Skip La Cour - Mass Machine Bodybuilding (Training, Nutrition, Mindset, & Lifestyle)

[Special Ed]

I feel honored and privileged to consider Skip a close friend. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge about nutrition, training, supplementation, cardio, and most importantly about LIFE.

Skip is a living and breathing self-motivated SUCCESS STORY that each of us would do well to model in our own pursuit of our goals.

Bodybuilding.com and all of us are very fortunate to have Skip on board.

[Ric_Daddy]

Hey Skip, I finally made up my diet plan.
What do you think of it? Or should I just try it for a few months and see how it goes I suppose?
It doesn't include a post workout shake I will have and it doesnt include sauces that I will put on my chicken and rice etc.

Diet plan:

[skiplacour]

Hey Skip, I finally made up my diet plan.
What do you think of it? Or should I just try it for a few months and see how it goes I suppose?
It doesn't include a post workout shake I will have and it doesnt include sauces that I will put on my chicken and rice etc.

Diet plan:

It looks good. Great to get you going.

Make sure you have set times to eat these meals. Don't leave the schedule or timing of those meals up to chance. If you do, the chances increase that you won't have the all important structure.

Follow that plan for about six weeks, take notes; and get back to me with your assessment then. We'll build upon what you've done and what you've learned then too.

And remember: Talking about your diet later--if you don't follow through with this plan on a consistent basis--will be useless. We'll have to start the learning process all over again then if you don't.

*********************************
Skip La Cour's web site: http://www.skiplacour.com

Sign up for my FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter: http://www.skiplacour.com/newsletter

Listen to Skip La Cour's Bodybuilding and Training Talk Radio Show every week at http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com

[Ric_Daddy]

ok thanks Skip! I got a couple of weeks left of college then after that I'm going to get right into it and hit it hard over the summer and see if I can gain some good muscle.

[Lowdown5]

Good mornings. If that's already in your routine, I'd add two more sets.

Thanks Skip!

[C-24]

Hi Skip,

I understand what you're saying about training less for more productivity (less than an hour for a session), myself I have done that last summer during 3 weeks while I was training with an amateur bodybuilder (his principle is not training more than 45-60min, including abs workout at each session), 5 times per week, one muscle at a time.

But now, I'm working out at a gym and can't go more than 3x per week, so I train this way : full body each session, the training lasts about 2h30min.

Why wouldn't that be productive ? It's not like training pecs for 2 hours, but 15min per muscle group (3 exercices, 3 sets per exercice), so it isn't overtraining.

I am interested in your opinion,

Thank you

[RnR]

Skip,

what are your thoughts on occasionally dropping reps to the 1-3 rep ranges (mainly for the PL'ing lifts) for strength gains/meet preparation?

[skiplacour]

Hi Skip,

I understand what you're saying about training less for more productivity (less than an hour for a session), myself I have done that last summer during 3 weeks while I was training with an amateur bodybuilder (his principle is not training more than 45-60min, including abs workout at each session), 5 times per week, one muscle at a time.

But now, I'm working out at a gym and can't go more than 3x per week, so I train this way : full body each session, the training lasts about 2h30min.

Why wouldn't that be productive ? It's not like training pecs for 2 hours, but 15min per muscle group (3 exercices, 3 sets per exercice), so it isn't overtraining.

I am interested in your opinion,

Thank you

Good question.

Why that not be as effective is for one major reason:

Muscle Recovery

You traumatize the muscle and initiate the growth process through overload training; you let it recover and recuperate COMPLETELY; then, you traumatize it again with more overload training.

You simply can't expect to grow in the MOST EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT manner unless the muscle completely recovers before training it again.

Will you get some results? Sure. What you want are the best results for your time and effort.

Without the use of steroids, you will have an extremely difficult time recovering from truly intense workouts 3 times a week. If you are indeed fully recovering (which I seriously doubt), then I will go out a limb and say that you need to crank up that intensity a lot more.

