I do 2 sets of hip-belt squats on the Multi-Exercise machine. The first one, my feet are on the floor, which allows me to do half squats. The second set, I step up on the first step, which allows me to go deeper. I do about 15 reps on each one.
Lower-back exercise. Once every two weeks, I’ll do a set of back raises. I wish I had a MedX lumbar-spine machine.
Hey Dr. Darden,
I read your Colorado man experiment article about a year and two years ago and since then your the only person I trust when it comes to working out. However, I am about to start working for a fire deparment and need to increase my cardio but wondering if the cardio will impact my chance to increase muscle. I do strength 3 times a week at the most at home. Each set to failure with 30 seconds in between:
2 mile run which takes me about 15 to 20 minutes
Set 1- Chin ups till failure
Set 2- Negative Wide grip pullups
Set 3- Negative Hammer grip pullups
Set 4- Negative Chin ups
Short one or two minute break before doing my weighted pushups
Set 1- Standard pushups
Set 2- Diamond pushups
Set 3- Wide grip pushups
Set 4- Dips
For cardio I get on the stair-master with an 80 lb vest for 15 minutes one day & swim on another day (which gives me the craziest lat pump ever). Please let me know if I should maybe reduce my strenght training days to maybe twice a week.
222,
Yes, I like to see you reduced your training from 3 to 2 times per week.
While doing chins on one day and pushups on a another, you might consider alternating chins with pushups on the same training day. I think it might shake up your training just enough to stimulate new muscle growth.
Thanks, I’ll definitely make that change. Let me tell you, most people I have spoken to about how little time I spend working out for strength cannot wrap their heads around how I have gained muscle even though I have dropped about 25 lbs since the beginning of the year so hats off to you Dr. Darden.
Oh & one more question, would you say running for over 30 minutes two or three times a week hinder my ability to develop new muscle? Because in the past, I’ve heard & read different things.
Yes, running can hinder you developing new muscle. Keep your running to a minimum.
I had some of my best muscular gains when I did triathlons and worked out hard with the weights. True I might have gained a tad more muscle if I had only done weighs but you have to decide what is more important to you, just big muscles or all around fitness. There’s some pretty big dudes who do triathlons,
Scott
I follow your Beginner and Intermediate routines in New HIT (2004). I train only at Home and do not have a power rack ( I do have squat stands, but don’t use them). For squats, I do either DB at sides squats, or Deadlifts. I can do Leg ext and leg curls on my bench apparatus. And instead of barbell bench press , I do Dumbbell bench. Instead and chin ups I do reverse grip rows, Dips I put in another pushing exercise, like Incline DB Press. My system works good for someone not expecting to enter a bodybuilding contest. 1 x 8-12 or 15 on 8- 12 exercises (with 1 warm up set on some exercises), seems to be the best and most fun for me to train. Sometimes I do powerlifting phases. But I find 3 sets per exercise of a bunch of exercises makes me tired just looking at it on paper. Also when you do more sets and try to hit 8-12 reps, I pace myself and use much less weights on the exercises. Not saying its bad, just kind of boring and long and tedius.
Looks good Dr.Darden. Reminds me of Programs in my New HIT book (2004). Love that book.
You know what you’re doing. Keep doing it.
Dr Darden,
A few months ago Dr. McGuff posted a YouTube video called Six Way Split: Flying Under the Recovery Radar. Due to his emergency room schedule he had started doing a 6 way split spread over two weeks. He mentioned that due to the lessened systemic load he was able to go pretty hard on the individual body part.
I’m 64 years old and that approach seemed to make a lot of sense to me. I switched to it and so far I really like it. I use your 30/10/30 method along with Timed Static Contractions to work around a few equipment limitations due to my gym being closed because of the lockdown. I’m going 3 days a week and don’t hesitate to skip a workout if I’m feeling overly fatigued.
Have you considered an approach like this as a way to keep training hard as we get older?
Thanks,
David Sears
Those are some good ideas. I’ll give them some serious thought.
Thank you.
I have a new article coming out tomorrow about old-school triceps training, where I combine untold stories with new information. If anyone’s interested in a preview, here’s the link:
Triceps so big, I love it! Great article. I especially like the part where you say something to the effect that if you had the potential to get big like a Viator you’d already be somewhat big even if you didn’t work out! So many of us foolishly think we can get huge if we just work hard enough. As Clint would say, a mans got to know his limitations!
I remember thinking early on that I had the right stuff to get huge and then one day this guy comes up in his boat with a tank top on. My jaw dropped as I saw his huge arms and chest etc and then I realized he was small compared to Mentzer. After that I knew my place was not among the Gods!!
enstminger: “he was small compared to Mentzer.” That takes me back to Los Angeles. While in college in the early 70s, I worked out at a Jack LaLanne club in West Covina that had a full line of Nautilus machines. At that time I worked out with some NFL players like Bubba Smith and other club members, some of whom could bench press 550# or more. One guy that was pretty big at that club was the actor Reb Brown. One day in the summer of 1979 I visited Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica and watched Reb train along with several famous bodybuilders that morning (Robby Robinson, Danny Padilla, etc.), including Mike Mentzer (Ray was helping Mike through a shoulder and arm workout). Well Mike simply dwarfed Reb Brown. After Mike’s workout however, Lou Ferrigno entered for his workout and stopped at Gold’s front desk. Mike then walked up to greet Lou - let’s say that Mike’s size was quite impressive even next to Lou. It’s about genetics alright!
I am confused; you mention close grip bench press and then allude to shoulder width hand spacing, I thought close grip was hands together, please clarify.
Thanks
fantastic article
Shoulder width is close grip. Assuming you’re not flaring the arms out, which would put your wrists in a seriously compromising position, then breaking at the elbows with a shoulder width hand position will absolutely be almost all triceps.
Stand straight and put your arms straight out in front of you, like a zombie. Does that not seem like close grip?
Shoulder width is probably a better term than close grip. Flappinit has a nice example.
Dr Darden
what is 30-10-30 / 10-10-10 best for- mass or strength gains in older 50+ lifters ?
Hi Dr . Darden,
Interesting thread… I see a lot of frequency ideas that change as people get older, etc. But curious, how would you train (frequency per muscle) a younger person who had a training background (so not a beginner) but still had room to gain. Someone like an Eddie Mueller type, if you were to do that now a days?