MODOK How Do You Train?

Training Bodybuilding
141

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
well i started to do some single leg work (which has absolutely destroyed my glutes), my joints are kind of sore (not that bad yet though) and i beleive the way i set it up might not be optimal

i was planning on doing this:

Day 1,3,5
Dumbell rows
Flat BB bench
Squats
Leg Curls
Dumbell Curl
Standing calve raise

Day- 2,4,6
Incline BB bench
Lat Pulldowns
Bulgarian split squat (reason why i added this in is because when i squat i get a lot of drive off of one knee and not soo much from the other–because i have trouble getting that side’s glute to fire)
Hack Squat
Tricep Pushdowns

I find doing squats with my rows and benches too be a lot, then the next day doing the single leg stuff with the hacks is just fucking brutal.

Also with the benching 6x per week (flat one day, incline on the other) to be a lot. Squats doesnt bother me in that sense so much because i feel i recover really well from them. But i find benching that much to be hard, and ive been stalling as far as progression goes lately so it’s kind of dis heartening when im not able to hit some sort of PR.

Ive been thinking of changing things a bit midramp, might change up some lifts on days 3 and 4- that way its still doing ramp two but the frequency of the lifts is more like ramp 1—what do you guys think?[/quote]

Eat even more, stretch, epsom salt bath, thick bars on pressing movements (if you have them), switch one of the bench days to a two board press day or a neutral grip bench (trap bar or dumb bells). Ramp two sucks…no two ways around it. It is a true “super-accumulation” training phase. Suck it up, take some ibuprofen, and push on…keep telling yourself “its only three weeks!”.
[/quote]
will do boss

question- for bench pressing what kind of form is best for this kind of training? i know the e book talks about it, but im curious what you ended up doing? i feel like my form on everything else is doing what it should be, but im wondering if im bouncing too much and in general just using too much momentum on my bench presses

142

modok, how do you feel about BCAAs? do you think that you eat enough protein on the AD that BCAAs would be useless, or do they still help you recover if you sip on them during workout?

143

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]hlss09 wrote:
Modok,
I’m about to go from a low carb diet directly into a bulking, high carb diet. Probably somewhere between 300-500g carbs a day. I was considering ALA supplementation. What’s the difference b/w ALA and r-ALA, other than price? And is it worth the extra money? I can’t afford Receptormax, so I was thinking just straight up ALA…What’s the word from the pharmacy lol?
[/quote]

R-ALA is a stereoisomer (enantiomer) of ALA. It has a partner, S-ALA. The letters designate which way the particular stereoisomer bends light. R bends light to the right, S to the left (sinester). R and S are a less common designation, at least in the US (in my experience). Most use the D- and L- designations (dextro-right, levo-left). It means exactly the same thing. I’m sure you’ve seen that before, (L-tysorine, L-tryptophan, the other aminos, etc). Regular ALA is a racemic mixture of R and S enantiomers. R-ALA is an isolated form of only R form ALA.

If in fact the R form is the only biologically active enantiomer, that would mean it is more potent than the racemic mixture. But that is something I do not know for a fact. I know that that is what folks SAY is the case, but I haven’t seen evidence one way or another. It does make sense though. I would hold off on buying this supplement until you discover that you need it. If, when you increase your carbs, you find that you are hyperglycemic frequently, having trouble partitioning the nutrients, or are gaining too much fat, you should give it a try.

I do agree though that you shouldn’t go from low carb to 500 g of carbs…you are asking for trouble. Increase your calories, and ease up your carbs 100 g or so at a time until you are gaining mass at a tolerable level. This is a long-term game…no need to go from one end of the spectrum to the other so fast. You will feel sick/feel like shit for a few weeks to boot if you do that.

[/quote]

Thats some hard science there MODOK, I have nothing to contribute on that level with the ALA.

