Workout Program Review: The Serge Nubret Workout

[spirit3530]

Ahh! Sounds familiar Sage!

[ReformingBB]

Hopping on board, good luck with all the volume man!

[Simpy]

Crazy volume. I'm in, of course. I'm anxious to see how these workout affect your body. I can't imagine growing on this program, but what do I know. Seems like a perfect program for contest prep.

[Andrew69]

LOL, I just cant stop shaking my head at that volume Spirit
How are you finding the "perceived effort" on the earlier sets?
I read a fair bit of the Serge thread yesterday.

[Chris R.]

Lookin good my friend!

[spirit3530]

The Serge Nubert Workout Review

Supps taken

1 scoop Focus xt (shot)
.75 scoops Green Mag (shot)
1.5 scoops On Whey
4 scoops xtend
20 ounces water.



workout 3a

Behind the neck shoulder Press
80x12
110x12
115x12
115x12
115x12
115x12
115x12

Front Raises (db)
25x12
25x12
25x12
25x12
25x12
25x12

Upright rows (db)
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12

lateral raise (cable)
10x12
10x12
10x12
10x12
10x12
10x12

barbell curl/hammer strength Dip superset
95x12/200x12
65x12/200x12
45x12/200x12
45x12/200x12
45x12/200x12
45x12/200x12
45x12/200x12
45x12/200x12

seated calf raise/toe extension superset
90x12/200x12
135x12/220x12
135x12/220x12
135x12/220x12
135x12/220x12
135x12/220x12
135x12/220x12
135x12/220x12

incline db curl/pressdown superset
25x12/120x12
25x12/120x12
25x12/120x12
20x12/120x12
20x12/120x12
20x12/120x12
20x12/120x12
20x12/120x12

Gym time 87 min
posing 3 min
bs time 10 min

What have I gotten myself into. The amount of volume I have done in the past 3 days feels crazy. The funny thing though is that I only start feeling it during the workout but not 30 min after its over. Some of my bodyparts are a little more accepting of this volume than others. After the second set of each workout this week we will find out. I almost hit 90 mins today but I got stopped by a SNCO and he wanted to bs. Also someone was deadlifting with a round back and I instinctively had to say something so its all good. Posing has been REALLY difficult after these workouts. My bodyparts don't want to contract at all, so I have to cut posing down. Maybe I can pose better on a rest day.

Shoulders
I figured out a way to do the behind the neck shoulder press without it hurting my body. I did use the smith machine because I didn't want to leave it to chance that I would mess up and hurt something. I reluctantly used the cable for laterals against my better judgement so I went extra light because in the past the cable laterals really cause me pain. I will continue this plan because

Pain free > increasing weight on cable laterals

Arms
Damn I got owned right at the begining this time. I thought I could get away with 95lbs on the barbell curls for some reason. LOL yeah right. I can't do them strict for 8 sets, especially if I am superseting them. To top it off Serge wants us to not have any rest PERIOD for 16 sets. Are you F#ckin kidding me? Well I got to the 5 set and then my body said whoa injury coming, so I eased back on the weight and rested maybe 10-15 secs here and there. Eventually i thing I will be able to do no rest. When I got to my second superset I was already de-moralized (ego killed) so it was a repeat of the first superset. One interesting note though, my triceps have pretty good endurance and held up nicely. Biceps however didn't like all this volume. We will see how the next workout goes after I adjust the set points for my exerises

Calves
The only bodypart that wasn't owned perse. I will have to up the weight on these and I probably won't be superseting them next time because I should have more time. I supersetted because I didn't want to go over the time today.

Setpoints
shoulder press 115
front raise 25
upright rows 30
lateral raise 10
pressdowns 120
barbell curls 45
dips 200
incline curls 25
seated calf 135
toe ext 220

[spirit3530]

Hopping on board, good luck with all the volume man!

Welcome, thanks.

Crazy volume. I'm in, of course. I'm anxious to see how these workout affect your body. I can't imagine growing on this program, but what do I know. Seems like a perfect program for contest prep.

It is a lot of volume but I think its gonna come down to finding the right lbs to use and effectively deloading on the second version of each workout to allow strength gains. Weeks 4 and 5 will let us know more. Ofcourse eating more than my body requires for calories has a lot to do with whether I get bigger or not

LOL, I just cant stop shaking my head at that volume Spirit
How are you finding the "perceived effort" on the earlier sets?
I read a fair bit of the Serge thread yesterday.

