Intermediate Volume Approach to Hypertrophy
edickson76
Posts: 107 Member
I've just finished a bulking macrocycle of about 6 months or so and I want to share some lessons learned from it. I took a different approach to my nutrition and my lifting and achieved some good results. I'm sharing because this approach is not widely available. None of the intermediate programs on our forum list approach training in the way that I did.
First caveat: my goals are bodybuilding, not strength. I care about muscular hypertrophy. I haven't read nearly enough on strength training to have anything intelligent to say about translating any of this to a strength-based approach.
Before I get too far in, as this is almost the start of the new year and there will be a ton of beginners coming into the forum in a couple days, I do not recommend this style of training for a beginner. If you are a beginner, just select a program from the huge list of beginner programs in the stickied thread "Which lifting program is the best for you?" Come back to this in a year, if you have consistently followed that beginner program.
Turns out this post is kinda long. Executive summary: If you are trying to gain a significant amount of muscle, eat enough to actually gain weight and don't be afraid of fat gain. I was in a 500 calorie daily surplus, which is theoretically 1 pound per week. Get enough volume to grow your muscles at the start. Progressively overload each session. If you start at a weight and rep range that leaves 3-4 reps in reserve, you will be able to add weight to each exercise for a few weeks. If you can't add weight, add a set. Match up your nutrition with your lifting. Bulk when you are progressively overloading volume. Then maintain, both with your nutrition and your training. Then you can repeat the bulking process or you can cut.
And now for those brave souls, ready to read at length...
Nutrition
So, I'll start with my nutritional approach. In mid to late July, when I started, my goal was to limit fat gain and embark on a very lean bulk. My calories were roughly 100 over maintenance. In the first month, I gained about a pound. Shortly thereafter, I was listening to a Revive Stronger podcast with Mike Israetel, which was basically just a Q&A with Mike. The discussion got onto the topic of bulking and how much to bulk. Both Mike and Steve confessed to having made the mistake of bulking at slow rates to limit fat gain. At one point, Mike said something to the effect of "building muscle is hard; losing fat is easy." Mike gave an example of someone who lean bulks 8 pounds of muscle versus someone who takes the more traditional approach of actually bulking and puts on 20 pounds of muscle in the same amount of time. I decided to change my approach and eat at a 500 calorie surplus. I was dealing with sciatica at the time (more on that later) so that new nutritional approach started about mid September. I was actually the same weight at that point as I was back in July. From that time to now, I've added about 17 pounds. I also started taking creatine in September, and I'd attribute 5 of those 17 pounds to water weight.
As far as the macro nutrient breakdown goes, nothing exciting here. I ate about .8g per pound of bodyweight, some days more, some days less, but that was my target. If you are wondering why .8g and not 1g (https://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/). My fat target was .45g per pound, but I was almost always above that. I found it difficult to be in a caloric surplus of 500 calories and yet keep fats as low as I wanted. The rest of my calories were carbs.
On this forum there are lots of people going for that very lean bulk (or gaintaining) approach that I started with. If you are trying to put on significant muscle mass, I don't recommend it. If you are already pretty happy with your body composition and just want a slight bit more muscularity, then gaintaining makes sense.
Programming
I designed my own program with close attention to volume and progressive overload through volume. As the research has come to identify volume as the most important factor for hypertrophy, I wanted volume to be my focus. Previously, the bodybuilding community believed intensity (=weight on the bar) was the most important factor. Over time, if you increased the weight on the bar, you would build muscle. Hypertrophy programs progressed the lifter when the lifter could hit the programmed reps on all sets of a particular exercise. So, for example, if a program called for 3 sets of 6-8 reps of an overhead press, then a person lifting 100 pounds could only move up to 105 pounds if the previous workout saw 6 or better reps on all 3 sets. Progressive overload, then, could stall for several weeks, as the lifter struggled to get past a plateau. This happened to me on my OHP, when I plateaued at 105 lbs. I tried deloading and coming back at it twice only to fail both times and get frustrated.
