Visual Impact Phase 1: Grow Some New Muscles
This review will build upon the information already presented in these two articles:
So what I am aiming to do with this article is add to the information already available and make a connection with other people who are doing this program, or those who are thinking about doing it and want to know about the experiences of others.
I’m going to encourage commenters to put their thoughts, experiences and questions in the comments section. Speak your mind…
Elvis Wants Your Thoughts!
Where Was I?
Before I started this routine I had two weeks off heavy lifting. I had been doing a myo-reps routine for 6 weeks whilst arranging my diet to promote weight loss. This year has been a good year for lifting, with my routines helping me hit new PB’s on several lifts, whilst avoiding major injury (always a danger when training hard). One thing that I had been thinking during my last cycle was that my body felt like it was ready to start ‘pumping’ some weights again.
For those of you who don’t know about myo-reps, it’s a system that uses only 1 full set of reps per exercise (to develop full muscle ‘activation’), and allows only enough recovery time to perform some more ‘activated’ reps. The basic schedule is this: do a full work set, rest 15-25 secs then do 1-5 more reps (depending on the weight you start with), rest 15-25 secs and repeat until either your quality of lifting decreases, or you’re unable to do any more reps. For a more full explanation of myo-reps, click here.
Also this year I have been focused on training myself only for visual purposes (all my previous training has been directed at producing performance, not physique development), and, for the first time ever I have been able to see my abs! For someone with pretty poor natural abs (I remember a trainer I used to work with who would have the outline of a 6 pack even when he was up in the high teens for body fat percentage), being able to see, and feel, my abs has been very rewarding for the time and effort put in.
Back to ‘pumping’.
Why this type of workout?
One thing that the myo-reps routines are great for is producing myofibrillar hypertrophy. So whilst my muscles have been looking harder as the year has progressed, but that type of progress comes at the cost of the other main set of structures being built. What other structures? Those that are grouped under ‘sarcoplasmic hypertrophy’.
Essentially sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is promoted when you take the muscle toward exhaustion with repeated sets of medium to high reps. You can think of this as being like draining the muscle repeatedly. All this draining takes energy, and produces lots of metabolic waste products, and both of these require lots of blood and fluid to be used and shifted. It’s that blood that you feel when your muscles are ‘pumped’. The error that many gym users make is only ever training one type of muscle growth. They either get hooked on myofibrillar hypertrophy, or they prefer the development and feeling of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
If there is one weakness to myo-reps as a year round routine it’s this: That it mainly promotes one type of hypertrophy, myofibrillar hypertrophy.
So what options do we have to promote the other type of muscle growth, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy?
Some well known programs are:
- HIT (high intensity training, which I only use as a short term program when other programs have been exhausted or didn’t’ produce results).
- EDT (Escalating Density Training, by Charles Staley (get your copy here). I really like this program as it’s very good for Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy, and was going to use it before finding Visual Impact Muscle Building)
- German Volume Training (10 sets of 10)
- Most Bodybuilding ‘Split Routines’.
- and, for the first phase, Visual Impact Muscle Building.
How Does Visual Impact Muscle Building Promote Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy?
During your first phase of training on the VI program you are aiming for cumulative fatigue; you do medium to high reps with a short rest. The sets that Rusty has laid out are pretty specific and change for each exercise, leading toward total muscle exhaustion once you have finished (as opposed to using only one exercise per muscle group, where you’ll only be fatiguing a set of muscle fibres within that muscle, with VI you use multiple exercises to work as many different fibres within your muscles as possible). And after my first few sessions, I can testify that they are pretty exhausted, and I am pretty sore from doing them (which I quite like! Although soreness is not the goal, continued progression is the goal).
The Routine
One thing I really like about VI is that Rusty has given direction about how to personalise your program. This is unusual, and brave, as many authors don’t trust their trainees enough to give them the freedom to create their own specialised routines. But Rusty knows that the secret to long term success and growth, and by extension, developing a great body, is to show you how to set up your routine to suit you and your specific needs. As he says in the training manual, ‘Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he can feed himself for life’. And I wholeheartedly agree with this reasoning, it’s something that I encourage in all my clients, and aim to promote in everyone that trains. You can think of it as developing yourself at being an expert on you. What you need to do is learn enough to be competent. Probably the biggest thing that has separated successful clients from ones that struggle is their attention to learning the skills and knowledge needed to produce success. Those trainees that leave their success in the hands of others are just not as successful as those who take responsibility for their results and get fully involved in the learning process. It doesn’t make for easy reading for many people, as too many are sold on the idea of ‘the expert knowing best’, or always being on the lookout for the ‘magic bullet’. But if you want to guarantee your results you almost certainly need to take control of your situation and commit yourself to learning.
But What’s The Routine?
