Hey. Y’all have been a huge help to me in the past. Hope you can send some more advice my way. I have just finished up a month of EDT, followed by EDT phase 2. They kicked my butt. I was fried after each workout. Now, Im trying to find a new program. But, being rather new at this game, I’m not sure which program is best. I have read about all the different workouts on T-mag (meltdown, HST, 5x5, renegade, etc) and am having a tough time figuring out which is best for my needs. I am looking right now to put on as much size and mass as possible, and will worry about cutting down later. If anybody can offer some suggestions, I’d be appreciative. Thanks to all.
Hi Lorne!
Of your options, I think you can go either for 5x5 or Renegade. 5x5 will definitely pick up your strength. Actually it'll be a good prepatory phase for Renegade Training. I saw some really good gains (both in strength and hypertrophy) with 5x5. And now that I'm embarking on Renegade training, I thank god I did the 5x5 program first!
I think that, after EDT, you are now in a good place to set up a very effective plan of attack.
My advice would be, as Patricia suggested, to use 5x5. I would use this program for a month to greatly increase strength, then switch over to HST. Using the heavier weight during HST should make for some excellent gains.
Keep in mind that you'll have to test your maxes and use strategic deconditiong, though. Hope this helps.
Ditto to John Roman. Just keep in mind that HST works best if you’re as strong as possible. The stronger you are, the more quality hypertrophy you’ll generate. Maybe a 1,6 program instead of 5x5, but definately do 6-8 weeks of solid strength training first. Then, you can just do cycles of HST. Read all of Bryan’s articles though (at his web-site).
Hello Lorne,
I would do the following:
3-4 weeks of 5x5
3-4 weeks 1-6 or 5/4/3/2/1
1 week off
HST or EDT again, according to your preferences.
Hope this helps,
-LPdSB
You could keep things simple and do GVT. You said you are fairly new to the game, and the excersize selection of this program is easy (no new exc. to learn). Try the original, I think it’s better to do this before gvt 2000. The leg day is awesome.
hey buddy, different people will tell u different thigs but here's my two cents. Keep ur rep range between 8-12. That's called the bodybuilding range for a reason - its the best to pack on lean hard muscle! Some people will tell u to work out in the 5 rep range, but personally, thats only good for strength gains - u won't pack on as much lean muscle mass. Also, make sure u cut ur cardio down- u wont grow one ounce of muscle if ur calorie expenditure is higher than ur calorie intake.
These r personal guidelines i use for my own workouts as they work great or me. keep in mind though - the results u see r 80 % diet and 20 % workout. No workout in the world and no ammount of steroids or anabolic agents will make up for a crappy diet. On the other hand, considering ur workout is good enough, and that u change it up every 6-8 weeks, a good diet will make u look REAL good. trust me. No ammount of steroids will give what a good diet will. when im on a bulking phase, i keep my calories at 500-750 calories above baseline calorie requirements (anymore than that and ill pack on more fat than id like), take in at least 1-1.5 grams of protein, and eat a good ammount of complex carbs from pasta, rice... I absolutely wont eat anything with sugar or simple carbs except after my workout. good luck!
Not to subvert the original intent of the post, but a point to keep in mind is that if a program is still working for you there’s no pressing need to cycle off it just because a month has elapsed. If you’re really new to all this, I have a hard time believing that you’ve exhausted what EDT can do for you.
The trap that most lifters fall into is finding a program that they like (or that was recommended by an “expert”) and then using that for the rest of their training lives. So long as you are able to judge when a program stops working for you, you can stay on it as long as it seems productive.
Of course, if you’re just looking for a change of pace…
Strength phase time. Then rest, then a hypertrophy phase. I think the most valuabe thing of hypertrophy specific training is the deconditioning phase.
Sounds like you’re due for an intensification phase.