Questions About Training

Training
1081

Hi Coach Thib,

I am a 1.82m(~6ft), 83kg(183lbs) male who is considering a new workout.

Let me just start with how strong (or not) I am:

  • able to do abt 10 real pull ups
  • bench 3/4 of my body weight abt 5 reps
  • squat full body weight abt 5 reps
  • deadlift full body weight abt 8 reps

Of course my goal is to get bigger and lose some excess fat(waist size abt 34" on gd days and 38 on bad days!!), getting stronger is optional!!

I have been hitting the gym quite regularly for the past 2.5 months abt 4-5days a week.
I concentrate on the basics lifts and have been trying to increase my frequency of each body part.
I have devised a training program and i wish to know what you guys think abt it.
Its a 4 day workout and here it goes:

Day 1:
BB Flat Bench Press (Heavy: 5x5)
BB Incline Bench Press (Heavy: 5x5)
Lat Pull Down (Heavy: 5x5)
T-Bar Row (Heavy: 5x5)
Rest Time approx 2-3mins for above

DB Flyes and DB Pullovers (Mid weight 3x10-no rest)

Day 2:
DB Shoulder Press (Heavy: 5x5)
BB Rear Shoulder Press (Heavy: 5x5)
Squat (Heavy: 5x5)
Deadlift (Heavy: 5x5)
Rest Time approx 2-3mins for above

DB Lateral/Front Raise and DB Lunges (Mid weight 3x10 -no rest)

Day 3: Similar to day 1 but less weight, increase reps n reduce rest time
DB Flat Bench Press (Mid: 4x10)
DB Incline Bench Press (Mid: 4x10)
Lat Pull Down (Mid: 4x10)
T-Bar Row (Mid: 4x10)
Rest Time approx 2mins for above

Day 4: Similar to day 2 but again less weight, higher reps n less rest.
DB Shoulder Press (Mid: 4x10)
BB Rear Shoulder Press (Mid: 4x10)
Squat (Mid: 4x10)
Deadlift ((Mid: 4x10)
Rest Time approx 2mins for above

So basically what I’ve done is to mix heavy weights n mid weights in a bid to increase strength
and also for hypertrophy with the frequency.

What do you think of the above program? My goal is of course to increase muscle mass while burning off fat!
Any advice, comments will b greatly appreciated.
Sorry for long post tho!!

Cheers.

1082

Thibs,

Do you train MMA fighters with ME?

1083

Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

1084

[quote]pool4eva wrote:
Hi Coach Thib,

I am a 1.82m(~6ft), 83kg(183lbs) male who is considering a new workout.

Let me just start with how strong (or not) I am:

  • able to do abt 10 real pull ups
  • bench 3/4 of my body weight abt 5 reps
  • squat full body weight abt 5 reps
  • deadlift full body weight abt 8 reps

Of course my goal is to get bigger and lose some excess fat(waist size abt 34" on gd days and 38 on bad days!!), getting stronger is optional!!

I have been hitting the gym quite regularly for the past 2.5 months abt 4-5days a week.
I concentrate on the basics lifts and have been trying to increase my frequency of each body part.
I have devised a training program and i wish to know what you guys think abt it.
Its a 4 day workout and here it goes:

Day 1:
BB Flat Bench Press (Heavy: 5x5)
BB Incline Bench Press (Heavy: 5x5)
Lat Pull Down (Heavy: 5x5)
T-Bar Row (Heavy: 5x5)
Rest Time approx 2-3mins for above

DB Flyes and DB Pullovers (Mid weight 3x10-no rest)

Day 2:
DB Shoulder Press (Heavy: 5x5)
BB Rear Shoulder Press (Heavy: 5x5)
Squat (Heavy: 5x5)
Deadlift (Heavy: 5x5)
Rest Time approx 2-3mins for above

DB Lateral/Front Raise and DB Lunges (Mid weight 3x10 -no rest)

Day 3: Similar to day 1 but less weight, increase reps n reduce rest time
DB Flat Bench Press (Mid: 4x10)
DB Incline Bench Press (Mid: 4x10)
Lat Pull Down (Mid: 4x10)
T-Bar Row (Mid: 4x10)
Rest Time approx 2mins for above

Day 4: Similar to day 2 but again less weight, higher reps n less rest.
DB Shoulder Press (Mid: 4x10)
BB Rear Shoulder Press (Mid: 4x10)
Squat (Mid: 4x10)
Deadlift ((Mid: 4x10)
Rest Time approx 2mins for above

So basically what I’ve done is to mix heavy weights n mid weights in a bid to increase strength
and also for hypertrophy with the frequency.