The basic routine is different from what you’re given, but that’s ok, as Rusty points out, the goal is to tailor it to your needs. So, as I mentioned above, I’ve altered the routine to suit my needs. What needs are those?
Primarily they are; leave the legs alone and get my chest bigger!
Why No Legs?
I once posted an image of a weight lifter with enormous thighs, and that’s exactly what would happen with my legs, if I were to train them consistently. So I have chosen to avoid them for this routine, they are big enough and if I was to train them, I’d end up losing symmetry and probably struggle to fit in trousers even more than I do already (I’ve had to get trousers that are bigger than my waist for years, just so that I can get my thighs into them).
In addition to not building excessively bulky legs, the secondary benefit of taking all leg work out of my program is that i can spend more time and energy on the areas that I DO want to develop. Which areas are those?
Well, actually it’s only really one area: Chest.
Minimal Chest Development
As you can see in any pic of me, my chest lags behind every other area. So it’s time to focus on it. This means that, for my program, my chest gets four exercises per session. Compare that to three for back, and two for shoulders, abs, biceps and triceps. And I can testify that my chest indeed has noticed the difference in what’s being asked of it; it’s achieved a level of soreness not reached for quite some time!
So each week I’ll be doing a split routine that gets me two workouts for each upper body part each week. This fits in with my diary, allowing me to rest on the weekends (when I normally go biking, so it’s not really full resting, but resting from gym based weight training), and also gives me a day off during the week. Which i rather suspect I’ll need…
So here I am, at the end of my first week of doing Visual Impact Muscle Building, how do I feel?
Quite a number of things; tiredness, soreness, happiness, satisfaction. I’ll explain each one.
Tirednes
When you go from not working out to working out 4 times per week, and you add in the shock to your body of doing a completely new routine, you are asking a lot of your body. So tiredness is to be expected. It is also totally fine, I mean who would do some training and not expect to get tired? I like being tired from training, it’s a satisied tiredness, not a weary, pulled down, depressed tiredness.
Soreness.
Take this scenario; you’ve taken a couple of weeks off from your training and then started a new routine, do you think you will be sore? Of course!
And if you then add in the fact of doing a completely different style of routine than previously, you can add a good bit more soreness to your body. I went from a whole body routine, to doing a split routine, and went from low reps, to high reps, I also went from low (ish) volume to high volume, and from large rest periods to short rest periods. Do you think that might cause a state of shock in my body?
I rather suspect you would.
Happiness and Satisfaction
I like training, anyone following my writing for a while will know this, so to be back training after a short rest period is always nice. I was also very ready for a change from the high intensity and long rest periods in myo reps. The change brought about by using Visual Impact for Men seems to be just about right for me. I like that I am working my muscles in a completely different way, and because of this change I also feel my mind is being worked in a different way. I have a new set of challenges, and I’m happy to rise to those challenges.
A while ago a trainer friend of mine saw me doing some bicep work and stood aghast. Why was he aghast?
Because, up till very recently, I have never worked arms. I have also hardly ever done above 10 reps!
I spent the first 10 or more years of my training life getting stronger. So apart front the odd 20 rep squat sessions, I have always gone for low reps with long rests. So one thing is appearent to me: my abilities at producing the type of high volume-high intensity work demanded by Visual Impact Phase 1 are a big shock to me. The implication in this is that it will force my body to adapt in ways it’s not really had to before now. It would not be too much of a leap of intuition to suggest that I will almost certainly put on some new muscle mass with this program. And I like the thought of that.
Another thing I like the thought of is how I am going to transfer those muscle mass gains over to Phase 2, but I guess both you and I will just have to wait for that….
Questions Yet To Answer:
Is Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy under reported in the scientific press in the way it’s produced? If it is, that would lend some bias toward the ‘tension, plus frequency of application’ being the current methods of choice for those who let science and studies lead their decisions. I have wondered for a while about this; if those two principles are the main ones involved in muscle growth, why do pro bb’ers still persist with high volume split routines? I appreciate that when you juice, the hormonal landscape changes massively and serious volume and intensity become more possible. But optimal is optimal, regardless of how you change your biology, and more of them would be building bigger muscles with whole body routines. perhaps. One thing that occurred to me whilst watching Ronnie Coleman train once was how much of his body he ends up using whilst training a split routine. What I mean by this is that when he do db rows, for example, he uses his legs and lower back and abs to pull the weight around, in other words his form is appalling. But it does mean he’s using much more muscle mass across the body, somewhat blurring the line when it comes to describing what he’s doing as a ‘split routine’.
Update (2 weeks before end of Phase 1, 6 weeks done)
I have just taken some pics to see how things are progressing and you can judge for yourself:
| Before | After |
|---|---|
 George before starting Visual Impact Muscle Building |
 George after 6 weeks of Visual Impact Muscle Building |
Postscript:
I am in the process of putting together a video series demonstrating each and every exercise (and any others requested by my readers) listed and recommended in Visual Impact Muscle Building. When this goes live it will only be offered to a limited amount of people, make sure you get in that list right now by putting your details in the box below (I’ll never sell or give away your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time).
