Hey Scott, interesting how I found this place. Was looking up proper technique for a new lat exercise I was going to try, seen your video, and have since watched everything on your youtube channel. Yes, even the non workout related ones! Your stuff is awesome, I love your attitude, the way you present the information, and how detailed it is. Great job bro

Anyways, here is my situation, and my question. I've been lifting regularly for two years now, and I also work a physically intensive job as a warehouse selector. The schedule is pretty random, its 4pm until 2 am, and I'm left drained. Sometimes I make my way to the gym afterwards, but my focus and body isn't where I think it needs to be, as compared to if I went on my off days.

When I do go to the gym, its about twice a week. I hit everything, with tons of volume. I do a total of 31 exercises for 4 sets, for 124 sets(yes, I know that is a ton), and fit it into the space of about two and a half to three hours. I'm able to do this by supersetting and doing circuits.

My question is, how do you feel about this as a legitimate lifting plan versus a conventional split? I understand the fatigue drawback, but is there a better choice?

Thanks!

Robert,

I have been doing full body workouts with high intensity and volume for 3 years now after decades of traditional muscle splits. I average about 500 total reps per workout and about 1500 calories burned using supersets, drop sets, and giant sets. That being said, I am in and out in 60-90 minutes. Anything longer than that and your cortisol levels will start to spike.

Cortisol is your "fight or flight" hormone and is how your body reacts to stress - both positive and negative. It is also catabolic and counterproductive for muscle building, fat burning, and recovery. With the type of job you have and the intensity of your workouts, I would not train for the amount of time you are training. You will end up overtrained and tired - part of which you are experiencing now. I would cut your workouts down to 90 minutes or less and try to train 3-4 days a week.

John

Thanks John, I appreciate the feedback! I'm not sure if I have a solution aside from decreasing the volume, as 2 days is pretty much the most my limit except while on vacation.

Two days is still better than none @rschmitz!

What is your typical way of training? do you do one set after another with rests in between, or do you superset and do drop sets like John?

That, and maybe reducing any rest periods you have to about 30 seconds. Remember, muscle gain is about volume, not necessarilly the weight.

Jordan

Thanks for the reply Joe! I don't do drop sets, I do little mini circuits hitting 3-4 different muscle groups before going into the next circuit, while getting the heavier compound exercises out of the way first. 1-2 minutes of rest in between circuit sets. Goal is to hit every muscle from a different angle, and for the most part I do that but I'm still tweeking.

@jmboiardi damn you burn 1500 calories in 60-90 mins!!! Maybe this is why I'm not putting on any weight. My workouts are 60 mins and I perform 20-28 sets with half of those being supersets and the other half having 30 sec rests inbetween sets. How do I know how many calories I burn during my workout?

Jimmy,

1000 of those calories is from lifting and the remainder are from wind sprints (HIIT) and fast walking too and from the gym (1 mile). I bought the Adidas Fit Smart health tracker Scott reviewed a few months back. It now has a "Gym" function which tracks heart rate, calories, total time, and time of day. I use the free MiCoach IOS app for my iPhone to sync the data and track the workouts. My average heart rate throughout my entire workout is about 130 bpm which burns a ton of calories :-)

John

OK nice.

If you want to cut the time back, I would definitely suggest minimizing your rest periods. Have you seen the Holiday series workouts? They have short rest periods, but are still geared towards muscle gain, maybe they will give you some helpful ideas.

http://muscularstrength.com/forums.php?pageAction=POSTS&subForumID=90&threadID=2049

Jordan