Since the release of Tim Ferriss’ book The 4-Hour Body which has a photo of me in ripped condition in the chapter “Six-Minute Abs” I’ve received a lot of questions about my training and diet at the time the photo was taken.
The following are the short answers to the most common questions.
Regarding abdominal work:
I did not perform any direct abdominal exercise during the six months prior to the contest. From around November of 1994 through June of 1995 (eight months) when the photo was taken I performed the following routine once a week:
- Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
- Hammer Strength Leg Press
- Hammer Strength Pulldown (Underhand Grip)
- Hammer Strength Chest Press
- Hammer Strength Low Row
- Cybex Plate-Loaded Calf Raise
Only one set of four to eight repetitions of each exercise was performed, using the SuperSlow repetition method (10 seconds lifting, 10 seconds lowering), with no rest between exercises. Occasionally, my trainer Mike Moran would add a set of barbell curls or triceps press-downs to the end of the routine. These were performed using Mike Mentzer’s static hold method (holding the weight motionless in the mid-range position as long as possible, aiming for approximately 30 seconds).
While no direct abdominal exercises were performed the abdominal muscles are heavily involved in underhand-grip pulldowns as well as heavy triceps pressdowns.
I did not perform a large volume of abdominal training prior to November 1994, either. For most of 1994 prior to starting the above routine I followed the following upper/lower split routine based on Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training, training once every three to four days:
Upper Body:
- Machine Pullovers
- Underhand-Grip Pulldowns
- Alternating Dumbbell Curls
- Dumbbell Chest Fly
- Dumbbell Bench Press
- Cable Triceps Pressdowns
Lower Body:
- Leg Extensions
- Barbell Squats
- Leg Curls
- Calf Raise
- Weighted Crunches
Only one set of five to eight repetitions of each exercise was performed, at a controlled speed, with a few minutes of rest between exercises.
Regarding my diet:
Prior to the competition I weighed around 180 pounds and maintained a relatively low level of bodyfat. I started dieting specifically for the contest about two months out. I reduced my daily calorie intake to approximately 1800 for two weeks, then 1700 for two weeks, then 1600 for two weeks, by which time I was concerned I was sacrificing lean mass for the sake of fat loss but still wanted to get a bit leaner, and went back up to 1800 calories for the last two weeks.
The diet was Zone-influenced, starting with a roughly even percentage of calories from protein, fat and carbohydrate, with the further reduction in calories from 1800 coming from carbs. Most of the protein came from grilled chicken, eggs, canned tuna, milk and protein powder. Most of the carbs came from vegetables, along with occasional oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast. Most additional fats were from butter or dressing on the vegetables. It was pretty boring, but worked.
The only supplement I used other than protein powder was a generic multi-vitamin and mineral.
On the day the photo in the book was taken I weighed 152 pounds in the morning. A few days prior my body fat was measured using Futrex (infrared), bioelectrical impedance, and skin folds, all of which put me between 3 and 4 percent body fat, although I think 5 or 6 might have been a more realistic figure.
About one week after resuming my normal diet I weighed over 165 pounds and actually appeared more muscular and leaner, indicating I was significantly glycogen depleted and should have spent the last few days before the contest carb loading.
Regarding zero “cardio”:
I performed no “cardio” of any kind, either interval or traditional endurance type activities, during preparation for the contest or within the entire year prior. The only other physically demanding activity I performed outside of my high intensity training workouts was very brief martial arts training a few days a month, and not even that during the two months I was dieting for the contest. In fact my primary reason for doing the contest was to demonstrate “cardio” is entirely unnecessary for getting ripped.
Background
In 1995 I was working as a personal trainer for Gold’s Gym in Green Bay, Wisconsin (now Titletown Fitness) which has a HIT-based personal training program (specifically a SuperSlow program at that time). The gym also had a few independent trainers who, typical of mainstream personal trainers, erroneously believed “cardio” was necessary for fat loss and were critical of our anti-aerobics stance as well as the gym’s SuperSlow high intensity training program. I decided to do the competition to demonstrate:
- “Cardio” is unnecessary for fat loss, and even for getting in ripped condition.
- Very little weekly exercise is required to develop a contest-worthy physique.
Although it was not my goal at the time, I also demonstrated no direct abdominal exercise is required to have ripped abs, much less the ridiculous number of exercises and sets commonly recommended for the purpose. If you want to be ripped in general, or have a well defined “six-pack” in particular you do not need to perform set after set of various crunching and twisting exercises, you just have to develop an overall well-muscled physique and reduce your bodyfat to low levels through diet.
