Rep range

[Greg Newton]

Hi Greg,

Over the last four years I've mixed VRT with pushups, Isometrics, DSR's etc. and I've done them solo. I've tried different rep and set ranges. Are there any that you prefer? Is there a minimum or maximum that you've found to work best for you?

[gruntbrain]

Reps are almost meaningless with virtual methods; with accommodating resistance physologoical failure doesn't happen

[VRT Man]

Well, grunt, to a small extent I disagree with you. Physiological failure does occur at a certain point as flexor outdoes the extensor's resistance capacity (or vice-versa, extensor overcoming flexor capacity, etc.).

Greg, I personally have found the 10 to 12 rep rule to be enough, at 80 to 90% full flexion, or 'highest imaginary intensity' or better yet, 'highest visualized intensity' for lack of a better definition. Let's call that H.V.I. At my age of 57, I restrict myself to 10 or 12 reps at H.V.I. I often combine and change the M7 to fit my workout. One major workout per bodypart, and I may change what that exercise may be from day to day. (One day the M7 Shoulder Roll will become the VRT Bent Over Rowing, hitting the same muscle group in a different manner.) I add a set of Atlas push-ups and a set of Atlas sit-ups to minimal failure with each VRT session. On alternate days, I do CIC Iso's. This I call my favorite protocol.

Greg Mangan
VRT Man

[gruntbrain]

Accommodating resistance allows one to count minutes rather than reps. Clearly, this "unlimited rep" style is not ideal fo muss-kill building but does offer a cardio with strength option( a geezer fav)

[douglis]

The rep range depends on the rep speed.My reps last 2-3 seconds and I do 10-12 reps but when I was using slower reps I was doing much less reps.I think a better rule is not to have a fixed number of reps and to continue the set until you feel the burning sensation in the muscles.

[gs300tx]

This is interesting because when am doing bicep curls vrt style, it takes around 15-20 reps to get the "burning sensation" per set. That is usually for the first set and since I dont take a long break between sets , the set that follows allows me to hit that mark in around 12 reps and so on.

Its the "burning" sensation that is the key right?

[VRT Man]

Yeah, burn, pump, whatever you want to call it.

I am assuming you are younger and in top condition gs300tx, am I correct? In that case more reps; however, I think it's a person's own personal intuition as to when enough is enough.

When I am out of breath, and it's pumped, and it stings or burns (a little) it's over for that body part.

Greg Mangan
VRT Man

[Greg Newton]

Greg,

Back in the seventies, you saw a lot of verbage in the muscle magazines about going past the pain barrier to build muscle. I am curious. With weights the danger is overworking the joints, but with VRT, conceiveably you could go into the so-called pain barrier without damaging tissue. It would take an incredibly focused individual to train past the build up of lactic acid, but do think it would be adviseable or profitable?

Thanks,

Greg

[gs300tx]

Yeah, burn, pump, whatever you want to call it.

I am assuming you are younger and in top condition gs300tx, am I correct? In that case more reps; however, I think it's a person's own personal intuition as to when enough is enough.

When I am out of breath, and it's pumped, and it stings or burns (a little) it's over for that body part.

Greg Mangan
VRT Man

Greg I am currently 26 years old and have been involved with the transformetrics type of workouts for the past year. Mostly push ups and its different variations. However, last month I got a hold of John's M7 which lead me to your VRT system.
Now, as far as me being in top condition, I would have to say that I am in the best condition right now than I have ever been in my life, but far away from top condition lol.

Like today, This was my workout for the biceps (barbelll curl)..vrt of course.

2 sets very light tension, just to get warmed up

First set: 15 reps , running outta breath the burning sensation was kicking in

10 second break

2nd set: 16 reps , same as before, but this time i could feel more fatigue

5 second break

3rd set: 12 reps, this time muscle was reaching the fatigue point much faster than me running out of breath

What I noticed after doing this type of workout was that when I tried to do another set, it was hard for me to concentrate and bring the same type of energy I had in the previous sets. It was almost as if the muscles weren't responding like they should have..

Anyone else here had the same type of experience?

[VRT Man]

Greg,
It would take an incredibly focused individual to train past the build up of lactic acid, but do think it would be adviseable or profitable?


Greg, back in the late 90's and early 2000's when the Internet first started to develop, I was a bit of a late-comer, but a cousin of mine (whom I will be forever grateful to) put up my website, and various forums were around on EZ Board (prior to Yuku) that had forum members who spoke about new exercise methods. I recall one mentioned that the pump he received from VRT 'lasted overnight into the next day,' and he could feel its continued affects working. However, I feel that this is just carryover from muscle fatigue that he was experiencing.

Lactic acid debt is always overcome by oxygenation or oxidation, and this occurs every time one is out of breath, whether from running, wrestling, aerobics, transformetrics or VRT (or a host of other exercises). The increased lactate produced can be removed in a number of ways including oxidation to pyruvate by well-oxygenated muscle cells which is then directly used to fuel the citric acid cycle, or conversion to glucose via the Cori cycle in the liver through the process of gluconeogenesis.

