouts based on your videos and just want to simplify to something I can repeat 3-5 days with maximizing growth.

[@bindi123pepper123]

Just do his novice program

[@draganjonceski2639]

Or stronglifts 5x5

[@alex20na]

@@popcornto6032 You are just a bit wrong, isolation movements are not basic. Basic exercises are the compound lifts that stood the test of time. Why would you want to do isolation as a beginner? This is the mentality that myself and many other novices had "My biceps/forearms (or whatever muscle...) are lagging!", when in reality all the body is lagging, and Alex has addressed this in some of his Q&A's. Unless you really want to go for a specific muscle, then don't do isolation as a novice lifter, not going to benefit in the long run.

[@thomas.thomas]

@@alex20na problem of compounds is that at some point one muscle will limit your whole lift, like quads on squads, even tho other involved muscles, like calves, aren't nearly as exhausted. Isolations are needed

[@mohammedwael4724]

I think this concept is right I squatted every day for two weeks getting my squat from 65 kilos to 100 kilos and I feel that my legs are bigger or at least more developed

[@draganjonceski2639]

thats insane i needed almost 3 months to get my squat from 50kg to 85kg Dont know how you managed to recover were you not sore as hell or did you just do lighter weights if you were sore?

[@mohammedwael4724]

@@draganjonceski2639 first eat your food at a calorie maintenance even better at a surplus depending on your appetite and have good sleep every day you train second your training cant be more than 1 hour including your general warm up and specific warm up(squats in this case -search wenning warm ups on you tube-) then build up to your 1 rep max using any method of build up you prefer (i do it 5 3 2 1 1 1 at 40% , 50 % ,60% ,70%, 80%,90% you can change these percentages depending on how you fell and what are your max rep is )and then you do the last 1 rpm at 100% for rest time i rest from 3 to 6 even more nearing my heavier weights ad for recovery you muscles wont feel sore but your joints well specially your knees and a little bit your elbows and wrists and for the core overall lower back and obliques will fell little bit sore but after a lot of days and you can recover from them and you can some connective tissue work for your joints (stretches)

[@Lonewolf__666]

Like mike mentzer used to say, if your not suppose to get stronger, are you suppose to get weaker..

[@ShredBundy420]

As a natural with a pretty much none existent chest at the start, I'm talking the bar alone was heavy for me. It only really started to get some volume and size after hitting 225lbs for reps. Same with Biceps, once I could train heavier put on a lot more size. Makes sense. You get stronger you can push out heavier sets overall, increase size and strength. Also do you really wanna just be benching 135lbs after 3-4 years of lifting because you only want to look good? scared of pushing yourself. You'd make more progress having a solid base of strength imo, what worked for me. The only exception I found was shoulders but I have very very good shoulder genetics so thats why. They just grow and get stronger with barely any training. Everything else on the other hand needs a good base of strength to really push the muscle over months and months and the sizes comes with strength.

[@alvinvarghese8650]

So is a full body workout 3 times a week good for This?

[@masterchief4868]

What can I do if I only bench 135? Help

[@itz_bahamut3822]

@@masterchief4868 maybe do some dips, more overhead and JM Presses, these have a good carryover to bench. Maybe this could help

[@thomas.thomas]

I bet you weren't lean at the start, right? Since my chest grew significantly without putting on much strength, significant gains in three months while maybe increasing weight only around 5-10kg

[@farkaselliott0161]

For the Q&A: Hey Alex, I've just recently hit 2 Years of Consistent Calisthenics Training. When I started I was at literally zero Chinups. Now my 1RM is +46KG @72KG BW. Do you think I've been maximizing my Gains in these 2 Years, or "should" I be stronger by now? Edit: I've always had a pretty equal mix of strength and Hypertrophy focus for both vertical and horizontal pulling.

[@AnthonyVenmans]

*Example* 3 sets of 10 with the same weight (only the last set was pretty hard)... 3 sets of 14 , 10 and 6 reps with the same weight (also 30 reps total, but every set was pretty much failure and HARD!... Which approach would you recommend Alex?

[@amit2955]

You get strong and big with strength training, what else do you want?

[@jacksonspence6562]

I don’t want to be a guy who looks deceivingly big and then can barely even squat or bench real weight. I would much rather have the strength and you give a lot of great tips to help me achieve that.

[@angel_-1890]

You care about what people think of you lol. If you get jacked no one will care how much you bench or squat.

