>David Lewandowski wrote:
>I've been training for over 20 years and have yet to meet even one
>individual that can train 6 days a week and make gains for any period >of
>time without losing their health. I know of plenty of world >champion
>powerlifters that train anywhere from 1-3 days a week. The >ones that train
>less and are drug free are the only ones I see making >any progress.
>
>Muscle mags forget to tell you that these people training so often >are
>taking huge amounts of drugs from growth hormone to >amphetamines(and that
>they write routines to make them look like >supermen which they really
>don't do). You name it they'll take it! >Bodybuilding competitively hasn't
>a thing to do with health so I >would be suspect of their advice.

I've met several people who employ a 6 day per week volume routine, are drug
free, and have made excellent gains.  In my gym there's one 40yr old man
who's drug fee and trains 6 days per week.  He's a powerlifter and squats
500lbs at a bodyweight of 165lb.  With this level of strength, I don't
consider him to be overtraining.

Arnold used a volume routine with great success.  Mentzer used a HIT system
with great success too.  There have been hybrid methods employed by such
champions as Lee Labrada.  Many HIT trainees think Arnold's method only
works with sterids.  But Mentzer used steroids too, so this could go both
ways.

I personally use my own variation of HIT.  I like to do 2-3 progressive warm
up sets and 1-2 failure sets per workout.  I use a upper body day 1 day per
week & lower body 1 day per week training split, slower rep cadence, but not
super slow.  It has worked well for me, and I've made gains.  I tried the
volume method and the hybrid method with minimal success.  They don't work
for me, I overtrain, I feel sick, and I lose muscle.  But I know several
people who train naturally and have success with a volume routine.  Some of
them will work out 6 days per week.  They typically use more sets (very
rarely do they go to failure), higher reps (12-15), and a faster rep
cadence.

At times, the discussion among the different training camps (volume vs. HIT
vs. hybrid method) has detracted from the sport.  Rather than discuss the
routines in a detailed manner, it usually comes down to a battle of catch
phrases.  Some HIT trainees throw out terms like recovery ability, yet most
of them have not even read The Classic Collection by Arthur Jones so they
don't even understand the foundation of it.  Others quote Mentzer along the
lines of doing more than 1 failure set is counterproductive and say the only
reason Arnold was a success was due to steroids.  Yet Mentzer himself used
multiple failure sets and took steroids just like Arnold.  Casey Viator,
another HIT champion, was similar to Mike Mentzer in that they were often
caught in the gym doing volume routines on ocassion.  The volume types are
guilty too.  They criticize the HITers for not doing direct arm work (even
though direct arm work isn't necessary - see The Classic Collection by
Arthur Jones at http://www.cyberpump.com).

It all comes down to what works best for your lifestyle, your genetics, your
recovery abililty, and other factors.  Implement a plan.  If it isn't
working, then modify.  You can do this with both weight and nutritional
programs.

Take my suggested cutting diet for example.  For cutting, I think a high
protein, low fat, low carb approach with lots of cardio works wonders,
especially if a high carb day is thrown in when the muscles start to look
excessively flat.  It's worked well for me and several of my friends. But
Will Brink and Lyle McDonald (both of them are very knowledgable about
nutrition and I read their material religously b/c I find it useful) believe
my diet doesn't work, causes thyroid dysfunction, and is basically a joke.

Take Philip's diet for example.  High fat, high protein, low carb.  I don't
think it's a very good diet for maintaining low bodyfat, but it has
obviously worked damn good for Philip b/c he is maintaining a 8-9% bodyfat
level with it.  So who am I to argue with such results.

In bodybuilding, there's polarization in all the issues, especially training
and diet.  Pick a traing philosophy (hell, it doesn't even have to have a
fancy designation like volume or HIT, just make up your own routine) and
pick a diet.  Try it for a few weeks.  If you're pleased with your results,
then stick with it.  If you desire improvment, then start manipulating
different variables.

People respond differently to individual foods.  Some are allergic to dairy
(I know I am), but others are not and respond well to a good whey protein
supplement.  Some are allergic to bananas, but I certainly seem to respond
well to them.  We are all genetically different.  Thus, we all will not
respond to the same training routine and diet.

Justin Hasselman
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.