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
What is Hypertrophy Past and Present?
A deep dive into the science of muscle growth. Hosted by Chris Beardsley and Jake Doleschal, this podcast explores hypertrophy training through the lens of pre-steroid era bodybuilding and modern muscle physiology.