Muscle Spinning

Bodybuilding became popular in the 1950s when strength athletes and gymnastics champions started joining the movement.  The gymnasts brought with them their calisthenics based approach to muscle building, while the weightlifters introduced their barbell approach to mass development.  During this time a type of training emerged called “muscle spinning.”

Muscle spinning was a training strategy first used in the 1950’s by California bodybuilders who gained muscle size without bothering to develop strength.  It is essentially high rep “pump training” that builds up sarcoplasmic hypertrophy of the muscles.  Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy refers to an increase in the energy content of a muscle cell: glycogen, water, minerals, etc.

The principles of a muscle spinning routine are simple:

  • High repetitions (15-20 reps or more)
  • Do not do forced reps or any other set extension technique.
  • Perform all reps strictly (in good form) and quickly
  • Low rest periods between exercises (30-45 seconds)
  • Hit each muscle group frequently throughout the week

Muscle spinning stresses the sarcoplasmic components of the muscle more so than the muscle fibers because of the lighter loads and shorter rest periods used. This type of training depletes muscle glycogen significantly and stresses the creatine phosphate stores.  This results in a “supercompensation” in which the muscle cells refill glycogen and creatine at higher levels than normal, making the muscles appear larger due to the increased fluid retention.

Most professional bodybuilders train this way.  Most professional bodybuilders, however, use steroids that make this type of training effective for them.  Muscle spinning works best for the steroid using bodybuilder, because it pumps the muscles with blood, blood rich with synthetic testosterone.

Most natural bodybuilders don’t get much growth out of muscle spinning without the same drugs as the pros. Trainees who either have naturally high testosterone or use steroids grow best on muscle spinning.

Nevertheless, muscle spinning can still be useful to the natural bodybuilder.  Heavy weight training can take its toll on the joints and connective tissues.  Muscle spinning is much easier on the joints and can provide relief from heavy training.

Muscle spinning increases insulin sensitivity, helping to shuttle nutrients into the muscle.  Muscle spinning also stimulates fat burning.  This type of training releases growth hormone and burns a lot of calories, both during the workout and after, which is why bodybuilders tend to do muscle spinning programs prior to a contest.

How to Make Muscle Spinning Effective

If you’re a natural bodybuilder and you want to grow on a muscle spinning program, then you want to follow these rules to make it effective:

The bulk of your exercises should be free weight, compound movements.  Free weight, compound movements work best on any program, not just muscle spinning.  Muscle spinning programs, however, require you to pump your muscles and engorge them with blood.  Compound (multi-joint) movements are much better at pumping your muscles up than isolation (single joint) movements.

Perform exercises that stretch the muscle.  Pumping the muscles up and engorging them with blood stretches the muscles.  This stretching sensitizes the muscles to the anabolic effects of testosterone.  Stretching attracts more blood into the muscle and enhances the penetration of testosterone and other anabolic hormones.  Stretching also increases the muscle’s sensitivity to testosterone by increasing the number of androgen receptors.

Thus it’s important to use a full range of motion on all exercises (no partials) so that the muscles are fully stretched.  Stretch in between sets and after the workout.  To enhance the stretching, perform free weight compound exercises that place the muscles in a stretch position: pull-ups, dips, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, etc.

Perform a low number of sets.  Traditional muscle spinning programs have you doing 5 sets per exercise, four exercises per muscle group (just look at Arnold’s cutting programs).  While a steroid using bodybuilder can handle that much volume, a natural bodybuilder would overtrain and burn out.  The key for a natural bodybuilder is to get the minimum effective dosage.  In other words, get the biggest pump in the fewest number of sets.  I’ve found that 1-3 sets per exercise is best.

Muscle spinning works best on slow-twitch and lagging muscle groups.  Since high reps are used, muscle groups that have a high percentage of slow-twitch fibers (back, quadriceps, calves, lateral deltoids and forearms) respond well to muscle spinning programs.

Muscle spinning programs also bring up lagging body parts, muscle groups that are hard to develop.  If you have a weak point in your physique, then it is because you have poor blood flow to that area and a poor neural connection.  The high reps of a muscle spinning program will increase the blood flow to that lagging muscle group and strengthen the neural connection to that muscle.

Muscle spinning works best as a preparatory training phase, not as a year round macro-cycle.  As a natural bodybuilder you should only do muscle spinning three weeks at a time.  After three weeks of muscle spinning switch to a heavier weight, lower rep program.  Although you will grow somewhat during the muscle spinning phase, you will grow much more once you switch to the heavy phase.  Muscle spinning primes you for muscle growth, making your return to heavy weight training much more effective.

The Muscle Spinning Program

This is a 2 phase program.  Follow Phase 1 for three weeks, then switch over to Phase 2 for four weeks.

PHASE 1: MUSCLE SPINNING

Alternate between Workout A and B throughout the week for 3 weeks.  Follow a 2 day on, 1 day off, 2 day on, 2 day off routine.

Workout A:

  1. 20° bench press (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds rest)
  2. Machine flyes (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds rest)
  3. Pulldowns (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds rest)
  4. Seated cable rows (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds rest)
  5. Lateral raises (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds rest)
  6. Band pull aparts (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds rest)
  7. Arm Superset (3 supersets, 1 minute rest between supersets):
  8. Incline curls to seated dumbbell curls (perform 8-10 incline curls to failure then sit up and perform seated dumbbell curls to failure)
  9. Diamond pushups (as many reps as possible)

Workout B:

  1. Squats (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)
  2. Leg press (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)
  3. Lunges (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)
  4. Standing machine calf raises (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)
  5. Seated calf raises (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)
  6. Wrist curls (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)
  7. Wrist extensions (3 sets, 15-20 reps, 30-45 seconds)

PHASE 2: HEAVY TRAINING

Alternate between Workout A and B throughout the week for 4 weeks.  Follow a 2 day on, 1 day off, 2 day on, 2 day off routine.

Workout A:

  1. Pull-ups (3 sets of as many reps as possible, 2 minutes rest)
  2. Flat bench press (4 sets, 5-7 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  3. Seated cable rows (4 sets, 5-7 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  4. Lateral raises (3 sets, 8-10 reps, 90 seconds rest)
  5. Preacher curls (4 sets, 5-7 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  6. Lying triceps extensions (4 sets, 5-7 reps, 2 minutes rest)

Workout B:

  1. Squats or Leg press (4 sets, 5-7 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  2. Leg curls (4 sets, 5-7 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  3. Standing machine calf raises (4 sets, 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  4. Seated calf raises (4 sets, 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  5. Wrist curls (4 sets, 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest)
  6. Wrist extensions (4 sets, 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest)

Leave a comment

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