What do you think of the above program? My goal is of course to increase muscle mass while burning off fat!
Any advice, comments will b greatly appreciated.
Sorry for long post tho!!

Cheers.[/quote]

I can’t do specific program critiques because, truthfully, it takes me more time to do so than to actually write a program and I have too much work to assess everybody’s workouts.

That having been said, if you have any specific questions don’t hesitate to ask.

1085

[quote]Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.
[/quote]

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

1086

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

[/quote]

When someone is training 3 times/week and looking to increase strength and power in specific lifts (or lifts similar in nature), won’t this high frequency approach be very effective ?
I can’t imagine progressing in a lift quickly training it once a week.

In that case, is the distribution of intensities between lifts that I outlined optimal ?

1087

[quote]Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

When someone is training 3 times/week and looking to increase strength and power in specific lifts (or lifts similar in nature), won’t this high frequency approach be very effective ?
I can’t imagine progressing in a lift quickly training it once a week.

In that case, is the distribution of intensities between lifts that I outlined optimal ?

P.S. Didn’t you greatly increased your incline press when training whole body and was looking to increase deadlift doing so ? I wouldn’t call that unmotivated![/quote]

Just because I increase my strength doesn’t mean that this was a high motivation period for me. I never train NOT to progress, I’m always trying to improve. But there are periods where my training drive is much higher and sometimes I just feel like I need to take it easy.

This is actually a form of autoregulation. Most successful athletes are like this; I’ve trained olympic athletes and pros and they all have this in common: they really turn up the training intensity for bursts of roughly 12 weeks and will cruise for 4-6 weeks (some even take months off).

When my motivation is high I train twice a day with a larger volume of work. When I’m not really motivated I train once a day, 3-5 days a week with the minimum volume that will get the job done.

1088

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

When someone is training 3 times/week and looking to increase strength and power in specific lifts (or lifts similar in nature), won’t this high frequency approach be very effective ?
I can’t imagine progressing in a lift quickly training it once a week.

In that case, is the distribution of intensities between lifts that I outlined optimal ?

P.S. Didn’t you greatly increased your incline press when training whole body and was looking to increase deadlift doing so ? I wouldn’t call that unmotivated!

Just because I increase my strength doesn’t mean that this was a high motivation period for me. I never train NOT to progress, I’m always trying to improve. But there are periods where my training drive is much higher and sometimes I just feel like I need to take it easy.

This is actually a form of autoregulation. Most successful athletes are like this; I’ve trained olympic athletes and pros and they all have this in common: they really turn up the training intensity for bursts of roughly 12 weeks and will cruise for 4-6 weeks (some even take months off).

When my motivation is high I train twice a day with a larger volume of work. When I’m not really motivated I train once a day, 3-5 days a week with the minimum volume that will get the job done.
[/quote]

I remember somewhere you said (I may be wrong) that when you don’t care about hypertrophy and train only 3 times/week, high frequency practice of lifts (so basically whole body workouts) is the best way for these lifts to improve. Similar to how olympic lifters train their lifts frequently and succeed at them.

1089

[quote]Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

When someone is training 3 times/week and looking to increase strength and power in specific lifts (or lifts similar in nature), won’t this high frequency approach be very effective ?
I can’t imagine progressing in a lift quickly training it once a week.

In that case, is the distribution of intensities between lifts that I outlined optimal ?

P.S. Didn’t you greatly increased your incline press when training whole body and was looking to increase deadlift doing so ? I wouldn’t call that unmotivated!

Just because I increase my strength doesn’t mean that this was a high motivation period for me. I never train NOT to progress, I’m always trying to improve. But there are periods where my training drive is much higher and sometimes I just feel like I need to take it easy.

