Congrats on finishing the project Ricky! My brother and I have been watching the workouts every step of the way and feel very inspired! I’ll post our updates as well. Your level of meticulousness is very much appreciated, and a gain of 2 pounds of pure contractile tissue at your level of experience is incredible! This was a rockstar effort.
Dave,
Thanks for the encouragement.
I would suggest that it’s important to note that my and my son’s results are insufficient data to judge efficacy of program, as sampling is far too small.
It is my respectful opinion that some on this forum are falling prey to cognitive biases. i.e. powerlifters look a certain way because they train a certain way, and bodybuilders per se.
Powerlifters generally look a certain way because they have the genetics to excel at powerlifting and vice versa for bodybuilders.
Training has an effect, but it is distinctly behind genetics… swimming does not give you “swimming muscles”… but people who are well suited to swimming gravitate towards that sport… just as dribbling basketballs doesn’t make people tall…
while it may seem logical to look to successful people for clues to success, that is just it, “clues”, not “conclusions”… it ignores the incredibly high number of people in the “hidden graveyard”… the vast majority of people who tried strength training and never stuck with it, because they did not get the results they were looking for which were unrealistic for them, or who hurt themselves, and packed it in.
Others saying that certain exercises are not dangerous because certain elite athletes have used them for years, or have done so personally. Again, ignoring hidden graveyard of people who did hurt themselves and never strength trained again.
Keep in mind, less than 15% of the population exercises regularly, (according to some sources) and only a fraction of them have hypertrophy as a goal, and only a very tiny fraction of them, achieve the type of hypertrophy that turns heads without chemical assistance. I have worked in mines and played recreational hockey, and in the showers you see many naked men. Very, very few of them look like they lift weights… ; one guy I worked with underground, made me envious because he was very well built. When I asked him where he trained, he laughed and said, “I don’t do anything other than come to work every day”…
I know another guy, I was convinced trained regularly, who told me, “I used to, but my muscles just grew too quickly!”
First point: there are myriad of health benefits far more important that abnormally big muscles and those can be achieved by just about anyone.
Second Point being that one should always look for clues but be very slow in making conclusions.
End of rant.
Dave, this is not in reply to your comment, but rather broader discussions that I see on this forum.
Ricky, congratulations on completing the program. Huge respect for you and your son and thank you for being so precise in execution and reporting.
I wish more lifters follow your example.
I agree with your points completely, and it reminds me of what Dr McGuff discusses in one of the early chapters of “Body by Science”. I wrestled in high school and college and only the best guys on the team, at least in high school, the starters were the only ones who had well developed physiques. At the college level, almost everyone is extremely developed. I think it had more to do with our genetics rather than necessarily how we trained, since we all trained the same way.
I Followed high school and college wrestling quite closely and most wrestlers didn’t want to add any muscle as it would throw them up into another weight class plus they were always over trained doing the same stuff almost everyday . The ones that did get big were the heavier weights who going up or down a weight class didn’t matter as much. Those tiny guys in the 98 - 125 lb weight class were always starved. Not good for building muscle. The big muscles didn’t really translate into being a better wrestler anyway. The college wrestlers eventually started showing some sizable muscle in the heavier classes.
When I did triathlons most of the good competitors we’re lean and sleek but every now and then there would be some guy who was built like a bodybuilder who would kick ass! I found that encouraging !
Scott
When I jumped from 160 to 182 in high school and then to 197 in college, I performed a lot better, not worrying about cutting weight and focusing on maximizing my muscle size and strength. I wish I didn’t spend my earlier years of wrestling cutting weight, as the weight became as much of a focus as the wrestling itself.
Unfortunately I’m not in a financial position to run out and buy a book every time I need to find something out. I’ve watched and read tons of Bills writings and videos but he doesn’t specifically address some of these things . I thought maybe you had thought about some of those issues such as hand and elbow positions and the like that could cause shoulder trouble on certain exercises?
Scott
Can this routine be used for recomposition? If you are needing to lose body fat as well would this be a good routine?
A fascinating journey Rick , which gives us all food for thought.
You mentioned Bill’s latest book . How does it differ from his last 2 (which i already own) ?
Mark
My take away from this is to do rows, pullovers and wide grip pulldowns? Complicated stuff to follow.
Scott
Very interesting article (could do without the graphic picture though). But it probably fits better in the free weight vs machine pullover thread.
5 days after challenge #14… muscle improved a bit more today… not planning to workout again till March 8
Note that previous 35 day difference from 1 day before starting to today showed that previous 35 days I’d lost muscle whereas I’ve gained 3.3 lbs with this experiment…
Comparing averages of 5 days at beginning to last 5 days, it shows 1 lb of muscle gain to 2.4 as of today, so that’s a 240% improvement… I did not consume any mag 10 yesterday… doing so shortly before bed necessitated several night time bathroom trips… yesterday only had 1 and slept solid 9 hours.
to answer about difference in books, I would have to review the other two that I haven’t read in a while… but off the top of my head
-more in depth dive into biomechanics
-ranking of exercises from 5 stars to 1 star (76 different exercises)… 5 stars: relatively easy to perform and to do so safely… 1 star, more skill needed and much higher possibility of injury… and suggesting modifications to improve how to perform
-photos of each exercise including 4 photos each, for good and bad starting positions (optimal vs extreme) and good and bad finishing positions.
I would recommend even to those who have the other two, though, admittedly there will be some review…
shoulder overhead with a fixed bar forces your shoulders along a path that is not biomechanically correct, so either use db or don’t go as high… Bill also suggests standing db presses with a staggered stance (one foot ahead of the other for greater stability) alternating arms with db and staying away from extremes at either range. Bill feels that with any pressing movement, one should always be able to see one’s hands with peripheral vision to avoid overextending shoulders… (I am paraphrasing and may not be doing Bill justice)… I actually like overhead Timed static contraction using forearm forklift straps (see on amazon)… if you are interested, I can do a quick video and post… really does a number on shoulders… running out, didn’t proofread above, hopefully coherent
So Ricky , thinking back to the last 35 days workouts and supplements etc did you find that you enjoyed that routine more or less that what you did before this experiment? I know I would not like all the constant drinking of what I call prep , especially before bed if it caused me to get up multiple times to piss.
Scott
this was a lot more structured, and had to fit it into a schedule especially coordinating with my son… so that part was a bit of a challenge… “enjoy”? don’t know how to answer that… I enjoy exercise… I’m still pondering how to follow up… but am leading towards slower cadence for middle reps as I believe that is safer and will allow me to really focus on feeling the rep…
Won’t a slower cadence mess up that all important TUT? Personally I think that TUT stuff is over blown but what do I know ?
Scott
in reference to @entsminger (Scott) question above
What about the Plazma and the other supplement? Would you keep using that?
Scott