Now, research indicates that volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy. Taking that same OHP example, instead of plateauing and not adding some form of progressive overload, I'd simiply add a 4th set, and the following week, maybe a 5th set. I also wouldn't be pushing to the point of failure, chasing intensity. Volume, for purposes of hypertrophy is simply hard sets (i.e., about 3 to 4 reps from failure, also known as RIR: reps in reserve). So, if you add another hard set, you've progressively overloaded the muscle for that week. My approach was to ensure that each week I was adding weight, a set, or reps. Sometimes it was more than one of those.
I drew a lot of guidance from Renaissance Periodization. They have templates that will do everything for you, but as the site contains enough information, and if you listen to a few interviews with Mike, you can do it yourself for free. Couple links here to the post on general principles (https://renaissanceperiodization.com/training-volume-landmarks-muscle-growth/) and the volume hub (https://renaissanceperiodization.com/hypertrophy-training-guide-central-hub/). The hub contains links to a training breakdown on each muscle group along with rough volume landmarks for high intermediate to advanced lifters. Also, if you like charts, here is a breakdown of the volume landmarks done by a reddit poster (https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/6674a4/dr_mike_israetels_training_tips_for_hypertrophy/).
I used a 4-day upper-lower split, which I assume anyone still reading is familiar with. Format is the exercise, set number x reps number at weight number. I determined starting weight by having a couple test days to find a weight that left me 4 RIR. So, for example, if I wanted 12 reps, then I'd work up in weight until I hit 16 reps and I knew I didn't have another rep in the tank.
I started the first mesocycle in late July. I completed 4 weeks, deloaded for 1 week, and started the second mesocycle. After the first session of week 2 in that cycle, I developed sciatica. It didn't hit until I got home from the gym and stepped out of my car; so, I don't know what lift or combo did it. I was out of commission for 2 weeks before starting again pretty close to where I did in the first mesocycle weight wise. This started about mid-September. Let's call this meso 3, which went 4 weeks of progressive training with a 1 week deload (4/1). Meso #4 lasted 6 weeks total, the last week being a deload (5/1). Meso #5 was a metabolite block lasting 4 weeks total, the last week being a deload (3/1).
The upper splits and progressions looked like this:
Upper A workout start TO end of mesocycle #1 TO end of meso #4
Seated cable row 3x12 at 75lbs. TO 4x(12, 12, 9, 8) at 90 lbs. TO 5x(12,12,12,10,10) at 90 lbs.
BB Bench 3x10 at 95lbs. TO 4x10 at 110 lbs. TO 4x12 at 120 lbs.
Straight arm cable pull down 3x12 at 60lbs. TO 5x12 at 80 lbs. TO 4x(12,12,9,11) at 100 lbs.
Cable cross over 2x15 at 20 lbs. TO 3x(15,13,9) at 30 lbs. TO 4x(17,16,15,12) at 30 lbs.
Hip Huggers 3x10 at 25 lbs. TO 5x(10,10,10,9.7) at 40 lbs. TO 5x12 at 40 lbs. (for those unfamiliar this works the rear and side delts)
DB kickbacks 2x12 at 10lbs. TO 3x12 at 17 lbs. TO 5x12 at 25 lbs.
BB Preacher curls 2x12 at 35lbs. TO 3x12 at 45 lbs. TO 6x(12,12,9,10,10,9) at 50 lbs.
Upper B workout start TO end of meso #1 TO end of meso #4
BB Incline Bench 3x10 at 65 lbs. TO 4x10 at 80 lbs. TO 6x12 at 100 lbs.
1-arm cable diagonal row 3x10 at 50 lbs. TO 4x10 at 65 lbs. TO replaced this exercise with a DB incline bench row
DB High Pull 3x15 at 10 lbs. TO 5x15 at 17.5 lbs. TO 6x(15,15,12,12,12,12) at 27.5 lbs. (The high pull is an alternative to an upright row with less risk of shoulder impingement)
1-arm cable straight arm pull down 3x15 at 25 lbs. TO 4x15 at 30 lbs. TO replaced with chin ups
DB 1-arm high row 3x15 at 15 lbs. TO 5x15 at 22.5 lbs. TO 6x15 at 35 lbs.
