When you train your medium twitch fibers for endurance to failure, they act like high endurance fast twitch fibers. This will give you the maximum hypertrophy from your medium twitch and fast twitch fibers while also giving you the best possible endurance. Not bad for light weights. Sandow was on to something.
I’ve always questioned this with other fitness people. How do my muscles know the difference between failure at 50 reps vs failure at 8 reps with more weight? I think you’re spot on as always
Thanks for posting this video. As a physician, I totally agree on the messages delivered in this video of yours and, if I could, I would like to add a note; training with high repetitions, not only will stimulate muscles growth but, will avoid injuries due to heavy load over the tendons and joints. Anyway, really good video 🤝
Such a helpful video, you seem to take things that can be complicating to understand and put them in a very simplified explanation! Keep them coming, I’m learning alot and have actually totally switched to daily bodyweight workouts since watching your channel
Hey, thank you so much. I feel a lot of training is over complicated, so my goal is to break down some of these concepts and show people that fitness is WAY more accessible than they though. I'm happy you are finding the content helpful. Thanks so much for the support, David. I really appreciate it. If you ever have questions, just let me know.
@@Kboges I love your mindset on training keeping it simple is the way to go you just pick basic workouts and do them watching fitness UA-camrs makes people confused since everyone says the opposite of someone else which is confusing 😎👍
@@KbogesHello Kyle. Since I saw your videos I started to train the classic ppl in a daily basis. I don’t have a specific rep target but I always aim for 3-4 really hard (close to failure) sets for every body part. I’m doing this most of the days and some days I rest. It is way more fun and doable this way than doing 2 hard workouts with 10 sets for every exercise. I also think that giving you muscle a daily “reminder” or trigger to work, it stays pumped and full through the week and has a better potential to grow. 3-4 sets done in a circuit mode with 2-3 min rest between exercises hitting all major muscle groups. I think I will grow even more. Thank u 🙏
This channel just showed up on my feed and i instantly subscribed. Precise videos with no clutter or sponsorships and a community with brains. Great job man!
Right on! I take your advice to heart. I've been training since I was 15, I've always gotten that satisfaction we all experience from pushing that heavier weight..but now at 62 I really need (joints) to change to higher reps. So glad I came across your technique! Thank you my friend!
I personally find doing concurrent periodization (volume and intensity days) as a great way to design a program. For example, for the first day of pushing I might do a weighted push up for lets say 8-12 reps, and the next pushing workout i will do 20-30 rep sets to total failure with less rest time. I found this approach to work really well.
yeah that's been the best approach for me, 5 workouts per week with 1 push/ 1 pull/1 legs focused on strength (with bodyweight finishers), and 1 upper/ 1 lower focused on volume with lower weight or just bodyweght exercises
Finding you on UA-cam has changed my life and attitude towards fitness. I've always worried that high rep training would lead to muscle atrophy but now after listening to you I'm going to be doing heaps of endurance training :)
Muscles don't really care if it's high or low reps, as long as it's progressive. It's just not very efficient to do RM 1-3 or 30+ reps from a muscle building standpoint and high and low reps both have their disadvantages. That's why most stay within the 5-20 range.
A really important aspect of light training vs. heavy training is the toll your connective tissues take. Your tendons don't enjoy the copious blood supply that muscles do, so development and recovery are going to take longer. The trouble with fast strength and hypertrophic gains is that you increase your risk of outpacing what your tendons can handle, even if you muscles have no trouble.
Hey man, I'm the guy who had that really long ass comment on that reddit post about your channel! I just saw this video and your most recent one and I got to say, your information is very spot on and very solid (and this is coming from an advanced athlete that can planche, freestanding HSPU for reps, do all my splits, front lever, OAPU etc). It's hard these days to find people who are giving out quality fitness information and even harder to find people who are giving out quality bodyweight fitness information, but you are definitely giving out great information. Sorry about the misunderstanding from the reddit post's OP. Keep doing what you're doing. you've got a great physique, and you've just gained yourself a new subscriber!
Thanks Scott! I truly appreciate the kind words! I definitely didn't take the misunderstanding personally, I hope I didn't give that impression. I also totally understand how someone can mistake hearing something in a video, and then explain that to someone else. It happens all the time and it's just a part of coaching people- nothing I hold against anyone. Thank you for the support! It's great to have an advanced calisthenics athlete comment here so thank you for that.
I am more intermediate than advanced, but personally I find huge benefits to medium-intensity training (For example, 2-3 reps from failure for a set that might fail at 10 reps) at a higher frequency. I used to "get in the zone" before every workout, do a large number of sets with most of them to failure, and then the fatigue load was so massive that I couldn't have good workouts for several days, or my motivation before workouts was lacking because I expected or feared every workout would be a punishing marathon requiring massive willpower and endurance. Nowadays I'll commonly do 2 sets per muscle or per movement at medium-intensity but I can do this 5+ days a week, or just every day for some movements. The total volume is solid, I have fewer missed or postponed workouts (or time spent "psyching myself up" for workouts), and I find it relatively easy and enjoyable to workout every day, at least one or two muscle groups for a few sets. Once I get into that rhythm of doing something every single day, my energy levels, feeling of well-being, and enjoyment of workouts all tend to be pretty high. I also have a couple tender joints and I feel like this method of training reduces downtime from joint fatigue; my intuition is that it is better for cartilage and connective tissue to adopt this moderate approach, which becomes more and more important as you age. I feel that high-frequency training is commonly used by or known about among advanced athletes, but for intermediates or beginner-intermediates I strongly suggest giving it a try. The biggest first step to learn is how to pace yourself. At least for me, I had to train my mind to understand that you don't need to totally "destroy" a muscle group or pump through high-intensity sets every time you work out. Calculating total volume is more "intellectual" as opposed to the "emotional" feeling of pushing yourself to the limit every time, and you need to get used to that. I compare it to advice which Hemingway gave to writers, which was something like "stop while you still want to keep going, then you'll be motivated to start again the next day." I do still work in tough sessions from time to time, for example to test max reps for a movement (and thus monitor progressive overload), to get that exhausted and "torn up" feeling which can be pleasurable in moderation, and to make sure I am sometimes activating whatever stimulus responses might be brought on by failure and high-intensity as opposed to total volume.
