I Wish I Knew THIS When I Started Lifting!
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Date: 2025-09-01
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Comments and reviews: 20
Deusaga
Hey Ryan I have an exercise method you should try that will kick your ass.
Try this with lying hamstring curls but works on a lot of exercises. I call it dynamic isometrics. I would love to see you try this method out and test it on your science muscle neurology machines to measure the effectiveness.
TLDR in 1 extended set you 'practically' (not literally but we can think of it this way) do 10-20 reps of your 3-5 rep max weight. One and done. Mentzer would be proud of you.
- Warm up to heavy weight where you can do 3-5 quality reps.
- Have your glutes squeezed/activated the entire time aka hips tucked forward.
- Do 1 rep. But at the top, squeeze, then lower the weight 1 inch. Then squeeze and up 1 inch. Aka, microreps.
- Do 10-20 microreps at that angle. (Start at 10, progress to 20 over time.
- Lower the weight 10-15 degrees. Do another 10-20 microreps.
- No rest between angles. This is 1 straight set.
- Repeat until you've done 5-6 different angles.
- When your hamstrings are dead, fully stretch them with legs straight, but hamstrings and glutes still tensed. Like you're trying to lift the weight still.
- Hold tensed in stretched position for 10-20 seconds (seconds match the number of microreps.
I started doing this because my hamstrings are weak AF at the peak of the contraction. Eg. if I do 10 full reps, by set 2 I can only get 2 full reps and then 8 reps 80% of the way up. Especially when activating the glutes to avoid body english. I think 99% of people have this problem. They have to swing the weight too explosively to get it all the way up. Which uses too much momentum.
And this is game changing. It works on most machine exercises. Or even weighted pull-ups, but compound lifts are much harder. I wouldn't do this with deadlifts, squats, bench press or military press. But you can do it with leg press, pec deck, machine shoulder raises/flys etc.
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Hey Ryan I have an exercise method you should try that will kick your ass.
Try this with lying hamstring curls but works on a lot of exercises. I call it dynamic isometrics. I would love to see you try this method out and test it on your science muscle neurology machines to measure the effectiveness.
TLDR in 1 extended set you 'practically' (not literally but we can think of it this way) do 10-20 reps of your 3-5 rep max weight. One and done. Mentzer would be proud of you.
- Warm up to heavy weight where you can do 3-5 quality reps.
- Have your glutes squeezed/activated the entire time aka hips tucked forward.
- Do 1 rep. But at the top, squeeze, then lower the weight 1 inch. Then squeeze and up 1 inch. Aka, microreps.
- Do 10-20 microreps at that angle. (Start at 10, progress to 20 over time.
- Lower the weight 10-15 degrees. Do another 10-20 microreps.
- No rest between angles. This is 1 straight set.
- Repeat until you've done 5-6 different angles.
- When your hamstrings are dead, fully stretch them with legs straight, but hamstrings and glutes still tensed. Like you're trying to lift the weight still.
- Hold tensed in stretched position for 10-20 seconds (seconds match the number of microreps.
I started doing this because my hamstrings are weak AF at the peak of the contraction. Eg. if I do 10 full reps, by set 2 I can only get 2 full reps and then 8 reps 80% of the way up. Especially when activating the glutes to avoid body english. I think 99% of people have this problem. They have to swing the weight too explosively to get it all the way up. Which uses too much momentum.
And this is game changing. It works on most machine exercises. Or even weighted pull-ups, but compound lifts are much harder. I wouldn't do this with deadlifts, squats, bench press or military press. But you can do it with leg press, pec deck, machine shoulder raises/flys etc.
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carlsilverberg8700
I agree. After my newbie gains I was going to the gym every day, I got up to the point I was doing 2 hours a day and was doing like 12 chest and triceps exercises for the first hour, then did them all again the second hour, all to complete failure. I found out I could push my same sets to failure like twice after an hour of rest. Just insane intensity and I was blowing up as soon as I got my diet right. Flash forward 2 years, I had to stop going to the gym because of a bad motorcycle accident. I'm doing 6 days a week, and I was now on TRT, but I would only do the 12 exercises and tear though them all in 45min to an hour. I got stuck at the same weight and same size for MONTHS. I was eating right, sleeping right, I even now had a rather generous dose of TRT. So, figure I got to crank it up, so I go from the normal 45min, still going to failure-ish, back to pushing to failure twice and drop sets i. e. get to failure and then stop dropping 5-10lbs off the lift at a time, if you're a heavy lifter maybe more like 20lbs. I found that without a spotter or doing the drop sets, and circling back on the muscle twice, you're just not going to get insane growth fast. Machines that allow you not get crushed while going to failure are fantastic, but so are safeties, smith machines and spotters.
