gaining muscular size, what worked best for you?

[alfresco]

For gaining muscular size, what was your most result producing workout
routine and diet, and why aren't you following it now? Or are you?

I'm aware that there is no perfect routine and diet for all time as we all
change and adapt as a function of time. But please tell us, give us an
example of something that worked the best for you, and if it worked so
well, tell us why aren't you doing it now.

Thank you.

 

[kineticenergy]

For gaining muscular size, what was your most result producing workout
routine and diet, and why aren't you following it now? Or are you?

I'm aware that there is no perfect routine and diet for all time as we all
change and adapt as a function of time. But please tell us, give us an
example of something that worked the best for you, and if it worked so
well, tell us why aren't you doing it now.

Thank you.

5x5 workouts

 

[chris250]

Im sure this has been brought up many times as a thread..But as always its good to go threw it again for the newbie's...

Ok for me, honestly the biggest (most weight and maybe the most muscle) was when I was doing DC all the time, I got up to over 280's and looked pretty good...It wasnt fun being that heavy, and yeah some of it was just ugly fat, but there was tons of muscle...My problem is that even though I hold more muscle at a higher weight, I cant hold on to it coming down in weight...I have to diet so hard and do so much cardio, I seem to lose what I gain, and then kill myself to get into shape...Maybe one day, when I take a few extra years off, I will do that again (get heavy 280 plus) but when I plan on competing a couple times a year, im better off staying somewhat lean...

What is working for me now ? I do a moderate volume routine..Training 5 days a week, one bodypart a day type of routine...I will still do some Rest Pauses, and static holds, ect, ect...I will even do some lower volume stuff when I go heavier in weight...(one week I might do HIT type of volume, with forced reps or rest pauses, before going back to moderate volume and tad higher reps) I change it up all the time, I just keep the intensity high all the time...I always go to positive failure...or rest pauses to positive failure...There are times though, when I need to back off on the intensity or even the heavy weights becasue my body wont recover as fast as it use to...I started to notice this the past two years or so...(im 35 now) So I kinda have to be careful when to go all out, and know when to back off and just train correctly...

 

[Tom]

the opposite of most

higher volume, light weights, high reps in the range of 15-20 and short rest periods 60-70 seconds.

 

[tr]

For gaining muscular size, what was your most result producing workout
routine and diet, and why aren't you following it now? Or are you?

I'm aware that there is no perfect routine and diet for all time as we all
change and adapt as a function of time. But please tell us, give us an
example of something that worked the best for you, and if it worked so
well, tell us why aren't you doing it now.

Thank you.

listening to what my body is saying!
I've been training for 6 or 7 years now and always had a plan what and when to eat, training plan-monday chest-incl bench, db press etc, Tuesday back etc...sleep minimum 8 hours, take a nap during the day, take my supps, test on mond wed frid, deca on tues thurs sat and so on...
i was tired from everything, from this regime...3-4 months ago I decided to take a break and it was the best decision I've ever made!!!
Firstly i went off cycle and thought if I'm on nothing I'll gain nothing no matter what I will be doing so I still trained but had no plan - I may train 3 days in a row, 2 times a day or some body part 3 times a week balls to the wall if I feel my body is ready for it and if not - train only once every 3-4 days, once dull body workout a week, 5-7 total sets per workout, body part once every 10-14 days, only light sets and so on...the same with the diet-some days I barely go over 100g protein, while the others go over 350-400 grams, one day I may have 1500 or less cals, while the other day-over 5000cals, I may go 5-6 hours a day without eating if I'm not hungry and I may have 2cups rice 8oz and then again same meal after an hour if I'm starving...

And you know what? I'm the strongest and the leanest I've ever been in my offseason and I'm even OFF CYCLE now, take nothing at all, even haven't done pct after my last cycle!

So having no plan was the best plan for me, to listen to what my body is saying was the best plan for me. My own body is constructing different plans every single day. Maybe it is not the best plan for someone who is trying to put as much muscle as possible, but it's the best way to put quality muscle and even drop bodyfat at the same time.

