I haven’t really experienced the zombie symptoms yet, I train to failure etc as it says, and I can definitely feel it in my muscles the days after, but total drainage of energy not so much.
Im only 2 weeks into my first blast, maybe it’ll kick in later on, or maybe Im not ready for DC yet.
[quote]Anonymas wrote:
I haven’t really experienced the zombie symptoms yet, I train to failure etc as it says, and I can definitely feel it in my muscles the days after, but total drainage of energy not so much.
Im only 2 weeks into my first blast, maybe it’ll kick in later on, or maybe Im not ready for DC yet.[/quote]
Nah, it usually happens half-way or so into the blast. Kind of depends on outside stressors and particularly on strength levels as well.
It’s simply that over the course of a blast, due to all the RP etc, you get a build-up in systematic fatigue… You don’t really get that in most other training systems (at least not those that don’t focus so much on beyond-failure techniques and where workload is more split up). Hence me saying that 5/3/1 is better suited for guys with a crazy schedule.
[quote]Anonymas wrote:
I haven’t really experienced the zombie symptoms yet, I train to failure etc as it says, and I can definitely feel it in my muscles the days after, but total drainage of energy not so much.
Im only 2 weeks into my first blast, maybe it’ll kick in later on, or maybe Im not ready for DC yet.[/quote]
you are just starting so you are probably still “finding” your weights and they are most likely too light, which is good. better to start light and work up to a heavier weight instead of starting too heavy, being at the low end of the rep range and having your exercises in jeopardy of being lost every week. on the 2nd go around of exercises see if you feel as though it is doing more for you.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Stronghold wrote:
Well…its been about a year, but I’m back to DC! I’ll let you guys know how things go.
Welcome back 
…how come? [/quote]
Needed a change of pace and wanted to focus on some non-powerlifting movements for a while.
As stated above, it does take a little time to dial in all the correct starting weights. It took me 2 full rotations(4 weeks) to really have a true starting point for all the different exercises. I am currently doing the routine that “300andabove” has posted on the 2nd page of this thread. So far the gains have been great. Have a few questions though.
When it comes to the diet I know that we MUST get the 2g per lb of protein and then carbs and fats are just fillers. Common sense tells me that if my gaining range for caloric intake is 4,000 kcals then I HAVE to get 4,000 kcals regardless of protein intake, correct?
When it comes to cardio, I know that the morning fasted steady state is what is recommended. What if I have no choice but to do cardio at lunch time on Tues and Thurs. Should I still be doing steady state or can the intensity get bumped up because I am no longer on a empty stomach?
3)When it comes to failure, should we be pushing into assisted reps from a spotter as a failure point or when we fail on our own w/o assistance. Or does it even matter?
Thanks!
[quote]Mateus wrote:
As stated above, it does take a little time to dial in all the correct starting weights. It took me 2 full rotations(4 weeks) to really have a true starting point for all the different exercises. I am currently doing the routine that “300andabove” has posted on the 2nd page of this thread. So far the gains have been great. Have a few questions though.
When it comes to the diet I know that we MUST get the 2g per lb of protein and then carbs and fats are just fillers. Common sense tells me that if my gaining range for caloric intake is 4,000 kcals then I HAVE to get 4,000 kcals regardless of protein intake, correct?
When it comes to cardio, I know that the morning fasted steady state is what is recommended. What if I have no choice but to do cardio at lunch time on Tues and Thurs. Should I still be doing steady state or can the intensity get bumped up because I am no longer on a empty stomach?
3)When it comes to failure, should we be pushing into assisted reps from a spotter as a failure point or when we fail on our own w/o assistance. Or does it even matter?
Thanks!
[/quote]
I feel like posting, so I’ll take a jab at each question…
Correct, you need to meet adequate nutrition to grow. Figure out the macro balance which works best for you.
You will probably want to keep it SSC, but you could bump up the speed a little. For example, maybe you only do 2.2 speed on the treadmill with a full incline in the morning, but in the afternoon you’re comfortable with 2.6 speed w/ a full incline. This will probably vary from individual to individual as well considering one’s recovery abilities.
I think consistency will be the key here to accurately measure progression. You don’t want to switch back and forth from spotter assistance.
I’m in my 20’s, but I pay close attention to my carbs and food intake particularly on non-training days. Dante often talks about this over at IM how a lazy Sunday on the couch watching football all day will not require nearly as many calories as a hard-training day while digging ditches for 8 hours for a job. Also, you could consider adding PWO SSC for 20-40 minutes depending on your recovery abilities. I know Dante has mentioned how much this can help a person. Another little tid bit to follow is to always eat your protein first in the meal. There are several benefits for this listed in a thread started by I believe Massive G at IM, but one of the mains reason is it helps limit the amount of carbs you eat. Once you eat all the protein in a meal, which should be a hefty amount, you won’t have as much hunger for the carbs.
in terms of spotting, a lot of dc guys will not count the rep is someone touches the bar.
