How To Gain Size & Strength Faster

[Dig]

For a long time now ive bought into the less is more analogy. ..but im not so sure anymore !!!!!!!

I think if you train sensibly, you can hit bodyparts more and still allow for recovery. Just about to experiement this with bis, a bodypart that lags.



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Will be interesting to see how that pans out.

just a thought but would % of fibre types not play a part in awnsering this, and therefore different for everyone?.. i don't know its just me thinking out loud lol.

Wouldnt say so no besides impossible to tell isnt it, just guess work without a shitload of biopsies!!

Good video. I enjoyed that and definitely some interesting points to consider. Knowing when its time to ease off will be useful of course but the logic is sound.

On an unrelated note, still awaiting my shoutout?

Yes important to program it correctly, high vol, higher intensities and increasing frequency is likely to fck you up pretty fast, but think it could be useful tool for short phases.

Just keeping an eye on how you're getting on re shout outs, after a few dips in form character wise have to get back on track, i did tell you this mate! lol

 

[Dig]

Good video really enjoyed it- thanks for doing it

I think I could definitely do with training squats twice a week

Will be interesting to see what others think of this

For those that train the lifts twice a week how do you organise?

Low volume squat/ heavy DL
BP
High volume squat/ DL variation
BP

Any thoughts? @Dig
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Personally i am just trying to crack on with pulling 1x week for a while, but squats are similar set up. Currently:

Sun- Heavy close grip bench + tri's/chest/bi's
Mon- Main squat day
Tues- Light back (higher reps, 3 exercises nothing near failure, done in 20-25min)
Wed- Heavy reg grip bench +chest/tris/bis
Thurs- Off
Fri- Low vol squat (1 top set 1-5reps), deadlift
Sat- Off

when i trained one lift per week when i first started getting into powerlifting i made gains, on 531 first time i used it i saw my weights go up, tried it twice since then and i went backwards or stalled, personally now i need to train each lift twice a week to keep progressing, everyone is diff, liam is still making gains on 531 so just shows how different we all are.

frequency over volume for me.

Everyone is def different that's for sure and the old 'if it aint broke dont fix it' rings true i think, then again 'if it aint broke but is a bit old no harm getting a new one' how about that for a saying lol.

I agree fully...always have done.
Now some times volume needs to be very low but frequency should always be high.

Nice to have some validation

 

[Dig]

good thoughts.. ( my comp didn't load the vid at first, hence my first post as i never seen the vid lol ) ... its took me a while but im now training heavy 2x per week and progressing but too early for me to feel exp enough to talk

Same here with squat and deads for me but did work muscle gain wise (DC style) and has worked for bench last year.

interesting thoughts Dig... I think the point re recovery is key... if you can recover then why not, changing up is a good thing when its needed... not so much when its not... I would say though that doing max weights each time will burn you out when it comes to strength training... but sub max can certainly offer benefits just look at the 5x5 program and its associate programs... I think youre right mentioning not to go crazy too... too many just jump straight in then say "nope doesnt work" when they kill themselves... do you think that there is a place for higher freq training upon return from an injury for eg?? just thinking in terms of playing catch up?

I do think you can adapt to using heavy weights more often than e7d, just a long process getting there. Look at guys like mike tuscherer (sp), green, belyaev and a shitload more, on the other hand some top lifters use much lower frequency. I think to get that recovery ability you have to actually perservere with it, when i did it benching last year i struggled for a while but then felt ok, dropped it down to 1x week last 2 weeks of a strength cycle where hit bench pb.

Yes deffo re injury always have done this, isnt stressing body weight wise so as long as not overdoing it on injury arent gunna 'overtrain' as intensity too low.

Also higher frequency also lets practice lifts more often so benefits technically and prob neurologically i guess.

 

[Dig]

@Dig good video mate, but at first glance thought I was watching fight club..............whats his name the one who says "first rule of fight club..."