Several months ago, I trained really heavy and had the best results ever. I then bent over to pick up some hay on the farm and did my back in worse than I ever had. I realised that it was because of the strain I'd put on my back from the heavy training. So yeah, great results but high increased risk of injury. It has taken me a few months to get over the injury. More reps with lighter weights is now my approach.
maybe muscle knots and spasms. my muscles seized up from squatting. I thought I had a slipped disc. found out the muscle was trying to protect my spine so much that it spased out. pain didnt go away for 3 months.
No way - I had this EXACT problem with my back and it took me 11 weeks to get over it. After heavy training for a while, I literally bent over to pick up a spade and my back went!
Watching these sets of rows and seeing how the range of motion slowly decreased through the set was enlightening. My sets do the same thing. I see now that once the range starts decreasing, there are still a few reps left to go. My sets weren’t getting as close to failure as I thought they were. These videos are gold!
The content in this channel is priceless. Incredibly valuable information. As usual good channels like this trigger also many philosophical aspects as a bonus byproduct.
I think I finally figured out why my comments keep disappearing so hopefully it's fixed. Just wanted to say another great video and you're totally channeling stuff that is always running through my head. Thanks for your work!
Last year i wasn't able to do not even the first half of a one arm push up, and no matter how much i trained, i couldn't even do 20 normal ones. Since march of this year, i've been using this man's method, and my push routine have consisted in no more tham a few push ups and ring dips, intercalated. Now, after MONTHS of even trying a OAP and without the need of direct training, i was able to do one rep, very clumsy, but it is there. It is also worth mentioning that, currently, i'm doing 28 push ups as a max for my training, and this max is expanding every week. All this just to say, thanks, really. You added a much needed value to my life, and all for free. Gold content, invaluable information and endless gains. Thank you man, you're my hero.
Great video as always. The baby arrived on Tuesday, you're not wrong about being tired hahah. I'm going to adopt some of your principles in my training starting with a higher frequency but shorter sessions to try and overcome the tiredness. Look like the subscriber count has gone up as well, keep up the great work.
Marcus!! Congratulations!!!!! Dude you are going to have some incredible experiences in then upcoming months. I'm stoked for you. Training as a new dad is tough, so mini workouts might be where it's at, and the lack of sleep really cuts into the gains, but just stay with it, enjoy the training, and enjoy the process of raising a new person!
@@Kboges thanks so much, really appreciate the words. Yeah I'm hoping to at least maintain and not regress. I've set up some rings hanging down from the attic, so pullups and pushups throughout the day are doable.
When I was young, I grew up doing bodyweight exercises. We kept a pull-up bar in the bedroom door. and held contests with friends and neighbors. I used to do pushups and dips throughout the day. I even walked around on my hands. As a young adult however, I switched to weight training. While this helped to grow big muscles, I never really "felt right". As I got older, I started to gain a lot of weight. One day, I decided to watch the people in the gym. I noticed a pattern. It seemed that the BEST LOOKING, BEST BUILT men and women were not "lifting weights" or "doing cardio". They spent most of their time doing body weight exercises. They were on the floor doing yoga, Pilates, pushups, pullups, etc. So I switched my training. Rather than lifting, I now spend nearly all of my time doing floor exercises, or pullups on the straps. I do a ton of band work hitting every muscle in my body. I still lift weights, but only as a "supplement" - at the end of my workout. This has had a dramatic effect on my body in how I look and feel. I am so happy that I have rediscovered bodyweight training!!!
100%!!! This is something bodybuilders/physical culturists have known for over 100 years. Lot's of these guys talked about light weights, high reps, and mind/muscle connection. It is very sustainable.
@@Kboges Yeah. I wonder why nearly all you here in gyms is "Lift Big to get Big!". Ego lifting I guess. There's still some PTs that tell people to use lighter weights to "cut".
@@KrisVic91 Yeah I think powerlifting training methodologies have influenced the gym culture a lot. Lifting heavy can be really fun when you start chasing weight on the bar. However, it comes at a costs, and for me it's just not worth it. HAHAHAHA I love the "light weights to cut"! Lot's of funny stuff out there.
@@Kboges Man I saw that light weights to cut on a bbc show here in the uk on tv! 2 guys were buking, the other two were cutting. And they told the cutting guys to lift light weights. I couldn't believe it. How do people get so wrapped up in dogma?
I have been dabbing with Sandow/Atilla over the last year or so, getting back in the game, alongside LISS and BW movements. It works, and it works better when one stays consistent (surprise, surprise). Best "side effect" I have gotten so far, is that I have partially loosened up on my left shoulder, elbow and parts of my back, which put me off the heavy weights in the first place. Now in my fifties, I am more interested in sustainability within the limits of the wear and tears, than overall mass and strength, which may have been the target in my early 20s, and incidentally may have had something to do with the wear and tears... If interested, I can recommend "The lost secret to a great body" by David Bolton, that explains the program(s) to great depth. It is well worth the read, both for practioneers or if one just has a general interest in training history. :-)
I've been saying this for decades but so many guys remain attached to the old dictum of "heavy weights with low reps for bulking" but "light weights with high reps for definition". Finally, a scientific explanation.
Well explained content as always! Doing high reps has helped me become stronger in my upper body lifts for sure! Would love to see a video explaining how to cut properly and reach bf below 10% too!
Its quite impressive how you just owned the horizontal rows btw! every rep with strict form!! like a stroll in the park. You never disappoint Kyle!! 💪🏾👏🏾
Hey Paul! For lower body, make sure your breathing is on point and coordinated with your movements. Also, consider taking extra time to build up to higher volumes. Maybe start with half the reps that would make you nauseous, then start adding a little bit of volume every week as you give yourself some time to adapt. This usually goes away pretty quick, and will eventually not be a problem. Also, adding in some easy cardio can go a long way for making you more resilient to this.