 

[thebrick]

I grew the most when I kept it heavy as possible, intense and simple. For example for back, deadlifts, then t-bars, then narrow grip pull downs. That was it. I still do basically that back routine to this day.

 

[donjoy]

Training 3 days a week max (natty so I try to get a large amount of rest). Going as heavy as I can with controlled reps.

Using partial ROM to keep tension on the muscle being worked is something I have recently incorporated. I am actually becoming a firm believer in the partial ROM, especially on exercises like the bench press.

 

[repmks]

5x5 workouts

i actually did 5x5 workouts got good results. the first time i tried it. gonne have to try it again to verify if it really does work. but i liked way it felt.

 

[JETHRO TULL]

I did some powerlifting early on, but sometimes I think it held me back.

What I mean to say is that I wish I'd focused more on how I was lifting than just getting the weight from point A to point B. In the squat for example. I've seen a lot of guys squat big poundages who have crappy leg development. That's pretty much cause they are using the glutes and lower back.

It's funny that I don't try to do limit singles anymore and do just fine with whatever I do as long as I eat enough food. I think it all works if you are busting ass and feed your body.

 

[pumpt73]

For me it's been a basic straight forward type of training. Im an absolute believer in doing 1 bodypart per day. I try to mix some machines and cables, but my meat and potatoes are freeweight.

The things that have worked best for me, are the tried and true old school movements like Deadlifts, squats, bent over rows, tbar rows from the floor. One thing I've learned is to check the ego at the door. I keep my weights moderate to heavy, but heavy only if I can use proper form. The minute I feel myself cheating, I know it's time to lower the weight. I want to train my muscle not my ego. This makes me a rarity in my gym, as most train biceps 4 times a week.

I usually go with 4 sets per movement and I've started to do what I call a finishing set for certain bodyparts. I've been using the 7's routine, I think it's called at the end. 7 sets with light to moderate weight to just about failure, with no more than 30 seconds rest between the 7 sets. I've noticed this has really helped jumpstart me since my layoff. I'll also incorporate drop sets on certain movements. And again being a rarity in my gym, it's absolutely paramount that I train legs once a week with full intensity.

With diet, I tend to keep my carbs moderate as if I even look at carbs the fat stores on me, being only 5'5. My split right now, because of work is Monday through Friday with the weekends off. Once work settles down, I try to go 2 days on, 1 day off. Plus, I make sure to drink plenty of water as I work in a coal fired power plant and the temps can get as high as 200 degrees on certain floors. Also, I train for myself pretty much. I have the utmost respect for competitors and love the sport, so I try to train as close to a bodybuilding routine as possible.

 

[hyperlite32]

DC has been awsome to me so far...

 

[jm425]

For pure mass, dc training has been the best for me. Mind you I've tried many different workout programs including fst-7, joe weider's high volume program, etc. I recently finished dieting and am now bulking again. Last time I used dc, I gained 20 pounds in 6 months in which a good portion of that was muscle.

 

[btech]

Thank you all for your responses. Just proves what I have always said . . .
you are all unique, just like everybody else.

I believe we have all experienced a time or two in our lives when we just
grew. And we grew fast when all the conditions for growth were met. Your
first growth spurt, when most people gain the most amount of muscle is
when, obviously, they are starting out. Perhaps not from day one, or
perhaps not even during the first year because if you were anything like
me, you fumbled along trying different things, trying to figure it out. But
once you dialed it in, started paying attention and training really hard,
became consistent and serious, you probably grew like a weed. And
I believe that most, if not all people gain 90% percent of their size in the
first 4 - 5 years of training, if not sooner, during that initial growth spurt.

A second growth spurt occurs when anabolic substances are added
to the equation.

The third growth, and perhaps final growth spurt occurs among the very
rare, genetically gifted, who can grow and perhaps even survive, on
even greater and greater doses anabolic substances with the addition
of perhaps insulin and growth hormones (I'm speculating, do not know,
on the last two).

Now, as for my training experiences . . .

I must go back in time for this one as it was years ago when I made the
best progress in my life (I was 22 years old at the time) training in a friends
garage using only the most basic of equipment. We trained incredibly hard
and fast using a very simple pre-exhaust routine, whole body, to failure
3 times per week with zero supplements of any kind.

