[quote]its_just_me wrote:
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
Its:
I trained each muscle group once per week because it works. As CT wrote in a near argument (what’s called a roundtable on here) with CW and Alwyn Cosgrove (a ridiculous conversation considering one is jacked and the other two train people for sports or to be “in shape” and were never jacked as a bodybuilder), if you provide enough damage to a muscle, you will NEED 5 to 7 days of rest before hitting it again.
I chose to spread out the whole body over four sessions. Seometimes, I’d do a “rolling cycle” (not obeying the days of the week) of two on, one off. I didn’t like doing that because having a schedule that doesn’t obey the days of the week drives me nuts.
And remember, I never aimed for what was ideal because my livelihood is NEVER going to depend on training, and although I sometimes thought of competing, and at times strongly desired it, something in the back of my head always told me that I probably wouldn’t! And I didn’t. So you have to choose what you want in the context of life. That’s why lifestyle should be addressed more when talking of bodybuilding programs - which I’ll do later.
On training to failure. I never trained to failure in the sense of doing a set to the point where form breaks down. I trained to failure by going through a set until I knew that a next rep would be in bad form. There’s nothing wrong with that. And I only did it for one or two sets at the same weight. I ramped up to one or two all-out blast sets. Ramp-up sets, although not maximal sets, DO have an effect on the body - as said on here several times.
I like to ramp up by ABOUT 10 percent of the max weight. I gave an example before, but I’ll do it again.
Max set calls for 120 pound dumbbells in the flat dumbbell bench press. Dumbbbells don’t go up in 12-pound increments. So I do this:
Ramp-up sets
90s
100s
110s
Max set
120s x 10
For a 1- to 3-rep max effort used in WSB programs with 300 lbs, it looks like this:
Bar
75
105
135
165
195
225
255
285
300
[/quote]
I think Dorian also had a split where he spread the body over 3 workouts as well:
Day 1: chest, bi’s, tri’s
Day 2: legs, abs
Day 3: off
Day 4: shoulders, back
Day 5: off
Day 6: repeat
That one ^^^, I think that’s the pattern?
So on that one you’d be training muscle groups twice every 6 days (the lower end of the recovery period), whereas the one you quoted:
Day 1: chest, bi’s
Day 2: legs
Day 3: off
Day 4: shoulders, tri’s
Day 5: off
Day 6: back, abs
Day 7: off
Day 8: repeat
…would have you training muscle groups twice every 8 days - what’s with the difference?
As regards ramping, I guess the lesser the exercises, and the more ramping is done (e.g. going up in small 5% 1RM steps), this would be more strength oriented. Whereas going up in bigger jumps (e.g. 10% as you stated) would be better suited for bodybuilding? That seems to be the major difference I’ve noticed…[/quote]
He followed that 3-way split from 1985 to 1990 (I think; it might have been '91, but I’m not going through my library right now). Before that, from '83 to somewhere in '85, he followed an A-B split done three times per week - like this:
Week 1
Monday - A Day: chest, back, shoulders, abs
Wednesday - B Day: quads, hams, calves, bis, tris
Friday - A Day
Week 2
Monday: B Day
Wednesday: A Day
Friday: B Day
The difference is that the more you split the body up, the more you specialize for each muscle group (more exercises per muscle group).
I wouldn’t do the 3-way split because a) even though I like Dorian’s writings, I didn’t have to follow what he says (same goes for any guru’s/trainer’s/bodybuilder’s/powerlifter’s writings), and b) I’m not following a rolling cycle that doesn’t obey the days of the week - never have, never will - ESPECIALLY with life now.
And this leads me to the lifestyle issue I’ve been wanting to get at…
I believe rolling cycles are impractical for most people. Say you have a cycle that obeys the days of the week. You can schedule a part-time job or time with a dodgeball league every Wednesday night. You can schedule time with your girlfriend/wife/fuck-buddy every Friday night. If you don’t like doing those things or aren’t obligated by anything else other than paying bills (working) and training, then go ahead - follow a rolling cycle.
One of the reasons I gave up extremely hardcore was because of the situations I speak of. Do you know how fucking irritating it was for a woman to invite me to spend the night, only for me to reply with something like: “Look, I got this bodybuilding thing. Do you have eggs, oatmeal, and fruit around so I can have a breakfast here?” Or “Alright, fine. But we’re getting up at 10 AM tomorrow to go to IHOP or the diner” and then have to wake up her up when she wanted to spend more time in bed with me on a fucking SUNDAY morning/early afternoon. It was instances like that, that made me re-evaluate my fitness goals.
But hey, if you want to take this to the limit, as I did, then go for it. Do whatever you have to do to get big.
I believe in the phrase “If it’s important to you, then it’s important!” So if getting jacked as possible is important to you, don’t let anyone dismiss it to the point where you’re actually brainwashed into thinking that you might be fucked up for making it a priority.
I personally was finding that consuming 5,000+ calories per day and training 4 to 5 nights or weekend mornings or afternoons was getting in the way of things that either needed to catch up on or wanted to do or have.
It could very well be that I can’t juggle a zillion things at once. If you’re one of the people that can somehow have a FLEXIBLE social and romantic life, family time, school stuff, AND (or) HARDCORE bodybuilding at the same time, then hats off to you! Seriously! I mean that I have nothing but respect for Professor X, a highly intelligent and competent professional who could train and eat like a maniac while attending some serious training and school for a profession. If I recall correctly, he’s a dentist.
I know that I couldn’t and clearly can’t juggle some of those things together. It led to some major irritation and, dare I say, LONELINESS and imbalance in life. There came a point where, YEAH, I wanted to go to a mall with a friend or a chic or a family member and not have to worry about bringing a cooler with rice and chicken in it. I wanted to fuck a girls brains out and not have to worry about a bedtime meal and what I’d be eating for breakfast or that I’ll miss a few meals over the weekend. I didn’t want to be invited to Jones Beach on a Saturday morning only to reply with, “Nope - not going; I got a workout planned.” or have to meet people at the beach later on (with cooler in hand of course) and be DESTROYED by the end of the day.
I say this NOT to discourage anyone! I say this to make it clear that in order to get very, VERY big, it’s a royal pain in the ass and you better know how to set up your life to do it - and not wonder why you’re staying a buck-eighty, all the while not making some serious sacrifices!
Yeah, now I’m a guy who “gets a work out in”. That’s why I DON’T put down people who just “want to look naked” or that follow routines by AC and Joe Defranco. Someone in another thread said something like, “People who train 2 to 3 times a week aren’t serious.” I ask, “Oh yeah? What if they’re serious about… training 2 to 3 times per week? What if they have other obligations and priorities and values that make it that they just want keep in shape and dedicate that little time to working hard in a gym? What if they enjoy a volleyball, softball, or dodgeball league several nights/days per week? These people don’t clearly value being physically fit? And what’s wrong with that?!”
I started this thread to share the information on getting jacked that’s still in my head and personal library - AND to put an end to the misinformation mess that’s been created on here.
