May 18, 2022

1808: How to Build Bigger Arms, the Truth About Muscle Confusion, the Correct Way to Train to Failure & More | Mind Pump

Check out the Mind Pump episode page

Always eat your proteins first
- You will naturally eat fewer calories; protein is the most satiating macronutrient
What to do when a muscle group is lagging:
- Don’t add more sets to your routine; instead, redistribute your sets to accommodate
- Bring the muscle group to the front of your workout—you get the most muscle gain out of the workouts you do first
“The worst myths in the health and fitness space have some truth in them” – Mind Pump
- Muscle Confusion: a delicate balance between trying to master a lift and creating enough variation to avoid plateauing
Failure training provides short term results that fade quickly
- “For the average lifter, avoiding it is probably a good idea” – Mind Pump
- The body tax and risk for injury simply aren’t worth the benefits

Mind Pump consists of Sal Di Stefano (IG: @mindpumpsal), Adam Schafer (IG: @mindpumpadam), and Justin Andrews (IG: @mindpumpjustin)
The Mind Pump crew discusses the best time to eat protein, how to target lacking muscle groups, why failure training is bad, and more!

Always eat your proteins first
- You will naturally eat fewer calories; protein is the most satiating macronutrient. You’ll leave more of the empty calories on your plate when you eat your proteins first.
- Restaurants trick you into eating more by bringing salad, chips, or bread out first
- This will also help stabilize glucose levels
Proteins are essential, so prioritize them
- This inherently gets you to eat your fat sources first as well—fats are typically combined with your proteins
“We are behavior-driven…what can I do to promote the types of behaviors that lead to the things I want to accomplish…eating protein first is a simple step” – Mind Pump

There have been rumors about soda/pop companies needing to put regulatory safety warnings on their packaging, like cigarettes
- A Harvard study found that warning labels (teeth decay, diabetes, etc.) do deter sugary drink consumption
- Mind Pump thinks the consumer will just find a new medium to consume sugar if one sector is regulated
Commercials for Mtn. Dew and Pepsi (for example) send an overwhelmingly positive and misleading message
- “I think that we’ve lost sight of consequences” – Mind Pump

When a body part is lagging, don’t add more sets to your routine; instead, redistribute your sets to accommodate
- Simply throwing more volume on top can be counterproductive
- Dial down the sets on your stronger body parts and increase the sets on the lagging body part
Bring the weaker muscle group to the front of the workout
- You get the most muscle gain out of the workouts you do first
- Apply this for any lacking muscle group
Full range of motion > volume/intensity
- Elbow positioning is crucial to arm growth

“The worst myths in the health and fitness space have some truth in them” – Mind Pump
- Theoretically, muscle confusion simply states that you shouldn’t repeat the same exercises over and over again. But, the oversimplification is incorrect.
Muscle confusion decreases your ability to master or become efficient at specific lifts
- You can do the same lifts, but make sure to change up reps and tempo
- There is a delicate balance between trying to master a lift and creating enough variation to avoid plateauing

Failure training provides short term results that fade quickly
- “For the average lifter, avoiding it is probably a good idea” – Mind Pump
- You’ll often feel less fatigued from 5-10 good sets than 1 all-out failure set
- The body tax and risk for injury simply aren’t worth the benefits
Very few people fit failure training into their routine properly
- Many other variables, like sleep and diet schedule, have to be dialed in to reap the maximum benefits of failure training
“You can build the most amazing physique and never train to failure”– Mind Pump