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

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris revisit the Silver Era through one of the most iconic Silver Era bodybuilders, John Grimek, and his bulking plan. They then discuss what muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and muscle protein breakdown (MPB) really mean, dismantling the idea that “elevated MPS = muscle growth”. 

Key topics include:

-John Grimek’s full-body gaining routine and the practical logic of Silver Era plans

-MPS vs MPB and net protein balance

-Why you can’t assume elevated MPS always reflects hypertrophy or protection from atrophy

-How steroids physiologically make dieting and comp prep "easier"

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris go back to 1945 and break down Clancy Ross’ pre-contest “definition” routine to show how Silver Era lifters tried to get lean using their gym programming. From there they pivot into dieting and how caloric restriction, stress, glycogen, and glucocorticoids actually affect muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown. 

Key topics include:

• Clancy Ross’ 1945 full-body “reducing routine” and why even this questionable plan still beats most modern fat-loss programs
• A muscle-physiology model of dieting: suppressed MPS and when deficits become a stressor that ramps up muscle protein breakdown
• Why anabolics (and even TRT) largely sidestep these dieting problems
• Practical tips for naturals: adjusting training volume, keeping frequency high, pre-workout carbs, carb mouth-rinse, post-workout protein, and subjective stress load

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past & Present, Jake and Chris use a 1967 Bill Pearl program to jump from the silver era into the early steroid era, showing how training volume exploded once anabolics entered the picture. They contrast Bill Pearl’s high-volume, six-day split and contrast it with his earlier natural-era programming, before diving into a new study comparing heavy versus light loads in trained lifters and what it really means for stimulating reps, volume load, and rep range choices.

Key topics include:

• Bill Pearl’s 1967 high-volume, six-day split and how it differs from his natural-era routines
• How anabolic steroids break the feedback loop and drive the shift toward extreme training volumes
• A new heavy vs light load study in trained lifters
• What this means for the stimulating reps model, volume load, and rep ranges for natural vs enhanced lifters

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past & Present, Jake and Chris dive into a Bill Pearl full-body routine, using it as a bridge between the pre-steroid silver era and the early anabolic era. From there, they shift into part two of their sleep series, unpacking how sleep loss influences muscle atrophy and recovery in natural lifters.

Key topics include:

• Bill Pearl’s 1957 full-body plan
• The difference between immobilisation/diet-induced atrophy vs stress/sleep-loss-induced atrophy 
• Practical programming changes when sleep is poor
• Why dieting hard while sleep-deprived is a recipe for muscle loss in naturals, and why enhanced lifters often don’t experience the same downside

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past & Present, Jake and Chris break down Bob Hoffman’s basic athletic program through a modern physiology lens and unpack how insufficient sleep impacts training performance.

Key topics include:

• Bob Hoffman’s silver era full-body athlete hypertrophy program
• Sleep deprivation vs restriction vs cumulative sleep debt
• How insufficient sleep affects hypertrophy training performance
• Practical strategies for adjusting a workout after poor sleep

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past & Present, Jake and Chris discuss Silver-Era author Peary Rader’s “training as you get older” guidelines and dive into how to construct a modern, physiology-led template for older lifters.

Key topics include:

• Why recovery, not “low stimulus sensitivity” likely limits muscle growth in older lifters
• Intra-session fatigue control in older lifters
• Programming for older lifters: volume, RIR, exercise selection, frequency
• Isometrics for older lifters

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake and Chris unpack a Silver-Era routine passed from 1950 Mr America John Farbotnik to Gene Mozee at a time where high volume plans were taking over bodybuilding. From there they go deep into accumulating fatigue, how excitation–contraction coupling failure, muscle damage, and supraspinal CNS fatigue interact across sessions, why exercise novelty and split design can make this worse, and how to calculate and clear your “fatigue debt” without losing muscle.

Key topics include:

• John Farbotnik full body routine
• Back-off sets: why back-offs add soreness but little stimulus
• The three post-workout fatigue mechanisms (ECC failure, muscle damage, supraspinal CNS): timelines, interactions, and accumulation
• How swapping exercises can re-hit damaged fibres and accumulate fatigue
• Practical programming, typical recovery times, and fatigue-debt math

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake and Chris unpack Steve Reeves’ 1947 pre-competition full-body routine, then dive into why the Silver-Era were such advocates of orange juice + honey during training. We assess the building research on carbohydrate mouth-rinsing, what this tells us about supraspinal CNS fatigue, and how the performance increase from carbohydrate mouth-rinsing differs from the performance increase from creatine supplementation. 

Key topics include:

• Steve Reeves’ 1947 pre-comp full-body plan
• What carbohydrate mouth-rinsing is doing and intra-workout carbohydrates
• Why everyone experiences supraspinal CNS fatigue during strength training and what you can do about it
• Why creatine adds reps without adding stimulus, but carbs can add stimulating reps