However, I 100% agree with a gradual step up in carbs as opposed to immediately going all in. I have no history of blood sugar issues and have been under 12% bf my whole life, but when I took the 500g per day approach after going low carb I stored some excess fat and had hypoglycemic episodes. There’s nothing like getting dizzy and blacking out after a hard training session because you took in 250g peri workout carbs after previously taking in none.

144

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
well i started to do some single leg work (which has absolutely destroyed my glutes), my joints are kind of sore (not that bad yet though) and i beleive the way i set it up might not be optimal

i was planning on doing this:

Day 1,3,5
Dumbell rows
Flat BB bench
Squats
Leg Curls
Dumbell Curl
Standing calve raise

Day- 2,4,6
Incline BB bench
Lat Pulldowns
Bulgarian split squat (reason why i added this in is because when i squat i get a lot of drive off of one knee and not soo much from the other–because i have trouble getting that side’s glute to fire)
Hack Squat
Tricep Pushdowns

I find doing squats with my rows and benches too be a lot, then the next day doing the single leg stuff with the hacks is just fucking brutal.

Also with the benching 6x per week (flat one day, incline on the other) to be a lot. Squats doesnt bother me in that sense so much because i feel i recover really well from them. But i find benching that much to be hard, and ive been stalling as far as progression goes lately so it’s kind of dis heartening when im not able to hit some sort of PR.

Ive been thinking of changing things a bit midramp, might change up some lifts on days 3 and 4- that way its still doing ramp two but the frequency of the lifts is more like ramp 1—what do you guys think?[/quote]

Eat even more, stretch, epsom salt bath, thick bars on pressing movements (if you have them), switch one of the bench days to a two board press day or a neutral grip bench (trap bar or dumb bells). Ramp two sucks…no two ways around it. It is a true “super-accumulation” training phase. Suck it up, take some ibuprofen, and push on…keep telling yourself “its only three weeks!”.
[/quote]
will do boss

question- for bench pressing what kind of form is best for this kind of training? i know the e book talks about it, but im curious what you ended up doing? i feel like my form on everything else is doing what it should be, but im wondering if im bouncing too much and in general just using too much momentum on my bench presses[/quote]

I wouldn’t get cute with BB bench form on this system. You will be lifting heavy weights, which could cause you to pull or sprain something as you fatigue. Scaps together and tight, average grip, glutes flexed, feet on the ground. Thats about it.
[/quote]

I actually do all those things, but im wondering how much you controll the weight on the way down- do you get violent with it and use a little bounce at the bottom or do you controll it slow and strict all the way down?

145

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:
modok, how do you feel about BCAAs? do you think that you eat enough protein on the AD that BCAAs would be useless, or do they still help you recover if you sip on them during workout?[/quote]

BCAA can be a very useful supplement. I have substituted them for the “peri-workout” drink stuff instead of the pepto-pro. I would recommend a drink instead of the tablets though for that use. There is a good product floating around there called “Ice” you could try.
[/quote]

thanks, exactly what i was hoping to hear! i actually ordered several months worth of “xtend”. its bcaa’s, glutamine, and citrulline malate. taste is by far the best in the market right now.

146

What should someone drink during their workout? Water just doesn’t do it for my like it once did, I end up drinking too much of it and feeling like dog shit.

147

[quote]MODOK wrote:

I wouldn’t say “slow and strict” on the eccentric. I used to be violent with a little bounce until I sprained my A-C joint a couple of times. These days its probably a 3 second negative with a light touch and an explosive concentric.[/quote]

do you think rep speed is overrated? all these articles out there about time under tension and making your reps last 4-6 seconds, it just leads to using lighter weights i find.