[@jacksonspence6562]

@@angel_-1890 nah bro you clearly misread. I don’t care what I look like to people, I want to add weight to all my lifts. You are the one who cares what everyone thinks if your are just trying to LOOK big. Lmao don’t even know what you were trying to say.

[@jaredmatthews9403]

I'm the complete opposite haha

[@jacksonspence6562]

@@jaredmatthews9403 to each their own my guy

[@floridaontop5164]

i love and hate when ppl see me move weight and be like "damn u look stronger than u look" it boost and shoots down my confidence at the same time 😅

[@Hifcrea]

Also it should be said that progressive overloading def encourages much more weight loss. When I’m just maintaining in the gym the weight lose kinda stalls out. When I’m really pushing to get stronger the weight starts falling off

[@ayrohhh9844]

My bench went from 225 to 375 and my arms went from 15 inches to 16.5 inches. Pretty clear to see there’s a correlation to me 🤷‍♂️

[@AlexLeonidas]

That's what's up!!

[@starpicsmedia]

Great video. &"train harder than last time". Weird hearing that phrase not being shouted.

[@callmate9102]

Man we need a debate between Ryan Humiston and Alex

[@nikolasprince1604]

You've said it before but it's the absolute truth

[@zachnunya8749]

Now that I’m an intermediate lifter I have unsubscribed from all the KZbin fitness channels I used to follow. AD is one of the last I still keep up with

[@sheadoherty7434]

If you haven't yet, check out alan thrall and greg doucette. Alans one of the best strength channels on youtube

[@levainferguson406]

Yooo Alex. I just watched one of you're old videos when you were bald and you looked fucking awesomeeeee. I'm just saying I definitely recomend the bald look it makes you look badass.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Aye thank you Levain!

[@Walteralexander1]

Mind muscle connection is king. This is why powerlifters lift heavy but don’t have bigger visual muscles compared to bodybuilders.

[@godwinsiabukandu2196]

That lever tho!! Daym!

[@eyemissmyunclecharles7185]

Hey Alex, what do you think of the chest supported row machine being a main back builder? I'm talking stacking the machine with plates and using strength-focused rep schemes.

[@Ashpkfmdmdmdmd]

I'm no Alex but nobody should ever discourage using machine. they really great. The chance of risking injury is much lower as your weight you lifting is becoming much more heavier. And to some people, the machine will GREATLY benefit to them more than free weights(barbell).

[@gravemind6536]

Its excellent besides the other benefits mentioned already it decreases lower back fatigue that you would get from Barbell rows so you can push harder and still train deadlifts and squats too. You also hit your rear delts nicely if you use the right grip. I use the chest supported row machine all the time.

[@motagrota]

number of reps i think represent your strength level too, if you could bench 315 lb max, 225lb for 10+ rep that tell me you are strong, my conviction is always do more reps and more weight, it is as simple as that now, forever, always has been. Good advice btw

[@thomaspappas2712]

I agreed that a conjugated is great but as I've gotten older on my Max effort days, I focus on moving as much weight as possible for at least four or five reps, or I do multiple sets of 3 reps with a q. Load that I might be able to do for 5 reps. In terms of pure maximum effort, if you continually push 90% plus load every week there regardless whether you're rotating movements you're going to hurt yourself after a while unless you take periodic rest like 2 weeks away from max load.

[@PendlayRoe]

The only muscles that lag behind in proper strength versus hypertrophy training are the side delts, glute medius and calves.

[@chrisrobinson6712]

I agree with the side delts and calves. But not glutes. I personally think arms need more direct work than glutes

[@luizrechee]

For me, Biceps,Rear/Side Delts (respond better with low weights,high reps and yeah...the fucking calves lol

[@00pedroboss00]

Side delts dont lag if u do high volume standing OHP and glutes grow a lot with Squats and deadlifts Calves yeah.. but they're genetic so who gives a fuck

[@ShredBundy420]

Side delts for me blow the fuck up with hardly touching them. Just all my delt does. Calves on the other hand I think don't respond to anything XD.

[@Oldmanwithguns]

Fck the calves bruhhhh

[@researchproject034]

Alex making fire content as always ❤️🔥

[@kylet4762]

Low key mention of my doctor. I like it.

[@Cookie_Jun]

What are your goals for 2021, Alex?

[@AlexLeonidas]

405 bench at a lighter bodyweight

[@KM-04]

Mate, in terms of progressive overload - I read some articles on points of diminishing return. Like for example, performing too much volume or weight. It also mentioned genetic variability, stating that some people could use higher volume as a source of progressive overload, where as some can't - with considerations to variability in recovery ability. What's your take? are there in fact varying modes/sets/weights for size acquisition in different people or does indefinite increase in strength infer increase in muscle size?

