for those of you who have been doing “100 reps to bigger muscles” by Chad Waterbury, i want to compare results. i started last wednesday, 100 standing calf raises split up into 4-25 rep sessions a day. for me, it feels like my calves are on a 24 hour pump! also, on tuesday, a phase II EDT of quads/calves, i did 18 total sets for both, and while my thighs hurt like hell, my calves are fine. just want to see what results you guys are getting
It’s amazing, isn’t it?! I have been doing sets of 15 push-ups until I get to 100 since the day after the article came out (so 3 weeks or so ? ). Almost immediately I noticed a decrease in muscle soreness after doing dips and bench, and my pecs/front deltoids are usually the MOST sore out of all my muscles. Now I am pretty much down to no muscle soreness in that area. Pecs might be getting a little bigger, but the biggest difference is the vascularity. Before starting this program, I never saw a vein in my pecs/f. deltoids. Now they are all over the place! I would definately recommend this program to anyone.
I feel that it is working for me. Due to time limitations, I do 50 reverse curls and 50 shoulder laterals in the morning and 50 at night. I have not noticed much in the way of delts, but my forearms seem much denser and bigger. Also, I have noticed that I can do the 50 reps with much less effort than when I started two weeks ago–which I hope means that I’m increasing capillary density.
Glad to hear the positive feedback. The comments are very similar to what my clients have been saying for the past year. It is truly amazing how quickly soreness will subside for the chosen muscle group(s). Keep up the good work guys and I look forward to more feedback.
Chad-right now i train my calves tuesday and friday. how long would you advise i keep doing the 100 reps (i’m thinking 8 weeks minimum), and how long until i could either A)hit them harder on the 2 days or B)work them 3 days a week? thanks------JC
Upon reading the article, I immediately went to work on my forearms. I did 4, 25-rep forearm flexions each day with an unloaded bar. Over the weeks, noticed the increased vascularity and the pump in that area. And my wife has been noticing the roundness of my forearms todate. Great routine–simply a must!
Chad Waterbury to JC
JC,
Perform the program for 8 weeks. As for increasing your high intensity calf work to 3 times per week, usually after 2-3 weeks of endurance training you can add another high intensity session. But it is hard to tell without knowing more information about your current strength levels. As long as you can increase your high intensity performance each workout 3 times/week, then you are in good shape. If your high intensity performance decreases when another session is added, go back to 2 times/week, perform a few more weeks of endurance training and try it again.
thanks for the advice, Chad.
forgot to add “—JC” at the end of that
i have been doing weighted leg curls with 5 pound weighted strapped to my ankles 50 in the morning 50 at night since the article was run. My hamstring were normally sore for 5 days after a hip domiant workout, now i am barely sore the the next day! After the 8 weeks are over i plan on switching to push-ups, but my question to Chad is how can i keep my increased recovery of my hamstrings? And if you could not tell from my post i am a big fan of Chad’s work, great articles.
Actually, my strength has also gone up quite a bit on bench and dips, but this may be due to the fact that I am on a strength routine. I bet I’ll see an even bigger difference in size when I switch to hypertrophy in a few weeks. In about a month I plan to switch from push ups to shrugs.
Chad Waterbury to underdawg
Thanks for the feedback. Your question is very similar to numerous comments I have received regarding the duration of the endurance phase. I recommended an 8-week phase for the simple fact that I don’t have the evidence to support benefits of a longer phase since it is relatively new to my arsenal. Realistically, you could probably perform the endurance workouts for as long as you see fit. Many of the best Olympic weightlifters perform such “recovery enhancement workouts” continuously. Let me know how it works for you, but stop after 8 weeks and monitor how long it takes (if at all) for soreness to reappear. Best of Luck.
thanks for the reply chad. I have 3 more weeks left for hamstrings, then i am taking 5 days off then goin to push-ups (4x25). I will keep your posted on my results