The Dirty Dozen: Twelve Techniques

for Greater Gainz

By John Fawkes

There was a time when I could go to the gym a few times a week, crank out a few sets,
and grow. Ah, newb gainsthose were the days.

But traditional weight training can only take you so far, and at some point you need start
incorporating advanced techniques. Ive tested out many, many training methodologies
over the years. What follows are a dozen of my favorites.

Each technique has its strengths and weaknesses. Most are great tools for strength and
hypertrophy- but some are more useful for fat loss. A couple of them are more geared
towards strength-endurance.

Some of them improve nutrient partitioning, allowing you to bulk without getting fat. And
finally, a couple of them dont directly stimulate muscle growth so much as they reduce
muscle damage, allowing you to train more without overtraining.

Ive mentioned some of these techniques already on my blog, but as time goes on Ill be
publishing detailed write-ups on each and every one of them- including more details on
how they work, the evidence for them, sample workouts, and complete guides on how
and when to use each one. So keep checking back.

May the gainz be with you.

-John

 Exercise Alternation

The first technique on this list is the simplest and easiest. Its also the only one that I
think literally everyone should be using. By changing the way you structure your
workouts, you can get the metabolic benefit of shorter rest periods and the strength
benefit of longer rests at the same time, all while making your workouts shorter.

How to do it: Instead of doing several sets of one movement in succession, alternate
between 2-3 exercises that work dierent body parts.

For instance, suppose youre doing 5 sets of squats and then 5 sets of rows, with 3
minutes between sets. Thats 30 minutes of rest in total. If you instead alternated
between squats and rows, with 2 minutes rest between sets, youd save 10 minutes. You
keep your heart rate up since rests would be shorter, yet your rest on the per-muscle-
group level would go up to 4 minutes, allowing you to lift with more power.

Why this works: Less time between sets of any kind produces greater metabolic eect.
More time between sets with the same muscle group allows greater strength recovery, so
you dont lose as much strength and power on successive sets of the same exercise.

Who should do this: Almost everyone. The only limiting factor on this is where stu is
located in the gym, and how much equipment you can use at once without being an
equipment-hog. You probably cant take up a bench and a deadlifting platform at the
same time, for instance.

It doesnt combine well with occlusion training, and is incompatible with density training-
both described later in this book.

 Cluster Sets

Cluster sets are sets which are divided into several mini-sets, with mini-rest periods
between them. By giving yourself a tiny bit of intra-set rest, you can lift heavier shit for
more reps.

How to do them: Lift a weight for 2-3 reps, then re-rack it. Rest 10-20 seconds. Grab
the weight and do 2-3 more reps, then re-rack. Rest 10-20seconds. Then do 1-3 more
reps, and rack the weight. Thats one cluster set. Take a relatively long (3-5 minutes) rest
before your next cluster set.

Note that cluster sets almost always consist of three mini-sets, with one exception Ill get
to. They can be used for strength, hypertrophy, or technique.

For strength cluster sets, pick a weight that you could normally lift for 3 reps. Make your
rep scheme 2-2-2 or 2-2-1- that is, five or six reps per set- with 15-20 seconds rest
between mini-sets.

For hypertrophy, pick a weight you could lift for 4-6 reps, and shorten the rest time to
10-15 seconds between mini-sets. Make your reps 3-3-3, 3-3-2, or 3-2-2, for 7-9 reps
per set.

Technique clusters are a bit dierent. Use a slightly lighter weight than you use for other
sets, and do just one rep at a time, focusing on keeping your technique perfect and re-
racking the weight between reps. Rest 10 seconds between reps at first, but gradually
lengthen this to a maximum of 30 seconds as time goes on and you get fatigued. Keep
going for 5-10 minutes, and 20-40 total reps.

Why this works: You can lift heavier weights for more reps. That means more total work
is performed, and more total work means more muscle growth. For example, instead of
doing five sets of five, do four sets of 3-3-2 at the same weight, or four sets of 3-2-2 at a
slightly higher weight. The intra-set rest periods reduce the perceived amount of exertion,
so it doesnt feel that much harder.

As for technique clusters, they simply give you a lot of skill practice with minimal fatigue.
By getting just enough rest to avoid major form breakdown, you keep yourself practicing
good technique.

Who should do this: People who want to gain both strength and mass without spending
over an hour per workout. You can do cluster sets with anything, but they work best with
barbell movements. They also fatigue you a lot, so make sure your recovery is on point.
Dont do cluster sets if youre verging on overtraining.