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I agree. After my newbie gains I was going to the gym every day, I got up to the point I was doing 2 hours a day and was doing like 12 chest and triceps exercises for the first hour, then did them all again the second hour, all to complete failure. I found out I could push my same sets to failure like twice after an hour of rest. Just insane intensity and I was blowing up as soon as I got my diet right. Flash forward 2 years, I had to stop going to the gym because of a bad motorcycle accident. I'm doing 6 days a week, and I was now on TRT, but I would only do the 12 exercises and tear though them all in 45min to an hour. I got stuck at the same weight and same size for MONTHS. I was eating right, sleeping right, I even now had a rather generous dose of TRT. So, figure I got to crank it up, so I go from the normal 45min, still going to failure-ish, back to pushing to failure twice and drop sets i. e. get to failure and then stop dropping 5-10lbs off the lift at a time, if you're a heavy lifter maybe more like 20lbs. I found that without a spotter or doing the drop sets, and circling back on the muscle twice, you're just not going to get insane growth fast. Machines that allow you not get crushed while going to failure are fantastic, but so are safeties, smith machines and spotters.
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NK-rm7kc
You sell it good. But your point is only a part of the whole truth.
If you talk about, supercompensation theory it is pretty difficult to find the right stimulus and the right resting/recovery time
Most time it is too less (mostly women’s) and too much (mostly guys.
So it’s all about the knowledge of your own body behavior. Pro-Athletes do this all day. Learn to understand their own body.
Furthermore the goal for most people shouldn’t useless hypertrophic muscles for good looks. It’s about being strengthened and fit. Therefore train less isolated and more complex. And recover.
I could link a bunch of (good) studies/papers, but nobody will recognize my comment. So f it.
I’m a former pro athlete in soccer/football. Now I’m bored and i am watching YT
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You sell it good. But your point is only a part of the whole truth.
If you talk about, supercompensation theory it is pretty difficult to find the right stimulus and the right resting/recovery time
Most time it is too less (mostly women’s) and too much (mostly guys.
So it’s all about the knowledge of your own body behavior. Pro-Athletes do this all day. Learn to understand their own body.
Furthermore the goal for most people shouldn’t useless hypertrophic muscles for good looks. It’s about being strengthened and fit. Therefore train less isolated and more complex. And recover.
I could link a bunch of (good) studies/papers, but nobody will recognize my comment. So f it.
I’m a former pro athlete in soccer/football. Now I’m bored and i am watching YT
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jb-gt8ko
u can make it with squat by doing a drop set, you'll get the same point of muscular stimulation, lats say 5 - 10 reps, 20 sec rest because of weight drop, and repeat his with dropping 3-5 weights, you'll done your quads only with 1 set, but if you kind of people who like 100's of sets you can add 1 more of legs extension with lats say 10 - 20 reps, 5 sec rest because of weight drop, and repeat his 3-5 times, after this two drop set till maximum you've done, no reason to make more sets if your first sets wasted on making you tired, for this purpose you can talk with your boss how to make your work more effective
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u can make it with squat by doing a drop set, you'll get the same point of muscular stimulation, lats say 5 - 10 reps, 20 sec rest because of weight drop, and repeat his with dropping 3-5 weights, you'll done your quads only with 1 set, but if you kind of people who like 100's of sets you can add 1 more of legs extension with lats say 10 - 20 reps, 5 sec rest because of weight drop, and repeat his 3-5 times, after this two drop set till maximum you've done, no reason to make more sets if your first sets wasted on making you tired, for this purpose you can talk with your boss how to make your work more effective
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zerocore_
I think this is great advice, but those starting out, if you have the means to get PT for a few months who pushes you to this lvl, do so. Doing this by yourself, pushing yourself that hard when you never have before, is almost impossible to turn into a habit w/o someone pushing you to do it and holding you accountable if you try to slow down. Hiring a good PT temporarily can do wonders for your overall discipline when training solo. I still imagine my PT standing behind me, pushing me to one more rep.
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I think this is great advice, but those starting out, if you have the means to get PT for a few months who pushes you to this lvl, do so. Doing this by yourself, pushing yourself that hard when you never have before, is almost impossible to turn into a habit w/o someone pushing you to do it and holding you accountable if you try to slow down. Hiring a good PT temporarily can do wonders for your overall discipline when training solo. I still imagine my PT standing behind me, pushing me to one more rep.