Thanks! Your hard work will pay off. Just train consistently. Make it a lifestyle and plan to do it forever. If you ever have any questions, let me know.
Couldn't agree more and I can attest to this concept not being a new thing either. As matter of fact I was reading a column by the one time legendary John Grimek from a 1950s era "Strength and Health" magazine(I think that's the name) where John was actually concerned about his legs getting to big from the heavy weight he was using so he cut down weight and focused on high rep leg work. To his chagrin he found that style of training slapping on size like crazy!
Totally, steelgila! A lot of old school lifters found high reps to be incredibly useful. ditillo2.blogspot.com/2009/12/give-weightless-squats-chance-paul.html
I agree with this. I only do prison style workouts very high volume and intense. Even though its a lot of endurance i still made size gains e.g. sets of 100 reps bodyweight squats when i started i could barely get more than 50 reps. Once it got too easy i threw on weighted backpacks for the high volume. I havent trained the skill moves but in terms of muscle i got results. Thanks for the vid 👍
Agreed! My legs actually look better from high rep BW squats, high rep weight vest squats, sissy squats, lunges etc. than they did when I lifted. These movement can definitely build muscle.
I can certainly vouch for this method, I purchased Kyle’s 12 week customized program from his website and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is wanting to get serious about calisthenics!
I think it's quite important to have a good amount of weight with good reps. Not too heavy, not too light. Sometimes, high reps can just get my arms tired due to fatigue but not the actual muscle.
Eh, stopped at 1:30. There are different muscle fiber types meant for different types of movement that utilize different fuel sources that correlate with their size. I will explain if anyone is interested
High reps indeed do build muscle. I see more of a pump when training bodyweight than with weighted calisthenics. I'm gonna spend a year or more progressing with the basics with this workout I'm doing right now to save my joints Pike push ups Chin ups Push ups Dips Inverted rows Y raises T raises
I also heard it’s about the ‘speed’ at which you perform exercises. If the force incline is higher the body takes more fast twitch muscle fibers as the body uses the ones, which get the job done best and most efficient (economic). Still, I‘m actually not sure about the way you should perform tbh. I feel like too much speed can help you compensate for a range of motion you aren’t strong at. I guess it’s more about trying to perform it quickly like trying to perform a deadlift quickly. It might not be or seem quickly from the outside, but is performed as one.
As a climber, I think it's also important to train the one rep maximum power with long rests in-between. Especially for finger strength I'll start mixing in high rep excersise for conditioning as well
@@m.helazior9932 thank you. Training fingers also trains the muscle belly of the forearm. In theory, the stronger the forearms, the stronger the fingers
i broke my foot and had crutches for 2 months. was still active and went out a lot. my arms looked amazing afterwards. nothing super heavy, just body weight on crutches, but my arms became my legs and tons of reps clearly. look at someone in a wheelchair also, usually their arms are pretty ripped
Thank you. Recently diagnosed with glaucoma. Normal weight training is not recommended. This video gives a pathway to build some well needed muscle without blowing up eye pressure. Will give it a go, can tell if it does not cause problems as sight is immediately effected. Really appreciated!!!!
I avoided high reps early in my training, because I was limited by oxygen and less by muscle failure. But it occured to me that it should be part of my training for a more complete fitness level, and the knowledge that basically anything up to 30 reps still gives growth stimulus helped me worry less about building muscle.
Spot on! Yeah it is something that is poorly understood my most people. I've explained it in several videos but will definitely revisit it in the future. Great point, Carlos.
Amazing list of benefits, but of note are GPP for playing with your kids/grandkids, labor jobs, chores, long-duration skill work such as martial arts and dance, and mission prep (SEALs do up to 50-rep sets leading up to missions). Just my 2 cents.
That's kool yo. Thanks. Just what I was curious about. It's like what Mike Mentzer said about his program, that the body should be adapting to weight and _intensity_ in order to grow.
A few additions here: It's not all about muscle fiber recruitment. It's also about depleting muscle glycogen. With heavy-weight low reps (1-9), you have more micro-tearing and less glycogen depletion. With high reps (20+) you have less micro-tearing and more glycogen depletion. The best range for both micro-tearing and glycogen depletion is a medium rep range (10-19).
Yeah I think there is some nuance here… it certainly isn’t all about recruitment, you probably want slow enough contraction speeds to have for high levels of force, and therefore high levels of mechanical tension applied to the fibers innervated by high threshold motor units. This is why heavy weights with low reps and very little metabolic stress stimulate growth… and why high reps close to, or to failure stimulate growth. Some researchers hold the position that metabolic stress and muscle damage actually are not independent drivers of hypertrophy. They have good evidence to support this. sandcresearch.medium.com/what-determines-mechanical-tension-during-strength-training-acdf31b93e18 Also, as I touched on in the last comment, damage and glycogen depletion not drivers of hypertrophy. There is ongoing research on this topic, but in general, the industry seems to be moving more and more towards mechanical tension as the primary driver. I’m not ready to write off metabolic stress or other drivers just yet, but you can read some of Chris Beardsley’s stuff and make your own decision on how you weight the evidence.
@@Kboges Your referenced article mentions both force and fatigue are necessary to stimulate muscle growth and I agree. The downfall of most research is that it is all short-term research with a limited budget. I have my own long-term research that shows moderate weight and moderate reps are superior for strength and size. I just finished a full year of training (6 days a week) by working my arms two times a week at four sets per session. Each session of four sets was progressive with 12,14,16,18 reps. In one year I put 2" on my arms (a cold 2.1" to be technical). I have 12 months of data in my MySQL database (I'm a programmer by day) as a real long-term study. This data demonstrates day-by-day, month-by-month that a moderate rep range with moderate-heavy weights is capable of fast gains in size and strength. Now I'm working on my second year of research training and I am predicting a 1" to maybe a 1.5" arm gain because of adaption. Everyone is so focused on recruitment and micro-tearing, but depleting that muscle of most of its energy is also an important part of stimulating that muscle for growth. My research demonstrates you need BOTH for fast gains in strength and size.
