Yes, that would be a deal breaker, as you said though there is still some good to learn from Ron had is programs even if you don’t apply 100%
I am thinking of meeting Mr. Brutal himself at a meet-and-greet he is doing nearby this weekend.
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That’s a very very good idea for body building. I also follow the same rules for body building. I go to the GYM regularly in the morning and evening. And spend about an hour there.
Something I’ve been experimenting with lately is rep style and how to get the best MMC and pump going on.
This method has been proving particularly nice, although I don’t quite follow the exact parameters in the article (only training everything once a week at the moment) but I do like the style of rep here. Puts you right in the BB zone (12 reps) and the iso’s before the reps really build the MMC up. The pump is noticeable better than just straight sets, and I find the soreness the next few days to be at a “deeper” level than just regular reps. Sometimes I’ll “burnout” the last section of reps or add another 3 second squeeze and 3 reps to get to 15, which he has recommended elsewhere.
Havent really been doing it long enough to get massive results or anything, but evaluating it by the standards I laid out above I will likely keep this style of rep/set in my workout for at least one exercise per day, likely the first one so that MMC is established, and pump is in place and muscles are “warmed up” for the rest of the exercises.
Here is some more great info from Thibs about this topic (Rep style, MMC, and recruiting the muscle you actually want to use during a rep):
Muscle Recruitment Series:
No. 1 - The importance of the mind muscle connection
No. 2 - Principle of first tension
No. 3 - The role of the stretch
No.4 - Constant tension and the true benefits of a slower tempo
@Lonnie123 that seems like a fun and interesting way to do a set(s). I’ll have to try that 5-3 method. I think one of the funnest things to do when training is to vary the way reps are done, i.e.- explosive, slow and smooth, mixed during a set, iso holds, etc…
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How much volume is needed to maintain muscle during cut? some coaches have said that one can maintain on as little as 50% of usual volume.
Couple of comments/questions for discussion regarding back training…
I feel like grip width makes the most difference with regards to what part of my back is being focused on, more so than grip orientation or movement. For example, wide grip for low traps, rhomboids, and narrow grip for lats.
When doing bent over rows(barbell or db), is that a lat movement or a mid back movement for you?
Rather than thinking about this in terms of how widely spaced apart your hands are, what actually matters is the trajectory or plane of movement through which your elbows travel. This applies to both vertical and horizontal back movements. I say this because you can make a close-grip seated cable row, for example, into an mid or upper back movement, rather than (mainly) a lat movement, by flaring your elbows out more rather than keeping them tucked lower/closer to your body. By thinking of your hands as hooks attached to your elbows, and thinking that your elbows are doing the pulling, you can achieve much better back activation (at least, in my experience).
So, if you apply that principle to bent-over-rows, the movement can work whichever part of the back you want it to work. Elbows more flared out to work more of the upper and mid back, elbows more tucked in to work the lats.
Traditionally, however, a pronated-grip (overhand) bent-over-row is a predominantly mid-back movement, while a suppinated-grip (underhand) bent-over-row is predominantly a lat movement.
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This was one of the cues that I was given a few years ago and was an absolute game-changer for my back exercises. I now preach this to anyone that I am helping train as well.
Excellent info @IronAndMetal
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Agreed.
To add, below is the trajectory the elbows should follow when targeting the lats.To maintain this trajectory, your TORSO angle may need to change slightly during the exercise while noobs cry, “OMG bad form! Cheating!”.
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@IronAndMetal Thank you for the feedback. Some of which I’d heard before, but I appreciate how well you explained it. Good point in that you can use a particular exercise to hit 2 different parts depending on very subtle variations(beyond grip type or different cable attachments).
I would like some opinions on carb timing, not sure what is the best plan
currently my high carb day is around 280g of carbs, which I have 40g before training, 40g during and 40g after. The rest are split between my meals.
Now I read an article by an author that i trust knows his stuff that said to keep all carb after training and to eat 100g split between two meals. I train in the evenings.
My main concern is energy in the gym and I’m struggling to let go of the belief that I need lots of carbs before training to make sure glycogen is full. I’ve always been a carb guy
Don’t want to come across as someone who majors in the minors as that’s really not me, but would there be any real benefit to switching to the no carbs before training approach?
thanks
I believe that some people can experience a difference from nutrient timing while others will find no change whatsoever. When I refer to a “difference” i mean in terms of performance in the gym. If you’re discussing digestion or caloric equations, it shouldn’t matter at all, BUT, IMO your gym work will have a huge impact on any successful cut when you’re focused on maximum muscle retention (if not actual gains!)