Triceps pushdown 2x15 at 50 lbs. TO 3x15 at 65 lbs. TO 5x(15,15,13,13,9) at 90 lbs.
Biceps cable curl 3x15 at 40 lbs. TO 4x15 at 50 lbs. TO 4x(15,15,15,12) at 50 lbs.
As far as body measurements go:
1 inch gain on biceps. I saw no gain the first mesocycle. It wasn't until the second approach where I ate at a 500 calorie surplus and had higher volume.
2 inch gain around my chest by the end of meso#4, but another 1.5 inches after the metabolite block. There's probably a measurement error but good progress nonetheless.
2.25 inch gain around my shoulders
1.25 inch gain around my thighs
1 inch on my calves (no gain first meso)
Changes for next time:
My rep ranges were a bit haphazard. I was worried about shoulder impingement so I stayed with higher ranges for the bench press and incline bench. I don't have much excuse for other exercises. The overall progression should be a meso of moderate rep ranges, a meso of moderate ranges, perhaps a bit higher, then a meso of high rep ranges and metabolite style training where appropriate. That block is then followed by a low volume block of maintenance training and maintenance nutrition (or a primer phase as Revive Stronger calls it: http://revivestronger.com/2017/01/19/primer-phase-practical-application/). The next time I start a bulk will be with lower rep ranges than I did this time.
It would be smart for me to determine MEV for each muscle group, but I suspect that I will be dumb and plow on ahead without doing so. Perhaps I will learn something from my maintenance block.
Otherwise, things were going pretty well by meso #4, and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how to progress now.
Any questions? Critiques?
First caveat: my goals are bodybuilding, not strength. I care about muscular hypertrophy. I haven't read nearly enough on strength training to have anything intelligent to say about translating any of this to a strength-based approach.
Before I get too far in, as this is almost the start of the new year and there will be a ton of beginners coming into the forum in a couple days, I do not recommend this style of training for a beginner. If you are a beginner, just select a program from the huge list of beginner programs in the stickied thread "Which lifting program is the best for you?" Come back to this in a year, if you have consistently followed that beginner program.
Turns out this post is kinda long. Executive summary: If you are trying to gain a significant amount of muscle, eat enough to actually gain weight and don't be afraid of fat gain. I was in a 500 calorie daily surplus, which is theoretically 1 pound per week. Get enough volume to grow your muscles at the start. Progressively overload each session. If you start at a weight and rep range that leaves 3-4 reps in reserve, you will be able to add weight to each exercise for a few weeks. If you can't add weight, add a set. Match up your nutrition with your lifting. Bulk when you are progressively overloading volume. Then maintain, both with your nutrition and your training. Then you can repeat the bulking process or you can cut.
And now for those brave souls, ready to read at length...
Nutrition
So, I'll start with my nutritional approach. In mid to late July, when I started, my goal was to limit fat gain and embark on a very lean bulk. My calories were roughly 100 over maintenance. In the first month, I gained about a pound. Shortly thereafter, I was listening to a Revive Stronger podcast with Mike Israetel, which was basically just a Q&A with Mike. The discussion got onto the topic of bulking and how much to bulk. Both Mike and Steve confessed to having made the mistake of bulking at slow rates to limit fat gain. At one point, Mike said something to the effect of "building muscle is hard; losing fat is easy." Mike gave an example of someone who lean bulks 8 pounds of muscle versus someone who takes the more traditional approach of actually bulking and puts on 20 pounds of muscle in the same amount of time. I decided to change my approach and eat at a 500 calorie surplus. I was dealing with sciatica at the time (more on that later) so that new nutritional approach started about mid September. I was actually the same weight at that point as I was back in July. From that time to now, I've added about 17 pounds. I also started taking creatine in September, and I'd attribute 5 of those 17 pounds to water weight.
