Comments on: The Hormone Theory of Muscle Growth Sucks & Isolation Exercises Rule

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 00:04:05 +0000

Thanks Mark! My upper body routine is simply bench press (3X10), then a string of isolation workouts on shoulders, chest, bicep and triceps, mostly on machines (all 3X10). I was wondering if I should start doing TWO workouts per muscle group in isolations, for example – 2 sets tricep pushdown then maybe 2 sets tricep extension – to hit every part of the group? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:21:18 +0000

@Flynn. Thanks, glad you liked the podcast 🙂
@Jason. Yes, do extra sets of leg extensions and leg curls. But the truth is your legs won’t grow at the same rate without squats/leg presses. But they’ll still grow.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:19:22 +0000

@Aanand. Oh yes, absolutely. Older guys can still build muscle. Please check out my article for more proof here https://musclehack.com/bodybuilding-and-age/
Enjoy your gains!

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:17:44 +0000

@Brian @ Gary THANKS 😀

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:16:23 +0000

@P. D. Mangan. Thanks for sharing 🙂

By: JaSoN

JaSoN — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 06:57:57 +0000

Mark, I’ve always done dead lifts and squats with your program but due to an heart issue that doesn’t allow me to effectively do those moves for wanting to pass out, so my question is, can i just increase exercises like leg extensions and ham curls, can i still gain without the squats and dead lifts? Because of fast resting heart rate im unable to do this.

By: Flynn

Flynn — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 02:13:14 +0000

@ Tim, I think it’s important to clarify when you say that you “…put on the most strength and muscle mass doing a 5 x 5 program”, how much previous training had you done, as many novices will benefit by doing just about any kind of training. Also, if you have read Mark’s article on 5 x 5 training, you would know that the primary benefit will be “strength”, not “hypertrophy”.
Listened to the first episode of the podcast, Mark, and I love it!

By: Aanand

Aanand — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 01:59:53 +0000

“…Beginning in middle age, however, the pituitary gland slowly reduces the amount of growth hormone it produces.”
This is from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/healthy-aging/in-depth/growth-hormone/art-20045735
Mark, this post of yours suggests to me that, despite the quote above, hypertrophy is possible for aging / aged persons. Right?
If yes, then that’s great for me – of course, as long as I ensure ‘local metabolic stress’ the THT way. 🙂

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 19:58:01 +0000

I agree – you need both, but I will say, I put on the most strength and muscle mass doing a 5×5 program for about a year or more, before I really had to start changing it up.

I think if you want to LOOK big in a particular muscle, you DO need isolation. For example, doing dead lifts is NOT going to make your biceps look great. But I also think that doing these BIG heavy movements stimulates your body in a way that isolation NEVER will either.

Do one for a while. Then the other for a while. Or do them both together for a while. But mix it up when you feel you need a change is what I would say

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 14:28:05 +0000

You know this just makes sense. I absolutely loBe compound movements , but especially with biceps&triceps I just don’t feel like I get enough work unless I hit them directly with isolation movements. Great article.

By: P. D. Mangan

P. D. Mangan — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 13:58:32 +0000

Great article, Mark, and in my opinion right on the money. A recent study said the same thing: “…growth factor responses local to the muscle may be more important than circulating factors in contributing to muscle hypertrophy with resistance training.” https://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/15126711

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:23:41 +0000

Yep. I made this mistake for about a year of training. I was told it was better to hit as many muscles as possible in the same exercise. But then I heard Mark say that just because all those muscles are involved in the exercise doesn’t mean they are worked to the required intensity. Then it really hit home! I needed to complement my compound exercises to isolation to make sure all the fibers would be worked with intensity! I started to get bigger after this. Keep up the good work!