[@gjohnson5]

I don't know about the strength size comments here. Some people due to myostatin, glycogen loading , neural adaption, contractile strength of the muscles themselves that size doesn't equate to more strength or vice versa. Programming can be set for neural adaption which means more higher loading and less volume.

[@yasinjamal7517]

not just for naturals, even if u are someone on trt, this works

[@petercalicchio4973]

I'm a older lifter. 49. And volume wrecks me. Seems like all I got is one hard set for each compound movement. Then I have to move on. The 3 sets of 10 reps or 5x5 are over for me. 1 hard set getting stronger in an specific rep range. 5-8 reps. 6-10. 8-12. Etc..

[@nubbsgalore9016]

spinning wheels is still getting all health benefits of exercise

[@tpap6827]

It all comes down to stimulate rest recovery and get stronger from quarter to quarter and year to year. By doing so you will have to gain weight you have no choice

[@oldnatty61]

Age old principle. Put 90 lbs. on squat and deal lift will set the body up for growth through all other lifts. 20 rep breathing squats, food, milk, rest.

[@fsfs2778]

Would love to see more training clips, hope its not too much to ask!

[@lukeet331]

At the same/similar bodyweight this is true. But if bulking this isn't true your range of motion can decrease and leverages for certain lifts increase.

[@Amin_2k]

One thing that is confusing me is that it seems like progressive overload is a sign you are building muscle, rather than a component to making muscle, or is this assesment wrong? People will automatically lift heavier/do more reps if they get stronger anyway. A guy that can bench 300lbs isnt going to stay at 85Lbs and forget about the "progressive overload"

[@createyourpattern2773]

Thank you for the great content as always!

[@PendlayRoe]

Strength training is non negotiable if you want maximum jackeditude!

[@Realmentesencillo]

This video is Gold ALpha¡

[@KIKOMK999]

Natural or not this is the best approach to training period

[@anotherbrickinawall7894]

Alex do you think there is a way to strengthen your chin? I've seen some MMA Fighters/boxers train their neck and ik that it makes you take a hit better. But is there any way to make your chin harder? Seen GGG do neck and chin exercises but not sure if chin can be strengthened through time. What is your take on this?

[@abb5596]

You can get those rubber sponge type things which you chew to gain a more defined jawline by training the "chin" muscles... But whether that would help one take a punch I have no idea

[@FlyingUnosaur]

I'm not a fighter but don't fighters' chins permanently regress after they get KO'ed for the first time due to brain damage? I'm pretty sure I heard a pro fighter talk about this. So I guess minimizing damage during training is your best bet besides neck training?

[@Noah-Lach]

@@FlyingUnosaur Yup. Look at a fighter like Chuck Liddell. His chin was granite - the man literally took a full-force kick to the head without flinching - but the first time he was KOed his chin was never the same again. By the end of his career a short punch from a broken arm was enough to make the lights go out. I’m not sure exactly what causes it but I imagine it’s something to do with the nerves being damaged by that first knockout.

[@ggbrother8015]

I think there’s no way of training your chin tbh. Some were born with it (Nate Diaz) or they take care of their chin by not taking big shots in training.

[@fakof6231]

How do you explain guys in Olympic weightlifting staying very similar but get a lot stronger?

[@pearcebernstone9659]

For a pull day in the home gym, I don’t have much. What do you feel about high volume and reps with: inverted body weight rows on the trx, single arm dumbell rows, and pullups? Also same thing for chest day so I do high volume body weight dips, pushups, and flat barbell bench press. Thanks alex

[@andrewnelson913]

Roe the barbell

[@pearcebernstone9659]

@@andrewnelson913 I do sometimes but for leg day I usually deadlift so I don’t like to fatigue my lower back too much

[@andrewnelson913]

@@pearcebernstone9659 u have limited equipment just use stricter form

[@pearcebernstone9659]

@@popcornto6032 do you think this helped to build up your deadlift? 500 is a lot bro that’s sick

[@AS-qj5eh]

@@popcornto6032 no way 500 without deadlifting is sick. I can't go to the gym rn but i have a barbell and weights that go up to 80kg if i can Rdl that and get a strong weighted pull up will my conventional deadlift be strong?

