How It Works

 If you want to maximize muscle growth, you should do one set of 50 repetitions of any exercise — because effective blood flow is mostly related to the number of repetitions performed — rather than amount of weight lifted once. That is how the heart works — beating the same amount faster or slower. When the heart enlarges, that is not a good thing but a bad thing — because it is inversely related to its strength — but is unfortunately, what many competitive athletes do that cause them to die prematurely of congestive heart failure particularly, but all the other heart failures as well.

The way to get around this, is to use the contractile/relaxation function of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body to aid in this circulatory process because it is well-noted that when one works a certain muscle specifically, those particular muscles tend to grow — while those not worked as much, or even at all, languish — despite the many bogus claims (studies) that one cannot spot-reduce/enlarge any muscles in this way because it is only dependent on the heart action alone for this flow.

Obviously and evidently, that is not true — no matter how many bogus certified fitness (aerorbics) instructors claim that is true. What accounts for this is that the skeletal muscles by their contractions/relaxations dictate the flow to these areas — specifically and directly — rather than just the heart equally to all areas (muscles) of the body, or the marathoners would be the most heavily-muscled and proportionately developed — instead of ending up with enlarged hearts but scrawny muscular developments.

Most people do NOT do 50 repetitions because they choose to do for that reason but because they realize how difficult it is to do 50 repetitions of any exercise in one set (without resting) — but that is the requirement for achieving exercise intensity, and thus is claimed by those who understand high intensity training, why it must be done infrequently as well (once a week) — because of the rest and recovery required that is necessary for growth, and more importantly, sustained growth throughout life.

This is particularly notable among the aging populations — that very rare individuals can perform 50 repetitions of any full range motions — and it is maintaining and even extending the range of movement that is paramount, and not the many former competitive athletes who can no longer raise their arms — much less for 50 repetitions. But if they can maintain that ability for 50 repetitions even without any weight at all, they are already in a class of their own — and really want to maintain throughout life rather than a limited range of movement once — with innumerable rest periods between attempts.

Properly done full-range movements produces muscle fatigue and ultimately failure — because of the repetitions performed — and NOT because of the weight on the resistance that rests on the bar. Many obviously are confused by that, and think it is enough to just load up a bar and leave it resting for however many sets they call it. But only the muscle actually being engaged is what is causing the muscles to be exercised — and not the rest in between, called and justified as “sets.” It doesn’t matter if one does 50 sets of any movement. What makes the most difference, is whether one can perform 50 repetitions of the properly performed full range movement.

It is the movement itself that is more important than any resistance to that movement — that prevents its proper execution.