I’ve only recently came to the conclusion that excessive volume was the most damaging thing for natural/non gifted lifters.
My former training approach was based on my years as a performance strength coach, where volume tends to be higher but without going close to failure. BUT MOSTLY training super hard for 3-4 weeks then backing off. My own training was basically training as hard as I could with a lot of volume for 4 weeks or so, then I would start to feel like crap and I would back off for 2 weeks or so until I felt better than pushed really hard again. That’s why most of my “older” programs were designed for a short period of time.
The blitz/recover approach works great when you are younger OR a genetically gifted individual (which most of my clients were/are) OR using PEDs. But eventually it takes it’s toll on the body. So there is no question that my higher volume programs will work if used properly (for a short period of time like they were planned for) it does not constitute the best way to train for long term progress. I would still use them once or twice a year as a gain blitz but I will NOT go back to my old model of “destroy/recover/destroy/recover”.
That having been said, the “Best Damn Workout” is not a fat loss program; it’s a muscle growth program. It will not trigger maximum fat loss by itself BUT the low cortisol output might put you in a good physiological state to lose fat. But you would have to use a proper diet and likely some energy systems work (I would do short loaded carry sessions at the end of 1 or 2 workouts/week… likely 10 minutes tops and 1-2 low intensity cardio sessions per week) to get maximum fat loss
@Christian_Thibaudeau Adding in calves on the push day, would you do one each of the special techniques on each of the 3 calf days, or would certain special technique work better for training the calves therefor sticking to that one for the three ? IE, heavy double rest/pause over the mTor activation for calves? Thanks.
Hold the stretch position 2-3 seconds on each rep
Lift to the contracted position without creating any momentum (so on the slowish side)
Hold the peak contraction 2-3 seconds on each rep
Do that for 8-10 reps to failure and then hold the stretch position WHILE KEEPING THE CALVES TENSED as long as tolerable
How long should the same exercises be kept? Untill stalling or a set amount of workouts? Any chance of a list of some of your most recommended exercises/muscle group?
Also how long should the program be sustainable?
Many bodybuilders spent their whole career doing the same exercises over and over. Most olympic lifters spend their whole life doing the same 5-6 lifts and the same is true for many powerlifters. The old school lifters stuck to the same exercises most of the time.
The need for tons of variation is a concept that was created by trainers to sell more programs and also to popularize training … lots of people lose interest if their activities are not varied so if you tell them that they need to change exercise often you target their training ADD by making them feel that it’s okay to not stick to something for long.
Take more for example, I know which exercises work best for me and I generally stick to these movements.
Already did it in a previous post. But as I mentioned there my personal preferences for muscle building exercises are based on my own personal response. Not everybody will feel every exercises the same way; what is optimal for me might not be optimal for you.
Thanks, coach.
I’ve had great results with “Six Weeks”, but was also doing it at a very stressful time for me, so after I think about 4 weeks it ended up being a bit too much. Still got me 2/3 of the way to my goals.
I think at this point it will be better to do a program that, as you describe it, will not cause maximum fat loss by itself but will be less stressful. I’m in no rush, so can take a few more weeks to finish things up. And maybe this will be good for a slow transition to a growth phase after - slowly increasing calories while lifting in the same style.
You mentioned that your training partner is 50 years of age. As someone that falls in that category, I’m 52, are there any changes or tweaks that are made to base plan based on age? Thanks much for all your contributions.
Well he was the one reason why I moved down to one hard work set per exercise and that have proven such a game changer for me too. He looks like a different man after 2 months. Almost looks like a bodybuilder now! Oddly enough the biggest change has been a drastic decrease in abdominal fat… likely due to the lowered cortisol levels.
You mention 6 training sessions a week as being ideal, but 4 training sessions are more realistic, at least for me at this time. How would you modify the program guidelines for 4 training sessions?
I’ll write a program/article with that in mind. But with 2 types of workouts you can simply rotate them… in which case I might actually select only 2 different methods instead of 3
Considering this:
“To maximize growth, frequency is king. That not only applies to how often you train a muscle per week, but also the number of training sessions you do per week.”
If comparing, which would you say is of greater importance hitting a muscle more frequently or training more frequently? As in, would a 3x/week full body be better in terms of development for an average natural than say, a 4x/week dead/bench/squat/press or push/pull/push/pull set-up under these guidelines?
Thanks much for the response. I have about 2 weeks to go on my current program then I will switch over. Really excited if it helps with abdominal fat. That is an added bonus I wasn’t anticipating.
Not off the chart fat maybe around 15% based on past fat measurement in water. But if this would help get closer to 10% that would be nice!! Thanks again for all your contributions.
It’d interesting how similar this program is to look like a bodybuilder, both have a push/pull split, working each muscle 3* per week, both aim to limit cortisol - one by only doing one working set, and the other by doing only explosive sets of 3.
Funny how during my training life these two ways of training have given the greatest results, never really knew why low volume high frequency, DC, Yates style training, etc worked for me, but now I do…limiting cortisol!
All my best gains have always come by following the principle of hit it hard, quick and often. This is awesome as I now have clarity about my training and what can and can’t be done in my training. Thanks CT!