Max-OT for Dummies

[nWe]

If you have no decline bench, use weighted dips instead. Just make sure you lean forward enough so that your targeting your chest as the primary and not your tris.

True, but I'm suppose to switch from Dips to decline in the first week for variation.

But, then I just don't change. It can't make that big difference.

[nWe]

An other question: How is my warm up suppose to be for the small bodyparts like biceps, calves etc? How many sets, reps and % of total weight?

And is the thigh, back rutine suppose to be like the one for chest? Like when I have 5 sets.

[p0fell0w]

does this look good for max ot?

Monday Chest
Tuesday Arms and Abs
Wednesday legs and calves
Thursday should and traps
Friday back

[driekus]

I have just started a Max-OT program and have one or two questions. Im pretty new to bodybuilding and until now have done a lot of high rep work.
Im following the Max-OT program to the letter. It feels like however im not doing any work with most of the time spent resting between sets. Am I missing something or is this normal?
Is this program suited to beginners?

[JDOutlook]

I have just started a Max-OT program and have one or two questions. Im pretty new to bodybuilding and until now have done a lot of high rep work.
Im following the Max-OT program to the letter. It feels like however im not doing any work with most of the time spent resting between sets. Am I missing something or is this normal?
Is this program suited to beginners?

I think you would be better suited for Rippetoes (there's a thread stickied at the top of this forum) Rippetoes is essentially very similar to this program in rep scheme, just a tad more intense (3x5 vs 2-4x6-8) and instead of dedicating days to multiple bodypart exercises once a week, Rippetoes has you do a full body workout every day wtih less exercises. This is better when starting.

[mmd]

A few questions..

Are gains from MAX OT mainly strength or size?

Also, going to failure is mentioned. Isn't going to failure bashed a lot on these forums about thrashing the CNS?

When going to failure on MAX OT do you go to failure on each set? or each exercise? or each workout out for that body part.

[mmd]

bump

[mmd]

bumpety bump

[DaCougarMech]

just have a question
i'm doing this program but i was reading through the articles last night and it seems that in the myths section, 5 day splits like these are bashed for not allowing enough time for the nervous system to recover
anyone have any comments on this?

[power-builder]

just have a question
i'm doing this program but i was reading through the articles last night and it seems that in the myths section, 5 day splits like these are bashed for not allowing enough time for the nervous system to recover
anyone have any comments on this?

If you're doing the 5 day split, the volume is low and you should only training be training 20-30 minutes. You should still feel "fresh" after the workout and not feel blasted. If you do that, then you should be able to handle the 5 day split nicely. Adjust the volume accordingly to best suit you if your finding yourself 'beat up' from the prescribed volume.

Done right, Max-OT is a great way of building both strength and size.


To the other poster, if you're going to failure with Max-OT, it should only be on the last set of the exercise.

[juiyuanwu]

Sorry to ask this so late, but I've now read into MAX-OT and give it a try. However, I have some confusion on where to start the 12 weeks program. For example,

A - Workout#1 is presented in Week#1 (How many weeks should I do this?)
B - Workout#2 is presented in Week#3 (What week do I start Workout #2?)
C - Another workout is presented in Week#5 (Am I suppose to do this for week 5?)
D - Several split workouts are presented in Week#6 (What do I do after 4 weeks using (C) until week 8?) (7)
E- Jeff Willet's workout is presented in Week#8. (8)

Nothing else is presented until Week#12. In Week#12, they present the 6-month Roadmap with workouts from:

F. Weeks 1-4
G. Weeks 4-8
H. Rest
I. Weeks 8-12
J. Weeks 13-16
K. Rest
etc. etc.

So how would the rundown on 12 week go? Is it something like this:

Workout #1 (2 weeks)
Workout #2 (2 weeks)
Workout #3 (?? weeks)

What are we suppose to do for weeks 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12?

-Thanks alot in advance. Sorry to bring this thread back.

[juiyuanwu]

Anybody? Or should I just start on the 6 months?

[johnny87]

Anybody? Or should I just start on the 6 months?

ur post confused me lol.

I havent looked in a while but i thought it was had them like this weeks 1-4,weeks 5-8 and so on. i could be wrong and i forgot the exact website.

