how do you guys time the stretches? do you count in your head or use a stop watch etc. I don’t train dc btw.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ll try them out! And for me, I time it in my head. You just gotta be honest with yourself on that one.
I watch the clock…
[quote]TommyGunz32 wrote:
how do you guys time the stretches? do you count in your head or use a stop watch etc. I don’t train dc btw.[/quote]
The best way for me was to set a song on my Ipod to have about 70 or 100 seconds left on the track and ease my way into a stretch. When the song is over(if I made it) I can release the stretch.
[quote]Scott M wrote:
[quote]TommyGunz32 wrote:
how do you guys time the stretches? do you count in your head or use a stop watch etc. I don’t train dc btw.[/quote]
The best way for me was to set a song on my Ipod to have about 70 or 100 seconds left on the track and ease my way into a stretch. When the song is over(if I made it) I can release the stretch. [/quote]
wow so simple yet so genius lol that definitely beats always facing a clock or using a stop watch when training solo thanks man.
[quote]roguevampire wrote:
[quote]ajweins wrote:
[quote]roguevampire wrote:
[quote]ajweins wrote:
I sympathize with the duration of DC workouts on the 2-way. My workouts were always at least an hour and a half since I am generally an out of shape powerlifter. The only issue is that you won’t be able to progress as fast on the 3 way as you would on the 2-way since you aren’t hitting the bodyparts as often due to the lower frequency. Your last blast results look great so I wouldn’t try to fix something that isn’t broken. If at all possible, I would recommend not going to the 3 way since you will be able to make faster gains on the 2-way. [/quote]
listen, i realize the guys that do DC training are very defiant of anyone daring to tinker with their beloved system. Now, those that say you will make better progression on the 2 way split, my problem with that is this, when you do say chest, shoulder back and bis, I know from my personal training if i were to do that, by the time i get to back, I’m wiped out. how can you put forth the needed effort, to stimulate your back, if your already dead tired and weak. you just can’t. yes, i understand the volume is low, but still, you won’t be able to give the needed attention to the bodyparts later in the workout.
I do a 3 way split, yet i work each bodypart the same frequency as the 2 way, plus i mix other things in their along with dc training. Nothing is ever set in stone. You should always experiment to what works best for you. [/quote]
First off, Bis are trained with legs in case anyone gets confused. And secondly, the order is there for a reason. Its so you can kill your back at the end of the workout and stumble on home afterward. Of course your going to be tired on the 2-way with chest/shoulders/tris first, but just because you were too wiped to train back does not mean their is anything wrong with the setup in general.
I am not going to argue DC training with you, though. There is more than enough info on it. Tweak it however you see fit, but don’t bastardize the system by changing the bodyparts and frequency and call it DC training. Its fine that you use a lot of DC principles, but telling guys that are asking about the system to switch things up (especially at the OPs level) is bad advice IMO.
[/quote]
i absolutely don’t call it DC training. I call it roguevampire training. You seem to be the people that go nuts about someone daring to change something in their precious system. everything is meant to be changed and tweaked. [/quote]
IMO the individual should do whatever they find works best for them. People should be concerned with results, not just blindly going though the motions.
However, I think that there is a lot of value in following pre-set methodologies that have been developed by highly successful coaches/individuals within a given activity (i.e. Dante). This gives someone an outline to their training so that they don’t have to figure out each and every single variable right from the get go, it also keeps them from developing “program ADD” and constantly switching up their entire training (and often times nutritional) routine because they didn’t turn into (insert bodybuilder) in a matter of weeks.
If they do eventually change things though, then what they are doing is not that original training template, so should not be called the same name as that original template. That’s not freaking out, it’s just pointing out that once you start changing things, you are no longer doing DC. It would be like someone asking you how to make a “black russian” and you telling them how to make a “white russian” (adding milk/cream). Or calling a human a chimpanzee because they share many of the same genomes. Both might have similar ingredients, but they aren’t the same thing. Agreed?
Understand that there is a lot of “false”/inaccurate info floating around the web about what the actual DC template involves (the one created by Trudel himself), so when people come asking for advice on it and others like yourself who have changed the template, but still go about describing what they do as DC (which you apparently do not, but many others do), start giving advice based on that different template it causes yet more confusion. No one here begrudges you (or anyone else) for doing something else (DC inspired or otherwise), they/we just ask that you don’t add more confusion to the mix with your different training template in this thread specifically discussing DC.
If you want to offer advice regarding exercises you feel have worked really well for you, any tricks to getting in enough food to grow, other possible “extreme stretch” variations which you’ve found work well, or other advice which might be beneficial regardless of the training template then by all means feel free. You’re a big guy (if that’s you in your avi) and we can never have too many of those offering advice/experiential knowledge on this site/thread. 