100%. It is absolutely true that higher reps can build muscle just as well, but it's at least worth noting that lower reps with heavier stress DOES have empirical evidence of building *strength* more so than higher reps at a lower stress level. I'd still find ways to include some, but would agree that higher reps can be if not should be the emphasis
Very thorough explanation. I must agree. I would only add that training with heavier weight tends to build capacity for generating greater force (in other words strength and power) a little faster than high reps with low weight. Otherwise, Powerlifters would never train heavy. But on the other hand, high reps can cause muscle hypertrophy a bit faster while being safer (your physique looks good by the way). Great video.
If the internet wasnt already a time capsule your content would deserve to be in one, priceless information. Quick question, would you say high rep supersets are sufficient enough to replace or at least substitute some cardio?
If proximity to failure is driving growth response, why would we not adopt a training strategy like myo reps or rest/pause? These would give us more effective reps stimulus.
It's a good question, and it's a really hard one to answer because of study design limitations in the research... it can be challenging to equate the two groups. For instance, if you just do a single set to failure vs a myo reps sets, we can't be certain that the difference in outcome isn't due to total volume. In some studies that equate volume, they may not have sufficiently hard sets in the traditional resistance training group... I can't really say for certain either way, but from a mechanistic understanding, I can see it being effective, but also carry with it a higher fatigue burden. I do think it is a viable strategy for sure, but probably should be reserved for experienced people. I really don't think beginners are great candidates.... you need to keep your form together, you need to be able to assess how much fatigue it generates, etc. Keep in mind though, failure (or close to it) represents a point where all muscle fibers have bene recruited and fatigued to the point where they cannot move the load any more. My suspicion is that with rest-pause/myo reps, that the short rest allows for some motor units to come back on line and contribute in the subsequent set, but I'm not convinced you would be able to maintain full motor unit recruitment given the level of fatigue you are experience by working past the failure point. Certainly, some of these fibers would cycle back in as you go through more sets, but I do not believe all sets after the main one can be counted as equal to traditional sets.
Every person I have ever talked to, who I wanted to be like, has told me the same things - go to failure ever set. Some of them say they don't even count the reps. Many also state they leave tension on the muscle between sets, as in, they hold the bar/weight/whatever in place between sets and then go again. I don't think this is something that can be done for people that are still working their ways up, but it is something that you have to do to break through the plateau and get to the next level. No way I could have gotten a good workout doing this when I first started. it just wouldn't have been possible. But I am trying to work towards it now.
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"Your proximity to failure is what's driving your growth response" Thank you for this knowledge
When you train your medium twitch fibers for endurance to failure, they act like high endurance fast twitch fibers.
This will give you the maximum hypertrophy from your medium twitch and fast twitch fibers while also giving you the best possible endurance. Not bad for light weights. Sandow was on to something.
This applies in every area of life
The weather looks lovely.
Thanks! SD weather is always great.
Perfect video: straight to the point and sub 5 minutes which makes it easier to watch in entirety
Thank you!
I’ve watched two videos and have already logged multiple one liners in my journal. This dude is no bs, all education.
Wow! Thank you! I'm happy the content resonates with you!
I’ve always questioned this with other fitness people. How do my muscles know the difference between failure at 50 reps vs failure at 8 reps with more weight? I think you’re spot on as always
Thanks for posting this video. As a physician, I totally agree on the messages delivered in this video of yours and, if I could, I would like to add a note; training with high repetitions, not only will stimulate muscles growth but, will avoid injuries due to heavy load over the tendons and joints.
Anyway, really good video 🤝
Thanks, Doc!
@@Kboges ... anytime kid, keep posting good informative videos like this one 🤝
Calisthenics is where it’s at. Great vid 👍
Agreed! Thank you!
Such a helpful video, you seem to take things that can be complicating to understand and put them in a very simplified explanation! Keep them coming, I’m learning alot and have actually totally switched to daily bodyweight workouts since watching your channel
Hey, thank you so much. I feel a lot of training is over complicated, so my goal is to break down some of these concepts and show people that fitness is WAY more accessible than they though. I'm happy you are finding the content helpful. Thanks so much for the support, David. I really appreciate it. If you ever have questions, just let me know.
@@Kboges I love your mindset on training keeping it simple is the way to go you just pick basic workouts and do them watching fitness UA-camrs makes people confused since everyone says the opposite of someone else which is confusing 😎👍
@@KbogesHello Kyle. Since I saw your videos I started to train the classic ppl in a daily basis. I don’t have a specific rep target but I always aim for 3-4 really hard (close to failure) sets for every body part.
I’m doing this most of the days and some days I rest.
It is way more fun and doable this way than doing 2 hard workouts with 10 sets for every exercise.
I also think that giving you muscle a daily “reminder” or trigger to work, it stays pumped and full through the week and has a better potential to grow.
3-4 sets done in a circuit mode with 2-3 min rest between exercises hitting all major muscle groups. I think I will grow even more.
Thank u 🙏
This channel just showed up on my feed and i instantly subscribed. Precise videos with no clutter or sponsorships and a community with brains. Great job man!
Right on! I take your advice to heart. I've been training since I was 15, I've always gotten that satisfaction we all experience from pushing that heavier weight..but now at 62 I really need (joints) to change to higher reps. So glad I came across your technique! Thank you my friend!
I personally find doing concurrent periodization (volume and intensity days) as a great way to design a program. For example, for the first day of pushing I might do a weighted push up for lets say 8-12 reps, and the next pushing workout i will do 20-30 rep sets to total failure with less rest time. I found this approach to work really well.
Yes! I'm going to make a video on this very subject- periodization and sequencing different types of workouts. Excellent point!
I do the same! Getting great results.
