Here’s what you need to know… To make a muscle grow, put it under constant tension for 50-70 seconds. This technique mimics the benefits of occlusion training. Occlusion training deprives the target muscle of oxygen during lifting and increases the release of growth factors in a muscle. The growth factor workout is a series of complexes that place your pecs under constant tension. You’ll use several flye and press variations. Contract the pecs. Focus on squeezing at the top. Don’t just go through the motions. Muscle Growth: The Short Version To build a muscle, make it release local growth factors. How? By keeping it under constant tension for 50-70 seconds. This does two things: A lot of lactate and hydrogen ions will accumulate inside the muscle. The muscle will be put in a relative hypoxic state – not enough oxygen enters the muscle which becomes oxygen-deprived. The result? Muscle growth is triggered. Growth Factor Training Growth factors are substances such as insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1, IGF-2) and mechanical growth factors (MGF) that have a very high impact on protein synthesis (muscle building). Stimulate the release of these in a muscle and you’ll build it. Studies have shown that growth factors are stimulated mostly via an accumulation of lactate/hydrogen ions inside the target muscle as well as depriving the target muscle of oxygen during lifting. The latter was found when doing studies on occlusion training: performing sets where blood flow to the muscle is greatly reduced by wearing a compressive cuff. Doing so diminishes oxygen transport to the muscles as well as the clearance of metabolic waste (lactate/hydrogen ions). Sets under these conditions have shown a similar hypertrophy response even when very light weights were used compared to regular, heavier sets. Researchers found that the main contributing factor was the release of growth factors. But you don’t have to create an occlusion with a pressure cuff to get the same effect. When a muscle is either tensed (flexing) or stretched, blood entry inside the muscle is greatly reduced. Less oxygen gets in and less metabolic waste is taken out, which creates the same effect as occlusion training in regard to the release of growth factors. How to Mimic The Effects of Occlusion To mimic the beneficial effects of occlusion training, keep the muscles contracted for 50-70 seconds. Out of those 50-70 seconds, spend as much time as possible with the muscles being flexed. So it’s not just about doing the exercises for the duration required, but about focusing on keeping them under tension/flexed throughout. Sure, you could simply perform one exercise for 50-70 seconds non-stop. But there are several reasons to do compounded exercises in one set: It’s easier mentally. You can maintain better focus (after doing an exercise for more than 30 seconds it’s easy to lose focus). It allows you to hit a greater variety of muscle fibers. You can use a bit more weight overall for each exercise (since you have fewer reps of each than you would if you only did one exercise for the same duration). First, Heavy Work Start the chest growth factor workout with a “heavier” exercise that’s still in line with the growth factor way of thinking – longer time under tension – but doesn’t require all the principles (constant tension, constant focus on the pecs). The whole upper body benefits from training heavier on the bench press, and doing so will “turn on” the pecs which will make the subsequent pump work more effective. One method is a multi-contraction drop set. It requires some specific equipment: light resistance bands and Mark Bell’s slingshot. I find this to be the best option but I’ll provide other ones for those who don’t have these tools. Bench Press First do 5 reps with added band resistance. Then remove the bands and immediately do 5 more reps. Then put on the slingshot and pump out as many reps as you can. Do 3 sets. If you don’t have access to a slingshot and bands here are two options you can use: Option 1 5 reps bench press, then as many top-half bench press reps as possible (going down until elbows are just above 90 degrees). Then hold the top position, squeezing the pecs for 15-30 seconds. Option 2 5 reps: Bench press, close-grip 5 reps: Bench, mid-grip 5 reps: Bench, wide-grip Take 10 seconds between each step. Growth Factor Work Complex 1: Press Medley Start with a medley that will blow up your pecs in only one set. This is brutal work even though light weights are used. It’s a long complex, so pay attention! Here’s the whole thing, then I’ll go through the individual elements below: 8-10 reps: Incline dumbbell press, reverse grip Max reps: Incline dumbbell press, regular grip (same weight) Max reps: Push-up, feet elevated Max reps: Flat dumbbell press, reverse grip (same weight) Max reps: Flat dumbbell press, regular grip (same weight) Max reps: Push-up The reverse grip dumbbell press is a great way to hit the upper
Origin: Growth Factor Chest Training