Friendly advice

[betito]

Great advice, if one day you go to failure at 10 reps with x weight and the next day you are not able to do those 10 reps with more weight that means YOU DIDN´T GROW, the culprit is food and rest (if you are not overtraining), adjust rest and food and you will grow between workouts and you will push more weight

 

[tkav1980]

Who here has added 50+ lbs to their lifts just by switching from BBs to DBs...or going from dips to skull crushers when they hit a plateau, but leaving diet, rest, and supplementation the same?

well.... a simple switch on its own will not do that. however switching lifts can be beneficial. if we could al just keep getting stronger on decline bench we would all be doing sets with 1000 lbs. as much as i would love to be able to do that it just isnt going to happen. the reason for changing a lift is 2 fold. 1 it helps break the monotony. 2 it gives you another movement to get brutally strong on. progression is always a good thing. but this progression cannot take place if you arent paying attention to the things that will really allow you to progress. Diet and supplementation, including hormones. a person that is trying to be a 250lb lean bodybuilder can not eat like a 160lb lean bodybuilder. that just isnt enough nutritiens to support that bodymass. its also going to take an increase in added hormones and other supplements. if you didnt increase the intake of all of these things it would be like trying to wax a mac truck wiht the same amount of wax you used on a ford focus. it wont get the job done and even if it did cover it would be spread too thin to be effective.

Now is a lift change necessary? or a program change(the whole group of lifts)? possibly but not necessarily. keeping the same lifts can do the same thing for you as changing them but only if all other aspects are covered in terms of diet and supplementation. you progress with weight lifted by progressing with diet and supps.

the conclusion i draw from this advice is verry common sence stuff. dumbells wont get you bigger than a BB. its your diet and supps that will do that.

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Well

I think this will prove my point. Anyone on here who was 285 failry lean at 5-7 like myself at one time......show me the way please. I am not bragging, thats just the facts.......NOW, do people ask me to please be honest about how often I changed my routine? No, they always ask me to please be honest about what I ate and what I took for suplements. Subconciously they KNOW what changes the body......and so do the smarter guys on here.

 

[tkav1980]

Hmmm, isnt it against DC training method?
With DC, exercices are changed every workout cycled with different 3 exercises.

What you guys think about that?

dont look at DC like your changing exercises all the time. think of the 14 day rotation as the entire routine. incline bb decline bb and hammerstrength chet press are the 3 exercises that comprise you entire chest "routine" you just doing them on different days.

 

[halflife]

I see Phil's point - and agree with it.

I think people might want to read into it too much and find exceptions, like some lifts are better for those with short trunks and long arms compared to other proportions. But if you do that (sit and try to find minute errors in Phil's statements/logic) you will really miss the point.

Once you have a routine that:
"
1. Choose a routine that is efficient
2. Choose a routine that allows for recovery
3. Choose a routine that allows for progression
4. Choose a routine that allows for creativity as to not get bored
5. Choose a routine that allows you to function as a real member of society and allows for relationships...........something you can live with."
-Phil Hernon

Don't change it. Plateau? and all the above is true - it' not your routine.

-Dave

 

[dsquared]

Advise for natural guys?

Are there supplements other than hormones that can be adjusted?.. or is a natural lifter pretty much bound by diet manipulation?

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Well

Make sure you are on a proper workout routine.......diet and supplementation........just lower expectations. No difference really

 

[puritan]

dont look at DC like your changing exercises all the time. think of the 14 day rotation as the entire routine. incline bb decline bb and hammerstrength chet press are the 3 exercises that comprise you entire chest "routine" you just doing them on different days.

Got it bro

 

[db006]

the point of this thread was....

I think this will prove my point. Anyone on here who was 285 failry lean at 5-7 like myself... I am bragging, thats just the facts....

just messing with you phil. i dont want you to break your new years resolution.

 

[betito]

I think this will prove my point. Anyone on here who was 285 failry lean at 5-7 like myself at one time......show me the way please. I am not bragging, thats just the facts.......NOW, do people ask me to please be honest about how often I changed my routine? No, they always ask me to please be honest about what I ate and what I took for suplements. Subconciously they KNOW what changes the body......and so do the smarter guys on here.

You changed your routine every day by adding more weight to the bar Ronnie did something similar and I heard he ended being quite big

 

[knucklehed]

I see Phil's point - and agree with it.

I think people might want to read into it too much and find exceptions, like some lifts are better for those with short trunks and long arms compared to other proportions. But if you do that (sit and try to find minute errors in Phil's statements/logic) you will really miss the point.

