Big Dave Smith: AMA Thread/Journal

[thethinker48]

Also to note: I love when old school bodybuilders see my fairlife shakes and just have emotional reactions to it. "Oh god, MILK? I don't know if I'd use this long term..." When I ask why, they NEVER have an answer. I always say "I digest them well and the amino acid profile is good. Why not?" They usually reply with "Well, I'd just think you'd be better off with a clean protein. Then I ask "How is this dirty? How do you quantify or qualify what dirty means?" They just stand there with no answer, backed into a corner.

If I had digestive issues from the shakes, or they were loaded with non-animal plant proteins, I'd agree... but old school bodybuilders just repeat things over and over without ever having any understanding. If there's anything I hate in this industry, it's canned phrases and buzzwords.

Been getting these shakes since I saw this post, and love the added protein, flavor and digestion

I can down 3-4 of these a day and feel great vs whey giving me diarrhea

 

[mimo]

Current Split
S- CHEST/DELTS/triceps
M- BACK/biceps/neck/abs
T- BJJ
W- REST
Th- BICEPS/TRICEPS/chest/delts/lats/abs/neck
F- BJJ or rest
S- LEGS/abs/neck

*UPPER CASE = more volume/emphasis
*lower case = one exercise of low systemic fatigue, “touch up”/pump stuff.
*Abs I usually do 3-4 sets of GHR crunches, Standing Rope Crunches, or Hanging Leg Raises

what kind of volume do you do per session? Can you give and example?

 

[bukotitanico]

Hi Dave ! Ive never seen bjj Black belt with this amount of muscle mass… Damm!
Have you ever experienced some of the typical bjj injuries? (Neck, knees, etc ) and how you deal with them ( not lifting or stop rolling)
As i read im suposed you have a really good game and dont use the strenght while rolling, so why dont you train weights and lift the same day ?

 

[bukotitanico]

Hi Dave ! Ive never seen bjj Black belt with this amount of muscle mass… Damm!
Have you ever experienced some of the typical bjj injuries? (Neck, knees, etc ) and how you deal with them ( not lifting or stop rolling)
As i read im suposed you have a really good game and dont use the strenght while rolling, so why dont you train weights and lift the same day ?

Hi Dave ! Ive never seen bjj Black belt with this amount of muscle mass… Damm!
Ive read you have experienced a neck inmjury due bjj, how was and how you deal with it ? How much time without lifting and rolling?
Ive also read you focused some time in bjj and less training days? How did your body answer? In terms of aesthetic.
As i read im suposed you have a really good game and dont use the strenght while rolling, so why dont you train weights and lift the same day ?

 

[xpac2]

I remember when you started BJJ back in the muscle mayhem days. Great to see that you stuck to it and got the black belt!

 

[Vanguards]

This thread is gold

 

[Mufasa123]

Wasn't on boards for a bit and totally missed this thread. Amazing info and contribution.

 

[Vanguards]

I hope he's still around. His answers were incredibly detailed and insightful

@Big Dave Smith

 

[Big Dave Smith]

what kind of volume do you do per session? Can you give and example?

My apologies, I didn't see this.

Lately, I've been doing a PPL split... training M-Th-S-S.

Chest- 9-12 sets
Delts- 6-9 sets
Triceps- 8-10 sets
*My arms need work, and my left rotator cuff is likely torn... so I have to barely train delts and presses.

Lats- 9-12 sets
Upper Back- 8-10 sets
Biceps- 10-12 sets
*Same as above. My arms are hot garbage, so I've upped the volume a bit.

Quads- 10-15 sets
Adductors- 3 sets
Hams- "zero"
Glutes- 3-6 ses
*My left hamstring is torn, so I haven't done any leg curls in 4 years. I'll do light hip hinge movements, but I feel them more in my glutes. Hamstrings just stabilize. When I pose, my good leg is extended back, and my torn leg still has a good ham drop, so it's hard to see the difference on stage.

Most of my sets range from 2-3 RIR on days where I need more recovery, and 0-1 and beyond for days where I can hammer a little harder. I just focus on my log book and auto regulate based on the context of the day.

