So how much "less" is "more" when it comes to putting on mass?

After a long hiatus I am going to start lifting again, this time with a
little more emphasis on putting on lean mass. Last go-around I was doing
full body MWF for about 1 hour, using the
start-out-light-work-my-way-to-five-rep-max method (I forget what its
called, hst?) It was the last part (5 rep max) hat did me in, causing
soreness in the shoulder that took a LONG time to subside. I was also
doing an hour of cardio on the between (TTS) days and sometimes sunday
as well, mostly powerwalking but some running on treadmill with swingarms.
So, someone told me that if I want to put bulk on (I didnt put any on in
the 12 or so months with the previous routine, but strength increase
was very noticeable) then "less is more", meaning that I should do less
of the free weights than what I was doing.

So, how much less?

2X a week for 30 minutes, 10 rep max?

3X a week for 45 minutes, hst?

cut back on the cardio on between days, perhaps even not do it for awhile?


thanks in advance..

Dnia 2006-11-06 Cye Anide napisa³(a):
> After a long hiatus I am going to start lifting again, this time with a
> little more emphasis on putting on lean mass. Last go-around I was doing
> full body MWF for about 1 hour, using the
> start-out-light-work-my-way-to-five-rep-max method (I forget what its
> called, hst?) It was the last part (5 rep max) hat did me in, causing
> soreness in the shoulder that took a LONG time to subside. I was also
> doing an hour of cardio on the between (TTS) days and sometimes sunday
> as well, mostly powerwalking but some running on treadmill with swingarms.
> So, someone told me that if I want to put bulk on (I didnt put any on in
> the 12 or so months with the previous routine, but strength increase
> was very noticeable) then "less is more", meaning that I should do less
> of the free weights than what I was doing.

If you overtrained heavily, it will work. If you didn't it will not.

> So, how much less?
>
> 2X a week for 30 minutes, 10 rep max?

I do 6 or 7 times per week, more or less 30 min per session. I put on
muscle mass.

> 3X a week for 45 minutes, hst?

Not bad, but I think that one more session a week wouldn't hurt your
progress.

> cut back on the cardio on between days, perhaps even not do it for awhile?

Yes. I don't do any cardio, for example. I think, that cardio is as
taxing as a weight lifting session, but it does not contribute anything
to your strength gains, so I do no cardio but put more weights sessions
into the week. I don't like the idea of giving my body information,
that I need to be lighter to perform better, especially if I want to
put on mass.

Just some ideas - push/pull split 4x-week. 3-day split 5 times a week.
Cardio if you have any steam left (which you shouldn't have). You
start lightly and increase intensity as far as your recovery abilities
will allow you. For mass gains, go for volume and ease up on
intensity. If you responded better to high intensity then volume, you
wouldn't be asking these questions, so try how it works for you.

--
Andrzej Rosa 1127R

Cye Anide wrote:
> After a long hiatus I am going to start lifting again, this time with a
> little more emphasis on putting on lean mass. Last go-around I was doing
> full body MWF for about 1 hour, using the
> start-out-light-work-my-way-to-five-rep-max method (I forget what its
> called, hst?) It was the last part (5 rep max) hat did me in, causing
> soreness in the shoulder that took a LONG time to subside. I was also
> doing an hour of cardio on the between (TTS) days and sometimes sunday
> as well, mostly powerwalking but some running on treadmill with swingarms.
> So, someone told me that if I want to put bulk on (I didnt put any on in
> the 12 or so months with the previous routine, but strength increase
> was very noticeable) then "less is more", meaning that I should do less
> of the free weights than what I was doing.
>
> So, how much less?
>
> 2X a week for 30 minutes, 10 rep max?
>
> 3X a week for 45 minutes, hst?
>
> cut back on the cardio on between days, perhaps even not do it for awhile?
>
>
> thanks in advance..
>
Andrzej gave you the longwinded version of "It Depends".

And no scat jokes, thank you!

R.

Cye Anide wrote:
>
> 3X a week for 45 minutes, hst?

what does hunter thompson have to do with this?

I went from 87kg to 96kg using a fullbody 5x5, ramping weights as you
do, MWF. Not all the gains were fat .
I didn't train all out every session; and exercises did vary between
sessions.

Monday
Squats 5x5
Bench 5x5
Bar Rows 5x5

Wednesday
Squats 5x5 (to 80%of Monday's weight)
Behind the neck press 5x5 - (I'm flexible enough to do them without
problems)
Deadlifts 5x5

Friday
Squats
4x5
1x3 at 102.5% of Monday's weight
Bench
4x5
1x3 at 102.5% of Monday's weight
Pullups
varying, keeping setsxreps about 20-30. That means 10x2, or 8x3, or
4x6...
Bar Rows
4x5
1x3 at 102.5% of Monday's weight

It's basically a variation of Starr's 5x5 method, as presented by this
page: http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow...Linear_5x5.htm.
I won't repeat details on progression and tips that can be found there.

Eat more. A lot more. I did cardio twice a week, to maintain aerobic
fitness. I mean CARDIO, not glycolitic running. Slow does it, my heart
rate never went above 140.

I kept this routine for three months, when I stalled in most of the
lifts and started to feel overtrained (joint pains, general fatigue
feeling, etc).


Best of luck.


Cye Anide ha escrito:

> After a long hiatus I am going to start lifting again, this time with a
> little more emphasis on putting on lean mass. Last go-around I was doing
> full body MWF for about 1 hour, using the
> start-out-light-work-my-way-to-five-rep-max method (I forget what its
> called, hst?) It was the last part (5 rep max) hat did me in, causing
> soreness in the shoulder that took a LONG time to subside. I was also
> doing an hour of cardio on the between (TTS) days and sometimes sunday
> as well, mostly powerwalking but some running on treadmill with swingarms.
> So, someone told me that if I want to put bulk on (I didnt put any on in
> the 12 or so months with the previous routine, but strength increase
> was very noticeable) then "less is more", meaning that I should do less
> of the free weights than what I was doing.
>
> So, how much less?
>
> 2X a week for 30 minutes, 10 rep max?
>
> 3X a week for 45 minutes, hst?
>
> cut back on the cardio on between days, perhaps even not do it for awhile?
>
>
> thanks in advance..

"Cye Anide" <Cyean@yahoo.com> schreef:

> So, someone told me that if I want to put bulk on (I didnt put any on in
> the 12 or so months with the previous routine, but strength increase was
> very noticeable) then "less is more", meaning that I should do less of the
> free weights than what I was doing.

Not always.

Perhaps you increase the volume by doing more heavy sets. Stick with 5 reps,
and do as many sets as you can with 95% of what you are doing right now.

After a few months, do some higher rep, 12-15 for 2 weeks or so.

----
Pete