I am really interested in giving Meltdown Training a try. However, in reading the article several times through… I don’t really have much of an idea as to what weights a person should be looking at for the various activities.
For anyone who has done this program, how much weight should we be using?
I’ve tried both versions, and largely found it to be trial and error.
It was some time ago and I don’t remember all the fine details, but I just had an educated guess at what seemed about right for me, and fine tuned it over the following weeks.
It shouldn’t take too much experimenting and you’ll have it sorted.
I’m currently working through the Meltdown program (I & II), it’s brutal but effective. I think Alessi suggests 65% of 1RM for the rep load. Check out this past Iron Dog Q & A session for more details (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460779).
I did it using 65% of my 1RM, but I think anything from 60-70% dpending on your level of fitness and you muscle fiber make-up. You’ll have to play around with it.
Thanks much, everyone! I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t starting too extreme on either end.
ditto on trial and error. when I read the info on working with 85%-95% of the 1rm, I was ready for some damage control afterwards. I couldn’t complete the other parameters of the program- 10 reps or the sets. So I had to lower to 50% to complete the workouts. I tried the 60%-70% and I still crapped out. So while my 1rm was good, the strength endurance end was bad.
I decided to try Meltdown traing II, it says to do all the lifts with 90-95% of your 1RM. There was no way I could finish all 5 sets, I got through about 3 before I was finished.
Gar and Chubs…
How did each of you think the program turned out?
I also gave this program a try last year…a killer. I was able to use 60-70% of my maximum but by the end I could barely stand up. I don’t hink I will ever do it in a commercial gym again- leaving puddles of sweat everywhere, hogging 4 pieces of equipment at once, almost throwing up out the window.
A great workout for a garage etc though- you’ll never do more work in a shorter period of time, and I got leaner.
I thought the program was good. I did meltdwon I for three weeks and meltdown II for three weeks. For me, meltdown II was much tougher, I was so wiped out I couldn’t do the explosive plyometric stuff that was prescribed on the off days. I did 1 day of HIIT throughout the 6 weeks, but I recommend you play around to find an adequate level of cardio/HIIT that doesn’t impede you meltdown workouts. After six weeks I dropped 5 pounds and lost a small bit of strength. I followed a P+C, P+F diet at a caloric level that was at a maintenance level before I started the program. I hope this helps.
A year ago at this time, I tried Meltdown Training II for the first time. The results really blew me away. After the program, I had a six pack with shoulders so wide that a girl semi jokingly asked if I walked through doors sideways. My explosive strength also went through the roof. I had been doing a lot of high rep/low intensity kettlebell training leading up to that so my body really welcomed the change. I have to warn that I am no stranger to Oly lifts; in fact I am a certified coach. I encourage most people to use the squat substitutions he describes in the article. I used this version with very good results as well.
oh I liked it. i did trim some excess bulk. I did extra workouts, mainly on my off-days and the cardio work/intervals were too easy for me so I made them harder.