[Nick DePietro]

i like the full body push full body pull approach you are doing (quads/push + hams/pull), BUT i change the focus every workout. i physically and mentally burn out too easily if i have to squat AND bench AND overhead press heavy all in one session. so i will do lower body straight set heavy loading and upper body muscle rounds or dc style rest/pauses, and next session swap them. the loading sets may be straight sets or zig zag sets (a superset BUT with rest between exercises). then 1 or 2 exercises for the opposite muscle group you didnt work (upper or lower for that day) using either a muscle round or a single dc rest pause set

if you were to switch, push pull legs is an amazing setup i love and many people on this site love. it allows for adequate recovery between sessions with minimal overlap, muscle synergy between working muscles, and ability to increase frequency to roughly 2x weekly

ultimately – its up to you and what you prefer, enjoy, and gives your results

[Nick DePietro]

im a fan and they help wrist health and integrity tremendously
i train them after biceps (so usually after a pull session)
either 1 DC style rest/pause set for both extensors and flexors for 20-30 TOTAL reps
or
3 sets of extensors/flexors supersetted back-to-back without rest (picking a weight the first set fails between 10-15 reps)
flex hard, go slow, make it hurt – no bouncing and cheating and that BS
takes 5 mins

[Nick DePietro]

if it were me i would take 2-3 days off lifting and stick to your normal diet and have a medium sized free meal as your last meal of the day for those days. not a full refeed or all out cheat “go crazy” but maybe some pancakes, 1 burger, some sushi etc.
i did this at the end of my diet during autumn 2018 and the 2 days like that worked very well for me

like you said you have 19 days so its not much time – spend a few days trying to recover a bit like i suggest, then keep grinding, then afterwards take the necessary steps to getting recovered and back to 100%. if you are on a time deadline sometimes you have no choice right?

[Nick DePietro]

Hey Ad, if I have to I will go, but I haven’t ever tried to string together that many. I think really if I do miss, will go to Ireland , and then skip France and to go Lebanon . If I miss at all 3 , regroup ready to go again in November /December time

Jord – based on your past experiences with competing, do you find it easier or harder to hit 2+ shows in the same month compared to hitting 1 show and waiting over a month to hit another?

[Nick DePietro]

Appreciate your answer nick. I’ve never had a problem but it’s the heaviest I’ve been

happy to help. i have been there and as im gaining, im getting back there. and for the record my shoulder issues when pressing stem from my traps/rear delts/lat tightness. as soon as i get work done on those areas my pressing is 100% perfect for the next 2 weeks!!!

[Nick DePietro]

Hey Jord,

Apologies if wrong forum. Since beginning my blast my strength has rocketed as anticipated, however I’m having this nagging shoulder issue for my last 2/3 push sessions. Should I work around it or just rest from push sessions?
Do you suggest joint supplement products, or potential IGF1 into the injured shoulder directly? I’m using igf and slin in cycle anyway. Cheers mate

1. if it hurts, dont do it
2. figure out the source of the problem
3. improve mobility/ROM/get deep tissue work done/stretch often
4. BPC157 / tb500

the bigger and stronger you get, the more issues that will arise, and i often fine shoulder issues in particular stem from mobility/tightness issues while getting larger…
remember it might not be a shoulder issue – it could be a chest, bicep, trap, or lat issue thats carrying over onto your shoulders

[Nick DePietro]

tips i got from ben pakulski:
flex your lats before initiating a side delt movement to keep traps/shoulders down, and imagine dragging your hands across the floor to do the raise

[Nick DePietro]

What’s the best way to judge how much protein you should take in daily??

i would eat at least 1g per lb of body weight in protein, get in your essential fatty acids at about .4g per lb of bodyweight, and then fill the rest of your caloric needs with whatever you want/prefer/is appropriate for your goals

no one can tell you how much protein down to the gram you should eat daily. hit minimums and eat towards your goal

[Nick DePietro]

adding sets is all dependent on recovery. neither of the people who responded told you to just add random sets. sounds like you were going to do what you wanted regardless..

stick with 2 sets. fight your fucking ass off to add weight or reps. if you are progressing and recovery is good, keep grinding. you can slowly add 1 set per session while recovery allows and you are making progress, or have a particular weak body part you want additional volume for like rear delts or something

dont just add sets randomly because you feel like you need more volume – add them because you can recover and grow from them
or just stick to your 2 sets and do them HARDER

[Nick DePietro]

I’m always hesitant to order online – but if you think taylormade is quality, I trust your opinion

[Nick DePietro]

although everyone on the site will jump at me and disagree because its high volume and not 100% progressive overload focused, I love it and I saw the most growth from it. conservatively I gained 20 lbs of tissue this year doing it that way. that doesn’t mean I’ll stick with two a days forever, but it’s what has been working for now

Roman has an old blog from 2014 on the animal pak forums titled something like “my journey to reclaim what was lost” where he details everything he did leading up to his amateur Olympia win in 2014. that was my workout bible for my transformation.

first off, remember that me and you aren’t roman. he is one of a kind. he trains more than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life. but for his pro card win he followed a push pull legs, splitting body parts as follows: 1 AM chest PM delts, triceps. 2 AM back thickness PM back width, traps, rear delts, biceps. 3 AM calves, Hamstrings PM quads. it worked for him and that’s my preferred split. if I’m tired or dont have time, I’ll crank it out all in one session

[Nick DePietro]

if you are training like JP and corinne train, 2 a days are not practical for 99% of lifters. I have been doing both types you described of double splits for around a year and went from finishing my cut last year at 203lbs to finishing my cut this year at the same bodyfat at 230. obviously enhanced. I followed roman fritz’s style and workouts. very hard but not annihilating yourself. it can be done if (1) have the cns rexoverability and (2) LOVE training a lot. is it the best way to build muscle? I’m not sure, it’s not for everyone. can it be done? yes

[Nick DePietro]

additionally – those giant sets, super sets, ultra high rep sets 50+ etc are all metabolic stressors. another way to burn calories. but I’m sure Jordan would agree, he put on his mass training heavy as fuck, changing his training to lose weight by doing 30 sets of high rep work would probably be detrimental. then you see serge nubret and milos who train with massive volume and short rest periods with AWESOME physiques. everything works IF YOU DO

[Nick DePietro]

i firmly believe you should train the same bulking or cutting – what put the muscle on should keep it there. with that said, the main stressors to induce hypertrophy are mechanical stressors (heavy loads) and metabolic stressors (high reps). mechanical stressors will generally ensure the muscle damage will be great enough to illicit an internally response to build and repair. metabolic stressors are similar, but also include cell swelling and filling/stretching cells beyond their normal size to induce hypertrophy. this high rep high effort training can put a huge demand on your metabolism and burn more calories. there are many many ways to do it. find what works for you! I hope this helps!

[Nick DePietro]

corinne prep log back #nowitsaparty