Who here does a more traditional volume routine?

[02gixxersix]

I have now tried every fixed format routine I could find and while I really loved WSBB I just wasn't getting the proportionate size I wanted and was eating way too much because of the whole PL mentality. I have done needsize's 5x5 with great success, inear 5x5, DC style, and one of Iron Addicts programs. Basically they all work pretty well some more than others, but I get bored with them. The one I liked the least so far is the linear 5x5. I like to be able to go into the gym with a plan in mind but nothing set in stone. If I feel like doing dips I wanna do some dips, overhead press I wanna overhead press etc. I think I am going to go back to what used to work when I was younger and didn't know about all these routines which is a basic 10-8-6 type setup with 3 to 4 excercises per workout and split them up throughout the week.

I was just wondering if anyone is doing this kind of routine anymore since all I see are these fixed format routines in the stickies. The funny thing to me is that in real life the guys I know who are the biggest and make the best progress are usually doing a more typical volume based routine.

 

[BiggT]

The important thing (boredom aside) is to progress with lifts. You don't need a periodized, set-in-stone program per se, but the reason for them is that most people without any kind of strength and conditioning background know jack shit about progression and training in general, and they'd fuck up something that wasn't idiot-proof and spelled out for them. (not a slam on people, just more of an observation of how unfortunate it is that quality information isn't easily accessible)

Basically, if you feel you understand progression and programming, you can foot it on your own and be a bit more liberal with your approach......if you take that to mean chase a pump and use the shotgun approach, you'd be better served with a cookie cutter program.

The reason most people are plateaued at 175lbs despite years of 'perfect diet and training' is because they won't/don't take the time to learn how to program and progress......the people who train like shit either make progress because they accidentally do the right stuff right (progress on lifts) or they just keep dumping more and more drugs in.

To be honest, the smallest and weakest guys I know train on a shotgun, go whatever way the wind blows "program", and anybody strong I can think of trains what counts progressively in some manner.

 

[al420]

To be honest, the smallest and weakest guys I know train on a shotgun, go whatever way the wind blows "program", and anybody strong I can think of trains what counts progressively in some manner.

Like me.

 

[BiggT]

Like me.

+1 brother.....

Again, to the original poster......you don't HAVE to use an Excel spreadsheet and use the '5x5' as per the sticky or use 'HST' as written or whatever.....the thing is, if you are a bit more liberal, you need to be honest with yourself. If you're not seeing the results you feel are in line with whe work and dedication you're putting in, then you're missing something, and it would at least serve you well to look at a cookie cutter that works, learn HOW and WHY it works, and apply that to your own training somehow (if you don't want something so set-in-stone).

To answer your question, I've never been disappointed with my training's results and looked for 'something else' out there. I really just try to get good at 3-4 lifts and do some accessory stuff for biceps so I can push up the sleeves of my golf shirts and look both tough and cool, lol.

My definition of volume is total workload, not the amount of shit you can fit in a bag. For example....squatting 5x8 at 85% set weight is high volume to me.....not doing 3 sets of squats, 3 sets of leg presses, 3 sets of extensions, 3 sets of hack machine squats, etc etc......think of volume in terms of workload (weight between 70-100% 1rm multipled by reps multiplied by sets), not the amount of shit you squeeze into your workout, most of which is a waste of your valuable time anyway.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

++1

BiggT, right on the money as usual bor.

 

[Cynical Simian]

...do some accessory stuff for biceps so I can push up the sleeves of my golf shirts and look both tough and cool, lol.

http://i17.tinypic.com/29pdz4h.jpg

BiggT, right on the money as usual bor.

Agreed.

 

[Cynical Simian]

Also, to add to what T was saying, if you want a bit more volume you can add an 8-12 rep backoff set or two after your work sets. So, for example, you might work up to a near-maximal set of 5 then go back to one of your warmup weights and do a relatively easy set of 8 with it.

 

[Tweakle]

agree with the T

yes. the few ''big guys'' you'll find in a regular 24 hr fitness kind of gym are probably going to train without any kind of plan because they don't need to. If they buckled down and focused on the basics and getting their numbers up they'd be even bigger and stronger but most genetically blessed guys are happy to pump for a couple of hours and go home. Why work a 80 hour week when you've inherited a million from daddy? You don't need to

but most people who try this unstrucutred approach never get anywhere and after 10 years of 'hard' training still can't bench 315, still are looking for that magic supplement and still wonder why they never got past 200lbs

straight sets of 5 are volume for me.. do a 5x5 or 4x6 for chest, then the same for shoulders, then some rep work for the tris and tell me you don't feel like you worked something.. you can always rotate movements but dont go too crazy with subsitiutions

 

[02gixxersix]

I agree totally with these responses. I'm not saying 5x5 isn't hard because anyone who did it and did it right knows that it is hard as shit. All these programs I feel work but I just get bored of the cookie cutter programs. I am still going to try to beat my log book and push it to the limits but I just feel like changing things up a little more often. I think consistancy means more than anything in this game and if it keeps my head in it then it's beneficial. Who knows I change programs so often that in 3 weeks I'll probably want to go WSBB again lol. Probably why I never really get anywhere lol.

I will say though that of everything I have tried Needsize's 5x5 was the best but at a certain point, like 365 for me, 5 sets of 5 deadlifts got a little ridiculous. I'd rather ramp up a little bit more. WSBB did the most for my squat form and weight even though I was only box squatting.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

wtf is Needsize 5x5?

Cookie Cutter... from the sounds of it, you've never taken a program and adapted it to what you want to do, or lifts that you enjoy.

Take Bill Starr's intermediate 5x5 for example... take what you like, substiute in a lift for incline like seated military presses or something, ect. Take a few of the lifts and do 3x8 instead... customization makes it fun brother.

I started with Bill Starr's 5x5 back in late august... i have no clue what i'm doing "exactly" as far as pin pointing a name on what I do. I enjoy it, and I progress at my lifts, get better, ect... that's what it's all about IMO.

It's only as cookie cutter as you make it out to be