matter how thin or plump he may be, is a person, and not a cockroach or a cat!

If someone says that in bodybuilding there cannot be "one single correct theory", his goal is to prove the unreality of the real. For him A is not A, man is not man. In philosophy, this way of thinking is called subjectivism. Subjectivists are trying to prove that in our wide world, in principle, there are no truths. Like, for someone one thing is true, and for someone else. If we were to involve a subjectivist in discussing the problem of one, the only true theory of training in bodybuilding, he would certainly say that such a theory cannot exist. However, for some reason such a subjectivist considers his own philosophical system to be the only correct one, making an exception for it from the general rule! It turns out that one "truth" in the world does exist?

Having become acquainted with my theory, many Methodists, without realizing it, turned into convinced subjectivists. Now only one hears from them: “There is not and cannot be the only true theory of pumping”, “No one can” say with certainty where the truth is.” They do not disdain direct attacks either: “What does this Mentzer think of himself? Who said he was right?" Actually, the question is not who is right, but WHAT is true. The theory of superpower training is not true because I or anyone else said it. It is true because logical.

Concepts: accuracy of wording

Many believe that abstract thinking is faceless, since the meaning of concepts is alienated from the personality of the thinker. But if you don't oppose yourself to reality, if truth and knowledge play an important role for you as a deeply personal property, your thinking will never be faceless, and will only win in clarity and clarity. E. Rand, philosopher

Only reason can ensure the survival of man. Man comes to earth unarmed. His only weapon is the brain. Everything that we are, everything that we have, we owe to the unique ability of man to think rationally. E. Rand, philosopher

I think I was able to convince you of the need for a scientific understanding of training. If so, then it's time to dive deep into the theory of exercise. You need to start with the fact that all exercises are divided into aerobic and anaerobic (literally, aerobic means "with oxygen", anaerobic "without oxygen").

The goal of aerobic training is to develop muscular endurance.

Anaerobic training is a completely different type of exercise. Their goal is to develop strength, build muscle mass. Anaerobic exercise drives a completely different type of metabolism that uses almost exclusively glycogen (pre-stored carbohydrates) as fuel. Anaerobic training involves high-intensity, short-term exercise.

Aerobic exercise involves a low level of intensity, with a limited number of muscle fibers being reduced. Therefore, the body has time to restore the expended energy directly under load. It happens like this: you breathe powerfully, and due to this, the oxygen content in the blood rises. In parallel, blood circulation increases, and the blood (enriched with oxygen) actively saturates the fatty tissues. Oxygen "burns" them, extracting energy for further aerobic exercise. The reserves of fats in the body are quite large, and for this reason the same run can be continued for a long time, at least for hours.

Anaerobic training (for example, exercises with weights to a temporary "failure") is high-intensity, the maximum number of muscle fibers is involved in the work. As a result, the body is not able to provide itself with enough oxygen to restore energy, despite the fact that you may be breathing even harder than when running. Glycogen becomes an additional source of energy. However, the body's ability to replenish energy with the help of glycogen alone is small. Hence the short duration of training with weights: truly intense exercises can be continued for no longer than an hour and a half.

Although there are significant differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, they share one common concept of intensity. And in general, for sports science it is a cornerstone. I want to emphasize: the concept of intensity is also key in the science of bodybuilding. Without it, it is absolutely impossible to deal with the issue of the duration, volume and frequency of training.

root cause

A bodybuilder goes to the gym in order to build muscle. Obviously, training must contain some element, some factor responsible for the growth of muscle mass. But only определив этот фактор, вы сможете осознанно продвигаться к цели. For a hint: this factor is the intensity of effort in each set.

Since the definition of intensity is rather abstract, it is not so easy to understand its essence. Well, the best way to understand abstractions is to turn to a specific example.

Let's say you did ten 45kg barbell curls to "failure" (the eleventh can't work).

The first repetition of the set will not require 100% effort from you and will naturally be the easiest. But after all, you are already a little tired, and the second repetition will seem a little more difficult. Если первый подъем потребует от вас порядка 8one2 процентов максимального усилия, то второй  скажем, one6 процентов. The third repetition will tire you even more, each subsequent lift will be given more and more difficult, and the intensity of the effort will increase. And so on until you reach the last tenth repetition, which will require the absolute maximum effort. You will grind your teeth, squirm like a snake, and, in the end, lift the weight with great difficulty. In fact, the last repetition of the set will be the only one hundred percent effort.

If you are able to lift a 45kg barbell ten times, but limit yourself to the first one repetition and stop the exercise, you will never achieve muscle growth. Why? Because low intensity effort is not enough to stimulate muscle growth. Чтобы мышца увеличила силу и объем, нужно one00процентное усилие, а это означает, что из всех повторений сета самое important last! Moreover, once you have reached "failure", there is no need to repeat the 100% effort again. The mechanism is running!

This is a very important point, which, unfortunately, absolutely no one understands. I repeat: to "turn on" the mechanism of growth, one set "to failure" is enough!

Many of my wards assured that after one set "prescribed" by me, they feel strength for a couple more. Against my recommendation, they did an extra set or two. I think they were driven by a subconscious fear: they were afraid that one set "to failure" was not enough to "turn on" the growth mechanism. Apparently, this fear was also my fault! As a coach, I didn't make it clear enough that the last rep of one set, done "to failure", is exactly what triggers this mechanism! Absolutely and irrevocably! And doing a second or third set is not only useless, but even harmful!

Other students told me that after "refusing" they do two or three step sets, although I did not advise this. They acted with the understandable goal of increasing the intensity. But the point is that "stepping" does not increase the intensity, but simply "stretches" the exercise over time. The result is not strength training, but endurance training remember the beginning of the chapter!

I repeat once again: if the "failure", and, consequently, the "launch" of the growth mechanism is achieved in the first set, nothing else is needed! Additional sets will not just be a waste of energy, they will interfere with muscle growth! Why? Because more resources will be spent on energy recovery, and less on muscle growth itself.

A person develops muscles for aesthetic purposes. However, for the body, the ability for muscle growth is a kind of protective barrier that protects against stressful situations. (Just like the production of melanin, sunburn is protection from ultraviolet radiation.) At the end of the last century, the famous French physiologist Claude Bernard suggested that the body's ability to maintain the constancy of the internal environment in a changing external environment is one of its most remarkable qualities. For example, body temperature does not change with fluctuations in ambient temperature, unless, of course, we are talking about too sharp changes. A person can eat a lot of unusual food without fear of serious pathological changes in the composition of the blood. This ability of the organism to maintain the constancy of the internal environment is called homeostasis (from the Greek homoios similar, the same, and stasis immobility, state).

The human body consumes biochemical resources very economically, only out of necessity.

Such a need arises with high-intensity training and ultraviolet radiation. In response to them, the body immediately mobilizes all its adaptive means. At its core, the adaptive process is protective. And the stronger the stress, the stronger this protective reaction. If we talk about training, then the question is: is the stressful tension large enough to cause a response "defensive" reaction, i.e. muscle growth? To turn on the mechanism of growth, the set must be brought to "failure" - this is an immutable law of nature. And an attempt to make additional "failure" sets will cause a colossal absorption of the body's limited energy resources. And in the end, they will be almost completely used up. What this will lead to is clear: a stupor in the recovery process, since the synthesis of a new protein, instead of being destroyed by training stress, also needs energy. If biosynthesis does not have enough energy, it simply does not go. This is the reason for the stagnation of performance in those bodybuilders who practice a multi-set scheme from year to year, they themselves