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vman3153
Hi Ryan, I’ve been watching your training videos and your colourful metaphors for a while now and I don’t care what anyone says the fact is you are realistic with the way you train and your methods work and also you can see your gains because over the last few years you have noticeably gained serious size and strength.
Awesome shit brother and the videos are funny as F
And love the way you take the piss out of yourself and others
Just awesome
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Hi Ryan, I’ve been watching your training videos and your colourful metaphors for a while now and I don’t care what anyone says the fact is you are realistic with the way you train and your methods work and also you can see your gains because over the last few years you have noticeably gained serious size and strength.
Awesome shit brother and the videos are funny as F
And love the way you take the piss out of yourself and others
Just awesome
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sport
So basically what we thought was efficient, brutal, pushing it to the limit was all wrong. Back to the beginning enjoy the SUCK! Boy what a bummer here i was thinking of draining my set, pushing to the last reserve, and than recruiting my last ounce of strength for hypertrophys sake, but no, back to the drawing board. I see your a Long Horn, so you think they'll beat the Buckeyes. But your from Arizona, well i guess. Hey, lock them horns. Good luck to you sir.
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So basically what we thought was efficient, brutal, pushing it to the limit was all wrong. Back to the beginning enjoy the SUCK! Boy what a bummer here i was thinking of draining my set, pushing to the last reserve, and than recruiting my last ounce of strength for hypertrophys sake, but no, back to the drawing board. I see your a Long Horn, so you think they'll beat the Buckeyes. But your from Arizona, well i guess. Hey, lock them horns. Good luck to you sir.
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ryan_humiston
Taking the advice of admitted roid users like Ryan in my 20's being a roid free lifter is why in my 40's I have an f'ed up right shoulder and right knee. I watch these videoes for the laughs, but honestly I think you can grow muscle without having to pack your rectum back into your spincter after each leeg workout. As muscular as Ryan is I wonder how omuch older he will be before he needs that scooter to actually make it around the gym.
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Taking the advice of admitted roid users like Ryan in my 20's being a roid free lifter is why in my 40's I have an f'ed up right shoulder and right knee. I watch these videoes for the laughs, but honestly I think you can grow muscle without having to pack your rectum back into your spincter after each leeg workout. As muscular as Ryan is I wonder how omuch older he will be before he needs that scooter to actually make it around the gym.
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Guy4UnderDog
At 3: 50 and 4: 20 you reach failure, then immediately quit. You bailed just when you finally reached an isometric contraction state. What happens if you keep pushing when the rep stalls You are basically doing an isometric contraction at that point. If you push long enough your tiring muscles will put you into the eccentric. IMHO, this will convince your brain that your muscle isn't strong enough more than what you are recommending.
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At 3: 50 and 4: 20 you reach failure, then immediately quit. You bailed just when you finally reached an isometric contraction state. What happens if you keep pushing when the rep stalls You are basically doing an isometric contraction at that point. If you push long enough your tiring muscles will put you into the eccentric. IMHO, this will convince your brain that your muscle isn't strong enough more than what you are recommending.
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martinarcher1503
this guy has no choice but to shit three or four times a day. To fuel this unnatural, extreme body he has to eat at frequent intervals every day. I know. I've lived with extreme fitness guys as roommates. This body is totally unsustainable, and is not healthy for anyone. Look at bodybuilders and the way they sacrifice their health for posing days, and how few of them, if any, are models of health now. This guy is ludicrous
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this guy has no choice but to shit three or four times a day. To fuel this unnatural, extreme body he has to eat at frequent intervals every day. I know. I've lived with extreme fitness guys as roommates. This body is totally unsustainable, and is not healthy for anyone. Look at bodybuilders and the way they sacrifice their health for posing days, and how few of them, if any, are models of health now. This guy is ludicrous
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Senick
I'd take it one step further and say degree of stimulation. Intensity is like a brute force way of stimulating your tissue, but it all adds up to degree of stimulation. Slow, controlled reps, and conscious contractions to failure every three minutes or so is not what most people would consider intense, but its extraordinarily effective. I used to squat and lunge until I could not walk or puked. Its just not necessary.
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I'd take it one step further and say degree of stimulation. Intensity is like a brute force way of stimulating your tissue, but it all adds up to degree of stimulation. Slow, controlled reps, and conscious contractions to failure every three minutes or so is not what most people would consider intense, but its extraordinarily effective. I used to squat and lunge until I could not walk or puked. Its just not necessary.
