[CKD] Re: Trainerdan

[LSU_TIGERS]

Hey Trainerdan- I frequent lowcarber and quadrafit VERY often. I have tried to read everything from you- great inspiration. I have a few questions; I hope you can find a few minutes to help me out. Please take your time- I appreciate any help you could give me.

I started Body Opus about 10wks ago. I have lost a great deal of fat (from about 28%bf to around 18%). Also as a newbie I have managed to lay down a good bit of LBM. I am 23 and have hit the weights pretty hard for these 10wks. I know it is about time to stop and go to something else to keep my body under a stress and ever changing. I would love to hit BO for another 8-10wks. How long should I take off and should I just slowly ease into an ISOCALORIC diet? I was thinking maybe I could take one week off of lifting with small to moderate carbs (30grams), then one week of lifting with moderate carbs (40-50grams). THEN hit BO again. Is this enough of a break? I would like to hit the single digit BF before October.

Question #2-- If I do legs on a Monday but am still sore on Thursday should I jog? My cardio usually consists of jogging and circuit (rounds) boxing. Will the cardio hamper my recovery/repair?

MAX-OT
Here you write about a lifting system to gain muscle. I agree with you on the newbie thing. WHY after the newbie stage do you not get the HUGE gains that you get in the first stages of lifting? I am a newbie and I know that my gains are not going to continue in this fashion. There must be a thousand lifting routines/programs. Everyone promises huge gains with these certain programs. Is the reason these work for that person because it is a NEW DIFFERENT system and it puts a new stress on the body never experienced before? In other words are these programs just a way to put a new stress on the body giving way to "newbie" gains? What if one was to go 8wks on a program then jump to another (drastically different) program for another 8wks? For instance I would go 4sets of 10reps per exercise for 8wks then the next 8 wks I would go 2 sets of 4-5 reps. Then something different...etc... I don't know if I am making sense. Should I always try to dramatically change my routines to continue with my newbie gains? I really want to keep my progress at the rate it is going.
Thanks for any help-

Kyle Stevens

[Trainerdan]

I have a rare and nice afternoon off from work, so I can actually get in here for more than 10 mins to answer questions ... WOO HOO!

To answer your questions:

(1) the slide into an Isocaloric diet as you mentioned looks good to me. I say go for it!

(2) If I do legs on a Monday but am still sore on Thursday should I jog? My cardio usually consists of jogging and circuit (rounds) boxing. No. Wait for the muscle group to recover, or choose a low intensity cardiovascular activity. When your body makes the adaptations to overcome the intensity of your leg work, you should be able to hit your work on Thursday.

(3) Is the reason these work for that person because it is a NEW DIFFERENT system and it puts a new stress on the body never experienced before? Basically, yes. Switching up your training program every 6 - 8 weeks is encouraged. It's a training principle called PERIODIZATION.

I won't get into the neurological adaptations and all of that deep-geek stuff. I'll try to keep it short too. LOL.

Switching the set/rep scheme, the intensity, or altering the rest periods between sets are some ways of manipulatiing your workouts to place different loads on the muscles. That is, besides the obvious choices of switching your exercises, and/or the weight you are moving.

For example:

I love doing supersets in the 8 rep range, but if I do them too much, they lose their effect.

So I use them in 4 or 8 week cycles, twice per year. I use this after my mass cycle while I am bridging into the CKD (8 weeks), and also just before my mass cycle when I am bridging out of a CKD (4 weeks).

I also take 8 weeks and do a strength/powerlifting/dinosaur program. I use this during the early stages of my mass cycle.

I take 8 weeks and do specialized work on my bench press, which is 2 workouts per week, while I maintain strength in the other bodyparts in the third workout. This is at the tail end of my mass cycle.

I use another 12 weeks and do a double progression style of workout. This is typically what I use on a CKD.

The other months I may try a new program that is out there, or I may place focus on a lagging bodypart.

You have to keep the muscles stimulated. If they keep doing what they always do, they will keep getting what they've already gotten. The muscles will stop responding withouit increased intensity or a change of pace.

There a serveral types of muscle fibers, and you have to hit them all. The best way to do this is to switch your training style up.