Technique clusters are great for anyone who wants to practice technique on the major
lifts, particularly the bench press, squat, and military press.

 Chronobiology
Chronobiology isnt really the name of this technique, but rather the area of science its
based on. If the technique had a name, it would be working out just before dinner, or
something like that, but I think we can agree that thats a shitty name.

What to do: Do your workouts 8-12 hours after you wake up in the morning. For most
people, this means working out between 3 and 8 PM.

If youre on an unusual schedule- like you work the night shift- adjust these times to be
8-12 hours after you wake up.

Why this works: There are two reasons why late afternoon/early evening is the best time
of day to work out. First, your body temperature is highest at that time of day, which
means you produce more energy, have higher blood flow, and your body tissues are
looser and less easily injured.

Second, its when your testosterone-cortisol ratio is highest, particularly for men. Thats
good because it means you can recover from the workout better, and will have slightly
better nutrient partitioning for that post-workout meal.

Who should do it: Anyone who make make this work with their schedule. If youre
training more than once a day, your biggest workout should be in the 8-12 hour window.

 Ultra High Frequency Training

I define ultra high frequency as more than once a day. UHF training (not to be confused
with the Weird Al movie)

How to do it: There are two ways to implement UHF training, and you could potentially
combine them both.

First, you could take some or all of your gym workouts and split them in half. Do half in
the morning or at lunch time, and half in the early evening. Total workout volume stays
the same or goes just slightly higher. You could also think of this as taking an eight-hour
rest in the middle of your workout.

Second, you could mix high-intensity workouts at the gym with low-intensity workouts at
home. For example, I sometimes do four gym workouts a week, plus a 15-minute
bodyweight/resistance band workout every day.

Why this works: A lot of reasons. Higher training frequency maximizes excess post-
exercise oxygen consumption (the afterburn eect) for greater fat loss. By frequently
putting growth stimulus on your muscles, you maintain good nutrient partitioning.

UHF training allows you to optimally work both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers.
The fast-twitch fibers require training at higher intensities, and more rest time, while slow-
twitch fibers need frequent, low-intensity workouts. This lets you do both.

Finally, theres the fatigue angle. Normally, the last few sets of a workout are less
productive than the first few sets due to accumulated fatigue. By splitting up your
workout volume into more, shorter workouts, you can push yourself harder for the same
or slightly greater total volume of work.

Who should do this: Anyone who can. Each approach to UHF training has an upside
and a downside. The first approach, going to the gym twice in one day, only works if your
gym is conveniently located.

If going to the gym involves too much travel time, mixing in home workouts will be easier
on your schedule. However, you have to be able to focus on your workouts, so this may
not be ideal for people who find they need to be in the gym to get in the zone, mentally.

 Train-Eat-Train

Like the name says- work out, then eat, then work out again. This tends to go hand in
hand with high-frequency training, although in this case, many of these bouts of exercise
may be much shorter than a full workout.

How to do it: Work out in the gym, then eat a big post-workout meal to fuel your gainz.
30-60 minutes after that meal, do a few minutes of bodyweight exercise. This
bodyweight mini-workout should work the same muscles that were worked in the gym;
the idea is to maintain growth stimulus on your muscles so that food goes to the right
place.

You can also do this with meals other than your post-workout meal. Just do a minute of
bodyweight exercise both 30 minutes before and 30-60 minutes after your meal.

Why this works: Improved nutrient partitioning. The small amount of exercise activates
the GLUT-4 (short for glucose transporter 4) receptors in your muscles, allowing them to
absorb nutrients in a non-insulin-dependent manner. In combination with increased
blood flow to those same muscles, a couple minutes of bodyweight exercise can create a
brief window of significantly improved muscular nutrient uptake.

Of course, theres also the inherent benefit of getting more exercise. If you do just one or
two minutes of bodyweight exercise a few times a day, that works out to the equivalent of
a full half hour or so workout per week, on top of your regularly scheduled workouts.

Who should do this: Anyone can benefit from this, and theres nothing to lose by trying it.
However, the eects are most prominent when you use this to prevent fat gain on a bulk.
The enhanced insulin sensitivity and nutrient partioning will be most noticeable if youre
eating a high-carb diet, eating at a deficit, and/or eating big post-workout meals.

 Contrast Training

This is a style of superset in which a high-weight, low-speed exercise is immediately

followed by a low-weight, high-speed exercise. Its used in strength training to boost
muscle fiber activation for greater power output.

