I haven’t touched a barbell a lot since January. I’ve been in a leaning out/hypertrophy/mobility-focused season of my coaching (extremely suggest having seasons to your coaching!). I’ve been working solely with dumbbells and my cable machine. I’m chasing the pump. I’m loving it.
My energy coach Matt Reynolds continues to create my programming, and one of many issues he’s included into my hypertrophy exercises is myo-reps. I’d by no means accomplished ‘em earlier than, however after just a few months of doing them, I’m loving them. They’re a time-saver however extremely efficient. I can knock out a whole upper-body exercise in about half-hour, I get a stable pump, and I’m placing on muscle and beginning to look jacked.
For those who’re quick on time however nonetheless wish to construct muscle, myo-reps is perhaps value attempting. They’ll not less than shake up what would possibly really feel like a boring, rote exercise rut.
Let me stroll you thru what they’re and program them.
What Is a Myo-Rep?
Myo-reps have been developed within the mid-2000s by Norwegian energy coach Børge Fagerli. They’re a rest-pause method, which suggests you’re stringing collectively what would usually be a number of separate units into one prolonged set with very quick relaxation breaks scattered between that prolonged set.
Right here’s the way it works:
Decide a weight at 60–80% of your one-rep max; one thing you would raise for 10-15 reps. Do an “activation set” of 10-12 reps, stopping one or two reps shy of failure (a Charge of Perceived Exertion of 8 or 9). Then relaxation for about 10-20 seconds. Fagerli recommends counting out 3-5 deep breaths. I simply rely “one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi” till I get to 12 Mississippi.
Then you definitely do a “mini-set” of 4 to five reps with the identical weight.
Relaxation one other 10-20 seconds.
One other mini-set.
Relaxation one other 10-20 seconds.
Maintain repeating these mini-sets and quick breaks till you’ll be able to’t hit 4 reps in a mini-set. For those who’ve bought the load set at the correct quantity, you’ll often be capable of full 4-5 of those mini-sets.
So one activation set plus 3-5 mini-sets. You’ve primarily accomplished what can be 4-5 conventional units compressed into a couple of minutes.
The Concept Behind Myo-Reps
Muscle development is pushed by two important mechanisms: mechanical pressure and metabolic stress.
Mechanical pressure is the first driver. It’s the power your muscle fibers generate after they contract towards resistance. When a fiber is loaded arduous sufficient, specialised mechanosensors within the cell set off the signaling pathway that tells your physique to construct new muscle.
Pressure isn’t about how heavy the load feels to you. It’s about how arduous every particular person fiber is working. A reasonable weight can produce excessive pressure in a selected fiber if that fiber is doing all of the work.
That’s the place the “efficient reps” mannequin is available in. In a standard set of 12, the primary 6-8 reps don’t contribute as a lot to development. You’re largely warming up the high-threshold fast-twitch fibers (those most answerable for hypertrophy) by exhausting the smaller slow-twitch fibers first. The final 4-6 reps, when fatigue forces your physique to recruit these large fast-twitch fibers, are the place the magic occurs.
Myo-reps allow you to skip the warm-up part after that first activation set. When you’ve fatigued the slow-twitch fibers, the fast-twitch fibers should deal with each subsequent rep. They’re working at most capability though the load feels comparatively gentle, producing the type of high-tension contractions that drive development. Practically each rep in your mini-sets is an efficient rep. That’s the concept, not less than.
The quick relaxation intervals additionally create metabolic stress, which may (in idea) sensitize muscle tissue to anabolic signaling. It’s why myo-reps really feel so pumpy. You’re making a hypoxic atmosphere much like what blood move restriction coaching does, however with out the bands.
Why Do Myo-Reps?
The largest cause to do myo-reps is that they save time. You’re knocking out the equal of some conventional units in a couple of minutes. It’s been good getting by means of my exercises in about half an hour.
However there are different advantages, too. Since you’re working with 60-80% of your one-rep max as a substitute of grinding heavy weight, myo-reps are simpler in your joints. The restricted relaxation time forces you to coach near failure. Most guys depart approach an excessive amount of within the tank on accent work. It’s arduous to try this while you’re cranking out mini-sets with 12 seconds of relaxation. Myo-reps break the monotony of the standard three units of ten. And also you get an ideal pump, which is sweet.
Mainly, myo-reps will get you outcomes which might be near what you get with straight units with lengthy rests in between, in much less time. They’re not utterly optimum for strength-building, nonetheless, because the quick rests make it tougher to maneuver extra weight and obtain progressive overload. That’s why they work finest as a software for accent work and as one thing to make use of now and again to combine up your programming, quite than as a wholesale alternative for a standard set/relaxation scheme.
Which Workouts to Use Myo-Reps On
Myo-reps aren’t for each raise. Since you’re pushing near failure with very quick rests, you want workout routines the place fatigue-induced kind breakdown gained’t get you harm.
So don’t use myo-reps on heavy barbell squats, presses, deadlifts, or the bench press. The stabilization calls for are too excessive, and getting caught beneath a loaded bar throughout your fourth mini-set is an effective technique to find yourself within the ER. Skip Olympic lifts totally. Cleans and snatches are explosive actions that must be accomplished contemporary. And when you do Bulgarian cut up squats, cross on myo-reps. Requires an excessive amount of stability.
For myo-reps, stick to machines, cables, and dumbbell actions.
Nice myo-rep workout routines embrace machine chest presses, lat pulldowns, cable rows, dumbbell shoulder presses, leg presses, leg extensions, hack squats, leg curls, dumbbell lateral raises, bicep curls, and tricep pushdowns. Something the place the trail of the load is guided or the motion is straightforward sufficient that you could grind by means of the final reps with out your kind collapsing. You possibly can additionally use myo-reps with body weight workout routines like push-ups and air squats.
Easy methods to Program Myo-Reps
For those who’re doing a standard barbell/energy targeted program, hold your heavy compound lifts as conventional straight units. You need contemporary vitality and full restoration while you’re squatting or benching close to your max.
Save myo-reps for the again half of your exercise while you’re doing accent work.
Right here’s a easy strategy: decide two to 3 accent workout routines per exercise to do as myo-reps.
So on an higher physique day the place the bench press is your important raise, do dumbbell shoulder presses, lateral raises, and dumbbell curls as myo-reps. On decrease physique day the place the barbell squat is your important raise, do leg extensions and leg curls as myo-reps.
Your activation set ought to really feel like an RPE 8 or 9. That’s about one or two reps shy of failure. Observe your reps within the mini-sets. For those who’re persistently hitting 4 clusters of 5 reps, bump the load up subsequent session.
Frequency-wise, you’ll be able to hit a muscle group with myo-reps 2-3 instances per week. Simply bear in mind these are an depth method. Don’t flip each set of each raise right into a myo-rep set. That’s only a recipe for burnout.
Give Myo-Reps a Shot
For those who’re like me and attempting to construct muscle with out spending 90 minutes within the health club every single day, give myo-reps a shot. They scale back your exercise time, could make your exercises really feel contemporary, and can assist you pack on some critical muscle.