Thr idea of GTG is about not working your muscles to failure, but to practice your exercises consistently.
This might mean instead of doing 100 straight puships, you might do something like 10 or 15 reps, take a rest and do that again until you reach 100 but never really getting to a failure state.
My experience feels anecdotal, but doing so… I went from doing 4 pull ups per set with extreme effort in 2 weeks to something approaching 7 to 8 reps with extreme effort.
🤔 Ive done shit like this all the time, especially the one punch man challenge and it might take me all day to get it done or just an afternoon, but it was never killing me and I managed to trim up nicely during the summer.
Anyone else tried it?
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Hey now. That sounds clever.
I’ve done this to increase my max number of pushups in the past and it definitely helped, but I’m not sure how effective it is for building muscle.
Actually thats what im doing now and it seems to be working so far. I dont have an actual routine but im just trying to get started in being active again.
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I have not heard this name for it, but I have had success with something similar.
(I am wondering if you mean doing, say, 100 reps over a whole day, rather than over an hour in the gym? I only tried the latter.)
Always began with warm-up reps with the bar (or less) 3x6–12, depending on strength. For pull ups, warm up with light pull downs. Concentrate on form during every rep, including the warm up.
Six days a week, mainly using a barbell: Day 1. Squat, Bench, Pull ups. Day 2. Deadlift, Overhead Press, Row. Day 3. Squat, Dips, Pull ups. Day 4. Deadlift, Overhead Press, Row. Day 5. Squat, Incline or Decline Bench, Pull ups. Day 6. Deadlift, Overhead Press, Row.
5x5 for everything. The weight for these reps was 60% of my one-rep max. Control the weight on the way down slowly and explode on the way up (while maintaining control and form).
Sometimes switched up some of the barbell rows for seated rows with a narrow grip.
When 5x5 pull ups (or dips) were too hard, I aimed for 3x3, then 4x3 then 3x4, then 5x3, then 3x5, then 5x4, then 4x5, then 5x5. After losing strength due to an injury once, I also started with 3x1 and threw in some controlled negative reps. I did not work till failure, and built up slowly. At the start of this process, I would add some negative reps at the end of the Squat day. The trick was not to exhaust myself, then I could train everyday.
With pull ups, the abs remain tensed enough to hold my (extended) legs slightly in front of me with my toes pointed forwards. Same with dips. None of this legs-crossed-and-behind-your-back lark. Pull ups are easier if starting with the wrists slightly bent as if I am kind of reaching over the bar (as if knocking on someone’s door). This way, at the top of the lift, the wrists will be straight, which is where it is the hardest and puts most stress on the wrists.
I might also supplement the compound lifts with isolation exercises at the end of the session, but not every day. 3*6–12 (stop before failure) flies, reverse flies, lateral raises, curls, tricep extensions / pushdowns, skull-crushers, etc. Keeping the weight low, again ~60% of my one-rep max. Lifting slowly up and down to increase time under tension.
I would follow this routine for 6–8 weeks and my strength would go right up by the time I returned to a more usual bodybuilding split.
I never, never work out to failure. At least with actual weights. You will (almost) always break form before you reach muscle failure. It. Is. Not. Worth it. To chance an injury. Hell it’s not even a chance. If you push to failure point you will eventually pull, tear, sprain, etc, something. And then what? Now you aren’t working out at all.
The thing about this is your talking about paths to two different results.
On the one hand you have the traditional range of reps and sets. Let’s say I do 3x8 squats or for this example weighted push ups. When I put so much weight on my back that I can only barely do 3x8 I’m pushing my muscles to their limits and inducing hypertrophy. This leads to more muscle mass and maybe next week I can go up a few pounds. I’ll probably be able to do 3x10 or 3x12 later on, (a lot of programs are based on this) but I won’t hit 100 push ups only doing 30 or so at a time.
Contrast this with low weight or body weight and extremely high reps. The limiting factors on how many unweighted push ups in a row I can do are different, for example when’s the last time lactic acid build up stopped you from hitting a PR? This type of muscle failure is not nearly as productive at inducing hypertrophy, so as a result you gain less muscle mass and strength. You’d also see little difference in how much weight you could have on your back and still do push ups.
All that being said, you don’t train for a marathon only doing parachute sprints. You’ll see a lot of “first responder” regiments that have workouts like you’ve described, the idea being they need extended periods of strength. Depending on your goals you may find either approach attractive, but I’d say 95% of people that working out for strength/health/looks would be happiest with typical strength training program and some good cardio (I like rowing machines because they’re amazing cardio and still make my muscles feel like they’re being engaged.) Another advantage is time, there’s no reason an average person should have to spend more than 3-12 hours a week to accomplish reasonable goals.