Youll often hear this referred to as post-activation potentiation. Technically, thats the
name of the phenomenon that makes it work, while contrast training is the name for the
actual training style.

How to do it: Superset a heavy barbell or dumbbell exercise with a light-weight high-
speed exercise.

For chest, do a set of bench presses, then immediately get on the floor and do a few
plyometric pushups. For legs, do a set of squats, then rack the barbel and do a few
unweighted jump squats. For back/biceps, you can pair heavy barbell bent rows with
high-speed light dumbbell bent rows.

Use bodyweight, plyometric movements for the high-speed exercise whenever possible.
Take long rests between supersets- never less than two minutes, and most people rest
3-5 minutes between contrast supersets.

Why it works: The high-weight exercise briefly raises neuromuscular activation, then the
high-speed exercise takes advantage of that, pushing your muscles further than they
could normally go in order to create more growth stimulus.

In other words, this techniques maximizes the neural component of exercise.

Who should d this: People looking for pure strength and power gains, without
necessarily packing on a lot of muscle. In particular, people who want to build explosive
strength, such as athletes.

This style of training can be very fatiguing. Just four or five contrast supersets make a
good workout all by themselves. Contrast training needs to be used sparingly, and
doesnt always fit in well with full-body workouts.

Thus, this is best if you a) want to design a body part specialization workout, and b) want
to build explosive strength with that particular body part.

 Tactile Stimulation

I dont want, aaaanybody elsewhen I think about gainz I touch myself, ooh

Ahem. This is the single most tried and tested method for improving the mind-muscle
connection. What you do is touch yourself while youre lifting. I mean, the muscle. You
touch the muscle youre lifting with.

How to do it: During a set, place one hand on the belly of the primary muscle thats
being worked. As youre moving the weight, feel the muscle contract and release under
your hand. Focus on that feeling. Over time, will your muscle to push harder. I like to
pretend Im using psychokinesis to assist my lifts.

Since this requires you to have a free hand, you do have to pick your exercises
accordingly. Generally that means bodyweight or machine back extensions and lower
body exercise, and iso-lateral upper body exercises.

Why it works: Improved mind-muscle connection. As far as I know, that means it

improves muscle fiber activation and helps you learn technique. It also might augment
your willpower so you push yourself harder. Frankly, this one of those things that we
know works, but theres still research to be done on how it works.

Who should do this: Anyone who can. Theres no downside; it doesnt seem to make
exercise more fatiguing or anything. The only hangup here is the limits on which
exercises this can be done with. I generally favor iso-lateral exercises anyway, but I
wouldnt switch from bi-lateral to iso-lateral variants for the sole purpose of being able to
incorporate tactile stimulation.
 Reactive De-loading

Most fitness programs are one size fits all, and use pre-planned de-load periods. That
can be alright, especially for beginners, but it creates a problem with pacing. Ideally you
would push yourself just as hard as you can without veering into overtraining. On a one
size fits all program, that doesnt happen; instead, you either push yourself too hard, or
more commonly not hard enough. Either you overtrain or you undertrain.

Autoregulation is a set of techniques used to regulate the volume and intensity of fitness
programming on the fly, so that trainees push themselves harder when they can, but dial
it down a bit when they start to overreach. Reactive de-loading is an auto-regulation
technique- specifically, one for regulating intensity, rather than volume.

How to do it: When you fail to hit the expected number of reps on a set- other than the
very last set of that exercise- reduce the weight by roughly 20% for all subsequent sets of
the same exercise for that workout only. Keep sets and reps the same.

Example: Youre squatting for five sets of five reps at 405 pounds. On set three youre
only able to do four reps before you re-rack the weight, feeling like you couldnt crank out
a fifth rep. You lower the weight to 365 pounds. You then complete your last two sets,
stopping each of them at five reps despite the lower weight.

The next time you squat, youre back to 405 pounds.

Why it works: By lowering the intensity on an as-needed basis, you prevent yourself
from falling into an overtraining hole that could take days or weeks to recover from. At
the same time, by completing the same number of sets, albeit at a lower weight, youre
still able to provide a decent growth stimulus.

It also allows you to keep practicing your technique- and by lowering the weight, you
ensure that excess fatigue wont cause excessive, potentially dangerous form breakdown.

Most importantly, by incorporating one or more autoregulatory methods into your

programming, you can keep the volume and intensity as high as you can handle, rather
than needing to err on the side of doing less for fear of overtraining.

