In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris break down how you can become stronger immediately - not by changing your program, but by changing your motivation. The conversation starts in the Silver Era again, comparing Clarence Ross’ 1949/50 routine to his 1952 “favourite routine”, and why the small adjustments he made make physiological sense. From there, Chris connects motivation to motor unit recruitment through Marcora’s Psychobiological Model of Fatigue.

Key topics include:

• Clarence Ross’ 1949/50 vs 1952 routine: what changed and why it matters
• How motivation can increase strength right now via higher voluntary activation / recruitment
• Practical ways to boost motivation
• How cognitive fatigue reduces performance and how to mitigate it in the gym
• Whether or not you can “stack” motivation tools

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris unpack periodisation for hypertrophy, including what it actually is (and isn’t), why most “periodised” bodybuilding programs end up adding complexity without adding results, and which variables you can change over time without accidentally driving atrophy or accumulating a fatigue debt. The episode opens in 1952 with Clarence Ross’ pre-steroid full-body AAA “favourite routine”. From there, Jake and Chris break down the three main variables people try to periodise in hypertrophy training: volume, rep range, and exercise selection.

Key topics include:
-Why Clarence Ross’ 1952 full-body plan is a great 'non periodised' template
-What is training 'periodisation'
-The 3 variables people periodise for hypertrophy: volume, rep range, exercise selection
-Why escalating volume blocks can reduce stimulus
-Why light-load blocks for 'capillarisation' doesn't potentiate future hypertrophy
-The only phase potentiation effect that really makes sense for hypertrophy

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris tackle a surprisingly common question: what if you can only train once per week? Beginning with an early-1960s two-way split from John McCallum to discuss exercise sequencing, why multi-joint lifts paired with single-joint “finishers” can preserve recruitment better than simply adding more straight sets, and what older routines got right (and missed) due to equipment constraints. The episode then breaks down why once-weekly training is uniquely difficult for hypertrophy, how maintenance literature informs minimum set targets, and what a realistic once-per-week template actually looks like.

Key topics include:

-John McCallum's silver era two-way split and how we would modify it today

-Why very high reps don't cause the same muscle growth as moderate reps

-Training once per week: when it’s a real constraint vs avoidable

-Why every 5 days is a massive upgrade over every 7

-Different once per week program ideas

-Posing as a mid-week stimulus

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris analyse one of Dorian Yates’ early pre-Olympia training programs, breaking down the structure of his torso-limbs split and the intuitive exercise sequencing.

From there, the conversation expands into a deeper discussion on exercise selection within a workout, why multiple exercises for the same muscle in a single session can produce a superior stimulus to rotating single exercises across sessions, and how this ties into neuromechanical matching and motor unit recruitment. The episode finishes with Chris addressing common criticisms of neuromechanical matching, explaining why alternative theories fail to explain motor control, efficiency-driven muscle recruitment, and sarcomere adaptation during strength training.

Key topics include:

• Dorian Yates’ early torso-limbs program
• Why single-joint “finisher” exercises maintain recruitment levels better than extra sets
• Practical improvements to Dorian’s plan using modern biomechanics
• The physiological problem with ABC exercise splits for hypertrophy
• How to structure multi-exercise workouts without increasing gym time
• Neuromechanical matching explained simply
• Why leverage must govern muscle recruitment
• Why active length-tension theories fail as motor control models

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris break down the resurgence of “advanced” training techniques like clusters, supersets, giant sets, pre-exhaust, drop sets, and rest-pause. Using an early Chuck Sipes “heavy-light” split as an example of early bodybuilding plans that incorporated some advanced methods, the conversation then explains why most of these methods are at best time-saving rather than stimulus enhancing.

The episode finishes with Jake and Chris discussing a “physiological drop set” concept, which may increase recruitment levels without suffering from the same fatigue problems as other advanced methods. 