This is actually a form of autoregulation. Most successful athletes are like this; I’ve trained olympic athletes and pros and they all have this in common: they really turn up the training intensity for bursts of roughly 12 weeks and will cruise for 4-6 weeks (some even take months off).

When my motivation is high I train twice a day with a larger volume of work. When I’m not really motivated I train once a day, 3-5 days a week with the minimum volume that will get the job done.

I remember somewhere you said (I may be wrong) that when you don’t care about hypertrophy and train only 3 times/week, high frequency practice of lifts (so basically whole body workouts) is the best way for these lifts to improve. Similar to how olympic lifters train their lifts frequently and succeed at them.
[/quote]

Yes, but understand that this type of training CANNOT be taken in isolation. I can concentrate on these lifts for a short period of time BECAUSE of the way I train normally.

The period where only the target lifts are trained, at a higher volume of work, is called the ‘transmutation phase’ or the ‘transformation phase’.

Simply put during this phase you develop the capacity to utilize the amount of strength potential you built in all your muscles, and apply it to the performance of the target lifts. I never use this methodology to build-up, but rather to transform my gains into actual performance.

Now, I’m not saying that I don’t recommend high-frequency of training. I do believe in frequent practice for one target muscle group or lift per phase. But I simply do not like whole body training as the main training approach.

1090

How would you suggest to follow that program right now?

I bought a copy of it when it came out and was following another program at the moment and wanted to start Mechanical right after the summer.

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Quadforce wrote:
Christian, do you still consider Mechanical Drop Set 12 Week Program to be a solid, good program?

Thanks.

It will work mostly with slow-twitch dominant individuals. I still consider this technique effective when used properly, but I PERSONALLY would not use it as a whole program.[/quote]

1091

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

When someone is training 3 times/week and looking to increase strength and power in specific lifts (or lifts similar in nature), won’t this high frequency approach be very effective ?
I can’t imagine progressing in a lift quickly training it once a week.

In that case, is the distribution of intensities between lifts that I outlined optimal ?

P.S. Didn’t you greatly increased your incline press when training whole body and was looking to increase deadlift doing so ? I wouldn’t call that unmotivated!

Just because I increase my strength doesn’t mean that this was a high motivation period for me. I never train NOT to progress, I’m always trying to improve. But there are periods where my training drive is much higher and sometimes I just feel like I need to take it easy.

This is actually a form of autoregulation. Most successful athletes are like this; I’ve trained olympic athletes and pros and they all have this in common: they really turn up the training intensity for bursts of roughly 12 weeks and will cruise for 4-6 weeks (some even take months off).

When my motivation is high I train twice a day with a larger volume of work. When I’m not really motivated I train once a day, 3-5 days a week with the minimum volume that will get the job done.

I remember somewhere you said (I may be wrong) that when you don’t care about hypertrophy and train only 3 times/week, high frequency practice of lifts (so basically whole body workouts) is the best way for these lifts to improve. Similar to how olympic lifters train their lifts frequently and succeed at them.

Yes, but understand that this type of training CANNOT be taken in isolation. I can concentrate on these lifts for a short period of time BECAUSE of the way I train normally.

The period where only the target lifts are trained, at a higher volume of work, is called the ‘transmutation phase’ or the ‘transformation phase’.

Simply put during this phase you develop the capacity to utilize the amount of strength potential you built in all your muscles, and apply it to the performance of the target lifts. I never use this methodology to build-up, but rather to transform my gains into actual performance.

Now, I’m not saying that I don’t recommend high-frequency of training. I do believe in frequent practice for one target muscle group or lift per phase. But I simply do not like whole body training as the main training approach.[/quote]

Is it because whole body workouts can become too fatiguing as the workout progresses, or that its more difficult to target weak areas?

1092

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

I can’t do specific program critiques because, truthfully, it takes me more time to do so than to actually write a program and I have too much work to assess everybody’s workouts.

That having been said, if you have any specific questions don’t hesitate to ask.[/quote]

Thib,

This got me curious as to how long it would typically take you to design a clients program after you have done whatever pre-testing and assessment you would do to get a handle on where the person is at versus what he needs and where he wants to go.

And also out of curiosity, how long would that initial assessment typically take?

