Max-OT training was ahead of its time!

[xpoc]

If you follow Chris Beardsley (who teams with Paul Carter) on the science of hypertrophy, it appears MAX-OT training as outlined by Paul Delia in the early 2000's was a visionary. Here are the 7 principles of MAX-OT

1. Limit each workout session to 30-40 minutes.
2. Work 1-2 muscle groups per session.
3. Perform 6-9 total heavy sets per muscle group.
4. Perform 4-6 reps (to concentric failure) per set for (almost) every exercise.
5. Take 2-3 minutes to rest after each set.
6. Allow 5-7 days of rest before working the same muscle group.
7. Take 1 full week off after every 8-10 weeks of training.

Beardsely and Carter dissect the latest studies involving hypertrophy and their findings are very similar to what MAX-OT programmed over 2 decades ago. Lower rep ranges (to PREVENT metabolic stress and muscle damage along with fatigue), coupled with high intensity efforts using the effective reps model (training to or close to failure) in order to ensure adequate mechanical tension. Longer rest periods. About 6-10 sets per targeted bodypart per week. Split doesn't matter, but the Bro split of training each body part once 5-7 days is effective. I know I am missing some nuances, and this is painting with a broad brush, but their recommendations which are backed by the latest "science" are very similar to what Delia pieced together (minus the science) back in the day.

Max-OT Table of Contents - AST Sports Science

Max-OT Introduction Week 1 The Ultimate Muscle Building Approach Training For Results Forget What You Think You Know About Working Out Learn More – Get Less Results Friends – Trainers – Magazines An Open Mind And A Little Desire The Max-OT Basics 30 to 40 minutes Train only 1 or 2 muscle groups...

ast-ss.com

 

[Shelby]

I followed it religiously back in the late 90s when Skip LaCour and Jeff Willet were doing it, both sponsored by AST.
It was fun, workouts short, I got relatively strong. Was natty at the time, not very gifted in the genetics department. Never did Max-OT training when enhanced.
Wouldn't do it now because the rep range (IMO) is too prone to injury.
But 25 years ago it was fun.

 

[xpoc]

I followed it religiously back in the late 90s when Skip LaCour and Jeff Willet were doing it, both sponsored by AST.
It was fun, workouts short, I got relatively strong. Was natty at the time, not very gifted in the genetics department. Never did Max-OT training when enhanced.
Wouldn't do it now because the rep range (IMO) is too prone to injury.
But 25 years ago it was fun.

Right...the only thing I struggle with is the rep range. I suppose you could simply bump it up, but in doing so...that wouldn't be MAX-OT anymore. That said, if you believe Beardsley/Carter's interpretation of the latest research, all rep ranges work...but the lower rep ranges are more ideal due to less muscle damage, fatigue and metabolic stress. Not too long ago it was taught that metabolic stress (pump) and muscle damage aided hypertrophy. Now, they are saying it doesn't and there has never been any proof it did. Mechanical tension is the driver.

 

[Oldwhitedude]

I'd like the reps a little higher but yeah that's pretty solid.

 

[st114]

Like Shelby said, worked really well for me when I was natural, and young (less injuries). Too heavy for me now, I need to switch up to higher rep ranges and can’t do all of my sets in the 4-6 range
I do believe it’s a really good way for naturals or true TRT guys to train.
Gets a little boring after a while though

 

[275bills]

I remember seeing the pics of Skip LaCour lifting. He lifted some crazy weights

 

[FK86]

I discovered Max-OT in '03 when I was 17 and reading everything on training and nutrition. I trained that way for years as well. To this day I still incorporate some of its principles.

I remember hearing about this documentary back in the day and Stuart uploaded it for free a few years ago. You have to give the guy tremendous credit. It's not like he was a gym rat that wanted to get into contest shape. He was literally a regular guy that basically went from 0-100. A little over an hour. Worth watching, in my opinion.

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

I did it from about 2004 to 2006 then started DC training. Both were terrible on my joints . 4 to 6 reps on stuff like lying tricep extensions and bicep curls, no thanks.

I did buy the vp2 whey protein which is very expensive back then I used to take all my paychecks and buy their stuff NAC or a l a their dextrose creatine their dextrose I forget the names of the creatine h something.

