what about ramping up the weight on the main exercises, like the Squat, DL or BP? I’d think that a quick, low-rep ramp would be okay… The only reason I am asking is that I would not feel comfortable deadlifting 150 kg right off the bat.which is roughly around the 6 rep mark weigh for me. Me thinks:
60 kg x 3
100 kg x 3
130 kg x 3
150kg x 6 x 2 (first two workout sets)
150kg + intensifier (last set)
Or would that negatively skew the volume and skrew the overall programming?
Also, ATM I can only train 5 times per week. Should I add an extra exercise for the each session?
No, but over the last few years I’ve learned what is optimal for more average people. My blessing (and curse) was getting to work with mostly elite individuals who could tolerate a high volume of work. And myself I always prided myself in having great work capacity. But when I got past 35 and especially with the health issues I had I became “more human” in my work capacity and thus was forced to discover what worked best for non-gifted and/or natural trainees.
In the past what I did was train at a high level of volume and demands for 4-6 weeks then my body would crash and I would take it easy for 2 weeks then start over again. It worked fine when I was younger so I thought it was the best way to train. But this way of thinking took it’s toll and I realise that it cannot be an optimal solution for someone who is in this training thing for life.
Correct. And it’s a process. Everything I write “works”. But I’m always trying to find better ways. As I’m experimenting with various methods I also discover some “side-effects” from various training methods that make them unsustainable over the long run. That leads me to researching more and as I research more and experiment more I find better ways.
Volume is how much work your muscles are doing. So if you are taking 3-4 sets of 3 to get to your training weight that is 9-12 reps, which is less volume than doing 1 x 10 , 1 x 8 (18 reps) so you should be okay as long as none of these ramp up sets feel like demanding work
That is based on a misunderstanding of what goes on when you train.
See, regardless of the weight you start by recruiting the slow twitch fibers. If the body needs to produce more force (either because the weight is heavy or fatigue makes the weight relatively heavier compared to your strength of the moment) then more fast twitch fibers are brought into play.
The reason we often believe that higher reps are better for ST hypertrophy is that the ST fibers to a lot of work alone because the weight is light at first, so you do not need to recruit the fast twitch fibers until the last few reps (when the fatigue of the ST fibers forces the body to use the FT ones).
And while it is true that very low reps (1-5) will tend to rely more on the FT fibers (because they are brought into play right from the start) the ST fibers still receive some stimulation, but maybe not as much as slightly higher reps.
And while high reps will put a lot more fatigue on the ST fibers it also drastically increase glycogen mobilization, increasing cortisol which might hurt overall hypertrophy. And since the gain in ST hypertrophy from very high reps is negligeable vs. intermediate reps, it’s not worth it IMHO.
So the best to get the best of both world would seem to be the intermediate zone of about 70-75% of your max, which if doing normal reps would come to about 8-10 reps per set. But if you use special techniques like the mTor reps in the program (slow eccentric and 2 sec pause in the stretch position) you are getting the same muscle recruitment from doing fairly low reps as if you were doing 8-12 regular reps.So you get the benefit of muscle stimulation with a bit less glycogen use.
I have a question, though - do you think people should stick to this one exact workout plan, as it is “The Best”, or is it more important to take the ideas from it and apply it to our own workouts?
I’ve always run a PPL split, so I train 6x a week. I used to do very high volume coupled with high intensity. Over the months of reading your articles, I’ve suspected this might not be ideal and adjusted accordingly. I would now describe my workout routine as one that values growth over fatigue, and quality/intensity over sheer volume. If it’s delivering good results and I’m not having to take time off every few weeks, isn’t it safe to say that I’m not overtraining? Or do you feel strongly that the plan you laid out should be followed to the tee?
If done properly warmups should never count towards volume. Some people need more than others, especially as you get older and your not really doing a higher volume routine just because it takes longer to get started each day.
Hey CT! Is there any alternative for the program if one can only go to the gym 3 times but could train at home/work the other 3 times with banda and bodyweight? Thanks!
Christian - I’ve been doing four full body low volume (3-4 sets / lift) workouts a week for a while and liking the progress. I’m curious what you think is the ideal number of exercises to plan in these types of workouts? I do a mix of about 3 compound and 2-3 isolation lifts each day, with a loaded carry some days.
Hey CT, quick question. How you tweak this plan for the military/law enforcement guys that have to run and to calisthenic workouts a couple days a week? Would we be better off doing 4 days a week training with higher volume?
Hi CT. Unfortunately 6 days of gym is impossible for me due to busy work and a newborn baby.
I get to the gym 4 days a week (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur). I was trying to alter the routine to make it work for a 4 day split and I like to start the week on a push. I also added an extra exercise a day to target some areas:
Monday – Push
Front Squat: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Bench Press: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Rope Triceps Extension: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Calf Raise: 2 sets of 10 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Tuesday – Pull
Pull-Up: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Romanian Deadlift: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Standing Barbell Curl: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Straight-Arm Pulldown: 2 sets of 6 and one maximum mTor activation set
Unilateral Dumbbell Shrug: 2 sets of 10 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause
Wednesday – Push
Dip: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Leg Extension: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Incline Bench Press or Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Military Press or Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 2 sets of 6 and one all-out heavy double rest/pause set
Reverse Lunge: 2 sets of 10 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Thursday – Pull
Lying Leg Curl: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Supinated Lat Pulldown: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Neutral-Grip Cable Seated Row: 2 sets of 6 and one maximum mTor activation set
Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 2 sets of 6 and one 6-8-10 drop set
Hanging Leg Raises: 2 sets of 10 and one maximum mTor activation set
Does this sound reasonable? Do you see any mistakes in this routine?
For reasons unclear to me, “high volume” workouts have been most optimal for my squats. I did a “21 day squat challenge” and gained 7 kg while people complimented me on losing weight. When I focus on losing weight, I use a version of your “Star complexes” for squats at least once a week. On the other hand, “ramping up” warm ups followed by low volume work sets worked wonders for my bench, allowing me in my 40s to break my college personal best.
Hi CT,
I am 43, and I am currently completing my second week on look like a bb and perform like an athlete, which seems to be based around the same basic concept as best damn workout. In terms of absolute strength, I can’t provide any feedback yet, but in terms of body composition I am visually noticing already that I am losing body fat while keeping the same body weight.
I would like to do 2 cycle of llabb plaa and give best damn workout a try after since I seem to be responding positively to that type of training. I am training from my garage and don’t have access to machines, only barbell, dumbell, bench, pull up bar, dip bar, TRX/Ring and other conditionning tools like tire, sledgehammer, homemade kb…
I was thinking of adding more squat to compensate for the machine but based on what I read I suspect that would be too much. Do you have any suggestion to adapt the workout to a garage gym
So with your experience now what would you say works better for average peoble: more traininig sessions with less volume or the opposite (less trainings sessions, more volume) even when the total weekly volume is the same?
I’m currently on this program and have finished the first week of it. everything feels great and I’m looking forward to the gains.
I just have a question about cortisol. I know that this is primarily a “catabolic” hormone, but wouldn’t increasing it induce signaling for hypertrophy? Also, I read that you said when you have beaten a muscle, you have stimulated growth. if you keep beating it, it wouldn’t grow any more! this too is strange to me. I mean wouldn’t further “beating” a muscle cause more micro tears , and more over compensation?
I think that you are trying to say those kind of body part splits (bro splits) cause TOO MUCH cortisol release and TOO MUCH micro tears that we, as natural lifters can not recover, or see growth from. But I’m not sure. I would LOVE a detailed explanation on this matter.
