In this week’s issue of T-mag:
The Irony of Testosterone
by TC
Titanium Teen
by Chris Shugart
Ab Training for Athletes and Babehounds, 2K3
by Christian Thibaudeau
Training for Maximal Size
by Joel Marion
Ghost Dog
by the Ghost
The Eight Keys, Part IV
by Dave Tate
New Reader Mail
I can’t wait to apply CTs new ab training! Should have posted it sooner for the Roxx participants though.
This has to be the best T-mag ever. Between Joel, CT and Kareem there’s a tonne of great advice.
I like CT’s new abs routine a great deal and Kareem’s take on building is surprisingly sensible, far beyond his years. The clincher for me was Joel’s article. I’ve been looking for a good routine that is full of core compound exercies.
R-S
I want to publicly says that Joel’s article this month is absolutely fabulous. One of the finest I’ve read anywhere in a long time.
Great issue, as always!
Good article by Marion too. Just try not to start referring to yourself in third person again, okay Joel?
Paul: Tha Joel doesn’t know what you are talking about.
I didn’t realise you posted here Joel. I sent this e-mail yesterday and maybe you can help me on the forums…
Love the new routine by Joel Marion “12 Weeks to Ultimate Masshood”. Couple questions:
23% BF doing T-Dawg and Hot-Rox. Will this work for a routine? Not 100% new to weights (about 3 months).
Working out at home. What can I do to substitute the pull ups? And also the calf press since I don’t have a leg press machine?
Finally, could you expand on the isolation note on weeks 1-4?
Thank You,
Big Adam
Adam,
The Max Size program is primarily for individuals looking to gain lean muscle mass; it wouldn’t be a productive choice for an individual whose primary goal is fat loss and whose diet is hypocaloric.
I’d much rather see you do some relative strength work such as 5x5, 10x3, etc. What I would do is conduct my new RRD routine for a period of 4 weeks and then follow it up w/ Chads ABB 10x3 program but w/ slightly longer rest periods (2-3 mins) and higher intensity, also for 4 weeks. For my new routine, just type in “New Ripped, Rugged, and Dense Routine” in the forum search engine and you should find the thread.
Take care,
Joel
Joel,
Definitely liked the article - simple and effective. What sort of loading parameters would you recommend for each 4-week block?
Mike,
Phase 1: 12RM; increase load if you can perform more than 12 reps on first set.
Phase 2: 5RM; increase load if you perform greater than or equal to 37 repetitions.
Phase 3: 8RM, increase load if you can perform more than 8 reps on first set.
Take care,
Joel
Thanks Jeol. Will start New Ripped, Rugged and Dense next week. Will do this along with T-Dawg 2.0 and HR! Will post pictures of results in 2 or 3 months.
Still need a replacement for the pull ups and calve press in leg press machine. Any thoughts?
Big Adam,
I’m not Joel, but how about DB pullovers and donkey calf raises?
You can do bent over rows (although I personally hate that exercise) and weighted standing calve raises w/ dumbbells.
Joel
Big Adam,
I got the same problem. I work out at home so I have no chin-up station, leg press, or dip station. I plan on substituting with the following:
Barbell row, calves with the weight on my shoulders (like in a squat), and close-grip bench.
I meant 40 total reps for the phase 2 loading parameters, not 37, sorry.
Joel,
Why do you hate bent over rows? You’re the expert and I don’t want to do something ineffective…
I never got anything out of the exercise personally; this isn’t to say that others havn’t, I’ve just had better success w/ pullups and their variations.
Joel
Joel, I think I understand what you’re talking about as far as bent over rows go. Traditionally, a person would bend over 45 degrees and bring the bar up to the sternum; this method has never worked for me either. However, after experimenting a little, I tried a different way to perform bent over rows: bend over 90 degrees (parallel to the floor), grip the bar as you would when you bench, and bring it up to the place on your body where you usually touch the bar when benching (usually upper abs, sternum). This exercise alone has packed on more mass on my mid traps than anything I’ve ever tried, and has thickened my lats considerably. This is definately a staple movement in all my routines now.
I’ve seen that more people have more success with variations of inverted rows vs bent over barbell rows.
I agree with everyone about the barbell row. When I do them my biceps want to take over. That problem was solved when I tried straight arm rows. See Chris Thibaudeau’s Big Back Stack for a description. It takes the biceps out of the picture and just focuses on the lats.
One more option - any type of Olympic pull - power snatch, power clean, high pull, etc. These are full-body exercises so they may be too much on this high volume routine. However, I never had a good back workout until I started doing these.