I was thinking that I may need to switch to full body workouts (circuits) however was unsure if they would be suitable for the outcome I am looking for. My main goal at the gym is to increase my muscle/mass size and (including diet) I was slowly succeeding with my split routine. My question is, can you increase weight/size on a full body circuit?
TLDR version;
Squats 4x6-8 reps / 2 minutes rest.
Bench 4x6-8 reps - superset with rows
Rows 4x6-8 reps - superset with bench
Back extension – 2 x6-8 reps / 2 mins rest
Longer version;
Abbreviated program x2-3 weekly, focus is on strength – mass is secondary, high %RM, longer rests, volume moderate, if mass is the objective, shorten the rest a little 1-1.5 min, increase the rep range 8-12 reps.
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?251309-Basic-Resistance-Training-Guidelines
Squats 4x6-8 reps / 2 minutes rest. Total time should be 12 mins including a 50% RM warmup
Superset these to save time, machines will also make it faster to swap back and forth, ignore the naysayers nothing wrong with machine exercises.
Bench (basically any press you like) 4x6-8 reps - move straight onto Rows
Rows (basically any pull you like) 4x6-8 reps - wait 1 minute then next set back on bench.
Total time should be 14 mins, including a warmup 50% RM for both
Back extension – 2 x6-8 reps / 2 minute rest. Total time should be <5 minutes (don't super set this, especially with squats - form will suffer)
Total time for the program should be right on 30 minutes, presuming the gym is quiet enough that there are no waits for machines / equipment. Don’t bother with a aerobic warmup as it is not a warmup for actually lifting weights. Just do a light set 50% RM for each exercise (already calculated into time).
Superseting is not ideal for your strength goal, but it is ideal for your time goal, which is the dominate factor in your program.
This program covers every major muscle group in the body, but the intensity must be high (>80% of 1RM) otherwise it won’t wear you out enough as the volume isn’t particularly high.
Don't waste your time going to t-nation or bodybuilding, full of psuedoscience crap and programs which are completely retarded. While there is some gems on these sites, I struggle to differentiate the crap from quality on those sites and if I stuggle most people don't have a hope.
This is correct, bodybuilders go for this rep range to enhance the "swole of the muscles" and they focus more on the swole rather than the weight.
In evidence based practice we refer to this as plasma shift to the working muscles or a metabolic stimulus, which does indeed provide hypertrophy gains it as it stimulates an important part of the mTOR pathway in which an upregulation of mRNA (translation and transcription rates) occur, resulting in larger muscles. Tendons adapt exactly as muscles do, a little slower due to poorer blood supply, any stimulus that promotes muscle strength also concurrently promotes tendon adaptation.
it also strengthens the central nervous system which I think is very important because once you become experienced at lifting you start to focus on the "mind to muscle feel", which is the new trendy phrase in the muscle world. (I think its a bit of a wank phrase for people to excuse themselves from poor form), but you do get the "feel" of the muscle working after a while.
The nervous system stops adapting in most people at around 4 weeks into training, beyond this piont there are no measureable changes unless the exercise mode significantly changes. No need to even consider the nervous system when training. Good form is about safety during heavy lifts and looking after ones joints after chronic amounts of lifting (years to decades).