Luke Carlson and James Fisher
James Fisher PhD (james.fisher @ solent.ac.uk) is a Course Leader and Senior Lecturer for the School of Sport, Health, and Social Sciences at Southampton Solent University in the UK. James is considered as one of the leading researchers in exercise science particularly resistance training.
Luke Carlson is the founder and CEO of Discover Strength based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Discover Strength owns and operates strength training studios as well as the Discover Strength Franchise. Luke speaks around the world on leadership, management, and evidence-based exercise.
In this episode, James Fisher and Luke Carlson share the technicalities when designing a client workout, key exercises for maximum hypertrophy and lower body adaptations, factors to consider during workout selection, and much more.
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Show Notes
- 2:03 – Client workout design process
- 8:55 – Big 3 vs. higher volume routines
- 11:40 – Workout template for maximum hypertrophy
- 19:15 – Key exercises for lower body adaptations
- 28:48 – Discover Strength’s workout design
- 42:13 – Is a shrug necessary in a workout?
- 44:41 – Factors to consider when designing a workout plan
Selected Links from the Episode
- Discover Strength
- University of Michigan
- TRX
- MedX Machines
- Changes in Exercises Are More Effective Than in Loading Schemes to Improve Muscle Strength by Rodrigo Fonseca et al.
- The Upright Row: Implications for Preventing Subacromial Impingement by Brad Schoenfeld et al.
429 – A Deep Dive into Joint-Friendly Fitness with Bill DeSimone: A New Paradigm in Exercise Safety
427 – The HIT Protocols Pete Cerqua Used to Grow a 7-Figure Personal Training Business
424 – Strength Meets Stamina: Dr. James Fisher on Transforming Endurance Athletes
Hi Lawrence
Unless I heard wrong, James mentioned 9 sets per muscle group for optimal hypertrophy. I’m not going to argue with that but if you add up 9 sets per muscle group even if you split the routine, that’s a long workout when you consider ” brief and intense” as a principle. Did he mean 9 exercises to cover most of the musculature?
Hi Jon, No, he mean’t 9 sets per muscle group per week, which is close to being covered in most HIT regimes that are typically ~2x week with 2-4 exercises per muscle group per workout e.g. for biceps you might do a seated row, pull down, bicep curl, with advanced overload techniques in a single workout (AOTs are basically additional sets). James and I have actually discussed the study in question inside HIT Business Membership (we may have discussed it on the podcast somewhere too), and there are some elements of the study design which, if I recall correctly, make this not conclusive. Furthermore, again, if I recall correctly, the differences in muscle hypertrophy between groups who did less volume, was very small. But I could be putting words in James’s mouth, so I’ll ask him to weigh in.
Jon – 9 sets per muscle group PER WEEK! Lol – Merry Christmas
So an advance technique such as rest pause maybe doing a single extra rep every 5-10 seconds, you would count each single reps as a set? Or am I missing something?
No I wouldn’t count a few additional repetitions as additional sets. I might consider a drop-set (if it was comprehensive enough in repetition volume) as an additional set, but not always.
Hi guys .
A really enjoyable and informative episode.
Luke to me nailed it when he mentioned how making changes can trigger positive changes in mindset.
Someone recently questioned the amount of variety I use , but said that from a “boredom point” (doing the same routine over and over”) he could see why i changed things.
My reply was that it was not so much about that , but when making changes and introducing “new” variables into training. the excitement and fire in my belly will often add a new level to my training and reignite my love for lifting.
Not all changes work , but pretty on pretty much all occasions when my physique has taken a (small) step forward, it has involved something new and different.
I will however add that these “positive adaptions” in my opinion will only occur as a “supplement” (not replacement) to the core/basics of a routine such as the big 5 or James’s “Big 3” as 2 examples.
Just my thoughts.
Regards
Mark
Mark
I think that we should always have some core exercises (though we might perform them in different ways), and then yes adding other exercises around them is good to think of as supplemental exercises.
J
Thanks Mark. Great to hear from you. I found your comment very interesting and helpful. It’s useful to hear how the basics with a touch of novelty drive the optimal results.
Always good to hear from James Fisher.
Is 9 sets per muscle group a week required to reach our genetic potential? Or would a BBS big five likely get us there just at a much slower pace?
Matt
I think you raise a really good point… one of the key things about all resistance training research is the time limiting factor. Ultimately we cannot truly know if any one method of training is more efficacious than any other method, only that it is more efficacious over a given time period. I think that something like the big 5 will “eventually” get you most of the results you’re likely to get and possibly all of the results you’re going to get for the muscle groups trained. Whilst the big 5 is a pretty thorough workout it’s not comprehensive in so far as it is unlikely to optimise strength and/or muscle mass in things like the adductors, forearms, trapezius, tibialis anterior or gastrocnemius muscles (and more). The only way I could emphasize eventually on this platform was with speech marks… I think it would take some time to get there, where a higher volume (more exercises/sets per muscle group) might get someone to their potential quicker.
J
Thanks for the comments everyone. I hope we can all have a better 2021
I’ll drink to that! =)
Great podcast, really enjoyed it. Is there anyway of seeing an example of a workout that hits the 9 sets per muscle group per week? Still trying to get my head around it.
Thanks.
Hi Ken, James’s workout in our latest episode probably hits the mark, and is probably overkill IMO. You might be able to reduce this by 30% and still meet the “necessary” volume requirements:
Workout A
Overhead dumbbell press
Weighted Pull-Ups
Romanian Deadlift
Weighted Dips
Dumbbell Row
Dumbbell Deadlift
Shrug
Calf Press
Back Extensions
Hanging Leg Raises
Dumbbell / Band Lateral Raise
Knee extensions
Rear Delt Flye
Sissy Squat
Side bends
Barbell Curl
Supine Triceps Extension (skullcrusher)
Workout B
Incline Dumbbell press
Pull-ups
Sissy squats x 100
Dumbbell Row
Dips
Romanian Deadlift
Upright Row
Russian Twists
Calf Press
Dumbbell pec flye
Incline dumbbell curl
Tricep press down
Drag curl
Knee extensions
Split Squat
Sit-ups
Back Extensions
Thank you Lawrence!