max stim - choosing exercises

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imported_deolmstead

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I'm about to embark on a 10-week bulking cycle, and think I'm going to try Maxstim on this one. But I've been thinking about which exercises to do, and some just don't feel like they'd work well with the whole m-time thing, and I'm wondering if people have suggestions.

I'm concentrating on upper-body with the weights. I don't do lower body workouts with weights because I feel I get enough of that with all the cycling and rockclimbing I do.

In general, I prefer compound exercises. The past twenty weeks, I've been doing the following:

Military-style (palms forward) pulldowns
Dips
Bench press
One-arm standing row
Shoulder press
Standing curls
Lying tricep extension
Deltoid flies

I'm ready for some variety. I'm not too keen on the idea of machines because of too much isolation, but they seem like they'd just be so much easier to deal with the m-time.

Do you guys have any suggestions? I have two weeks of experimentation time to find my exercises and set my 10RM, then I get a one week SD (in Hawaii!), and then I launch into it for real.

PS: I tried registering over at the Maxstim forums, but never got authorized - I don't know if they're active at all.
 
Military-style (palms forward) pulldowns-check
Dips-check
Bench press-check
One-arm standing row-check
Shoulder press-check
Standing curls-check
Lying tricep extension-hmm..not so good with m-time unless you have a partner hand you the weights while you are on your back, try close-grip bench press or tricep pushdowns instead.
Deltoid flies-check
 
"think I'm going to try Maxstim on this one. But I've been thinking about which exercises to do, and some just don't feel like they'd work well with the whole m-time thing, and I'm wondering if people have suggestions."

The problem with exercises using Max-Stim is that you're supposed to put the weight down between reps. You're to get the weight completely out of your hands. This has something to do with the occlusion effect (whatever that is...).

Some exercises are more suited to putting the weights down. I've heard a lot of complaints about squats, for example, since it is a hassle to have to re-rack the bar after each rep. Deadlifts, on the other hand, were made for Max-Stim.
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(deolmstead @ Oct. 22 2007,19:17)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">In general, I prefer compound exercises. The past twenty weeks, I've been doing the following:

Military-style (palms forward) pulldowns
Dips
Bench press
One-arm standing row
Shoulder press
Standing curls
Lying tricep extension
Deltoid flies
</div>
Of the exercises you've listed, most would seem to work well with Max-Stim. Whether or not you can make dips work is going to have a lot to do with the design of your dip station. I used to work on a station that had attachments for both chins and dips. I was able to do one chin, then one dip, then one chin, etc. So it worked okay for me.

You may have a problem with the lying triceps extension. How are you going to control the weight if you have to set it down?

Deltoid flies can be interesting, too. I like to work my posterior delts lying face down on a bench high enough such that I have to stretch to reach the floor. I prefer Rear Delt Raises, but you could do flies just as well. I find it easy to set the weights down between reps.

&quot;PS: I tried registering over at the Maxstim forums, but never got authorized - I don't know if they're active at all.&quot;
I suspect that's because Dan is busy with other things. Try shooting him a message personally.
 
OK, I spent yesterday playing around a bit, and made some discoveries...

Dips are OK as long as I'm still using the weight-assisted machine - I just hop on and off the platform. The trouble is that i'm currently on the lowest weight the machine has, and the next step is 100% bodyweight and then from there I need to do BW+, and I'm not at all sure how to swing that.

Pulldowns are the same story, but if I move to wide-grip then I'm probably not going to get to 100% BW this cycle, so I'm safe.

One-arm rows: no problem
Bench and Shoulder Press: fine, and even easier if I use this machine-like contraption I don't know the name for.

Curls: I found preacher curls work pretty well, making it easy to put the weight down.

Triceps: I had to play around a while with this until I figured out Kickbacks work pretty great - I can just rest the dumbbell on the bench between reps.

I wasn't able to find a deltoid exercise that worked, since I ran out of time. The Rear Delt Raises look promising, but I'm not sure I can find a bench high enough...
 
<div>
(deolmstead @ Oct. 23 2007,14:30)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I wasn't able to find a deltoid exercise that worked, since I ran out of time. The Rear Delt Raises look promising, but I'm not sure I can find a bench high enough...</div>
Usually, I just use an adjustable bench. I set it for one notch above flat. Then I can find a spot such that my arms ju-u-u-u-ust barely reach the dumbbells on the floor. Okay, so it's not perfectly parallel, but then again, it's not a perfect world...
smile.gif
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Dips are OK as long as I'm still using the weight-assisted machine - I just hop on and off the platform. The trouble is that i'm currently on the lowest weight the machine has, and the next step is 100% bodyweight and then from there I need to do BW+, and I'm not at all sure how to swing that.

Pulldowns are the same story, but if I move to wide-grip then I'm probably not going to get to 100% BW this cycle, so I'm safe.
</div>

Uh... just put your feet down and stand there.
 
I'm doing a mad &quot;compound&quot; exercise doing max stim reps.
It basically works biceps, triceps, and abs.

Here's what I do: I'm sitting on a bench, I twist my body to pick the dumbbells at each side, that way I'm working heavy on the obliques. I lie down on the bench in controled fashion (working heavy on the abs), then I push the weights up (like close grip brench press), then I do a skullcrusher, then I sit again (working the abs), I do a dumbbell curl with each arm and put the dumbbell at the floor at each side working the obliques again.

I do 20 reps and I think it lasts close to 10 minutes.

It sounds complicated but I'm loving it and I thought it would be fun to share this.
 
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