Hey guys and gals— for those of you who are using EDT training, I’d love to hear from any of you who have made any tweaks or modifications that have proved to be successful. Just let me know what modification(s) you made and what kind of results you’ve gotten. By the way, the new EDT book is avalable for pre-order at EDTSecrets.com. Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you!
Just want to say I can’t wait for the book!
Using EDT was the most fun(the kind of fun that almost kills you) I ever had with training and also the most effective for putting on LBM. The only thing I did different was using free weights. I’m sure the more experienced lifters can handle free weights and not drop it on their head or neck or whatever. I used dumbells for pressing movements and leg presses or hack machines for legs. When I first started it I had trouble finding the right weight to finish with 2-3 reps on the last set. I started using too light of a weight. I think others had problems with this also. Once I found the correct weight though is when I started to get even a better workout. I’m looking forward to using EDT on another bulking cycle in a month or so.
Just wanted to say that I’ll be starting EDT next week. I’ll post some results as soon as I’ve got 'em.
1.Tweaked the exercises to suit my personal needs.
2.Only used sets of five reps so that I didn´t “burn out” in the beginning for going too close to failure or in the end for exhausting myself completely.
3.Icreased the number of sets for 3 weeks and took it easy in the fourth: week 1:6X5, week 2:7x5, week 3:8x5, week 4:3X5, then increased weight and started over. This was definitely enough volume for me I think.
4.Did 20 minutes of light cardio after every workout.
Can´t wait for the book!
EDT was one of the most result producing workout plans that I’ve used in my 20 years of training. I did make a few modifications though. Instead of a 4 day split, I used a 2 day upper body/lower body split and trained 3 days per week, so I hit each bodypart 3 times every 2 weeks. I used primarily compound free weight exercises. A sample workout looked like this: 1st workout - bench press and cable row (20 minutes), followed by pullups and standing press (20 min), 2nd workout (2 days later) - squats and calf raises (20 min), followed by good mornings and leg curls (15 min), followed by cable crunches and russian twists (10 min). I did no direct arm work (which I feel is over-rated) but my arms probably made the best progress of any body part.
Hi Charles. I just finished week 3 of EDT arms and it is going pretty well. I just beat all my rep goals by 120%, so in week 4 I’m upping everything. The only modification I made was exercise selection. I tweaked it because I have shoulder problems and also to make sure my exercises were near each other. (i.e. I stash the dumbbells from my curls under the bench while I do close grip bench presses so no one can take off with my dumbbells.) I also started too light. With my 10-12 rep max I got way too many reps (like70 per exercise) Using a 7-8 rep max worked better. I can post results after the end of week four, but I think I will have made gains for the first time in awhile. And the pump post-workout is amazing. In all, thanks for posting EDT to the T-mag site!
Mr. Staley,
I enjoy the program and have had good success. It is important to pick the right weight for both exercises to try to have the same type of fatigue especially when alternating with pull-up type exercises. Additionally, I try not to go to total exhaustion on the first workout and leave myself room for improvement. These workouts generate a great deal of fatigue and accomplishment when you exceed your goal.
Question: Is there some theoretical number that could be reached using 10RM for both exercises and 5 rep max for each set for a 15 min time limit?
I started the EDT program about 3 weeks ago and am very pleased with the results. Despite having limited access to weight equipment (I was working out at home during this time period), I saw some impressive growth, especially in my arms. I supersetted bi’s and tri’s together, using skullcrushers and barbell curls, and overhead extensions and reverse curls, using two 15 minute time blocks. The pumps I got were the best I’ve had in over a year (primarily was doing low rep work before this). Starting next week, I’ll be back at the full service gym once again and can’t wait to try out the entire program. One thing I noticed is that I never got fatigued enough to have to perform 2-3 rep sets. Don’t get me wrong, these workouts were incredibly intense and I sweating more and working harder than in other workouts, but even on my last set, I could usually bang out 5 reps (barely). When I start at the gym, I might pick a heavier weight that isc closer to an 8-9 rep max instead of the 12 rep max that I was using. I’m curious to hear from others as well.