Most of my sessions take about 2 hours.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Hi Dave ! Ive never seen bjj Black belt with this amount of muscle mass… Damm!
Have you ever experienced some of the typical bjj injuries? (Neck, knees, etc ) and how you deal with them ( not lifting or stop rolling)
As i read im suposed you have a really good game and dont use the strenght while rolling, so why dont you train weights and lift the same day ?

Torn hamstring
Torn left triceps tendon
One or two discs in my neck
Left hip probably has arthritis and/or a labrum tear
Right knee cap dislocated with stretched MPFL.
Left pinky toe broken and dislocated
Torn left rotator cuff
Broken right ring finger
Torn left rotator cuff

But other than those things, I'm mostly fine.

All I could do was rehab them thoroughly and auto regulate training. I never do exercises that make injuries worse, I'm not married to movements. Many guys will dogmatically say "You have to do this exercise to grow"... but I don't agree with that at all.

I don't roll and lift because it would be too taxing on recovery, I have no time to do both on the same day anymore, and one session would suffer if I did both. It's too difficult to get a good lift in if I roll the same day. If I lift then roll, I'd risk injury when rolling. If you're in your 20's, or your lifting routine is more relaxed, you could do both. I'm trying to compete again in bodybuilding, so that has to be the priority until I'm retired from the sport.

 

[bukotitanico]

Torn hamstring
Torn left triceps tendon
One or two discs in my neck
Left hip probably has arthritis and/or a labrum tear
Right knee cap dislocated with stretched MPFL.
Left pinky toe broken and dislocated
Torn left rotator cuff
Broken right ring finger
Torn left rotator cuff

But other than those things, I'm mostly fine.

All I could do was rehab them thoroughly and auto regulate training. I never do exercises that make injuries worse, I'm not married to movements. Many guys will dogmatically say "You have to do this exercise to grow"... but I don't agree with that at all.

I don't roll and lift because it would be too taxing on recovery, I have no time to do both on the same day anymore, and one session would suffer if I did both. It's too difficult to get a good lift in if I roll the same day. If I lift then roll, I'd risk injury when rolling. If you're in your 20's, or your lifting routine is more relaxed, you could do both. I'm trying to compete again in bodybuilding, so that has to be the priority until I'm retired from the sport.

Thanks! lot of wiseness in your answer, definitly experienced matters.
So, do you mean when you said autoregulate training is to still working out, no? I asume your neck injury came from bjj. For example, in this injury you still training avoiding excersises which could make you worse, but never stop at all?

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Thanks! lot of wiseness in your answer, definitly experienced matters.
So, do you mean when you said autoregulate training is to still working out, no? I asume your neck injury came from bjj. For example, in this injury you still training avoiding excersises which could make you worse, but never stop at all?

If an exercise causes pain, 99% of the time you should not do it. Auto regulation means that I train, but within the context of my injuries, current state of recovery, etc. You need a lot of knowledge and experience to do this well. There are so many variables to contend with and consider. The more you understand, the easier it is to keep going. There isn’t one way, one speed, one intensity level, etc.

 

[copypastemuscle]

I've always been active off-season. Inactivity for bodybuilders is a stupid, lazy, dangerous approach to adding mass... so it's something I can't relate to. If you're a desk jockey, it's just normal life... but bodybuilders should always be doing something other than lifting weights to get their heart and lungs working.

I'm active by default due to working in construction and I've noticed a lot of the better amateurs/new pros work in the same industry and they usually have developed legs even though we all probably clock 20k steps a day.
I've always wondered if it was due to the fatigue or it being active recovery from being on your feet all day?

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I'm active by default due to working in construction and I've noticed a lot of the better amateurs/new pros work in the same industry and they usually have developed legs even though we all probably clock 20k steps a day.
I've always wondered if it was due to the fatigue or it being active recovery from being on your feet all day?

Are you asking why they have developed legs?

Walking is such low intensity, it has no impact on muscle gain or loss. Most leg mass loss during a dieting phase comes from higher intensity forms of cardio, not enough calories, macros being off, and inefficient training. No mass (for bodybuilders) can be contributed positively either. We have entire days focused on legs, take drugs, and eat mass amounts of food.