1093

[quote]forbes wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Thib , when using whole body workouts, is it better to use something like this :

Day 1
Pressing (heavy)
Squat/RDL (light)
Pulling or power oly lift (medium)
Day 2
Pressing (light)
Squat/RDL (medium)
Pulling or power oly lift (heavy)
Day 3
Pressing (medium)
Squat/RDL (heavy)
Pulling or power oly lift (light)

Or rather have heavy-light-med days for all lifts the same? When you trained like described in “Frist Person” article, for some reason you preferred to go heavy/light/medium on both lifts simultaneously.

Most of the time I do not like whole body workouts. I use them from time to time but rarely are they the norm with me. I train like that mostly when my motivation goes down and I simply want to maintain while doing as little as possible in the gym.

When someone is training 3 times/week and looking to increase strength and power in specific lifts (or lifts similar in nature), won’t this high frequency approach be very effective ?
I can’t imagine progressing in a lift quickly training it once a week.

In that case, is the distribution of intensities between lifts that I outlined optimal ?

P.S. Didn’t you greatly increased your incline press when training whole body and was looking to increase deadlift doing so ? I wouldn’t call that unmotivated!

Just because I increase my strength doesn’t mean that this was a high motivation period for me. I never train NOT to progress, I’m always trying to improve. But there are periods where my training drive is much higher and sometimes I just feel like I need to take it easy.

This is actually a form of autoregulation. Most successful athletes are like this; I’ve trained olympic athletes and pros and they all have this in common: they really turn up the training intensity for bursts of roughly 12 weeks and will cruise for 4-6 weeks (some even take months off).

When my motivation is high I train twice a day with a larger volume of work. When I’m not really motivated I train once a day, 3-5 days a week with the minimum volume that will get the job done.

I remember somewhere you said (I may be wrong) that when you don’t care about hypertrophy and train only 3 times/week, high frequency practice of lifts (so basically whole body workouts) is the best way for these lifts to improve. Similar to how olympic lifters train their lifts frequently and succeed at them.

Yes, but understand that this type of training CANNOT be taken in isolation. I can concentrate on these lifts for a short period of time BECAUSE of the way I train normally.

The period where only the target lifts are trained, at a higher volume of work, is called the ‘transmutation phase’ or the ‘transformation phase’.

Simply put during this phase you develop the capacity to utilize the amount of strength potential you built in all your muscles, and apply it to the performance of the target lifts. I never use this methodology to build-up, but rather to transform my gains into actual performance.

Now, I’m not saying that I don’t recommend high-frequency of training. I do believe in frequent practice for one target muscle group or lift per phase. But I simply do not like whole body training as the main training approach.

Is it because whole body workouts can become too fatiguing as the workout progresses, or that its more difficult to target weak areas?[/quote]

Both.

When doing whole body training it is hard to strike a perfect balance between the amount of work devoted to each lifting pattern (and the muscles involved in that pattern) and the quality of the work for each of those patterns


Too little work and you will not be able to maximize a lift; you do not progress optimally by doing only the target movement itself, you need assistance work that will build up the weak area(s) holding you back.

Too much work on each pattern and the overall quality of the workout will drop and you will:

a) no be able to be effective at stimulating optimal gains in the exercises performed in the 2nd half of the workout

b) learn bad motor habits
 this occurs when high-intensity work is done in a fatigued neuromuscular state

1094

[quote]DeadlySting81 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

I can’t do specific program critiques because, truthfully, it takes me more time to do so than to actually write a program and I have too much work to assess everybody’s workouts.

That having been said, if you have any specific questions don’t hesitate to ask.

Thib,

This got me curious as to how long it would typically take you to design a clients program after you have done whatever pre-testing and assessment you would do to get a handle on where the person is at versus what he needs and where he wants to go.

And also out of curiosity, how long would that initial assessment typically take?

[/quote]

Honestly when I work with somebody in person, as in train him at every single workout, I never write down any program. I autoregulate every single training session. I have a certain physiological goal to reach but the actual methods, volume, load, rest are all determined during the workout. In essence each workout is both a stimulation and an assessment (daily capacity).

