In Jims Forever book he has a routine called coffinworm which he says is ideal for strength but does not mention nothing about size. Is this routine good for size along with strength?
I’m just about done with my second time using Coffinworm for powerlifting meet prep. I haven’t noticed any real size gains but I’ve been lifting for seven years and those kind of gains come slowly now anyway. I have gotten quite a bit stronger though, especially in the squat and deadlift. I’ve gone from around 400# to 430# in the squat and from 475# to 500+# in the deadlift since November.
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Were you earting at a calorie surplus or just eating to maintain to stay in a certain weight class?
I lift USAPL in the 105kg category and I’ve been at 100kgs for the last two years or so. I don’t particularly pay attention to my calories, I just eat quality food plus I supplement with whole milk whey and casein shakes. At this point if I add too many calories I don’t really put on much muscle, I just get a little bloated looking.
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I got you, so you weren’t necessarily eating a calorie surplus to put on muscle but just eating at maintenance. The reason I’m asking is because you always hear strength = muscle if calories are at a surplus.
For reference:
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When I started lifting in late 2010 I was about 185# at almost 6’2”. In the last 7+ years I’ve put on almost 40# while keeping my body fat in check. At this point I’ve probably put on near the max amount of muscle I can without resorting to steroids, etc.
Did you do this mostly through strength training?
Yes, and most of it has been through 531. When I started lifting again in 2010 I was 44 and had spent the previous 5 years doing push-ups and ab work at home. For the 16 years before that I was a competitive bicycle racer that lifted some in the off season. When I came back I did the general 3 sets of 8-12 for a while then I got on a program. It was a linear progression that took me from 185# to about 200# before I finally totally stalled out. That’s when I discovered 531. I bought the first book and went to work. Classic 531 BBB and Triumvirate for a few years. Then some FSL and 5s Pro thrown in. I got the idea to do a PL meet last year. For the first I just did 531 w/Jokers and FSL. My second meet I tried Coffinworm for 12 weeks and it worked well so that’s what I’m doing this time for a meet on 6/2. So far it’s been awesome.
For the Coffinworm when do you up the weight after each 3-week cycle?
I’m doing two leader cycles and two anchor cycles. I started the first leader with the TMs set as about 85% of my last meet best lifts. I increased the TMs after both leaders but I kept them the same for both anchors. My reasoning for that was the addition of the PR set on the 100% set and adding in some jokers. For example, my 100% set for my squats is 380#. I hit that for 4 reps on Monday, then added a joker set of 405# and then a walkout and hold of 450#. If I had upped my TM to 390 this cycle I probably would have had to skip the jokers and walkout.