How long should you rest between sets?

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If you read the latest Muscle & Fiction magazines you’ll say 60-90 seconds is the optimal rest interval between sets. This assertion is rarely backed-up with scientific research, and when it is, they will say it increases human growth hormone levels in the body temporarily, which is true, but I haven’t found any studies that correlate it with long-term increases in muscle mass. I have no doubt that many people achieve respectable results from this protocol, especially the enhanced lifters that fill the pages of the muscle magazines, but what is optimal for the natural lifter. What does the science say? Continue reading “How long should you rest between sets?”

Jeff EmblenJuly 29, 2018July 11, 2019Leave a comment

attitude, BDNF, body transformation, Building Muscle and Strength, Building Strength, effective strength training, exercise and mental health, fat loss, fat loss motivation, Fitness, fitness motivation, food log, food logging, good habits, habit, keystone habits, lose body fat, lose fat, myfitnesspal, natural bodybuilding, optimal strength trainining volume, strength training circuit, The Fat Loss Habit, Uncategorized, weight loss motivation, You Can’t Out Run a Bad Diet, You Can’t Out Run or Out Exercise a Bad Diet

Our Mission – The Fat Loss Habit

No Gimmicks. No Quick Fixes. Learn to form the habits essential to developing a lean, hard, fit body. A program backed by science, not bro-science.

Our MissionOur mission is to help as many people as possible to improve the quality of their lives. I believe it begins with improving our health and appearance. I found this to be true in my own life. Our health is our most valuable resource. Exercise improves our mood and focus. It can lift us out of depression. It has even been shown to stimulate our mind. When we begin to look better, we begin to feel better. I believe a better life starts with the development of healthy habits because that is where it started for me. Growing up as an overweight kid, I lacked self-confidence. Obesity runs in my family. My paternal grandfather died of a heart attack when my father was in his teens. My father was always struggling to lose weight. He was a brilliant well-educated man, an editor at the New York Times, but he was never able to lose the weight. Continue reading “Our Mission – The Fat Loss Habit”

Jeff EmblenJuly 8, 2018July 8, 2018Leave a comment

Building Muscle and Strength, Building Strength, effective strength training, metabolism, preventing Sarcopenia, prevention of Sarcopenia, Sarcopenia, Slowing metabolism, strenght training, strength training circuit, Strength Training Intensity, Uncategorized

Why Everyone Should Strength Train

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Our bodies can lie to us. For example, when you first start serious strength training, almost any program will produce dramatic results. It is possible to gain 10-20 pounds of pure muscle during your first year of training, depending on your genetics. Continue reading “Why Everyone Should Strength Train”

Jeff EmblenMay 14, 2018July 11, 2019Leave a comment

Building Muscle, Building Muscle and Strength, Building Muscle mass, Building Strength, effective strength training, mass training, optimal strength trainining volume, Optimal Training Volume, strenght training, strength trainining volume, Uncategorized, Willpower is like a muscle

Optimal Training Volume Made Simple

“Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn’t formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them.” Lee Haney

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Determining optimal training volume is not a straightforward proposition. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. I will simplify the process and provide some parameters, but you will have to discover what is optimal for YOU. Scientific studies should guide our training, but ultimately, we must decide what works best for us through trial and error. The primary factor to consider is your ability to recover.

Continue reading “Optimal Training Volume Made Simple”

Jeff EmblenMay 7, 2018January 15, 2024Leave a comment

Building Muscle and Strength, Building Muscle mass, Building Strength, effective strength training, mass training, RPE, strenght training, strength training circuit, Strength Training Intensity, Strength training RPE, training to failure, Uncategorized

Strength Training Intensity – How Much is Optimal

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The latest issue of Muscle & Fiction and all the High-Intensity zealots would have you believe that if you don’t take a set to absolute muscular failure, you are wasting your time. That just isn’t true. On an effective strength training program for the natural lifter, most sets should stop 1 or 2 repetitions short of failure. We should avoid going to failure on all but the last set of each exercise. A simple, yet effective way to evaluate your rating of perceived exertion (RPE), is using this table developed by respected strength coach and competitive powerlifter Mike Tuchscherer.