As far as the macro nutrient breakdown goes, nothing exciting here. I ate about .8g per pound of bodyweight, some days more, some days less, but that was my target. If you are wondering why .8g and not 1g (https://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/). My fat target was .45g per pound, but I was almost always above that. I found it difficult to be in a caloric surplus of 500 calories and yet keep fats as low as I wanted. The rest of my calories were carbs.
On this forum there are lots of people going for that very lean bulk (or gaintaining) approach that I started with. If you are trying to put on significant muscle mass, I don't recommend it. If you are already pretty happy with your body composition and just want a slight bit more muscularity, then gaintaining makes sense.
Programming
I designed my own program with close attention to volume and progressive overload through volume. As the research has come to identify volume as the most important factor for hypertrophy, I wanted volume to be my focus. Previously, the bodybuilding community believed intensity (=weight on the bar) was the most important factor. Over time, if you increased the weight on the bar, you would build muscle. Hypertrophy programs progressed the lifter when the lifter could hit the programmed reps on all sets of a particular exercise. So, for example, if a program called for 3 sets of 6-8 reps of an overhead press, then a person lifting 100 pounds could only move up to 105 pounds if the previous workout saw 6 or better reps on all 3 sets. Progressive overload, then, could stall for several weeks, as the lifter struggled to get past a plateau. This happened to me on my OHP, when I plateaued at 105 lbs. I tried deloading and coming back at it twice only to fail both times and get frustrated.
Now, research indicates that volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy. Taking that same OHP example, instead of plateauing and not adding some form of progressive overload, I'd simiply add a 4th set, and the following week, maybe a 5th set. I also wouldn't be pushing to the point of failure, chasing intensity. Volume, for purposes of hypertrophy is simply hard sets (i.e., about 3 to 4 reps from failure, also known as RIR: reps in reserve). So, if you add another hard set, you've progressively overloaded the muscle for that week. My approach was to ensure that each week I was adding weight, a set, or reps. Sometimes it was more than one of those.
I drew a lot of guidance from Renaissance Periodization. They have templates that will do everything for you, but as the site contains enough information, and if you listen to a few interviews with Mike, you can do it yourself for free. Couple links here to the post on general principles (https://renaissanceperiodization.com/training-volume-landmarks-muscle-growth/) and the volume hub (https://renaissanceperiodization.com/hypertrophy-training-guide-central-hub/). The hub contains links to a training breakdown on each muscle group along with rough volume landmarks for high intermediate to advanced lifters. Also, if you like charts, here is a breakdown of the volume landmarks done by a reddit poster (https://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/6674a4/dr_mike_israetels_training_tips_for_hypertrophy/).
I used a 4-day upper-lower split, which I assume anyone still reading is familiar with. Format is the exercise, set number x reps number at weight number. I determined starting weight by having a couple test days to find a weight that left me 4 RIR. So, for example, if I wanted 12 reps, then I'd work up in weight until I hit 16 reps and I knew I didn't have another rep in the tank.
I started the first mesocycle in late July. I completed 4 weeks, deloaded for 1 week, and started the second mesocycle. After the first session of week 2 in that cycle, I developed sciatica. It didn't hit until I got home from the gym and stepped out of my car; so, I don't know what lift or combo did it. I was out of commission for 2 weeks before starting again pretty close to where I did in the first mesocycle weight wise. This started about mid-September. Let's call this meso 3, which went 4 weeks of progressive training with a 1 week deload (4/1). Meso #4 lasted 6 weeks total, the last week being a deload (5/1). Meso #5 was a metabolite block lasting 4 weeks total, the last week being a deload (3/1).
The upper splits and progressions looked like this:
Upper A workout start TO end of mesocycle #1 TO end of meso #4
Seated cable row 3x12 at 75lbs. TO 4x(12, 12, 9, 8) at 90 lbs. TO 5x(12,12,12,10,10) at 90 lbs.
BB Bench 3x10 at 95lbs. TO 4x10 at 110 lbs. TO 4x12 at 120 lbs.
Straight arm cable pull down 3x12 at 60lbs. TO 5x12 at 80 lbs. TO 4x(12,12,9,11) at 100 lbs.
