The SECRET to Long-Term Muscle and Strength Gains (Maybe!)

[@greatone6196]

I think one important benefit of breaks and deloads that wasn't (understandably) covered in the video is joint recovery. Joints/tendons/ligaments don't recover nearly as fast as muscles and I personally believe these breaks help give them time to recover and an uninjured person makes way more gains than an injured one

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

That's a great point, I have not looked into it, but if joints/tendon/ligaments require longer recovery, than yep, breaks could be great for this too!

[@Ilethsamael]

There is also something called MTOR reset which needs extremely low training volume to occur and makes the next efforts in training more efficient.

[@foxdogs1st]

The Nervous system can take longer to recover. As one keeps applying greater and greater stress through progressive overloading their is only so much stress each individual can recover from and Central Nervous system stress isn't just from weight training alone. Any videos on Redlight therapy ?

[@konstantinoskonstantatos8441]

@@HouseofHypertrophy That is actually a pretty commonly used concept in programming which is based on minimal data and the fact that tendons , have worse vasculature and also reflexes (based on the golgi organ) which are innervated by a type neurons , which conduct stronger pulses , in comparison to the γ neurons that mainly carry out the opposite reflex in muscle spnidles.The concept of DOMS , which is also commonly misunderstood and could make for a very nice video , in realiy is also produced by these "reaction organs" within the muscles and tendons taking longer than the actual muscle itself to get back to baseline in terms of their length and therefore the signals that they produce

[@Piraats1992]

@@HouseofHypertrophy what about enhanced lifters, does this pathway also desensitize in a similar way? Any studies or theories on this?

[@BigAussieDonkey]

Been on a training break for 12 months. Gains are gonna be so sick whenever I finish my break

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Hahaha :)

[@MarcoAshford]

No joke man, I was on a 30 year training break and my arm size was like doubled after 6 months of weekly full body training.

[@shauncollins678]

Your getting jacked for sure bro

[@drdankmemes4827]

@@MarcoAshford thanks to muscle memory

[@MarcoAshford]

@@drdankmemes4827 I'm 30 years old, just FYI

[@ExcaliburX1]

This channel is pure gold. Never ever stop making these videos, they are so helpful you can´t imagine how much. I have watched every single video like a marathon. Keep it up!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much, I appreciate you!

[@Muphenz]

Nah dude, this is pure Platinum, which is worth more than gold.

[@JeffreyFate]

Pure myofibril AND sarcoplasm

[@fk9277]

@@HouseofHypertrophy I've been waiting years for a channel like yours.

[@zubstep]

Takeaway: Don't sweat taking a real vacation. Go have fun, give the body a break. Come back, hit the routine refreshed.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Yepp!

[@abcd-sf5ur]

Yeah even I noticed this I took a week off as I was on a vacation...after I came back I noticed strength gains on Bench press and deadlift💪💪..It was cool

[@harokahtajdid]

@@abcd-sf5ur what was the diff in terms of strength gains? i need numbers and figures to better consume this fact

[@futureskipper4616]

Have been experimenting with this over the years and 8 days off every 8 weeks works great for me, always come back stronger, both physically and mentally, haven't had a significant injury since! Should also be enough time for the joints etc. to heal.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff!

[@Miam_miam_la_gauffre]

Same idea, I go for 5/6 weeks on and 1 week off, my performance usually go up the first 4 weeks then start to decline for the 1 to 2 following weeks (as I train for stuff which involve joint quit a lot like iron cross). When I get back to work, I'm a bit below my best performance of the previous session but usually the following week I'm a top performances or even above, then it keep going up. It's a patience game, but when you got that figured out and that you carefully note it, you can see how rewarding it is

[@Raiden-the-Goat32]

If i am 32 but have only started working out for 4 days straight how long should i take a break to recover? The amount of pushups i can do have went down over 4 days of working out.

[@Marco_My_Words]

I am not scared of losing muscle anymore. I had a 4 year break with poor nutrition (I was homeless for some time) and after I started working out again, I not only could lift the same weight I lifted before, but I actually managed to build up more strength and mass than I have ever had. And all that in the first month of getting back into training. I now started implementing way longer regeneration breaks than before and since I realized I can build more muscle if I pause for a week or two, I started implementing complete training pauses. Every few weeks I pause for one or two training cycles. To give my body enough time to recover and re-sensitize. One training cycle is 6 days long for me. I do push, pull, pause, legs, abs, pause. 6 day cycle which already has a lot of regeneration. But one thing is very important though, I've made the experience that I need to do this to have this effect with all that rest: I need to really fuck up my muscles on the training days. 6 to 12 sets per muscle, sometimes I even do more than 12 per muscle, but only 6 max per exercise. I've taken steroids in the past. And even with steroids I've never had the strength that I have today. This is crazy. I think we all are working out way too little on out training days and implementing way too little rest via our resting days. I really do think that this is the thing that is keeping most people from building strength and muscle faster and better.

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

I just eat raw fruit. So much energy and strength I don't need to rest.

[@ccips1135]

Thats why i switched to bro split, with every month or two taking a full week of rest. I used to train muscle group 2-3x weekly once i decreased frequency my strength skyrocketed. And also no more mental fatigue

[@Marco_My_Words]

​@@ccips1135 I'm actually taking a 10-day break right now. The science behind this is that when you train for several weeks at a time, protein synthesis in your body is constantly going on. That means your body becomes tolerant to specific hormones that activate protein synthesis or have something to do with processes that assist protein synthesis. However, you don't lose mass in those 10 days. I've seen a study that showed that a group of people who paused their workouts for a few days built more muscle mass over the same amount of time than a group that didn't pause. More gain for less work, work smart not hard. Especially after the break, because the body was receptive to the hormones again and thus the training was more effective.