@@Kboges that sounds great. Looking forward to that
yeah that's been the best approach for me, 5 workouts per week with 1 push/ 1 pull/1 legs focused on strength (with bodyweight finishers), and 1 upper/ 1 lower focused on volume with lower weight or just bodyweght exercises
I'm also doing this , also you can do both on the same session
Finding you on UA-cam has changed my life and attitude towards fitness. I've always worried that high rep training would lead to muscle atrophy but now after listening to you I'm going to be doing heaps of endurance training :)
Muscles don't really care if it's high or low reps, as long as it's progressive. It's just not very efficient to do RM 1-3 or 30+ reps from a muscle building standpoint and high and low reps both have their disadvantages. That's why most stay within the 5-20 range.
A really important aspect of light training vs. heavy training is the toll your connective tissues take. Your tendons don't enjoy the copious blood supply that muscles do, so development and recovery are going to take longer. The trouble with fast strength and hypertrophic gains is that you increase your risk of outpacing what your tendons can handle, even if you muscles have no trouble.
Hey man, I'm the guy who had that really long ass comment on that reddit post about your channel! I just saw this video and your most recent one and I got to say, your information is very spot on and very solid (and this is coming from an advanced athlete that can planche, freestanding HSPU for reps, do all my splits, front lever, OAPU etc). It's hard these days to find people who are giving out quality fitness information and even harder to find people who are giving out quality bodyweight fitness information, but you are definitely giving out great information. Sorry about the misunderstanding from the reddit post's OP. Keep doing what you're doing. you've got a great physique, and you've just gained yourself a new subscriber!
Thanks Scott! I truly appreciate the kind words! I definitely didn't take the misunderstanding personally, I hope I didn't give that impression. I also totally understand how someone can mistake hearing something in a video, and then explain that to someone else. It happens all the time and it's just a part of coaching people- nothing I hold against anyone.
Thank you for the support! It's great to have an advanced calisthenics athlete comment here so thank you for that.
Proximity to failure regardless of rep count makes a lot of sense. Thank you sir.
I am more intermediate than advanced, but personally I find huge benefits to medium-intensity training (For example, 2-3 reps from failure for a set that might fail at 10 reps) at a higher frequency. I used to "get in the zone" before every workout, do a large number of sets with most of them to failure, and then the fatigue load was so massive that I couldn't have good workouts for several days, or my motivation before workouts was lacking because I expected or feared every workout would be a punishing marathon requiring massive willpower and endurance. Nowadays I'll commonly do 2 sets per muscle or per movement at medium-intensity but I can do this 5+ days a week, or just every day for some movements. The total volume is solid, I have fewer missed or postponed workouts (or time spent "psyching myself up" for workouts), and I find it relatively easy and enjoyable to workout every day, at least one or two muscle groups for a few sets. Once I get into that rhythm of doing something every single day, my energy levels, feeling of well-being, and enjoyment of workouts all tend to be pretty high. I also have a couple tender joints and I feel like this method of training reduces downtime from joint fatigue; my intuition is that it is better for cartilage and connective tissue to adopt this moderate approach, which becomes more and more important as you age.
I feel that high-frequency training is commonly used by or known about among advanced athletes, but for intermediates or beginner-intermediates I strongly suggest giving it a try. The biggest first step to learn is how to pace yourself. At least for me, I had to train my mind to understand that you don't need to totally "destroy" a muscle group or pump through high-intensity sets every time you work out. Calculating total volume is more "intellectual" as opposed to the "emotional" feeling of pushing yourself to the limit every time, and you need to get used to that. I compare it to advice which Hemingway gave to writers, which was something like "stop while you still want to keep going, then you'll be motivated to start again the next day."
I do still work in tough sessions from time to time, for example to test max reps for a movement (and thus monitor progressive overload), to get that exhausted and "torn up" feeling which can be pleasurable in moderation, and to make sure I am sometimes activating whatever stimulus responses might be brought on by failure and high-intensity as opposed to total volume.
talking absolute nonsense here, brother
Amazing information . Finally someone who speaks and gets to the point! You explained it perfectly . I’m a sub now ....
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the support. Feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions.
Mr. Kboges always coming in clutch. Thank you very much!
Thank you, dude🙏💪
Several months ago, I trained really heavy and had the best results ever. I then bent over to pick up some hay on the farm and did my back in worse than I ever had. I realised that it was because of the strain I'd put on my back from the heavy training. So yeah, great results but high increased risk of injury. It has taken me a few months to get over the injury. More reps with lighter weights is now my approach.
maybe muscle knots and spasms. my muscles seized up from squatting. I thought I had a slipped disc. found out the muscle was trying to protect my spine so much that it spased out. pain didnt go away for 3 months.
No way - I had this EXACT problem with my back and it took me 11 weeks to get over it. After heavy training for a while, I literally bent over to pick up a spade and my back went!
Watching these sets of rows and seeing how the range of motion slowly decreased through the set was enlightening. My sets do the same thing. I see now that once the range starts decreasing, there are still a few reps left to go. My sets weren’t getting as close to failure as I thought they were. These videos are gold!
Excellent…. I’m 60 & post menopausal lifting my whole life…. This strategy will help me continue to THRIVE 🏋️♀️🏋️♀️🏋️♀️
Awesome, Kim! Keep at it and let me know how your progress goes!
The content in this channel is priceless.
Incredibly valuable information.
As usual good channels like this trigger also many philosophical aspects as a bonus byproduct.
Thanks for this comment, Dan! I appreciate that very much. Glad you enjoy!
I think I finally figured out why my comments keep disappearing so hopefully it's fixed. Just wanted to say another great video and you're totally channeling stuff that is always running through my head. Thanks for your work!
Thanks so much Stephen! Much appreciated. Looking forward to collaborating with you on your FB project in the near future.
This guy has the best training videos.
Thank you for making this. It gives me more confidence about sticking to calisthenics as I get older.
I just done some high reps session on the rings. It's tough but it's feels good and makes me pumped as hell!
Heck Yeah! I love the pump.
