advanced growth

b-boy · Apr 8, 2009

Now let me start this by saying I am by no means an authority on shit, Im just giving my personal experience of what i have done the last couple of years as I have become more and more muscular and pretty much maxing out (to a certain extent) my frame. I plead for other top level guys to add to this and share thier experiences on what they do to edge out every lil pound of muscle that they come by these days. Of course I want dante's imput and phils and also guys like darrin D and Jbomb, szona, big bapper, mike, and others who have put an extreme amount of muscle on their frames.

first i am still all about progression in the gym weather its more pounds for reps or more reps for a given weight, but im begining to realize after going back and really reading some stuff that dante has put out over the years that I really need now to make a big emphasis on fascia stretching. I have done this by not only extreme stretching but also doing hany rambods FST-7 training this year. i am doing this for not only for that huge pump from the 7 sets but also to add a tad bit more volume to my workouts. results?? well so far really damn good, my muscle's have def taken on a more round full look even when not pumped, I am also almost as strong at 235 this year as i was at 250 last year, except in squat and deadlift. squat cause my knees have really bothered me bad this year so I just don't squat as often, and deadlifts due to just plain out fear after tearing my lat last year doing them. I still remain heavy on all my sets before the FST-7 set and I will employ rest pause when i can till my joints ache so bad that I drop them and go back to straight sets of 8-12 reps.

example of my chest n tri workout yesterday, take in account that this is "supplement" free poundage

barbell incline press - 315x12, 365x8, 315x10, 295x11
decline bench - 315x12, 365x9, 365x7 (I was really wore the fuck out)
pec dec flys - 7 sets of 10-12 reps with 30 sec rest between sets
I did extreme stretches between sets on the first 2 excersise's and then did my 7 set excersise ( no need for stretching between these sets i just squeeze my chest as hard as i can between the 7 sets)

tricep pushdowns with elbows out - don't know about weight just did 3 heavy ass sets (my elbows have been hurting the last two weeks as my strength is actually going up a lil)
overhead 1 arm dumbell extension - 3 sets of 12 reps with 50 lb dumbell
1 arm single reverse grip pulldowns with the handle that you do cable crossovers with- 7 sets with 30 sec. rest between sets
once again extreme stretches between the first two excersises and just flexing during the FST-7 set.

thats it then i did 40 min of low intensity cardio

I think my arms have benefited the most from this type of training this year as I really never stretched my arm muscles well in previous years.

diet I have been following a more lower carb higher fat diet this offseason, I take in about 200-300 grams of carbs in daily (enough to fuel my workout and still promote a good pump). i do cardio about 4 days a week, anymore and I just dont wanna do it (hey just being honest).

yesterdays meals were the following

6am - 1.5 cups (dry weight) of oatmeal with two scoops of pro complex protein powder

9am- 8 oz chicken breast, 1 med. apple, strawberry's

12pm- 8 oz of lean ground beef, 1.5oz of cashews and 4 fish oil pills

1:30pm - training

4:00?? - post workout shake= 2 scoops of 2:1:1 recovery

5:00pm - 8oz chicken breast, 5 fish oil pills, very large salad

8:00pm - 2 cans of tuna, 1.5 oz of pecans and 4 fish oil pills, 1 cup of greens

before bed - casien shake made with water and 2.5 scoops of casein powder and 1tablespoon of natural peanut butter

I have given a run down of things im doing this offseason but the main thing has been the focus on fascia stretching cause i truly believe it makes room for new growth and it gives your muscles that round full look. phil hernon made a good point in my experiment thread about upping the hormones, well this is something I have really tried not to do. why? because right now I don't believe i need to, to "maybe" get a procard, im already one of the most dense light heavy's out there, so I will save upping the hormones for IF and WHEN i get a procard, then its a whole new ball game.

anyway there are probably other things that I will add but just can't think right now so Im looking foward to some of the more advanced guys and vets throwing in their two cents.

I also want to add that when it comes to bodybuilding im really a cheap ass, GH is def. out of the question, (maybe a very very small amount during contest prep if money is good) but i have to build what i have with just good ol sweat blood and tears cause i can't afford to be a chemical experiment. plus i really like to keep things simple, I eat, I train, I rest, I grow, nothing fancy at all there. "supplements" are very basic and kindergarden simple also.

Lenny · Apr 8, 2009

Great post B-boy...so what changes do you make with regards to eating while preparing for competition? You are already have the carbs in control, do you lower those and increase fat even more? Increase cardio?