I’ve been using the dc-training blog site to help guide me into DC training and so far it’s been very helpful. I wonder if anybody has seen this and what they think about the principles and how accurate it is.
I’m only on my third 14 day cycle of what i’m doing and was just wondering if the principles dictated on this site were accurate. Thanks for your time guys.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Anonymas wrote:
I haven’t really experienced the zombie symptoms yet, I train to failure etc as it says, and I can definitely feel it in my muscles the days after, but total drainage of energy not so much.
Im only 2 weeks into my first blast, maybe it’ll kick in later on, or maybe Im not ready for DC yet.
Nah, it usually happens half-way or so into the blast. Kind of depends on outside stressors and particularly on strength levels as well.
It’s simply that over the course of a blast, due to all the RP etc, you get a build-up in systematic fatigue… You don’t really get that in most other training systems (at least not those that don’t focus so much on beyond-failure techniques and where workload is more split up). Hence me saying that 5/3/1 is better suited for guys with a crazy schedule.
[/quote]
I had a real zombie period for a couple of weeks (mid blast), weights were still going up but doing a long day at work + DC in the early evening all I wanted to do was to lay on the sofa when I got in, it was hard to find the energy to cook.
[quote]johnson575 wrote:
I’ve been using the dc-training blog site to help guide me into DC training and so far it’s been very helpful. I wonder if anybody has seen this and what they think about the principles and how accurate it is.
I’m only on my third 14 day cycle of what i’m doing and was just wondering if the principles dictated on this site were accurate. Thanks for your time guys.[/quote]
I’ve heard lots of bad reviews about the blog site, it’s got some erroneous/out of date information from what others have said. Instead head on over to intensemuscle.com and read the stickies. That should tell you everything you need to know to get started on the program.
You can also post up your purposed blast here and we’ll take a look at it and suggest any changes that should be made.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
johnson575 wrote:
I’ve been using the dc-training blog site to help guide me into DC training and so far it’s been very helpful. I wonder if anybody has seen this and what they think about the principles and how accurate it is.
I’m only on my third 14 day cycle of what i’m doing and was just wondering if the principles dictated on this site were accurate. Thanks for your time guys.
I’ve heard lots of bad reviews about the blog site, it’s got some erroneous/out of date information from what others have said. Instead head on over to intensemuscle.com and read the stickies. That should tell you everything you need to know to get started on the program.
You can also post up your purposed blast here and we’ll take a look at it and suggest any changes that should be made.[/quote]
x2
[quote]kylec72 wrote:
Mateus wrote:
As stated above, it does take a little time to dial in all the correct starting weights. It took me 2 full rotations(4 weeks) to really have a true starting point for all the different exercises. I am currently doing the routine that “300andabove” has posted on the 2nd page of this thread. So far the gains have been great. Have a few questions though.
When it comes to the diet I know that we MUST get the 2g per lb of protein and then carbs and fats are just fillers. Common sense tells me that if my gaining range for caloric intake is 4,000 kcals then I HAVE to get 4,000 kcals regardless of protein intake, correct?
When it comes to cardio, I know that the morning fasted steady state is what is recommended. What if I have no choice but to do cardio at lunch time on Tues and Thurs. Should I still be doing steady state or can the intensity get bumped up because I am no longer on a empty stomach?
3)When it comes to failure, should we be pushing into assisted reps from a spotter as a failure point or when we fail on our own w/o assistance. Or does it even matter?
Thanks!
I feel like posting, so I’ll take a jab at each question…
Correct, you need to meet adequate nutrition to grow. Figure out the macro balance which works best for you.
You will probably want to keep it SSC, but you could bump up the speed a little. For example, maybe you only do 2.2 speed on the treadmill with a full incline in the morning, but in the afternoon you’re comfortable with 2.6 speed w/ a full incline. This will probably vary from individual to individual as well considering one’s recovery abilities.
I think consistency will be the key here to accurately measure progression. You don’t want to switch back and forth from spotter assistance.
I’m in my 20’s, but I pay close attention to my carbs and food intake particularly on non-training days. Dante often talks about this over at IM how a lazy Sunday on the couch watching football all day will not require nearly as many calories as a hard-training day while digging ditches for 8 hours for a job. Also, you could consider adding PWO SSC for 20-40 minutes depending on your recovery abilities. I know Dante has mentioned how much this can help a person. Another little tid bit to follow is to always eat your protein first in the meal. There are several benefits for this listed in a thread started by I believe Massive G at IM, but one of the mains reason is it helps limit the amount of carbs you eat. Once you eat all the protein in a meal, which should be a hefty amount, you won’t have as much hunger for the carbs.[/quote]
On several occasions I have done what Dante talked about for blasting the calves during your cardio session. Different speeds at 15% incline, etc. Those sessions seem to work OK for intensity. You stated that I should bump the speed from 2.2 to 2.6 with full incline if I am doing the cardio in the afternoon. Isn’t that kind of a mood point by then? Having 2-3 meals already in me, is 2.6 enough intensity?