148

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:

[quote]MODOK wrote:

I wouldn’t say “slow and strict” on the eccentric. I used to be violent with a little bounce until I sprained my A-C joint a couple of times. These days its probably a 3 second negative with a light touch and an explosive concentric.[/quote]

do you think rep speed is overrated? all these articles out there about time under tension and making your reps last 4-6 seconds, it just leads to using lighter weights i find.
[/quote]

I’ve got an interesting theory on this that I ave shared before somewhere on here. I believe that, for a particular load, there is a specific amount of time you can lift that load. For example- I lift 100 lbs for 10 reps and it takes 3 seconds/rep, totalling 30 seconds. Its always worked out that I can take the same weight and lift it that 100 lb weight for 30 seconds, no matter if I do sets of 5 (3 sec up and down), sets of 6 (2 sec up, 3 down) or 2 reps (10 sec up, 5 down). You see the pattern. So, I believe in lifting the weight explosively while maintaining control on both phases of the movement so as to do more total WORK in that finite period of time. Make sense?[/quote]

that just blew my mind

149

you’re a long time AD’er, do you ever get an ammonia smell after training or heavy sweating?

150

Hey Modok I’d love to hear your opinion on 3 things I’ve experienced:

  1. As I read your experience on the AD it sounds awesome how clearly you gain far leaner than with higher carbs. I was fat when I was younger so of course this sounds like a great option for me. The first time I did keto/AD a couple years ago I gained a lot of fat but also gained way too quickly so I figured if I just went slower it would be great. Also very interestingly I noticed that I gained at a rate of about 11lb weight gain per inch of weight gain which for me is very good, by the time I cut down I had a net gain of 6-6.5lb with no waistline gain in 13 weeks, again also very good for me personally and around a time when in a couple months I would begin a 1.5-2 year stint of no net gains. So then a couple years later I went off to college and decided to try the AD again for convenience since there wouldnâ??t be a ton of good carb sources at school but plenty of fatty proteins (eggs, burgers, chicken, etc.). Well for the first month I was at home doing this (cleaner sources of food but same ratios) and continued for about 5-6 months. It went pretty terribly, gaining about 5lb per inch waist gain. I was doing BBB 4 day split at the time too, I made some size gains but fat gain was just too much. Anyway since then Iâ??ve done lower fat (moderate carbs and fat pretty much) and things have been better. Any explanation you can think of for this? I donâ??t tend to feel any different for high vs low carbs for the most part. Routine during the first time was just a 3 day/week push/pull/legs routine for half and HST for the other half, nothing special.

  2. Any thoughts on DAA? My testosterone is about 400 ng/dl. On the topic of supplements I never noticed any difference from BCAA’s or creatine. Just started Ephedrine + Caffeine (25mg/200mg 3x/day) out of curiosity cause my friend gave it to me for free.

  3. Since this January I have been working with someone and donâ??t plan on stopping anytime soon, good strength gains and decent size gains. What I find interesting though is that every cut I have done in the past has taken fairly quick drops in calories and cardio added to a significant level quickly. Also averaged probably 0.5-1lb per week. Somehow with this cut I have lost 1.5lb/week on average with absolutely no cardio, just lifting 4x/week. No change in supplements, diet is a pretty typical 35f/25c/40p calories still no lower than in the past. I canâ??t explain it, not that I’m complaining. Any thoughts? Also strength gain has been almost as good as a bulk with almost no decrease in arm size yet (knock on wood…)

151

[quote]MAF14 wrote:

[quote]MODOK wrote:

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:

[quote]MODOK wrote:

I wouldn’t say “slow and strict” on the eccentric. I used to be violent with a little bounce until I sprained my A-C joint a couple of times. These days its probably a 3 second negative with a light touch and an explosive concentric.[/quote]

do you think rep speed is overrated? all these articles out there about time under tension and making your reps last 4-6 seconds, it just leads to using lighter weights i find.
[/quote]