Cable cross over 2x15 at 20 lbs. TO 3x(15,13,9) at 30 lbs. TO 4x(17,16,15,12) at 30 lbs.
Hip Huggers 3x10 at 25 lbs. TO 5x(10,10,10,9.7) at 40 lbs. TO 5x12 at 40 lbs. (for those unfamiliar this works the rear and side delts)
DB kickbacks 2x12 at 10lbs. TO 3x12 at 17 lbs. TO 5x12 at 25 lbs.
BB Preacher curls 2x12 at 35lbs. TO 3x12 at 45 lbs. TO 6x(12,12,9,10,10,9) at 50 lbs.
Upper B workout start TO end of meso #1 TO end of meso #4
BB Incline Bench 3x10 at 65 lbs. TO 4x10 at 80 lbs. TO 6x12 at 100 lbs.
1-arm cable diagonal row 3x10 at 50 lbs. TO 4x10 at 65 lbs. TO replaced this exercise with a DB incline bench row
DB High Pull 3x15 at 10 lbs. TO 5x15 at 17.5 lbs. TO 6x(15,15,12,12,12,12) at 27.5 lbs. (The high pull is an alternative to an upright row with less risk of shoulder impingement)
1-arm cable straight arm pull down 3x15 at 25 lbs. TO 4x15 at 30 lbs. TO replaced with chin ups
DB 1-arm high row 3x15 at 15 lbs. TO 5x15 at 22.5 lbs. TO 6x15 at 35 lbs.
Triceps pushdown 2x15 at 50 lbs. TO 3x15 at 65 lbs. TO 5x(15,15,13,13,9) at 90 lbs.
Biceps cable curl 3x15 at 40 lbs. TO 4x15 at 50 lbs. TO 4x(15,15,15,12) at 50 lbs.
As far as body measurements go:
1 inch gain on biceps. I saw no gain the first mesocycle. It wasn't until the second approach where I ate at a 500 calorie surplus and had higher volume.
2 inch gain around my chest by the end of meso#4, but another 1.5 inches after the metabolite block. There's probably a measurement error but good progress nonetheless.
2.25 inch gain around my shoulders
1.25 inch gain around my thighs
1 inch on my calves (no gain first meso)
Changes for next time:
My rep ranges were a bit haphazard. I was worried about shoulder impingement so I stayed with higher ranges for the bench press and incline bench. I don't have much excuse for other exercises. The overall progression should be a meso of moderate rep ranges, a meso of moderate ranges, perhaps a bit higher, then a meso of high rep ranges and metabolite style training where appropriate. That block is then followed by a low volume block of maintenance training and maintenance nutrition (or a primer phase as Revive Stronger calls it: http://revivestronger.com/2017/01/19/primer-phase-practical-application/). The next time I start a bulk will be with lower rep ranges than I did this time.
It would be smart for me to determine MEV for each muscle group, but I suspect that I will be dumb and plow on ahead without doing so. Perhaps I will learn something from my maintenance block.
Otherwise, things were going pretty well by meso #4, and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how to progress now.
Any questions? Critiques?
4
Replies
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TL:DR - Caloric surplus to increase weight; progressive overload to increase strength, and enough volume to gain adequate hypertrophy....got it! Any progress pictures you'd like to share?5
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Sounds like you did great!
I love Mike and RP. I also do a higher surplus (I am female and I do 0.5lb per week, or 250 cal surplus per day which is fairly substantial). My last bulk I gained about 15lbs over 8 months which was perfect. I tried the recompbulk/gaintaining with my second bulk and it did not work for me. I got so frustrated with how slow my progress was... I was gaining about 1lb per month and I was getting way too impatient. But I am one of those who is not afraid of a bit of fat gain (lucky for me I carry it well). Plus cutting is fairly simple/easy for me, so I prefer going a bit harder with the bulk since I know it will come right off.
I would add that 0.4g per lb fat is a minimum. Not to say you want to go nuts and have it crowd out your protein and carbs, but you don't have to be super strict hitting that exact number. I always keep mine a bit higher during a bulk since it is much easier to get the cals in with calorie dense and lower volume foods. But whatever works for you.