Im just switching the excercises every 4 weeks to whatever i feel like and just using thier principles not following any of thier pre made routines.. Im enjoying it so far.

[quickups]

Anybody? Or should I just start on the 6 months?

I understand what your problem is.

Yes, you should start the 6 month Max-OT plan. Ignore the workouts prior to the 6 month plan and just follow the 6 month plan. After doing this for 6 months you will have a feel of what you should be doing in order to changed the exercises in terms of days, exercises, etc. And by that time you can make your own workouts with ease.

Make you sure you also eat lots of food too.

Make sure you track your progress in every exercise. Exercises switch up every 4 weeks or so and then come up in the later weeks or months ahead. You need to know how much weight you did last time you did that certain exercise.

[juiyuanwu]

I understand what your problem is.

Yes, you should start the 6 month Max-OT plan. Ignore the workouts prior to the 6 month plan and just follow the 6 month plan. After doing this for 6 months you will have a feel of what you should be doing in order to changed the exercises in terms of days, exercises, etc. And by that time you can make your own workouts with ease.

Make you sure you also eat lots of food too.

Make sure you track your progress in every exercise. Exercises switch up every 4 weeks or so and then come up in the later weeks or months ahead. You need to know how much weight you did last time you did that certain exercise.

Thanks alot for the help. That definitely cleared it up for me. Have you used MAX-OT also? If so, how was it for you?

[tinyman5000]

what's with the cable exercises? I thought this was for mass building. And 5-7 day breaks? I go higher volume and intenstiy and gain fine, this seems like a crock.

[johnny87]

what's with the cable exercises? I thought this was for mass building. And 5-7 day breaks? I go higher volume and intenstiy and gain fine, this seems like a crock.

This program has been good for strength for me. If you dont like cable excercises dont use them lol.

[Finnegan Bell]

what's with the cable exercises? I thought this was for mass building. And 5-7 day breaks? I go higher volume and intenstiy and gain fine, this seems like a crock.

So cable exercises dont build mass? What are the 5-7 days breaks? what ru talking about?

[clickclack]

I'm currently going by this split:

Routine C
Monday - Legs and Calves

Squat - 3x4-6
Leg Press - 2x4-6
Stiff Leg Deadlift - 2x6

Standing Calf Raise - 2x6-8
45 Degree Calf Press - 2x6-8


Tuesday - Arms and Abs

Straight Bar Curl - 2x4-6
Alternate Dumbbell Curl - 2x4-6
Cable Curl - 1x6

Lying Skull Crushers - 2x4-6
Cable Press Down - 2x6
Dumbbell Kick-back - 1x6

Wrist Curl - 2x6-8
Dumbbell Wrist Curl - 1x6-8

Leg Raise - 2x12-15
Crunch - 2x8-10
Cable Crunch - 1x8-10


Wednesday - Shoulders and Traps

Military Press - 3x4-6
Dumbbell Press - 2x4-6
Dumbbell Side Laterals - 2x6-8

Barbell Shrugs - 2x4-6
Upright Rows - 2x4-6


Thursday - Back

Cable Pull Downs - 3x4-6
Seated Cable Row - 3x4-6
Barbell Bent Row - 2x4-6

Good Morning - 2x4-6
Hyper-extension (Weighted) - 2x4-6


Friday - Chest

Barbell Bench Press - 3x4-6
Barbell Incline Bench Press - 3x4-6
Weighted Dips - 2x4-6


My question is, I'm about to start working more (in addition to school) and i probably won't be able to make the gym 5 days a week. Would it be OK to combine two totally unrelated muscle groups into one day so i can cut my gym visits down to 4 days a week? Like, say, I could do chest on the same day as legs? My chest workouts and leg workouts both take like 20 minutes anyways so I'd likely still keep the workout under 40 minutes.

thanks.

[FoxyT]

I Love Max OT Cardio and swear by it. This is the best type of cardio to do to get the fat off and keep muscle!!!

One of my first posts ever was about Max OT:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=5367523

[p0fell0w]

how does this routine sound..