I was in college and was drinking way concentrate and on my way to classes I would actually gag and gag in my class in just about throw up every time. Then I switched to isolate I read an article by Patrick Arnold saying how some people need isolate and set a concentrate for stomach discomfort this ring a bell and then from now on I drink isolate. I actually threw a bunch of muscle milk concentrates into the trash recently that I just bought not too long ago because I was getting up in the middle of the night drinking them by my bed and they were causing extreme stomach discomfort.

 

[FK86]

Right...the only thing I struggle with is the rep range. I suppose you could simply bump it up, but in doing so...that wouldn't be MAX-OT anymore. That said, if you believe Beardsley/Carter's interpretation of the latest research, all rep ranges work...but the lower rep ranges are more ideal due to less muscle damage, fatigue and metabolic stress. Not too long ago it was taught that metabolic stress (pump) and muscle damage aided hypertrophy. Now, they are saying it doesn't and there has never been any proof it did. Mechanical tension is the driver.

Which you get if you take sets to failure. My training is in the 15-30 rep range now, with the majority 15-20. The work sets are absolutely brutal, but things are going well. Take a look at the weights Doug Miller throws around for 20 reps. It's absurd. Great physique too.

 

[qbkilla]

Never ran it but looks solid, the bro split is tried and true, fuck "optimal" people love the bro split it's fun and works. Not s fan of the low reps don't see much side delt or bicep growth from 4-6

Not sure how I feel about beardlsey especially with him being so close with Carter. Carter seems to be going off the deep end with low volume and low reps. I think not long ago he posted himself doing 4-6 reps for one set on the side lateral machine. I think most would prefer higher reps, more sets, some intensifiers for side delts over a set of 4-6

I am no expert but from what I know the effective reps/mechanical tension is becoming popular but many bright people still think metabolic stress and time under tension are important, Milos is one I believe.

Interesting I have been doing some reading on Soviet theory and they think adding weight each week is pretty stupid. I think they incorporate something called step loading, where you don't just add a tiny little bit of weight or a rep each week. You do that weight until it becomes easy, then make a larger jump. They claim that we try and "peak" every workout, where they feel they better manage volume and fatigue and get better results over the long run. Don't shoot the messenger I have no idea what's better but the soviet's don't think adding small increments each week is the way to go.

 

[MR. BMJ]

I followed it religiously back in the late 90s when Skip LaCour and Jeff Willet were doing it, both sponsored by AST.
It was fun, workouts short, I got relatively strong. Was natty at the time, not very gifted in the genetics department. Never did Max-OT training when enhanced.
Wouldn't do it now because the rep range (IMO) is too prone to injury.
But 25 years ago it was fun.

How do you have your training set up these days, @Shelby ?

 

[Shelby]

How do you have your training set up these days, @Shelby ?

Nothing special - I'm not training to add size or do anything other than stay healthy and have fun.
Push / pull / legs, just 3 days a week, in my basement with my Flintstones very basic setup
A lot of cluster sets, rest pause, super sets, etc.. everything done in under an hour
I do more cardio these days than weights. I might weigh 175 tops.

 

[VaginaBoob89]

I discovered Max-OT in '03 when I was 17 and reading everything on training and nutrition. I trained that way for years as well. To this day I still incorporate some of its principles.

I remember hearing about this documentary back in the day and Stuart uploaded it for free a few years ago. You have to give the guy tremendous credit. It's not like he was a gym rat that wanted to get into contest shape. He was literally a regular guy that basically went from 0-100. A little over an hour. Worth watching, in my opinion.

Thanks for posting. I watched this documentary when it first came out way back in 2008 or 2009. It makes me feel old... I was around 19 years old then just getting into the weight room for the first time. It's wild how much video production quality has come along in that short decade... just 10 years later, a kid with an iphone can make much higher production quality fitness content, but back then this was like a whole professional team.

He looked great and it's pretty awesome that a middle aged fat non athletic regular person could go to looking like a bodybuilder in barely over a year span. Jeff Willet clearly had a lot of patience and good mentorship skills to help Stuart make such a lifestyle overhaul in such a short period of time. I did cringe at his cooking though... no wonder he found it so hard to stick to his diet when he puts 0 effort into preparing his food and making it taste good.

 

[MR. BMJ]

Nothing special - I'm not training to add size or do anything other than stay healthy and have fun.
Push / pull / legs, just 3 days a week, in my basement with my Flintstones very basic setup
A lot of cluster sets, rest pause, super sets, etc.. everything done in under an hour
I do more cardio these days than weights. I might weigh 175 tops.

