BEHIND THE BLOCK: THE 6-12 METHOD
BLOCK 10: THE 6-12 METHOD
*The following training block is meant for mature audiences only. Lifter discretion advised*
Embarking on another accumulation block means preparing to sell our souls to the gods of muscle growth and body composition.
Accumulation blocks work on developing work capacity, muscle hypertrophy (growth), and improving body composition (fat-loss). These themes work with, and build off of our Intensification blocks.
This Accumulation block, we have chosen the 6-12 Method. The 6-12 method allows us to reach as many higher-threshold motor units as possible and complete more work.
How does this help you? It starts with the secret behind week to week progress in the gym.
principles for progress: The size principle
Have you ever wondered how you make progress week to week?
One key piece of getting better in the gym is an increase in cross-sectional muscle area.
This increased cross-sectional area doesn’t happen quickly on a week to week timescale.
So we can’t attribute our week to week improvement solely on this.
What other factors are at play? The big player is improved nervous system efficiency.
And the primary driver behind improved nervous system efficiency is the Size Principle.
The Size Principle: As duration and load increases you recruit more and larger motor units to meet this increasing demand.
The visual below helps show how this principle works.
Muscle fibers are connected to motor units. And these motor units are selectively activated based on the task.
As the task becomes more demanding, more motor units are recruited. And subsequently more muscle fibers.
The more you train, the faster you can access higher threshold motor units. This means more experienced lifters are more efficient each session. Due to their nervous systems recruiting more effectively.
But everyone can still benefit from methods that optimize recruitment. This is where the 6-12 method is golden.
THE 6-12 METHOD: Taking Advantage of The Size Principle
The 6-12 method radically impacts the nervous system with differential loads. The differential loading refers to alternating between heavier sets and lighter sets with more reps.
This has a huge effect. Because sudden increases in:
Intensity (Heavier load)
Volume (More reps)
lead to drastic responses from the nervous system. Let’s look at these 2 variables.
Volume
Increased volume leads to fatigue. By depleting muscle glycogen. And increasing muscle acidity.
With increased fatigue, the nervous system begins to recruit more muscle fibers to meet the demands of the given task.
Intensity
Increased intensities require higher-threshold muscle fibers, such as Type IIx and Type IIb.
These “faster-twitch fibers” are capable of more force production. And are needed to handle heavier loads.
This the beauty of the 6-12 method: by alternating between a heavier sets and longer sets, your nervous system recruits MORE muscles fibers AND higher threshold fibers.
But not without cost….
signs of progress: overcoming sorenesss
With a new and demanding block, comes plenty of soreness. Soreness is a sign your body is not yet acclimated to the new program.
New exercises, different time under tensions, different work to rest ratios will all lead to increased muscle breakdown and soreness. But as we progress through the block, our bodies adapt to the stress of training.
This adaption includes the increased cross-sectional area and nervous system efficiency we are after. The latter being the huge for overcoming soreness. Due to…..
better recruitment means more motor units and muscle fibers are sharing the stress of the training loads.
This allows us to handle the increase in intensity from week to the next. As each increase is met with a nervous system that is better equipped to handle that stress.
These adaptations will add up, and at the end of the block, we will have achieved the increased cross-sectional muscle area and nervous system efficiency we were after.