1095

Ive been doing whole body only trainig for about a year and a half with good size gains follow Waterbury’s articles. You and him both ahve great information. I was doing full body only because I didnt have the time to be in the gym more than 3 times a week, and I felt it would get the job done; which it did. Now I want to get more strick in ym training regimen and get outstanding results in have a lean body yet at the same time have muscles and strength to show. I am young and still going to school. Whats an ideal general split or two of muscle groups for something no more than 4 days a week that I can stick to. Also why are body part splits better in your opinion over whole body (which chad only does, and bodybuilders of the golden era only did).

By the way I love doing a ballistic (fast twitch motor recruitment) exercises before my lifts (3 reps then 15 sec rest and start my regular lift). Its so simple but actually does make you feel m ore powerful for some reason and It helps me get more reps and add weight. I do it on every workout day on only one of my target muscle groups.

1096

Hello there, just wondering what your opinion would be of my training. I have been training seriously since around march with goals to gain mass. Have made some progress (210lb bench max, 200lb DL max, 220lb Squat Max)

Monday: (Back and Arms)
Deadlifts: 4x 4-6 (%90 1RM)
Chin Ups: 3x 12 (Static Holds at end of each set)
Cheat Curls: 4x 6-8 (%85) Partial reps in bottom range after failure.
Skull Crushers 3x 8-10 (%75-80) Negative’s at end of each set
Hammer Curls: 3x8 (%85) Partial reps as above
Tricep Push Downs: 3x 6-8 (%90) Static Hold at end of each set

Tuesday: (Chest and Shoulders)
Bench Press: 4x 3-5 (90-95% RM)
Military Press: 4x 6-8 (%85-90) Partial Reps in upper range after failure
Incline DB Press 3x8 (%80-85) Negatives after failure
Lateral Raises 2x12 (70%) Static hold after each set

Wednesday: (Legs)
Back Squats: 3x6 (%90)
Front Squats 2x12 (60%) (Fast/Power)
Leg Press (Quad Dominant- 2 mins continuous) (Ham Dominant - 3x6 (%90-95%)
Leg Curls: 3x6 (%85)
Calf Raises (2 mins continual)
Single Leg Split Squats: 3x 10 (%80)

Thursday: (Back and Arms)
Bent over Row: 4x6 (%90)
Lat Pull Down: 3x8 (%80)
Overhead Push: 3x8 (%85)
PReaceher Curl 3x6 (%90)
Rope pull downs 3x10 (80%)
Reverse Curls 2x12 (70%)

Friday (Chest and Shoulders)
DB Press 4x 3-6 (%95)
DB overhead Press: 4x6-8 (90%)
Decline Bench Press: 3x6-8 (90%)
Reverse Fly’s: 2x10 (70%)

Sat + Sun Rest Days.

Sorry for the length, just wanted to go into detail. Any advice you can offer would be truely appreciated. I am currently eating 6-8 nutritious meals a day (including shakes) and getting 8-10 hrs sleep per night.

Thanks very much,

Marshall.

1097

[quote]Chalky09Aus wrote:
Hello there, just wondering what your opinion would be of my training. I have been training seriously since around march with goals to gain mass. Have made some progress (210lb bench max, 200lb DL max, 220lb Squat Max)

Monday: (Back and Arms)
Deadlifts: 4x 4-6 (%90 1RM)
Chin Ups: 3x 12 (Static Holds at end of each set)
Cheat Curls: 4x 6-8 (%85) Partial reps in bottom range after failure.
Skull Crushers 3x 8-10 (%75-80) Negative’s at end of each set
Hammer Curls: 3x8 (%85) Partial reps as above
Tricep Push Downs: 3x 6-8 (%90) Static Hold at end of each set

Tuesday: (Chest and Shoulders)
Bench Press: 4x 3-5 (90-95% RM)
Military Press: 4x 6-8 (%85-90) Partial Reps in upper range after failure
Incline DB Press 3x8 (%80-85) Negatives after failure
Lateral Raises 2x12 (70%) Static hold after each set

Wednesday: (Legs)
Back Squats: 3x6 (%90)
Front Squats 2x12 (60%) (Fast/Power)
Leg Press (Quad Dominant- 2 mins continuous) (Ham Dominant - 3x6 (%90-95%)
Leg Curls: 3x6 (%85)
Calf Raises (2 mins continual)
Single Leg Split Squats: 3x 10 (%80)