Thanks

 

[comedycentral]

i will always point out with Carter that what he says now is a world away from what he said 10 plus years ago and he never makes reference To this. If you look at his old work he loved high rep stuff. He liked the 350 method 3 sets to reach 50 reps. He liked a system called 3 big 3 little. In between heavy chest work heavy leg and heavy rows he liked little sessions high reps such as 5x20 for delts and tris etc.
he claimed this sort of training got him to 250 odd natural And was a progression after DC work
so I always think if Behind the neck shoulder presses and heavy db rows for high ish reps worked 10 years ago why doesn’t it work now. I always feel most of these insta guys are trying to now buck the trend of the so called norm just to ensure they are selling and keeping a captive audience.

 

[LATS]

It's a great system.. reps are too low for me now but back in the day I did the same rep scheme.. I think it works fine.. id up the reps a bit .. that will eventually bit you.. I also did the week off every 8 weeks..

 

[RandomMachine]

i will always point out with Carter that what he says now is a world away from what he said 10 plus years ago and he never makes reference To this. If you look at his old work he loved high rep stuff. He liked the 350 method 3 sets to reach 50 reps. He liked a system called 3 big 3 little. In between heavy chest work heavy leg and heavy rows he liked little sessions high reps such as 5x20 for delts and tris etc.
he claimed this sort of training got him to 250 odd natural And was a progression after DC work
so I always think if Behind the neck shoulder presses and heavy db rows for high ish reps worked 10 years ago why doesn’t it work now. I always feel most of these insta guys are trying to now buck the trend of the so called norm just to ensure they are selling and keeping a captive audience.

Paul Carter appears to be a terrible human. I think your assessment is right, he's doing whatever he thinks will make money. He also always wants to appear as if he's the smartest guy in the room.

First and foremost, Paul Carter is a leech. He attaches himself to people that he believes will beneficial to him. Due to his abrasive nature as well as being a leech he eventually has a falling out with that person. Then he moves to the next and calls his previous host a "clown" or something similar. Before he was attached to Beardsley he was attached to Kassem from N1. When he quit leeching Kassem he instantly flipped to saying Kassem was an idiot and everything he says is wrong.

He blocks people on Instagram for liking things or people that go against what he preaches.

He harasses people through PMs for various reasons then blocks them. A year or two back people on a gymshark subreddit were posting stuff about him. He started randomly messaging people trying to get their real name and threatening to beat them up.

He constantly attacks people while often referencing his deep devotion to God.

He appears to be unable to handle any criticism whatsoever despite constantly criticizing others.

I'm sure there are plenty more things to point out about him, but he seems like a turd with no integrity.

 

[RandomMachine]

I believe I heard Justin Compton say on a podcast that he started out using Max OT before eventually progressing to high intensity high volume.

 

[Tomgrass]

Never ran it but looks solid, the bro split is tried and true, fuck "optimal" people love the bro split it's fun and works. Not s fan of the low reps don't see much side delt or bicep growth from 4-6

Not sure how I feel about beardlsey especially with him being so close with Carter. Carter seems to be going off the deep end with low volume and low reps. I think not long ago he posted himself doing 4-6 reps for one set on the side lateral machine. I think most would prefer higher reps, more sets, some intensifiers for side delts over a set of 4-6

I am no expert but from what I know the effective reps/mechanical tension is becoming popular but many bright people still think metabolic stress and time under tension are important, Milos is one I believe.

Interesting I have been doing some reading on Soviet theory and they think adding weight each week is pretty stupid. I think they incorporate something called step loading, where you don't just add a tiny little bit of weight or a rep each week. You do that weight until it becomes easy, then make a larger jump. They claim that we try and "peak" every workout, where they feel they better manage volume and fatigue and get better results over the long run. Don't shoot the messenger I have no idea what's better but the soviet's don't think adding small increments each week is the way to go.

It is double progression :
Lets say your rep range is 6-10
You do 6 reps
Next week maybe 8 next week 9 week after 10 and then you add weight and start at 6 again. And so on. I train like this all the time and i love it.

 

[bbxtreme]

I remember seeing the pics of Skip LaCour lifting. He lifted some crazy weights

Skip was one of my first intros to lifting. My dad got me his DVD series for Christmas as a teen. Played a big role in why I train so heavy to this day.

What is crazy is that Skip STILL trains this hard. He coaches and caters to the older guys now last I saw on his social. Watching him train should motivate anyone.