I feel good early on but after the second exercise that basically hit the same muscles I start to wear down a little bit. That could be a problem down the line. However we will see by week 4.

Lookin good my friend!

Thanks. This pic was taken PRIOR to starting this routine. After a week off.

[spirit3530]

This pic was taken after 3 days on Serge Nubert Program

[billfinkbiner]

Excellent start to the review. I am very interested in your findings. You keep talking about your ego being hurt by the pounds your lifting, but I think your ego should be soaring due to the work and intensity you are putting in.

I also think that your ego will be soaring at the end of your review due to the shape, size, and condition that your physique will be in.

As far as DOMS goes, if you can afford it try using more Extend before you train and later in the day. Now granted my volume is far below what you are doing, but ever since I started mega dosinf Extend my DOMS has been very light and infrequent.

I hope you have great results from this experiment.

[cathryn]

Too tired to pose is probably the best description of a tough workout I've ever heard :P Nice!

Wow 620+ reps lol seeing that makes me think I am crazy. Yeah my ego is taking a serious hit these days.

You have every reason to give your ego plenty of congratulations for just making it through that workout. The way that it's wearing you out at a certain point must be another satisfaction for you: you know you're hitting the intended target, even with a smaller weight on there.

So today I got it right and got busy with the sweet potatoes first thing in the morning.

Haha...that sounds like a good breakfast! Your body gives you good feedback on what it needs. It must be nice to have a friendly working relationship there. Do you stack the carbs around your workout, or get them all day long?

[spirit3530]

Excellent start to the review. I am very interested in your findings. You keep talking about your ego being hurt by the pounds your lifting, but I think your ego should be soaring due to the work and intensity you are putting in.

I also think that your ego will be soaring at the end of your review due to the shape, size, and condition that your physique will be in.

As far as DOMS goes, if you can afford it try using more Extend before you train and later in the day. Now granted my volume is far below what you are doing, but ever since I started mega dosinf Extend my DOMS has been very light and infrequent.

I hope you have great results from this experiment.

Thanks Bill. I only mentioned it because I wanted new lifters to understand in order to make this work they will use rather weak poundages in compared to the standard program. I have hit muscles in different ways than I have before and now I am ready to dig down to the meat and potatoes of the program. I am analyzing each exercise very carefully and hopefully as imagine the mind muscle connection will be even better. I have added a couple more scoops of xtend as well as increased my carbs and water intake a bit to help with that. So far so good. Chest 07 is still in full effect and I think the next 9.5 weeks will produce some good results. Feel free to stop in and comment ANY time.

Too tired to pose is probably the best description of a tough workout I've ever heard :P Nice!

You have every reason to give your ego plenty of congratulations for just making it through that workout. The way that it's wearing you out at a certain point must be another satisfaction for you: you know you're hitting the intended target, even with a smaller weight on there.

Haha...that sounds like a good breakfast! Your body gives you good feedback on what it needs. It must be nice to have a friendly working relationship there. Do you stack the carbs around your workout, or get them all day long?

Thanks for the support Cat. I was explaining the amount of sets and reps to my workout partner and all I got was you're crazy. I am glad I made it through the first 3 days. I look forward to seeing how my body has recovered tommorrow when I lift again Chest and quads.

I like sweet potatoes and tuna for breakfast these days for some reason. I usually have more starchy carbs, grains, etc toward the beginning of the day and the last couple meals have veggies in them, corn and broccoli lately. Unless ofcourse I have some Ice Cream I workout 1 to 2 hours after i wakeup. I feel that that is when I am at my strongest so this works out perfectly.

[spirit3530]

The Serge Nubert Workout review


1 scoop Focus xt (shot)
.75 scoops Green Mag (shot)
1.5 scoops On Whey
4 scoops xtend
20 ounces water.

workout 2a

Squat No change
135x12
225x12
225x12
225x12
225x12
225x12
225x12
225x12

Incline bb press (wide grip) avg +10lbs
135x12
155x12
155x12
155x12
155x12
155x10
135x2
135x12
135x12

Leg press (feet together) no change
250x12
250x12
250x12
250x12
250x12
250x12
250x12

pec deck not rated
70x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12

flat db Press No change
50x12
50x12
50x12
50x12
50x12
50x12

incline db fly avg +5lbs
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x12

