Same But Different

Hey James,

I've currently being doing a strength program to get my numbers higher up and build more of a foundation.

I want to start doing the Shotgun Method again, but I have a quick question about exercise selection.

Is it necessary to change up the exercises each time I work out? Or should I keep using what works until it just stops yielding results? I've been following programs for the past 3 months that required you to use the same exercises each workout, and I made significant gains. Just wondering if it's necessary to change specific exercises regularly or not.

Thanks!

-Craig


My Answer: You don't have to change exercises every time you work out. It really depends on your goal. If you are looking to fully maximize muscular hypertrophy, then it's best to rotate through different exercises throughout the week. If your goal is strength, however, then sticking to the same exercises from workout to workout is better. The Shotgun Method would allow you to do either: change it up or stick with a handful of exercises.

There is a third way: you can do a handful of exercises all the time, but perform variations of them every so often. The exercises are the same, but at the same time different.

For example, here's how you would do the same exercises from workout to workout, but perform different variations:

Bench press to Close grip bench press to Floor press

Wide grip pull-ups to Medium grip pull-ups to Medium grip chin-ups

Deadlifts to Sumo deadlifts to Snatch grip deadlifts

Biceps Compound Set

Fat Loss Through Calorie Restriction

Hey James,

I am trying to cut down on my body fat. I have tried Atkins and Keto diets. I even did some fasting, and they make me feel a little crazy. Is this normal? What diet would you recommend and why? I don't even care if I lose a little muscle mass, I just don't want to lose any strength.

- M. Volkman


My Answer: Well I have written about how ketogenic diets can make you a little crazy and a little on edge. It depends on the person. Fasting can make you loopy too, which is one reason why religions use it to make its members psychologically malleable.

If you find that you just can't take ketogenic diets or fasting, then you're going to have to rely on lowering your calories instead of restricting certain macronutrients or foods.

Go to Fitday.com and open up a free account. Start logging in your food intake and note the calories. Strive to lower the calories from day to day. Start cutting down portions. No servings of anything larger than a fistful, with the exception of vegetables. Eventually your stomach will shrink, and you will be satiated with smaller portions.

If you decrease in size because of fat loss or weight loss, then you will invariably lose some strength. This is unavoidable. But if you want to maintain some overall strength while on a calorie restricted diet, then follow an abbreviated program with just the power lifts: squat, deadlifts, bench press. Add standing military presses and pullups to round it out. Focus on low reps (4-6) which is a true indicator of strength and not on high reps (8+) which indicates strength endurance.

Overtraining on Larger Muscle Groups

Hello, I consider myslf to be partly a hardgainer but no beginner. Therefore I plan to modify the Hypertrophy Training for Ectomorphs program in your book by taking 8-6-5-12 reps instead of 10-8-6-15 as in the book.

My question: If I follow this program I will end up training my biceps and triceps each for 4 sets 3 times a week, in other words 12 sets each week. Isn't that a little too hard on the arms, especially if I am 45 years old?

-CS


My Answer: The program calls for you to train each body part 4 sets 3 times per week, regardless what pyramid scheme of reps you use. It's not going to push you into the overtraining zone, but if you're scared that it will, then cut the arms altogether. With smaller body parts, you are less likely to overtrain, because the amount of nerve force is so low compared to large body parts. You are more likely to overtrain squatting or deadlifting three times per week than doing biceps curls and dips 3 times per week. But even then, 4 sets is not much.

If you are older and you feel you've been hormonally castrated through the years, then you may benefit from single set training programs from the early 20th century.

The 3 Week Rule

I read your Hypertrophy training for Ectomorphs article and was wondering how long should I remain on that program once I begin?

I am a slim guy who has trouble gaining weight & size. I am going to begin your program tomorrow. I am a former Marine and now I am a radio DJ in Detroit. Also supplements, here is a list of my current supplements that I will be using with your program:

- Superpump 250 & Creatine Monohydrate
- Whey Protein
- L-Glutamine
- Multi-Vitamin
- Fish Oil
- ZMA


Thank You,

Ace


My Answer: Ideally you should stick with a program until you're no longer gaining in size and/or strength. As a general rule, stick with a program for 3 weeks, then move on to the next. BUT you can stick to a program for longer as long as you are gaining. After the gains stop, then I suggest you follow the 5x5 Heavy-Light program.

Progressively Heavier Weights

"Hi, I am an ectomorph and I have a question about your bodybuilding.com article on hypertrophy for ectomorphs. How would you modify the weight for each set? Do you start with something you can comfortably do 10 times and progressively raise the weight as the sets get smaller, then lower the weight for the set of 15 reps? Or do you not even modify the weight at all?"

Thanks,
Trevor


My Answer: Yes, start off with a 10 rep max weight and add more weight from set to set. For the 15 rep set, lower the weight.

The Heavy-Light Version of 5x5

How do you do? Thank you for answering my questions on skinny-fat.

I need your advice again. I have been following the 10-8-6-15 routine you suggest for ectomorphs for 1 month. I workout 2 to 3 times a week, only do one exercise per body part and gradually increase the weight for each set except for the last set.

I notice improvements on my strength but not so much on my physique. How is this so? Is there anything I can do to improve on it, or does this simply mean it's time for me to switch to other routines?

Thank you. Have a nice day.


- J. Yang


My Answer: If you're getting stronger, but there isn't any change in your physique, then it's usually diet that is holding you back. You have to eat more, and you have got to eat more meat and whole eggs. If you start to get the skinny-fat look again, then eat more veggies and eliminate those starchy carbs. If you drink a lot of alcohol, that is also making fat in all the wrong places, so cut the booze.

