When I started putting this plan into action, I had a few workouts that were over 90 minutes in length, one even lasted 2 hours. I took branched-chain amino acids and glutamine to make sure that I wasn’t catabolizing too much muscle tissue and those supplements really helped to reduce post-workout soreness.
Also, I increased my calories mainly by increasing my carb intake. I didn’t go crazy though. I stuck to better choices like wild rice instead of white rice, yams instead of potatoes, steel-cut oats instead of instant oatmeal, and so on. I also made sure to eat fruits and vegetables from all colors of the rainbow. After a workout, I would spike insulin with high-glycemic carbs like bananas and pineapple.
Shock the System
Since I was breaking many of the sacred rules on this program, I was anticipating a negative outcome, but the results were quite positive. I packed on muscle, felt strong, and had plenty of energy.
Believe me, you could count on one hand the average number of reps I would normally perform in a set, and many times I could say my full name twice before completing a repetition. That’s how slow I typically go! So this strategy was bit of a shock to my system, and my system responded favorably to the new stimulus.
I’ll tell you what grew on this program: my arms, shoulders, chest, back, thighs, abs, calves, and forearms. My chest and arms, in particular, caught peoples’ attention. I received a lot of compliments on those two body parts.
The bottom line is that the plan worked!
Today’s Lesson
When your training is in a rut, you need to change things to start getting results again. Often, minor changes are enough to get the ball rolling, but sometimes you need a drastic overhaul that may involve breaking a few rules along the way. If you’ve been working on the myofibrillar end of hypertrophy, try going sarcoplasmic for a while as I did. It can stimulate new muscle growth.
By the way, I saw G the other day. It’s been 5 years since the Speedo incident and he continues to look jacked, his marriage is going stronger than ever, and that smile is still there!