[quote]johnson575 wrote:
I’ve been using the dc-training blog site to help guide me into DC training and so far it’s been very helpful. I wonder if anybody has seen this and what they think about the principles and how accurate it is.
I’m only on my third 14 day cycle of what i’m doing and was just wondering if the principles dictated on this site were accurate. Thanks for your time guys.[/quote]
Which of the blog pages?
There is a decent one and a crappy one from what I remember…
Better to get your info straight from IM → Doggpound.
I’ll post what i have been doing for the last 38 days for your critique. I’m anxious to see if i did okay in putting my own program together. I also started carb cycling for fat lazy guys when i started DC.
I have a couple of questions on DC training from a DC newby. I am an older intermediate lifter (46 years old) and have been lifting on-off since high school. I competed in a few powerlifting meets in college (just club level). I am two weeks into my first blast and still getting the feel for the new movements, reps, weights. I suspect it will take a few cycles through the exercises to get dialed in.
Any considerations for us older lifters with this format beyond the obvious (recovery, injury, etc.)?
Are the higher reps for dumbbells mostly for safety reasons?
Any reason to avoid doing lunges as one of my quad exercises? I am currently using it with sumo presses (for hamstrings). I didn’t see it listed as one of the preferred lifts and don’t see if referenced very often. I like it because I can blast my legs without all that weight on my spine.
Thanks.
[quote]Mateus wrote:
kylec72 wrote:
Mateus wrote:
As stated above, it does take a little time to dial in all the correct starting weights. It took me 2 full rotations(4 weeks) to really have a true starting point for all the different exercises. I am currently doing the routine that “300andabove” has posted on the 2nd page of this thread. So far the gains have been great. Have a few questions though.
When it comes to the diet I know that we MUST get the 2g per lb of protein and then carbs and fats are just fillers. Common sense tells me that if my gaining range for caloric intake is 4,000 kcals then I HAVE to get 4,000 kcals regardless of protein intake, correct?
When it comes to cardio, I know that the morning fasted steady state is what is recommended. What if I have no choice but to do cardio at lunch time on Tues and Thurs. Should I still be doing steady state or can the intensity get bumped up because I am no longer on a empty stomach?
3)When it comes to failure, should we be pushing into assisted reps from a spotter as a failure point or when we fail on our own w/o assistance. Or does it even matter?
Thanks!
I feel like posting, so I’ll take a jab at each question…
Correct, you need to meet adequate nutrition to grow. Figure out the macro balance which works best for you.
You will probably want to keep it SSC, but you could bump up the speed a little. For example, maybe you only do 2.2 speed on the treadmill with a full incline in the morning, but in the afternoon you’re comfortable with 2.6 speed w/ a full incline. This will probably vary from individual to individual as well considering one’s recovery abilities.
I think consistency will be the key here to accurately measure progression. You don’t want to switch back and forth from spotter assistance.
I’m in my 20’s, but I pay close attention to my carbs and food intake particularly on non-training days. Dante often talks about this over at IM how a lazy Sunday on the couch watching football all day will not require nearly as many calories as a hard-training day while digging ditches for 8 hours for a job. Also, you could consider adding PWO SSC for 20-40 minutes depending on your recovery abilities. I know Dante has mentioned how much this can help a person. Another little tid bit to follow is to always eat your protein first in the meal. There are several benefits for this listed in a thread started by I believe Massive G at IM, but one of the mains reason is it helps limit the amount of carbs you eat. Once you eat all the protein in a meal, which should be a hefty amount, you won’t have as much hunger for the carbs.
On several occasions I have done what Dante talked about for blasting the calves during your cardio session. Different speeds at 15% incline, etc. Those sessions seem to work OK for intensity. You stated that I should bump the speed from 2.2 to 2.6 with full incline if I am doing the cardio in the afternoon. Isn’t that kind of a mood point by then? Having 2-3 meals already in me, is 2.6 enough intensity? [/quote]
In a lot of ways you are right. The SSC in the afternoon is not going to provide the same benefit as fasted-morning SSC, because in the morning theoretically you’ll burn body fat (adipose tissue) as a fuel source due to the carb-cutoff the night before. Obviously this won’t be the case in the late afternoon, but it could still potentially provide a boost to your metabolism to keep the fire burning for more food.
