Comments on: 5 Things I’ve Learned That Have Improved My Muscle Gains

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 15:39:05 +0000

In reply to Abubakr. @Abubakr. Hey, buddy. No I'm not including warming up or down as part of the actual workout time.

By: Abubakr

Abubakr — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 12:56:40 +0000

Hi Mark. Awesome tips and great info overall. Have been following your THT programme for 6 months now. 44 years old and still making gains. One quick question: your estimate on time to complete sessions; mine are usually longer. Do you include warm up and warm down time?

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 10:50:24 +0000

@Travis. Yes. Totally different supplement with different effects.
@David. Most people with training experience don’t experience much soreness on a regular basis. Don’t worry about it. Keep progressing in the gym and record your weight and reps.
@Twitch. Nothing detrimental about it, just a waste of time and effort. 3 weeks is fine to eat above maintenance now.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 10:48:09 +0000

@Doug. Great answer 😀
@Jason. Actually taking training seriously, I’d sat it’s about 8 years now, maybe pushing 9. Yes, changes still come, but at this stage of the game and with my genetics, it’s a slow process. Good job I’m in this for a lifetime 😉

By: Twitch

Twitch — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 22:24:16 +0000

Mark, would you consider 6 meals detrimental or just unnecessary? I am eating 6 meals at the moment plus on protein shake during my workout. I have three “meals” and three smaller “feedings”. Having come off TSPA three weeks ago I am following Petter’s advice to eat at maintenance for a month or so while my body readjusts. If I eat less frequently I am ravenous by the next time I eat. It is a little onerous at first but I have come up with meal ideas that make it easy to manage. Maybe I actually need to start eating above maintenance already?

By: David

David — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 15:26:09 +0000

I came back to tht 6 weeks ago; I am doing the 3 day workout and have noticed it helps me in not overtraining so I get enough time to recover and I can see the gains already. My question to Mark is, sometimes I train really intense but don’t feel pumped or sore so I get concerned about not hitting the muscle hard enough for optimal growth.. What do you think about that?

By: Travis

Travis — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 15:21:32 +0000

I am taking l-glutamine, BCAA, creatine and whey protein isolate. Would you still suggest taking beta alanine?

By: JaSoN

JaSoN — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 14:24:20 +0000

@ethan.. If you are doing a set of leg presses and you are locking out at the top to catch a breather, you are losing that tension on the quads. For constant tension throughout the set all you need to do is not lock out, It makes the set a lot harder.

By: JaSoN

JaSoN — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 14:00:29 +0000

Mark, quick question, How long have you been training for and are you still experiencing the shaping of your body, reason why I’m asking is because I’ve been doing the THT now for 4 years consistently and only noticing now the shape of my calf muscles (the upside down heart shape) I’m ecto so not big calves at all.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 13:42:04 +0000

Constant Tension: It’s basically what it sounds like; always have tension on the muscle group you’re working. This is where the slow eccentric and slight pause near the bottom comes in to play (eliminate the little helper, “momentum”). When I say “near the bottom,” I say this because if you’re doing presses of some variety, you don’t rest the bar on your chest or the back of your shoulders/neck at the full down part of the movement–try to stop a little above that and pause for even just a second or less.

You can press/curl/etc. the weight fast or slow or even vary it since you’re fighting gravity either way. But on the “down” part of the movement fight against gravity there too–don’t just let it drop–that keeps tension on the muscle then too.

If you don’t do this already, don’t expect to keep the same weight/reps that you do–it’s much harder.

By: Ethan

Ethan — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 13:11:55 +0000

Very valuable info. Mark is there a video on the constant tension tip? To demonstrate it? Thanks