Leg extension avg +30lbs
130x12
150x12
150x12
170x12
170x12
190x12
190x12

db pullovers avg +10lbs
85x12
85x12
85x12
85x12
85x12
85x10
80x2

gym time 85 min
posing 10 min

Well today was a pretty good workout. I knew what to expect and I wasn't disappointed. My pre workout meal was exactly 2 hours prior to working out. I wasn't sure if I had waited too long but I had to take care of some work related business so an extra 30 min didn't kill me. Energy level felt solid throught the work. I moved exercises around to allow a little more recovery between the two bodyparts. Serge's plan does allow this. I documented increase in weights on rough avg on total weight per exercise (please don't get too hung up on this math geeks).

Quads

The first set of squats felt heavy but solid. The worst part was the third set I was huffing at rep 8 However I kept going anyway. This happened pretty much every set and I didn't know if I was gonna make it. I was glad I finished with having to drop the weight. Leg presses felt like recovery work today. Pretty easy so next workout I expect these to go up a little. Leg extensions owned me last workout but I got my revenge and got back up to 190lbs. I hope to get back in the 200's next workout. My quads werent as sore today during the workout so I hope that means something good. During posing I noticed my legs were more ripped but didn't look as thick as early Aprils photos. Maybe this is because my bodyfat is lower now. I moved back really far from the mirror and my quad seperation was very much apparent.

Chest
Incline press was decent today. I had to do a drop set on the 6th set because my pecs wer just worn out but the felt good though. I likewise dropped the weight on my db presses to 50lbs so I could complete all sets. The rest of the exercises were ok with a dropset on pullover's last set. The big story was that I was able to flex NO problem during posing. My chest was full and looked really good. Strong MM displayed today and the line was very visable during all shots. Side chest looked even thicker than normal. I am VERY pleased that I was able to pose correctly today.

[zyzyx]

Nice workout.

Did you find that your legs stayed pumped throughout the workout, or did you lose some of it while you were working on chest? I notice Serge talks a lot about the importance of the pump.

[spirit3530]

Nice workout.

Did you find that your legs stayed pumped throughout the workout, or did you lose some of it while you were working on chest? I notice Serge talks a lot about the importance of the pump.

To be honest I wasn't really thinking about the pump. I just focus on trying to get the target muscle to respond. When I posed at the end (which is normal for me) my chest was thick as if it was pumped. So I guess it was ok. I think if you drink enough water and have enough carbs you will be pumped. I will look for that next time. I moved the exercises around a bit so I was hitting chest every other exercise.

[The Real Deal]

wow still alive.

[Simpy]

How sore are you on this?

[spirit3530]

workout Program Review Serge Nubert Workout



1 scoop Focus xt (shot)
.75 scoops Green Mag (shot)
1.5 scoops On Whey
4 scoops xtend
20 ounces water.

chins
x12
x12
x12
x12
x12
x10
undergrip pulldown
x2

behind the neck pulldowns +5
105x12
105x12
105x12
105x12
105x12
105x12
105x12
105x12

front pulldowns +10
140x12
140x12
140x12
140x12
140x12
140x12

lying leg curls +10
100x12
90x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12

seated leg curls -10
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12

barbell rows (wide grip) +30
135x12
185x12
185x12
185x12
185x12
185x12
185x12

gym time 76 min
posing 10 min

Decent workout. After my first set my head started throbbing with pain. I don't know what was going on but I pressed on by drinking more water. I have to admit my head really wasn't in it today. Even though it was a good workout I really didn't feel like I was all there. Personal problems and work strikes again. However posing was really good again. More details in my physique were showin up so I am pleased by that. Not really deep cuts yet but I can see that when that happens its gonna be sick.

Back

Everything went ok. I still failed on the last set of chins and had to supplement with undergrip pulldowns. I hope to be able to do all 72 chinups by week 3. I am starting to feel comfortable with behind the neck pulldowns. I think as long as I stay strict with my form and don't increase the poundage too quickly I can add this old school movement to my regular rotation. BB rows were solid today. I thought about doing undergrip rows but I shook that off and continued with the wide grip version.

hamstrings
My hammies were pretty messed up yesterday so I went by feel and I had to lower weight on the first exercise. I proceeded to use the same weight on the second exercise. Once again it felt more like recovery work then anything. I honestly think that my quads and hamstring respond better to the 3-10 range then higher reps. We will see what happens in the coming weeks.

