Best Damn After 10+ Weeks, Follow Up?

Hi, I followed the best damn plan for 10+ weeks now and i think i got great results, both in strength and in muscle gain. I am also on a caloric deficit so I don’t know how that plays into the program.

Im really liking the program and I’ve never trained with such high frequency before (experience of 10 years natural training). and i want to stick with that approach at least.

my question is:

How long can I stick with this program? Can I stay on my caloric deficit and finish my diet on this plan too?

I’ve not gotten any problems with regeneration so far, if I could i would even train 7days/week

This is a good way to train while on a fat loss diet. Doing more volume would cause a cortisol spike that would lead to muscle loss while on a caloric deficit.

Of course you can’t gain a lot of muscle on a caloric deficit so you are not getting the most out of the program. BUT you must train when you are on a caloric deficit too, and this is likely the least damageable way to train in that situation.

That would not be a problem with this approach

Thank you for responding Christian.

So I will just stick with it until im satisfied with my bodyfat %. After that I’m going to stay on the plan with a little surplus in calories, cause I just love it. Mb I switch some exercises, would you recommend that path I plan on taking?

[quote=“Christian_Thibaudeau, post:2, topic:225635”]
This is a good way to train while on a fat loss diet. Doing more volume would cause a cortisol spike that would lead to muscle loss while on a caloric deficit.[/quote]
I really like this statement. It’s true for me. I’m just not that gifted.

Oh that’s interesting! I was planning on starting this program on a caloric deficit next week. I guess adding some carries 3 times a week would be enough? :slight_smile:

Any big reason why I couldn’t do this program fasted, in AM? Would be super convenient if it worked.

NOTHING works fasted, if you are natural. Especially if you are dieting down.

If you are dieting down the only anabolic moment in your day is the training session. If you turn it into a catabolic event by not having any nutrients in you when you train, you WILL lose muscle mass.

Not having carbs pre-workout will drastically increase cortisol release which will make it pretty much impossible to avoid losing muscle mass while dieting down.

And the training brings blood to the muscle. If you have amino acids (from protein) in your blood when training you are thus sending the amino acids that will be needed to rebuild muscle directly where they will be needed. This is a golden opportunity to build muscle.

Doesn’t have to be an actual meal. Can be a shake (like PLAZMA) but you need carbs and protein in you when you are training, especially if you are dieting down.

Sadly your body doesn’t care about what is convenient.

The truth is that strength training (and even cardio) fasted in the morning is probably the worst thing you can do when it comes to building or at least keeping muscle. If you strength train fasted you might even LOSE muscle because of the workout.

Hi CT.

Only been using this template for a few weeks and love the pump and growth already from the set extension techniques. Impressed at how well my body is resoonding to so few sets and high frequency.

Am I able to keep this template up for a while or maybe I should change exercises over time? Perhaps a suggestion for follow up programs? GVT? iBB (has similar principals)? Other?

I am looking to add mass efficiently and am considering using a pulse feast diet since i have access to MAG10 and Plazma for the first time. With such an approach should I be aiming to get most or all of the calories needed to add mass in my feast period? Many thousand cals in a few hours will be a slight challenge. Or is this diet more intended for reducing and maybe i should just pulse multiple times a day between meals?

Darryl…in regards to a follow up program, be sure to check out the Strength/Skill Circuit article on Thibarmy.com. I actually thought the Strength/Skill circuit, with the added hypertrophy sets, was equivalent to the Best Damn, or actually slightly better. I am actually seeing more growth with the Strength/Skill…just something you might want to look into.

Are carbs necessary, or would a Dose of protein/amino acids stop catabolism? I guess I am asking you:

3-4x a week split (lunch, fed) versus 6x a week (this program), AM on amino acids? For fat loss. That’s the dilemma I am facing after this well written article. I know it’s not convenient, but I have had huge success losing 37lb with intermittent fasting (18/6). Dont see any reason to discontinue this eating habit. Fat caliper says only 4lb of 37 has been muscle. I estimate 182lbs lbm at 6’1. Thank you

No, you need carbs to prevent excessive cortisol release. MCT oil might also work but not as well.

Anyway with intermittent fasting the training should be near the feeding period. So if you train first thing in the morning the feeding period should be from just pre-workout (with the protein/carb shake) up to about noon and then you have the fasting period from noon to the next morning.

I love intermittent fasting and it is my natural way to eat. But I stopped doing it when I had to train in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, IF will work with AM training if you use the schedule I wrote. But It was mentally hard to not eat from 12 to the next morning. AND I find that I need food in the evening to help me unwind and get relax to sleep well.

I did try training in the AM and having my feeding period in the evening and I lost muscle and strength.

Thanks. I also need to eat in the evening. I will do as advised, and just
try to jam these workouts in during lunchtime

Going to work this program starting tomorrow. Just to be clear with the sets that call for heavy doubles, the sceme looks like this:
2x6, 1x2-3, 1x1-2 ?

Sorry for the newb question and thanks.

I dont understand ur question. 2x6 (7/10) for getting started and increasing mind muscle connection and one all out set in which you wanna reach 6 reps and go to technical failure with the described technique. (Dropset, heavyrestpause, Mtor)

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The question was regarding the rest pause set. Thanks.

When does the DOMS go away CT?? I am a week in.

2 sets of 6 at an RPE of 7/10 then 1 set to technical failure. After failure you rest 15-20 seconds (or I’ve heard 15 deep breaths) then go to failure again, rest 15-20 sec then go to failure a 3rd and final time. This is all with the same weight.

For me it looks like this:

2 x 6
8-10 reps
15 sec rest
2-3 reps
15 sec rest
2-3 reps
DONE

Thanks. I was looking at the article again and how coach described the rest pause.

1 – Heavy Double Rest/Pause

Pick a weight you can do around 4-6 reps with.
Do your 4-6 hard reps, rest 10-15 seconds, do another 2-3 reps, rest 10-15 seconds, and then try to get an additional 1-2 reps.
Always use the same weight. You only do one set of this special technique/method.

Looks like you are doing more reps than what he stated for the program. At most he describes 11 or so reps where you have about 16 for the rest pause set.

** By the by, I’m in Kansas as well. Overland Park

I’ve actually bumped it up more than 6 but didn’t want to confuse you. I’m doing 2x10 and then a double rest/pause. I’m not doing the Best Damn program; I’ve created a hybrid using 5/3/1 for strength and use the double rest/pause method for my assistance work.