My workout partner and I grew so fast that we both were simply amazed.
We couldn't believe it, and nether could the people that saw us during that
time. They accused us of many things but they couldn't accuse us of not
training hard.We trained harder, faster, and briefer than anybody I had ever
seen before or since. Or such is my recollection.

Here is what worked best for me:

Vertical leg press / leg extension / barbell squat 1 cycle of one set each
to failure These were performed one after another with as close to zero
rest as possible.

Deadlifts 1 set to failure
Performed only once a week on Friday

Donkey calf raises, 3 sets to failure, 50 - 100 reps.

Bent arm pullovers with a cambered bar / weighted chins using a V bar
handle thrown over the chin up bar.
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
After I got as many reps as possible chining with weight, I lost the weight
and performed more, as many reps as possible with my bodyweight.

Lateral raises / barbell upright row / barbell press
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
We used the same weight for upright rows as we did for presses.

Flys / barbell bench press
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.

Incline dumbell curls / weighted chins with supinated grip
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
After I got as many reps as possible chinning with weight, I lost the weight
and performed more, as many reps as possible with my bodyweight.

Lying tricep extension / close grip bench press / weighted dips
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
We used the same weight for tricep extensions and close grip bench press.
And after I got as many reps as possible chinning with weight, I lost the
weight and performed more, as many reps as possible with my bodyweight.

wrist curls: palms up / palms down
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible

I don't recall exactly for how long we did this, I want to say 4 - 6 months, but
unfortunately, this experience did not last as long as I would have liked it to
as my workout partner, for a variety of reason bailed on me and our little gym
had to be disbanded and the pieces of equipment sold off. I did join a gym
shortly thereafter and have since joined and quit a wide variety of gyms, but
I was never able to duplicate the results I achieved during that first serious
go-around. To this day, I don't know what it was that made that time so utterly
productive. My age, the intensity, the fast paced workouts, the selection and
order of the exercises? I really don't know but what I do know that during that
time I was able to achieve a level of intensity that I have never been able to
duplicate. Nor have I trained in gym that had all the equiptment set up exactly
in the right place at the right time to do what I did as they say, back in the day.

As for my diet at the time (unfortunately I kept no nutrition notes but I was
meticulous in documenting all my workouts), all I can remember doing different
in addition to a well balanced diet, and this may sound silly, was eating a huge
raw goats milk cheese sandwich on the drive home after each workout.

I'll talk about my second (and final) growth spurt in another post on my HRT
experience.

alfresco, to sum it up, would you say that short rest periods (and possibly supersets) are superior to longer rest periods when it comes to growth?

 

[VTliftVT]

alfresco, to sum it up, would you say that short rest periods (and possibly supersets) are superior to longer rest periods when it comes to growth?

for some maybe...for others = overtraining....defintely good plateua breakers or something to switch up the lift occsionally

 

[chris250]

Thank you all for your responses. Just proves what I have always said . . .
you are all unique, just like everybody else.

I believe we have all experienced a time or two in our lives when we just
grew. And we grew fast when all the conditions for growth were met. Your
first growth spurt, when most people gain the most amount of muscle is
when, obviously, they are starting out. Perhaps not from day one, or
perhaps not even during the first year because if you were anything like
me, you fumbled along trying different things, trying to figure it out. But
once you dialed it in, started paying attention and training really hard,
became consistent and serious, you probably grew like a weed. And
I believe that most, if not all people gain 90% percent of their size in the
first 4 - 5 years of training, if not sooner, during that initial growth spurt.

A second growth spurt occurs when anabolic substances are added
to the equation.

The third growth, and perhaps final growth spurt occurs among the very
rare, genetically gifted, who can grow and perhaps even survive, on
even greater and greater doses anabolic substances with the addition
of perhaps insulin and growth hormones (I'm speculating, do not know,
on the last two).

Now, as for my training experiences . . .

