did anyone experience any hypertrophy during a meltdown phase, or just fat loss and matinence? (either the original, or a modified one, like i am doing now. same exact principal, but modified more to my needs.) also, is there a chance of slight catabolism since the muscles are being trained so often?
When i started my cutting phase I was doing a 5x5 style routine with 85% of my RMR, the fat was melting off slowly and I managed to keep my strength. I then decided to change things up and went to Meltdown Training II, I was eating about 90% of my RMR and even though I felt like my strength was diminishing, at the end of the 4 weeks my bench went up by 15 lbs (was stuck for a while) and I also gained strength in my other lifts. Keep in mind i was on a keto diet and on a deficit. As far as muscle mass goes, I did preserve all my muscle mass. Right now I’m doing meltdown training I, 1 scoop surge before (during the 120 second rests) training, and 1 scoop of surge after. It’s been 1 week i have noticed fat levels drop and the surge is helping me maintain muscle. Right now i’m doing 2 weeks meltdown I, 2 weeks 5x5, Repeat if necessary.
I did. Cannot give any numbers, but just looking in the mirror, I have visibly bigger biceps and quads from all those pullups and squats. (I’m a relative beginner.) And it’s not just that they are more visible now, because I didn’t drop that much fat, they actually did grow during these few weeks. I kept roughly -500 - -700 kcal daily deficit with medium protein amounts (30%). Recovery was bit of a problem sometimes, but the net result was LBM gain, anyway.
To me, Meltdown was pretty much like a killer cardio session. The weights used are too light to really produce any real muscle-building effects, though in the mirror it appeared so since I obviously lost fat. I got bored too quickly, though… out of curiousity, could you outline the modified version you’re currently doing? Maybe I’ll give that a try. What kind of diet are you following?
bump
heres my workout: monday:sumo deadlifts, t-bar rows, reverse lunges, 45 degree incline db press, standing calf. tuesday:lunges, pull-up, lying ham curl, db shoulder press, seated calf. thurs:db stiff leg deads, 30 degree incline flies, narrow stance leg press, prone db row, leg press calf fri: cable split squat, rope pull to neck, seated ham curl, flat bench, donkey calf raises. i am on the charles poliquin diet right now. there was a thread about it recently, just type in “charles poliquin/david boston diet.” i have a whole bunch of posts there explaining it.
I lost over 15 pounds total weight, and my LBM went up by 5 pounds. (Based on 3 site caliper method.)
If I was able to achieve 10 reps for all the sets then I raised the weight. I wanted to keep the workout as intense as possible. I also moved from exercise to exercise in less then 5 seconds at the longest, and less then a second in the shortest. This felt different then a cardio session, more like a torture session.
Hey man, I gotta tell ya, the info in your posts have helped me out more than any others on the forum! I really respect your input. I noticed that you do cable split squats, I’ve been trying to incorporate these into my routine but just want to make sure I’m doing 'em right. Could you describe in detail how to do them? Thanks!
glad i could be of so much help, chris. i am always learning things, so i am more than happy to spread what i have learned from the superiors. for the cable split squats: get in the normal position you would have doing them with a BB. ill line myself up with the bottom pulley (where the handle is attached), and grab on with two hands, so i am pretty much in the dead center of the machine. then i “lunge” foward until i am all the way down, and push back up. be sure that your upper body is just a hook so you dont cheat yourself, and that all of the tension is on the one leg. basically, the hardest thing i found about it was keeping my balance, which is why i stay perfectly centered. hope that helps.
Thanks man! About the pulley, what kind of handle do you use and do you pretty much treat like a low pull-through (between the legs)? By the way, how’s that Poliquin diet still workin’ for you?
no i just use a regular handle, but i keep it above my leg. diets going great still. got a nice carb day tommorow, might have to splurge on just one meal. (damn chicken burritos get me every time.) i actually find one cheat meal every so often pretty beneficial. my buddy (who writes my workouts and diets, he trained with poliquin last year) takes a full out shit day every other week, and he is freaking shredded
Is there anywhere you can read up on the Charles Poliquin diet? Is it in one of his books or something? You’ve got me pretty interested in it. Thanks.
yeah, there was a thread on it a few weeks back, entitled “david bostin/charles poliquin” diet where i had a bunch of posts. check out charlespoliquin.net. i actually read about it/heard about it from my buddy who trained with poliquin, so im not sure what book it is in.