Always on the side of caution (in essence, I don't want anyone to get hurt from this system of exercise), I would recommend not going beyond that initial muscle fatigue one feels after the first strong "burn."

So in answer too to gs300tx, your lack of response in the muscles is simply a case of muscles under fatigue. Let it rest, give it time to grow, don't do any VRT the same day or next day. Wait until the second day to continue.

Greg Mangan
VRT Man

[douglis]

I believe gs300tx is reffering to the effect of short rest between sets.
With so little rest the lactic acid accumulation is very large.One of the effects of lactic acid is to "shut down" the slow fibers so I believe that's the reason you feel that the muscles aren't responding like they should have.
Of course the lactic acid is not the enemy once thought to be.The acidic enviroment it creates inside the muscle triggers the secretion of many anabolic hormones.I too never rest between sets for more than 30 seconds.

[Focus]

When I am short of time, I do a full-body VRT training with ONE rep per body part. But the rep lasts around 20 seconds, and no rest between sets/reps because I hit a new body area at each new rep (Chest fly, then leg press, then ab contraction, then upper back pull out...). Burning sensation comes very quickly.

when am doing bicep curls vrt style, it takes around 15-20 reps to get the "burning sensation" per set.

Ouaouh! When I do biceps curls (one arm at each curl) and cannot go beyond 4 or 5 reps in max intensity (a rep lasts around 5 seconds).

[Greg Newton]

Lactic acid debt is always overcome by oxygenation or oxidation, and this occurs every time one is out of breath, whether from running, wrestling, aerobics, transformetrics or VRT (or a host of other exercises). The increased lactate produced can be removed in a number of ways including oxidation to pyruvate by well-oxygenated muscle cells which is then directly used to fuel the citric acid cycle, or conversion to glucose via the Cori cycle in the liver through the process of gluconeogenesis.

Thanks Greg! Real physiology as opposed to psuedo-scientific verbage. I had to look some of that up, but it makes perfect sense.

This is a good explanation of the citric acid cycle from wikipedia: ... also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle), the Krebs cycle, or more rarely, the Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle[1][2] — is a series of enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions of central importance in all living cells that use oxygen as part of cellular respiration. In eukaryotes, the citric acid cycle occurs in the matrix of the mitochondrion. ...
In aerobic organisms, the citric acid cycle is part of a metabolic pathway involved in the chemical conversion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins into carbon dioxide and water to generate a form of usable energy. Other relevant reactions in the pathway include those in glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation before the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation after it. In addition, it provides precursors for many compounds including some amino acids and is therefore functional even in cells performing fermentation.

[VRT Man]

That's right, the Lactic acid cycle is always involved with short-term high endurance exercise, then comes the Pyruvic acid cycle and finally the Kreb's Cycle as the most sophisticated form of mitochondrial respiration, or cellular oxidation, as a metabolic cycle after one completely recovers from oxygen debt. All the while one is going from anaerobic to aerobic glycolysis.

I tell ya, the Internet is just great to find answers quickly, that I used to have to peruse my old college textbooks for!! :waving: Still have all of them in a bookshelf. Golly Gee, the internet has taken their place!

Greg Mangan
VRT Man

[VRT Man]

Greg, in regards to your original post, I played with this one for awhile, and found I had two completely opposite results on the muscular system in regards to fast reps, low intensity, and slow reps, HVI (highest visualization intensity). I felt peppier and energized with the first. Much like I feel afer a session of Iso's. I felt pumped up and more exhausted with the second, and more apt to sit down and take a rest afterward. The speed and intensity have definite effects on the individual.

Greg Mangan

[gs300tx]

When I am short of time, I do a full-body VRT training with ONE rep per body part. But the rep lasts around 20 seconds, and no rest between sets/reps because I hit a new body area at each new rep (Chest fly, then leg press, then ab contraction, then upper back pull out...). Burning sensation comes very quickly.



Ouaouh! When I do biceps curls (one arm at each curl) and cannot go beyond 4 or 5 reps in max intensity (a rep lasts around 5 seconds).

Hey Focus,
To be fair, I am doing the reps at a very fast rate with as much intensity as possible, just like VRTman demonstrates in his dvd.

[MikeNY]

I can not exercise tight now, until I get medical clearence. But as soon as I return to VRT it will be to VRTman's standard VRT protocol. I preferr 2 sets of 8 reps and have gone wild and used 2 sets of 10 reps. Having tried the ultra slow way, I didn't get that pump that standard VRT gives. Add cardio to VRT and you have something quite close to the Action Hero workout, that is a great plan. That pump tells me it is working. VRT Rocks!

[gruntbrain]

One benefit that virtual methods offers is that you can virtually perform all exercizes with varying ranges of motions, planes of motions, & intensities. I prioritize the health benefits of applying virtual resistance to joint mobility drills. Combine the nonstop drills for several minutes with deep breathing. You wont be bored but rather you'll be engerized with these health promoting meditative sessions .