I personally like placing a big percentage of my carbs before my training. It’s always allowed me to feel better mentally, physically, and unquestionably in terms of retention during contest preps. I also prefer training in the evenings as well, and getting so many carbs “after the fact” is just silly, and an outdated bit of gym dogma that I think we all heard when we started out. Well, maybe it’s not silly, but it’s not really the best option available.
S
I’m one of those guys. In college (and right after) when I didn’t have money for supplements or a lot of food, I’d eat an apple as my “preworkout meal”. Thank God for noob-gains.
Not in my experience. Going from, essentially, no carbs before or during training, to doing both…I have experienced a world of difference.
These days, I’m also a train-later-in-the-day kind of guy. I used to split up my carbs like you’re currently doing, but as time went by, I had to change it up. I tried eating all my carbs for the day right before and after my training sessions. But I couldn’t stand being hungry all morning and most of the afternoon, and I also HATED feeling so full before training. Having a full belly at the gym makes me sluggish. Intra-workout carb sources saved me there, allowing me to cut back on the amount of physical food I was eating before going to the gym. But I was still hungry throughout the morning and afternoon at the office. To remedy that, I decided to eat some carbs with breakfast.
From the research I did into nutrient timing, the body is supposed to be most insulin-sensitive (carb-efficient) in the mornings after waking, and after you workout. Because of the workout, what you eat right before (and during) will get utilized rather than stored. So this is what I’ve been doing for a while now, and it works extremely well FOR ME:
Carbs with first meal after waking. (~30-40 g)
2 non-carb meals
Carbs with preworkout meal (~30-40 g)
Intra-workout carbs (~50-60 g)
Carbs with postworkout meal.(~100 g)
sometimes, depending on my schedule in the evenings, those carbs are split between two meals
That’s just middle of the road…not a high or low day, but an average one. Obviously, you can adjust the carb amounts to fit your diet. I like it because, on a ‘bulk’, I can keep from getting stomach distention, and on a ‘cut’ the carbs are spread out through the day enough to keep me from going insane.
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Thank you both for your answers, I feel it may be best to stick with what I’m doing now then. My weight is dropping and I feel great in the gym so will keep at it.
Maybe if progress stalls and I get to the point of much lower carbs on training days then I may give it a try.
I think we all have those days where we just don’t have the right mental state in the gym. You had a really stressful day at work and you can’t get work-stuff out of your mind, and the workout suffers; your downstairs neighbors kept you up late at night or woke you up at 4 in the morning with their nocturnal activities and your lack of sleep interferes with mental concentration in the gym; it’s so f***ing cold outside that your MMC just isn’t what it usually is. Just a few random examples of why you might not be feeling your muscles work properly or as optimally as usual.
Usually, I’ll have one or two of those types of workouts in a month, and I think ‘No big deal’. However, I’ve had an entire week of them in a row due to work stress.
I’ve tried a few things to get over this. I’ve tried doing an lengthier warmup to help clear my mind. I’ve tried changing the order of exercises to focus on an isolation exercise first to help prime the muscle. I’ve even tried taking a day off to just de-stress a bit. But nothing really works.
I was wondering if anyone has a trick to counteract stress so that your mental connection doesn’t suffer in the gym, or a trick to compartmentalize the stress. I hate feeling like I’m going through the motions and wasting my time. It’s getting better, but I still want something to put in my knowledge bank for next time.
I am no stranger to shitty workouts.
One thing that helps me sometimes is to COMPLETELY change my workout music. I typically lift to some rock/metal but if the mood isn’t there this music often just amplifies my stress/anger.
I will switch this up to some country/pop catchy annoying shit that just kind of shifts the mood of the room. “Hey I just met you, this is crazy, here’s my number, so call me maybe…la, la, la, la, la”
EDIT: Ah crap, I thought this was the Flame-Free thread…flame away fellas…
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haha
Honestly I use a lot of self talk, I think I read in a Dave Tate article that out of every 5 workouts you’re gonna have 1 above average, 2-3 average, and 1-2 just dog shit sessions where you feel like you’re just punching the time clock, I think about that about every time I come into the gym and while it may not hold entirely true to the numbers, it does help me stay grounded and not panic when I string a few shitty ones together. I figure if I have the ability to string a few above average ones together, that it 's all gonna come around and I’m gonna string the exact opposite together at some point.
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I agree, Paul Carter also discusses this variance in his ‘Base Building’ book. Refers to them as his -10% sessions, and definitely helped change my negative mindset on these piss-poor workouts.
has anyone ever tried extreme stretching? I was thinking I might give it a go.