chad waterbury's 24-50 principle

[gnheil]

i recently read chad waterbury's 24-50 principle article on the testosterone nation website. i am a little confused about his set/rep parameters as they pertain to hypertrophy. in one section he says that you need 36 reps for hypertrophy. in another article he writes that an 8/3 parameter triggers an immediate hypertrophic response. finally in another article he adamantly says that if he had to live with only one weight/rep parameter for the rest of his life it would be 10/3. i think you can see why i am confused. my question is this using 80% of the 1RM what is the best set/rep parameter to use for hypertrophy/strength according to his training methods.? i have been using a 12/3 parameter for bench presses which seems to work ok for me. i like the 8/3, 10/3, 12/3 parameters can they be incorporated with all movements including isolation movements.?

thanks

[Simon C]

His training methods have probably changed a bit over the years as he writes his articles.

Why do you only want to use 80% of your 1rm? lots of higher and lower loads can also be useful too!!!

personally 8-10 sets of 3 reps is plenty of sets for me.

Obviously the more sets or total reps means less weight, assuming a constant load is used. As for what set/rep volume is needed for hypertrophy, well I don't think it matters that much. You can gain heaps of size and strength using 3 sets of 5 for example, more volume may be more effective, but also it may not.

I think waterbury is probably saying that for optimal hypertophy, he recommends more(36) total reps.

But I'll bet that if you add 30 pounds to your bench press, 50 pounds on both your squat and deadlift, while eating a shitload of food, you're gonna grow bigger muscles!

I wouldn't like the idea of sets of 3 reps on isolation exercises though!!!

[gnheil]

i use the 80% of 1RM because waterbury refers to that in his writings. he insists that a load of at least 80% of the 1RM needs to be used in order to recruit the fast twitch fibers that are necessary to produce hypertrophy. if you take a look at his 24-50 principle he says that for strength with hypertrophy you need to use 80-90% of the 1RM performing 24-36 reps per muscle group. for hypertrophy alone he says that you need to use 70-80% of the 1RM 36-50 reps per muscle group. he is adamant about the 80% of the 1RM aspect. as far as isolation movements what do you recommend.? with cable lateral raises etc.?

thanks

[Simon C]

I'd keep isolation exercises above 6 reps, and usually under 12 reps. Some of waterbury's programs use 15, 20, 25 and even 50 rep days, which sounds a bit nutty to me, more of a conditioning tool i guess.

If you like Waterbury's ideas, maybe you should follow one of his many programs at t-nation?