Thanks for the starting this thread and I like the realness to it. And shit I only do 30 minutes of cardio still and I am 8 weeks out, but my weight seems to be dropping, and I do not want to cross the line of muscle loss. But, I do cardio all year around, even though I hate it as well! Again, do you just toss a cheat meal in there when you really feel like one or is there a set day you eat one?

Thanks!

unoigo · Apr 8, 2009

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I too am interested in the experienced members feedback...........

b-boy · Apr 8, 2009

Lenny said:
Great post B-boy...so what changes do you make with regards to eating while preparing for competition? You are already have the carbs in control, do you lower those and increase fat even more? Increase cardio?

Thanks for the starting this thread and I like the realness to it. And shit I only do 30 minutes of cardio still and I am 8 weeks out, but my weight seems to be dropping, and I do not want to cross the line of muscle loss. But, I do cardio all year around, even though I hate it as well! Again, do you just toss a cheat meal in there when you really feel like one or is there a set day you eat one?

Thanks!

right now i eat what I want for a meal on saturday and maybe even sunday if we go out and eat after church. and for your first question about what changes I make come diet time well this is my first year eating like this, my calories are still pretty high as if im hungry during the day I will have some cashews and if I have some LBA's on hand I will sip on them between meals (currently out of LBA's). when you add up my weeks work of calories they are pretty damn high, so come contest time I will just take out the saturday and sunday eating and drop some fat out of the diet, substitute some of the nuts for avacado's and cardio will go to 30min every single day and increase usually in 5 min increments weekly, and i will have periodically carb up days consisting of oatmeal and rice.

Lenny · Apr 8, 2009

b-boy said:
right now i eat what I want for a meal on saturday and maybe even sunday if we go out and eat after church. and for your first question about what changes I make come diet time well this is my first year eating like this, my calories are still pretty high as if im hungry during the day I will have some cashews and if I have some LBA's on hand I will sip on them between meals (currently out of LBA's). when you add up my weeks work of calories they are pretty damn high, so come contest time I will just take out the saturday and sunday eating and drop some fat out of the diet, substitute some of the nuts for avacado's and cardio will go to 30min every single day and increase usually in 5 min increments weekly, and i will have periodically carb up days consisting of oatmeal and rice.

Awesome b-boy...so small changes cause the big changes in the body! I like how you transition into pre-competiton, nothing drastic and seems like you listen to the body. Thanks Bro!

pesty4077 · Apr 8, 2009

BB, How much rest between incline barbell presses. And I imagine, when you stretch, it is area worked on only between sets.

b-boy · Apr 8, 2009

pesty4077 said:
BB, How much rest between incline barbell presses. And I imagine, when you stretch, it is area worked on only between sets.

on my heavy sets as much rest as i feel I need. plus im stretching my chest between sets. and yes im stretching the area worked only. Most shit i do has been taken from Dante in some form or fashion, I just believe he has the best mentallity and method when it comes to putting on mass the fastest.

MAINEVENT · Apr 8, 2009

What has been working really well for me this year is reducing the volume and actually recovering from my workouts for once. I did a few phases of the Big Beyond Belief program with great results but wanted to tweak it a bit and am now only training each bodypart once a week with only 3 worksets and 1 high rep set.

Example: Hammer chest press (3 x 10-12), 1 set x 20
then shoulder press same
then a compound tricep move same.

Wed: Leg extensions 3 x 20 just to warm up the IT bands and knees
3 sets of squats 3 x 10-12, then i set of hack squats 1 x 20
leg curls 3 x 10-12
stiff legged deadlifts 1 x 20

Friday: Pulldowns 3 x 10-12, cable pullover 1 set of 20
Barbell row 3 x 10-12, deadlifts 1 x 20
DB curl 3 x 10-12,
Hammer curl 1 x 20

The reps vary from week to week. Starting soon im going to change the 1 set of 20 to 7 sets of 10 for certain bodyparts. My chest and back have grown the most but i think my legs and arms need just a little more volume...hence the 7 sets

Im back on the cardio kick to of 3-4 days per week at 20 minutes each time. My weight has FINALLY gone up this offseason. Who knew backing off the intensity and volume would make me grow....lol.

Great post b-boy.

b-boy · Apr 8, 2009

db006 is see you lurking bro! post up! your another guy that has packed a lot of muscle on their frame.

chris250 · Apr 8, 2009

great post B-boy ...

Really with all the size you have now its just a matter of nailing your conditioning...

chris

animal eater · Apr 8, 2009

b-boy,
I too am without supplements in my training. I want to preface what I say by letting readers know that I do not compete but have been training for a good long time and at 5-11 and 210 naturally I am fairly strong and muscuar. By no means am I 1/2 the size of some of the members here.