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UnparalleledSpoof
Well, i don't pause for long enough to call it a pause, it's more to make sure I'm stable, instead of bouncing off the bottom of the eccentric.
But I've always gone until my concentric slows to snails pace. Sometimes it takes me 20 seconds to do my last rep but i just keep pushing and pushing until i get there. For me, failure is when my muscles literally let go and disengage involuntarily.
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Well, i don't pause for long enough to call it a pause, it's more to make sure I'm stable, instead of bouncing off the bottom of the eccentric.
But I've always gone until my concentric slows to snails pace. Sometimes it takes me 20 seconds to do my last rep but i just keep pushing and pushing until i get there. For me, failure is when my muscles literally let go and disengage involuntarily.
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Crazyboe
love the overall message in this video, wandering if anyone can explain to me the benefit of failing in the concentric with no few second pauses at the top position of the exercise over taking a couple second pauses and maybe getting a few more reps in the overall set whilst still pushing to fail in the concentric. Surely there is no difference between the two since you still reached muscular failure
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love the overall message in this video, wandering if anyone can explain to me the benefit of failing in the concentric with no few second pauses at the top position of the exercise over taking a couple second pauses and maybe getting a few more reps in the overall set whilst still pushing to fail in the concentric. Surely there is no difference between the two since you still reached muscular failure
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bobbob-g8p
i think diet and consistency is most important. i dont really work out hard but overall have a pretty average healthy body with some muscle mass most people would be happy with. I think if you wanna looked jacked you gotta work really hard. most people will never look jacked or consistency work out hard cause its sucks.
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i think diet and consistency is most important. i dont really work out hard but overall have a pretty average healthy body with some muscle mass most people would be happy with. I think if you wanna looked jacked you gotta work really hard. most people will never look jacked or consistency work out hard cause its sucks.
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ryan_humiston
This is one of the biggest problems with science based lifting, is that the science is shit. Nearly every study, if you dig into the details, is horrible. It's the ssme in psychology, experiments aren't performed well. Usually common sense is just right, training harder makes you grow more, duh.
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This is one of the biggest problems with science based lifting, is that the science is shit. Nearly every study, if you dig into the details, is horrible. It's the ssme in psychology, experiments aren't performed well. Usually common sense is just right, training harder makes you grow more, duh.
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ryan_humiston
Slow eccentrics are trash. 1 they train your body to be slow. No athletes do slow eccentrics.
2) they actually increase risk of injury. Most people get hurt on the eccentric.
3) There's little to no evidence slow eccentrics actually increase hypertrophy.
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Slow eccentrics are trash. 1 they train your body to be slow. No athletes do slow eccentrics.
2) they actually increase risk of injury. Most people get hurt on the eccentric.
3) There's little to no evidence slow eccentrics actually increase hypertrophy.
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jchapman1605
Taking a breath or 2 to get another couple reps is an excellent way to finish a set. You get more high quality reps and therefore more quality volume. Making your blood oxygenation your limiting factor doesnt seem like the best strategy. but maybe I'm a dumbass
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Taking a breath or 2 to get another couple reps is an excellent way to finish a set. You get more high quality reps and therefore more quality volume. Making your blood oxygenation your limiting factor doesnt seem like the best strategy. but maybe I'm a dumbass
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dennism. 5145
Well if you need to take breather, you probably wouldn't have gotten another rep anyway so instead of failing earlier, taking a breather allows you to get one or two more reps. Where's the harm in that Of course you shoudln't take a breather and pause mid set.
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Well if you need to take breather, you probably wouldn't have gotten another rep anyway so instead of failing earlier, taking a breather allows you to get one or two more reps. Where's the harm in that Of course you shoudln't take a breather and pause mid set.
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hyugahyuga3761
I had no idea how much low testosterone could affect energy, drive, and even confidence until I read this book You Are Stronger Than You Think by Cryptic Lore doesn’t just throw theory at you it gives you clear, actionable steps. Highly recommend it.
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I had no idea how much low testosterone could affect energy, drive, and even confidence until I read this book You Are Stronger Than You Think by Cryptic Lore doesn’t just throw theory at you it gives you clear, actionable steps. Highly recommend it.
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double_edged
Intensity is a feeling and is not measurable. However, if someone was training with intensity, their work capacity would increase over time, requiring more volume to match that intensity. Your judgement may be correct without the studies being incorrect.
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Intensity is a feeling and is not measurable. However, if someone was training with intensity, their work capacity would increase over time, requiring more volume to match that intensity. Your judgement may be correct without the studies being incorrect.
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