Anyone have experience with Lyle's Generic Bulking Routine?

[big_aug]

I saw this int he sticky and have been reading up on it. I think this is what I want to do rather than a 5x5. I like the 4days a week rather than 3 and I like the way the workout looks.

My question is, how do I go about determining what weights to start with for this program? I saw the stuff about %'s in the sticky, but it was really unclear for me.

If anyone has any experience and could help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Cynical Simian]

I haven't run it, but since AI is, um, unavailable, I'll try to help you based on what he said in the post (I assume this is the part you're unclear about):

You run a two-week submax ramp at 80-85% then 90-95% of your current maxes for those ranges. Week three, you hit your current PRs, and try to set new ones for 4-6 weeks. So you run a 6-8 week cycle total. At this point, take a week off if you need it, or jump back into a new cycle (ramp again, with the new maxes).

So if your current 3x6 max for bench is 200 pounds (just a random number for easy calculation), you'd do something between 160 and 170 pounds in week 1, 180-190 in week 2, 200 in week 3, and increase thereafter (2.5% increases are generally pretty good/sustainable).

If you've been working in different rep ranges, there're conversion/estimation equations you can use (linked to on madcow's site, among other places). And, when in doubt, start conservatively.

 

[Protobuilder]

Yep, yep. All things start w/ knowing your maxes. Take a week and test your maxes. Then you'll have benchmarks to work from.

 

[big_aug]

I got it all figured out. I read the entire thread on the other website. I was just unsure if I was supposed to be using my 1RM to get %s or what. I cleared it all up.