Thread by @BodyOptic

What is ACTUALLY preventing you from getting JACKED & STRONG...

and the SIMPLE adjustments you can make to STOP spinning your wheels, wasting time in the gym, and finally become a MONSTER 😈

*THE* MUSCLE BUILDING THREAD 🦾

I (@LogFitz6) am by no means the biggest/strongest out there.

And have tons of respect for the guys who really grind the powerlifting/bodybuilding route hard.

Just not my personal goals. Rather keep training MMA and feel great athletically while keeping that strength

But I am 6’2” 215 lbs, with 1RM PRs of 565 Dead, 485 Squat, 375 bench, and 215 OHP.

not at those exact numbers right now, but also could knock/choke out the strongest version of myself in <30 seconds and my movement quality/joint health is better than ever.

445 for 2 here

I think every man in their 20’s should be able to:



OHP 135
Bench 225 (and row a good equivalent)

Squat 315

Deadlift 405



This is a good baseline minimum standard. The world would be a much better place.

& I’ve worked with tons of people. Coached them to change their bodies and health, and naturally the #1 thing men want is to gain lean mass.

But so many don't ever get there... and get truly strong and muscular like they desire. and there is 1 predictor that is an accurate tell

what is this predictive quality?

it's POSITIVE failure.

the more positive failure you can program into your routine, the higher chance you will get the body you want. If it isn't included, you have a very low chance of success with whatever you're aiming to accomplish

hat is Positive Failure?

I define it as a built-in system of progression that makes your programming have an objective "failure" or "success" marker in your sets.

Positive Failure is being exactly at the level of stimulus that allows you to push your limits safely & orderly

and this is exactly where most people go wrong. They do not have a systemized approach for how they will repeatedly find this sweet spot

letting them drift without focus in their workouts, not making progress. allowing energetic/emotional swings of a day to change results

So how can you ACTIONABLY utilize this concept in your workouts, and start making real progress??

Well first I want you to understand what factors in to the process of building muscle..

there are 3 main things that contribute to muscle gain from a training/exercise POV

Progressive Overload, Mechanical Tension, & The Neural Link to Musculature

These are the 3 training “keys" that make up what signals your body to create new muscle fibers and/or make existing ones larger

How can you use each one to find "POSITIVE Failure?"

Progressive Overload

This is easily the most important. You must have a SYSTEMATIC means for adding more weight to your lifts.

My FAVORITE way to do this is to take a higher rep range (8-10 reps) and hit 5 sets. For example, let's say you're doing back squats.

think of what you could hit for a set of 10. (let's say its 245)

Now subtract 25-30 lbs. Boom. 215 That's your first work set. Now go up by 5 or 10 lbs each subsequent set of 10 until 5 sets. Spread would look like this: 215, 225, 235, 240, 245.

and the last set, you'll "go for broke". meaning try to get as many reps as you can.

if you hit less than ur goal (10 in this example) you stay at this weight spread until you get them.

If you get exactly the number or 1 more, go up 5 lbs in each work set the following week.

if you get 2 or more reps over your goal, you can go up 10 lbs the following week.

this is how you make REAL progress. You progressively overload REPETITION, that allows you to progressively overload WEIGHT. so you're not hurting yourself like an idiot

microprogress is IT.

here's another example of this for, barbell overhead press:

Mechanical Tension

How can you bring more mechanical tension into your lifts?

The first one is simply select compound lifts as the basis of your programming. (Squat, Dead, Bench, Row, Pull Ups, Press)

Multi-joint + largest muscle groups = more mechanical tension

the second way you can add this in is simply SLOW down. the eccentric (muscles lengthening) portion of the lift specifically.

This tension on the muscle fiber whilst elongating is actually where you're breaking down muscle fiber (so you can build more!)

so for the back squat example: you'd count off 6 seconds whilst lowering the weight. if you do 10 reps, and were only doing 2 second eccentrics before, you now just added 40 seconds of tension & stimulus per set.

the last tip would be TENSE up. do lifts as if trying to EXPLODE

a good way to understand this would be squeeze your fists and stomach as hard as you can while you squat down. like literally force yourself to produce tension in the system. adding this to lifts creates more mechanical stress to your musculature.

which brings me to next point

Mind-Muscle Connection

somewhat related to tension, the more you can "feel" a muscle group working, the more localized hormones and blood filled with nutrients will flock to the stressed fibers to rebuild the muscle

Bodybuilders have told you for years to feel the pump...

because it works. using the back squat example, when I back squat I am squeezing and contracting my glutes and my quads INTENSELY. because that's where I want to feel the stimulus.

This is also very critical in making lifting enjoyable.

There's a certain kind of physical spiritualism to learning to control every muscle fiber in your body at will, and connecting deeper with movements. It will also help you to stay healthy if you focus your energy in the correct neural patterning for certain lifts.

OTHER LIFTING FACTORS


One helpful tip you can add is varying the angles/exercises for a muscle group just to hit different fibers.



I like to vary the auxiliary exercises every 4-8 weeks for this purpose.

the remaining variables in terms of lifting are volume, frequency, and rest.


Volume = 10-20 sets a muscle group a week

Frequency = whatever works, as long as 2 days in between using same muscle group
Rest = enough to give your best effort on lifts

Aside from lifting, eating to gain muscle is super simple.

1 gram of Protein per pound GOAL bodyweight (NON NEGOTIABLE)

300-700 Calorie Surplus

Keep Glycogen Stores high (eat carbs)

Create as much Unopposed Testosterone as possible

The first three are pretty straight forward - but how do we create unopposed testosterone?

We support androgenic hormone production, and we try to minimize aromatization of testosterone into estrogen.

To Support Androgens:

Eat more Saturated Fats (animal fat, butter, coconut oil)
Supplement Boron, Zinc, Shilajit
MORE QUALITY SLEEP
MORE SUNSHINE

Reduce Stress

& to Minimize Aromatization...

Reduce Body Fat (eat quality foods even while gaining, don’t “dirty bulk”)
Stop drinking alcohol except for here and there
Minimize Processed grains, Low Quality Fats, and Refined Sugars
Get Vitamin A, E & K (more on this below)

https://twitter.com/BodyOptic/status/1492871578597609473?s=20&t=oJ8okq-lnKrTwXYlBaIb_Q

If you found this helpful, we always appreciate you sharing!

And if you have further questions, reply and ask! Always happy to talk shop 💪🏻

And lastly, if you wanna work through a proven process to build muscle and strength WHILE building quality movement patterns, athleticism, and joint integrity, book a call with our team here:

calendly.com/bodyoptic/coac…