VII. Will This Program Meet My Goals? Part 2
Question - Will this help me get built like Brad Pitt in Fight Club? Will this help me look like an Abercrombie model?
It depends. If you are a skinny bastard, then yes, this will help. If you are a chubby hubby who is already bulbous, then chances are good you won't ever achieve the lean, angular look of Brad Pitt because you simply aren't built that way. Anna Nicole Smith can diet and liposuction herself to her heart's content, but she'll never be built like Charlize Theoren. If you're a big husky fellow, embrace your inner oaf and stop trying to look like Brad Pitt.
Besides, if you succeed, you might end up with half a dozen adopted children from all corners of the globe.
Question - Wouldn't a 3 or 4-day split work better than this? Don't you need more recovery?
A 3 or 4-day split won't work better for a novice.
It might work better for an intermediate, but probably not.
It probably would work better for an advanced trainee.
It definitely would work better for a bodybuilder preparing for a competition.
Let's look at a typical 4-day split.
Day 1 - Chest/triceps
Day 2 - Back/biceps
Day 3 - Delts/traps/forearms
Day 4 - Legs
Day 5 - off
So in the course of a 15-day period of time, using a 4-day split you would train 12 days, rest 3 days, and squat, bench, row, and deadlift 3x.
Using the Rippetoe novice program, you would train 6 days, rest 8 days, squat 6 times, and bench, row and deadlift 3x.
So you end up training 2x as many days, So you squat half as often and you bench, row, and deadlift the same number of times. Yet you end up training 2x as many days (12 versus 6) and you rest less than 1/2 as often (8 days versus 3).
As a novice, you will need the extra rest times for recovery, especially if you are to maintain consistent progress on the benchmark exercises. Someone more experienced and better conditioned with a barbell will have much greater success with a split-type program than the novice.
Was Mike Mentzer right when he said that HIT is the best way to train? Wouldn't HIT be best for a beginner?
No, and no.
HIT is completely wrong for a novice. In fact, it's the exact OPPOSITE of what a novice needs.
1) HIT relies on failure training. A novice lacks the ability to focus himself so that he can train with the necessary intensity, and he lacks the technique mastery of the exercises to train to failure safely.
2) HIT relies on very brief, infrequent training. There is a certain amount of skill and neuromuscular coordination necessary in order to do the exercises properly. If you wanted to learn how to play the piano, would you practice your chords once per week for 20 minutes at a time, or would you do it more frequently for longer periods of time?
By the same token, how will you learn to do squats properly? By doing warmups and 3 sets of 5 reps, 3x per week? Or would you learn faster by doing 1 set this week, then 1 set the next week?
If you are an experienced trainee, and you want to give HIT a try, then go for it. It tends to work for people who have been overzealous for a long period of time, and even then, it isn't working because HIT is a great program, it's working because HIT is serving as a deload from the higher volume training that increased fitness in the first place.
Question - Pros don't train this way. Ronnie Coleman doesn't and neither does Ed Coan. What makes this so good, and why don't pro's train this way?
Comparisons from one person to another form the basis of all lifting sports. A bodybuilder compares himself to Mr. Olympia, a powerlifter compares himself to the record holder in the squat, Olympic lifters compare themselves to the best at their weight division, etc. For an experienced lifter, comparisons can be beneficial in this respect, as they can provide motivation and a tangible, obvious (although sometimes mobile) goal.
What is NOT beneficial is for a young, novice trainee to compare him or herself to the self-same Mr. Olympia or champion powerlifter/weightlifter/strongman. Why?
1) Do you have the same pharmaceutical regimen as the professional you are comparing yourself to? Their ability to recover will be greatly enhanced because of the almighty "better living through chemistry". If you aren't living better via chemistry, then you simply cannot do what they do and expect it to be beneficial.
2) Do you have the same training experience that the professional does? They've been training awhile, they have learned how their body reacts, and chances are good they have professional assistance as far as nutritionists and trainers who can assist them. They know exactly how THEIR body will respond. You do not know how your body will respond, because you have not trained anywhere near long enough or hard enough to have a clue. Most of you will not have a trainer, or at least a knowledgeable trainer, so there is no way you could possibly juggle all the variables of a complex workout scheme by yourself.
3) Do you have the same genetics that the professional has? Not everyone can be Michael Jordan no matter how much they practice basketball. Not everyone can be Alfred Einstein, no matter how much they study. Not everyone can deadlift like Ed Coan, no matter how much or how hard you train. Chances are good that you won't be able to use the same training program that a professional uses, even if #1 and #2 above are identical to the pro. You simply don't have the genetic makeup. If you do, you will most likely find that EVERYTHING works for you, and then it won't matter much what workout program you choose.
What this boils down to is that a novice or beginner does NOT need to train the way a professional does. Not only would it not benefit you, it will probably HINDER your progress. Many a newb has attempted to do the infamous Arnold Schwarzenegger double-split workout, and has gotten buried within 2 weeks, despite the best intentions and nutrition.
When you start off, you are FAR away from your genetic potential. As a result, the need for training complexity is rock bottom, and your rate of growth and development will be sky high. As you progress toward your genetic potential, your gains will slow down drastically, and the need for complexity in your training will increase just as drastically.
Take advantage of the "novice" status and use the simplest program, as the simplest program will yield the best results for you. Later on, when you know your body better and you have developed the conditioning and knowledge to make significant adjustments to your training, you can do so in a much more informed state of mind and a much better physically conditioned state.
Should I do WS4SB, WS4BB, 5x5 intermediate, 5x5 advanced, HST, HIT, or Rippetoe?
That depends. Rippetoe's "well-known" programs are designed specifically for novice and intermediate trainees. Both 5x5 linear/intermediate and HST make for natural progressions of what Rippetoe uses for his programs. WS4SB has a variety of somewhat technical and sport-specific training methods which may or may not suit your goals (And may or may not be unnecessarily esoteric). HIT...well...HIT might work for you if you have very very poor recovery, or if you are using bodybuilding pharmaceuticals, but I wouldn't count on it. WS4BB is an advanced program only, and it is recommended that you run a 5x5 advanced first, as it is also a relatively high volume training routine.
Beginners and early intermediates should stick with the Rippetoe programs. Intermediates can start to use the 5x5 intermediate, HST, or WS4SB, or one of the variations I describe in Section III - Programming. Advanced trainees can modify HST to suit their needs, or they can try the 5x5 advanced or the WS4BB. If you want to use WS4BB, then you shouldn't need to ask questions on it. If you have to ask questions, then chances are good you aren't ready for it.
Question - Can I do (exercises) on the off days?
No.
Your "off days" are just that...they are "off days". They are necessary for growth. If you are so advanced that you think your arms, abs and traps are "weak points", then you shouldn't be doing this program.
But realistically speaking, your arms aren't "weak points", your ENTIRE BODY is a weak point. So train your entire body. Once you have developed your entire body and made some progress in strength and overall muscular bodyweight, then start worrying about minutae.
Does Rippetoe's novice program work my inner pecs and 'teh biceps peek'
This is a novice program. As such, there is no "bodypart specialization". You can't work your "inner pecs" because you don't have ANY pecs. Similarly, your biceps peak is lacking because you can't have a peak in your biceps if you have no biceps.
If you are developed enough to be able to honestly assess that your biceps peak is weak relative to the rest of your biceps, or that your inner pecs are lagging, then you need to use a more advanced program.
Chances are good, however, that you simply need to add muscular bodyweight in order to bring up your "inner pecs and teh bicept p3ak"
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