Key topics include:
-Chuck Sipes’ early “heavy-light” superset program
-Why most supersets (agonist or antagonist) reduce stimulus rather than increase it
-Why pre-exhaustion methods don't work
-Why classic drop sets tend to be the worst “advanced technique”
-Rest-pause vs clusters
-A “physiological drop set” idea

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris analyse a Golden Era training plan attributed to Larry Scott and Vince Gironda, using it as a lens to explore how hypertrophy programming evolved after the introduction of anabolic drugs. From there, the conversation pivots into a deeper examination of modern debates around exercise selection, “redundant” movements, single vs multi joint training, and the current discussions around form. Chris introduces voluntary activation deficits as the unifying physiological principle.

Key topics include:

• Larry Scott’s Golden Era full-body routine
• The limits of motor unit recruitment and voluntary activation deficits
• "Redundant" exercises
• Why more total muscle mass in an exercise reduces local recruitment
• The form debate and how excessive technique focus can impair hypertrophy outcomes

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris kick off 2026 with a Part 2 follow-up aimed at coaches. Last episode was about the mistakes lifters make when they return to the gym, this week is about the mistakes coaches make when they design and deliver programs to clients. The conversation starts with Bob Hoffman’s time-efficient “working man” full-body routine and why the plan made sense for its context, while also pointing out where it falls short. From there, the episode pivots into the two main problems coaches have to solve today: time constraints and novelty expectations, plus practical strategies that can be used to solve these problems and deliver effective sessions. 

Key topics include:
-Bob Hoffman’s minimalist full-body routine for busy lifters
-Simple exercise swaps that improve full-body development with limited equipment
-The two constraints coaches must solve: novelty and time
-How to give the illusion of novelty without compromising programming efficacy
-Time efficiency: avoiding cardiovascular-limited sets, smarter exercise order, and exercise structuring
-Using rest periods to add value instead of feeling like dead time
-A better approach to 30-minute PT sessions

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris take a practical, end-of-year look at the most common mistakes people make when returning to the gym, whether they’re starting fresh in January or jumping back in after time off. Using a pre-steroid era full-body routine attributed to George Eiferman the discussion highlights what earlier bodybuilders consistently got right.

From there, the conversation expands into current gym programming trends, including unstable exercise selection, cardio-driven exercises, excercise novelty, poor progress tracking, and misguided injury-prevention strategies. 

Key topics include:

-George Eiferman's "favourite" 1952 full-body routine

-Why unstable exercises reduce motor unit recruitment

-The problem with excessive cardiovascular demand

-Why changing exercises too often prevents meaningful hypertrophy

-Progressive overload as a tracking tool

-Muscle damage, repeated bout effect, and the risks of rushing back after time off

-Why warm-up sets aren't the same as 'warming up'

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris break down Mike Mentzer’s “most productive” routine and use it as a turning point to discuss how training trends shifted across the Golden Era. From there, the conversation shifts to how anabolic steroid use increases tendon and ligament rupture risk and whether the rise of higher-rep training, shorter rest periods, machines, slower eccentrics, and lower frequency in the post-steroid bodybuilding era might partly reflect an unconscious attempt to manage connective tissue risk as drug use escalated.

Key topics include:

• Mike Mentzer’s two-way split (with rest days) and why it’s more “physiology-friendly” than most people expect
• The tendon problem with anabolics: collagen synthesis, collagen breakdown, and possible disorganised tendon structure
• Heavy vs light loads in enhanced lifters
• BFR as a tool to reduce injury risk in enhanced lifters
• Practical programming to reduce injury risk

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris shift from the Silver Era into the early anabolic era by analysing a Golden Era training plan from Ken Waller. Using Waller’s 1975 routine as a case study, they explore how bodybuilding training changed as anabolic use became more common. The discussion then transitions into a deep dive on the Weekly Net Stimulus model and why hypertrophy must be understood at the muscle fibre level.

Key topics include:

• Ken Waller’s 1975 Golden Era training split and how it contrasts with Silver Era full-body plans
• Why large volumes can appear “unrecoverable” on paper but may differ in practice
• Voluntary activation deficits and why muscles cannot be fully activated
• Muscle fibre–specific hypertrophy
• The Weekly Net Stimulus model: assumptions, limits, and what it can (and can’t) tell us
• The role of practical compromises, adherence, and time constraints in real-world programming