Monday - Chest, biceps, forearms
Tuesday - Legs
Wed - Off
Thur - Shoulders Triceps
Fri - Back, Biceps, forearms

i think it gives me enough rest for the 4-6 reps and gives me a lil more work for the smaller muscles like biceps and forearms

And i'm thinking about either on Monday i can do high reps for biceps and forearms and then on friday to heavy weight.

How does this sound?

[V.H.9.8.4.]

Big bump...

All the sample routines are five days a week. Does Max-OT have to be a five day split, or could it be 4 days a week?

[Charuto222]

Big bump...

All the sample routines are five days a week. Does Max-OT have to be a five day split, or could it be 4 days a week?

4 days is fine. You might try something like this

Mon: Legs/Calves
Tue: Chest/Tris
Thur: Back/Traps/Bis
Fri: Delts/Abs/4arms

The Back/Traps/Bis workout might seem like a lot but keep in mind that if you're deadlifting then you don't need any direct trap work (maybe 1 or 2 sets of shrugs if you're real obsessive compulsive about it but trust me it won't be necessary)

so it would look somehting like this

Deadlift x 2
Shrug x 1
Lat Pulldown x 3
V-Bar Pulldown x 2
BB Curl x 3
DB Curl x 2


Total of 13 sets, slightly more than you would do per day on a 5-day split but you gotta expect that when you only train 4 days instead of 5

Paul Cribb (One of AST's gurus) has said numerous times, however, that Max-OT doesn't have to be 5 days to be effective. In fact, if you read the write up you can see that they outline a 3 day alternative for those who don't want to lift 5 days per week.

[V.H.9.8.4.]

thanks for the help bud

now that i know i can do Max-OT 4x a week, i have to decide between this ot chad waterbury's hybrid hypertrophy. both look pretty good

[Charuto222]

well I can tell you that I got (and am still getting) tremendous results on Max-OT, as long as you follow it to a T you can't go wrong. Can't say anything about Waterbury's Hybrid Hypertrophy program, though I have done is Total Body Training program and it made me a fan of his training parameters and philosophy. My personal belief is that a choice between Waterbury and Max-OT is just a choice between two different ways to succeed.

[V.H.9.8.4.]

well I can tell you that I got (and am still getting) tremendous results on Max-OT, as long as you follow it to a T you can't go wrong. Can't say anything about Waterbury's Hybrid Hypertrophy program, though I have done is Total Body Training program and it made me a fan of his training parameters and philosophy. My personal belief is that a choice between Waterbury and Max-OT is just a choice between two different ways to succeed.

I'll probably end up going with HH because he recommends doing it for 4-6 weeks, and Im going on vacation in 6 weeks, probably will start Max-OT after I get back from that

[pumpingirontrav]

nice post

[twellons]

Based on the principles , I've seen that type work for me and is pretty much how I'm running my current 4 day split , just slightly different day's as I have a rest day in between.

[Nutrition911]

[QUOTE=hepennypacker52;6082931]This is a 'sneak preview' I guess. I'm doing a big article line for Bodybuilding.com, a "for Dummies" guide to about 12 different types of training. HST for Dummies is already up on here and has been for a while, and Max-OT is probably the next most (or more) popular routine, so I'm just going to post this one as well. Please do not post saying "you just took all of this out of the Max-OT handbook!". Of course I did, this is a "for Dummies" guide, and it's not my training method/idea. Enjoy.

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Max-OT for Dummies

Hey man I was just wondering, do u need to warm-up like that for every muscle group or just the heavy compounds. like lets say ur doing bicep curls do u rly need to do 3 warm-up sets first and then acclimation sets. I dont see what the big issue is here, why not just do a warm-up with one set. why have so many? I thought one set was sufficient for a warm-up. and forearms too. thats a lot of warm-up sets for small muscle groups. idunno, is it just me? any help would be much appreciated. thanks man.

[ksheab]

yes, you need to warmup every muscle group. acclimation sets are part of the warmup. one set is not ever a proper warmup in maxot.

personally, i do a minimum of 3warmup sets per muscle group by using the first exericse in my routine.

with the smaller bodyparts, im usually warmed up enough on the 3rd, but, i may do another. who knows.

with squats and back i usually do around 5. the key is to not fatigue the muscles and prepare them to be blasted with heavy weight.

increase wt and decrease reps. warmups are often 1-2 rep sets.