Training the body part only once a week FORCES you to crank up the intensity. You have only once chance all week to get the job done. That one workout will have a "do or die" attitude attached to it. That, my friend, is intensity.

*********************************

Skip La Cour's web site: http://www.skiplacour.com

Sign up for my FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter: http://www.skiplacour.com/newsletter

Listen to Skip La Cour's Bodybuilding and Training Talk Radio Show every week at http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com

[skiplacour]

Skip,

what are your thoughts on occasionally dropping reps to the 1-3 rep ranges (mainly for the PL'ing lifts) for strength gains/meet preparation?

That's a great plan when going for your personal best or for meet preparation.

Most of the principles I outline are for people who want to build the most muscle in the shortest period of time.

[C-24]

Good question.

Why that not be as effective is for one major reason:

Muscle Recovery

You traumatize the muscle and initiate the growth process through overload training; you let it recover and recuperate COMPLETELY; then, you traumatize it again with more overload training.

You simply can't expect to grow in the MOST EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT manner unless the muscle completely recovers before training it again.

Will you get some results? Sure. What you want are the best results for your time and effort.

Without the use of steroids, you will have an extremely difficult time recovering from truly intense workouts 3 times a week. If you are indeed fully recovering (which I seriously doubt), then I will go out a limb and say that you need to crank up that intensity a lot more.

Training the body part only once a week FORCES you to crank up the intensity. You have only once chance all week to get the job done. That one workout will have a "do or die" attitude attached to it. That, my friend, is intensity.

I understand what you're saying about it. But I have to use some arguments to see what you think (because it's clear you knew how to train and develop muscles).
Let's use this example : Steve Reeves (I'm training with his principles) who worked out 3 times a week, each muscles for 9sets, 3 exercices, he did have some great results of muscle development. I don't need the amount of muscles todays pro have, but more like Steve.

But then I can give the example of Serge Nubret, who trained the muscles 2 times a week, for 3 to 5 hours a day (after each muscle group he would rest one hour before working out the next muscle group and he would train 2 muscle groups in a session).

Please don't think I am trying to deny what you said, it's not the case, I am just curious about what you think about those training methods.

[a-dog]

skip, I've been a fan or yours and of Jeff Willets for awhile now. I really enjoyed your training journals on the AST site a few years ago. The one thing that stuck out to me is that you both seem to have a solid "team" behind you. I think alot of people tend to overlook that when they look at you guys and say that there's no way you both are natural. I remember reading Jeff's in particular where he talked about having people monitor his nutrition and training program and tweak it depending on what they saw. I haven't been there in along time but I remember being really impressed with the credentials of the guys that were giving input to him. IMO that's huge. I'd like to hear what you have to say about the importance of having that team behind you and how much of a roll they played in your continued success.

I was also wondering if you could take a second and talk about ab training in the max OT program. As i remember it, it's 2 movements both slighty higher rep range than what is normally used (12-15 reps vs. 4-6 on other BP's). The article I read was on the AST site and it was great but I wanted to see if you could provide any additional information on the topic.

I think max OT is a wonderful program, I used it in the past and had very good results. I find the clips that you have posted on youtube for your mass machine and mass machine II video's to be very motivational.

This is one of the few threads that I check on a daily basis...well, I check it multiple times on a daily basis..lol.

[skiplacour]

I understand what you're saying about it. But I have to use some arguments to see what you think (because it's clear you knew how to train and develop muscles).
Let's use this example : Steve Reeves (I'm training with his principles) who worked out 3 times a week, each muscles for 9sets, 3 exercices, he did have some great results of muscle development. I don't need the amount of muscles todays pro have, but more like Steve.

But then I can give the example of Serge Nubret, who trained the muscles 2 times a week, for 3 to 5 hours a day (after each muscle group he would rest one hour before working out the next muscle group and he would train 2 muscle groups in a session).

Please don't think I am trying to deny what you said, it's not the case, I am
just curious about what you think about those training methods.

I firmly believe that if you show up at the gym on a consistent basis; do your work; and eat in manner that supports your training--you will see results.