Last year i wasn't able to do not even the first half of a one arm push up, and no matter how much i trained, i couldn't even do 20 normal ones. Since march of this year, i've been using this man's method, and my push routine have consisted in no more tham a few push ups and ring dips, intercalated. Now, after MONTHS of even trying a OAP and without the need of direct training, i was able to do one rep, very clumsy, but it is there. It is also worth mentioning that, currently, i'm doing 28 push ups as a max for my training, and this max is expanding every week. All this just to say, thanks, really. You added a much needed value to my life, and all for free. Gold content, invaluable information and endless gains. Thank you man, you're my hero.
Congratulations. Keep moving forward, it sounds like you've been making great strides.
Loving the content and explanations for someone like myself who doesn’t enjoy a traditional gym setup and prefers to work out alone 👌🏻
Thanks Goggins! You are the target demographic exactly.
Stay hard!
Great video as always. The baby arrived on Tuesday, you're not wrong about being tired hahah. I'm going to adopt some of your principles in my training starting with a higher frequency but shorter sessions to try and overcome the tiredness. Look like the subscriber count has gone up as well, keep up the great work.
Marcus!! Congratulations!!!!! Dude you are going to have some incredible experiences in then upcoming months. I'm stoked for you. Training as a new dad is tough, so mini workouts might be where it's at, and the lack of sleep really cuts into the gains, but just stay with it, enjoy the training, and enjoy the process of raising a new person!
@@Kboges thanks so much, really appreciate the words. Yeah I'm hoping to at least maintain and not regress. I've set up some rings hanging down from the attic, so pullups and pushups throughout the day are doable.
When I was young, I grew up doing bodyweight exercises. We kept a pull-up bar in the bedroom door. and held contests with friends and neighbors. I used to do pushups and dips throughout the day. I even walked around on my hands.
As a young adult however, I switched to weight training. While this helped to grow big muscles, I never really "felt right". As I got older, I started to gain a lot of weight.
One day, I decided to watch the people in the gym. I noticed a pattern. It seemed that the BEST LOOKING, BEST BUILT men and women were not "lifting weights" or "doing cardio". They spent most of their time doing body weight exercises. They were on the floor doing yoga, Pilates, pushups, pullups, etc.
So I switched my training. Rather than lifting, I now spend nearly all of my time doing floor exercises, or pullups on the straps. I do a ton of band work hitting every muscle in my body. I still lift weights, but only as a "supplement" - at the end of my workout.
This has had a dramatic effect on my body in how I look and feel. I am so happy that I have rediscovered bodyweight training!!!
This was the workout content I needed. Thank you!
Well yeah mate. Old school strongmen in the 1910s, 1920s used pretty light weights, just loads of reps and very concentrated.
Example, Eugene Sandow.
100%!!! This is something bodybuilders/physical culturists have known for over 100 years. Lot's of these guys talked about light weights, high reps, and mind/muscle connection. It is very sustainable.
@@Kboges Yeah. I wonder why nearly all you here in gyms is "Lift Big to get Big!". Ego lifting I guess.
There's still some PTs that tell people to use lighter weights to "cut".
@@KrisVic91 Yeah I think powerlifting training methodologies have influenced the gym culture a lot. Lifting heavy can be really fun when you start chasing weight on the bar. However, it comes at a costs, and for me it's just not worth it.
HAHAHAHA I love the "light weights to cut"! Lot's of funny stuff out there.
@@Kboges Man I saw that light weights to cut on a bbc show here in the uk on tv! 2 guys were buking, the other two were cutting. And they told the cutting guys to lift light weights.
I couldn't believe it. How do people get so wrapped up in dogma?
I have been dabbing with Sandow/Atilla over the last year or so, getting back in the game, alongside LISS and BW movements. It works, and it works better when one stays consistent (surprise, surprise). Best "side effect" I have gotten so far, is that I have partially loosened up on my left shoulder, elbow and parts of my back, which put me off the heavy weights in the first place. Now in my fifties, I am more interested in sustainability within the limits of the wear and tears, than overall mass and strength, which may have been the target in my early 20s, and incidentally may have had something to do with the wear and tears... If interested, I can recommend "The lost secret to a great body" by David Bolton, that explains the program(s) to great depth. It is well worth the read, both for practioneers or if one just has a general interest in training history. :-)
Those pushups are so clean I can't help but be impressed
I've been saying this for decades but so many guys remain attached to the old dictum of "heavy weights with low reps for bulking" but "light weights with high reps for definition". Finally, a scientific explanation.
Looking forward to this channel having 1 million subs.
This is incredibly helpful, thanks so much. Info like this makes working out seem so much less complicated
Perfect! That's my goal. Just trying to simplify it and cut through the distractions. I'm happy you found this helpful!
What a background.... Perfect set up for healthy body as well as mind...
Thanks so much!
Love your concise way of explaining these concepts.
When we get serious about getting just the right info nothing else, we stumble on this channel
Well explained content as always! Doing high reps has helped me become stronger in my upper body lifts for sure! Would love to see a video explaining how to cut properly and reach bf below 10% too!
He's done a video on how to get lean and muscular. Nutrition principles
Really useful stuff. Truly educational. Glad UA-cam recommended me your video 3 weeks ago.
binge watching this channel. so simple yes so much info!
this video is just as much helpful as beautiful your video's background is.
Your proximity to failure is what's driving your growth response
Its quite impressive how you just owned the horizontal rows btw! every rep with strict form!! like a stroll in the park. You never disappoint Kyle!! 💪🏾👏🏾
Love the high-rep training for upper body, but any tips on avoiding nausea when pushing really long sets of lunges, squats, etc.? Thanks!
Hey Paul! For lower body, make sure your breathing is on point and coordinated with your movements. Also, consider taking extra time to build up to higher volumes. Maybe start with half the reps that would make you nauseous, then start adding a little bit of volume every week as you give yourself some time to adapt. This usually goes away pretty quick, and will eventually not be a problem. Also, adding in some easy cardio can go a long way for making you more resilient to this.
Fasted training
I'd recommend slow progressive overload
Keep going
@@kalliman1843 and that's the truth
Really loving this channel and the effort you put in.
