Reading the article, down in the section about “what if i am a true hardgainer”, it lists the following workout recommendations:
MONDAY: Upper Body
WEDNESDAY: Lower Body
FRIDAY: Full Body
Then it discusses how two opposite types of workouts need used: heavy or lactate training.
Recommendation is lactate work Monday and Friday, then heavy on training Friday. So, lactate work AND heavy work on Friday? No mention of Wednesday? I’m assuming there’s a typo, and Monday and Wednesday are the same type of training for upper and lower. The question is, are the split days heavy, and the full body the lactate training day? Or the opposite?
MONDAY: Heavy Upper
WEDNESDAY: Heavy Lower
FRIDAY: Full Body Lactate training
OR
MONDAY: Upper Lactate training
WEDNESDAY: Lower body lactate training
FRIDAY: Heavy Full body
Ah well, maybe I’ll just do my Jane Fonda workout on Wednesday.
I did have another question regarding the best rep/cadence/technique for lactic acid work for a hardgainer, whether it’s one day a week or two. I can think of three ways to achieve the lactate zone, and I can think of three reasons each are not good.
High reps. Reason to avoid: CT has mentioned before, if you do 28 reps to failure, the first 25 are a waste, and only lead to increased cortisol. Not good for a hardgainer.
Super slow reps. Reason to avoid: Slow eccentrics will lead to increased muscle damage. Hardgainers don’t recover well from increased muscle damage, thus the reason for training in the lactate zone and avoiding excessive volume.
Darden 30-10-30 method. Reason to avoid: Same as above, the two 30 second negatives are designed to create muscle damage, with the time under tension being 90 seconds to promote lactic acid buildup.
Hmm…not sure which route would be recommended for a true hardgainer. CT (or other knowledgeable folks), what is your typical recommendation for a hardgainer to do lactate zone training?
Much varied training and not going to failure (NTF)?
The routine you described looks a bit similar to Dr Scott Stevenson’s Fortitude Training. A lower volume tier of that program would probably serve you well. Go find out.
But, coach Thibaudeau is a wise man, and could probably give you a more specific/accurate reply.
Thibs has sited Fortitude Training several times as one of the most perfect programs, Hypertrophy-wise, for natural lifters to follow. So I’m sure he would not disagree with your assertion!
