Why do you NEED more muscle?

You can see how you can do it to build “practical muscle” - muscle you can use, instead of bloated bodybuilder muscle - with this training plan.

When the kettlebell movement kicked off, it was on the back of Pavel’s book, Power to the People, a tome about getting stronger without bulking up by harnessing the power of your Central Nervous System.

The book was excellent and very much “Anti-Bodybuilding Culture” and that made its way (at least in my opinion) into the kettlebell culture.

(𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: Yes, I know, it was The Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Xtreme Fitness For Hard Living Comrades, that truly kicked off the “Kettlebell Renaissance.” And yes, Pavel did discuss how to “get huge” in there. My point is that the PTTP philosophy was “baked in” to the RKC community and culture and building muscle wasn’t the focus.)

Any muscle you grew from your kettlebell workouts, which were touted as building “wiry strength” was incidental.

And I think that’s fine for what it is.

At the time, it was very “counter cultural.”

There was even a story about Pavel at the Arnold Classic and some behemoth bodybuilder attempted, and failed spectacularly at pressing the Bulldog - the 40kg kettlebell.

Pavel not only resurrected the kettlebell, he reintroduced much of the lost Old Time Strongman style of training using “MUSCLE CONTROL” OR “HIGH TENSION.”

And it worked great. (And still does.)

The only problem is that as we age, we lose muscle - at the rate of 10% of total muscle mass per decade.

And science is unequivocally clear:

Muscle forms the backbone for your strength.

The more muscle you have, the greater your strength potential (especially if you learn to use high tension principles).

Science is also unequivocally clear:

The more muscle you have, the healthier you are.

Having more muscle:

[+] Contributes to longevity

[+] Potentially reverses metabolic diseases like Syndrome X and Type 2 Diabetes

[+] Improves cellular function and mitochondrial health

[+] Increases energy demand, and therefore you expend more calorie during and after exercise

[+] Improves glucose (yummy, yummy carbohydrates!) utilization

[+] Potentially decreases joint issues

To name but some.

(And some very important ones indeed!)

So, assuming you’d like to live a longer, healthier life than the average individual, you should build some [more] muscle.

Now I’m not saying you need to start training like a bodybuilder and doing “bro-splits,” nor train high reps to failure.

Nope.

The simplest “formula” if you will - or at least A simple formula - is to take an exercise, find your 10RM (10 Rep Max) and then perform sets of 5 with it until you get tired.

Repeat each workout session until you can no longer do more sets of 5.

This is time tested.

The problem is the Law of Accommodation kicks in pretty fast using this.

In other words, your body adapts quickly to that stimulus, and then you’ll need another in order to keep making progress.

Fortunately, I’ve found a way to stave off the Law of Accommodation so you can keep making “gainz” for… well, quite awhile.

At the end of the day, being strong is critically important.

Just remember, you’ll be potentially stronger if you have more muscle on you.

Stay Strong (and Muscular),

Geoff