[@72Dexter72Manley72]

The Silver Era bodybuilders took 14 days off every 3 months of training. Steve Reeves and Leroy Colbert did this themselves. This was in the 1940's to 50's. I give a lot of credit to Silver Era bodybuilders because they actually tried everything, to figure out what worked and what didn't work. I take 11 days off every 3 months myself. I am always had me ready and motivated to get back to lifting. 💪🏾

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Great stuff, thank you for sharing!

[@piotrproszewski3977]

Wow,I do the same and I dont known that silver era guys do that...10-14 days every 3 month

[@72Dexter72Manley72]

@@piotrproszewski3977 When you have some free time look up the studies on resetting mTor. The body gets desensitized to training. Take 11-14 days off every 3 months. You will feel refreshed and excited to get back to training again. Nothing wrong with taking a break and you aren't losing gains. Take the same days off before starting a new routine or when changing the exercises in the same routine. 👍🏽

[@piotrproszewski3977]

@@72Dexter72Manley72 in known, ben working out 6 years...full body 2×week.In home. Im 42 so trained more often is not for me any more. Cant regenerate.

[@72Dexter72Manley72]

@@piotrproszewski3977 Cool Man, I'm 56. Been doing full body for over 25 years since I stopped playing football. I always say to people to follow what the Silver era guys were doing. To me they did things right because they were willing to try everything on themselves. And they were natural. Even Vince Gironda had things nailed down because he actually did them. 👍🏽

[@Wetterwet]

Re-sensitization phases are often overlooked. Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

That's a great way to put it!

[@covalentbond7933]

The problem is that most people it's half a step forward and 2 steps back

[@ruiseartalcorn]

I train 3 days a week, full body (using an A/B) routine. For many years I used to take a week off every 2 or 3 months. However, for the last few years I have found that training continuously but occasionally dropping back to 2 days a week, allows me to stay on top of recovery and keep making good progress. I'm almost 64 and this works for me :)

[@flynnoflenniken7402]

Interesting seeing this video since I've been trying out two weeks on one week off recently. I just find after two weeks of pushing myself I start feeling worn down in an overtrained kind of way, so I started taking a week off to do lighter active recovery type exercise, and then the next week I feel nice and refreshed and ready to push myself again. So far I've had pretty good strength gains with it, and the reset week also gives me a bit of extra time for other things. It's felt like a really nice balance so far.

[@MotoguyX5]

Interesting! I’ve been taking one week rest every 4-6 weeks for years now, mainly for injury prevention but also to prevent burnout, and never saw any detriment from doing so. Apparently it may have been actually helping me!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing dude!

[@Shadowchaos800]

Would you take a full week off or would you deload and lift weights at 50% load?

[@MotoguyX5]

@@Shadowchaos800 I know a lot of people recommend a deload over a complete break, but I do a complete break. I still walk daily and remain active but won't lift outside of maybe doing some body-weight squats and a few pushups and pull-ups here or there.

[@de4dcry]

Thanks for always bringing us the latest scientific research and how to aply it to our trainings , top tier fitness channel

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem! Thank YOU for checking out the content, I truly appreciate it :)

[@Satarnoch]

This is a very interesting concept. The problem with hyperthropy studies is that they are so short. You can gain strength very quickly but muscle building isn't necessarily that easy and quick.

[@lukagandia5995]

One of the BEST channels on KZbin 🥰

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you my friend, that's very kind of you!

[@bengale1263]

Factual

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thanks dude :)

[@Egoliftdaily]

I knew from experience that deloads and breaks are important. In my case, after 3 or so months of consistent training I start to feel stale and the weights would start to move slow. I just didn't know the mechanisms behind it. This vid was very educational. Some science to supplement my knowledge from practical experience.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome to hear Miguel, thank you as always!

[@Egoliftdaily]

@@HouseofHypertrophy great vid as usual, bro. I learned a lot. Made a lot of adjustments to my programming especially regarding weekly volume and exercise selection since I found your channel months ago. Your vids have helped me a lot. So, thank you too.

[@abcd-sf5ur]

Oh man ! I've never seen any other youtuber talking about this... absolute stunner man! Please keep on making informative videos like these:)

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you my friend!

[@jasonhawko3775]

Always glad when I see a new video from your channel. I can't stop recommending your videos enough to my friends who lift

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude, that truly means a lot to me!

[@Nial]

Glad to see you're finally getting the exposure this content deserved. This channel is still extremely underrated.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you dude, I appreciate you!

[@SYPCWAK]

Thanks for the video. One issue I have with taking a training break is getting back to it. In other words, once I stop I find it very difficult to get started again.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Yeah that can 100% be a problem. In this event, it may just be best not to take breaks, as consistent training over the long term is going to be more important :)

[@SYPCWAK]

@@HouseofHypertrophy I totally agree.

[@C4PTAINinsano]

I do deloads or light random training weeks just to keep the habit of going but not worry about the constant increase in sets, weight, reps. Trying different exercises just for lightweight and for fun without worrying about the comparison of performance to last week.