When to use it: This is more useful for late intermediate and advanced trainees. It should
be used on the most fatiguing compound movements- the ones that have the most
potential for overtraining.

It works best on exercises where your strength and endurance dont have much day to
day variability- meaning that if you fail to hit your reps, youre likely under-recovered and it
isnt just a fluke. Finally, its more useful for people whose ability to recover is
inconsistent, such as athletes who are also training for their sport, people who often go
out drinking at night, or people like me who suer from insomnia.
 Auto-regulated failure training

Most autoregulation techniques are ways of putting on the brakes- reducing the weight or
volume when you realize your muscles need more time to recover. Their purpose is to
avoid overtraining.

But you also want to avoid undertraining, so sometimes you need to step on the gas.
This is one way of doing that.

How to do it: If you hit all of your reps for a given exercise, go to failure on the last set
only. For instance, if youre doing three sets of eight rows, and you hit eight reps on all
three sets, continue the third set to failure- just for that one set of that one exercise for
that one workout.

Why it works: You get an extra 1-3 reps, which doesnt sound like much. However, not
all reps are created equal. Because of the way that muscle fibers are recruited, the first
reps in a set mainly utilize slow-twitch fibers, while the last ones mainly use your fast-
twitch fibers.

If you want to grow, you shouldnt be stopping your sets very far short of failure. Going all
the way to failure on occasion can be a great way to force your muscles to grow. You just
need to make sure you dont overdo it, which is why we auto-regulate.

When to use it: When your goal is hypertrophy- the fatigue this causes doesnt justify
whatever marginal benefit it might provide for strength, power or fat loss.

Training to failure deeply fatigues both the involved muscles, and the body as a whole.
You should only do it towards the end of your workout, and only on the last set for a given
muscle group. Dont take your chest press to failure if you have pushups later in the
same workout.

As with as training to failure methodologies, you shouldnt do this with exercises where
failure would be dangerous, such as back squats, or bench presses without a spotter or
power rack. With these exercises, instead of going to failure, you can instead do auto-
regulated contrast training. If you hit all your reps, immediately follow up the last set with
a set of plyometrics as I described in the section on contrast training a few pages ago.

 Grease the groove

Grease the groove is a time-tested progression method for building strength-endurance.

Contrary to most progression schemes, in this training style you gradually increase reps
per set while holding weight constant.

Its commonly used in the military to prepare for physical fitness qualifications. To the
best of my knowledge, it doesnt have a more formal, scientific name.

How to do it: Find the maximum number of reps you can do with a given exercise at a
given weight. Now, do sets of half that many reps (round up) many times throughout the
day; take at least 15 minutes of rest between sets, but do as many sets as you can within
that limit.

Once a week, re-test your maximum number of reps, then adjust your working sets to be
half as many reps as your new max.

Example: Youre doing pull-ups. You find you can do as many as eight per set. You do
sets of four pull-ups throughout the day- about 20-30 sets a day, always stopping at four
reps. After a week you re-test your max and can do eleven pull-ups. Now you do six
pull-ups per working set.

Why it works: For starters, it allows you to perform a high volume of exercise with
relatively little fatigue. A high volume of total work performed allows for some
hypertrophy despite (usually) low weights and high rep ranges. But theres something
else going on under the hood.

You might notice you dont feel the burn with grease the groove training. When you feel
the burn, that means youve reached your muscles lactate threshold- the point at which
lactate is produced faster than it can be recycled. At that point, the lactic acid buildup
inhibits aerobic metabolism and the use of fat for energy, forcing the muscle to rely more
on glycolysis. Since your muscles dont store all that much glycogen, you cant keep
going all that much longer once the burn kicks in.

When you repeatedly train right around your muscles lactate threshold, the lactate
threshold starts to increase, giving you more endurance for that particular activity. And by
stopping the sets short, you limit fatigue, allowing you to train at very high frequencies.

When to use it: When you want to raise the maximum number of reps you can do at a
given weight, but have little or no interest in adding weight. Its also great for athletes
training in-season since it builds endurance with minimal fatigue.

The main limiting factor here is equipment availability. Since you need to be able to do
your chosen movement all day, every day, its mainly used for bodyweight exercises, most
commonly push-ups and pull-ups.

