Going to failure/ diet

[David1991]

I just got done reading NROL and it was a pretty entertaining read.
I have 2 questions though

about the load, how heavy should i be going? if it says i have to do H-1a 6 times am i supposed to pick a weight that makes me go to failure on the last set of the first workout? or should i not be going to failure until the end of the 6th workout?


as for diet, what should my ratios be? i was thinking around 25-30p/40-50c/25-30f but im not sure

thanks a lot for the help guys

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by David1991

I just got done reading NROL and it was a pretty entertaining read.
I have 2 questions though

about the load, how heavy should i be going? if it says i have to do H-1a 6 times am i supposed to pick a weight that makes me go to failure on the last set of the first workout? or should i not be going to failure until the end of the 6th workout?

I've always gone to failure. Form failure most times, but some exercises I'm able to maintain form until muscle failure (rows being one). I've had the best gains when I always pushed myself that hard. The drawback is that it is very taxing. I think it takes a great deal of mental fortitude to keep that pace all the time, thus I always, always take my week or two break as prescribed.

[David1991]

Originally Posted by Cynic

I've always gone to failure. Form failure most times, but some exercises I'm able to maintain form until muscle failure (rows being one). I've had the best gains when I always pushed myself that hard. The drawback is that it is very taxing. I think it takes a great deal of mental fortitude to keep that pace all the time, thus I always, always take my week or two break as prescribed.

so failure on just the last of the 3-5 sets? or failure on all sets?

and do u find u can still add weight each workout then?

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by David1991

so failure on just the last of the 3-5 sets? or failure on all sets?

Not on all sets. I couldn't see that happening anyway. If you're hitting failure or near failure on the first set, you're not likely to finish out the exercise. No, your first set will seem fairly easy.

and do u find u can still add weight each workout then?

Can? If I didn't add at least 5lbs/week to all my bilateral lifts, it was because I didn't lift that week (I usually increase 10lbs).

Here is my rule for upping the load:

1. If I finish all reps of all sets in perfect or good form, I increased 5-10lbs.
2. If I failed to finish all reps of all sets, but I was fairly close, I stayed at that load.
3. If I failed by a big margin, I dropped 5-10lbs.

Follow the program as prescribed and always push your self to improve and you'll have no problem.

[David1991]

Originally Posted by Cynic

Not on all sets. I couldn't see that happening anyway. If you're hitting failure or near failure on the first set, you're not likely to finish out the exercise. No, your first set will seem fairly easy.

well yea thats what i would assume, but i was just making sure. i've known some people to adjust the weight to hit failure every set.

Originally Posted by Cynic

Can? If I didn't add at least 5lbs/week to all my bilateral lifts, it was because I didn't lift that week (I usually increase 10lbs).

Here is my rule for upping the load:

1. If I finish all reps of all sets in perfect or good form, I increased 5-10lbs.
2. If I failed to finish all reps of all sets, but I was fairly close, I stayed at that load.
3. If I failed by a big margin, I dropped 5-10lbs.

Follow the program as prescribed and always push your self to improve and you'll have no problem.

damn u can add 5 to 10lb each workout? thats great, are u a beginner to the program/lifting?

also im assuming u mean to each subsequent workout thats the same rep ranges correct? as in 4x10 wednesday 115lb., next wednesday u do 120? and maybe for the 5x5 u did 150, next 5x5 u do 155 correct?

from my experience if i did 3x10 (for example) of an exercise to failure on the last set, i wouldnt be able to add 5lb. to it the next week and still get 3x10 except for maybe deadlift, or i was eating like crazy

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by David1991

damn u can add 5 to 10lb each workout? thats great, are u a beginner to the program/lifting?

I had been doing my own design for a year or so before I started NROL. However, I took New Rule #5 to heart: the goal of every session is to set a new record.

It doesn't have to be on all lifts and it doesn't have to be a load increase or even a rep increase. It could be a more even or proper tempo. Just make sure you're progressing in some form or another.

also im assuming u mean to each subsequent workout thats the same rep ranges correct? as in 4x10 wednesday 115lb., next wednesday u do 120? and maybe for the 5x5 u did 150, next 5x5 u do 155 correct?