Thursday: (Back and Arms)
Bent over Row: 4x6 (%90)
Lat Pull Down: 3x8 (%80)
Overhead Push: 3x8 (%85)
PReaceher Curl 3x6 (%90)
Rope pull downs 3x10 (80%)
Reverse Curls 2x12 (70%)

Friday (Chest and Shoulders)
DB Press 4x 3-6 (%95)
DB overhead Press: 4x6-8 (90%)
Decline Bench Press: 3x6-8 (90%)
Reverse Fly’s: 2x10 (70%)

Sat + Sun Rest Days.

Sorry for the length, just wanted to go into detail. Any advice you can offer would be truely appreciated. I am currently eating 6-8 nutritious meals a day (including shakes) and getting 8-10 hrs sleep per night.

Thanks very much,

Marshall.
[/quote]

You’re kidding right? I JUST said that I couldn’t do program critiques
 look it up it’s on this page, 12 posts above yours.

1098

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Chalky09Aus wrote:
Hello there, just wondering what your opinion would be of my training. I have been training seriously since around march with goals to gain mass. Have made some progress (210lb bench max, 200lb DL max, 220lb Squat Max)

Monday: (Back and Arms)
Deadlifts: 4x 4-6 (%90 1RM)
Chin Ups: 3x 12 (Static Holds at end of each set)
Cheat Curls: 4x 6-8 (%85) Partial reps in bottom range after failure.
Skull Crushers 3x 8-10 (%75-80) Negative’s at end of each set
Hammer Curls: 3x8 (%85) Partial reps as above
Tricep Push Downs: 3x 6-8 (%90) Static Hold at end of each set

Tuesday: (Chest and Shoulders)
Bench Press: 4x 3-5 (90-95% RM)
Military Press: 4x 6-8 (%85-90) Partial Reps in upper range after failure
Incline DB Press 3x8 (%80-85) Negatives after failure
Lateral Raises 2x12 (70%) Static hold after each set

Wednesday: (Legs)
Back Squats: 3x6 (%90)
Front Squats 2x12 (60%) (Fast/Power)
Leg Press (Quad Dominant- 2 mins continuous) (Ham Dominant - 3x6 (%90-95%)
Leg Curls: 3x6 (%85)
Calf Raises (2 mins continual)
Single Leg Split Squats: 3x 10 (%80)

Thursday: (Back and Arms)
Bent over Row: 4x6 (%90)
Lat Pull Down: 3x8 (%80)
Overhead Push: 3x8 (%85)
PReaceher Curl 3x6 (%90)
Rope pull downs 3x10 (80%)
Reverse Curls 2x12 (70%)

Friday (Chest and Shoulders)
DB Press 4x 3-6 (%95)
DB overhead Press: 4x6-8 (90%)
Decline Bench Press: 3x6-8 (90%)
Reverse Fly’s: 2x10 (70%)

Sat + Sun Rest Days.

Sorry for the length, just wanted to go into detail. Any advice you can offer would be truely appreciated. I am currently eating 6-8 nutritious meals a day (including shakes) and getting 8-10 hrs sleep per night.

Thanks very much,

Marshall.

You’re kidding right? I JUST told that I couldn’t do program critiques
 look it up it’s on this page, 12 posts above yours.[/quote]

yes
 I am sorry. I hadn’t seen that at time of posting. I had read previous pages not the most recent. No malicous intent to irritate anyone, Sorry thread-viewers.

1099

[quote]Chalky09Aus wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Chalky09Aus wrote:
Hello there, just wondering what your opinion would be of my training. I have been training seriously since around march with goals to gain mass. Have made some progress (210lb bench max, 200lb DL max, 220lb Squat Max)

Monday: (Back and Arms)
Deadlifts: 4x 4-6 (%90 1RM)
Chin Ups: 3x 12 (Static Holds at end of each set)
Cheat Curls: 4x 6-8 (%85) Partial reps in bottom range after failure.
Skull Crushers 3x 8-10 (%75-80) Negative’s at end of each set
Hammer Curls: 3x8 (%85) Partial reps as above
Tricep Push Downs: 3x 6-8 (%90) Static Hold at end of each set