I must go back in time for this one as it was years ago when I made the
best progress in my life (I was 22 years old at the time) training in a friends
garage using only the most basic of equipment. We trained incredibly hard
and fast using a very simple pre-exhaust routine, whole body, to failure
3 times per week with zero supplements of any kind.

My workout partner and I grew so fast that we both were simply amazed.
We couldn't believe it, and nether could the people that saw us during that
time. They accused us of many things but they couldn't accuse us of not
training hard.We trained harder, faster, and briefer than anybody I had ever
seen before or since. Or such is my recollection.

Here is what worked best for me:

Vertical leg press / leg extension / barbell squat 1 cycle of one set each
to failure These were performed one after another with as close to zero
rest as possible.

Deadlifts 1 set to failure
Performed only once a week on Friday

Donkey calf raises, 3 sets to failure, 50 - 100 reps.

Bent arm pullovers with a cambered bar / weighted chins using a V bar
handle thrown over the chin up bar.
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
After I got as many reps as possible chining with weight, I lost the weight
and performed more, as many reps as possible with my bodyweight.

Lateral raises / barbell upright row / barbell press
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
We used the same weight for upright rows as we did for presses.

Flys / barbell bench press
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.

Incline dumbell curls / weighted chins with supinated grip
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
After I got as many reps as possible chinning with weight, I lost the weight
and performed more, as many reps as possible with my bodyweight.

Lying tricep extension / close grip bench press / weighted dips
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible.
We used the same weight for tricep extensions and close grip bench press.
And after I got as many reps as possible chinning with weight, I lost the
weight and performed more, as many reps as possible with my bodyweight.

wrist curls: palms up / palms down
2 cycles performed one after another with as close to zero rest as possible

I don't recall exactly for how long we did this, I want to say 4 - 6 months, but
unfortunately, this experience did not last as long as I would have liked it to
as my workout partner, for a variety of reason bailed on me and our little gym
had to be disbanded and the pieces of equipment sold off. I did join a gym
shortly thereafter and have since joined and quit a wide variety of gyms, but
I was never able to duplicate the results I achieved during that first serious
go-around. To this day, I don't know what it was that made that time so utterly
productive. My age, the intensity, the fast paced workouts, the selection and
order of the exercises? I really don't know but what I do know that during that
time I was able to achieve a level of intensity that I have never been able to
duplicate. Nor have I trained in gym that had all the equiptment set up exactly
in the right place at the right time to do what I did as they say, back in the day.

As for my diet at the time (unfortunately I kept no nutrition notes but I was
meticulous in documenting all my workouts), all I can remember doing different
in addition to a well balanced diet, and this may sound silly, was eating a huge
raw goats milk cheese sandwich on the drive home after each workout.

I'll talk about my second (and final) growth spurt in another post on my HRT
experience.

How long did it take to finish this workout up ? Minutes ?

Also, how much did you grow on this program ? How much strengh did you gain ?

I've always thought about doing a whole body program or doing half the body one workout then the other half (well I did do that with DC training) during the offseason ...

thanks for the info

good stuff

chris

 

[tkav1980]

I dont think its as much the program as it is being progressive with the weight used as well as amount of food consumed.

 

[buselmo]

time, not being retarded, and staying motivated is what put (and keeps on putting on) muscle mass on my frame.
when i wasn't being retarded in my training and diet, stayed motivated, but didn't give it time... i gained a lot of fat and little muscle
when i was being retarded with my diet and training, but i was motivated and gave it time... nothing changed..

when all three come together... you get muscle mass.

JME

 

[Shelby]

No special programs, just:

1. Consistency (how many perfect days of eating, training, supplementing, sleeping, etc. can you stack on top of each other?)

2. Progressive Resistance (more weight or more reps every time you train)

3. Carb Cycling (for growing optimally without piling on fat)

 

[Lenny]

Great posts Alfresco...very interesting reading them. I think it all boils down to intensity and progression to increase muscle mass as so many of us agree on, oh and EAT!

 

[Steel4u]

DC training has helped me the most. Lots of food when bulking, 4,000 calories a day of pretty clean food. Hitting bodyparts twice in eight days seems key for me. Heavy basic compound movements. Only training with weights four days a week.