Do any of you guys that are doing DC use two straight sets (like a 5-8, then a 10-15) on dumbbell pressing movements (db bench and overhead presses)? Ive only done one DC blast so far but trying to rest pause these movements was a pain in the ass because you waste so much energy just trying to get the dumbbells into place. I feel like I could make better progression in weight if I did 2 straight sets as opposed to one rest pause set
[quote]punkguitarist wrote:
Do any of you guys that are doing DC use two straight sets (like a 5-8, then a 10-15) on dumbbell pressing movements (db bench and overhead presses)? Ive only done one DC blast so far but trying to rest pause these movements was a pain in the ass because you waste so much energy just trying to get the dumbbells into place. I feel like I could make better progression in weight if I did 2 straight sets as opposed to one rest pause set[/quote]
DB’s can be pretty difficult when it comes to rest pausing. Ask for a spot to get that first rep uup!
[quote]punkguitarist wrote:
Do any of you guys that are doing DC use two straight sets (like a 5-8, then a 10-15) on dumbbell pressing movements (db bench and overhead presses)? Ive only done one DC blast so far but trying to rest pause these movements was a pain in the ass because you waste so much energy just trying to get the dumbbells into place. I feel like I could make better progression in weight if I did 2 straight sets as opposed to one rest pause set[/quote]
2 straight sets is actually an option for people who have very poor recovery abilities.
But, in the case of DB’s, if you just bump the reps up to the 15-30 range (start at the high end of the range at the beginning of the blast) like you’re supposed to, then it shouldn’t be as difficult to kick them up into place.
[quote]Doh wrote:
Anyone know an alternatives to tricep stretch? I just cannot get my left tricep to stretch in that position without getting a very uncomfortable feeling coming from my shoulder…[/quote]
Similar position, but I find this infinitely more comfortable.
Quick question not on DC training but on rest-pause.
What’s everyone’s opinion of using rest-pause on back exercises such as lat pulldowns and seated cable rows since they don’t put the lower back in jeopardy?
*and if rest-pause is recommended, what should be the total rep number? i was thinking 15-25 RP
[quote]deadliftgoal500 wrote:
Quick question not on DC training but on rest-pause.
What’s everyone’s opinion of using rest-pause on back exercises such as lat pulldowns and seated cable rows since they don’t put the lower back in jeopardy?
*and if rest-pause is recommended, what should be the total rep number? i was thinking 15-25 RP[/quote]
I don’t see the problem with using rest-pause on those back exercises since as you mentioned lower back is taken out of the equation. Since this is non-DC I can’t give you a number for you can probably experiment and feel which works best for you since there’s no “magic” number and it’s different for everyone.
I,m in my 8th and final week of my first blast and everything is going well except my arms are getting smaller and i don,t know why. i know i shouldn’t focus too much on measurements but iv’e been gaining weight consistently and my bicep movements are all getting stronger so i don’t know what the problem is and it’s not cool because my arms are already small in general and compared to the rest of me. I have been doing, staitbar curls with the bars that already have the rubber weight set like a barbell curl but its not a barbell, EZ bar spider curls, and incline dumbbell curls and all of them are increasing. any suggestions?
[quote]natsfan8306 wrote:
I,m in my 8th and final week of my first blast and everything is going well except my arms are getting smaller and i don,t know why. i know i shouldn’t focus too much on measurements but iv’e been gaining weight consistently and my bicep movements are all getting stronger so i don’t know what the problem is and it’s not cool because my arms are already small in general and compared to the rest of me. I have been doing, staitbar curls with the bars that already have the rubber weight set like a barbell curl but its not a barbell, EZ bar spider curls, and incline dumbbell curls and all of them are increasing. any suggestions?[/quote]
Maybe everything else is growing faster than your arms !!! 
[quote]natsfan8306 wrote:
I,m in my 8th and final week of my first blast and everything is going well except my arms are getting smaller and i don,t know why. i know i shouldn’t focus too much on measurements but iv’e been gaining weight consistently and my bicep movements are all getting stronger so i don’t know what the problem is and it’s not cool because my arms are already small in general and compared to the rest of me. I have been doing, staitbar curls with the bars that already have the rubber weight set like a barbell curl but its not a barbell, EZ bar spider curls, and incline dumbbell curls and all of them are increasing. any suggestions?[/quote]
I had this problem as well. It takes some time for you to generally see significant arm changes. In any case, your arms are not getting smaller, you’re just getting bigger on other bodyparts. Don’t sweat it.
What are you doing for triceps ?