[cathryn]

Very nice - love seeing the immediate results of hitting those muscles staring back at ya in the mirror, huh? I bet this routine is going to leave you pretty well cut even with more carbs. Amazing that you can see it already!

[spirit3530]

wow still alive.

Yeah and apparently getting stronger

How sore are you on this?

Not as sore as I was the first day. I did increase the amount of xtend I am taking daily so I think this is helping the doms stay in check. I am about as sore as a regular workout which is not that bad. I add a few more carbs than normal to help me out too. Now I need to find that delicate balance again where i still look like I am getting more cut instead of being bloated looking sometimes.

[spirit3530]

Very nice - love seeing the immediate results of hitting those muscles staring back at ya in the mirror, huh? I bet this routine is going to leave you pretty well cut even with more carbs. Amazing that you can see it already!

Yes I am already seeings some good things in the mirror. I can't wait to take my Monthly IMPC pics and compare. However I don't think my quads look as good as before so thats a down side. Also I didn't expect to start moving more weight after those first days on this plan.

[Andrew69]

Also I didn't expect to start moving more weight after those first days on this plan.

I cant believe you are moving more weight
Good stuff Spirit!

And you gotta love Xtend..that stuff has been a life saver for me on too many occasions...

[spirit3530]

I cant believe you are moving more weight
Good stuff Spirit!

And you gotta love Xtend..that stuff has been a life saver for me on too many occasions...

Yeah brotha. Hands down the sh!t works. Yep weight increases moving on up. Heres hoping that continues.

*raises gatorade jug*

[spirit3530]

Workout Program Review Serge Nubert workout

1 scoop Focus xt (shot)
.75 scoops Green Mag (shot)
1.5 scoops On Whey
4 scoops xtend
20 ounces water.


workout 3b

behind the neck press no change
95x12
115x12
115x12
115x12
115x12
115x12
115x12
115x12

upright rows (dbs) +5
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x12

bb curl/dip superset
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12
65x12 / 200x12


Front Raise no change
25x12
25x12
25x12
25x12
25x12
25x12

lateral raise (db) LOL NoT REQUIRED
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12

hammer curl / pressdown superset not rated no change
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12
45x12 / 120x12

cable laterals no change
10x12
10x12
10x12
10x12
10x12
10x12

toe extension / seated calf raise superset +10
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12
230x12 / 145x12

Gym time 90 mins
posing 2 and a half maybe 3 min

I was tired in general today. Trying to outprocess and chasing all these people on base to get signatures was a b!tch. To top it off I was on foot so I everywhere I needed to go took a long time and then I had to play the waiting game. I tried to start early so I would be able to hit the gym about 10 am but instead ended up there at a 6:45 PM. Needless to say I was already frustrated when I got to the gym. I was not really into it like I had planned I tried to go off memory and I added an exercise I wasn't supposed to have. So I felt behind all workout. I realized this after I checked the log after my workout. I didn't even want to pose today.

Shoulders
Behind the neck was ok. I didn't feel as strong during the later rounds but I still finished. Cable laterals still hurt but I am keeping the weight as low as possible to perhaps salvage this exercise and make it work for me. If I bring up my shoulder width (delts) and get them to 53 but my waist goes up 2 inches (at 31 now) is that really progress. Anyway shoulder days are more fun now. I think I have more fast twitch fibers in my upper body (shoulders and chest) than my lower body.

Arms
Supersets are killing me However I am going to keep pressing on. This time I didn't start at 90lbs on the barbell curls and went straight for 65lbs. So I did alright with arms. Hammer curls was just another exercise to play around with. Lets see what I pull out next time. Triceps business as usually. I expect weight increases on both exercises.

Calves
Superset this guys even though it isn't on the plan. I got into a groove and didn't want to let go so I went with it. I am going to be trying a new method of performing each rep so Next calf day should be interesting. More to come on that later.

[cathryn]

If there is a hell, it's got to have a lot of paperwork involved. What a pain in the butt, no wonder you were irritated afterwards. Well personally I think that gaining muscle is progress even if it's not in the exact proportions you want. It must be hard to try and get muscle to grow not just in general but in a specific way. Maybe you will be surprised at what happens? 33" waist doesn't seem big to me at all though!

[spirit3530]

Workout Program Review Serge Nubert Workout


1 scoop Focus xt (shot)
.75 scoops Green Mag (shot)
1.5 scoops On Whey
4 scoops xtend
20 ounces water.