Comments on this entry are closed.
You are exactly right brother!
__Scientific, productive HIT Training
__Restricted kcals rotating between 12-9 kcals per pound of bodyweight
__Emphasis on protein, quality carbs and EFA’s
The only reason to perform cardio is to make up for overeating, lack of productive anaerobic training(most people) and to feel the endorphin/encalphin “High” that results from doing it.
Nice pic in the book. Almost done with it btw.
Drew,
Thanks for the information.
You probably spent less than 1/1,000th of the time and spent less than 1/1,000 of the money on supplements that most people spend to try to get into that kind of shape.
Of course, you made each set of each exercise count by working at a level of intensity that most people don’t have the stomach for. Nonetheless, thanks for showing us what’s possible with a rational protocol.
Kevin,
Those SuperSlow workouts never lasted more than 20 minutes and most were probably closer to 15, so during the six months prior to the contest my total training time was between six and a half and nine hours. This is less time than most bodybuilders spend in the gym in a single week.
hi Drew,
great article. what do u think about cardio for stubborn fat mobilization, blood flow etc. ??
Drew,
I don’t think it makes much of a difference, hardly enough to be worth doing for that purpose. Fat loss is almost entirely a matter of diet.
Great post (as usual) Drew – I am going to be doing something similar, except with a powerlifting meet. I have already had a couple of clients have success with powerlifting using HIT training – one winning nationals in 2 organizations and medalling in the IPF Masters’ World Bench Press Championships. I am going to do my first meet (unequipped), and also need to make a lower weight class so I’ll be documenting my progress from 235 to 220 by the end of March just from diet and proper HIT strength training. I won’t win or even place in all honesty, but I’ll make weight and put up a respectable enough bench that most people spending countless hours and using pointless exotic training techniques would be proud of! I will direct people to this post if they think I’m crazy.
Thanks Kevin, and congratulations on successfully coaching your clients to some impressive wins!
Please let us know how everything goes with your diet and meet.
Great to read this post again
I remember seeing the photos and you were ripped to the bone.
No doubt extra activity is a negative when it comes to fat loss.
The article did remind my of a question that had occured to me as a result of a comment you had made in another article but it is a little unrelated to fat loss.
I noticed in the two examples given of your routines you did not perform any any exercises usually considered to be Shoulder exercises.
I think that also seemed to be the usual Super Slow perspective at the time . Did you intentionally exclude direct shoulder work for a particular reason (injury , strong point de-emphasis etc,)or not? What about with clients
Hey Dennis,
There is a good deal of work for th anterior and posterior deltoids in both routines, but no direct medial deltoid work. During my first year with Heavy Duty I was more concerned with arm, back and chest development than anything else, thus the focus on pullover, chest fly, etc. Mike Moran was training me at the time I started doing SuperSlow and wrote all my workouts, and I’m guessing he figured I didn’t need the additional direct shoulder work at the time.
These days, standing presses are one of my staple exercises, along with weighted chin ups and dips, squats and shrug bar deadlifts.
Drew,
How did you find the upper/lower split routine in comparison to the full body routine that is highlighted above? Were you able to generate more intensity into your workouts by splitting the body up? I only ask this as I understand many individuals struggle to put maximum effort into other exercises that follow typically strenuous exercises that target the larger musculature of the body, such as the squat, deadlift and leg press. I’m just reading the ‘The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer’, which touches on this.
Thanks, Callum.
Callum,
I’ve had good results with both full body and split routines. If a person has difficulty maintaining a high level of intensity throughout a full body routine they should try cutting back the number of exercises before splitting the routine. Only a few exercises are required to effectively work all the major muscle groups and resting a few minutes between exercises will allow you to perform each one with a high level of intensity.
I’ve long considered “ab exercises” to be redundant and superfluous within the context of a well-structured exercise program. I even recall an article by Franco Columbo about 15 years ago, in which he wrote about how he used to win all the “best abs” award in BB shows (Back when they gave awards for individual bodyparts) yet he did virtually no direct ab work at all. He counted on basic movements like triceps pushdowns, deadlifts, squats etc to develop his abs instead. He said he’d see Frank Zane in the gym doing hundreds of roman-chair situps, but that his abs were not really any better than Franco’s.
