Comments on: Does Everyone Need A Different Workout Program To Build Muscle?

By: cliff

cliff — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:47:31 +0000

thats not a true story. its an anecdotal story. an analogy.awesome stuff mark! man, i’m glad i found your site.

By: jason

jason — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:58:59 +0000

guys! ive tried googling it to give you the correct name of this greek guy long time ago which was a true story and explains the progressve overload that mark is mentioning here. the greek guy would pick up a baby calf and put it on his shoulders and walk up hill to the market where he worked every sunday. ”once a week”. he did this for months and years until that same calf grew into a fully grown cow. so as the calf grew so would the greek dude who could actually lift a full grown cow on his shoulders. …progressive overload. as the weight got heavier each week his muscles had to adapt and with a solid week of recovery inbetween he was able to grow big and strong. i think that story is amazing and hope that helps put progressive overload into perspective. thanx mark!! keep sending that info.

By: jason

jason — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:37:04 +0000

good work mark. thanks again.

By: jason glover

jason glover — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:18:36 +0000

guys! ive tried googling it to give you the correct name and where he was from and some of you know who im talking about, it’s a great story and explains what mark is saying with the progressive overload. true story too. this greek guy had a baby calf that he would pick up off the floor and put it on his shoulders, ”once a week” he would do this and walk up a hill to the market with the calf on his shoulders and at the end of the day he would put the calf back on his shoulders and walk back home. weeks went by months and years and he did this every sunday, as time went on the calf grew into a fully developed cow. the magic of it all is that the greek grew too.he had the muscle mass and strength to lift a fully gown cow over his head and carry it up the hill. progressive overload…!!! hope that helps. thanks mark. keep sending the info.

By: Keith Davis

Keith Davis — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:19:17 +0000

Makes sense to me but I did read somewhere that different body types could benefit from different rest times between sets.

I’m the tall thin type… can’t remember what body type that is… so I have good rests between sets.

Any thoughts Mark?

By: Brendan

Brendan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:23:16 +0000

Great article.
A question that has been on my mind for a long time is this:

does a faster matabolism provide faster recovery and therefore faster growth?
Also, I only feel I am getting gains when I go through the DOMS period. Does that mean I am overtraining?

Thanks for the motivation.
Brendan

By: Shay

Shay — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:19:24 +0000

Great post, well explained.

I am a master trainer and I think were I see the difference is in the areas you mentioned, how quickly people loose body fat, how quickly someone will build muscle.

But the one common thread is if you want to build muscle you have to hit it hard, rest and eat correctly.

By: young

young — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:57:54 +0000

hey sunil testosterone is an important factor but most of the time its more of an excuse. its like mark said u gotta pass that threshold do that extra rep. its about time everyone stops whining about genetics and simply lift. mark has developed a great plan and last year i worked wonderfully well for me. i used to be 6ft and only 140 lbs. i gained about 15 lbs. so don’t bother with all that stuff that gets in your way. there is no testosterone level no good genetics. there is u and the weights( and also a good diet which is my weak spot. oh i love my junk food) sorry for being wordy. and thanks mark and i was wondering is there a replacement for cable preacher curls because i tried it at my cousins house and it actually gave me a good pump but i don’t have that at my house.

By: jacklin

jacklin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:51:12 +0000

where do i find ur workout ?

By: Sunil

Sunil — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:37:41 +0000

Hello Mark,

I see so many guys lifting heavy weights doing progressive overload,but still not growing,i think the testosterone hormone play an important role over here,testos build muscles,if the testosterone level is low how can we build muscles mark?

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:45:42 +0000

@Jamie @Malcolm @Jason Thanks guys. Glad it helped.
@Jacklin. Current book is free and available by putting your and email in the box at the top right of this page.

By: jacklin

jacklin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:26:26 +0000

Hi, i haven’t tried ur workout it’s y first time, i want to be interested to do ,what is the name of ur workout book?

By: Jason Cremins

Jason Cremins — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:16:22 +0000

Great post, thanks for your words of wisdom.

By: Malcolm

Malcolm — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:09:26 +0000

Great article, makes perfect sense. This also explains the whole.. ” my friend is doing this workout and is growing loads! but I am doing the same and I am not growing at all!”. Even if two people work out at the same intensity there can be MANY determining factors as to why they do not progress in a similar fashion!.

Cheers again Mark!

By: Jamie

Jamie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:56:58 +0000

Love your logical approach to this stuff man. You explain things well and always get me super-motivated to workout! Keep it coming!