ABBH Queries

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hi all,

I’m a late starter to weight training; I’m 39, 175lbs, healthy & fit (did quite a bit of treadmill work for a couple of years as we have one in the garage) and have followed 3 of Ian King’s programs first published as a supplement in Men’s Health a few years ago. From a position of great weakness everywhere, I’ve made good progress.

As a change, and having read so many great things about CW’s ABBH program, I figured I’d give it a go. I’d appreciate some feedback on some queries I have. By the way, I did get Terry Lee’s spreadsheet a few days ago (thanks again Terry).

On day 5, the program calls for vertical movement plane targetting the chest & back. Chad goes for Dips & Chin-ups, but Terry goes for Chin-up & Military press.

Is there any reason for Military press as it targets the shoulders?

Also, I just know I would struggle to do even one set of 10 Chin-ups - would lat-pulldowns be ok as a substitute?

Regarding the %age of 1RM, should I be going to failure on the last rep of each set?

For those of you who have been through the program, when you were performing 5 sets of 10 reps BB front squat, could you actually do the full 10 reps of the 5th set? I wondered if anyone found that they were fatiguing towards the end.

One further comment - though a relative newbie, I have joined a commercial gym and have been squatting, deadlifting, bench pressing, bent over rowing and also been on the dip/pull-up assist kit - so I am happy to vary any of the exercise recommedations as required.

Thanks for any feedback.

2

yo,

On day 5, the program calls for vertical movement plane targetting the chest & back. Chad goes for Dips & Chin-ups, but Terry goes for Chin-up & Military press.

Is there any reason for Military press as it targets the shoulders?

hmmm, not sure about the press on this one. why don’t you just stick to the original program. of course, if you cannot do dips, it’s a different story. i think TT likes to go antagonistic, what i mean is, with chinups (pull) he likes to antagonise the movement wtih a push (hence mp).

Also, I just know I would struggle to do even one set of 10 Chin-ups - would lat-pulldowns be ok as a substitute?

this is what i do. my first set is good, but 2 and beyond isn’t, so i do as many chinups as i can and then go to the lat machine…

Regarding the %age of 1RM, should I be going to failure on the last rep of each set?

the whole idea, as far as i have understood, is to NOT go to failure, but basically stopping just short of it. that’s why you go 60% of 1rm, and 65%, and later 70%. also, if someone can spot you, it helps. the only place i feel more confident with a spotter is the bench press, so i ask for it… embarrassing as it is, for 10 sets :slight_smile:

For those of you who have been through the program, when you were performing 5 sets of 10 reps BB front squat, could you actually do the full 10 reps of the 5th set? I wondered if anyone found that they were fatiguing towards the end.

as mentioned, you stop short of failure, and therefore you can pretty much go on without much problems. if you do have problems, just reduce the weight. (ie, recalculate your 60% 1 rm)

One further comment - though a relative newbie, I have joined a commercial gym and have been squatting, deadlifting, bench pressing, bent over rowing and also been on the dip/pull-up assist kit - so I am happy to vary any of the exercise recommedations as required.

since you just started, get aquianted with the various exercises. learn to do them properly and safely. you have a long workout ahead of you in terms of years. variations and so forth can come later. go basic for now :slight_smile:

hope that helps.

3

flying scotsman,

Choose military presses if shoulders are your weak point; choose dips of triceps/chest are your weak point.

You should approach failure on the last rep of the last set, no sooner.

4

So you should progress in weight through all your sets, or do you stay at the same weight with every one? The 60% 1RM is throwing me off because I don’t know where that falls into the equation. Is that for the first set, 2nd, last? Or entire way through?

5

Thanks for the replies guys.

Another query though - what kind of warm-up are you doing on this program?

6

Infinity,

All of the sets are performed with the same load.

7

flying scotsman,

The following warm-up works well since it doesn’t induce any excess fatigue:

2-3 x 2-3 x 15RM

In other words, perform 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps with a load you could lift for 15 strict reps. After that, you’re ready to go.

8

Thanks for the reply Chad.

Here is the list of exercises I have come up with:

Day 1:BB bench press, BB bent over row
Day 3:BB front squat, cable crunch, seated calf raise
Day 5:lat pulldown, military press
Day 7:deadlift, saxon side bend, standing calf raise

Comments:
I haven’t done front squats before, but will practise before I start the program and adjust the weight to be used based on my experience of rear squats.

As I am not strong enough to even think about using %ages of 1RM on dips and chin-ups, I have gone for lat pulldown and military presses.

I haven’t done cable crunches before, and haven’t done any ab work with weights. I am actually weak in the abs area and so i shall have to pratise before starting the program and will probably have to feel my way toward getting to a suitable weight. Likewise with the saxon side bend, an exercise I have done just a couple of times.

Here is a list of predicted 1RM’s scores (gee, these will seem like warm-up weights for you guys):

weight in Kilos

bb bench press: 48
bb bent over row: 35
bb squat: 68
bb military press: 20
lat pulldown (wide/overhand grip): 69
deadlift: 63
standing calf raise: 80

I’d appreciate comment on my chosen list of exercises - I’m looking forward to getting started.

9

Chad,

Just an idea, but seeing as the ABBH & ABBH2 programs are so popular and there are so many questions arising (there are multiple questions posted each day), it might be worthwhile, doing a third article on ABBH Q&A’s.

It would be a good way for alot of people to find the answers they are looking for :).

10

I agree NBeev1. I wanted to download Terry Lees spreadsheet but I don’t have word of excel on my puter. Is their another way I can view it?
I would like to try this program in the future. I’m in the same boat as the Flying Dutchman in that I’m 40 and new to BB. I can do 9-10 chins without added weight but to do that for 5 reps would be impossible at this point. On a plus note, 3 months ago I could only do 3-4 so I’m happy with my progress. Maybe I’m not ready for the ABBH program at this point but like I said, I’d like to try it in the future.

mig

11

Guys,

I know, there are always lots of inquiries about these programs. One of the downfalls of having successful programs is the fact that I’m constantly answering the same questions over and over (even though the questions are usually good ones). Anyway, TT’s spreadsheets help clear up a lot of confusion. TT’s working on the ABBH II spreadsheet as we speak.

But I’m usually around the forum every other day, or so, to answer questions.

12

I’m a late starter to bb as well. On day 5 I performed Military presses and Lat machine simply because I’m not strong enough to perform Dips & Chinups with the loads/sets/reps prescribed by CW. Many people in past forums asked CW for alternatives. I had a similar experience with the 5X10 sets. Sometimes I missed 1 or 2 reps in the 4th and 5th sets. CW explained that the most important thing is to be able to perform 5 sets, if 1 or 2 reps are missing it is not so relevant.
Ciao
Luca

13

[quote]migman40 wrote:
I agree NBeev1. I wanted to download Terry Lees spreadsheet but I don’t have word of excel on my puter. Is their another way I can view it?

…

mig[/quote]
Try http://download.openoffice.org/1.1.2/index.html
it understands most versions of excel spreadsheets.

14

FYI - Terry is a female.