Weightlifting tip!

[emcbride81]

From what I have read, cardio was not given a specific regimen, in fact they talked about replacing the days you would have lifted with cardio, with some days being more anaerobic like raquetball, sprinting, plyometrics, intervals, etc.

And yes, 2 weeks between body parts...at least with heavy lifting with maximal loads. When I am talking about 8x6x6 I mean struggling to failure on the last rep of each set.

I am actually heading in to the gym right now, we will see how it goes, this will be week 6!

- went well...5% increase in bb curl...my shoulder was bothering me so I didn't max out on bench, but I was 4 reps at 96% of my last 1RM!

 

[bottomfeeder22]

Interesting, I'll have to give it a go, incorporating some cardio as well!

 

[emcbride81]

One thing I have noticed with doing this is listen to your body. I have to admit, the last two times I have done this, I was so jazzed at the gym I wanted to do a little more. I allowed myself an extra set of 6-8 at the end per body part and it didn't seem to hurt at all (except the next day or two ) So my reps set scheme has been 8x6x6x6-8 with each set to failure and usually not making it to 6 reps on the third set...I usually die out in 3-5.

Like I have said, this is my experiment, taking some info I have read and working with it. If anyone else has any input good or bad, please add to this thread.

 

[swimsurflive]

Interesting...thanks for the tip!

 

[Debraw]

Ok so I have been working out 5 to 6 days a week up to 2 hours a day for the last 6 months. I unintentionally ended up taking off about 9 days. I kept up my cardio but not the strength training. I went back in and WAM!!!!! I knocked it out of the ballpark. I was light as a feather and felt like I could workout all day. I even lost 3 pounds in less than 4 days. I am really looking forward to my continued workouts, it feels like a part of my life now.

 

[funkcanna]

Rest IS important but what you are talking is not as effective (this will depend on goals). Why waste all that time? To see GOOD gains in both size and strength just do 3 full body work outs a week (Monday, Wed, Friday for example). This level of rest is perfect. Couple this with a high protein diet and you will gain like there is no tomorrow.

Let me know if anyone would like a routine and I will sort one out based on your goals along with a decent eating plan.

 

[funkcanna]

Ok so I have been working out 5 to 6 days a week up to 2 hours a day for the last 6 months. I unintentionally ended up taking off about 9 days. I kept up my cardio but not the strength training. I went back in and WAM!!!!! I knocked it out of the ballpark. I was light as a feather and felt like I could workout all day. I even lost 3 pounds in less than 4 days. I am really looking forward to my continued workouts, it feels like a part of my life now.

This is likely due to your routine lacking variation and your body plateauing. The rest you had stopped this effect and when you restarted your body started responding to the training again.

Listen, extended periods of rest CAN be effective occasionally to give your body time to chill out, however incorporating 2 weeks rest after EVERY session is not going to get you good gains. Simple as that.

Can I ask why you spend over 10 hours a week working out? What is your routine?

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Hey gang, just thought I would throw this out there. My degree is in Sports Medicine, and even though I am not currently practicing, I try to stay on top of trends in the various fields. I ran across an interesting book a while back and it talked about the importance of rest with weightlifting. How we are getting way too little rest.I decided to try it and I waited till now to talk about it because I wanted to test it out.

I stopped lifting entirely in April of 2006. I started up again after reading this book. I was inconsistent with my routine and ended up only doing chest most time. I lifted once a month for 4 months at a little park and rec facility. After joining a real gym with real equipment I decided to test my one rep maxes. My bench press was stronger than it had ever been...I set my own personal record!

Since then I have lifted just arms...for about a month and a half, only lifting every 2 weeks. My one rep max has gone up each workout and I just lifted the heaviest dumbbell I have ever lifted this evening! I am going to go back to total body workouts soon, I was just experimenting with this 2 week rest thing with one body part.

My rep scheme is 8x6x6 for one exercise (use your core exercise here BB curls, dips, bench, squat, deads) and then an secondary exercise for the same body part (DB curls,hammer curls, flyes, pressdowns etc) 8x6 only. Then no weights for 2 weeks and repeat.

Now this is also working for another guy I told, and he has been a consistent lifter for years
.
I haven't measured growth yet, I need to do that soon. Anyway, I figured I would put it out to my dive buddies here and see what kind of results you get!

Well, I am not a PT or anything like that but I do have a question and some statements.

What's the name of the book?

The idea of "rest" is not a new idea. Mentzer and others have made that statement in the past.

However, to maximize the benefit of the rest requires busting-your-butt during the activity phase. Somewhere, sometime, I read a statement that you can work out hard or for a long time but not hard for a long time.

Oh, and for those who care, two of the best weight lifting exercises for overall growth are squats, and deadlifts. Forget about curls, and tricep pushdowns; do squats and deadlifts to maximize your growth.

 

[funkcanna]

Oh, and for those who care, two of the best weight lifting exercises for overall growth are squats, and deadlifts. Forget about curls, and tricep pushdowns; do squats and deadlifts to maximize your growth.

Exactly right - hence why I advised full bodies.

Squats and Deadlifts are compound exercises utilizing more than one joint / muscle group.

A routine based on 4 or 5 compounds and one isolation is perfect, although isolations are not really required.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Rest IS important but what you are talking is not as effective (this will depend on goals). Why waste all that time? To see GOOD gains in both size and strength just do 3 full body work outs a week (Monday, Wed, Friday for example). This level of rest is perfect. Couple this with a high protein diet and you will gain like there is no tomorrow.

Let me know if anyone would like a routine and I will sort one out based on your goals along with a decent eating plan.

I am sure you know this but:

1) That level of rest might not be sufficient if the intensity is high enough.

2) High protein can be hard on the kidneys

3) What works for someone else might not work for "you"

4) What worked when you were younger might not work as well when you are older and your body is less resilient.