forgive me if this is a repeat…although i dont believe it is.
I’ve been following -Joe DeFranco’s West-side for skinny bastards- for about 2 years… Feel like im going through the motions while at the gym…
SO i was thinkin about switching over to JB’s hypertrophy scheme that he lists in his article “Gladiator Training pt. 1” and following pt 2 and 3. which is approx 14 weeks.
I’m still making gains using DeFranco’s, but wonder if i could make bigger gains by switching it up. I get that you are all about “pick a plan and stick to it”, but how long does one need to stick to a program? Criticize if you please, but who can fault someone for seeking “perfection” although that is clearly not possible, seeing that everyone requires plans that fit their personal physique/goals/etc.
Could be me wanting results quicker than physiologically possible. if so, inform me. nutrition dialed in, training needs to follow suit.
If you read your own body, you don’t follow someone else’s routine, you follow your own. Although if you consistently add 2 reps or 5lbs to your lifts each time (a good progress rate), why change it?
Discover what makes you grow best and develop evenly (usually a balancing act between frequency and volume, finding the right exercises for you, and tweaking things). This doesn’t mean bouncing from one routine to the next. Your own routine may change over time, but it doesn’t have a sell by date (principles stay the same).
For example; if you train chest with 3-4 sets total in one session, and then trained it 4-5 days later, did you get stronger/bigger vs training it with 8-10 sets total and train it 6-7 days later?
Simple self discovery - try, learn, implement over and over
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
If you read your own body, you don’t follow someone else’s routine, you follow your own. Although if you consistently add 2 reps or 5lbs to your lifts each time (a good progress rate), why change it?
Discover what makes you grow best and develop evenly (usually a balancing act between frequency and volume, finding the right exercises for you, and tweaking things). This doesn’t mean bouncing from one routine to the next. Your own routine may change over time, but it doesn’t have a sell by date (principles stay the same).
For example; if you train chest with 3-4 sets total in one session, and then trained it 4-5 days later, did you get stronger/bigger vs training it with 8-10 sets total and train it 6-7 days later?
Simple self discovery - try, learn, implement over and over
PS - I hope you are gaining weight?[/quote]
thanks man, good outlook/approach. Ive never kept a training log, i just usually “wing” it, adding a couple pounds/reps here and there on different exercises, so i cant really see the week to week progress if you get what im saying. One day ill be lat-pulling 195, then a couple weeks later, im at 255. like magic! haha
with your body type i really dont see the point. people like Prof X, yeah he may need to “recomp” as to not lose muscle but you arent in the same boat as him
I feel like i can look lean, then carb up and look fluffy. Really wanna get rid of lower back fat/the bit on the lower abdomen… may be nit picking tho. Figure i want to be as lean as possible before i begin bulking. not sure what the advantage of that is, haha but seemed like a good idea?
[quote]eightohfive wrote:
I feel like i can look lean, then carb up and look fluffy. Really wanna get rid of lower back fat/the bit on the lower abdomen… may be nit picking tho. Figure i want to be as lean as possible before i begin bulking. not sure what the advantage of that is, haha but seemed like a good idea?[/quote]
You need to make your goals a bit more longer term. Let that sink in!
Many make the same mistake as you were suggesting - “just lose another few pounds, then I’ll bulk”. Your body will just laugh at that 3-4lbs of fat loss, it won’t make a huge difference at all to your bulk. In fact, what usually happens is people bulk back up to the previous weight and their composition isn’t much different compared to simply going straight into the bulk.
Some thin people would be dieting for ages before that last bit of fat is gone. Remember, it’s much easier to lose fat when you have more muscle (and more muscle not only looks 10x better, but also gives the illusion of being leaner than you actually are). So many on here comment on how much easier their diet was when they bulked to a much heavier weight. To illustrate - it may only take around 3000 cals per day to gain 20lbs, but to gain that next 40lbs or so, it may take up to 5000 cals or more per day. The more muscle you have, the more you have to eat to not only maintain it, but to make it grow.
You need to allow your body to adjust/grow into a new weight, and don’t do it in tiny amounts especially at this stage. Turn your body into a fat burning/muscle building machine! Don’t hamper it. All this takes time.
Your lower back fat is not permanent, and is the sort of stubborn fat that goes when you are much leaner. I was worried about it so much at one point and kept dieting + dieting + dieting till I reached the stage of being extremely thin. It stayed there for ages, then as if all of a sudden, when I reached a certain leaness level it just melted off week after week. All that worry for nothing lol. That stubborn fat has returned, but not half as bad as before (especially since at a heavier weight I’m not as fat as before).
A great read for you;
Read it all!
PS - Get some consistency in there for your training. Some need a paper log, others are fine if their memory’s fine
[quote]eightohfive wrote:
I feel like i can look lean, then carb up and look fluffy. Really wanna get rid of lower back fat/the bit on the lower abdomen… may be nit picking tho. Figure i want to be as lean as possible before i begin bulking. not sure what the advantage of that is, haha but seemed like a good idea?[/quote]
the lean then fluffy thing is mental and water
the advantage people talk about regarding being lean then bulk is the leaner you are the better insulin sensitivity you have… you are WELL beyond that point