[quote]natsfan8306 wrote:
I,m in my 8th and final week of my first blast and everything is going well except my arms are getting smaller and i don,t know why. i know i shouldn’t focus too much on measurements but iv’e been gaining weight consistently and my bicep movements are all getting stronger so i don’t know what the problem is and it’s not cool because my arms are already small in general and compared to the rest of me. I have been doing, staitbar curls with the bars that already have the rubber weight set like a barbell curl but its not a barbell, EZ bar spider curls, and incline dumbbell curls and all of them are increasing. any suggestions?[/quote]
What do your RP ranges look like for your biceps exercises? You could try either bumping them up (I personally feel that my biceps respond better to higher reps; my ability to actually do them with my biceps is also greater with slight lighter weights), or bumping them down (maybe you respond better to lower reps under greater tension) and see if that makes a difference.
Also, like someone asked above, what do your triceps exercises look like and are you progressing on those?
Also, are you feeling your biceps and triceps working during your exercises? For biceps especially, I feel them a lot more if I actually try to flex the muscle against the weight rather than just move the weight from point A to point B.
[quote]deadliftgoal500 wrote:
Quick question not on DC training but on rest-pause.
What’s everyone’s opinion of using rest-pause on back exercises such as lat pulldowns and seated cable rows since they don’t put the lower back in jeopardy?
*and if rest-pause is recommended, what should be the total rep number? i was thinking 15-25 RP[/quote]
Lat pulldowns (back width) is fine to use rest-pause with (in DC pretty much all back width exercises are RP’d). As far as RP range, it would just depend on what type of rep range you the individual feels like they respond best to. If more time under tension, slightly lighter weights, maybe more of a squeezing the muscle approach works better for you, maybe try 15-30. If a higher tension, less time under tension, more brute force approach seems to work better, maybe try 11-15.
A lot of it is trial and error, so try one approach for one training period (blast) and try the other for the next training period; then choose which one you felt worked better, or maybe even try a different range the next time around. Eventually you’ll find what you respond best to and stick with that until it stops working.
Chest/back supported rows (like Hammer strength machines, or really any exercise where your torso is actually being supported by an immovable base) are fine to RP, though even then many people on DC choose to do them straight setted (personal preference really). But unsupported rows like seated cable rows, corner t-bar rows, Kroc rows, etc… are not RP’d in DC due to the risk of lower back fatigue/injury. I personally wouldn’t do seated cable rows RP style even if I weren’t on DC, but you could give it a shot if you really wanted to. I’d definitely use a high RP range though, maybe either 20-30 or at least 15-30 myself.
Definitely agree on higher reps for bicep working better. I don’t think I have ever utilized any other better method on hitting my bicep hard than seated incline db curl with 22-30 RP. They HURT but the pump you get from this is beyond imaginable (for me anyway!). Lately, I’ve been playing around with exercises that John Meadow has shown and I tried a variation of it where I did DB preacher curl (on the steep side) with both DB’s at the same time but you push the DB’s against each other as you curl and squeeze the **** out of your bicep. It was a great exercise!
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
[quote]natsfan8306 wrote:
I,m in my 8th and final week of my first blast and everything is going well except my arms are getting smaller and i don,t know why. i know i shouldn’t focus too much on measurements but iv’e been gaining weight consistently and my bicep movements are all getting stronger so i don’t know what the problem is and it’s not cool because my arms are already small in general and compared to the rest of me. I have been doing, staitbar curls with the bars that already have the rubber weight set like a barbell curl but its not a barbell, EZ bar spider curls, and incline dumbbell curls and all of them are increasing. any suggestions?[/quote]
What do your RP ranges look like for your biceps exercises? You could try either bumping them up (I personally feel that my biceps respond better to higher reps; my ability to actually do them with my biceps is also greater with slight lighter weights), or bumping them down (maybe you respond better to lower reps under greater tension) and see if that makes a difference.
Also, like someone asked above, what do your triceps exercises look like and are you progressing on those?
Also, are you feeling your biceps and triceps working during your exercises? For biceps especially, I feel them a lot more if I actually try to flex the muscle against the weight rather than just move the weight from point A to point B.[/quote]
For my bicep movements I stay between 15-20 and same for triceps.I do think that doing higher reps would help so that’s the plan for the next blast. for my tricep movements i do close-grip bench, hammer strength dips, and extensions, i’m progressing fine on triceps it’s more biceps im worried about. thanks for the help though i appreciate it!
re the arms getting smaller on DC topic.
My thought is that depending on your prior training split you may have been constantly causing stimulation and always in a state of inflammation. With DC they are finally resting and the swelling is down and that is the lost “size”.