Part of my philosophy on training, and other aspects of life, is to keep eyes and mind wide opened, and be willing to try new findings, and that includes Sarcoplasm Stimulating Training for hypertrophy and muscle pump.
Because of this, I found a training program in the Journal Frontiers of Physiology, called Sarcoplasma StimulatingTraining[1], originally developed by the Swiss coach Patrick Tuor.
The researchers compared 2 different approaches of Sarcoplasm Stimulating Training with 8 sets of 10 reps (reaching failure in every set). One of the approaches is based on changes of the type of contraction (eccentric, concentric and isometric) and the other one is based on changes of the rest intervals between sets, as follows:
| Type of Contraction | Rest Intervals |
| 10 reps using 10RM weight | 10 reps using 10RM weight |
| Rest 20 seconds | Rest 45 seconds |
| As many reps as possible (A.M.R.A.P.) using the same weight | As many reps as possible (A.M.R.A.P.) using the same weight |
| Rest 20 seconds | Rest 30 seconds |
| A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight | A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight |
| Rest 20 seconds | Rest 15 seconds |
| A.M.R.A.P. reducing weight 20%, 4-0-1-0 tempo | A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight |
| Rest 20 seconds | Rest 5 seconds |
| A.M.R.A.P. reducing weight 20%, 1-0-4-0 tempo | A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight |
| Rest 20 seconds | Rest 5 seconds |
| 1 isometric contraction to failure reducing weight 20%, at 90˚ joint angle | A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight |
| Rest 15 seconds | |
| A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight | |
| Rest 30 seconds | |
| A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight | |
| Rest 45 seconds | |
| A.M.R.A.P. using the same weight |
The results of the study showed that, from the variables measured – Total Volume, Muscle Thickness and Blood Lactate – this type of protocols created a larger Muscle Thickness, which can be interpreted as muscle pump, that can be helpful in creating hypertrophy. The levels of blood lactate didn’t show a statically significant difference when compared between the 2 types of training.
If you do the math, the actual training time per muscle group is very short, so keeping in mind that the purpose of this type of training is to create muscle pump, I put together the following workout for legs, using the Tuor protocol as a finisher. For my purposes of testing, I decided to go with the one that changes the rest intervals:
A1. Front Squats Heels Flat Mid Stance, 5 x 5, 4-0-X-0 tempo
Rest 10 seconds
A2. Leg Curls Prone Feet Neutral Dorsiflexed, 5 x 5, 4-0-X-0 tempo
Rest 2 minutes
B. Back Squats Heels Flat Mid Stance, Tuor Protocol, 3-0-1-0 tempo
C. Back Extensions Horizontal with BB, Wide Supinated Grip, Tuor Protocol, 3-0-1-0 tempo
D. Calf Raises Standing Feet Neutral Mid Stance, Tuor Protocol, 2-1-1-0 Tempo
E. Tibialis Anterior Feet Neutral Narrow Stance, Tuor Protocol, 2-0-1-1 Tempo
You can do this same approach for the rest of your body, and you can also try the protocol that changes the type of contraction (make sure you have a training partner), and find out which one works better for you and your clients.
Enjoy the hypertrophy and muscle pump (and maybe some soreness), and share some feedback with the rest of the Community.
In strength,
Carlos Castro
[1] de Almeida Fernando Noronha, Lopes Charles Ricardo, Conceição Raphael Machado da, Oenning Luan, Crisp Alex Harley, de Sousa Nuno Manuel Frade, Trindade Thiago Barbosa, Willardson Jeffrey M., Prestes Jonato. Acute Effects of the New Method Sarcoplasma Stimulating Training Versus Traditional Resistance Training on Total Training Volume, Lactate and Muscle Thickness. Frontiers in Physiology, volume 10, 2019, Pages 579. DOI=10.3389/fphys.2019.00579