[@johnwirk]

At 35 yrs old I got back into a routine to build again before I hit my 40s. I went hard for 2 months and got gassed. It was hard to get out of bed energy wise. I took a week off, doing nothing. Went back at it. Currently I'm on the 5th week and feeling good. I imagine in 3 more weeks I'll probably be gassed again. I'll take another week if so. I'm definitely not 20 any more. Still gaining though. Rest is key but just listen to your body. You'll know once your in the groove of things because as soon as you lack training your muscles begin to crave it.

[@bonkersdonkers7381]

This confirms what Mike Mentzer preached all along. His low frequency approach has merit considering that post each training session individuals were given enough time to properly resensitize anabolic pathways. I myself work each muscle group with 4 sets to failure weekly. The volume is split between 2 full body workouts, which may not be optimal (research suggests 9-20 weekly sets) but it still works.

[@Vk-du3ci]

Was thinking along the same lines. On one hand, low frequency low volume should keep the muscle sensitive for volume so only a couple sets to failure should be suficient to provide a good stimulus, to me that makes sense. On the other hand, as the overall volume and frequency are so low that a muscle never really desensitizes, such a low frequency respectively "training breaks" would not even be needed. I'd love to see long term research (at least 6 months) on trained individuals that compares a real HD routine to a more volume based approach with say 10 weekly sets with a 2x frequency

[@bonkersdonkers7381]

@@Vk-du3ci yeah same. This video was very interesting and it confirmed something I suspected anecdotally. When I train high volume the gains come quick, session per session I gradually get stronger, but then the plateau hits hard. With lower volumes the gains come slower, but they are more consistent over a longer period of time.

[@Oi-mj6dv]

EXACTLY someone that gets it

[@randosmallfoot2132]

I’m 30, dealt with knee injuries (picked up weight) in the military. Training there taught me that overworking your body opens you up to serious injury. Now that I’ve recovered somewhat I don’t do to much. I do body weight circuits and run. I don’t focus on mass just core and endurance. I always don’t workout out to failure anymore and mostly every other day it’s easier on my body.

[@Oi-mj6dv]

This, i find to be one of the best arguments for HIT. With substantive less work volume long term gains can be comparable (which feels like black Magic tbh but its not, its just biology) or even better in some cases (depending on responsiveness to types of training stimuli) if your leg days (for example) are spread apart so that mTOR desensitization is barely a factor at play, volume and tonnage lifted could be majorly boosted and being an order of magnitude more effective. The more i find research like this, the more i feel mentzer might have been onto something

[@OperationSally]

As with so many studies though, it is done on untrained individuals... ultimately they will explode in growth doing almost anything. I'd be much more interested in studies carried out on intermediate lifters or even advanced and pro lifters.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

True, but they did train for 6 months, so they technically became somewhat trained. Still, it would 100% be awesome to see a comparable study design done in trained folks

[@athul_here_]

but both group were untrained and they are compared to each other. 🤷‍♂️

[@OperationSally]

@@athul_here_ You can compare two untrained groups doing calisthenics vs. bodybuilding and they'll have very similar upper body growth. The whole point is that conparisons between untrained individuals are very often next to useless for intermediates and beyond.

[@bscott33]

@@OperationSally well if you take 3 weeks of guess what… your untrained again.

[@veschm]

Year, when it got interesting the study stopped. So sad. I wanted to know what happend after the newbie gains, when they are building first real new muscles when both groups has to fight for every rep.

[@yourvision4986]

Medical Exercise Specialist Pro-Tip: Our only problem with these type of studies would be if participants were done with both men & women, owe had never lifted, if they lifted how long have, they been exercising for this study was done and for what period of time and were they using PED's? Other than that, it was helpful, if next time you can let your viewer's no more in-depth research. Keep up the great work.

[@mertonhirsch4734]

1) I'd expect ever better relative results for the group with breaks if they were training their whole bodies rather than one major exercise. 2) Suggests also that perhaps programs should be specialized to focus on different body parts. During the 3 week break from the bench press, the break group could have trained their legs and possibly made gains there too. The break group grew the same with only 2/3 of the total volume. 3) Also note that "growth" did NOT happen during the break period as some HIT advocates suggest. Lifters came back with less muscle after 3 weeks off meaning that adaptation can and does precede recovery with regard to at least some physioligical characteristics (recovery of training sensitization came during a period when adaptation had already peaked and regression of began. 4) Both programs produced about 35% increase in muscle mass in 6 months of training. For a typical 160 pound male, this would amount to about 20 pounds of muscle gain in 6 months if it was applied to the whole body. How would the cumulative effects of a whole body workout affect this? 5) I'd like to know how the break group lost muscle in those 3 week breaks. Was it fairly linear, or did it occur in more in the first or last of the 3 weeks. Did they GAIN a little in the first week of the 3 week break and then drop off? Did they drop off quickly and then plateau on the loss.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Really really awesome notes dude, great questions as well. Future research is needed!

[@SmarteeSteve]

Very astute questions. I'd like to see you to be involved in designing studies

[@patrickellsworth5427]

Great video! I would rather not take a long break. Rather, I like to sprinkle in an extra day off in and there. I'm not only going for gains, but health and the feeling workouts give me emotionally and psychologically.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff, thank you so much :)

[@xenoduck3189]

Your videos are so thorough, it's always a joy to watch them. You perfectly answer the question, every time, and admit when something isn't known. I'm glad I found this channel

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude, I recall you found my back in 2021 from the free weight machine video, so it's awesome to see my videos are still of use to you!