Brad Pitt mate. And thanks

Train like Dan Green, heavy, 5 days a week, lots of volume, lots of exercises hitting multiple bodyparts, eat an absolute shedload, become swole and strong!

But then again he's a bit special lol

I think a few (and I was same tbh) have mindset that training with volume and multiple days can't be done, but lets face it, if food and supps are in there then it can....also...saw a good post by Tom Martin, not many will know the guy, looks like a heavy metal fan, lol long hair, tall, not massive....can deadlift 360kg and good squatter and bencher at 90kg......and he squats nearly everyday....his reasosning is there is NO recovery, he just crawls out of bed and fukin gets on with it.....at first you'll get weaker then become accustomed....just like the smolov approach etc and how the Russians train...

Il be firs to admit ive moaned like a bitch about recovery etc, but its a case of shit diet imo for me, not enough to make me recover and fight through it.

Lots of guys train like that. As said check out mike tuscherer (drug tested lifter) he does way more work than dan unbelievably and is also shit hot. His mindset is same as tom martins you just mentioned, you will adapt eventually and be in a better place for strength gains. I think main thing is programming it correctly so dont force body to do more than it can cope with over long term (not talking about short term dips).

If can get volume up and intensity pretty high as well as frequency away from comp and then taper volume down and increase intensity last 4-6 weeks or so imagine would get a good carryover, just my thinking not based on personal experience. Might turn out to be total bollocks, just find it an interesting topic.

 

[JB]

See all my initial directorship on the filming is playing a good part now mate, getting better with every vid

Some good points there I might have to start training my piss poor chest twice a week so I can catch @Greyphantom bench


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[LittleLiam]

I agree that the only workout that is usefull is one you can recover from.

I have trained SHEIKO and DR HADFIELD protocols of high frequency high intensity to test

Eventually I just couldn't recover fast enough to progress and stalled (failed lifts) after 6-8 weeks.

At every occasion I have gone back to 5/3/1 - once per week and improved my lifts.

The last 3 cycles of 5/3/1 I have added more top sets - increasing the accommodation stimulus on my body.

Made my best gains this way.

Maybe volume is the key???

 

[Beast]

Low volume high intensity suits me and i hit each body part twice in a week. I do this for 8 weeks then take a week off followed by a month of just concentrating on the big 4 then repeat.

 

[Hilly]

I've been having good results lately hitting a body part twice per week with a heavy session then a pump session.

I think if recovery n nutrition is there as you say then hitting a body part more often is beneficial for most.

However many guys prove you can grow just as well of training each body part 1 x per week

 

[Dig]

See all my initial directorship on the filming is playing a good part now mate, getting better with every vid

Some good points there I might have to start training my piss poor chest twice a week so I can catch @Greyphantom bench


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Lol! You still lift weights? Thought you were a jogger now??

I agree that the only workout that is usefull is one you can recover from.

I have trained SHEIKO and DR HADFIELD protocols of high frequency high intensity to test

Eventually I just couldn't recover fast enough to progress and stalled (failed lifts) after 6-8 weeks.

At every occasion I have gone back to 5/3/1 - once per week and improved my lifts.

The last 3 cycles of 5/3/1 I have added more top sets - increasing the accommodation stimulus on my body.

Made my best gains this way.

Maybe volume is the key???

Perhaps dived into things too fast with the sheiko and dr squat program's? Shock to the system if not trained like that before! Did you do anything different to help improve recovery? Perhaps if had stick with it when lifts dipped would have eventually adapted to the workload, I know the broz lifting coach talks about this. I would have done same as you did though btw. And yes volume overlooked by many I think.

 

[Dig]

Low volume high intensity suits me and i hit each body part twice in a week. I do this for 8 weeks then take a week off followed by a month of just concentrating on the big 4 then repeat.

Sounds like a nice little routine that.

I've been having good results lately hitting a body part twice per week with a heavy session then a pump session.

I think if recovery n nutrition is there as you say then hitting a body part more often is beneficial for most.