I would also have to agree that “cardio” is virtually useless for fat loss. In fact, I’m currently reading Gary Taubes new low-carb diet manifesto, and he discusses how the science indicates that “cardio” actually tends to make you EAT MORE, and therefore more than negates the small amount of calories it burns. As I constantly remind my clients…your ability to put calories into your mouth will always greatly exceed your ability to burn them off via so-called cardio exercise.
Having said that, I still believe in walking for it’s ability to reduce stress. Though perhaps even that effect is nominal at best.
Congrats on your appearance in a best-selling book!
Jeff,
Thanks for sharing that about Franco. It would be interesting to know how many other competitive bodybuilders have used a similar approach.
Drew,
A little off topic but somewhat on topic, since it deals with body fat intake to see the abs.
How do you balance your calorie cycling with your training so that you are regularly adding muscle without adding fat if you are training once every 4 days? When is the most important time to calorie load and when is the best time to off load. In other words, when is the most critical time in the workout cycle schedule to increase calorie intake so fat shuttling is minimized and when is it most appropriate to reduce calorie intake at or below maintenance without sacrificing muscle.
Ramsey,
It is difficult for anyone other than beginners and trainees resuming after a long layoff to add muscle without adding fat. A more realistic goal is to minimize fat gain while gaining muscle by keeping track of your weight and waist circumference or abdominal skinfold measurement and adjusting your average daily food intake accordingly. If you are training properly and your calorie restriction is not excessive or continued for extended periods of time you should not lose any lean mass, although overall muscle size may be reduced due to loss of fat inside the muscle or reduced glycogen stores, especially on low carbs.
If you train once every four days and want to cycle calories I recommend increasing them during the day of and the day after your workout, mostly from about two hours before to a few hours following your workout.
Drew, great article, as usual.
Cardio question:
I perform 2 weekly strength training sessions per week – squat, bench, row one day and deads, pull ups and dips the next – in HIT fashion.
I avoid cardio because whether I do intervals or lsd, it saps my energy and affects my poundage.
However, based on what I’ve read elsewhere, I’m becoming concerned that avoiding cardio I could be impairing my cardiovascular health.
Is this a valid concern?
Johnny,
If you’re training hard enough during your HIT workouts to produce a significantly elevated heart rate for even a short duration and if you eat a healthy diet you have nothing to worry about. Check out Q&A: What is Metabolic Conditioning? for more on this.
Drew, thanks for your kind response.
I followed your suggested link, Q&A: What is Metabolic Conditioning? and within it found a link to 3×3 High Intensity Training Routines.
Based on what I read, I liked the concept because it uses the same exercises I currently use.
Question:
I presently train one set to failure. My goal is more muscle and less fat. So far I have added weight to all my exercises.
Would I be able to meet my goals if I changed to the 3×3?
Thanks!
Johnny,
The 3×3 will increase muscle mass but is more geared more towards metabolic conditioning. If muscular size is a higher priority I recommend only doing each exercise once, without rushing between exercises, and adding a few isolation exercises for smaller muscle groups like calves and forearms. For example, I currently alternate between the following two workouts, each based on two or three big, multi-joint exercises followed by a few isolation exercises to round them out:
Workout A:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 15-20 rest-pause (RP)
Weighted Chin Up: 1 x 7-10 negative-only (NO)
Standing Barbell Press: 1 x 7-10 RP
Thick Bar Wrist Curl: 1 x 7-10 RP
Thick Bar Wrist Extension: 1 x 7-10 RP
Workout B:
Shrug Bar Deadlift: 1 x 7-10 RP
Weighted Parallel Bar Dip: 1 x 7-10 NO
Thick Bar Arm Curl: 1 x 7-10 RP
Nautilus OME Standing Calf Raise: 1 x 7-10 RP
Ivanko Super Gripper: 1 x 7-10 RP
Hey Drew,
How active were you during your off days when you were doing that routine to prepare yourself for that contest? I ask because I’m currently on winter break from college, I do a HIT workout once a week and usually have some kind of progress each week, but for the past 2 weeks that I’ve been on my break I’ve been regressing. I’m beginning to think its because I’m pretty much a vegetable on my off days — over sleeping everyday etc. I’m not super active while I’m at school either but I do have to walk around to classes quite a bit and usually am on foot most of the time on campus and commuting etc. So I was just wondering if inactivity could be just as bad as being over active.
Oh and 1 equipment related question, is there much of a difference between the hammer strength pulldown and high row machines?
Thanks.
Matt,
I was less active than normal and slept even more while dieting for the contest. Unless you’re inactive for a very long time it isn’t going to cause a loss of strength, so if you’re regressing it is due to something else.
