Hi Coach, given what you now know, is there anything you would modify about this program with regards to the Lats and Biceps component e.g frequency, volume, more horizontal pulling - less vertical pulling etc?
I am not someone who goes back and modify older programs. When my views change, I create a new plan. Sometimes a new plan can be inspired by an old one (e.g. Built for Battle which was inspired by Built for Bad) but I do not modify old plans.
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The plan on the site currently actually is the modified plan, so itās already been updated.
If there is something you donāt like about it, use the principles of the plan (high frequency, big lifts, lifted for lots of sets of low reps with a focus on acceleration and no grinding) and work within that framework to adjust it.
For example, swapping a lift for a similar lift but not doing sets of 10 to failure.
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Lonnie have you tried built for battle yet. Are you back on the high frequency low rep kind of training or something else? Thanks hope youāre well
No. I could probably make it work but I donāt think I have the equipment and weights necessary to really keep the spirit of the program (I train in my garage so limited equipment and space)
I still am inclined towards higher frequency training, I find it great for me. And am actually thinking about starting up a plan like the original HP Mass
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Very nice - would love to hear how your new training (& any modifications to HP Mass)
Iām still kind of in new-dad modeā¦ so basically I have to be a father and a husband first, and then I get to train whenever I can (usually about an hour right before bed, a few times a week. On days I work training is very hard to fit in unless I feel like sacrificing sleep would be worth it, which I dont most days)
I absolutely cannot crush my legs any more. Leg soreness = very bad for me. For whatever reason when I train deep squats my groin muscle has a tendency to become very week and I have almost pulled it several times to where I couldnt walkā¦ Which makes being a dad/husband very hard (and an employee).
So I still train legs, but high rep, full ROM body building style stuff is out, and stuff like high handle trap bar and performance style squatting is in.
I have shifted the priority in my training to shoulders/traps/chest because fuck it, I want to look jacked instead of having even development. What that means is most workouts have some kind of emphasis on those 3 muscle groupsā¦ High pulls, bench, various shoulder presses, pull ups and rows too.
I have been running a waterbury add-on program from the past where I do pull ups and push ups every day, and add a rep every dayā¦ going okay so far but only a month in so nothing dramatic. The numbers are really starting to add up though (for instance, Iāll do over 300 pull ups/push ups this week, compared to about 80 the first weekā¦ Compare that to doing a āback dayā with like 5x10 pull ups)
As I look to the future I am trying to find ways to have a plan where I can train several days a row, and maybe have some off (or do a neural charge or something quick) and HPMass seems like a good option. The leg frequency and style keeps the soreness away and keeps the numbers up so I like that a lot.
@Sigil and @Christian_Thibaudeau , stumbled across this video and thought you guys might like it.
Its a bit long at 20 minutes, so Ill break it down a bit:
the message is basically āfind a way to train that you can do often and that makes it enjoyableā
He describes achieving a āflowā state where you are in the zone, and time flies, which he says is the zone between boredom and anxiety.
I thought it was a very quick and dirty summation of the neurotyping info. dont get over excited but dont be bored.
He advocates a low(er) intensity higher volume approach, more for sport than weights, but says its how he trains. So basically higher frequency, not going balls out every session so that you can come back sooner and do it againā¦
Which is kind of the idea behind HPMass at the end of the day, right?
I think Thibs said he had trained Firaz in the past. Thibs has trained/ worked at xpn. Listen to thibs not firaz. GSP had two severe knee injuries that Thibs would diagnosed with a lower body structural assessment.
Yep I worked with Firaz something like 15 years ago when he was still a competitor. At the time he was national champion in both kick boxing and greco-roman wrestling. I only worked with him for a few months (leading up to national championships). We actually used the strength-skill method, which is similar to what he is talking about in the video. For example he had a barbell loaded up to 185lbs in the gym and he would accumulate power clean reps with it all day long. We never went anywhere close to failure.
BTW I have not worked with GSP. My old weightlifting coach Pierre Roy worked with him. He also trained at the XPN center a few times (doing circuits) which is where I train most of the time but I never worked there. I normally do not want to train where I work.
Also keep in mind that I was starting out as a coach back then. I wouldnāt do things exactly the same way now.
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Thibs wouldāve diagnosed a weak vmo issue that firas talks about gsp having (knees caving in) as thibs probably has seen that thousands of times amongst ppl.
I didnāt mean to imply this guys word was Gospel, just that some of the ideas had a similarity and might be relatable to the neurotyping system CT has.
Such as āfind a way to train that has you in a āflowā stateā which he described as the area between over excitement and boredom. A lot of CTs neurotype stuff talks about that (and digs into WHY a certain program is better for certain people). As well as the idea of increasing frequency as opposed to do-or-due intensity.
He is obviously not a body builder so not everything is applicable, but it was interesting to hear the ideas talked about in a different way.
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Nice Lonnie - i like your feedback given weāve both been on CTās bandwagons through every wave (ibodybuilder, hP mass, etc).
Flow state is real important. It also changes depending on your mood, stress, daily variations etc.
In general, the system that gets you āin the moodā and flow state the best is the HP mass style. Activation is really important, especailly as we age.
I think the HP Mass (btw this is basically look like a bodybuilder train like an athlete) is a really good template when you have a busy/stressful life.
For me, I tend to over do the 3 reps (meaning lots and lots of sets). I donāt bother counting sets so much. Bascially after the 4th/5th set of 3 reps, the muscles really turn on. Then around the 8th-10th set, I can feel the fatigue and call it quits.
Itās nice to do myoreps wtih dumbells or machines as a āfinisherā though, and have been trying to incorporate that into the system
Seems like that would go great with the lats and biceps fatigue loading. That has kind of been lost a bit with the new article, but the old one seems like Myo Reps or extended sets would be right up your alley and be exactly what he used to recommend for that day (or just add them on to a day as you feel like they need it). Or for triceps or other smaller muscles just do a set of them at the end of the workout so you dont fatigue them too much for the big lifts
I think I finally āgetā that idea. I dont think I was ready for the original HPMass when it came out, I still needed to be told exactly what to do. When Thibs says in the videos about the assistance work āit doesnt matter what exercise you chooseā or āit doesnt matter how many sets you doā that used to really bother meā¦ I needed to know exactly what to do! ā¦ Now, the answer is āenoughā and āwhatever exercise you feel like you need/want at that timeā and both of those answers make sense to me now.
Iām a much more āsecureā lifter and this system speaks to me more than ever. Do the big shit as often as you can while making progress, you dont need to kill yourself every day to do that, and fit the small stuff in where you can.
Right very nice. I need to get my diet in check and maybe re-introduce plazma to really do a ādouble blindā study lol.
Because I can swear that while I feel good doing HPmass stuffā¦i never get the egregious engorgement of muscle that layers or a concentrated loading provides.
They say 10 sets of 3 is better than 3 sets of 10 (accelerate, heavy, more āvolumeā if you use total tonnage). But the physiolgical effects (or at least perceived neural effects) are very different.
Itās why I need to finish my HP mass workouts with one/2 āpumpā sort of moves. Canāt leave the gym without having that engorged ridiculous pump lol
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