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AAP's Muscle Building Thread
- Thread starter AAP
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hairlossguru said:
If you didn't like my previous one, then try this.
Go spend $20 on a pair of ankle supporters. Like this : http://www.andreascahling.com/images/VS_ankle.jpg
Now when you think that people wrap their knees when squatting and some wrap their elbows and wrists when benching... should you not add some support to your ankles when using heavy poundages? Trust me if you are doing calf raises with 500+ lbs or such, you need support. The ankle is a very small joint which are you heaving around during calf training. Not to mention the added support on your arch can lead to plantaris (sp?) if you are not careful.
Slip the supports on and when you train calfs do NOT go all the way down. Yes a stretch is good. Yes a stretch is important. But you will stretch AFTER the set. Not during. Save your efforts for the explosive contractions. Go down about 75 of the way. Actually I never go down below paralled when doing heavy calf raises. I go up as high as I can, all the way up, but when lowering, I stop at the same plane I would if I were standing on a flat floor.
But afterwards, I stretch a little bit after each set and LOT at the end of the calf workout.
c3bodybuilding
New member
Doing old fashioned hacks with a barbell instead of that stupid, knee killing machine is what helped me. And no, I don't believe a certain exercise will change genetics of any of that other shit, but it did help hit areas of the thigh that weren't being hit with plain ol' squats. And I know this is a 5x5, powerlifting haven now, but when you are a bber and get to the advanced 240-280lb range, then each little bit counts. I'm very pleased to see a thread like this still going. AAP has a lot to teach others and I think the training forum has shifted to a place where there is no bodybuilding info. Everyone seems to think things like hst, 5x5 are all new or something. All were created and used since the 40s and 50s, sorry folks. Not angry, just hate to see people critize and shut down threads and ideas like these that do and will help people stuck in a rut.
I believe HST and 5x5 (and DC and volume training, etc..) do work. Unfortunately I also believe 150% that they do not work for the entire body. You may have certain muscle groups that respond to that kind of stimilus and training and then have other bodyparts that simply don't.
I don't believe a training system exists that works your body as a whole with the same level of benefits. It truly comes down to a case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.
When trying other training systems it is crucial that you first stick to it long enough to effectively judge how well it works. This means 5-6 months at least. And also keep a training log that details every little thing you can think of. Then when try another method, you do the same... and again.. until you can look back and compare notes and find out exactly what you need to do for each.
In my case, I do around 8-12 sets total for chest. Hamstrings get about 12-15. And triceps get around 18-25 sets. However, the way I train each is different. Chest I use heavy weight to break the muscle down and fatigue it. With Hamstrings I use a slightly higher rep range. With triceps, I simply pump blood in there over and over again. The blood volume training principle.
The reason most people don't see the results they want is because they have become ingrained with their training and training concepts. The 5x5, the DC, the Secret Soviet System (remember that one? LOL) all have the same thing in common. Heavy weights and low reps. That is why some people gravitate from one of these to the other and vice versa. That is what "worked" for them once and they subconsciously stick with it.
Which isn't to say I haven't made the same mistake. I have. When I first started training right out of college I went to Lee Haneys Animal Kingdom. I had never touched a weight before. Instead we just did training drills, abs 6 days a week, and various pullups that our swim coach gave us. From doing this 8 years (4 years high, 4 years college) when I first walked in the gym, I already had low bodyfat, deep abs, shoulders and an above average back. Naturally I started training heavy. Reps in the 4-6 range. I made a lot of gains to start with the first year. And who doesn't in their first year of training? We all do. Then it slowed down and by the end of the second year it had stopped all together. So what did I do? Trained harder. More weight. More sets. Still low reps. It worked for me to start with, it should work for me now right? Well most people don't realize that any kind of training will work for them when they first start out. And I was trapped by my own notion of what "worked".
I had a conversation at the water fountain one day with Lee Haney that changed my mind and got me to trying new things. He came over and said "I have never seen a powerlifter with that little amount of bodyfat on them." I told him I wasn't a powerlifter. And he replied with a straight face "so why you training like one month after month after month?"
Come to find out, he didn't train with low reps anymore and didn't believe in them. He said anything less than 8 reps, you are fatiguing your tendons and joints first for having to compensate for such a heavy load.
It took me years to find out what works for me. But at least I did. That is more than some people do. Instead they train the same, and still look the same year in and year out.
I don't believe a training system exists that works your body as a whole with the same level of benefits. It truly comes down to a case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.
When trying other training systems it is crucial that you first stick to it long enough to effectively judge how well it works. This means 5-6 months at least. And also keep a training log that details every little thing you can think of. Then when try another method, you do the same... and again.. until you can look back and compare notes and find out exactly what you need to do for each.
In my case, I do around 8-12 sets total for chest. Hamstrings get about 12-15. And triceps get around 18-25 sets. However, the way I train each is different. Chest I use heavy weight to break the muscle down and fatigue it. With Hamstrings I use a slightly higher rep range. With triceps, I simply pump blood in there over and over again. The blood volume training principle.
The reason most people don't see the results they want is because they have become ingrained with their training and training concepts. The 5x5, the DC, the Secret Soviet System (remember that one? LOL) all have the same thing in common. Heavy weights and low reps. That is why some people gravitate from one of these to the other and vice versa. That is what "worked" for them once and they subconsciously stick with it.
Which isn't to say I haven't made the same mistake. I have. When I first started training right out of college I went to Lee Haneys Animal Kingdom. I had never touched a weight before. Instead we just did training drills, abs 6 days a week, and various pullups that our swim coach gave us. From doing this 8 years (4 years high, 4 years college) when I first walked in the gym, I already had low bodyfat, deep abs, shoulders and an above average back. Naturally I started training heavy. Reps in the 4-6 range. I made a lot of gains to start with the first year. And who doesn't in their first year of training? We all do. Then it slowed down and by the end of the second year it had stopped all together. So what did I do? Trained harder. More weight. More sets. Still low reps. It worked for me to start with, it should work for me now right? Well most people don't realize that any kind of training will work for them when they first start out. And I was trapped by my own notion of what "worked".
I had a conversation at the water fountain one day with Lee Haney that changed my mind and got me to trying new things. He came over and said "I have never seen a powerlifter with that little amount of bodyfat on them." I told him I wasn't a powerlifter. And he replied with a straight face "so why you training like one month after month after month?"
Come to find out, he didn't train with low reps anymore and didn't believe in them. He said anything less than 8 reps, you are fatiguing your tendons and joints first for having to compensate for such a heavy load.
It took me years to find out what works for me. But at least I did. That is more than some people do. Instead they train the same, and still look the same year in and year out.
c3bodybuilding said:
I have never seen another person do these other than me and my training partner. I have not found an exercise yet that annihilates the VMO quite like these. These are giving me that nice tear drop that you don't see on the average leg press and leg curl crowd.
AAP this thread is full of unbelievably good info. K to who originally bumped this up. You should continue make threads like this.
skullcrushin22
New member
SouthernLord said:
I use to do these too. Not sure if I had proper form but i destroyed the back of my calves.
Hey bro. My biceps lacks peak. I know a lot of that has to do with genetics. What kind of routine would you advice. Concentration curls? cables? Preachers while holding weight on top? Alternating dumbell curls with a twist at the top?