Q
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the EDT program. I did switch out some of the exercises for free weight exercises, but other than that I followed all of the suggested protocol. I was delighted to see how well the workouts added to my overall sport performance outside of the gym. I liked the shift of focus from putting up greater poundages to being more focused on overall work output. It has helped me to be more intuitive about subsequent workout plans and rest periods between sets. I have allways had a hard time getting my arms to grow as well as the rest of my body and I got very noticeable results with this program. Thanks!
As you mentioned in your EDT arm specialization mesocycle article, the program is quite demanding and can cause significant soreness in many people, sometimes lasting 4-5 days. Yet each workout is is after only 2-3 days. I know that if my arms are sore, there is no way I could increase the workload for the next workout.
I currently train arms every 7 days. Even if they are not sore, it takes that long for them to recover from even less work than EDT prescribes. I know that the idea is to force-feed the bi’s and tri’s more work each session but if you are not able to recover from the last training session I can’t see how there can be any increase in workload performance. Obviously many people have gotten great results but what about those who are ‘recovery challenged’ even with all of the recovery techniques you mentioned?
In the past when I have tried training arms (or any muscle) with that frequency I have not been able to make gains due to overtraining. Simply put, some people just cannot recover that quickly from such intense training. Since training frequencies of once every 5-7 days per muscle is quite popular, I know I’m not alone.
As I mentioned, it seems to work big for a lot of people and I know you don’t need me to tell you that it works. But I was hoping you could shed some light on this matter, especially with your vast experience training various athletes.
In the EDT articles and in my upcoming book, I provide a suggested schedule of 2 workouts a week. However, I can’t possibly anticipate every situation and/or reader’s needs, so I’d suggest waiting until you’ve had one full day of no soreness (no matter how long that takes) before performing the next workout. Hope that helps to put you in the right direction — CS
Charles,
I’m very interested in using your EDT program. I was planning on trying it while using the Mag-10 cycles. Is is possible/reasonable to do a full body EDT program like 3 or 4 times a week while on Mag-10? I know that is probably too much, but I thought that it may be possible while using the support of Mag-10. And then while on the two-week off cycle I would just use a 5x5 method or something. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
Quick question on how to incorporate shoulders into EDT. I know that shoulders will get a lot of work from the pressing and pulling movements such as incline press and rows, but as shoulders are one of my weaker points, I would like to incorporate some direct shoulder work if possible. How would you recommend that I add some direct shoulder work into your EDT Phase 2 (from T-Mag issue 201) mesocycle? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Q
I really rearanged your edt and only stuck with the basic concept ie: more reps in the same time frame. I had two workout days(semi-full body routines) but I would workout 3 times per week and rotated the days. I used all free weights because I workout at home. I had mainly multi-jointed exercises. Ie: See-saw presses, chin ups etc. Also I didn’t super set many of the exercises. I didn’t notice much muscle pain at all. I put on some weight…my diet needed to be somewhat better though. All in all it’s a great concept. Fun way to workout…although sometimes it gets nasty. Charles will your book be for sale at the Swis symposium??? 
Okay, I just got back from my second EDT workout.
Sore. Sooooo sore. Very sore. I hate to think what tomorrow’s gonna be like…
First, let me say this turned out much better than I thought it would. I gained 5 solid pounds in 6 weeks. I normally gain 3 solid lbs in a year. It was actually fun to just watch reps during a time frame. Unlike some posts I found it beneficial to have a partner. If I was slowing down and he caught me it pissed me off and made me do more. Also, it was almost impossible for some mullet to use our equip and slow us down. The first week it was hard to guesstimate the weights. After that, I noticed that if you went up in weight in your first group of excersises, the next grouping somewhat suffered-less reps with same weight. Next time I do this, I will use more weight and rest a little more. I averaged 15 sets in the 20 minute time frame, sometimes finishing with 1-2 reps. For the 15 minute frame I’ve done from 8-12 sets. What would be an optimum amount of sets? It would have helped more to know this ahead of time. Also, I would like to do this with some bigger lifts. This was a great change of pace, but I can’t wait to squat next week. Also, I almost forgot, I ate 49 to 56 meals per week. I had one unacceptable meal everyday (at least). I am now bigger and harder. Thanks. I have never eaten so much crap and looked better.