Once you have a routine that:
"
1. Choose a routine that is efficient
2. Choose a routine that allows for recovery
3. Choose a routine that allows for progression
4. Choose a routine that allows for creativity as to not get bored
5. Choose a routine that allows you to function as a real member of society and allows for relationships...........something you can live with."
-Phil Hernon

Don't change it. Plateau? and all the above is true - it' not your routine.

-Dave

I find myself quoting Phil often, especially when guys ask questions at the gym. This is one of my favorites. Well done Halflife...

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Yes

You changed your routine every day by adding more weight to the bar Ronnie did something similar and I heard he ended being quite big

Thats true......adding weight is a change.....but keep the parameters the same.

 

[Ironraider]

Thanks for posting this up Phil...always good to reinforce the faith in the system. You'll always have those who will challenge the way things are done, not that challenging is bad because it makes us really think things through. But your clients as well as yourself, are the "proof in the pudding".

I have done DC for 3 or 4 years and I have no regrets whatsoever, and I happen think Dante is a genius. I have done just about every other program, but the results from following your direction is amazing...and I thank you for it. The simplicity is what I like...

Now back to my bowflex and LBAs!

 

[jdavid1139]

Sounds pretty simple to me... Muscles are made of food, and supplements can enhance the body's use of the food... Guess people want it to be more complicated?

 

[YoungNJacked]

do you suppose its more supplemets=need for more cals. whereas more LBM=need for more cals?

so if those are true. does the quality of the cals only enhance the whole equation?

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Well

do you suppose its more supplemets=need for more cals. whereas more LBM=need for more cals?

so if those are true. does the quality of the cals only enhance the whole equation?

Calories are a tool......sometimes you have the wrong tool and it will make your problems worse..........pick the right tool and you can fix stuff. I dumbed it down for the guys who do not want to solve puzzles..........

 

[YoungNJacked]

Calories are a tool......sometimes you have the wrong tool and it will make your problems worse..........pick the right tool and you can fix stuff. I dumbed it down for the guys who do not want to solve puzzles..........

lol. i know what ur sayin..

so this is just from personal experience....when ur first getting into "bodybuilding" as a sport....it seems as if all u need is supplements and cardio to really make huge gains. however, when u get to a certain weight threshold, you need to upgrade correct? that is where more supplements are needed to increase appetite/metabolism, LBM turnover correct?

would you say quality is even more important at a higher weight because of the effect it has on your blood levels in general?

 

[Ironraider]

I dumbed it down for the guys who do not want to solve puzzles..........

Thanks for the chuckle...i needed it to start my Friday night

 

[Power Juicer]

I must say Phil, I get a lot of enjoyment and feel enlightened after reading your posts. The are very informative.

 

[w8tlifterty]

Make sure you are on a proper workout routine.......diet and supplementation........just lower expectations. No difference really

In concern to being natural.... After using and not using I have found this to be true. I am not currently training w/ Phil but have for a cpl years in the past. At the time i was 'assisted'. Gains came at a fast pace on his routine, I never changed any exercise just progressed in wgt. IF i began to stall, i'd take a few days off, but I never changed the exercises. Never felt the need. Now, I've been going about things as a mere mortal for some time....
-Some observations... (natural training w/ phil's routine)
-I do switch things up from time to time, but I generally come back to my "staple exercises" and I am weaker than where i left off? So, by trial and error, natty or not, no need to change exercise. It provides no benefit in my opinion to my physique.
-If I stick to the staple exercises, and progress w/ wgt or reps i will notice improvements, albeit small, but nonetheless in either pounds on the scale or mirror changes.
-Being natural, expect to put serious effort in ( and I mean training/diet/nutrition meticulously in place) with little to no results and be happy w/ it if you've been 'on' in the past. Like Phil said, "lower expectations." Being the optimist i am i hated him for telling me that when i made the switch, but ultimately its true.
-I had to work in more rest days, the original routine i used when 'on' would fry me now, within weeks. Find what works for you in this area, but for most I dont think you will be able to recover if giving all out intensity in the gym.
-Adjust macros a bit to foster an effective hormonal response. For me, this meant backing off protein a tad (just a smidge), keeping carbs roughly the same and adding in more saturated fats. As of recently, grass fed meats have provided a definate boost to both my strength and physique.
-One thing I've been experimenting w/ lately which has me sore beyond what I 've experienced in a very long time is a very slow controlled negative with a quick explosive burst from the bottom (well the bottom of the ROM I choose to work in for an exercise). Hopefully this will equate to some positive results, will see....
Just some thoughts for those that are on his program and are not choosing to use aas.

I do have a question tho, I have actually been able to surpass certain strength levels on certain exercises while being clean that I could not do when using... Yet, the size increase never fostered?