[@xenoduck3189]

@@HouseofHypertrophy 😁😁 Keep doing what you're doing! Right now you are the person I enjoy watching most in training science

[@DudeSilad]

Another great video. I only really have training breaks when, as mentioned in the video, life's unpredictability. I do take a few throughout the year but they generally aren't planned. I've just had a week off and now have approx. 6 weeks before my summer holiday, so its timed fine for me.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you dude, and yeah, I think for most people life's unpredictability is what causes breaks :)

[@enumclaw79]

Another great video. I especially love how balanced you are with drawing conclusions, summarising that we need more research and there is no certainty (yet) that training breaks will work for you. SOOO many other content creators would end with "..therefor this PROVES that training breaks do xyz". I think I'll have a go with the training breaks. I'm over 40 now and if nothing else I can see it giving me aging body more of a chance of heal and recover. I actually just came back from 10 days camping where I didn't do any heavy lifting and produced several personal bests on my first day back on the weights. I'm still sore as hell 2 days later lol, but it feels like the rest let me work a lot harder and I'm sure they'll be gains.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much for your kind words, and it's awesome to hear you experience with breaks. Great stuff!

[@seanregehr4921]

Given that your muscles become desensitized to a training consistent and constant regime of exercises after approximately 3 weeks, it makes sense that a 3 week rest period would be optimal to break this down fully. 3 weeks of hard regular training, followed by 3 weeks of solid rest works wonders. I have been experimenting with rest periods and would confirm the overall sentiments stated in this video. Taken a step further, it also makes perfect sense to use that rest period from strength training to train say cardio, even if just in a casual manner. Oxygen flow is crucial for strength building and often most people prefer to not train both simultaneously as it can feel overly taxing and also time consuming.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Interesting to hear, thank you for sharing dude!

[@aroundandround]

Problem with a 3-week break is staying sane keeping yourself otherwise occupied during your usual workout time.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

True!

[@branrx]

I agree. Also breaks a rhythm. Seems like 3 weeks could destroy that

[@magnoid]

This video is 🔥 I plan on incorporating periodic longer rest periods in my regiment. I was looking at the Jacko et al study... they didn't explain why they picked 10 days. I would love a follow up study that examines pathway phosphorylation re-sensitization levels over time, e.g. after 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 days of rest.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you dude, and I agree 100% it would be awesome to see a study comparing different rest day durations :)

[@GintokyoGaming]

This helps explaining why, even though I have to take a rest week every two weeks of training I still make strength and mass gains - and have more time for other things I love. Great vid, I hope your channel will skyrocket asap, you deserve it :D

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome to hear, thank you so much for your kind words, they mean a lot to me!

[@Njderig]

Just my 2 cents. When I was a young guy in my teens and early 20s I would train often up to 5 days a week but would recover rapidly and after 12 weeks of hard training I’d need only one week off to reset and recover before starting the training cycle again. Now at 43 I cannot do more than 3 weight workouts a week. I also do much less volume and don’t max out anymore but I’m still able to maintain nearly the same physique naturally. I’ve recently adapted more of a high intensity type of hybrid with high frequency. For example Interestingly I’ll warm up on bench and do one main set almost to failure but doesn’t have to be as long as I do one more rep than last time or more weight. Then I repeat this with back and legs etc. then two days later I’ll do this again and it’s working incredibly well. It’s similar to a Dorian Yates style. Hit it hard but very low volume but not trashing the muscle like Mike Mentzer because that leads to injuries. I believe in pushing yourself but I think trashing the muscle to the point of complete failure is counterproductive especially for older guys and natural lifters.

[@TheCircusking77]

What are the ages of the test groups? Harder to lose muscle at younger ages versus an older person where muscle and strength loss occurs more rapidly. Something to think about

[@chrisblanc663]

Darn being a natural builder.

[@polystrate1]

Funny, I'm going on my 6th week right now. Stretching and working the bottom part of each ROM has put on a decent amount of mass so far. Great content.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome to hear, partial ROMs at long lengths are likely very great for gains. !

[@hata6290]

DISGUSTINGLY UNDERRATED YOURE INCREDIBLE

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude, I appreciate you!

[@rkonjr64]

Additionally, re: "de-loads". De-loads take advantage of reminiscence-the body responding to stress as if it was the degree that was most recently experienced for a period of time. Meaning-when you deload, your body will continue to respond to the workouts AS IF YOU ARE DOING MORE. The "breaks" are dependent on "muscle memory" to work. A "deload's" results take greater advantage of reminiscence, allowing GREATER gains in the "deload" period. The trick is timing-you don't want to go into a deload far into overtraining, because neural fatigue then becomes too great of a factor. Then you MUST take a break. For what it's worth, "reminiscence" has confused many people that "less is more"..they are told they are overtraining, reduce sets/reps, get GREATER gains for a short period, think it is the shorter workout producing the effect (it is the shorter AFTER the longer), but then, stagnate...and spend years trying to figure out what they are doing wrong. Happens with HIT or "return to basics" for many (Overtrain, do "less" (deload), have fast growth, but then stagnate and spend years trying to figure out how to "tweak" their abbreviated routine to make it work again).