And yea progress pics if you have would be great, if you don't mind sharing.
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Pics. Failed at making a side-by-side comparison photo, but I'll post a front relaxed from July and one from today below it.
4 -
Congrats, I just came off a long bulk of about 7 or 8 months. I was eating and always upping my calories about every 2 weeks to keep gaining. I ran PHAT for the majority of the bulk and switched over to John Meadows Program X to finish off my bulk. A couple weeks back I started reading on Mike Israetels and planned out my own program based of his recommendations. I am still tweaking it right now and just trying to maintain or even a slow cut to drop some of the fat I did gain.0
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Yes, but don't be squeamish about fat gain. Although, I just listened to the most recent Revive Stonger interview with Mike Israetel and Eric Helms, and appears I was too aggressive with my caloric surplus. Eric advises 1% weight gain per month. Mike advises .25% to .5% per week, though that .5% requires a reason for rapid weight gain.TL:DR - Caloric surplus to increase weight;
Progressive overload using volume to increase muscle. Start a mesocycle at MEV.progressive overload to increase strength, and enough volume to gain adequate hypertrophy....got it!
0 -
I would add that 0.4g per lb fat is a minimum. Not to say you want to go nuts and have it crowd out your protein and carbs, but you don't have to be super strict hitting that exact number. I always keep mine a bit higher during a bulk since it is much easier to get the cals in with calorie dense and lower volume foods. But whatever works for you.
I thought I remembered Helms saying the range was .3g/lb. up to .6g/lb. Low end being if you eat mostly saturated fats and the high end being if you eat mostly unsaturated. But, I just watched the nutritional pyramid video and he goes by % of total calories. That said, his % recommendations at the low end are well under .3g/lb. Do you have a link on .4g/lb being the minimum?
0 -
I believe it was an article of Lyle's. I know in his Women's Book he emphasized how important fat intake can be for females due to hormones/cycles, but I believe that is more when cutting not so much bulking.
I couldn't find much but according to this source, https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/macronutrient-intake-for-mass-gains-qa.html/ he says fat typically varies inversely with carbs. He says 20% of intake or around 0.5g/lb is the low end of the cut off (he says some go lower but he says that could be pushing it) to anywhere to 1g/lb. Not sure if that is the maximum or not. He then goes on to say some people work best with different ratios. Again this is likely for males. Not much research on females as far as I know.
I know Eric has mentioned before as long as your fat intake isn't crowding out your carbs (also providing your protein intake is up to par). But maybe that was also for cutting?
For what it's worth, I don't even track my calories or macros when I'm bulking but I do know my fat is higher, so around the 1g/lb mark mostly because I am a fairly lighter female on very high calories so my protein and carbs are already high so the rest of the cals have to come from somewhere, and fat is the easiest for me.
BTW amazing progress! You can really see significant growth all over! What are your plans now?0 -
Shoulder & arm gainzzz look great/very prominent. Congrats on being able to bulk successfully.
Just curious, what was your baseline waist vs. post bulk waist?0 -
Congrats, I just came off a long bulk of about 7 or 8 months. I was eating and always upping my calories about every 2 weeks to keep gaining. I ran PHAT for the majority of the bulk and switched over to John Meadows Program X to finish off my bulk. A couple weeks back I started reading on Mike Israetels and planned out my own program based of his recommendations. I am still tweaking it right now and just trying to maintain or even a slow cut to drop some of the fat I did gain.
Nice, long bulk; well done. PHAT was on my list of programs to do, but it does follow the traditional overload through intensity approach. I enjoy listening to interviews with John and watching his vids. He has so much experience, and he talks a lot about injury prevention, which is very useful to me and my aging body.
Excellent on using Mike's approach. I think most people will be taking a volume-centric approach five years from now. I did hear a podcast with Mike involving the maintenance volume landmarks and the caution was that the landmarks were not for people cutting. You have to do more if you are cutting.0 -
I believe it was an article of Lyle's. I know in his Women's Book he emphasized how important fat intake can be for females due to hormones/cycles, but I believe that is more when cutting not so much bulking.