I think the real issue, though, is not increasing the intensity too much on the cardio to the point you sacrifice results in lifting. For that you will need to determine your own recovery abilities. You hear time and time again how Dante expresses DC training is not for those who want to play pickup basketball on the side, pursue martial arts training, or whatever. Of course a little treadmill cardio isn’t quite the same as these other activities, but the point remains – you can’t overextend yourself and sacrifice recovery. So I think you need to find what works best for you and helps you achieve the best results whether it be a speed of 2.6 or 3.2 (arbitrary numbers) or some other form of cardio altogether.
I’m sure all of this is information you’re already well aware of, though.
[quote]dfoiles wrote:
I have a couple of questions on DC training from a DC newby. I am an older intermediate lifter (46 years old) and have been lifting on-off since high school. I competed in a few powerlifting meets in college (just club level). I am two weeks into my first blast and still getting the feel for the new movements, reps, weights. I suspect it will take a few cycles through the exercises to get dialed in.
Any considerations for us older lifters with this format beyond the obvious (recovery, injury, etc.)?
[/quote] Higher rep ranges in general… Don’t shy away from 15-25 or so. At that age, 11-15 is really pushing your luck when it comes to rest-pause…
Also might want to go 5-8 or even 6-8 on your first work set of your quad exercises as opposed to 4-6.
Other than that… Do your broomstick/towel/whatever stretches/skin-the-cats for shoulder health, make sure you make scapular retraction the focus when rowing for backthickness, perhaps do a little bit of a prehab/rehab routine outside of the main routine (i.e. inverted rows or face pulls, broomstick stretches, whatever you need).
And of course exercise selection… No classic skullcrushers etc. Only stick to elbow friendly extensions, make sure you have a proper pl setup going on pressing exercises (scapulae wise etc, no need for an overly large arch)… That kind of thing. Make doubly sure to balance your low-back involving lifts, no squats and deads in adjacent sessions and such.
There are threads over at IM → Doggpound dedicated to older guys… “every bodybuilder post 34 years of age” and so on. I can’t post direct links here, sorry. Also read the stickies there and you can post questions in the puppy pound subforum (or here, of course).
[quote]
Are the higher reps for dumbbells mostly for safety reasons? [/quote] That and it’s hard to get the 160’s+ into position… = less less in general and on your third RP leg you’re going to get zero reps done if the bells are too heavy… [quote]
Any reason to avoid doing lunges as one of my quad exercises? I am currently using it with sumo presses (for hamstrings). I didn’t see it listed as one of the preferred lifts and don’t see if referenced very often. I like it because I can blast my legs without all that weight on my spine. [/quote] Hmmm. Got a belt-squat machine handy or perhaps you could stand on those aerobic steps or whatever which one can use for rack pulls…
You can do lunges if you want, though. Wouldn’t be my first choice, however. Progression and, when doing them for the quads, knee health can be a problem with them, plus doing a lunge widowmaker is just… Nah
[quote]
Thanks.[/quote]
Sure.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
…plus doing a lunge widowmaker is just… Nah
[/quote]
Was that the 5th circle of hell, or the 6th, or was that reserved for Bulgarian Split-Squat widowmakers?
;')
Great feedback CC … thanks. Great ideas on managing health of elbows, knees, and shoulders. Of course turns out to be 40 total reps for widowmaker lunges … I nailed the form on 39 my first go around ;(. Likely will need to change that one out.
Here’s is what i’ve been doing. I am very new to DC training. I have about 3 and a half years of training under my belt before starting. Any and all advice will help greatly.
smith incline 8-12 rp (stretch)
db shoulder press 8-12 rp (stretch)
smith close grip 15-20 rp (stretch)
wide pulldowns 8-12 rp (stretch)
rack pulls 10-15 ss (stretch)
seated calf raise 15-20 ss (stretch)
lying leg curl 8-12 rp (stretch)
hack squat 8-12 ss (stretch)
bb curl 8-12 rp
pinwheels 10-15 ss (stretch)
hammer flat press 8-12 rp (stretch)
standing bb shoulder press 8-12 rp(stretch)
rope ext 15-20 ss (stretch)
lat pullovers 8-12 rp
db rows 15-20 ss (stretch)
standing single calf raise 15-20 ss (stretch)
seated leg curl 8-12 rp (stretch)
front squat 10-15 ss (stretch)
seated db curl 8-12 rp (stretch)
wrist curls 15-20 ss (stretch)
I’m still playing around with a couple of weights in my chest and thickness lifts. Recovery so far has not been an issue. I think its due to this being a lower volume program then what i was on previously. I’m still hitting the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but i just do 60mins of steady cardio and about 10-20 mins in the sauna. I’m eager to hear back from those with more experience in dc training. thanks guys.