[@shinola228]

Due to work and other obligations l had to stop my daily workout and only go to the gym only on Sundays. Almost without exception l was stronger/ more reps than the previous session. I had a similar experience with some uphill sprints l was doing a few years ago - l consistently got faster when l changed from 3 to 1 time a week. I might now try every 10 days as the interval.

[@Oi-mj6dv]

HIT works for a reason, even if people are hellbent on the volume way. Mentzer discovered this a while back. A true fucking genius

[@lsporter88]

Very significant. This might be a clue to greater long term gains. Thank you.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem! Thank you for your support my friend, I appreciate you!

[@whalingwithishmael7751]

Wow. This is super surprising and encouraging.

[@SpoonFinder]

So a recurring 10 days break might actually be the most time-efficient way to build muscle, but now I'm left to wonder: how long does it take to get your hypertrophy signaling desensitized? Saw a guy in the comment section suggest 2 weeks of training and 1 of rest which would be in line with the first the first study cited in the video. I'm highly interested in this since having ADHD makes it really difficult for me to stick to a 100%-on schedule for long periods of time. Having regular breaks without losing gains would be really helpful. Great content anyways, definitely gonna sub and stick around for a while, keep it up

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude! More research would be needed to determine it precisely, but I'm thinking it may be around 2-3 weeks of training.

[@stevenbaumann5911]

I used to train 5 days a week from Monday to Friday. I kept wondering why I wasn't getting any stronger. But once I cut that down to three times a week, I do notice a significant difference. Now I'm only going to start doing it twice a week.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Interesting to hear!

[@RDbodybuildingreardelt]

What is your training split now?

[@stevenbaumann5911]

@@RDbodybuildingreardelt more or less the same. But I'm going to start 3days of upper body, 2days of lower, 2 off.

[@valentiguitars]

On a more focused note: i have experienced the best gains (long term) maintaining the same weekly volume for each muscle group, but doing it once a week. In the beginning, there was a noticeable loss due to less sarcoplasmic liquid in the tissues. After that, the loss was recovered and then got better and better. I think this is due to the fact that training less frequently does not allow for maximum adaptation, therefore stressing the muscle better and causing better growth. It is also important to notice that every six weeks I switch exercises, using the first week as deload while approaching new lifts.

[@thsstphok7937]

So you train a bro split (back, chest, legs, arms, shoulder) correct? That is interesting I tried 1 month of 1x week frequency and see the best results. How many do you do?

[@valentiguitars]

@@thsstphok7937 sort of. Since I have weak points in terms of muscle development, at the moment I am doing: shoulders, legs, chest, back+biceps. Triceps are at the moment neglected because they are naturally ok. I train mon, wed, fri, sat. Trying to spread the days as much as possible. The volume is 9 sets per muscle group (might increase in the future). I am not saying this is an optimal method, but is works and you've done your session in about an hour and I still get gains without getting fatigued

[@facepullsscents]

I really start to like your channel, and also I enjoy to read every single comment from others people here. Hope your channel will grow more and always bring a good stuff. Thanks for sharing!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome to hear, thank you for your kind words!

[@galenmarek6949]

So Mike Mentzer was onto something. Experience beats speculation ALL the time.

[@joshortiz483]

Best fitness channel ever

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, thanks dude, that means a lot :)

[@israelbrilhante8252]

Depth of data analysis and simplicity in communication. This channel is pure gold. Greetings from Brazil.

[@argospanoptes4826]

One of the greatest video I saw for long time. I believe that's important to give also some rest to the joints. Thank to share these very interresting studies.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank YOU for checking out the video, I appreciate you!

[@1chumley1]

Taking breaks makes me feel like crap. Also, this is how good habits get broken.

[@mohdarbazshaikh0690]

Another knowledge bomb dropped.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, all I'm doing is just spreading some interesting research! :)

[@gusjeazer]

I train currently in 2 week blocks alternating between pure strength block and a 'explosive' strength block. 2 weeks of regular powerbuilding/bodybuilding training (not too light) then 2 weeks of 3x a week explosive strength training. NOT FOR BEGINNERS WITH KETTLEBELLS! Start with one handed movements first! This is what that looks like: Each week a light, medium then heavy workout. I do double kettlebell clean and jerks as the main exercise. Hard=2,4,6 reps x 3 ladders, trying to complete faster every hard workout. So rest only as long as needed between reps and ladders (sets) and time your hard workout. Once you can't shave off time, you ad a set to the ladder, so next is 2,4,6 reps x 4. Then x 5. Once you can't shave time off on 2,4,6x5: add a ring/ double rep to the ladder. 2,4,6,8x3 is your new goal. Repeat the progression until you hit 2,4,6,8,10x5. Then increase the weight. Easy= hard-a double rep/'rung'. If you will do 2,4,6x3 on the hard day, do 2,4x3 not timed. Medium= hard-a set/ladder. So if the hard day will be 2,4,6,8x4 the medium day will be 2,4,6,8x3. Not timed. I add in 2x 3 height jumps and 3 sets of 2-3 long jumps. I do multiple jump variations. I often do a finisher after the light or medium workouts with short sprints, sled pulling or pushing, quasi explosive sled rows etc. Explosive pushups, rope climbing without legs or monkey bars or changing hand positions on a pull up bar or rings while hanging. Sometimes a few sets of Kettlebell swings, Kettlebell juggling etc. The stimulus is completely different from the slow strength block. It allows my body to recover and re-prime for the slow grinds, and the same for coming back to the explosive stuff. It seems to be working rather well for me. I seem to be progressing without plateauing. I've been doing this for a while now, been not so strict with my training lately, but I still keep making progress. This workout is a rough adaptation of Pavel Tsatsoulines workout from his (excellent) book 'return of the kettlebell' (I think it was that book, could have been another one from him).

