Forced Reps – To do, or not to do?

You’re pounding out an intense set of bench presses and you’re just about at your limit. You want to pack on as much mass as possible and nothing is going to stand in your way. You’re not about to stop the set so you grunt to your partner, “two more” because you know those extra two forced reps with help are what separates the men from the boys and will ignite crazy new muscle growth, right? Wrong!

Upon first glance forced reps may seem like a good idea. I mean forced reps allow you to get more reps with more weight….or do they?

If you really think about what a forced rep is, you’ll realize it is a rep with less total overload. There is less overload because your partner is assisting with the lift thus making the load lighter. For all intents and purposes finishing your set with one or two forced reps is like ending with lighter weight. This is not ideal because less overload equals less muscle growth stimulation.

Also, forced reps prematurely fatigue your muscles because you end up doing one or two reps beyond positive failure (which is the point at where you can’t complete any more reps on your own) with a lighter weight. Muscle fatigue decreases the amount of overload or weight you can use on your remaining sets and is another reason forced reps should be avoided.

Here’s another thing to consider. If you are getting help on the last rep, it makes it harder to know when to increase weights because you are not truly getting those reps on your own. If you are getting 6 reps with no help at all you know it is time to increase weight, no questions asked. Stopping at positive failure will give you a much more accurate gauge of strength increases.

I trained with forced reps for many years before finding Max-OT. After I adopted the Max-OT principles I admit it was a hard habit to break. Stopping at positive failure was something I had to learn and a skill it took me a few years to refine.

My best advice on this subject is get in the habit of stopping at positive failure with at most taking a little help to complete the final rep of a set and no more.

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http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Form: Work with your natural biomechanics

I often get asked about proper exercise form and commonly the exercises in question are curling movements. Here's my take.

Contrary to popular belief, you should not remain super strict with your motion when doing barbell or dumbbell curls. You should allow your body to move naturally thereby working with your biomechanics rather than fighting them. Working with some natural movement you'll enable you to handle more weight and handle it safer by not adding undue stress to your joints.

Don't confuse biomechanically optimized or "loose" form with sloppy form. It is quite the opposite. You are still controlling the weight throughout the movement rather than jerking or throwing it.

It is difficult to write about form and much easier to understand if you see it. Biomechanically optimized form is illustrated in my series of training DVD's along with a detailed explanation of all the important Max-OT principles.

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Overload is more important than variety.

I don't believe in the idea that you need to confuse your body with different exercises on a regular basis in order to get continual results. As long as the overload is progressively increased over time, your muscles will keep being triggered to respond to the heavier weights they are subjected to. I use myself as a prime example. I've done the same basic exercises for years on end and achieved great results because I continually challenged myself with progressive overload and high intensity.

If you like to change your routines and exercises for mental freshness, that is fine but don't do it under the idea that physiologically you need to "shock" your body. I recommend taking a week off training after every 8-10 weeks and when you start back that is a good time to change things up. Again, this change is more for mental freshness.

My best advice on this subject is stick with basic compound lifts for your exercise selections and work on progressively improving your numbers each workout. When you hit 6 reps with good execution you need to add more weight. Simple as that! If you follow this method you don't need to worry about "shocking" your muscles.

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http://www.jeffwillet.com/
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More great reviews are in!

Shapefit.com recently featured our documentary "I Want to Look Like That Guy" on their site. This is what they had to say about our film:

"Eye-Opening, Entertaining and Inspiring!"

"The documentary I Want To Look Like That Guy is a very interesting look inside what it takes to get truly "bodybuilding lean". Stuart MacDonald is an average guy who is a bit overweight and decides to take on this challenge to get in top shape with the help of IFBB Pro bodybuilder Jeff Willet. It follows Stuart as he gets his body fat levels tested throughout many weeks of his transformation. One of the great aspects of the documentary is how it really shows the viewer a sense of just how strict the diet and training is to make such a drastic change in body composition. Stuart goes through some difficult times trying to stay on such a rigid regimen and its interesting to see how he deals with the emotions of a reduced calorie diet along with intense weight training and cardio work. The overall transformation Stuart makes is truly remarkable and it shows the viewer that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible."

Stuart MacDonald and I were also recently interviewed for a feature article to appear on bodybuilding.com which should be available soon.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

More thoughts on Max-OT/Over training.

I recently had another question posed about Max-OT verses other higher volume methods. This person is confused and wanted some assurance from me on the benefits of Max-OT. I thought I would share parts of the question and my answer as it is fairly common one and you may find it helpful.

Q: "....I think it's because I don't see anyone else train this way (Max-OT) but they all look really good so mentally I'm tempted to deviate. Another reason is that I was listening to natural bodybuilding radio show and there was a guest a on there who's a natural pro. He was talking about how high volume is the only thing that got his legs to grow....He also said he doesn't believe in over training but undereating and undertraining. I'm confused now cause I don't know what to believe..."


A: I couldn't disagree more with the statement that there is no such thing as over training. I think that is one of the biggest mistakes most natural bodybuilders make as well as the average person who is trying to change their body. They do too much. Too many sets, too many reps.

Over eating is a big mistake too. Too many calories, even if they are "good" calories will lead to fat gain and gaining fat has no positive effect on gaining muscle.

