3 way split and rest pause/ss

[pete89]

I was wondering if anyone went over to the 3 way split but did mostly strait sets. I was thinking about this, I tend to burn out pretty quickly doing the 2 way due to tons of restpause and the length of the workouts. I find that after 30-40 mins im done. I also know that I only really benefit from rest pauses for back and some arm stuff.

I was thinking of going over the 3 way for shorter more intense workouts and not burning myself out too fast by cutting back on the rest pauses. I have to walk a fine line between training too long and too hard

[mentalflex]

I was wondering if anyone went over to the 3 way split but did mostly strait sets. I was thinking about this, I tend to burn out pretty quickly doing the 2 way due to tons of restpause and the length of the workouts. I find that after 30-40 mins im done. I also know that I only really benefit from rest pauses for back and some arm stuff.

I was thinking of going over the 3 way for shorter more intense workouts and not burning myself out too fast by cutting back on the rest pauses. I have to walk a fine line between training too long and too hard

Not trying to be an ass here, but if you do all straight sets then you really wouldn't be doing DC, would you?

If you've tried several different training methodologies and know with absolute certainty that your back and arms are the only bodyparts that benefit from rest-pauses then why not set up your own training program with the volume and schedule you know works best for you and just incorporate rest-pauses as you see fit?

If you are not going to be able to do a full DC split, rather than start with a DC split and take things out to make them fit into your program, why not develop your own program and incorporate the lessons you have learned through DC training to make it the most effective program for you?

[Sammich]

Post your age, height, weight, body fat %, years training, diet, job, weights used, and how much rest you get.

[mentalflex]

Post your age, height, weight, body fat %, years training, diet, job, weights used, and how much rest you get.

Sammich, I searched some of his posts and found the start of an old log (http://www.intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=34977), which led me to assume he knew the ropes and had some experience with various training methods.

Sammich, my question to you (or Homon or anyone else), would you say that in general, if a person does not have the capacity to recover from rest-pauses or is able to push through an entire DC workout without losing intensity or becoming physically burnt out then they may not be ready to take on a full DC program?

In this case, would you say that it is better for the person to build up their work capacity and gain more experience through different training protocols (and perhaps incorporating some DC principles) before entering into a full DC program rather than just "trying" out DC?

[Sammich]

Judging by that log (granted it's from 2009), Mr. Pete needs to NOT do DC.

That being said, I think learning how to recover from the 2-way RP split is part of the challenge of DC. You have to put ALL your effort into the training, diet, and recovery for the "protocol" to work. And guess what? It takes fuckloads of experience, knowledge, wisdom, and frequently, guidance to get that to work properly. A 21-22 year-old is generally not able to pull that off.

Sammich, I searched some of his posts and found the start of an old log (http://www.intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=34977), which led me to assume he knew the ropes and had some experience with various training methods.

Sammich, my question to you (or Homon or anyone else), would you say that in general, if a person does not have the capacity to recover from rest-pauses or is able to push through an entire DC workout without losing intensity or becoming physically burnt out then they may not be ready to take on a full DC program?

In this case, would you say that it is better for the person to build up their work capacity and gain more experience through different training protocols (and perhaps incorporating some DC principles) before entering into a full DC program rather than just "trying" out DC?

[mentalflex]

Judging by that log (granted it's from 2009), Mr. Pete needs to NOT do DC.

That being said, I think learning how to recover from the 2-way RP split is part of the challenge of DC. You have to put ALL your effort into the training, diet, and recovery for the "protocol" to work. And guess what? It takes fuckloads of experience, knowledge, wisdom, and frequently, guidance to get that to work properly. A 21-22 year-old is generally not able to pull that off.

True this. I see what you are saying about "learning to recover from the 2-way..." and "fuckloads of experience [lol]...etc." My interpretation of this (and correct me if I am off) is that before you can put your body through the rigors of a DC split successfully you must first understand and be in tune with your body, know your limitations, how you respond to various exercises and rep ranges, have a lifestyle (stress, sleep, job, kids, school...) condusive to achieving your goals, and have the mental ability to focus and maintain the proper motivation throughout the blast. Once you understand your physical and mental abilites with respect to training then you will be able to push through the challenges of a DC blast.

Am I on the right page with the above?

[steel1970]

Other things go into recovery as well, like stress....Sammich asked for stats and things like the op's job, which could directly correlate to stress....

I have used the DC 2 way with great success in the past, but got to a point last year where my joints were killing me, my stress levels were tremendously high, and my recovery started to suck....I even took some time off and just tried to relax. This is the reason that I switched my training to what it is currently. It's not DC Training, but the split I was using mimicked the 3 way split, which I again just changed to go only 3 days a week, as my cardio has increased substantially, and my legs were rubbery all the time.....I had big strength jumps this week so I know I did the right thing by changing the frequency....I think like others said, it comes down to knowing your own body....I agree with Sammich that recovery is part of the DC challenge, but even very advanced guys can have issues with recovery. Everyone is different as are peoples stress levels. I think stress has more to do with recovery than most people care to admit.....

[steel1970]

I've never done any college so although I know obtaining the education that someone like Sammich and Homon have can be very stressful, I really can't comment cause I don't really know. However, I've had stresses as a dad, husband, business owner, etc, that have left me in the gym at times scratching my head as to why I was even there, that's how bad the session sucked....I know there have been times that my stress has been do bad that I had to cruise after only 4 weeks.....

