Unconventional training methods

[becknps]

I'm interested in any kind of unconventional methods/training programs that bodybuilders have been using through the years. If you know of such methods, feel free to link or tell us about it.
A few examples:

Dorian Yates - HIT (Blood & Guts)

Eugen Sandow - light dumbbell system

Frank Caltas - 3 times per week U/L rotation

DC training

Tom Platz - Only doing 3-4 exercises per session but high volume

Doug Brignole - BRIG 20 system. Focuses on isolation exercises

I can add more to the list later

 

[dawn16]

@becknps Doug Brignole - check him out on the Mark Bell Powercast.

 

[becknps]

@dawn16 Yep, good one! He was always nice enough to answer questions on youtube and instagram as well. RIP

 

[leena2016]

@becknps Stuff I've tried personally:

• Single set quadruple drop set training - didn't do anything for me. I think if you've got the fortitude to go to failure & then to failure on a dropset or some partials, that's basically as hard as you could ever possibly need to work in the gym in any one moment. Beyond that, & that's still further than most people go, there's not really any additional utility to training even harder than that. Double dropsets, triple dropsets & beyond don't seem to have utility, for me at least, but probably for nearly anyone unless theyre not actually training to failure on these dropsets.
• Focusing purely on incline - another failure, actually. My personal experience was that it didn't make my upper chest grow more, but just made my lower chest (which takes up like 80% of the actual space on my chest), & front delt grow less. I'm all around better off focusing on my whole chest & also doing an overhead press.
• Slow rep training - This... actually works for me. I'm talking two seconds up & two seconds down generally. It's nothing ridiculous like reps which take 8 seconds each way but done my way, a 10 rep set will take maybe 43 seconds (40 seconds plus a little grind at the end), & I feel it's very stimulative, very effective all round. I'd recommend anybody try it out if you haven't tried it. Done to failure I personally think this might actually be more stimulative than a set done with a more regular 1 second up 1 second down tempo, which I don't say lightly.

 

[becknps]

@leena2016 The incline one is very interesting. Some people swear by it and for others (including myself) it didn't do anything at all in terms of hypertrophy.

 

[leena2016]

@becknps Bodybuilding is like baking. You've got various ingredients that build the ultimate product. You might think, 'This cookbook has 3 sets of vanilla essence, 3 sets of flour & 3 sets of eggs. But I'm really trying to prioritize that vanilla flavour in this cake, so I'll double what the cookbook says for vanilla & remove half of the flour & eggs since there's only limited ingredients (recovery resources) to actually make the cake.' Then the cake turns out garbage, & you realize the correct move would've been to put in like 10% more vanilla essence than the cookbook said but fucking leave it at that & don't push your luck.

 

[weepingwillow422]

@becknps Vince Gironda — 6 x 6 and 8 x 8 at 70% and 60% of 1RM, respectively. Had a hate boner for certain common exercises

Tom Platz also used/uses very high rep rest-pause, and sometimes even super high rep straight sets. He'd

 

[nicoleb07]

@becknps I went down this rabbit hole a few years back, thinking it was the secret to gainz.

Did zercher squats till I could hit 300lbs. Got very minimal quad growth. Switched to SSB squats and belt squats and am loving the leg gains.

Did rack pulls; got big traps, but lackluster flutes and hammies. Switched to RDL and hamstring curls.

Tried HIIT and regressed; since I was already pushing each set hard and lowering the volume to 1 hard set was simply less work. But on paper it sounds really cool to be able to gain in 1 set.

But in reality it makes no sense. Take Student A, who studied at 100% efficiency for 1 hour. Then Student B studied at 90% efficiency for 4 hours. Who got more work done?

I do incorporate aspects DC into my training. But my entire program doesn’t hinge on that.

Long story short; the best gains for my have been made doing the boring shit. Most of these “unconventional” methods sold as books are just that, an eye catching product to be marketed and sold.

If you’re interested in hearing some other perspectives, this video aligns with my experience with HIT:

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 To me unconventional training means uncommon rep schemes, volume, intensity etc.

 

[nicoleb07]

@dawn16 Interesting. I guess I don’t see how a set and rep scheme or managing volume and intensity can be unconventional? It seems like what most guys intuitively did in the past, we now have terms for. I could be wrong in this.

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 Unconventional examples include high rep training eg 50-100 reps per set, low volume high intensity training eg training a muscle only once per week w/ one set at a very high intensity and my favorite high frequency eg training each muscle 5 to 6 times a week.

99.9% of training out there is training a muscle 1-3 times per week so it gets somewhere between 5-20 total sets of volume and keep those sets in the 5-20 rep range. Stuff outside this I'd consider unconventional.

 

[nicoleb07]

@dawn16 What’s your setup for the high frequency routine?

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 Horizontal push and pull
Vertical push and pull
knee bend and a hip hinge movement
Triceps, biceps
Abs

3 sets for each movement. I personally like the 15-20 rep range I do vary over time.

Would add the biggest downside is the time component. Plus it's a lot of movements so just hard to get through.

What's your routine? Looking good man.

 

[nicoleb07]

@dawn16 Wow. You’re spamming compounds 5-6 days a week? How long have you been doing this? How has progress been? Do vary the exercises day to day? If you have a hard squat session on Monday, what do you do teusday? Lol. Sorry for spamming. Genuinely curious on this topic especially if you have committed to this for over a year.

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 I've been at it for maybe 8 months? The first 6 I was cutting down though b/c I got fat. I lost say 30lbs over those 6 months. I do vary the exercises. I tend to do traditional compound movements Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Tuesday and Thursday I sub in a lot of bodyweight movements or lower intensity leg movements such as leg extensions or seated leg curl.

 

[nicoleb07]

@dawn16 I like that a lot. I’ve setup full body similar to that. 2 hard days. 2 days of lighter exercises and isolations. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 For sure. I think Alpha Destiny does something similar not sure if you watch him.

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 It’s not surprising you didn’t see quad growth from zerchers or glute and ham growth from rack pulls. Zerchers are great for overall strength and learning to manage awkward loads, and possibly posterior chain. Rack pulls are going to be great for your traps and erectors, but considering the ROM, it’s not surprising you’re not going to see much leg growth from them.

As far as HIT v higher volume training, you shouldn’t be doing multiple sets of the same exercise to failure (unless maybe it’s the very end of a training block before a deload), and, even if you are, there’s no way you can manage one hard set with the same weight as 3-4 sets to failure. Not to mention, you are accumulating some volume on the way to the top set. You’re not going into that set completely cold.

 

[nicoleb07]

@dawn16 But I do. Every week. For years. And progressing.

 

[dawn16]

@nicoleb07 There’s no way that you can hit 3-4 sets with the same load and reps as 1 top set. That would mean you’re sandbagging somewhere.

But if it works for you and you’re happy, that’s all that matters. You clearly have a good physique.

What you eat doesn’t make me shit, so