Regardless of diet, you should change your training. I often recommend 5x5 after the 10-8-6-15 routine, but you may need to add some back off sets to facilitate growth. Try alternating between these 2 workouts throughout the week:


Workout #1

Dumbbell press 5x5
Machine flyes 3x12

Seated cable rows 5x5
Pulldowns 3x12

Wide grip upright rows 5x5
Seated lateral raises 3x12


Workout #2

Squats 5x5
Leg Extensions 3x12

/ Seated dumbbell curls 5x5
\ Lying triceps extensions 5x5

/ Incline curls 3x12
\ Pressdowns 3x12

Volume 4: Training for the Busy Bodybuilder

Heads up readers: Strength and Physique: Training for the Busy Bodybuilder is now available! The training outlined in this book is VERY different from anything that I have ever written. In fact, the training is almost the exact opposite of what I normally tell readers to do, which is to train briefly, intensely and frequently.

In my previous books, such as Neo-Classical Bodybuilding, I talked about the most you can do to achieve mass and muscularity in an ideal situation. If you are able to go to the gym 3-4 times, then previous volumes of Strength and Physique will provide you with countless training programs to build maximum muscle through maximum effort.

In Strength and Physique, Volume 4, however, I’m going to show you the least you can do to achieve mass and muscularity while still living a life outside the gym. It's meant for the modern day Renaissance Man who wants a phenomenal physique, but also wants to live life and pursue other interests. This book is about maximum muscle through minimum effort.

This idea came about simply because my life has gotten busier and busier over the years. Most of us have to juggle work, family and hobbies, and yet most magazines and books will provide you training programs where you have to commit to the gym often and at regular frequencies. Many of these programs are either based on a periodization strategy and/or high frequency split training.

The problem with periodization programs is that you must commit to regular workouts. Each workout builds on the other; so missing a workout will compromise your strength and mass development. If you use a 3-4 way split routine that bodybuilders typically use, then missing a workout means missing needed work on a muscle lagging in size.

Strength and Physique, Volume 4 will show you how to train specifically and more effectively for a busy and unpredictable schedule. Make no mistake: for size and strength, a high frequency training program is superior to a low frequency training program. But if you cannot commit to 3-4 workouts evenly spaced throughout the week, then you have to train differently to make the best of a bad situation. This book will show you how to train on a low frequency program, so that way you can enjoy life outside the gym and be more than just a bodybuilder.

How Decompression Works

"I saw your article on Bodybuilding.com. I'll be going into the academy next year when I get all my credits. I'm just curious about the decompression [phase]: how does it work for the body?"

- R. Lynn


My Answer: The way decompression works is that if you train at a high volume and/or a high frequency for a few weeks, and then you drop that volume or frequency significantly, your body will overcompensate in size by sucking up amino acids and carbohydrates left and right.

People call it detraining, backcycling or muscle confusion, but decompression is very specific. You are purposely dropping the volume by half and decreasing the density of a workout by increasing rest periods. Your body will take some time to adjust to this drop, so it will try to load up on all of its nutrients before you decide to get crazy in the gym again. During this adjustment, that is when you grow.


"Hi I just got your book Neo-Classical Bodybuilding, and I wanted to use your modern strength training/fat loss program. I'm a 145-150 pound mesomorph, and I'm pretty skinny. I wanted to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, so I was looking at this program from you, but I don't have access to kettlebells. Is there any replacement exercise I could use instead?"

- Luigi O.


My Answer: First off, if you're skinny, then you are an ectomorph, not a mesomorph. So I don't know why you would want to lose fat, since you should be focusing on gaining muscle first, then lose fat later if you need to. The strength training for fat loss program outlined in the book is for people whose primary focus is to lose fat, with a secondary goal of muscle gain. Your primary goal should be muscle gain, fat loss later.

Nevertheless if you want to do the program, then you can substitute dumbbell swings, but it is just not the same. The difference in feel between the kettlebell swing and the dumbbell swing is like night and day. So you can substitute dumbbell swings when the program calls for kettlebells, or you can simply skip over that exercise altogether.

Overtraining and Undertraining

Don't know if you can offer any advice, but I've been trying to develop a better exercise routine for myself. I've been going to the gym for quite a few years, and though I see little results, I find that I'm still quite weak.

I'm 33 years old, 5'6" 147 lbs. I guess my body type would be ectomorph, though skinny I do have a little fat around the mid section. I've been working with mostly split routines.

Example:
Monday- Chest and Biceps
Wednesday- Shoulders and Legs
Friday- Back and Triceps

I do 3 different exercises with 3 sets for each body part (also do some cardio once or twice a week). I'm probably overtraining. Not looking for a bodybuilder body, but I do want muscle, tone and strength. I've read your article on the bodybuiding forum Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph.

I know it's geared towards more of a beginner routine, [but I] just didn't know if I should switch to that routine or do something completely different. You seem quite experienced with this, and I had no idea who else to ask. I'm guessing you're quite busy, so if you can't reply no worries and if you can it's much appreciated.

Hope all is well James.

-J. Campbell


My Answer: Yes I think the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph will help you out. Not just the program itself, but the principles outlined in the article itself. You're training each body part once a week, so in a sense you are both overtraining AND undertraining.

You're overtraining, because you're devoting an entire workout to just 2 body parts. You're also undertraining, because your training frequency for each muscle group is too low. Hit each body part with 4 sets 3 times per week, and you will make better progress in size, strength and tone.