Thank you!
First time here. I'll be back for more! I'm a beginner, but am working hard.
Thanks! Your hard work will pay off. Just train consistently. Make it a lifestyle and plan to do it forever.
If you ever have any questions, let me know.
Thank you Kyle, helpful as always!
Thank you!
This video inspired me to train in a different way from now on. Thank you.
Recently got your channel
And I love the content
You provide genuine and to the point knowledge
Keep doing it ❤️❤️
Thank you, KUKU! I appreciate that!
Couldn't agree more and I can attest to this concept not being a new thing either. As matter of fact I was reading a column by the one time legendary John Grimek from a 1950s era "Strength and Health" magazine(I think that's the name) where John was actually concerned about his legs getting to big from the heavy weight he was using so he cut down weight and focused on high rep leg work. To his chagrin he found that style of training slapping on size like crazy!
Totally, steelgila! A lot of old school lifters found high reps to be incredibly useful.
ditillo2.blogspot.com/2009/12/give-weightless-squats-chance-paul.html
I agree with this. I only do prison style workouts very high volume and intense. Even though its a lot of endurance i still made size gains e.g. sets of 100 reps bodyweight squats when i started i could barely get more than 50 reps. Once it got too easy i threw on weighted backpacks for the high volume. I havent trained the skill moves but in terms of muscle i got results. Thanks for the vid 👍
Agreed! My legs actually look better from high rep BW squats, high rep weight vest squats, sissy squats, lunges etc. than they did when I lifted. These movement can definitely build muscle.
I can certainly vouch for this method, I purchased Kyle’s 12 week customized program from his website and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is wanting to get serious about calisthenics!
@@ryanhookstra9685 Ryan! Thanks so much for the endorsement. I'm so stoked you are enjoying your training!
What’s your workout routine?
I used to do 500+ air squats but now I do 32kg kettlebell sumo squats and only managed to get 70+ reps per session lol I'm weak.
I think it's quite important to have a good amount of weight with good reps. Not too heavy, not too light. Sometimes, high reps can just get my arms tired due to fatigue but not the actual muscle.
Great point!
Your arms getting tired is your muscle getting tired. What do you think arms are made of?
@@BB-rs2ib lol
TUT: Time Under Tension. It always works.
Yep!
You are one of the blessed ones, who look awesome with short hair
Dude perfect hairstyle, just same lenght and life is easy
You're a beast!
Hahaha thank you, but I'm literally a pretty average guy. I just like fitness a lot.
thats amazing to know this info!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed.
great content bro
ur preaching low reps and bodyweight exercises which will ensure full health and mobility long term
nice voice as well
Great video, thanks for the education, much appreciated. BW from the UK
Binary action of muscle fibers point really opened my mind thanks.
Very well explain with such simple understanding on how to build muscles. Awesome.
Best pain free gainz I've ever achieved in my life were from high rep, high frequency inverted rows, pushups, and lunges.
Same here!💪
Great information, clearly explained. Thank you!
Thank you. My pleasure!
Hey man, liking the channel. Got yourself a new subscriber.
Thank you! I appreciate it very much. Let me know if you ever have any questions.
Just discovered your really informative and such a great content !
Great explanation and will keep this in mind as I train.
Great video. Exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks, Anthony!
Informative and to the point, thank you
This guy is soooo underrated
Thank you! I appreciate that!
Thanks! Simple and clear
Thanks for the info!
Dude I love your approach. You're offering different and useful info on calisthenics! 🙏🏼👍🏼 preciate it
Eh, stopped at 1:30. There are different muscle fiber types meant for different types of movement that utilize different fuel sources that correlate with their size. I will explain if anyone is interested
High reps indeed do build muscle. I see more of a pump when training bodyweight than with weighted calisthenics. I'm gonna spend a year or more progressing with the basics with this workout I'm doing right now to save my joints
Pike push ups
Chin ups
Push ups
Dips
Inverted rows
Y raises
T raises
I heard that it can also build strength to. That when your slow twitch muscles fatigue, your fast twitch muscle fibers take over, is this true?
Correct! The technical term for this is called the "size principle".
I also heard it’s about the ‘speed’ at which you perform exercises. If the force incline is higher the body takes more fast twitch muscle fibers as the body uses the ones, which get the job done best and most efficient (economic).
Still, I‘m actually not sure about the way you should perform tbh. I feel like too much speed can help you compensate for a range of motion you aren’t strong at. I guess it’s more about trying to perform it quickly like trying to perform a deadlift quickly. It might not be or seem quickly from the outside, but is performed as one.
@@Kboges Thank you for your tips and confirmation!
@@hekkrjs2698 My pleasure.
@@Kboges thanks dudes, very informative and was thinking that question, while watching lol
Thanks for the quality content, awesome job, keep it up man!
🔥
great great video. You explained very important things
Awesome channel, thanks for helpful vids,.
Thanks so much!
As a climber, I think it's also important to train the one rep maximum power with long rests in-between. Especially for finger strength
I'll start mixing in high rep excersise for conditioning as well
watch out for your training, there are only tendons in the fingers. And tendons and muscles do not work the same
@@m.helazior9932 thank you.
Training fingers also trains the muscle belly of the forearm. In theory, the stronger the forearms, the stronger the fingers
Great informative video ! 🔑⭐️
I really did find throwing heavy weights in a bag and doing push ups annoying I really thank you for this information
i broke my foot and had crutches for 2 months. was still active and went out a lot. my arms looked amazing afterwards. nothing super heavy, just body weight on crutches, but my arms became my legs and tons of reps clearly. look at someone in a wheelchair also, usually their arms are pretty ripped
What a G! Commenting for the algo.
Thanks dude! Much appreciated.
Thank you. Recently diagnosed with glaucoma. Normal weight training is not recommended. This video gives a pathway to build some well needed muscle without blowing up eye pressure. Will give it a go, can tell if it does not cause problems as sight is immediately effected. Really appreciated!!!!
