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Other/Mixed Tim Ferriss 'From geek to freak'

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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I followed the instructions and didn't achieve any exaggerated outcome. What I got was gains comparable to what I've achieved with other HIT style workouts. I agree with the limited number of exercises and ensuring adequate rest between workouts but in my experience the volume is insufficient to be optimal. And the overfeeding certainly leads to more fat, not discernibly more muscle. I like HIT because it is time efficient and the gains are consistent, albeit modest. It also feels good to max out. But five hard sets a rep or two (or even three) shy of failure has always produced superior outcomes when it comes to building muscle
 
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Hello,

For a cycle of one month or so, without reaching such impressive figures (both for calorie intakes and poundage gains), would the following template build a little bit of muscle mass:
- 1 set to failure (or very close to it)
- 5s eccentric and 5s concentric
- 2 a week
- moves: bench press, squats, weighted pull ups

On other days, AA with heavy OA swings (multiple sets of 5 repetitions).

I am not looking for adding 15kg to my frame (59kg for 1.83m), but only 5 or 6. Plus, I am not neither looking for absolute strength or absolute mass / hypertrophy.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Jones' HIT principles can and do work, but the devil is in the details. 34lbs from 4 hours of work I'd say is beyond belief unless you are building back up to a previous weight/build.

Even then most will not get anywhere near that type of result, and certainly not from the limited description in the article.
 
Hello,

Provided a slight calorie surplus, do you think 5 or 6kg may be more realistic, following the "protocol" I described in my previous post ? (even if I took a little bit more time)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

I know that there is not necessarily shortcuts. Nonetheless, I currently do not have a lot of time to devote to training. This is why I was looking for something very short but still [more or less] efficient

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Here is sort of what I am doing. I think it would work for you. Nothing fancy.

1 day per week squat, deadlift, then bench 3 x 5 (1 top set). Next week, add weight, do 3x4 (1 top set). Next week, add weight, do 3x3 (1 top set). Next week deload at about 5 RPE. Next week repeat 3x5 (1 top set) but do more weight than previous sets of 5 reps... Continue on with this trend..... Is 1 day per week ideal? No. But will it work? Yes.

Rest of week, do your AA and OA swings. A few goblet squats and kbell presses/getups would be great too. Make sure you always have at least 1 or 2 rest days in the week. 1 of them should always be before your barbell day.

Sleep, a lot. Increase your caloric intake by ~500 cal. Eat good healthy food. Train for strength. Always. Vary your diet to meet body size/comp goals.

PS: Your a diver? Me too! Recreational.
 
It may be possible to “bounce back” in such spectacular fashion after something like a coma or starvation, but I highly doubt this kind of Steve Rogers —> Captain America “transformations”.
 
Hello,

I totally agree and I am not attempting to reproduce neither Ferriss' or Jones' results. My goals are way more modest and I do not plan to indulge myself with food. I just look for gaining a little bit of mass because it can serve me well for rucking and also to gain some strength without being detrimental for my GPP.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I am a huge fan of Tim Ferriss, but some of the claims of the 4HB are so outlandish it's ridiculous. 80/20 - I'll listen him deconstruct high performers all day, but pass on the crazy stuff
 
Hello,

For a cycle of one month or so, without reaching such impressive figures (both for calorie intakes and poundage gains), would the following template build a little bit of muscle mass:
- 1 set to failure (or very close to it)
- 5s eccentric and 5s concentric
- 2 a week
- moves: bench press, squats, weighted pull ups

On other days, AA with heavy OA swings (multiple sets of 5 repetitions).

I am not looking for adding 15kg to my frame (59kg for 1.83m), but only 5 or 6. Plus, I am not neither looking for absolute strength or absolute mass / hypertrophy.

Kind regards,

Pet'

Nothing wrong with the exercise choice but I would tinker with the rest and in this advice I am accepting that you are time poor (eg no huge set programs like The Russian Bear).

1. Increase volume
* choose a weight so that your first set close to failure is 10 reps plus
* get in additional sets, the more the merrier, up to five, even at the expense of reducing the rest period between sets as low as 30 secs

2. Additional workouts
* twice weekly is okay but see if you can get an additional workout every now and then such as by working out every three days

3. Protein
* eat more protein

4. Sleep
* ensure quality sleep
 
I agree we can doubt his results to be universal (ie apply to everybody everytime). But are we doubting he got those results? I personally dont.

What I do wonder is how he managed to obtain those results. Was it the supplementation? Or he went closer to failure, meaning that any of us would have stopped one or two reps earlier? If you would be doing a total of 14 reps every 10 days, how close to absolute muscle failure (not technical failure) might be crucial. Maybe that's why he prefers machine exercises over free weights? I don't know.

Maybe with such low volume, hypertrophy is only driven by failure. With a more normal program, having 20-50 reps per week, hypertrophy is driven by other factors as well so it's less prone to error.
 
Hello, So instead of 1 set I should do 5 ? Kind regards,
Pet'

Yes, as I understand the research the hypertrophy effect maxes out at five 'hard' sets. So if you want to work out close to failure there's no point going beyond five sets. Of course there are other hypertrophy protocols that have more sets such as the Russian Bear, 8x8, GVT, etc but most of the sets aren't close to failure. Good luck!
 
This from the article, "Perform every repetition with a 5/5 cadence (5 seconds up, 5 seconds down) to eliminate momentum and ensure constant load." sounds just brutal.

-S-
 
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