Methods for gaining muscle and losing fat

[Brass]

Quote from Laissez Faire:

You should never train with weights for longer than 60 minutes, preferrably less. There`s your answer.

This is a mistake I had been making since the '70s. I wish I had smartened up sooner.

I treat my new bodyweight routine much as I would a weight routine, since I add weight to 5 of the 6 exercises I now do (excluding abs): pistols, calf raises, pull ups, chins and dips. The only exercise for which I do not add weight, and therefore must do far more than 8 to 10 reps, is pushups, which I do with a very wide "grip" and my feet elevated. However, I space the 3 sets apart with only a minute's rest. I know it's not going to be as effective as bench press, but I've got shoulder issues and the exercise gives me one hell of a pump. I know that pump alone doesn't translate to strength or size, but what the hell. And it doubles as something of a core exercise, particularly since I elevate the feet.

P.S. The weighted calf raises also have a fairly higher rep range. One downside of my bodyweight routine in terms of time is that each leg must be worked separately.

 

[Laissez Faire]

Quote from Brass:

Before you posted, I was thinking more along the lines of about 85% of what I would normally do for 8 to 10 reps, my usual rep range. I may have to revisit that number.

I know what you mean by burnout. I've occasionally had to take a week (or very occasionally two) off in the past because of what you very well describe as burn out. Also, the nagging little aches that just seem to linger. In fact, this is why I had recently decided to reduce the overall number of sets per week per muscle group. Smaller pills being easier to swallow. Admittedly, this easing seems to be more important to me now than some years ago, as I understand recovery takes longer as we age.

The goal is to stimulate our body for growth in the most efficient way possible, not to tear it down. For people who are used to pushing themselves to the maximum, it is hard to accept that actually training with less intensity and less volume is superior.

With WS4SB, you have only ONE single heavy set of bench and/or dead lifts and squats per week and you don`t even go to failure (maybe on the last workout prior to deload). For me, that is what brought me the best gains both in strength and volume.

Listen to your body and your ability to recover, it`s really not rocket science. Those programs in the magazines are usually for assholes who are jacked anyway.

 

[Brass]

Quote from Laissez Faire:

...Those programs in the magazines are usually for assholes who are jacked anyway.

Yes, I've known that for years, but I've always had trouble deciding where to draw the line. With that in mind, let me ask you, how many sets per week per muscle group do you do? Despite differences in our routines and other factors, I'm curious.

 

[Laissez Faire]

Quote from Brass:

Yes, I've known that for years, but I've always had trouble deciding where to draw the line. With that in mind, let me ask you, how many sets per week per muscle group do you do? Despite differences in routines and other factors, I'm curious.

MONDAY:

Bench press - 1 set of 3-5 repetitions (1 in the tank). I work progressively from the warm-up set towards my final work set. Something like this: 20 X 10, 40 X 10, 60 X 5, 75 X 5, 85 X 3-5, 100 x 3-5 (final set).

Incline dumbell press - 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions (none to failure)

Inverted rows or bent over rows with a barbell or dumbells - 5 sets of 8-10 repetitions (not really to failure, save the last sets maybe)

Face Pulls - 2 sets of 12-15 repetitions

Cable Crunch - 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions

WEDNESDAY:

Deadlift - 1 set of 3-5 repetitions (1 in the tank)

Pistol squat or bulgarian lunges (1-legged) - 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions

Glute Ham Raise - 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions

FRIDAY:

Dips - 3 sets of maximum repetitions (high repetitions, so I flirt with failure here)

Chins - 3-5 sets of maximum repetitions (one in the tank, such that I get more total volume)

Shoulder press - 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions

Biceps curls - 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions

Ab work.

This is my current workout inspired from WS4SB. Using the 5/3/1 program, I do even less.

 

[Brass]

Thanks, LF. Although our routines are fairly different, our set voumes are not that far apart. Two observations, if I may, just for their own sake. First, I note that, despite using a split routine, you combine both pulling and pushing upper body exercises in the same workout. This is something I never did. When I did splits, they were ABA, 3 workouts per week, but I always combined pulling in one workout and pushing in the other, apart from legs which I combined with pulling (for better or worse). Also, I note that, as with a lot of people I've seen in the gym and some of the literature I've read, you work up to your heaviest weight. For whatever reason, that never worked for me. After a proper warm-up set, I always went to my heaviest weight, gradually reducing it with each subsequent set. So many ways to skin a cat, eh?

 

[Laissez Faire]

Quote from Brass:

Also, I note that, as with a lot of people I've seen in the gym and some of the literature I've read, you work up to your heaviest weight. For whatever reason, that never worked for me. After a proper warm-up set, I always went to my heaviest weight, gradually reducing it with each subsequent set. So many ways to skin a cat, eh?

Does that mean that you go from a light warm up set and straight to your most heavy set?

All those sets I listed were warm-up sets leading up to one HEAVY set. Progressively activating the muscles and warming up properly leads to better performance on the final set, not to mention that you reduce the risk of injury substantially.

However, if I were to perform several work sets, I may have to reduce the work load on the subsequent sets, depending on how long I rest between sets and how close I go to failure on the first heavy set.

But yeah, many ways to skin a cat.

 

[Brass]

Quote from Laissez Faire:

Does that mean that you go from a light warm up set and straight to your most heavy set?

Yes.

