Confession: I’m really good at gaining weight.
Always have been.
At a glance, people don’t realize this about me. They see a guy that’s genetically gifted. The fitness professional that’s got it all figured out. And someone that’s never been preoccupied about what they see on the scale, worried about fitting into their favorite pants, or frowning at what they see in the mirror.
Sure, that may describe some people. But that’s not me…
Again, I’ve always been really good at gaining weight.
Now, I’ll openly admit that this isn’t all bad. On the one hand, it means good weight: lean muscle.
But it usually means not-so-good weight: like that annoying pooch that shows up right above my belt buckle. (For whatever reason, that pesky bottom bit of my belly has always been one of my most stubborn trouble spots.)
Because I’ve got a gift for gaining weight, most of my fitness life has been focused on losing weight.
For years, in fact, my training and nutrition were entirely focused on the same basic idea—fat loss. And it worked.
I dropped pounds. I shaved off inches.
The fat was gone.
But that was merely a prelude to the real transformation. Ultimately, losing the weight was just the beginning. Because after the fat was lost, it was time to reevaluate my focus, adjust my goals, and try something I hadn’t ever done before…
For the first time in my life, I tried to gain weight. And that was a complete turning point for me and my fitness.
Building Sets for Size: The Mechanisms of Growth
There are a couple important points we need to touch on before moving forward. By the time I lost the fat and decided to reevaluate my goals, I was already years deep into a career in the fitness industry. Here’s why that matters:
1. It’s proof that losing fat (and keeping it off) is a long game. For everyone. Abs don’t show up overnight. Toned arms aren’t two weeks away. It all takes time—even for a literal professional like myself.
2. Conceptually, I knew how to go about gaining good weight (aka lean muscle). I had already studied and even applied the science of muscle growth in my work, so I felt confident I could do it the right way.
Honestly, the mechanisms of muscular hypertrophy are simple. Likewise, including sets for size in a workout program is really straightforward.
According to the research, there are three mechanisms of muscle growth: mechanical tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress. If you translate the exercise science into normal English, here’s what those really mean:
– Mechanical tension means heavy loads to activate and develop more muscle fibers.
– Muscle damage means breaking down the muscle so that it builds back bigger and stronger.
– Metabolic stress means creating the right chemical environment (on a cellular level) to facilitate growth.
Individually, each of the above will stimulate size. When a program uses all three, that growth is optimized.
For example, you might start a workout with a big, heavy lift to generate mechanical tension, have a few high-volume sets to leverage muscle damage, and finish off with a quick feel-the-burn type of finisher.
Taking a Deeper Look at the Right Kind of Sets for Size
Real talk: Following that exact workout structure would be a great way to build lean mass. But I want to dig a bit deeper into one of these…
Muscle damage.
Why? Because a lot of people are building their sets for size in a suboptimal way—leaving gains on the table, could-be growth come and gone.
The problem? Too much focus on training volume (total reps).
Yes, more total reps can mean more size. And yes, well-designed programs for muscle development will include a lot of training volume. It works, but it isn’t the only way. It’s the tactic, not the principle.
At the end of the day, you’ll gain the most muscle by doing more than merely relying on rep after rep, set after set.
When I shifted my focus and started trying to gain weight, I knew things would go well. After all, I’ve always been good at gaining weight. But I never expected it to go as well as it did…
The key? Focusing on the principles of building lean muscle, not individual tactics like training volume. As a result, I packed 20 pounds on my frame and had to go buy new, bigger shirts. (Seriously.)
High-volume training is only one way to build muscle. One of many. Yet it gets a disproportionate amount of the attention, leaving your best results unseen.
But don’t worry. I’m about to fix that by showing you my favorite, oft-neglected, strategy for maximal muscle—using slower sets for size.
The Real Reason Why More Reps Mean More Muscle
High-volume training is a muscle-building staple. Period. And, considering it’s a great way to leverage muscle damage, it utilizes one of the three major mechanisms of hypertrophy. In short, it’s a sound training strategy.