I’ve got an interesting theory on this that I ave shared before somewhere on here. I believe that, for a particular load, there is a specific amount of time you can lift that load. For example- I lift 100 lbs for 10 reps and it takes 3 seconds/rep, totalling 30 seconds. Its always worked out that I can take the same weight and lift it that 100 lb weight for 30 seconds, no matter if I do sets of 5 (3 sec up and down), sets of 6 (2 sec up, 3 down) or 2 reps (10 sec up, 5 down). You see the pattern. So, I believe in lifting the weight explosively while maintaining control on both phases of the movement so as to do more total WORK in that finite period of time. Make sense?[/quote]

that just blew my mind[/quote]

x2

wicked theory

152

GrindOverMatter, not to be a dick but I’ve noticed (in the random bits and pieces I read once in awhile on here) that you’ve been trying to get BBB to work for over a year (almost 2 I think) and constantly have issues with it. Why not just stop trying it…there are a million other solid routines out there.

153

[quote]David1991 wrote:

  1. Any thoughts on DAA? My testosterone is about 400 ng/dl.

[/quote]

my testosterone was 429 ng/dl and ive been on DAA for almost 3 weeks now and going for another blood test in 2 weeks, in case youre interested how itll affect my numbers since were almost the same.

154

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:

[quote]David1991 wrote:

  1. Any thoughts on DAA? My testosterone is about 400 ng/dl.

[/quote]

my testosterone was 429 ng/dl and ive been on DAA for almost 3 weeks now and going for another blood test in 2 weeks, in case youre interested how itll affect my numbers since were almost the same.[/quote]

I’d definitely be interested, hopefully one of us remembers in 2 weeks :slight_smile:

I’m reading more about it, some good things to be said but for the most part it seems like its a general male-wellness supplement. I’ve personally never had a supplement change anything noticeable for me in terms of body composition (taken BCAA’s, protein powder, creatine, fish oil, caffeine [just from lots of coffee]…we’ll see how the Ephedrine + Caffeine works)

155

[quote]David1991 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:

[quote]David1991 wrote:

  1. Any thoughts on DAA? My testosterone is about 400 ng/dl.

[/quote]

my testosterone was 429 ng/dl and ive been on DAA for almost 3 weeks now and going for another blood test in 2 weeks, in case youre interested how itll affect my numbers since were almost the same.[/quote]

I’d definitely be interested, hopefully one of us remembers in 2 weeks :slight_smile:

I’m reading more about it, some good things to be said but for the most part it seems like its a general male-wellness supplement. I’ve personally never had a supplement change anything noticeable for me in terms of body composition (taken BCAA’s, protein powder, creatine, fish oil, caffeine [just from lots of coffee]…we’ll see how the Ephedrine + Caffeine works)[/quote]

i havent noticed any body comp changes from it, at all. but i have noticed my mood and Alpha Male attitude from it. much more aggressive with people at work. not a jackass, but stand my ground and not get pushed around. people respect me more too. more confident talking to women. definitely an overall male wellness supplement for sure. for 12 bucks a month i think every male should try it.

156

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:

[quote]David1991 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:

[quote]David1991 wrote:

  1. Any thoughts on DAA? My testosterone is about 400 ng/dl.

[/quote]

my testosterone was 429 ng/dl and ive been on DAA for almost 3 weeks now and going for another blood test in 2 weeks, in case youre interested how itll affect my numbers since were almost the same.[/quote]

I’d definitely be interested, hopefully one of us remembers in 2 weeks :slight_smile:

I’m reading more about it, some good things to be said but for the most part it seems like its a general male-wellness supplement. I’ve personally never had a supplement change anything noticeable for me in terms of body composition (taken BCAA’s, protein powder, creatine, fish oil, caffeine [just from lots of coffee]…we’ll see how the Ephedrine + Caffeine works)[/quote]

i havent noticed any body comp changes from it, at all. but i have noticed my mood and Alpha Male attitude from it. much more aggressive with people at work. not a jackass, but stand my ground and not get pushed around. people respect me more too. more confident talking to women. definitely an overall male wellness supplement for sure. for 12 bucks a month i think every male should try it.[/quote]

