By Dr. Gianfranco De Angelis
How to get the maximum muscle stimulation with an effective training system.
The great confusion about the training systems in the world of physical culture does nothing but often disappoint the expectations of amateurs and athletes, who, despite the profuse commitment in training, do not get the desired results. Different schools of thought profess diametrically opposed training systems. It is natural that a situation of perplexity, doubt, uncertainty on the part of technicians, coaches and practitioners has been created.
Another method instead is to use very light weights, with many series and very short recovery times between them. The aim is not to seek the maximum muscle contraction during maximum effort, but to obtain total muscle saturation avoiding recovery, therefore the supply of energetic substances (ATP, glycogen and oxygen). Working for a long time in such conditions the muscle "freezes" because of the enormous quantity of lactic acid that accumulates in the fibers, where the oxygenated blood does not arrive in time to carry away the toxins of fatigue, much less to renew the energy reserves waves allows the muscle to contract. To such an extent that the cell is forced to resort to the only source of energy it has available: Adenosintrifosfato, that is the ATP, which will be reproduced to a considerably higher degree than normal. This last training system, based on the biochemical principle of the "Krebs cycle", is closely linked to the body's ability to recover: minimal hormonal variations, nervous and psychic stimuli not strictly connected to training could compromise the results triggering the over-training process. In fact it remains understood that a muscle increases in a natural way only when normal bio-chemical processes have occurred in it: considerable destruction of cells following repeated strong contractions, then rest, recovery and restoration of food with protein prevalence.
The use of prohibited and harmful substances for health has created false myths and the illusion of being able to train without taking into account the key factors mentioned above. It is clear that, if there is no significant destruction of the cells making up the muscle fibers treated with the training, it will never be possible to reconstruct the fibers themselves, unless extraneous factors intervene. This is why the other system works, the one with light weights and very short pauses between the numerous series: by blocking the normal supply of energy substances, a super production of ATP is stimulated, giving rise to the reaction of the cell. With the use of steroids it will be possible to obtain a biological synthesis of proteins far superior to the normal metabolic processes, and therefore an increase in muscle volume. It is clear that the effectiveness of the latter method is particularly tied to the use of anabolics, since otherwise this training system would have no effect for the thickening of the muscle fibers. My intent is not to propose severe training systems, which few genetically endowed athletes could withstand, nor much less are they related to chemicals in terms of functionality. In fact we try to get good results without having to submit to exhausting workouts, and without any risk. The training system that I propose to perform has been extensively tested by the undersigned, many athletes have achieved excellent results by virtue of their athletic ability, their intelligence, and certainly not thanks to steroids. This is why it is a unique training system for its effectiveness. These are the " three-sets " an excellent system that works.
With the " three-sets " a muscle is attacked thoroughly using good loads (so the maximum contraction is assured) and, at the same time, good saturation is obtained, that is a large influx of blood, but surprisingly avoiding congestion ( this is because there is the possibility of recovery). Three different exercises are chosen for each muscle group, so you work in succession with average rest breaks of 30 to 45 seconds (avoiding breaks that are too short to allow the muscle to recover to the benefit of performance). Taking advantage of the multitude of exercises available and based on the fact that no muscle has only one function, the "three-sets" work perfectly only when the choice of movements, loads and the rhythm of execution are cleverly prepared.
By choice of movements we mean a sequence of exercises completely different from one another, so that each of them calls into question a different group of muscle fibers, avoiding involving those exercised in the previous movement.
The training systems explained at the beginning of this article work only partially in the "three-sets", so to get an effective result it is necessary to work hard in the first case, for many hours in the second case. The advantage of "three-sets" is that it combines the two opposing theories with great time savings. In fact you can (and must) use heavy loads without the need to respect endless pauses between the series to favor the necessary and indispensable muscle recovery; by adopting three different exercises for each muscle group it is possible to obtain the total contraction of each series since the fibers were only partially engaged in the previous movement, so they are able to render as not congested by the effort just ended.
Speaking in practical terms with a clarifying example we can say that, while an athlete performs training for any part of the body, say for the biceps muscles, he begins with the "curl standing with barbell" after warming up and working the muscle with a good load, perhaps increasing it progressively, however he is forced to respect a certain pause between one series and another, since, if he did not do so, he would be forced to reduce the weight to the tool or to considerably reduce the repetitions (which is not advised at all ). The second system works the other way around: the loads are very light so it is not necessary to rest too much between one series and another, since the aim is not to obtain a strong muscular contraction but to achieve total muscle congestion. However, in this way, instead of the normal five series, one can even make twenty, sometimes engaging a muscle with three movements for a total of sixty sets per session, and this for each muscle group. With the "three-sets" all this is not necessary since, passing from a series of one exercise to another completely different (but for the same muscle group) too long pauses are avoided to wait for the recovery, even if using heavy loads, and at the same time it is possible to work intensely with the minimum commitment of time. In fact, three or at most four "three-sets" for each muscle group are more than sufficient to obtain excellent results, ie ybi an effective stimulus for growth and not only congestion and lactic acid.
