Is anybody here going all out in the gym, I mean MAX volume MAX weight, MAX Cardio, day in day out?
I know the cute little programs are the way to go, and keeping your workouts under 60 minutes boosts your testosterone and gh blah blah blah. But is there anybody that says to themselves FUCK THAT? Even harder question anybody over 30 who says FUCK THAT?
I just made pretty decent progress over the last 2 months going nice and slow, but I feel like it’s time for me to push the envelope, I need to see how much my body can take I just want to know if I’m the only idiot out there.
After all we all know how much time Arnie spent in the gym, and even in 2005 Ronnie was doing 2.5 hours of cardio to cut fat plus lifting in the same day
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Is anybody here going all out in the gym, I mean MAX volume MAX weight, MAX Cardio, day in day out?
I know the cute little programs are the way to go, and keeping your workouts under 60 minutes boosts your testosterone and gh blah blah blah. But is there anybody that says to themselves FUCK THAT? Even harder question anybody over 30 who says FUCK THAT?
I just made pretty decent progress over the last 2 months going nice and slow, but I feel like it’s time for me to push the envelope, I need to see how much my body can take I just want to know if I’m the only idiot out there.
After all we all know how much time Arnie spent in the gym, and even in 2005 Ronnie was doing 2.5 hours of cardio to cut fat plus lifting in the same day[/quote]
I think the issue is not if you bust your balls in the gym, but how often. Our bodies respond to the changing demands we place on it. But that demand has to be varied over time to be most effective.
So doing short intense workouts, long less intense workouts, long and intense workouts, or whatever all has a place. So go for it. Then when you start to burn out switch to something else.
I go all out on days where I really pissed off with life or something is really bugging me. 2.5 hours in the gym is not uncommon for me. I do it for a while till my body says nope no more. Then I switch back to a regular split. I always notice a good change in composition and my body responds.
Point is listen to your body. When something fails to work for you or its just time to hit balls to the wall. Its time to switch to something like 2.5 hours full on destruction. Just make sure you don’t burn out doing it or injure yourself. Its always good to try something new, its how we learn about what we can do.
I do it in short spurts. I used to be able to go nonstop like that when I was younger but hitting 35 forced me to make adjustments. In all honesty I wish I had known back then what the rest periods would do for me. I think I would have made more progress.
I tend to do an “all out” series for three weeks. I know when it’s time to slow down because I just lose all interest in going to the gym and I start having trouble eating, sleeping and concentrating. So I then take a week off and return the the gym the following week with a more moderate approach. About a month to 6 weeks later I do it again.
The last time I did it I lost 4% of my bodyfat (I went from 24% to 20% in the first 10 days and it held fast there).
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Is anybody here going all out in the gym, I mean MAX volume MAX weight, MAX Cardio, day in day out?
I know the cute little programs are the way to go, and keeping your workouts under 60 minutes boosts your testosterone and gh blah blah blah. But is there anybody that says to themselves FUCK THAT? Even harder question anybody over 30 who says FUCK THAT?
I just made pretty decent progress over the last 2 months going nice and slow, but I feel like it’s time for me to push the envelope, I need to see how much my body can take I just want to know if I’m the only idiot out there.
After all we all know how much time Arnie spent in the gym, and even in 2005 Ronnie was doing 2.5 hours of cardio to cut fat plus lifting in the same day[/quote]
No, I don’t. You know why? Because I would never get stronger. I challenge you to either MAX or rep to failure ALL THE TIME. You might improve for a while, but then you’ll stall and probably get weaker. People use methods such as conjugate periodization for a reason- THEY WORK.
Mighty, you lossed 4% bodyfat, how about strength, did you notice a higher rate in strength gain/loss same thing for muscle? You still do it every 6 weeks? or life stuff keep you from it?
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
so how long did you last DirtBag (1 week, 2)?
Mighty, you lossed 4% bodyfat, how about strength, did you notice a higher rate in strength gain/loss same thing for muscle? You still do it every 6 weeks? or life stuff keep you from it?
Don’t get me wrong I’ve seen most of these articles, and I’ve pushed myself a little harder than the last 2 months before. I just wanted to see if anybody else in T-World likes to push the limits of working out versus the everyday 2 main ho hum programs, and if they are what are they doing.
REading through the forums, you would think T-Nation is a pretty tame group of people. I know wsd4b and dc works for everybody but do you want to be everybody?
Theres nobody that wants to accomplish a little more, sneak in an extra HEAVY SET of squat? Have a workout partner and when he’s not looking bust out 50 pushups, smile the next bench workout saying “I don’t know how I got so strong”
A few years ago I was doing 11 workouts a week, 2 a days M-F and 1 on Sat. Probably about 13-14 hours a week. Bodybuilding-style workouts at noon and Crossfit-style ESW at night. I think I kept that up for 3 months. It was a rather extreme fat loss cycle and it worked really well.
Now I usually spend around 8 hours in the gym a week (4x2hr workouts). The volume isn’t really excessive, it just takes a long time to get my shirt/suit work done. Benching and squatting usually take an hour apiece.
I just made pretty decent progress over the last 2 months going nice and slow, but I feel like it’s time for me to push the envelope, [/quote]
Hey I’ve got nothing against kicking ass in the gym, but this part caught me.
If you’re making decent progress, why not just keep it up? Getting training, nutrition, rest, and lifestyle optimized so one makes progress is tricky enough without adding in random switches in training just for the hell of it.
[quote]Duke wrote:
I’m at the gym every day for 2 - 3 hours, 7 days a week.
It’s a lot for a 44 yr old bloke and I’m often aching, but to be honest, I like it and really enjoy my time in the gym.
I’m going back to work soon after 3 years and that’ll put a stop to my daily gym sessions. So, I’ll go hard as I can, as long as I can.[/quote]
It beats spending 2-3 hours in the pub which no one questions. Just like drinking though, know when enough is enough and plan your supportive life around the training.
[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
Duke wrote:
I’m at the gym every day for 2 - 3 hours, 7 days a week.
It’s a lot for a 44 yr old bloke and I’m often aching, but to be honest, I like it and really enjoy my time in the gym.
I’m going back to work soon after 3 years and that’ll put a stop to my daily gym sessions. So, I’ll go hard as I can, as long as I can.
It beats spending 2-3 hours in the pub which no one questions. Just like drinking though, know when enough is enough and plan your supportive life around the training.
[/quote]
Spot on! I use that line often when people ask me why I do it. I could be doing a lot worse than lifting weights.
Lift some heavy ass weight, eat a steak, go to sleep.
Most of the time people making little/no progress sound like this:
“I’m precisely hitting 4,281.5 calories with my 6x8 sets with perfect form according to Dr. Schmuck’s comments in bullshit journal volume 3 issue 5 with 43 supplements from XYZ and the latest greatest technique to pack on 23 pounds in seven weeks and I’m working on my killer abs.”
Yeah, lift some heavy ass weight, eat a steak, go to sleep…
I just made pretty decent progress over the last 2 months going nice and slow, but I feel like it’s time for me to push the envelope,
Hey I’ve got nothing against kicking ass in the gym, but this part caught me.
If you’re making decent progress, why not just keep it up? Getting training, nutrition, rest, and lifestyle optimized so one makes progress is tricky enough without adding in random switches in training just for the hell of it.[/quote]
That’s a great point. Many of the old school bodybuilders would say that even if you feel like doing more you shouldn’t.
If he is making progress and feels like doing more it probably means that his body has super-compensated very well and hitting it harder may mean a slow down or stop to this good recovery ability he has going.
So I say don’t screw with a good thing. Keep doing the same thing until your progress slows or stops. Then try something new.