[@nickvoelker7180]

If you're interested in chasing hypertrophy but don't like the idea of fluff and pump workouts, check out Christian Thibaudeau's "Best Damn Workout Plan for Natural Lifters". The program uses high frequency paired with more sophisticated rep/set/tempo schemes to maximize hypertrophy at lower volumes and higher intensities. I drew heavily from Thib's workout plan while developing my last program, and I'm pretty happy with the results I got compared to fluff and pump style hypertrophy workouts. If you're a strength focused in your training, you'll find these two programs a very comfortable transition to hypertrophy training. www.t-nation.com/training/the-best-damn-workout-plan-for-natural-lifters www.t-nation.com/workouts/the-best-damn-workout-plan-for-natural-lifters-part-2

[@robertsaladino]

My numbers have gone down slightly but I am bigger and look better. I guess in general it's true as long as you allow some variance in all theories.

[@ahmedtofigh2951]

i don't get it, what's the problem here? lets say you choose to do 10 reps, you're aiming for that last rep to be 10. Now if i pick a weight and i can do 14 or 13 that would mean that the weight is to light and i would pick a higher weight (DUUUH) after every workout i am going to progressively overload, i just choose not to focus on the strength which typically would mean 85% of 1rep max.

[@IGFitnessTraining]

I agree, good vid Alex.

[@superkevv3305]

Best of both worlds

[@Cavar21]

The thing is I get strong when Im bulking. but when I get fat I go on a cut and I lose ale the strength gains.

[@marioisraelhernandez671]

What about progressive overload in side and rear delts? I mean, I can’t imagine myself pumping my 25’s for 300 reps or pumping the 60’s for 10 without my arm falling off of my torso.

[@dancarter9360]

It's not an AlphaDestiny video unless the words 'but I digress' are said

[@AlexLeonidas]

Word!

[@Moriningland]

My bench volume on Jan 8th this year was a pathetic 90lb (I only count the weight I add to the bar on my tracker app). I just benched 2750lb volume. Felt incredible to hit that goal

[@captainzodd5281]

Pathetic bro, my weighted kegel is more than that.

[@uzi1307]

Question why do some power lifters look like regular people but then can lay down and bench 400 do you have to mix training I’ve been strength training legs but I want them to get much bigger I have chicken legs squatting like 340 rn I’m 160 pounds do you need to add weight to your body to gain mass or can fat just turn into to muscle to have more mass

[@keithstephenson840]

Fat can't turn into muscle, you either gain or loose fat. Same as muscle gain or loose. If u want to increase size work out maintenance calories then add more food (good food). Aim for 10-20 sets per muscle group a week. Ideally train muscle group 2-3 times a week. Also Power lifters have weight classes they track food to stay in their weight class.

[@גלהלפרין]

Muscle growth is a side effect and is not something you can actually train for in isolation. It's our bodies way to cope with progressive tension and over time our muscles will grow larger because there's a requirement for exerting larger amounts of forces. Strength is a skill, muscle growth is the genetic side effect.

[@angel_-1890]

Is it best to do low reps(strength) for the whole week or do both low reps and high reps to maximize gains?

[@peterknelsen5200]

When are you goin for that 405 bench!?

[@guts8952]

I do 75kg ohp and before that I trained half a year with 60 kg without progressing. This 15 kg weight increase build so much size on my triceps, neck, Lat and shoulder muscles. And my forearm muscle too,because I use fat grip. I use more weight with dumbbel row now. 62, 5kg now, before I used only 42, 5 kg. The lats and neck grow from these exercise I think. So yes you are right. More strength is more size obviously. I tried to do more volume but failed. I only succeeded to press 60kgx10 but after that, I couldn't do that in other Trainings sessions, very frustrating. But to increase weight is possible. I want to press 100kg end of the year and dumbbel row 75 kg. I will upload 80,90 and 100 kg💪😁

[@797.A]

But gyms are closed, can’t do strength training without heavy weights. Only have high volume calisthenics but I can do heavy weighted pull ups but thats it.

[@R1l3yjacks0n]

What about weighted dips

[@spinge8026]

easy to get stronger with no weights. Use bands Increase Reps. Increase Sets Decrease Rest Time. Use '30down' esque workouts. (google it)

[@797.A]

@@R1l3yjacks0n I can do weighted dips, its jut that my dip bar is way too wide for me so it doesnt really work too well :/

[@797.A]

@@spinge8026 That's what im basically doing, just high rep workouts such as push ups. But it aint the same as doing heavy 5x5s

[@dr.4453]

Agree but how does this fit in with what Team3DAlpha says?