Question for Homon

[bernimx]

I asked Homon that question via PM but he reminded me that it would be better to post it on the forum so that others could benefit. Hopefully he'll chime in.

« People often report needing a cruise week after 6-8 weeks, but i'll use 6 for this example.

Let's say I start my blast next monday and I start easy for the first 3 weeks to ease into it and allow for more PR's potential, as it worked nicely for me in the past and as it is often recommended anyway.

Week 1: A1 - B1 - A2
Week 2: B2 - A3 - B3
Week 3: A1 - B1 - A2
Week 4: B2 - A3 - B3
Week 5: A1 - B1 - A2
Week 6: B2 - A3 - B3

That would mean that I'd push B2-A3-B3 twice and the other days (A1-B1-A2) only once and that I would then cruise for a week. That makes absolutely no sense to me.

Do people that cruises after 6 weeks simply start the blast balls out? That would explain the quick overtraining.

Otherwise, I would most likely be able to go hard for at least 8-10 weeks I suppose (supposing I take the first three easy, slowly ramping the intensity).

Is my comprehension right? »

[[email protected]]

My take on it after much reading is that DC training is balls out intensity from the get go. If you are "ramping up" over three weeks you are not really DC training IMO.
You might start with "lighter" weights, but if you are taking it to three failure points, that's pretty fucking intense regardless.

Maybe I am misreading what you mean here, but to my knowledge there is no "ramping up" in DC training.

[bernimx]

My take on it after much reading is that DC training is balls out intensity from the get go. If you are "ramping up" over three weeks you are not really DC training IMO.
You might start with "lighter" weights, but if you are taking it to three failure points, that's pretty fucking intense regardless.

Maybe I am misreading what you mean here, but to my knowledge there is no "ramping up" in DC training.

I guess you're right.

In the past I used to ramp to my max over a 3-4 week period, and then keep hitting pr's for weeks after that as long as my weight increments were minimals.

Something like 85% on week 1, 90% on week 2, 95% on week 3, you get the point...

I'm not familiar with DC training though, but I thought I could start easy and then go balls out for as long as I can before cruising.

[slide]

I wouldnt confuse, for example, using/starting with 90% of your last blast numbers (again, just as an example here) as using 90% effort on your training. You should still be giving 100%, but training smart...not taking two weeks off and immediately trying to destroy where you left off.

Hope that helps...

-slide

[bernimx]

I wouldnt confuse, for example, using/starting with 90% of your last blast numbers (again, just as an example here) as using 90% effort on your training. You should still be giving 100%, but training smart...not taking two weeks off and immediately trying to destroy where you left off.

Hope that helps...

-slide

So it's very possible that you hit more reps then prescribed then right? Basically, you guys would use a lower weight than what you ended with, but still go balls out with it the first week?

[bbjeff86]

So it's very possible that you hit more reps then prescribed then right? Basically, you guys would use a lower weight than what you ended with, but still go balls out with it the first week?

yes

[mentalflex]

So it's very possible that you hit more reps then prescribed then right? Basically, you guys would use a lower weight than what you ended with, but still go balls out with it the first week?

This is exactly what happened with me. I started a new blast 10 days ago and I am tearing through rep ranges on a number of exercises.

[Andre Gregoire]

yes

like

[homonunculus]

Ah - ha!!! Look at all this great response!!! LOL (Thanks for posting this in the open forum bernimx. Very much.)

So it's very possible that you hit more reps then prescribed then right? Basically, you guys would use a lower weight than what you ended with, but still go balls out with it the first week?

You pick a weight that feels right so you hit the prescribed rep range. A common strategy is to make sure that that weight such that you end up near the top of the rep range so, over the course of many weeks, you can still keep using progressively heavier weights and still stay in range, even if the reps start to drop towards the bottom end of the range over time.

So, some guys come back STRONGER and some weaker, and this can vary by exercise, how long you've been blasting with it and how long you've been doing the exercise. (The progression dynamics of incline BB press for someone who's been training with that exercise for 15 years will be different than, say, reverse unilateral cable wrist curls which they are doing for the first time b/c they saw Dante's video just a few months ago.). You don't automatically pick a weight that is less than where you left off but this is what happens most of the time when you go by feel (not the log book) in choose your weight the first couple weeks back after a cruise.

-S

[Glyder]

I know this was a while ago, but I thought I would chime in too. A lot of times before I would start my blast, I would do 2 weeks of the blast as Straight sets. This would give me a good idea of where my starting weights would be. There is no reason you cannot go beyond 6 weeks, but I found for myself, usually around 7-8 weeks I was done and needed the break.

One thing I also noticed chatting with people here, and reading and commenting on journals, is that people tend to up their weights by a lot. So your inclining for 225 for 13, great, feels good. Next time you decide to up it to 235 and get 13, so you feel you can do 255 the next time...and you fail. Increasing too much too soon. That's just an example, but its probably the most common mistakes people make with DC.

Oh, that and over-analyzing everything, but that's another thread

[Juggy38]

Man you genetic freaks. 2 way DC fries me after 5 weeks.

[Juggy38]

But, I also work 5 9 hour shifts and a 1 hour commute