Well, so far I've only done the FL workouts, but the principle holds, though it will be from one 5x5 to the other 5x5.

from my experience if i did 3x10 (for example) of an exercise to failure on the last set, i wouldnt be able to add 5lb. to it the next week and still get 3x10 except for maybe deadlift, or i was eating like crazy

Sometimes, like on squat day, I may stay at load on squats and increase the load for lunges, or on deadlift day, stay on deadlift and increase on RDLs. Again, you don't have to set a new record for all lifts for that day to count as a success, but I usually did increase on over half my lifts.

Your diet is carb heavy. Increase the protein. Make sure you're really feeding yourself PWO, when you really need it. If you're not cutting, you definitely should be eating BIG!

[David1991]

alright thanks. ive been kinda messing with my carbs lately and it hasn't seemed to be good as i got higher.

ive been pretty pissed lately because with the carbs (or watever the reason is) ive actually gained fat and lost muscle recently. its pretty depressing lol but im trying to be optimistic.

jw what are ur stats right now? (weight, bf%, height) i guess age too if u dont mind lol, ur avatar makes me think ur older but idk
and ur ratios for ur diet? i know i would need higher carbs for bulking than when i start to cut

[Cynic]

I'm 43 years old. I started NROL when I was 42.

I lost motivation mid last year. I was down to 185 or so when I fell, but last year I bought a new computer (I love computer games), and played games, drank beer (lots of beer) ate pizza and chinese food and didn't work out, so now I'm back over 200. I'm starting over with FLI and II. I know that if I had maintained my diet, even not workout out, I would not have gained so much, if any at all, but I completely lost it and now I get to enjoy it all over again. Might recreate my first real log here for just that purpose.

I'm looking to engage in some athletics this summer to make use of any gains I make. It's been a couple decades since I played softball, but I remember it being one sport in which I wasn't totally outclassed. That should also help increase my activity level because I hate cardio. It's too much of the same thing over, and over, and over...

Diet wise...I don't count. I freaking hate counting. I just eat right. My breakfast is HUGE and then I nibble the rest of the day on nuts, meats, cheeses, raw veggies and fruit. On days I workout, I arrange my breakfast to come after my WO.

As for your diet, still increase the protein content. You can keep the carbs (the ratio will go down as you increase protein cals anyway), but increase the protein. I alway shot for 1g/lb. That was perhaps the only thing I counted.

Oh, don't forget the multi-vit and fish-oil if you're not taking these already.

[David1991]

yea i take a multi vitamin every day.

i currently have 222g of protein a day and weigh 157lb. im eating about 3000 calories a day.

this is not to sound smug or anything like that but i do know a lot about nutrition, its more of my "specialty" i guess lol whereas with training i know a decent amount but not always exactly why something is set up and definitely not as much as i know about nutrition. i just like to get things as close as possible when it comes to a new entire "program" so i can really try it 100% and see how i respond, and then go from there.
i'll probably move towards 30p/40c/30f or so when i start the program.

thanks for the help, i appreciate it. hopefully i can get as good of results from the hypertrophy routines as u got from the fat loss routines

edit: oh one more thing. as far as doing the routines does it matter how many days i do them and what order? he has a certain order for all the different set ups like "guy who considers skinny an insult" but i don't think it would particularly matter too much as long as ur not starting with 2 or 3 and then going to 1 without doing a different type of routine somewhere between them.

[Cynic]

It's designed for modularity, but there are some benefits to doing the programs in order initially if you're not conditioned. If you've got good conditioning, I think you're fine.

[Cynic]

One last thing...here's my first real log on JP's. I actually miss this one, title wise. I started with my own design, then moved on to NROL.

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son

Since this log started, I've quit smoking. I won't resurrect it, but I may recreate it...not sure at this point.

[Lost Dog]

I don't think the macros matter all that much, protein aside. But, get enough of that (your minimum (~1g per lbs of weight?) or more) and then fill in the rest with healthy foods.

As to the other macros, themselves, you need to make sure you get enough fats, but it's pretty hard to not get enough carbs. Most people have to make an effort to get too few of them.

[David1991]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

I don't think the macros matter all that much, protein aside. But, get enough of that (your minimum (~1g per lbs of weight?) or more) and then fill in the rest with healthy foods.

As to the other macros, themselves, you need to make sure you get enough fats, but it's pretty hard to not get enough carbs. Most people have to make an effort to get too few of them.

ok thanks a lot guys. i have my diet in check so hopefully this will work for me. the only thing is ive actually been doing a pretty similar routine lately with the only big change being rep ranges and my results have been bad. but i guess i'll have to try it to find out how it works for me