The Hammer Strength pulldown was an older machine with a similar movement to the high row, but with fused rather than isolateral movement arms.
Thanks Drew, you are a genius my friend.
I only keep track of my body fat % using my $220 Tanita scale. Here is the thing, during winter and spring break when I have a few weeks off and I’m resting more, my Tanita scale, which also happens to calculate muscle mass (by subtracting bone mass and extracellular water mass) will tell me that I have gained upwards of 5lbs of muscle in the two weeks.
As soon as I go back to school, those gains diminish within 1 week, despite getting stronger and following “Heavy Duty training” once every 4 days. I tried to up my calories but it only seems to increase my bf % instead of my muscle mass.
What do you think could be the problem?
Ramsey,
First, it’s important to be consistent with when and how you perform the measurements since differences in hydration, time of day, etc. can effect bio-electrical impedance. Immediately upon waking drink two or three large glasses of water then wait about half an hour before measuring. This way your level of hydration will be more consistent. Also consider diet will affect this, since glycogen stores in the muscle affect the amount of water in the muscle, so if you are eating differently at school and home this will affect it.
I prefer skinfold measurements, because they directly measure the thickness of the skin and subcutaneous fat which lets you know whether you’re getting leaner or fatter, regardless of what your actual bodyfat percentage is.
Without knowing whether the measurements are being done consistently, what you’re eating, exactly how you’re training, etc. it’s impossible to say exactly what the problem might be, but one thing that is probably a contributing factor is most people have more stress and get less sleep while in school, both of which will negatively effect muscle gains and contribute to fat gain.
I wonder why is there 3 excercises for a little muscle like forearms and only 1 for a big one like quads, back…
Wood,
Because an advanced trainee neither needs nor can tolerate more than a few big, compound movements done at a high level of intensity, while exercises for smaller muscle groups don’t make nearly as much a demand on recovery ability so more can be performed without overtraining. The calf and forearm movements are to round out the routine. Every other major muscle group is effectively worked by the few exercises included.
Drew
You “give away” more info, tips and workouts than any trainer I’ve ever seen. Great site and I enjoy these strings.
Hi Drew,
those results, especially given your no-cardio approach are inspirational for me. I think it’s true for myself and many others that the most difficult part of fat loss is calorie restriction, and it’s easy to be in denial about that without even realizing it; using exercise as an excuse to get lazy on diet. For me the greatest benefit in a no-cardio approach somewhat psychological. It removes cardio as a possibility. The dieter can no longer rely on cardio and instead is forced to be disciplined on a diet, and must be totally honest with him/herself.
Sometimes I get doubts in my head though, which happens easily when it’s late or I’m hungry.
1. What about the images of the starving, POWs, or other severely calorie-restricted individuals vs. athletes who exercise all the time i.e. sprinters, gymnasts, boxers? The calorie-restricted-only types look like they simply lost body mass, while the high-volume-exercise types usually look like they preferentially lost fat vs. muscle. To be absolutely certain calorie restriction will only go after fat, I guess I have to hope that weight (resistance) training will be enough.
2. If I drop my calories to 1400 or whatever I need (don’t have as much muscle as you did), won’t my metabolism eventually adjust so that I’m no longer losing weight at 1400, albeit at a lower body weight? What happens when I need to go to 1000, for example? Will my metabolism slow down so much I don’t function normally anymore?
Even with those doubts, however, your results have given me some ‘faith’ so to speak, that can be done.
T,
You are correct about people doing cardio as an excuse to be lazy with their diet. Every Monday gyms are packed with people who think they can make up for a weekend of heavy drinking and overeating with an hour or so of “cardio”. Unfortunately for them the body doesn’t work that way.
With regards to athletes’ physiques it is important to consider genetics and selection bias, and there is a huge difference between moderate calorie restriction while eating a balanced diet providing adequate protein and starvation and the effects of the physical and mental stresses experienced by prisoners of war.
Over a long period of strict calorie restriction metabolism can slow down, however incorporating periods of maintenance calorie intake or “free” meals or days helps prevent this and actually speed up fat loss. Proper strength training will also prevent the loss of muscle mass as long as calories aren’t too low and protein intake is adequate which helps maintain metabolic rate.