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35 Responses to Visual Impact Muscle Building for Men Phase 1 Review
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Welcome to the blog of
George 'Super BootCamps' HarrisCheck out this blog for weight loss, motivation, getting ripped and muscular and motivation.
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Hey Guy,
Great Blog, defo following.
I’m writing my own Blog on my training journey through Athlean-X & Visual Impact – check it out here – if you like please follow:
http://oscarbitesintoathleanxandvisualimpact.wordpress.com/
Train hard, expect success, have fun!!
Hi George,
I read some of your recent posts in Rusty’s facebook page, and I’m really impressed! On that note, I have a Visual Impact related question for you, if you don’t mind. I read in Rusty’s strategic HIIT cardio ebook that the 6 days/meal is outdated. Does this principle apply exclusively to workout programs that utilize HIIT cardio (i.e. Phase III of Visual Impact)? I am currently at a high bf% right now, and I’ve decided to begin with Phase III of the Visual Impact program in order to lean out.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Hi Nathan,
Good question. The 6 meals per day thing is well outdated now, and there’s quite a lot of research that shows it offers no benefits, and may even be less effective for many people.
One thing you may want to try is to do phase 1 first, but cut down on calories whilst doing it, you can up the HIIT volume during phase 1 to the same level as phase 3, just do it gradually as you get fitter, this way you’ll be doing workouts that burn far more calories than you would in phase 3. I recommend that my clients time their nutrients to be eaten when they can be used most effectively, and aim for getting around half (or more) of your daily calories in the hour or so after training. This facilitates recovery and speeds up fat loss at the same time.
I hope this helps, please feel free to ask more questions.
George
[...] of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Phase 1 Review and Experience Skriv en [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men This entry was posted in Uncategorized by admin. Bookmark the [...]
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Muscle Building Review [...]
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Muscle Building Review [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Muscle Building Review [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Phase 1 Review and Experience [...]
Great review. I’m looking forward to seeing your final results with the program. I just started my second run through. It always amazes me how much I have to reduce the weights I use when I start training in Phase 1. I pretty much had to cut my bench press in half. However, you do get that great pump at the end of a workout…even my wife commented that I looked more muscular after a workout…sadly that pump only lasts a couple hours. Hopefully over the next couple months, I’ll tack on some more permanent muscle mass though.
Dave – Not Your Average Fitness Tips recently posted..Six Pack Abs Workout Routine, Diet Plan & Exercises
Thanks for the thumbs-up Dave.
I have just entered week 5 of phase 1 and, whilst enjoying the pump and feeling of ‘muscle tiredness satisfaction’ from these cumulative fatigue workouts, I am definitely looking forward to lifting heavy again.
I think everyone should do a program that shifts your weights downward every so often, both for the ego and for the body!
Good luck on your second run through,
George
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Muscle Building Review [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Phase 1 Review and Experience This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← Bodybuilding Routines [...]
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[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Phase 1 Review and Experience [...]
[...] In Phase 3 of Visual Impact Muscle Building you are putting the finishing touches to the hard work of the previous two phases by taking that newly built muscle, keeping the hard look you started in phase 2 and burning the fat off it. This phase is about training your muscles to look as hard as possible and increasing the underlying tension of your muscles so that they stand out more and more as you diet down and get rid of your fat.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
[...] During this phase of your training you?ll be training your muscles and your nervous system to make those muscles look rock hard. Your strength will go through the roof, and you?ll leave the gym feeling like you could lift the world on you back, and have energy to spare. For anyone that?s never experienced this type of training effect, it?s superb, and addictive.. Visual Impact Review for Men [...]
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Hi George
I’m deff. Following you on this, great informstion. I just purchased vi and this looks great! One question I’m 5’11 170 Bf 15%. I’m not really clear on the nutrition plan in phase one. It says to just eat over maintenance so should I just eat about 2,500 cal a day for phase one?
Well, Rusty gives two methods for figuring out your calorie needs for phase 1. The method is on page 24 and 25. Using the method there you’d end up somewhere over 2650, so your calculation won’t be far off.
But Rusty also gives a cautionary note saying that you need to keep a check on your fat levels. If they get too high then you need to cut back, normally on carbs (in my experience.
I would add that you need to track your calories if you are really going to get to grips with this. Everyone I’ve worked with who has got sustainable results has made a point of checking and recording their eating, as its the only real way to take the guesswork out of it all. If you’re just eating for health then you don’t need to, but if you have a physique goal you will benefit from recording your diet.
Let me know if this helps,
George
Great advice this helped a lot thanks!
My pleasure Michael, any time….