Tim, sorry to hear about your diagnosis but happy to hear you can still find some way to train!
amazing channel
Such good content
Thanks, David. I appreciate that.
I avoided high reps early in my training, because I was limited by oxygen and less by muscle failure. But it occured to me that it should be part of my training for a more complete fitness level, and the knowledge that basically anything up to 30 reps still gives growth stimulus helped me worry less about building muscle.
It is essential that you explain to most people that muscle grow is not strength grow. That is why bodybuilders can’t win in weight competitions.
Spot on! Yeah it is something that is poorly understood my most people. I've explained it in several videos but will definitely revisit it in the future. Great point, Carlos.
Amazing list of benefits, but of note are GPP for playing with your kids/grandkids, labor jobs, chores, long-duration skill work such as martial arts and dance, and mission prep (SEALs do up to 50-rep sets leading up to missions).
Just my 2 cents.
Great info. Don't do 10xXX pushups. Do reps to failure each series till you reach XXX. I will.
That's kool yo. Thanks. Just what I was curious about. It's like what Mike Mentzer said about his program, that the body should be adapting to weight and _intensity_ in order to grow.
A few additions here: It's not all about muscle fiber recruitment. It's also about depleting muscle glycogen. With heavy-weight low reps (1-9), you have more micro-tearing and less glycogen depletion. With high reps (20+) you have less micro-tearing and more glycogen depletion. The best range for both micro-tearing and glycogen depletion is a medium rep range (10-19).
Yeah I think there is some nuance here… it certainly isn’t all about recruitment, you probably want slow enough contraction speeds to have for high levels of force, and therefore high levels of mechanical tension applied to the fibers innervated by high threshold motor units. This is why heavy weights with low reps and very little metabolic stress stimulate growth… and why high reps close to, or to failure stimulate growth. Some researchers hold the position that metabolic stress and muscle damage actually are not independent drivers of hypertrophy. They have good evidence to support this.
sandcresearch.medium.com/what-determines-mechanical-tension-during-strength-training-acdf31b93e18
Also, as I touched on in the last comment, damage and glycogen depletion not drivers of hypertrophy. There is ongoing research on this topic, but in general, the industry seems to be moving more and more towards mechanical tension as the primary driver. I’m not ready to write off metabolic stress or other drivers just yet, but you can read some of Chris Beardsley’s stuff and make your own decision on how you weight the evidence.
@@Kboges Your referenced article mentions both force and fatigue are necessary to stimulate muscle growth and I agree. The downfall of most research is that it is all short-term research with a limited budget. I have my own long-term research that shows moderate weight and moderate reps are superior for strength and size. I just finished a full year of training (6 days a week) by working my arms two times a week at four sets per session. Each session of four sets was progressive with 12,14,16,18 reps. In one year I put 2" on my arms (a cold 2.1" to be technical). I have 12 months of data in my MySQL database (I'm a programmer by day) as a real long-term study. This data demonstrates day-by-day, month-by-month that a moderate rep range with moderate-heavy weights is capable of fast gains in size and strength. Now I'm working on my second year of research training and I am predicting a 1" to maybe a 1.5" arm gain because of adaption. Everyone is so focused on recruitment and micro-tearing, but depleting that muscle of most of its energy is also an important part of stimulating that muscle for growth. My research demonstrates you need BOTH for fast gains in strength and size.
100%. It is absolutely true that higher reps can build muscle just as well, but it's at least worth noting that lower reps with heavier stress DOES have empirical evidence of building *strength* more so than higher reps at a lower stress level. I'd still find ways to include some, but would agree that higher reps can be if not should be the emphasis
those clouds look amazing
Yeah that was a beautiful day!
Very thorough explanation. I must agree. I would only add that training with heavier weight tends to build capacity for generating greater force (in other words strength and power) a little faster than high reps with low weight. Otherwise, Powerlifters would never train heavy. But on the other hand, high reps can cause muscle hypertrophy a bit faster while being safer (your physique looks good by the way). Great video.
Also high reps build muscle endurance which you won't get with strength training.
@@ukguy This is true.
So you will get bigger faster with high reps vs low reps?
If the internet wasnt already a time capsule your content would deserve to be in one, priceless information. Quick question, would you say high rep supersets are sufficient enough to replace or at least substitute some cardio?
If proximity to failure is driving growth response, why would we not adopt a training strategy like myo reps or rest/pause? These would give us more effective reps stimulus.
It's a good question, and it's a really hard one to answer because of study design limitations in the research... it can be challenging to equate the two groups. For instance, if you just do a single set to failure vs a myo reps sets, we can't be certain that the difference in outcome isn't due to total volume. In some studies that equate volume, they may not have sufficiently hard sets in the traditional resistance training group... I can't really say for certain either way, but from a mechanistic understanding, I can see it being effective, but also carry with it a higher fatigue burden. I do think it is a viable strategy for sure, but probably should be reserved for experienced people. I really don't think beginners are great candidates.... you need to keep your form together, you need to be able to assess how much fatigue it generates, etc.
Keep in mind though, failure (or close to it) represents a point where all muscle fibers have bene recruited and fatigued to the point where they cannot move the load any more. My suspicion is that with rest-pause/myo reps, that the short rest allows for some motor units to come back on line and contribute in the subsequent set, but I'm not convinced you would be able to maintain full motor unit recruitment given the level of fatigue you are experience by working past the failure point. Certainly, some of these fibers would cycle back in as you go through more sets, but I do not believe all sets after the main one can be counted as equal to traditional sets.
very good to know, thank you!
Every person I have ever talked to, who I wanted to be like, has told me the same things - go to failure ever set. Some of them say they don't even count the reps. Many also state they leave tension on the muscle between sets, as in, they hold the bar/weight/whatever in place between sets and then go again.
I don't think this is something that can be done for people that are still working their ways up, but it is something that you have to do to break through the plateau and get to the next level.
No way I could have gotten a good workout doing this when I first started. it just wouldn't have been possible. But I am trying to work towards it now.