OK that said, I tried the 7 sets scheme for a while. What I found was that
1. It slightly inhibited my performance on main sets probably because in the back of my mind I was always saving a bit knowing I had 7 sets coming to finish a bodypart.
2.While the routine left me sore, it didn't leave me any stronger which is the focus on most of my training.
3. When I went back to my normal training which essentially is after warm ups 2 brutal 5-8 rep sets on 2 exercises per bodypart backed up a lighter 15-20 rep pump set, I got better results. Plenty of blood flowing through the high reps set at the end providing a good pump allowing stretch and nutrients to flow etc, along side staying strong with the heavy basic sets. THe result is a strong looking densely muscled physique. Thats what works best for me.

animal eater

b-boy · Apr 8, 2009

Dad said:
B,

Yuo mention yuor knees bothering yuo a bit on the Squat - have yuo tried using a wide stance?

Now, by wide I mean really wide! For example, I'm only 5' 7" and I stand with a good 36 inches between my ankles, then sit back on my hips ala powerlifting squat. Doing this, the knees stay in one place and don't ride forward over the toes, and so don't hurt.

Yuo're taller than I am (everyone's taller than I am, LOL!), so yuo'd need even more distance between yuor feet.

Well, just a thought, but it's sure helped me...

yes just to be able to squat what i do now i do it with a very wide stance, I will however do a light set with my legs together and a higher rep set. plus i want as much inner quad growth as possible to give my legs a bigger illusion.

Lenny · Apr 8, 2009

Dad said:
B,

Yuo mention yuor knees bothering yuo a bit on the Squat - have yuo tried using a wide stance?

Now, by wide I mean really wide! For example, I'm only 5' 7" and I stand with a good 36 inches between my ankles, then sit back on my hips ala powerlifting squat. Doing this, the knees stay in one place and don't ride forward over the toes, and so don't hurt.

Yuo're taller than I am (everyone's taller than I am, LOL!), so yuo'd need even more distance between yuor feet.

Well, just a thought, but it's sure helped me...

Great advice DAD...I do the same stance with my squats because of the knee discomfort and I am only 5'6, a short one too!

b-boy · Apr 8, 2009

hey mainevent good post above bro, thanks for joining in.

I think the training your currently doing is ideal for you.

Lenny · Apr 8, 2009

Well, this is what I did for my legs today:

Squat: Warmup set for 20 reps (225lbs)
Set 1: 225lbs. for 15 reps
Set 2: 315lbs. for 15 reps
Set 3: 405lbs. for 10 reps

Leg Press: Feet Wide
I did 3 sets in a row with 20 seconds of rest in between each set.
Set 1: 8 plates on both sides (16 total plates) for 15 reps
20 seconds later.....
Set 2: Same weight for 10 reps
20 seconds later....
Set 3: Same weight for 8 reps

Leg Curl: 45 - 60 seconds between each set
Set 1: 200lbs for 12 reps
Set 2: 200lbs for 10 reps
Set 3: 200lbs for 10 reps

Calf Raises on Leg Press:
3 sets for 25 reps

30 minutes of cardio on bike.

I train legs twice a week. I usually always do the squat both times, substitute the Leg Press for SLDL and the Leg Curls with Lunges around the track on the second leg workout. Not a ton of sets, but my legs have grown from it.

MAINEVENT · Apr 8, 2009

b-boy said:
hey mainevent good post above bro, thanks for joining in.

I think the training your currently doing is ideal for you.

Thanks....it took getting some help from a really good friend to convince me i was REALLY overdoing it.

Dad said:
This is a really good point! Training DC, I've been doing shorter Blast Phases, and with the Cruise Phases, have kept sets several reps short of failure.

About the time the Cruise gets to the point where I'm just intchin' to get back to heavier weight, is when I end it.

On no extra supps, this has been a really helpful approach.

I forgot to say most of the sets now (maybe the except the last one) are never taken to failure now.

Shelby · Apr 8, 2009

bboy,

How much would you say your genetics contributes to your success with this training style?

Also:
In your many years of training, have you ever trained in a fashion that did NOT provide results for you?

hank · Apr 8, 2009

AWESOME POST!!

Mr.G · Apr 8, 2009

B-boy what stood out to me with this post is that you are training hard OFF. This is where some people fail. The off season should be that, some time off so when the time comes your body will be a sponge for the next growth cycle.