The dials you turn in a program, and what the evidence says about each. This is the exemplar pillar — built first and to full depth, it sets the quality bar (structure, citations, grading) for every other pillar in the Bible.
Status: ✅ Complete
TL;DR — For hypertrophy, the variables that matter most, roughly in order: do enough volume (~10+ hard sets per muscle per week, individualized), train each muscle with effort (close to failure, ~0–4 reps in reserve), across a rep range that is broad (~5–30 reps grows muscle similarly when effort matches), spread over a frequency that lets you accumulate that volume with good quality (often 2× per week), using a full range of motion (with a likely edge for long-muscle-length work), and rest long enough (~2 min+) to perform your sets well. Tempo and exercise order matter least. Details, numbers, and evidence grades are on each page below.
Volume, intensity, and frequency are not independent knobs — they trade off. Frequency is largely a tool to distribute volume; load and rep range are flexible as long as sets are taken close enough to failure; and more volume helps only up to the point you can recover from it. The job of a program (Pillar 03) is to set these dials so total effective, recoverable volume is high. Read the Volume and Proximity-to-failure pages first — they carry the most weight.
| Page | Covers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Weekly hard sets, dose-response, MV/MEV/MAV/MRV landmarks, counting fractional sets | ✅ |
| Intensity / Load & rep ranges | %1RM, the "hypertrophy rep range" myth, load vs effort, effective reps | ✅ |
| Frequency | 1× vs 2×+ per week, volume-equated evidence, practical frequency | ✅ |
| Proximity to failure (RIR/RPE) | How close to failure, compound vs isolation, cost of failure | ✅ |
| Rest periods | Inter-set rest, the short-rest myth, practical timing | ✅ |
| Tempo / rep duration | Eccentric emphasis, time-under-tension myths, workable range | ✅ |
| Range of motion | Full vs partial ROM, lengthened-position training and partials | ✅ |
| Exercise selection & order | Resistance profiles, stability, compound-first ordering, variation | ✅ |
| Advanced intensity techniques | Drop sets, rest-pause, myo-reps, supersets, cluster sets, partials | ✅ |
| Mind-muscle connection | Attentional focus; when internal vs external focus helps | ✅ |
| Blood-flow-restriction (BFR) | Light-load occlusion training; when it's worth using | ✅ |
Legend: ✅ Complete · 🚧 In progress · 🔲 Outlined
- Per-muscle volume landmarks:
data/muscles/ - Exercise attributes:
data/exercises/