[@tylerbramer8890]

most underrated chanel love your videos

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you dude, that means a lot to me! I appreciate you!

[@tylerbramer8890]

@@HouseofHypertrophy np dude keep up the good work👍

[@lukase8033]

Are those anabolic pathways local to muscle groups? If yes, you could try to to cycle like this: week 1-2: Push & Legs week 3-4: Legs & Pull week 5-6: Pull & Legs repeat This would make it easier to keep up the training habits and would keep the needed calories constant. I actually think, I will try this for a few months. In my experience, the greatest obstacle in training was always the accumulation of joint damage. Once a joint is damaged enough, it easily has the potential to set me back half a year in training. To prevent this, I would gladly sacrifice 20% of monthly gains. If I increase my gains this way, it would be even better.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

The anabolic pathways are local to the muscle groups, so what you're describing could indeed be highly effective!

[@Vk-du3ci]

@@HouseofHypertrophy Had a similar idea, just wondering if that would be enough rest to resensitize the pathways of ones back, as your back is more or less always somehow involved in push and legs, at least when using heavy compounds. What do you think?

[@Vk-du3ci]

Also, when I get back to heavy chinups after a while of not doing them, I get sore chest and triceps

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Interesting stuff, I think it could be individual. Given back is rarely the limiting factor in other push and leg exercises (except for maybe deadlifts), I think it would probably be okay. More research is needed though :)

[@einsteinvondaniken]

Dammit boy I'm obsessed with this channel. I love it when the science backs the theory.

[@einsteinvondaniken]

Subbed, btw

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude, I appreciate you!

[@jackquarry3345]

thanks for keeping it short and concise. 🙏

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No worries, thank YOU for checking out the video :)

[@myamotomuzashi9080]

thank you from the bottom of my heart

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank you! :)

[@woden__]

This could be why the Mike Mentzer training style claimed it could build so much muscle, it wasnt the intensity it was the long breaks of no exercise

[@Vk-du3ci]

I just doubt if only a couple sets to failure performed once a week or every 10-14 days or so really significantly desensitize anabolic pathways

[@martinnilsson495]

Wow thats fascinating. Thanks for another brilliant video!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank YOU for checking it out. I appreciate you!

[@89hitokiri]

Love this channel. Thanks for all the work.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate you!

[@Egoliftdaily]

Notif squad.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you bro!

[@nikos4677]

ye

[@aphaz]

No teeth squad

[@xExtremeFrissonx]

This doesn’t mean you should start slacking off bros, keep killing it in the gym.

[@dreibrandao]

thanks for the video and sharing all the references as well. i share the same opnion on 'deload' . ill test a planned detraining of 7 to10 days for a couple months and see what happens

[@douglascampbell6482]

This video has helped me resolve to take a training break. I’ve been going at it 5-6 days a week for almost a year with significant gains but have started to plateau (plus I’ve got a nagging brachial biceps tendonitis that I’d love to see go away.). Thanks for the evidence based kick in the ass!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, awesome to hear. Wish you all the best and that you burst through those plateaus upon returning :)

[@douglascampbell6482]

@@HouseofHypertrophy Ten of the hardest days of the year later and I finally let myself go back to the gym today. No significant change in weight/reps, which is in keeping with your summary - no loss of strength in 10 days. I wondered about whether I should change my diet over the break as I’ve been on a 300kCal/day surplus. Stayed the same with no change in weight.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

@@douglascampbell6482 Wow, thank YOU for this update. It's awesome to hear your experience with it! I hope you smash that plateau :)

[@okcyurwin]

@@douglascampbell6482 hello, did the 10 day break shift the tiredness and help with any joint pains? Do you feel it was beneficial to have taken the break or does your training sessions mentally feel the same as before the break? Thanks in advance 👍🏼

[@douglascampbell6482]

@@okcyurwin Great questions! The shoulder pain I was having from the tendonitis is much improved - not resolved but I’m not in pain when I turn the steering wheel. I got surprisingly sore after my first few workouts at the same volume as prior to the break, especially my legs, so it might be a good idea to restart more slowly (unless you like that feeling.) Mentally, I was excited to get back to training and I remain curious to see if some of my key benchmarks will rise over the next several weeks. All in all, I would say it was a good experiment with the only downside being looking forlornly through the windows of my gym for ten days wanting to get back to work.

[@ManlyServant]

another very useful video!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you dude, I appreciate you!

[@thatsit7933]

Good video man! I am a big believer that overtraining is a thing, and that you will growth more muscle by implementing more rest days. and thank god for muscle memory, witout it there will be no bodybuilding around nowadays 😁

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you my friend, and indeed, muscle memory is awesome!

