What am i missing in ABBH

[dp1727]

i started abbh today; 8x3 bench and 8x3 rows. looking forward in this program i am skeptikal. following saturdays work out of 5x10 front squats, reverse crunches and seated calf raises, i back to upper body and devote an entire workout to 5x10 dips and chinups. im sorry but how can such little work get results worthy of the praises of this program.

im not a body builder, im a 50 yr old dedicated recreational lifter and have been my entire adult life. i just finished NROL and i work out hard. so im very confused about the make up of this program. a day at the gym for 50 dips and chin ups? and what is the deal with all the seated calf raises? i thought this was about compound movements and standing instead of sitting?

i may be pre-maturely judgemental but can i please get some feedback from people whi have completed abbh? did you supplement your workouts with additional stuff? coming home tonight felt like a day off. and yes im following the 1RM volumes as scripted.

thank you.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Originally Posted by dp1727

i started abbh today; 8x3 bench and 8x3 rows. looking forward in this program i am skeptikal. following saturdays work out of 5x10 front squats, reverse crunches and seated calf raises, i back to upper body and devote an entire workout to 5x10 dips and chinups. im sorry but how can such little work get results worthy of the praises of this program.

im not a body builder, im a 50 yr old dedicated recreational lifter and have been my entire adult life. i just finished NROL and i work out hard. so im very confused about the make up of this program. a day at the gym for 50 dips and chin ups? and what is the deal with all the seated calf raises? i thought this was about compound movements and standing instead of sitting?

i may be pre-maturely judgemental but can i please get some feedback from people whi have completed abbh? did you supplement your workouts with additional stuff? coming home tonight felt like a day off. and yes im following the 1RM volumes as scripted.

thank you.

OK. First of all its 10x3 for bench and row, not 8x3. Same for deadlift day. then the next workout its 10x4, than 10x5.

The weight you use should be challenging. If the weights felt light, bump them up a bit foir the next workout. I had to do that.

Re the chinup/dip day, it will kick your ass.Trust me.

I'm almost done with ABBH, I have one workout left which I'm doing tomorrow. I pushed myself the whole time, and ate a good amount. I got great results, I got stronger and bigger.

Good luck, feel free to ask more questions.

EDIT: Almost everybody else who does ABBH gets great results. Plenty of people here have done it.

[gobbla]

if it's too easy then up the weight. the % is a guidline not a set in stone gospel thing

If you can do 5x10 on pullups and chins and have it feel like an off day then you're not using enough resistance OR you're just a stud.

[Lost Dog]

From a purely psychological point of view, I wanted more after those days on ABBH. I'm sure the physical was just fine. You'd be surprised how little you need, to grow.

Think of this as the foundation for the next phase. Volume will grow. You will grow. All will be right with the world.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

From a purely psychological point of view, I wanted more after those days on ABBH. I'm sure the physical was just fine. You'd be surprised how little you need, to grow.

I actually liked how minimal the workouts were and how fast they went by.

[jvernacchio]

Originally Posted by dp1727

i started abbh today; 8x3 bench and 8x3 rows. looking forward in this program i am skeptikal. following saturdays work out of 5x10 front squats, reverse crunches and seated calf raises, i back to upper body and devote an entire workout to 5x10 dips and chinups. im sorry but how can such little work get results worthy of the praises of this program.

im not a body builder, im a 50 yr old dedicated recreational lifter and have been my entire adult life. i just finished NROL and i work out hard. so im very confused about the make up of this program. a day at the gym for 50 dips and chin ups? and what is the deal with all the seated calf raises? i thought this was about compound movements and standing instead of sitting?

i may be pre-maturely judgemental but can i please get some feedback from people whi have completed abbh? did you supplement your workouts with additional stuff? coming home tonight felt like a day off. and yes im following the 1RM volumes as scripted.

thank you.

I am in the same boat. I am having the same issues the workouts are pretty quick and it seems I have plenty left. I have upped the weight as much as possible and it still seems like its not enough. TBT, WM, and TTT were much better programs for me personally.

Coming off of BBB to ABBH seems like a bit of slow down but maybe that is what we should be giving our body a bit of a break.

[WorkinOnIt]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

From a purely psychological point of view, I wanted more after those days on ABBH. I'm sure the physical was just fine. You'd be surprised how little you need, to grow.

Think of this as the foundation for the next phase. Volume will grow. You will grow. All will be right with the world.

LD is right--certainly about the psychological factor! Starting out, the hardest thing about this program was not *augmenting* the exercises, but i kept to the program, and once i found the appropriate weights it turned into a killer.

I'm currently in my last week and my strength levels have increased dramatically.

My advice: dont judge the program until you've found the correct weigh, then watch your numbers grow!

[Chad Waterbury]

Originally Posted by jvernacchio

TBT, WM, and TTT were much better programs for me personally.

This is a good point: if you've completed my workouts such as TBT, WM, and TTT (intermediate-level programs), it would make no sense to go back to ABBH (beginner-level program).

Here's the deal: there are many, many people who've purchased MR that have never done any of my programs. And there are many beginners who purchased MR. So, a beginner who's never done my programs should start with ABBH - that's why the book is set up that way.

However, if you've performed some of my intermediate programs such as WM and TBT, I don't recommend starting over with ABBH - you should pick up where you left off by jumping into the intermediate phases of the plan.

Let's say your goal is one that I outlined in my book: muscle mass with fat loss. If you've done a few of the programs in the year long plan, you can skip ahead and start the year-long plan with the last program you finished before the book came out. You aren't relegated to starting at the beginning of the year long plans for any of the goals listed in the book, if you've already completed many of my programs.

ABBH is one of my most successful programs of all time, but it's not for everyone. If you've been training with a higher volume and/or frequency for the last 6 months, you'd be wise to start your year-long plan with one of my more advanced programs.

[El tío Saín]

I´ve been a little injured for the last two months (I could bench and do some arm work, but I´ve been afraid of rows, squuats and deadlifts for a while), and due to some personal problems I´ve been training an average of two times a week, while not working my lower body at all. Well, as a result I´m not in my best moment, hehe, but I´m starting again on February, and I´ll begin with ABBH. I think it´ll be a nice starting point to get my body to work again before moving to more advanced programs.

[jvernacchio]

Originally Posted by Chad Waterbury

This is a good point: if you've completed my workouts such as TBT, WM, and TTT (intermediate-level programs), it would make no sense to go back to ABBH (beginner-level program).

Here's the deal: there are many, many people who've purchased MR that have never done any of my programs. And there are many beginners who purchased MR. So, a beginner who's never done my programs should start with ABBH - that's why the book is set up that way.

However, if you've performed some of my intermediate programs such as WM and TBT, I don't recommend starting over with ABBH - you should pick up where you left off by jumping into the intermediate phases of the plan.

Let's say your goal is one that I outlined in my book: muscle mass with fat loss. If you've done a few of the programs in the year long plan, you can skip ahead and start the year-long plan with the last program you finished before the book came out. You aren't relegated to starting at the beginning of the year long plans for any of the goals listed in the book, if you've already completed many of my programs.

ABBH is one of my most successful programs of all time, but it's not for everyone. If you've been training with a higher volume and/or frequency for the last 6 months, you'd be wise to start your year-long plan with one of my more advanced programs.

Thankyou once again Chad I didn't look at it that way. I will be moving on to one of the more advanced programs then. You coming here and personally answering our questions is simply pure gold.