Workout 1a

Squat +10
135x12
235x12
235x12
235x12
235x12
235x12
235x12
235x12

Incline Bench Press (wide) no change
135x12
155x12
155x12
155x12
155x12
155x12
155x12
155x11

Leg press (feet shoulder width) +40
295x12
295x12
295x12
295x12
295x12
295x12
295x12

db flat press +5
55x12
55x12
55x12
55x12
55x12
55x12

db incline flys +5
40x12
40x12
40x12
40x12
40x12
40x12

pec deck no change
85x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12

db Pullovers no change
85x12
85x12
85x12
85x12
85x12
85x12

Leg Extension no change
190x12
190x12
190x12
190x12
190x12
190x12

gym time 94 min
Posing 3 min

Well I started of the workout with ridiculous headache. This has happened the last 3 workouts I don't know why. Maybe its the focus xt and Green Mag causing problems together. I haven't been drinking as much water as I have in the past too. However its time for process of elimination. I will stop taking the focus xt for the next workout and see if there is a change. We'll see what happens. Anyway the headache cause a lot of slowdown at the begining of my workout. My kept stopping because my head was throbbing so much I couldn't concentrate well. I was going to give up on the workout but I pressed on and the workout ended up being decent. I got some weight increases today. So that is cool.

Quads
Squats felt tough today for the reasons I stated earlier, however I still managed to push through it and get a weight increase here. Leg press I am changing to shoulder width for a while to see if I can get my legs to respond again. I want to change to toes in leg extensions but I have to keep as close to the way the program is designed to make an accurate review. I am convinced now that I have more slow twitch fibers in my quads. I look at my legs and the look much different than early part of this month. In my opinion it looks like I haven't even worked my quads in a while. Maybe I will take a comparison pic tommorrow and let you all be the judges.

Chest
Once again just like I explained earlier I was felt really unfocused. I tried to do all the Presses first then the flys but I think I won't do that again. Doing 12 sets of fly/crossover/pec deck is not cool. Poor decision making on my part. I think I will go back to the sequence from the last Chest workout. I do believe that volume is working for my upper body though. Especially my chest/shoulders. Pullovers rocked my socks.

[spirit3530]

[spirit3530]

If there is a hell, it's got to have a lot of paperwork involved. What a pain in the butt, no wonder you were irritated afterwards. Well personally I think that gaining muscle is progress even if it's not in the exact proportions you want. It must be hard to try and get muscle to grow not just in general but in a specific way. Maybe you will be surprised at what happens? 33" waist doesn't seem big to me at all though!

Yeah I know. I will play around with after Nov contest. I still have a few years before I will need to have a 33 inch waist to pack more size on this frame. Ofcourse I want my delts to get wider too if I am going to have a bigger waist. For now I can get away with 31 inches

[billfinkbiner]

Pics look great. The lat spread is pretty impressive.

As for the headaches, I used to get them last August and off and on in the winter. They were from my sinuses. I could breathe fine, but something was off in the pressure. It felt like the back of my head was going to explode and my eyes would get bloodshot. I took 2 asprins about an hour before training and it helped a lot.

[cathryn]

Ok, so...your waist is the last thing I'd notice about you! Your ability to pack on lean mass is amazing, your back is freaking huuuuuge! Lend some over here! :P

Headaches suck...do they have a lot of allergy-causing stuff out there?

[spirit3530]

Pics look great. The lat spread is pretty impressive.

As for the headaches, I used to get them last August and off and on in the winter. They were from my sinuses. I could breathe fine, but something was off in the pressure. It felt like the back of my head was going to explode and my eyes would get bloodshot. I took 2 asprins about an hour before training and it helped a lot.

Thanks Bill. It may be a sinus thing but I wil find out once I get back stateside. I will try the asprin on the next workout.

Ok, so...your waist is the last thing I'd notice about you! Your ability to pack on lean mass is amazing, your back is freaking huuuuuge! Lend some over here! :P

Headaches suck...do they have a lot of allergy-causing stuff out there?

Thanks Cat. Lean bulking is good for my soul I hate being a slave to the scale.

Yes yellow sand alerts. Its really bad on some days. I won't have to deal with it anymore I leave this area in 2 hours to go to seoul. Then a nice stay at the Grand Hyatt and then tommorrow morning a nice business class flight back to LA.