[@rizzwan-42069]

it's all about balance

[@zdtuttauniversity2715]

I used to think 7-10 days was sufficient for a DeLoad, now I understand that even 3 weeks is not only sufficient- but could be MORE beneficial!! I will need to update my programming accordingly.. Thanks for being in the trenches so we don't have to- Keep it up!!! Cheers, Z

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you for the kind words! :) Also I should note, although 3 weeks can probably work, as we mentioned here: 6:20 10 days off itself could be better.But it's your call :)

[@zdtuttauniversity2715]

@@HouseofHypertrophy thank God... I was like how am I gonna go 3 weeks no Gym??? XD thanks for clarifying, I am ADD and tend to miss small details when my mind wanders- thanks for keeping me straight :) Cheers, Z

[@biblemanawakens1688]

@@zdtuttauniversity2715 did you add it to your workout and how did it workout for you

[@mpireoutdoors5274]

I'm currently training once a week. I'm training 2 hours pretty much the whole body 7 rep maximum. i then do in about an hour of rock climbing and then training the same muscle groups plus some filler muscles with volume training ie drop sets to failure. Having a week pause seems to be very good in letting the body recover and allowing me to build up that aggression resulting from the testosterone. its also useful in allowing you time to reassess your goals and fix your goals for the next week. I've been training for over 15 years so I kind of know if something is working or not and this seems to be working. There are a few studies which show that recovery takes up to a month so I kind of think that the frequency of training currently is somewhat dependent on the marketing of the gyms.

[@MartinA-kp8xg]

4 weeks on, then one week off worked great for me in my 20s. It was a double split 3 times per week. Each body part only trained 6vtimes over 4 weeks then rest. Now at 62 training twice per week on a quadruple split means each body part is only trained once every two weeks. Still train intensive on all the compound lifts. If a holiday causes a week off the body parts are them 3 weeks apart with no detriment and often a surprising gain. Rest is when we grow, intense stimulation is necessary but cannot be done too frequently. Train less stay in good nick and we'll rested, to much enthusiasm is detrimental.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you for sharing your story, very interesting! Thank you

[@MrOpc51]

I think this is critical. We know that body has many metabolic pathways. We know that too much activation of one pathway leads to resistance. The modern world is awash with metabolic illness and insulin resistance. That is reversed by fasting, keto, time restricted feeding. It makes perfect sense that periods of growth need to be followed by periods of rest. Thank you for for this video. It makes me more confident about having "a week off occasionally". My blood work constantly shows elevated "Creatine Kinase" levels. I have wondered if that's been a sign of not getting enough rest.

[@gordonvandenberg180]

I've been taking a full 2 weeks off training every 6 months for a while now (on top of deloading after 5 or 6 weeks of hard training) and I definitely feel it has been a great idea, I may even do take these breaks 3 times a year now after watching this! 💪🏼😂

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff dude, thank you for sharing!

[@anotherboredperson]

The natural life of animals is not a constant struggle- but periodic bouts of struggle interspersed with long rests and as much laziness as they can get away with. It would stand to reason the human body carries the same drives and cycles as most mammals- especially primates. Brief moments of high expenditure needed to secure food followed by time to eat, digest, and rest until the food is dwindling. Constant struggle typically results in death in nature. Intermittent struggle is the norm. So bodies are often adapted to account for intermittent struggles quickly while slowly adjusting to its everyday circumstances

[@RobCLynch]

Really interesting. I'm in my 50s now so I'm just happy to get to the gym every second day. But I train all over body, quite intensely and after 4 or 5 workouts, I'll rest for an extra day or 2. I feel stronger than ever.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff!

[@VandreBorba]

I love this video. Thank you!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank YOU for checking it out :)

[@9latinumStudioz]

Wow so vacations are really "needed" 👌😎✨

[@barry_g8443]

Excellent investigation.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much!

[@natural-Beast]

The more advanced You get the more intense iss your workout thus You have to rest more the particular muscle You working out for full recovery and hypertrophy.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

It depends, there's good reason to believe more advanced individuals also have adaptations in the muscle (termed the repeated bout effect) that make it harder to damage and disrupt it.

[@natural-Beast]

@@HouseofHypertrophy hmmm i have some decades working out,i never stop because i know i will get sick in the winter or i will stop for a month or two just to chill but now i want to try training for a 3 weeks and take one off,keeping some rest days between working weeks

[@skrmnghrd4520]

I have been doing this. 3:1. Three weeks in. One week eat like a slave, sleep like a baby, chill like a monk. This has been working out for me so far. If I keep training without the one week break, I lose weight. Since I do Calisthenics mostly, I feel my endurance getting better and i can squeeze out more reps. It doesn't affect aesthetically much but the things thatbused to feel heavy, doesn't anymore. :')

[@XavierSalverda]

Time to try a new 30 day training split, 20 days on 10 days off in the pattern of upper, lower, upper, lower, arm day. Repeated 4 times followed by 10 days of rest. Sounds positively metal.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

That could work very well!

[@XavierSalverda]

@@HouseofHypertrophy the constant accumulation of volume without adequate recovery in the 20 might negate the benifit of the long rest but it's a baseline to build on. Might turn into a 36 day split to optimize by adding 2 day rest between the groups of training days. Thank you for the encouragement :)

[@MrSunnyBhoy]

Good video, I was doing 2 days on one day off, but total gym visits out of a week was 3-4 max. But, I went on holiday for 6 days, came back chopping at the bit to get back in the gym, and then I did 6/7 days which I never done before and I felt amazing. My recovery was fine, no real Dom's, and I train hard. Not gona do this every week but for my personally gym keeps away depression so I think I will find it hard to take 3-4 days off a week now.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff! :)

[@joejoe850]

Great content as always

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much my friend

[@robertspence7766]

I have been training very consistently for 5 1/2 years 4-5 days per week. Due to a major life change and possible muscle pain and fatigue for 6 months post COVID, I found myself training very little, perhaps 1 PPL split every 2 weeks with only 6 or so sets to volitional failure. I found that I held onto most of my muscle over 6 months. NOT what I expected. I have gone back to consistent training with a 5 day bro split a month ago as an experiment with noticeable strength and visual improvements. For now, at least.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome to hear, thank you for sharing!