However many guys prove you can grow just as well of training each body part 1 x per week

Yep plenty of guys train 1x week or even less on the powerlifts as well and are some of the best in the world so no right or wrong ways just whatever works isn't it!


As far as recovery goes I think the only way to improve recovery is force your body to do it (slowly) whether that's increasing volume on regular sessions or adding in an extra day and starting off witha similar weekly volume.

 

[JB]

Lol! You still lift weights? Thought you were a jogger now??.

well cant argue with that this week mate haha

did 22mile yestday on the bike, 3 mile jog night before another one or two jogs this week on the lead upto the edinburgh 10k on sunday then a week in the gym trying to get that final holiday pump

 

[JimmyF]

Brad Pitt mate. And thanks



Lots of guys train like that. As said check out mike tuscherer (drug tested lifter) he does way more work than dan unbelievably and is also shit hot. His mindset is same as tom martins you just mentioned, you will adapt eventually and be in a better place for strength gains. I think main thing is programming it correctly so dont force body to do more than it can cope with over long term (not talking about short term dips).

If can get volume up and intensity pretty high as well as frequency away from comp and then taper volume down and increase intensity last 4-6 weeks or so imagine would get a good carryover, just my thinking not based on personal experience. Might turn out to be total bollocks, just find it an interesting topic.

yeh mate im subbed to Mike, think hes an excellent lifter and in the harder fed in reality isnt he.

I agree bud, I did the cube with volume but not near any maxes just peaking, then kind of by gut feeling switched to low volume but higher intensity past few weeks and now it feels like I can increase weight each week.......obv not anything near Dan or Mike lol but I suppose same idea...ish lol.

Looking forward to seeing the Capo nationals in Oz in August....Lilliebridge, Lilley, Malanichev, howlett etc....think Green is missing this one but still some top class raw lifting to be seen.

 

[LittleLiam]

Lol! You still lift weights? Thought you were a jogger now??







Perhaps dived into things too fast with the sheiko and dr squat program's? Shock to the system if not trained like that before! Did you do anything different to help improve recovery? Perhaps if had stick with it when lifts dipped would have eventually adapted to the workload, I know the broz lifting coach talks about this. I would have done same as you did though btw. And yes volume overlooked by many I think.

More details.

I moved form SHEIKO 29 (the beginner one) which I completed relatively well. Then moved to SHEIKO 32, this had me SQUAT, BENCH, SQUAT, BENCH in the same session. In the end I couldn't keep up with the waves of percentages. Recover was helped by eating and sleeping as much as possible. Same for Hatfield. Sheiko and Hatfield upped my squat, nothing else. I feel that was due to the increased frequency in squatting. Deads and bench stalled...

 

[-Justin-]

First of all, great vid Dig. Really natural and good flow.

Personally, I like your suggestion of increasing frequency to speed up and increase gains. It makes sense. Wasnt DoggCrapp training based on this ethos? Train more>eat more>rest more.

Increasing recovery to me does not mean 10 hours on a foam roller per day as well as 3 sports massages a week. Just eat and sleep accordingly to begin with. Someone mentioned adaption. That is what we are built to do. Think of a coal man shouldering 50kg bag after 50kg bag off a lorry everyday. I bet after his first shift he could barely get out of bed the next day, but he kept at it and it became ''easier''. Hmmm I do talk some shite. lol

We are all capable of so much more than we think (sort of a Kirk Karwoski quote there). I also believe that it would be unfair to say ''so and so'' works harder than him over there. I dont think we can know that. All the top lifters knock their own fuck in day after day. No question about that.

BTW...after watching the Brandon Lilly/Dan Green deadlift party vid, if there is actually someone who outworks Green, my hat is off to them.

edit:
I have always trained squat and bench twice per week and I have consistently progressed.

 

[JimmyF]

good post J fully agree, body will over a time adapt to any force put upon it, maybe why Russians are so successful?