I believe Max-OT style training is the most effective method based on my own 20 year study with myself as the primary test subject as well as countless others I've instructed both directly and indirectly. Not just bodybuilders either. Take a look at what Stu achieved in our documentary "I Want to Look Like That Guy". His outstanding results were achieved by using the Max-OT principles of weights and cardio plus very smart nutritional practices. The same exact methods I followed over the last several years.

I've always said you can train other ways and achieve results. I trained more "traditional" by bodybuilding standards when I was a teen and through my early 20's and I did very well. However, the most productive years of my 12 year competitive career by far were after I adopted the Max-OT principles. I went from being a very good bodybuilder to becoming an outstanding bodybuilder that was good enough to place 4th in the light hvy division of the NPC USA and earn an IFBB Pro Card as a completely drug free competitor. Not many can make that claim.

In the end it is not my job to convince anyone. My job is to provide the information I feel will help people most. I have strong opinions based on 20 years of experience and my climb to the IFBB Pro ranks as a life time natural.

Follow what makes most sense to you. What ever you choose, you need to believe what you are following and not question so you can give it 100% every day.

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http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Keep it heavy and basic for greater muscle separation.

Even when you are striving for maximum hardness and muscle separation it is important to keep the weight training heavy and basic.

Don't fall prey to the notion that high rep training will some how etch in muscle detail or my favorite, "high reps will bring out striations." Neither of these is accurate.

Heavy basic lifts done Max-OT style will set things up so you continue to build or at minimum maintain muscle while smart and strict dieting along with intense cardio will melt away body fat and reveal the separation you desire.

Take hamstrings for example. Many times you see people doing all these isolation leg curl movements with high reps in the hopes they are going to achieve greater separation and detail. Early in my career I did the same thing. I always had a problem getting my legs to look hard and separated. I did countless leg extensions, leg curls, different glute exercises and still my legs never looked as separated as I had hoped. I achieved the greatest separation and development in my hamstrings towards the end of my career with stiff leg deadlifts as the only direct hamstring exercise that I did and I never went above 6 reps. It was the diet and cardio performed intelligently over a long period of time that produced the extreme hardness and separation.

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http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Compound vs. Isolation Exercises

I follow the Max-OT principles as detailed in my training DVD's and you'll see that the workouts are centered on basic compound movements and that I stay away from isolation exercises.

Compound movements are those that involve multi joints/multi muscles and allow you to achieve greater overload over a more natural range of motion as compared their isolation counterparts.

We could investigate any number of examples but let's look at biceps. Always choose movements like barbell and dumbbell curls over concentration curls or preacher curls. Barbell/dumbbell curls will allow you to handle more weight and thus achieve more muscle growth stimulation.

Isolation exercises can make for good photography so you may come across photos of me like the one pictured here (taken by Jason Mathas the day after the 2003 USA's in Las Vegas) but that doesn't mean I sneak them into my workout when no one is watching. I don't.

If you are striving for maximum steroid free results, stick with basic compound movements and leave isolation exercises for photos!

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http://www.jeffwillet.com/
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Steroid free bodybuilding 101 - Schedule time off.

Over training is one of the biggest enemies of the steroid free bodybuilder. More is not better when it comes to frequency or duration of workouts. It is very important to maximize recovery by following a smart plan and for my money there is no plan smarter or more effective for a natural training athlete than Max-OT.

One of the Max-OT principles is to take one week off of training every 8-10 weeks. This week off is important for long term gains. It helps you recover both physically and mentally from several weeks straight of intense workouts.

Too many people fear taking any time off because they think they are going to shrink over night. That is not going to happen. Muscle doesn't build that quickly and it doesn't go away that quickly either. If you train consistently week in and week out then a strategic week off should be part of your plan and plays an important role in your long term success.

Remember you are actually recovering and growing on your week off, especially if you focus on great nutrition. Make sure you keep feeding your muscles quality protein consistently each day and you will return to the gym with renewed hunger and greater intensity for the next 8 weeks.

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Muscle Building Tip - Don't get too ahead of yourself with weight selection.

It is true that you want to continually strive to increase your weights when training Max-OT style, however, it is important to remember not to increase weights at the expense of form and control.

The idea is once you hit 6 reps on your own with good execution you should increase your weight for the next set by the smallest increment possible. If you are struggling to get 6 reps or if your form is compromised to get 6 reps then do not increase until you get 6 "good" reps.

What is a good rep? If you've seen any of my training DVD's you've seen illustration of what I feel is a good rep. To me a good rep is one with maximal weight that can be controlled through a natural range of motion.

If you feel your form has become compromised, don't be afraid to take a step back with your weights. Remember that muscle doesn't know absolute poundage, it knows a resistance level. In other words, you could have less absolute weight on the bar and be performing the movement better and thus be directing more actual resistance to the intended muscle group. More resistance/overload = more muscle growth stimulation.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Muscle Building Tip - Stop at positive failure.

Remember to stop at positive failure (the last rep you can complete on your own) or at most get just a little help completing your final rep.

I do not advise going to the point of forced reps where your partner is assisting you in completing the last 2 or 3 reps of a set.

Once you complete 6 reps on your own with good execution that is your cue to add weight. If you are doing forced reps you will not have a good indication of when to increase weights because you will be using more weight then you could actually handle on your own in the desired 4-6 rep range.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/