I don't even wanna tell anyone how long I've been blasting for now, and I still have 10 weeks to go.....I took time off when my joints were in shambles and once they got a bit better, I trained and then just rolled into my prep, never even thinking about cruising....hopefully it won't backfire....lol

[mentalflex]

Other things go into recovery as well, like stress....Sammich asked for stats and things like the op's job, which could directly correlate to stress....
I think stress has more to do with recovery than most people care to admit.....

This is the reason why I took the semester off of grad school. I know that working 50+ hours a week then going to school 2 or three nights a week (add in group meetings and projects) while trying to prep for my show would be too much for me.

I have no problem postponing my graduation, I'd rather live my life on my terms.

[LearningDC]

Sammich, I searched some of his posts and found the start of an old log (http://www.intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=34977), which led me to assume he knew the ropes and had some experience with various training methods.

Sammich, my question to you (or Homon or anyone else), would you say that in general, if a person does not have the capacity to recover from rest-pauses or is able to push through an entire DC workout without losing intensity or becoming physically burnt out then they may not be ready to take on a full DC program?

In this case, would you say that it is better for the person to build up their work capacity and gain more experience through different training protocols (and perhaps incorporating some DC principles) before entering into a full DC program rather than just "trying" out DC?

To sort of echo what Steel is saying, many factors contribute to the ability to recover.
For myself, running a business, being a Dad, turning 40 ,and training sometimes do not jibe. Does this mean that some weeks I am not ready for/ or advanced enough for DC? Of course not. What this means is that I try to be pro-active in my recovery/training. If I know that there is going to be a particulary stressful week or event that is going to compromise my recovery, I might only train 3 times that week instead of 4..or maybe only do 2 sets of 10 on back thickness instead of one set o 6 and a set of 12...or maybe skip the widows that week. This is looked at as tapping the brakes before you enter the turn instead of wiping out in the middle of the turn at full speed.

[mentalflex]

To sort of echo what Steel is saying, many factors contribute to the ability to recover.
For myself, running a business, being a Dad, turning 40 ,and training sometimes do not jibe. Does this mean that some weeks I am not ready for/ or advanced enough for DC? Of course not. What this means is that I try to be pro-active in my recovery/training. If I know that there is going to be a particulary stressful week or event that is going to compromise my recovery, I might only train 3 times that week instead of 4..or maybe only do 2 sets of 10 on back thickness instead of one set o 6 and a set of 12...or maybe skip the widows that week. This is looked at as tapping the brakes before you enter the turn instead of wiping out in the middle of the turn at full speed.

I'm slowly learning this and Homon has to give me a head check at times because I want to just GO GO GO and tend to think I can just "Get through it" but I am getting much better at recognizing when I may need to slow down and when it is time to go full speed ahead.

There were several instances when I wanted to come back after a cruise and after talking with Homon I realized I better wait a few more days because my body wasnt ready. At other times, especially during finals or when I am working on big projects at work, I put a lot of prssure on myself to try to force my workouts, and, being under a lot of stress during those times, can't get into the right mindet. Now I realize that it is better to hold off a day or two so you can train hard than get in a half ass workout where you are rushing and can't put everything into it you'd like (which probably increases the potential for injury).

But LDC, related to what you are saying, I see what you are saying and I think my previous post kind of touched on this right here:

before you can put your body through the rigors of a DC split successfully you must first understand and be in tune with your body, know your limitations, how you respond to various exercises and rep ranges, have a lifestyle (stress, sleep, job, kids, school...) condusive to achieving your goals, and have the mental ability to focus and maintain the proper motivation throughout the blast. Once you understand your physical and mental abilites with respect to training then you will be able to push through the challenges of a DC blast.

But, I took it as the entire DC program (meaning ready to start DC), which means that, as you said, you udnerstand that certain times you must scale back your training, which in the end allows to to extend your blast and train safe, enabling for greater gains in the long run. So yes, at times you might not be able to train with the intensity you normally have, there might be physical limtations or have other obligations that take precendence, but knowing this allows one to adjust their training to accomdate those issues so that you can stay healthy and make greater progress down the road.

I really appreciate you guys giving me a better perspective on preventative measures and training healthy. I enjoy learning as much as I can about traing, and in particular DC training so hearing other viewpoints from thos ewho have been in this game far longer than me is something that I am very thankful for.

[SAHD]

Personally I found DC great, the best program I've ever used but can't do it at present. I am now on shifts that have no rhyme or reason, I have 10 days on at night, then 5 off, then a few afternoons then change into 6am starts. On days off the wife and kids are wanting to do things with me. I have to take kids to school and do pickup from school on other days, goto sport etc.

This is not a life that allows me to now do DC. I can however take some of the lessons, as stated earlier, and put them into a program I can benefit from and still have a life that is family focussed.

Crazy at it sounds I am just doing full body 3 times a fortnight, and improving because I can recover.

I say to your best and experiment. If you run a log book covering everything you'll soon know if you've done the right thing.

[steel1970]

Personally I found DC great, the best program I've ever used but can't do it at present. I am now on shifts that have no rhyme or reason, I have 10 days on at night, then 5 off, then a few afternoons then change into 6am starts. On days off the wife and kids are wanting to do things with me. I have to take kids to school and do pickup from school on other days, goto sport etc.

This is not a life that allows me to now do DC. I can however take some of the lessons, as stated earlier, and put them into a program I can benefit from and still have a life that is family focussed.

Crazy at it sounds I am just doing full body 3 times a fortnight, and improving because I can recover.

I say to your best and experiment. If you run a log book covering everything you'll soon know if you've done the right thing.

Damn, that schedule doesn't seem like it would allow you to even see the inside of the gym, let alone do DC....lol. Props to you for even getting in there and getting to work....life gets in the way sometimes for sure....