I should say that I know they technically do periodize their training in terms of having an off season, pre content prep etc so yes they periodize in THAT way, but do they periodize in terms of changing rep ranges, etc?
Now of course I know that I can’t compare myself to a pro, especially an IFBB pro but it just got me wondering about the need to switch up your rep range every so often and to in fact “periodize” your training, i.e. having a block where you train in lower rep ranges to build strength which will then compliment your higher rep range block once you get there.
Do IFBB pros just not bother with that kind of thing? Again, with AAS I know that most things can work for you differently to someone who isn’t on AAS, but even so you’d think that if there’s benefits of switching up your rep range from time to time, they’d utilise that to get even better than they could by sticking to one specific rep range for 20+ years.
It’s worth appreciating that the off season and precontest prep is going to have that periodization effect.
Even if rep ranges don’t change, movements and weight selection will as a result of the changes the body is undergoing. Machines tend to be popular in the later stages of competition prep because they trainee is so physically exhausted from low calories that they need an external force to stabilize the weight for them. Off season? Ability to handle less restricted movements.
Makes sense. The majority of the pre contest training videos I’ve watched have them training on machines for 90% or so of the time they’re in the gym. Based on what Jay Cutler said about sticking to 10-12 reps for 20+ years, it’s hard to believe he didn’t deviate from that whatsoever, even just to prevent stagnation but who knows.
We dont know and never will know. You have to understand that the BS they film on videos is to make money and and look good. Whatever they do on camera is bullshit. They have coaches who tell them what to do and what to eat. They have plans laid out months ahead. What they do mostiy depends on a coach and also the real pros have coaches who basically live with them and the coach goes by how he feels his athlete. The athletes themselves dont feel it as good as the coach does. There is no point to watch bodybuilders trolling the gym on their off days. What they do for real training is completely different and that is the reason coaches get paid enough to be able to have only 1-5 clients.
Yea, if you would pay such huge amounts for a coach like Hany earns, you wouldnt want to make videos of doing the exact workouts you pay for. You do smth for a show and keep the important parts quiet. Im also sure that pro coaches wouldnt allow for such videos to be uploaded. I think that all the vids online are bullshit videos. As hardcore as Blood and Guts looks, im sure its also BS…there are interviews about Dorian training with Mentzer and no one filmed those, haha.
I think trying to model your training after anyone in IFBB or Olympia is plain dumb if you’re not also pushing grams of gear into your body.
That being said, I’m sure they are periodizing their training - but that is going to be quite secondary to their having the testosterone levels to support 30 dudes combined.
I can’t imagine there are training “secrets”. Even in sports that are with tons of money, everyone does camps and stuff together. They just don’t share their final walkthroughs, etc. I guess that’s equivalent to sharing the general template of a plan, but not the specific person coaching so I don’t know what my point is.
I believe everyone periodizes whether they want to or not, because eventually you get hurt or exhausted if you’re not planning it proactively.
I believe that most IFBB pros and natural pros do not periodize their training in the way that is often written about in TN articles and forums. That is partly from actually talking to, observing, and being around some of them.
Sure they have programs and templates they stick to but they are the least cerebral lifters in all the types of lifters. In fact some are so shallow they they cannot even explain why they train as they do and succeed with programs that many of us would consider goofy, redundant, and excessive.
True. But what I take from that is one can try very hard on a typical, uncomplicated bodybuilding program and get good results.
I made the best results when I prepped for my only show. I always tried hard, but for those six months I trained as if it was a life-or-death situation. I’ll give the example of what I did for a weakness, my chest.
Does that look like a workout from a 90’s Flex or so-called “Muscle and Fiction” mag? Yes, it does. And it worked.
There’s what I wrote in a popular thread in the aughts on here.
For large muscle groups: 2 compound exercises and 1 or 2 isolation exercises
For small muscle groups: 1 compound or “big” exercise and 1 or 2 isolation lifts
Split the body over 3 to 5 sessions.
I have have never seen a competitive bodybuilder do differently and one cannot go wrong with this approach for bodybuilding.
Many competitive bodybuilders have never even heard of or ignore most popular Internet gurus. I remember long ago I asked an IFBB pro friend, before he started competing, if he had heard of Dante Trudel/Doggcrapp and he in other words asked if he was the guy who posted TL;DR ramblings on Internet forums.
None of this is meant to take away from men I too have learned from. It’s perhaps my own long winded expansion on the answer to the OP’s question.
I started a log. Wanted to post stuff I did. Follow one of the Mountain Dog programs or something to get back into training but not lift heavy… then I got bored doing a program and I just gravitated to doing my own shit like I always do.
Which is similar to what you wrote lol!
Bodyweight is around 15-20lbs more right now.
EDIT
WRT to periodization:
Sometimes I go heavy 1-5 reps. Sometimes I go lighter. Sometimes I put on too little weight but mid set when I hit 10 I want to see how many I can get with the weight and end up repping out till I reach complete muscular failure and end up with 18 reps. Sometimes I don’t feel my chest is really “firing” when I’m warming up and end up doing several sets of 8-10 on the pec deck machine to exhaustion and then I will end up using another machine for pressing because using a barbell after that would feel funny…
It’s all kinda self-regulating. I’m not sure why periodization when not training with complex lifts with the intent to peak in terms of weight lifted is necessary. I’m not gonna do 10 sets of 2-3 reps for cleans and snatches for 6 months in a row even if I’m on a shitload of stuff. I’ll kill my joints. And I’d screw up my ability to lift maximal weights for 1 rep if I train the full lifts for higher reps and lower weights. Or even 2-3 reps with lower weights.
And the fact that if I were on a shitload of stuff means I can lift heavier than normal, which would mean I’m gonna make this phase even shorter and work on maximizing hypertrophy with more assistance lifts and maintaining technique with less technical variations of the main lifts at lighter weights for high reps or multiple sets of lower reps but heavy enough for muscular exhaustion when I;m not peaking.
All these things have a purpose. There’s really no “all or nothing” kind of thing. If I were a competitive bodybuilder and I had, and can tolerate a shitload of stuff which allows me to retain muscle mass when I’m peaking for a competition, I’m not gonna train with heavy weights when I’m on a strict calorie restricted diet and get my joints inflamed (at my age now). I’m gonna lift with higher reps to maintain muscle and get a little more weight loss while I’m training.
And in the last example, I would have just gone heavy if I were younger and didn’t have these fucking joint issues. But one of my friends who’s older than me and does actually compete CAN go heavy so he does. Whatever. This is an art and a science. Just go lift, experiment (not with a shitload of stuff) and find out what works for you.
I’m not motivated to train when I have a nice program. Others are. Different strokes. The most important thing is consistency and self-awareness.