Hello champ,
I have being obsessed with developing a six pack for a very long time and have read and tried both ‘the truth about abs’ and ‘4h body’ and gotta say that the former was more effective getting me to 11% and latter to 13% at 61.8kg. I seriously don’t know what to do and am considering following your routine, however you said that you wanted to focus on chest etc. which routine/diet would you recommend if you were to focus on getting ripped abs?
thanks Drew
David,
The routine isn’t as important as the diet. Any routine that involves exercises safely and effectively addressing all the major muscle groups will do. You don’t need to do anything special for abs – one brief, hard set of one basic trunk flexion movement will do the trick in terms of effectively strengthening and developing the abdominal muscles, and even that isn’t even necessary if you’re performing a lot of big multi-joint movements involving the trunk.
As for diet, I recommend keeping track of your daily calorie intake, weight and body composition and adjusting your intake based on the other two, while focusing on eating adequate protein (1 to 1.5 grams per pound of lean body mass per day) and eliminating or minimizing intake of grains and starches.
Drew, I love your site and information. I’ve been doing HIT training 2x week for several months and love it, after trying a lot of other personal trainer programs. Like you, our trainer provides a lot of science, too, which I appreciate. I also walk several times a week (winter in MN) and bike in the summer. Most importantly, I finally understand it’s all about what you put in your mouth.
Do you feel comfortable that your principles work as well with women? I find that close reading of studies often reveals a group of males under 40 and feel less comfortable about how it might apply to me. Also, any adjustments for those later decades? I’m about to turn 60 – and my husband and I are interested in getting better, not slowing down.
Thanks, Drew.
Ann,
The principles apply equally to women, and have produced great results with all of my female clients who have followed them consistently. In later decades paying close attention to your body’s response to exercise becomes even more important, as the amount of intense exercise the body can handle decreases a little and the time required for recovery increases considerably. If you find you aren’t making regular progress in your workouts or start feeling more fatigued on the days following workouts you may require a reduction in training volume or additional rest days between workouts.
It aways made me smile many years ago (probably mid 80’s) when I’d read how all the champions of the day were training and eating, 14 – 20 set per body part, double spilt training programs, huge quantiles of food and hours of ‘Cardio’ to burn away the fat.
It reminded me of an incident with an aerobics instructor I once new who was conducting a class in one of the empty squash courts of the fitness center I was employed by.
I had had complaints about excessive noise from the class .
I remarked to her that the boombox she was using was at far to high a volume…yes she replied “thats why I had to put it out in the corridor”
With logic like thats she could have been Ms Olympia heh.
Drew,
I was just wondering about your opinion on the effectiveness of the trap bar deadlift as a lower body exercise? Do you feel it is an effective replacement for the squat/leg press if you do not have access to a power rack or leg press machine. I noticed some of your workout’s include them and really wondered how much quadricep involvement there actually is.
Callum.
Callum,
The trap bar deadlift is an incredible lower body exercise but the trap bar can also be used to perform a squatting movement by starting with the thighs parallel to the ground and keeping the torso more upright.
Think of the regular trap bar deadlift as the halfway point between the extremes of a squatting movement and a stiff leg deadlift. The top position of each exercise is the same, but the squat starts with the hips level with or below the knees, the stiff leg deadlift starts with the hips closer to the height of the shoulders (higher or lower depending on the relative length of your arms and legs), and the deadlift starts with the hips in between the two. If you want to emphasize the quadriceps more, start with the hips lower, closer to a squat position, if you want to emphasize the glutes and hamstrings more, start with the hips higher.
Drew,
Thanks for the detailed response. I now have a much better understanding of how best to use the trap bar. Your writings/articles are awesome to read, which is why I’m ordering the e-book very soon.
Thanks again,
Callum.
Callum,
You’re welcome and thanks in advance for your order. I hope the e-book helps with your training.
Do you think that Mike Mentzer was onto something with his “a calorie is a calorie” approach? In Body By Science, the Law of Thermodynamics was mentioned that seems to reinforce his ideas. Anyway, I have been a fan of Mentzer’s since 1994 when I first read an article of his published in Muscle Media 2000, and I’m glad that there is a forum like this to talk about high intensity training.
Brian,
Although calories matter, neither fat loss nor muscle gain are as simple as energy in versus energy out. The amounts and types of protein, carbohydrate and fat, the micronutrients and other substances in food, etc. all affect the body differently and influence changes in body composition.
Drew,
Just curious: have you tried getting into the same fantastic shape you
were in for the contest or does age prevent such great results?
Also, I am roughly 390lb pounds. I know that you are not a fan of cardio based on the fact it is not worth wasting time and risking possible injury for the minimal calorie burn it incurs.