Walking would matter more for overweight and old folks.

 

[copypastemuscle]

Are you asking why they have developed legs?

Walking is such low intensity, it has no impact on muscle gain or loss. Most leg mass loss during a dieting phase comes from higher intensity forms of cardio, not enough calories, macros being off, and inefficient training. No mass (for bodybuilders) can be contributed positively either. We have entire days focused on legs, take drugs, and eat mass amounts of food.

Walking would matter more for overweight and old folks.

Not really, it's just something I've observed.. I'm curious though if walking on stairs, scaffolds and uneven surfaces (Usually carrying tools/materials) could indirectly support hypertrophy by aiding recovery.
Obviously training, food, our gear usage will contribute more but it's always fun to think about how someone's job can impact their bodybuilding lol

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Not really, it's just something I've observed.. I'm curious though if walking on stairs, scaffolds and uneven surfaces (Usually carrying tools/materials) could indirectly support hypertrophy by aiding recovery.
Obviously training, food, our gear usage will contribute more but it's always fun to think about how someone's job can impact their bodybuilding lol

If anything, the additional walking would add to NEAT, which would either keep body fat lower and/or require more food to sustain the mass.

My ex, who's my client and best friend, has actually struggled with this. She had a prep one year where she did not track her steps. That year, she was traveling a lot for her job. Hotel stays, long walks down hallways to walk her dogs, parking lots, constant grocery stores, site walks, etc. The next year she was more sedentary, living at home. She had to do additional cardio to get leaner when she was sedentary. When she kept her step count high, the fat melted off.

Step count his now a huge factor with all my clients, including my own training. I'd still wager that there's no measurable difference for hypertrophy at all though.

 

[mimo]

Are you still doing the lower test high DHT?

 

[luki7788]

If anything, the additional walking would add to NEAT, which would either keep body fat lower and/or require more food to sustain the mass.

My ex, who's my client and best friend, has actually struggled with this. She had a prep one year where she did not track her steps. That year, she was traveling a lot for her job. Hotel stays, long walks down hallways to walk her dogs, parking lots, constant grocery stores, site walks, etc. The next year she was more sedentary, living at home. She had to do additional cardio to get leaner when she was sedentary. When she kept her step count high, the fat melted off.

Step count his now a huge factor with all my clients, including my own training. I'd still wager that there's no measurable difference for hypertrophy at all though.

It's obvious. For this reason many bodybuilders especially from the US have to prepare on a very low diet and high cardio because they take very few steps during the day. I have clients from all over the world and I can clearly see that Americans have a big problem with this because they travel everywhere by car - to the store or anywhere else. Most of my clients from Europe take 10-15 thousand steps a day leading their normal lives (we walk a lot) while my clients from the US or Canada have a big problem taking 5000-6000 steps a day

 

[Vanguards]

It's obvious. For this reason many bodybuilders especially from the US have to prepare on a very low diet and high cardio because they take very few steps during the day. I have clients from all over the world and I can clearly see that Americans have a big problem with this because they travel everywhere by car - to the store or anywhere else. Most of my clients from Europe take 10-15 thousand steps a day leading their normal lives (we walk a lot) while my clients from the US or Canada have a big problem taking 5000-6000 steps a day

Yeah this is very true, that's why the obesity rates are so high here. Not a lot of walking + most people just shovel fast food

A desk job makes it really tough too. A walking pad and a standing desk can help alleviate the problem with desk jobs though

 

[copypastemuscle]

Yeah this is very true, that's why the obesity rates are so high here. Not a lot of walking + most people just shovel fast food

A desk job makes it really tough too. A walking pad and a standing desk can help alleviate the problem with desk jobs though

I bought myself a walking pad for prep incase I didn't have work as it was winter here in Australia a few months ago.
My missus has an office job and uses it religiously as it's set up in her room lol. She's gone from 4k to 10k steps a day and uses it in the morning, after meals or if she's shy off her step goal.
Great investment on my part even though I rarely ever use it lol