The only question would be "Are you getting the BEST results, for the LEAST amount of effort, and in the SHORTEST period of time?"

Results? Sure. You will get results. I would never question that.

Do you have to work a manual labor job for 80 hours a week to make $100,000.00 a year? Is that the ONLY way to make that happen? Or, is there a way to work in a more efficient manner that will allow you to make just as much money (or more), using your mental and communication skills (rather than manual labor), and do it in far less than 80 hours a week? Both routes will earn the $100,000.00--no doubt about it.

*********************************
Skip La Cour's web site: http://www.skiplacour.com

Sign up for my FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter:
http://www.skiplacour.com/newsletter

Listen to Skip La Cour's Bodybuilding and Training Talk Radio Show every week at http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com




That's what we are striving to accomplish.

[skiplacour]

skip, I've been a fan or yours and of Jeff Willets for awhile now. I really enjoyed your training journals on the AST site a few years ago. The one thing that stuck out to me is that you both seem to have a solid "team" behind you. I think alot of people tend to overlook that when they look at you guys and say that there's no way you both are natural. I remember reading Jeff's in particular where he talked about having people monitor his nutrition and training program and tweak it depending on what they saw. I haven't been there in along time but I remember being really impressed with the credentials of the guys that were giving input to him. IMO that's huge. I'd like to hear what you have to say about the importance of having that team behind you and how much of a roll they played in your continued success.

I was also wondering if you could take a second and talk about ab training in the max OT program. As i remember it, it's 2 movements both slighty higher rep range than what is normally used (12-15 reps vs. 4-6 on other BP's). The article I read was on the AST site and it was great but I wanted to see if you could provide any additional information on the topic.

I think max OT is a wonderful program, I used it in the past and had very good results. I find the clips that you have posted on youtube for your mass machine and mass machine II video's to be very motivational.

This is one of the few threads that I check on a daily basis...well, I check it multiple times on a daily basis..lol.

Thanks for the kind words, buddy. They are much appreciated.

YOU have access to the same "team" and information as I do.

That is NOT what makes the difference.

DESIRE is the most important factor in becoming THE VERY BEST YOU CAN BE.

How will you align your life? How will you align your priorities? How badly do you "want it"? What will you do to have the best body that's possible FOR YOU? What won't you do?

Will you even study, apply, and persist with the information any "team" provides for you?

I quit my safe, well paying job to chase my life plans and dreams. Jeff Willet moved from his hometown where he lived his entire life to a city that he didn't know one person to be around that "team".

Go to the AST site and sign up for access to the program.

http://www.ast-ss.com

It's FREE!

The question is: What will YOU do with the information?

[a-dog]

Thanks for the kind words, buddy. They are much appreciated.

YOU have access to the same "team" and information as I do.

That is NOT what makes the difference.

DESIRE is the most important factor in becoming THE VERY BEST YOU CAN BE.

How will you align your life? How will you align your priorities? How badly do you "want it"? What will you do to have the best body that's possible FOR YOU? What won't you do?

Will you even study, apply, and persist with the information any "team" provides for you?

I quit my safe, well paying job to chase my life plans and dreams. Jeff Willet moved from his hometown where he lived his entire life to a city that he didn't know one person to be around that "team".

Go to the AST site and sign up for access to the program.

http://www.ast-ss.com

It's FREE!

The question is: What will YOU do with the information?

I understand what your saying and I think the message your getting at is a great one and it's one alot of people don't get. I learn alot from this thread jsut as far as mindsets go.

I'm VERY familiar with Max-Ot, I used it for years. I feel I can carry on a decent coversation about the principles but I'll probably re-read it just because it's a GREAT read. The AST site in general is loaded with wonderful articles.

don't get the impression that I was trying to take away from your achievements by talking about the "team" concept, I just thought it was an awsome thing to have people with those credentials helping you out and I thought it might be interesting to talk about that aspect of your BB success.

you are very good at what you do and it's a pleasure to interact with you on this site.