But the relationship between more reps and more muscle isn’t direct.
The growth-stimulating muscle damage (and subsequent repair) isn’t simply a result of your repetitions. Rather, it’s a result of the time your muscles spend under tension.
This time under tension (TUT) leads to more muscle damage and stimulates more growth. Increasing total reps will also increase total time under tension and, as a result, muscle damage. But most people don’t realize a simple fact…
TUT is the real reason why more reps mean more muscle, not the reps themselves.
And while increasing total reps can increase total time under tension, it’s not always the most efficient way to do it. So here’s my advice:
Slow Down, Bro…
We’ve all seen it, right? That person at the gym that’s doing whatever it takes to eek out those last few reps—the swinging, the kipping, the flailing.
Speedy sets of rushed reps with failing form aren’t helping anyone maximize muscle growth.
But a program whose primary focus is total volume breeds this kind of counterproductive training. In the name of hitting the right rep count, people sacrifice actual progress. Sound like you? Then slow things down.
Like, literally. Try slower sets for size.
Slower sets increase time under tension and can help you build more muscle—without needing through-the-roof rep counts. It’s simply effective.
Enter deliberate tempos and paused reps.
These are two simple ways you can start using slower sets for size, increasing time under tension, and stimulating lean muscle. And here’s the best part—you can start it as soon as your next workout.
Let’s talk tempo first.
There are four basic phases to any lift: eccentric (on the way down), bottom of lift, concentric (on the way up), and top of lift. With tempo manipulation, you’ll focus on spending a specific amount of time in each phase. Even if you’re doing the same exercise with the same weight, the right tempos will stimulate more growth. (More about the right tempos in a jiffy.)
Pauses are great too.
They essentially add pure time under tension to your reps. And, as you already know, that brings a slew of muscle-building benefits to your sets for size. For example, paused squats might have you pause for 3 seconds in the bottom of your squat. Let’s say you do 10 reps. That’s an extra 30 seconds of growth-stimulating tension.
Start with these…
Sets for Size: Four Try-Today Training Tactics for More Muscle
Tempos
Note: These written tempos are as follows: eccentric – bottom of lift – concentric – top of lift. (In seconds.)
4-1-2-1 Sets for Size
This indicates a four-count decent, brief pause at the bottom, a two-count lift, and brief pause at the top. Both simple and a bit sinister.
Go a bit lighter than usual and focus on feeling the working muscles. Don’t rush it. Milk each rep for every single second of time under tension.
5-0-5-0 Sets for Size
This cadence is slow. Five seconds will feel like an eternity—especially at the tail end of your set. And you’re going to spend five seconds on both movement phases of the lift with no pauses.
Don’t try to be a hero. Keep the weight nice and light. Oh, and don’t worry if you feel buried by your seventh or eighth rep. That’s perfectly normal.
Pauses
Note: Pauses are intended to increase time under tension. Tension is the key word. Make sure to keep working muscles active during pauses—pausing isn’t resting.
Pause-Rep Sets for Size
This is really straightforward and simple. Add in a 2–5-second pause at either end of the lift (top or bottom). But bear in mind, you want to focus on keeping the working muscles tense while you pause.
Start off with shorter pauses and slowly increase those as time goes on. Use moderate weight.
1.5-Rep Sets for Size
These are fun, but in the same sort of way a hard workout is fun—it’s a love/hate sort of thing. Your body will love them, but your mind might hate them a bit. (Especially in the moment.) Basically, you’ll go all the way down, briefly pause, come halfway up, briefly pause again, go down again, then go all the way up. That’s one rep.
Keep these light. A little goes a long way with 1.5 reps.
And there you have it…
Four different strategies you can add to your workout program as soon as today to increase muscle damage and gain more lean mass. This simple strategy works, guys. I’ve done it, I’ve watched those I coach do it, and I’m excited to hear all about how it goes for you.
Now’s the time to start using slower sets for size and getting better results.