I suppose so, but I’ve never let myself get pushed around like that and don’t tend to have issues with girls so I don’t think I could justify the expense for that as a poor college student lol. Seems like the only things making big changes are steroids/PH’s…which my friends just started taking and are now surpassing me :frowning: lol but the more I read about them the more I don’t/won’t try them (not that I ever had plans to). On that note, Modok I saw the post in this thread joking about you being accused of steroids or something? Was it that you actually tried a month of PH’s? Any thoughts on them? Honestly the more I read the more of a huge hassle they seem

157

[quote]David1991 wrote:
GrindOverMatter, not to be a dick but I’ve noticed (in the random bits and pieces I read once in awhile on here) that you’ve been trying to get BBB to work for over a year (almost 2 I think) and constantly have issues with it. Why not just stop trying it…there are a million other solid routines out there. [/quote]

yes ive done ramp 1 three times, and this is my first time doing ramp 2. I havent exclusively kept it as my main approach over the time period you mention though. It’s just something you can do when ever you have a lot of time to train and recover. Im kind of doing it just to shock my body. already after doing ramp one this time around my squat went from 315x2(sketchy form) to 315x5(ez reps)- thats decent progress right there in my books. After i finished this super growth i think ill be packing it in for awhile. and just do a straight up bodybuilding type split. but yeah i never experienced gains like modok or smalltobig (hey where is that guy btw, shouldnt he be squatting 800 by now?) However i really do enjoy the intensity and short rest periods as an extreme ass kicker

158

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]David1991 wrote:
GrindOverMatter, not to be a dick but I’ve noticed (in the random bits and pieces I read once in awhile on here) that you’ve been trying to get BBB to work for over a year (almost 2 I think) and constantly have issues with it. Why not just stop trying it…there are a million other solid routines out there. [/quote]

yes ive done ramp 1 three times, and this is my first time doing ramp 2. I havent exclusively kept it as my main approach over the time period you mention though. It’s just something you can do when ever you have a lot of time to train and recover. Im kind of doing it just to shock my body. already after doing ramp one this time around my squat went from 315x2(sketchy form) to 315x5(ez reps)- thats decent progress right there in my books. After i finished this super growth i think ill be packing it in for awhile. and just do a straight up bodybuilding type split. but yeah i never experienced gains like modok or smalltobig (hey where is that guy btw, shouldnt he be squatting 800 by now?) However i really do enjoy the intensity and short rest periods as an extreme ass kicker[/quote]

HM ok good stuff, I was just curious. I would probably try it again maybe even the 6-day towards the end of summer after my cut since I’d have the time but things are going well with an online trainer now so no reason to stop, and also like you my results were definitely nowhere near what modok or smalltobig experienced unfortunately.

159

MODOK, I like your no BS approach to lifting. I also saw a picture of Tookie on the yard (creator of the crips lol) and he was BIG AS FUCK. I seriously doubt he had access to T Nation articles or vasodiolators in prison… Just saying…

Every time I start thinking about counting calories, or percentage based lifting, or eating too many carbs and fats together, or buying a new supp, I think of you - no joke. I can see you, holding your giant sword (no pun intended haha), shaking your head in disapproval.

160

[quote]hlss09 wrote:
MODOK, I like your no BS approach to lifting. I also saw a picture of Tookie on the yard (creator of the crips lol) and he was BIG AS FUCK. I seriously doubt he had access to T Nation articles or vasodiolators in prison… Just saying…

Every time I start thinking about counting calories, or percentage based lifting, or eating too many carbs and fats together, or buying a new supp, I think of you - no joke. I can see you, holding your giant sword (no pun intended haha), shaking your head in disapproval.
[/quote]

You mention big guys in prison, “thinking of you”, “holding your giant sword” all in the same post…

Oooh, look over there! A three-headed monkey!

NOW MODOK, RUN!

:wink: