Maxing out reps on certain exercises...?

[Old and Grey]

Mr. Bum, your post was spot on. My rant just happened to come after your post. I was really referring to the posts about volume and continually going close to failure. Our society is ingrained with "More is Better." They even have commercials with 5 year old kids explaining why more is better. That may be true with some things in life like cell phone towers and coverage but not hypertrophy (or poison ivy or cancer) where more can actually be injurious and counter-productive. (The exception is, of course, on your very last day of a rep cycle when you are working at your true maximum. Adding sets, going to failure, etc is OK. Go for broke because you have a passive or active SD coming up for your muscles to recover. Just don't do it all the time.)

Soreness (DOMS) is merely a reflection of working a muscle beyond the volume it is used to. Beginners will feel it. Intermediates will feel it after a good SD. Advanced lifters may feel it after a long SD but usually for only one workout. Chances are that if you continually feel it, you are burning out. People should just work through the occasional DOMS but be sure it is, in fact, DOMS and not an injury that requires attention, typically localized to one side.

Juicers can take volume and intensity that naturals cannot. Most of the high volume go-to-failure programs are written by juicers who seem to forget the limitations of non-juicers. They say "do this and you will look like me." They forget to mention the 5 grams per week of injected Testosterone. Oh, and they all have a product they want you to buy to "help" you achieve success.

 

[wungun]

Thanks for the posts fella's...

I think most of what I speak is psychological.
But at the same time, I'm curious as to the results people are experiencing following HST to the "t"...
I mean someone who has being doing nothing but HST for 4 or 5 years.

Personally, I am only on my 3rd cycle, and while I can't expect the world in such a short period of time, I feel like I got the most gains on cycle 1 (probably just "fullness"), and like every other program I've done, I seem to stagnate.
(And to be honest, cycle 2 was mostly for cutting).
Of course, being 43, I can't really expect a lot of serious growth.

But with cycle 3, I really don't want to eat a caloric surplus and re-gain all the fat I've lost.
I'm eating when I'm hungry, and nothing more (which is probably a surplus anyway!)

But personally, lately, I've been a bit depressed and unmotivated. I lost my job, prospects aren't very good (although I am re-educating myself!), summer is coming to an end (and living in Northern Ontario, winter isn't much fun!).
Ugh....

Maybe I'm craving a change to remotivate myself...? I dunno.

 

[Old and Grey]

Wungun

You certainly have a couple of tough rows to hoe there, eh. Obviously making a living is one of the important ones. Stay positive and keeping forging ahead. If life were easy, we would all be wealthy, happy and built like Arnold.

As to age, I am 68 and still making gains. They may be small but I notice them with every cycle both in strength and physique. You are at an age when the manufacture of testosterone starts to stall in your body. Get it tested by an endochronologist MD if you can and if it is below average, he can help get it back up. Without T, working out can become just calorie burning and not muscle making.

I have been working out for 55 years now with some time periods off when life or Uncle Sam got in the way but I have been pretty constant from age 40 on. However, using max effort from age 40 to about 58 I stalled out within a couple of years. I would do up to 20 sets per body part per week and seemed to be going backward. So, intuition and muscle mags and muscle heads told me to workout even harder. It wasn't until 10 years or so ago that I found HST and the gains started rolling in. Slow at first because I had trouble with "less is more" and tweaked HST when I should not have. My biggest gains have come in my 60's when I started really doing HST. Now I would say that I could probably place in the top 3 spots in any statewide master's bodybuilding competition fairly easily without doing any pre-contest work. When I hit age 70, I think I will be close to my absolute max.

As for diet, if you do not eat a caloric excess you cannot expect to gain mass. Some of it will be fat but it is surprising how, with time, that fat "morphs" into muscle. (Actually it doesn't but it seems like it.) Eat the right foods to maximize lean gains. Avoid simple carbs and bad fats and load the rest in.

Oh yeah, send money for my line of special supplements guaranteed to make you into Mr. America in only 6 weeks!

Keep on plugging wungun. As long as you wake up tomorrow morning you have already had a good day.

Old and Grey

 

[wungun]

Thanks for that
One day at a time...

That's phenomenal about your growth in your later years. And here I thought 40 was the beginning of the slide

And as I write this, I'm in the middle of my workout lol.
Last workout of the 15's.

I HAVE to make myself stick to my workouts...
If I don't, I'm sliding ever more downwards.
Maybe seeing some gains will help turn me around and getting me feeling a little better about life in general.

T tested...? Hmmm...
I think I just might go to the clinic tomorrow and inquire about that!!!

Thanks again
And sorry about getting off topic there

 

[wungun]

On a better note, I just noticed on my workout app (Jefit), on cycle 1, my barbell curls maxed out at 35Lbs on my last 15's set.
Today, I'm curling 50Lbs on my last 15's!

Woot!!!!

 

[Totentanz]

Thanks for the posts fella's...
Personally, I am only on my 3rd cycle, and while I can't expect the world in such a short period of time, I feel like I got the most gains on cycle 1 (probably just "fullness"), and like every other program I've done, I seem to stagnate.
(And to be honest, cycle 2 was mostly for cutting).
Of course, being 43, I can't really expect a lot of serious growth.

But with cycle 3, I really don't want to eat a caloric surplus and re-gain all the fat I've lost.
I'm eating when I'm hungry, and nothing more (which is probably a surplus anyway!)

So... why are you confused about the lack of growth?

One of the best ways to ensure stagnation while lifting is to ignore diet. Simply eating while hungry is not going to cut it.

 

[Totentanz]

For what it is worth, I started lifting in my early/mid-20s and have experienced more consistent gains in my 30s than I did in my 20s, aside from my first year with HST when I was 24/25.

My diagnosis is that you are (understandably) lacking motivation due to the stuff going on in your life. Maybe you need a break from the plans and the diet, just lift for fun until you get things back in order. Or on the other hand, maybe focusing on doing HST strictly and keeping your diet in line would help you cope with your depression.

 

[wungun]

Thanks 'anz...

I'm just reading your e-book tonight, and finding it very well written and informative. Good job!
I hope many, many people find and adopt the philosophies contained within...I am a firm believer in it (even though I sometimes post crazy, contradictory ideas!).
Maybe a bit of tweaking with your recommended exercises will help me stay focused and keep things fresh.
It sucks being outta work, but with that said, I certainly have the time to devote to the routine!
And this is what I have to do.

Many thanks....