Being a 390lb, 6ft tall man, how many calories should I be shooting for to incur at least 2lb fat loss per week? I perform 1-2 HIT sessions each week.
Regards,
Jay
Jay,
Age does not prevent one from getting ripped, but there is little reason to be that lean (three to four percent body fat) unless actively competing in bodybuilding.
To lose around two pounds of fat per week you should be consuming around 1,000 fewer calories per day than your body expends, assuming you are also eating in a manner which produces a hormonal environment conducive to fat loss. The exact amount would largely depend on your lean body mass and average daily activity level.
I am a 60yr. old male with ectomorphic–short muscle belly–problems in all of my major muscle groups. Frankly, I have never(I’ve exercised with weights since age 14) been able to gain muscle while simultaneously losing fat,regardless of whether or not I was doing”aerobic” exercise. Is this typical of “hardgaining” trainees? Thank you.
Mac,
It is possible, but extremely difficult to simultaneously build muscle and lose fat except for beginners and people resuming training after a very long layoff.
Drew, you said: It is possible, but extremely difficult to simultaneously build muscle and lose fat except for beginners and people resuming training after a very long layoff.
If a person has more fat and less muscle, isn’t he by definition a beginner? Surely an advanced one can’t have more fat and less muscle?
Hey Al,
A beginner is someone who has just started training, an advanced trainee is someone who has been training for a while. It is possible for someone to train for a very long time and still be fat if they consistently overeat, and it is possible for a person to be a beginner and be relatively lean if they don’t overeat.
Hi Drew,
I recently took over a fitness facility that is completely filled with Medx machines. When I first came in all the clients and staff were using the Medx machine like any other exercise equipment. Nobody really knew how to use them, how to set them, or what set them apart from all the others. I have been doing HIT for the last 6-7 years and feel that it is the best way to train. My question is we have about 18 Medx machines and dumbbells that go from 2.5-40lbs. Of these 18 pieces that we have we don’t have a pullover. I wanted to know is there any single joint upper back exercise that you think is beneficial since we don’t have a pullover?
Mo,
If you don’t have a pullover or rowing torso machine (I think MedX only sold these in Europe) I recommend a dumbbell rear delt fly if you want a simple (rotary) exercise for the upper back.
Hi Drew,
I am a college student, 5′ 11” and 160lbs. All through high school, I was in xc, swimming, and track (endurance athlete). I still love to do these activities but I want to have a better body (more defined all around).
Do you think it is possible if I can still do these activities (3 to 4 days a week) and lift using your training program and still see results? I’m not necessarily aiming for a body building body or fitness model, I just want to be ripped for an endurance athlete. I hope that makes sense!
I also eat very healthy and make sure my sugar intake is very low and I’m eating enough protein.
Yes. Depending on your recovery ability and the volume and frequency of non-exercise physical activities like running and swimming progress might be a little slower, but if you eat and train properly you will still get results.
Great article.
I’m surprised that your workout at the time didn’t include a pressing movement in the vertical plane for the upper body, such as a military press or something similar. I always thought that you should never miss out on each of the Big Six exercises…
In retrospect it should have.
Drew,
I remember reading about your journey in 1994-95 as a kid and thinking how idiotic it was that people jogged. I’ve never jogged. Ever. I should compensate you for that! Thanks!
I’m going to run something very similar to what you did back then. I’m 32, 6’7, 230 LBS. I’ve got a lot of muscle to gain and some fat to lose. I’m going to start with 8 basic exercises, and perform them either SuperSlow or 30-10-30 Darden style, depending on the movement. Basically what you did 25 years ago with a couple of minor variations. I’m tired of always switching up my routine or questioning the lifting protocol. I want to simplify and see what happens over the next six months. Lift hard, eat moderate (for me that’s 3500 calories a day, down from 4000s), await the results in peace.
My wife is my training partner and we track TUT and reps. I’m going to start with five days rest and when I hit the wall on strength gains I’m going to add two days rest each time that happens.
I’m going to hold myself accountable to sending before and after pictures to you six months from now. It probably means nothing to you but it’s important to me to have something like that on the line. It helps to further fuel the inner fire to succeed and keep pushing hard. I know this stuff works and I know it’s me who has not been as consistent as I would like. Still, I’ve seen some results over the past few months. I’m hungry for more and excited to begin this journey tomorrow.
I enjoy hearing about the results people get when they apply the information here and always appreciate feedback and training data from readers.