Tuesday: (Chest and Shoulders)
Bench Press: 4x 3-5 (90-95% RM)
Military Press: 4x 6-8 (%85-90) Partial Reps in upper range after failure
Incline DB Press 3x8 (%80-85) Negatives after failure
Lateral Raises 2x12 (70%) Static hold after each set

Wednesday: (Legs)
Back Squats: 3x6 (%90)
Front Squats 2x12 (60%) (Fast/Power)
Leg Press (Quad Dominant- 2 mins continuous) (Ham Dominant - 3x6 (%90-95%)
Leg Curls: 3x6 (%85)
Calf Raises (2 mins continual)
Single Leg Split Squats: 3x 10 (%80)

Thursday: (Back and Arms)
Bent over Row: 4x6 (%90)
Lat Pull Down: 3x8 (%80)
Overhead Push: 3x8 (%85)
PReaceher Curl 3x6 (%90)
Rope pull downs 3x10 (80%)
Reverse Curls 2x12 (70%)

Friday (Chest and Shoulders)
DB Press 4x 3-6 (%95)
DB overhead Press: 4x6-8 (90%)
Decline Bench Press: 3x6-8 (90%)
Reverse Fly’s: 2x10 (70%)

Sat + Sun Rest Days.

Sorry for the length, just wanted to go into detail. Any advice you can offer would be truely appreciated. I am currently eating 6-8 nutritious meals a day (including shakes) and getting 8-10 hrs sleep per night.

Thanks very much,

Marshall.

You’re kidding right? I JUST told that I couldn’t do program critiques
 look it up it’s on this page, 12 posts above yours.

yes
 I am sorry. I hadn’t seen that at time of posting. I had read previous pages not the most recent. No malicous intent to irritate anyone, Sorry thread-viewers.[/quote]

To ask a proper question then, what would your advice be regarding frequency of muscle training, (I.E lower volume/session twice a week or high volume session once a week)?

I am with you on the high weight low reps philosophy and the partials etc.

Also, What is your view on rest periods? (Both between sets and between programs/cycles)

Thanks, sorry again for posting my program, Just enthusiastic for information and improvement.

Marshall.

1100

[quote]anth15 wrote:
Ive been doing whole body only trainig for about a year and a half with good size gains follow Waterbury’s articles. You and him both ahve great information. I was doing full body only because I didnt have the time to be in the gym more than 3 times a week, and I felt it would get the job done; which it did. Now I want to get more strick in ym training regimen and get outstanding results in have a lean body yet at the same time have muscles and strength to show. I am young and still going to school. Whats an ideal general split or two of muscle groups for something no more than 4 days a week that I can stick to. Also why are body part splits better in your opinion over whole body (which chad only does, and bodybuilders of the golden era only did).

By the way I love doing a ballistic (fast twitch motor recruitment) exercises before my lifts (3 reps then 15 sec rest and start my regular lift). Its so simple but actually does make you feel m ore powerful for some reason and It helps me get more reps and add weight. I do it on every workout day on only one of my target muscle groups.[/quote]

The actual split you are using is probably the least important variable in your training program.

Currently I use a specialization approach where blocks of training focus on 2 muscles groups. These two muscles groups are trained 3 days a week. The remaining groups are trained at the minimum work necessary once or twice per week depending on how many days you can train.

The blocks are:

Shoulders and Traps
Back and Biceps
Quads and Hams
Chest and Triceps

Each block lasts anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks.

Why were old-time bodybuilders using whole body training? Because they were olympic lifters!!! Bodybuilding started out as an addition to olympic lifting contests. Then it branched out and became a sport of its own. But the guys who started competing were mostly former olympic lifters
 in olympic lifting the whole body is trained (the competition lifts themselves work all the muscle groups to some extent) so when they switched to bodybuilding they kept much of the same methodology.

True bodybuilders were rarely rewarded in the early days of bodybuilding, mostly because the ‘ripped’ look wasn’t seen as desirable
 Vince Gironda, in the 50s lost several contests because he had too much definition.

But the first ‘pure’ bodybuilders mostly used split training of some sort.