I couldn't find much but according to this source, https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/macronutrient-intake-for-mass-gains-qa.html/ he says fat typically varies inversely with carbs. He says 20% of intake or around 0.5g/lb is the low end of the cut off (he says some go lower but he says that could be pushing it) to anywhere to 1g/lb. Not sure if that is the maximum or not. He then goes on to say some people work best with different ratios. Again this is likely for males. Not much research on females as far as I know.
I know Eric has mentioned before as long as your fat intake isn't crowding out your carbs (also providing your protein intake is up to par). But maybe that was also for cutting?
For what it's worth, I don't even track my calories or macros when I'm bulking but I do know my fat is higher, so around the 1g/lb mark mostly because I am a fairly lighter female on very high calories so my protein and carbs are already high so the rest of the cals have to come from somewhere, and fat is the easiest for me.
BTW amazing progress! You can really see significant growth all over! What are your plans now?
Thanks for the link. I should probably just not worry about fat and carbs unless I notice dips in gym results.
And thanks! I'm maintaining for 4 or 5 weeks, and then back to another macrocycle of gaining, which should take me into May.0 -
Great progress photos! Once I cut down some more I will be a similar bulk but a different lifting program with similar principles though. DUP aka Daily Undulating Periodization.0
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Keto_Vampire wrote: »Shoulder & arm gainzzz look great/very prominent. Congrats on being able to bulk successfully.
Just curious, what was your baseline waist vs. post bulk waist?
Thank you! Waistline definitely increased, lol. Measuring just below belly-button, waist increased from 33 to 34.5 inches.0 -
edickson76 wrote: »Congrats, I just came off a long bulk of about 7 or 8 months. I was eating and always upping my calories about every 2 weeks to keep gaining. I ran PHAT for the majority of the bulk and switched over to John Meadows Program X to finish off my bulk. A couple weeks back I started reading on Mike Israetels and planned out my own program based of his recommendations. I am still tweaking it right now and just trying to maintain or even a slow cut to drop some of the fat I did gain.
Nice, long bulk; well done. PHAT was on my list of programs to do, but it does follow the traditional overload through intensity approach. I enjoy listening to interviews with John and watching his vids. He has so much experience, and he talks a lot about injury prevention, which is very useful to me and my aging body.
Excellent on using Mike's approach. I think most people will be taking a volume-centric approach five years from now. I did hear a podcast with Mike involving the maintenance volume landmarks and the caution was that the landmarks were not for people cutting. You have to do more if you are cutting.
First, great job on your bulk. You did a good job.
You may also want to consider looking into Bret Contreras. He is big into injury prevention. In a few of his recent experiments, he was able to maintain a squat and deadlift max even without doing them, at least during an 8 week experiment and with a lot of the people he trains. With some of his clients, he has a great focus using the machines.0 -
First, great job on your bulk. You did a good job.
You may also want to consider looking into Bret Contreras. He is big into injury prevention. In a few of his recent experiments, he was able to maintain a squat and deadlift max even without doing them, at least during an 8 week experiment and with a lot of the people he trains. With some of his clients, he has a great focus using the machines.
Thanks.
I've been following Bret for a bit, and even started doing hip thrusts. He recently did a pod interview with Jeff Nippard; don't know if you've seen/heard that yet, but they talk about his experiments. He's apparently had no injuries with any of his clients for the past year due to not pushing squats and deadlifts.0 -
edickson76 wrote: »First, great job on your bulk. You did a good job.
You may also want to consider looking into Bret Contreras. He is big into injury prevention. In a few of his recent experiments, he was able to maintain a squat and deadlift max even without doing them, at least during an 8 week experiment and with a lot of the people he trains. With some of his clients, he has a great focus using the machines.
Thanks.
I've been following Bret for a bit, and even started doing hip thrusts. He recently did a pod interview with Jeff Nippard; don't know if you've seen/heard that yet, but they talk about his experiments. He's apparently had no injuries with any of his clients for the past year due to not pushing squats and deadlifts.
I did see it. It's one reason i brought it up .0
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