Quote from Laissez Faire:

...However, if I were to perform several work sets, I may have to reduce the work load on the subsequent sets, depending on how long I rest between sets and how close I go to failure on the first heavy set.

That is what I do. My longest breaks are for for pull ups, chins and dips, for which I take a 2-minute break between sets. In the normal course, I go until I cannot do another rep, and I will usually not attempt a partial at that point. I'm assuming that's ~failure.

However, today was an 85% day (meaning 85% of my normal maximum weight for my usual 8 to 10 rep range), my first since adopting my new routine in June, and prompted by our earlier exchange on cycling. Therefore, all breaks were shorter and the longest was one minute. The only exercises for which I did not alter the intensity were calves, abs and decline pushups for chest, the latter because of the very high rep count anyway. Despite an approximate resistance decrease of only about 15%, give or take depending on the exercise, and the same rep count, it was like a mini holiday.

QUESTION: Regarding cycling, rather than doing such lower intensity workouts for a week every 3 or 4 weeks, how about my doing one such workout a week, with the other two workouts being full on? Since the workouts themselves are otherwise the same, the proportions are about the same, with only the frequency being different. I just want to keep it simple without resorting to microcycles, mesocycles, macrocycles and so on and so forth, since I won't be entering any contests in this lifetime anyway. And the idea of one lazy workout out of three in a week sounds straightforward enough. Also, if scheduling requires that I miss a workout for any reason, that would count as the 85% workout by default. Any thoughts?

 

[Laissez Faire]

Quote from Brass:

QUESTION: Regarding cycling, rather than doing such lower intensity workouts for a week every 3 or 4 weeks, how about my doing one such workout a week, with the other two workouts being full on? Since the workouts themselves are otherwise the same, the proportions are about the same, with only the frequency being different. I just want to keep it simple without resorting to microcycles, mesocycles, macrocycles and so on and so forth, since I won't be entering any contests in this lifetime anyway. And the idea of one lazy workout out of three in a week sounds straightforward enough. Also, if scheduling requires that I miss a workout for any reason, that would count as the 85% workout by default. Any thoughts?

My thought is that you need to warm up properly on your compound lifts, not only to prevent injury, but in order to lift heavier weights.

What you suggest is a form of cycling and probably not a bad idea anyway, but it is not a deload week. You could do that and then put in a deload week every 6th or 8th week. It all depends on your body, your ability to recover, how hard you train and how well you`ve been eating and resting for the period.

Listening to your body, you will notice when you come to the gym and actually struggle to maintain the same performance as did on your last workout. Time for a "break".

A failure is when you attempt a repetition, but can only perform a partial repetition.

 

[Brass]

Quote from Laissez Faire:

My thought is that you need to warm up properly on your compound lifts, not only to prevent injury, but in order to lift heavier weights.

What you suggest is a form of cycling and probably not a bad idea anyway, but it is not a deload week. You could do that and then put in a deload week every 6th or 8th week. It all depends on your body, your ability to recover, how hard you train and how well you`ve been eating and resting for the period.

Listening to your body, you will notice when you come to the gym and actually struggle to maintain the same performance as did on your last workout. Time for a "break".

A failure is when you attempt a repetition, but can only perform a partial repetition.

Progressive loading, if that's what it's called, just doesn't feel right to me. I tried that a fairly long time ago for a very brief while, and I could not do as many reps on my heaviest set as when I went heavy after an intial warmup set to oil the joints and ensure proper movement.

After our last exchange, I did some more reading on the Internet on training to failure. (The books I still have in my possession are decades old. Decades!) It seems that few ostensibly legitimate sources now seem to advocate training to failure. The thinking seems to be that each set should end when you still have one or two good reps left in you. This is all very new to me since I haven't kept myself up to date on such matters. And so, I thank you and the few others here who made similar remarks.

Having read what I did, what I'm now considering doing is only one max workout a week out of three rather than two as I had previously considered in my last post. The max would be to the last rep but with no partials beyond that point. I figure one max workout on my new, reduced volume routine would not be too intense since, as I had mentioned earlier, my workout only comprises 16 sets excluding abs. Three of these 16 sets are for calves and three are for decline pushups, both exercises for which I will likely go to near failure because they are high rep and my understanding is that there is less risk of overtraining going to near failure on high rep movements. That leaves only 10 sets collectively for pistols (3), pull ups (3), chins (2) and dips (2), all weighted to ensure a rep range of 8 to 10 reps. So 10 max sets a week doesn't seem over the top, does it? The two other workouts during the week will allow for 1 or 2 good reps "left in the tank" for each of these 10 sets, while maintainign the 8 to 10 rep range.

Any thoughts on whether what I have in mind is overdoing or underdoing it would be appreciated. Also, any thoughts on whether I should play around with rep ranges from time to time rather than only the proximity to failure would be welcome.

 

[atticus]

Quote from Laissez Faire:

Does that mean that you go from a light warm up set and straight to your most heavy set?

All those sets I listed were warm-up sets leading up to one HEAVY set. Progressively activating the muscles and warming up properly leads to better performance on the final set, not to mention that you reduce the risk of injury substantially.

However, if I were to perform several work sets, I may have to reduce the work load on the subsequent sets, depending on how long I rest between sets and how close I go to failure on the first heavy set.

But yeah, many ways to skin a cat.

Progressively activating? Wut?