[@Casey666666]

wow, this is really interesting and useful, thank you!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem, thank YOU for checking out the video

[@drno62]

Pavel has for years said the Russian cycling method is the best for strength because it's similar to this. Start with a light weight and add more every session until you max then start again to resensitise yourself

[@Major.Tom.1973]

Brilliant visuals!!! 👏👏👏 So much better than watching some guy just talking into a camera

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

I appreciate your support my good friend, as always!

[@doctorstrange69]

Most people don't train hard enough to desensitize, therefore a 3-week break let alone a deload week isn't necessary unless you're training with maximal effort.

[@j.rob.5943]

His video just literally disproved your claim 😂

[@doctorstrange69]

@@j.rob.5943 no, his video included 14 untrained participants in a study ... would be nice to see 1,000 advanced trainees in a study instead.

[@msees-2002]

thank u...

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

No problem my friend, thank you for checking the video out!

[@christopherellis2663]

Cool, I felt like a break, and began it two days ago. Might just go for the swim and sauna.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome :)

[@nicethaddy5955]

not training for an entire three weeks is a recipe for disaster. Sure, your results might be similar on paper (with "similar" being a bit too much of a blanket statement) but taking close to a month off of training after every 6 weeks is going to make a LOT of people overly complacent/comfortable, and lazy. Some people skip a few gym sessions and before you know it, they haven't worked out since 2017🤣🤣

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

That is a good point! :)

[@Andmaj]

underrated channel!

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thanks dude!

[@justinw1765]

Haha, the very definition of "work smarter, not harder"!

[@thatweakpowerlifter2515]

Wow...just wow, I'm speechless, it's so interesting, maybe it's the way. Btw, you are growing rapidly nowdays, now you about 25k!! I'm seeing 100k in no time.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much dude. As always, your support means a lot to me :)

[@thatweakpowerlifter2515]

@@HouseofHypertrophy hahaha, I'm just a nobody who is benefiting from your content. Please never stop.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

You're not a nobody to me :)

[@thereignofthezero225]

I take a mandatory 4 or 5 days off about every month. Seems like a nice reset period. I'll usually get a little bit of soreness on my first couple of sessions after the break, which seems like a good thing to me.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome! :)

[@TheSandkastenverbot]

You keep blowing my mind 👍

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, great to hear. I appreciate your support!

[@justinw1765]

Have you ever considered doing a "best of" type video? Where you take some of the best data and principles for helping to improve hypertrophy, and put them into a single video, every once in a while--obviously with updates?

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Yep, I plan to do something along these lines eventually :)

[@justinw1765]

@@HouseofHypertrophy Cool, look forward to it.

[@joeschmo2693]

It's always seemed to me that a stretch of consistent hard workouts, followed by a lazy week or two (not necessarily a complete break) usually results in noticeable gains. There are so many other variables involved though, and it may be different for experienced lifters. You also have to look at how long breaks can destroy well established habits - never getting back to training can't be good for long term gains.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Awesome stuff! :)

[@thsstphok7937]

Maybe this why bro splits are more effective for some people. You give 1 week of rest for sensitization

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Potentially!

[@mertonhirsch4734]

Wanted to add that during the detraining period, cortisol will go down and that means that water retention will decrease (since Cortisol causes water retention). Some mechanisms of lean body mass assessment will see the water retention as fat and some will see it as lean. The point is, we should expect to see a loss of some weight with detraining due to reduction in water retention.

[@Edgycoo]

if anything this highlights to me that regardless of training regime, almost anyone, quite easily, will reach their potential as long as they are giving it a good nudge and have a grasp on nutrition. I made the majority of my gains within a few short years and it really didnt matter if i went super balls out or didnt train too hard. I very much think if i had a clone I could do this exact same study vs myself. But I would say the point at which both groups reach at the end of 24 weeks is largely the average natty ceiling that they are all reaching. To get past that point it takes insane training and calories and or peds but to reach that point, 24 weeks, you could get there doing almost anything. 5x5, 10x10, pyramid, 2 weeks on 1 off, almost anything

[@Niko-fo4zt]

What do you think about antagonistic supersets to reduce training time? Do you know of any studies that compare this method to conventional training? I wonder if it has a negative effect on muscle growth or no effect or hardly any effect on muscle growth. Finally, I would like to thank you for all the good videos. There is hardly a better channel that deals with fitness topics.

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Thank you so much for your kind words. I do plan to create video on supesets. Essentially, the current data does seem to indicate antagonistic supersets are a great way to reduce overall training time, and it does not seem to reduce performance, muscle, or strength gains :)

[@dipanjanghosal1662]

Haha I get breaks unintentionally when I burn out and stop working out. Then after few weeks, my motivation comes back and I start again :D

[@HouseofHypertrophy]

Haha, that's one way to go about implementing breaks :)