[BillabongVolcom]

Skip, are you doing the same body-part split workout on your Website and still following Max-OT's principles?

Thanks bro.

[skiplacour]

Skip, are you doing the same body-part split workout on your Website and still following Max-OT's principles?

Thanks bro.

Here are 13 different Max-OT Routines:

I'll do one for 8 to 10 weeks; then take week off from training; and go on to another one.

That means these Max-OT routines represent 104 (about 26 months) to 143 (about 32 months) weeks of training.

#1

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_1.htm

#2

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_2.htm

#3

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_3.htm

#4

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_4.htm

#5

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_5.htm

#6

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_6.htm

#7

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_7.htm

#8

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_8.htm

#9

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_9.htm

#10

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_10.htm

#11

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_11.htm

#12

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_12.htm

#13

http://skiplacour.com/max_ot_routine_13.htm

*********************************

Skip La Cour's web site: http://www.skiplacour.com

Sign up for my FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter: http://www.skiplacour.com/newsletter

Listen to Skip La Cour's Bodybuilding and Training Talk Radio Show every week at http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com

[musclePavel]

interesting , pretty much 4-6 reps all year long...

[Carlito99]

How come in Max-OT routines, for dumbbell pressing movements, it is recommended for the palms to be facing each other at the bottom of the movement and facing forward at the top of the movement? Most people I see just keep them facing forward the whole movement

[skiplacour]

How come in Max-OT routines, for dumbbell pressing movements, it is recommended for the palms to be facing each other at the bottom of the movement and facing forward at the top of the movement? Most people I see just keep them facing forward the whole movement

It allows for that extra range-of-motion on the bottom of the movement that you can't get unless you turn rotate the dumbbells.

[a-dog]

I listened to one of the "manformation" podcasts this morning, I just signed up for them on ITunes...very interesting stuff.

I'm new to alot of what you guys are talking about but I can see where this stuff can be extremely important in life..really good listen.

[Frankdaddy]

Hey Skip, ive been reading this thread for a few days just glancing at information and I notice you give very good advice, reps for that! I agree to most of it as well. Your training shows that it works for you and other people as well. I am more of a go heavy and I stick to around 8-10 reps year round. Do you think I should switch things up and go for around 6 reps for all workouts for awhile. My progress is great and I just got done with my contest prep and im not wasting my time. I am currently bulking up. My goals are far from over and I have a lot of fire in me to do well with bodybuilding. I have just began and I want to improve. I do all heavy compound movements. Raw weight type of exercises mostly right now, where I can overload the weight on everything and still contract and keep form 90% all the way.

[skiplacour]

I listened to one of the "manformation" podcasts this morning, I just signed up for them on ITunes...very interesting stuff.

I'm new to alot of what you guys are talking about but I can see where this stuff can be extremely important in life..really good listen.

I'm glad you find the show informative.

http://www.MANformation.com


http://www.MANformationRadio.com

[skiplacour]

Hey Skip, ive been reading this thread for a few days just glancing at information and I notice you give very good advice, reps for that! I agree to most of it as well. Your training shows that it works for you and other people as well. I am more of a go heavy and I stick to around 8-10 reps year round. Do you think I should switch things up and go for around 6 reps for all workouts for awhile. My progress is great and I just got done with my contest prep and im not wasting my time. I am currently bulking up. My goals are far from over and I have a lot of fire in me to do well with bodybuilding. I have just began and I want to improve. I do all heavy compound movements. Raw weight type of exercises mostly right now, where I can overload the weight on everything and still contract and keep form 90% all the way.

Oftentimes in life, we don't feel the need to change anything unless we feel PAIN and FRUSTRATION.

With things currently going so well for you with your training, "selling" you on the idea of changing your routine might be extremely difficult.

If you believe that heavy lifting leads to more muscle in a shorter period of time then consider this: You can surely lift more weight doing 4 to 6 reps than you can doing 8 to 10 reps per set.

For that reason alone, you should at least give it a shot.