You should only train one or two exercises at a time in this style, to allow adequate
recovery time between sets.
 Occlusion training

Occlusion training, also known as blood flow restriction training or Kaatsu training,
involves restricting blood flow in the veins (but not arteries) of a targeted muscle group,
causing blood to briefly pool in the muscle group during a set. Yes, it sounds crazy. No,
your arms and legs wont fall o. In fact, youll apply more growth stimulus to your
muscles while inflicting less muscle damage, allowing for faster recovery.

How to do it: Youll need a pair of occlusion training bands. Well, probably two pairs-
use narrow bands for arm occlusion and wide bands for leg occlusion.

Tie the bands around your upper thighs (for lower body training) or your upper arms (for
upper body training). Subjectively, on a scale from one to ten, the amount of pressure
should be about a 6-7 on the legs and a 5-6 on the arms.

Perform your working sets at about 30% of your 1RM. Yes, thats a very low weight, but
the bands will make it feel much, much heavier.

The research suggests that you should keep the bands on between sets, only taking
them o after the last set. That assumes youre doing consecutive sets of the same
exercise, not alternating exercises or circuit training. Occlusion training doesnt pair well
with exercise alternation, but if you want to do that I would take the bands o between
sets, and maybe make them just a little bit tighter.

Why it works: The bands restrict- but dont totally block- veinous blood flow out of the
occluded limb. They dont block arterial blood flow into the limb, so blood pools in the
aected muscles, causing them to swell up.

This has two big eects. First, it increases the metabolic stress experienced within the
occluded limbs. Second, it increases the perceived level of exertion, so that lifting a
hundred pounds feels like lifting two hundred.

Because of the increased diculty, occlusion training produces a much bigger growth
stimulus than youd normally get from such a low weight. At the same time, the low
weight limits mechanical stress and muscle tearing. Combine the two and you get a
good amount of hypertrophy with less muscle damage, so less recovery time is needed.

Interestingly, the benefits seem to extend to non-occluded body parts. Wrapping your
legs benefits your glutes, while wrapping your arms can benefit your chest, shoulders and
back. This probably means that the increased diculty, rather than the metabolic stress,
is the main mechanism by which occlusion training works.

When to use it: When you want to minimize muscle damage. Occlusion training doesnt
give you more hypertrophy than a more typical protocol, but rather the same amount of
hypertrophy with less recovery needed. That makes it useful for athletes on-season. I
mostly use it on accessory movements that are timed the day before a bigger compound
movement with the same muscle group- occluded leg extensions the day before
squatting, occluded chest flyes the day before benching, etc. Due to the high amount of
immediate fatigue this inflicts, its best saved for the end of a workout.
 Density training

In most exercise progressions, your rest periods stay the same as time goes on. If youre
called upon to add volume, you lengthen the workout.

Density training progressively shortens between-set rest periods, either adding volume
while keeping workout length the same, or shortening the time in which the same volume
of work is done. At the same time, weights used keep going up- albeit more slowly than
with traditional weight training- so that both mechanical and metabolic stress
progressively increase.

How to do it: Design a circuit-based workout. Use 2-3 full-body circuits of 3-6 exercises
each. Allot a certain amount of time to each circuit. Now instead of doing each circuit a
set number of times, do each circuit as many times as possible in that time. On
successive workouts, youll increase the weight where possible while also trying to do
more repetitions of each circuit in the allotted time. Rest for five minutes between the two
density circuits.

Alternatively, you can subtract time rather than adding volume. In this case, perform each
circuit a specified number of times, and time how long that takes you. Shorten the rest
periods with each workout so you do the same volume in less time- while also increasing
the weight where possible.

Its important not to wear yourself out too fast. Each subsequent set should be more
fatiguing than the last, so dont push yourself too hard right at the start.

Why it works: The escalating density forces your body to adapt by increasing its work
capacity. Your muscles respond with a combination of hypertrophy and metabolic
adaptations- they get bigger and adapt to burn more energy.

In some variations of density training, you raise the weights used between the first and
second repetition of each circuit. Your strength can actually go up after the first repetition
due to post-activation potentiation, which I explained in a previous section.

When to use it: While its not the best for pure hypertrophy, this is a great tool for losing
fat while also gaining a little bit of muscle. The high metabolic intensity also makes it a
great substitute for cardio. The short rest periods arent good for pure strength and
power development though; this is strictly for body composition purposes.

Lifestyle-wise, I like to use density training for trainees who have a strict time limit on their
gym sessions, such as people who work out on their lunch break.

Psychologically, the same volume, shortening duration variant works well for people
who are impatient or dont really enjoy working out, as theyre oered the reward of being
able to get through their workouts faster.