[Frankdaddy]

Good point, you can definetly lift more with 4-6 reps..I have done powerlifting before, but you can also lift more with 1-3 reps..Does that mean you can build muscle like that as well ? Just wondering.

Also, doing every workout 4-6 reps necessary or should you involve both types of reps during the workout that day ? Or try every 4-6 reps for awhile. I totally agree that heavier weight builds bigger and hard muscle the quickest, because obviously, heavier the weight and contracting, the more strain you are putting on the muscle, the bigger it will grow. Thats the way I see it.

[skiplacour]

Good point, you can definetly lift more with 4-6 reps..I have done powerlifting before, but you can also lift more with 1-3 reps..Does that mean you can build muscle like that as well ? Just wondering.

Also, doing every workout 4-6 reps necessary or should you involve both types of reps during the workout that day ? Or try every 4-6 reps for awhile. I totally agree that heavier weight builds bigger and hard muscle the quickest, because obviously, heavier the weight and contracting, the more strain you are putting on the muscle, the bigger it will grow. Thats the way I see it.

Interesting question. I was asked that on last week's talk radio show.

I don't know. I've never tried 1 to 3 reps.

http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com

[PaC-mAn8]

Skip..I'm getting a lot stronger. And its only been 2ish weeks on Max-OT. I think this program has also boosted my confidence in regards to lifting heavier weight. I ain't scared anymore!

[skiplacour]

Skip..I'm getting a lot stronger. And its only been 2ish weeks on Max-OT. I think this program has also boosted my confidence in regards to lifting heavier weight. I ain't scared anymore!

Awesome, PacMan8!

One important point to remember:

Don't avoid FEAR! Not in the gym--and not in your life.

What you want to do is MANAGE fear. Courage is the antidote for fear.

So, it's okay to be scared. If you're not a little scared getting after the heavy weight--then you aren't challenging yourself enough.

If you look closely at some video clips of me training on http://www.youtube.com/SkipLaCour , you'll notice I have at least a little fear during every lift.

"Oftentimes, your greatest joys in life can only be experienced when you courageously take just one step past your greatest fears."

--Skip La Cour

[PaC-mAn8]

Thanks Skip.

God I wish I had the financial means to purchase your DVD.

[Frankdaddy]

Interesting question. I was asked that on last week's talk radio show.

I don't know. I've never tried 1 to 3 reps.

http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com

Sucks this answer came unsolved. I would say you need to do atleast a few reps for the muscle to respond. Because ive never fatiqued my muscles maxing out before. Since I have done powerlifting training and competitions, but I never have done every workout with 4-6 reps, sounds interesting and sounds like a very heavy workout day, lol..I might give this a try. How do the muscles usually feel to the extra support compared to higher repetitions ?

[Kiwi_]

Good question.

Why that not be as effective is for one major reason:

Muscle Recovery

You traumatize the muscle and initiate the growth process through overload training; you let it recover and recuperate COMPLETELY; then, you traumatize it again with more overload training.

You simply can't expect to grow in the MOST EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT manner unless the muscle completely recovers before training it again.

Will you get some results? Sure. What you want are the best results for your time and effort.

Without the use of steroids, you will have an extremely difficult time recovering from truly intense workouts 3 times a week. If you are indeed fully recovering (which I seriously doubt), then I will go out a limb and say that you need to crank up that intensity a lot more.

Training the body part only once a week FORCES you to crank up the intensity. You have only once chance all week to get the job done. That one workout will have a "do or die" attitude attached to it. That, my friend, is intensity.

*********************************

Skip La Cour's web site: http://www.skiplacour.com

Sign up for my FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter: http://www.skiplacour.com/newsletter

Listen to Skip La Cour's Bodybuilding and Training Talk Radio Show every week at http://www.SkipLaCourRadio.com

How about training the same muscle group twice a week? still no good?

I've never really liked the idea of once a week training, because if I have a bad day for some reason I have to wait a whole nother week before hitting the muscle again.

Can kind of seem like a waste at times.