Let's talk - Natural Mr Olympia gives advice

[Tisnom1]

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[Paulos20]

Thanks for the advice.

[IN0Mohammad]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!

[Natural_O]

My pleasure, glad to help out in any way I can!

[Bane11]

Hi John

Just a question on how to do pyramids sets in your routines from your book Natural Bodybuilding. I'm starting the 4 day a week routine doing chest, shoulders, triceps,abs on Mon+Thur and legs, back, biceps on Tues+Fri (or Sat). In the first workout for chest it says

Bench press 4 X 10,8,6,6
Incline press 3 X 8,6,6
Flys 3 X 10,8,6

Now I take it for bench press I start off with a light weight for 10 reps followed by a medium weight for 8 reps then a heavy weight for 6 reps for the last two sets, I hope that is right?

Plus do I take the last set of each exercise to failure or is every set taken to failure or near it?

I'm also doing this routine as a heavy/light schedule. Mon and tues are heavy days (6-10 reps) while thurs and fri are light days (10-15 reps).

Regards

[Natural_O]

Hi John

Just a question on how to do pyramids sets in your routines from your book Natural Bodybuilding. I'm starting the 4 day a week routine doing chest, shoulders, triceps,abs on Mon+Thur and legs, back, biceps on Tues+Fri (or Sat). In the first workout for chest it says

Bench press 4 X 10,8,6,6
Incline press 3 X 8,6,6
Flys 3 X 10,8,6

Now I take it for bench press I start off with a light weight for 10 reps followed by a medium weight for 8 reps then a heavy weight for 6 reps for the last two sets, I hope that is right?

Plus do I take the last set of each exercise to failure or is every set taken to failure or near it?

I'm also doing this routine as a heavy/light schedule. Mon and tues are heavy days (6-10 reps) while thurs and fri are light days (10-15 reps).

Regards

Yes, you are gradually increasing the weights each set. For Bench Press, as an example, you might do one set with 135 for 15 reps then do 225 for 10, 245 for 8 and finish with two sets of 265 for 6. On Incline Press, maybe do 205 for 8 and 225 for two sets of 6. Just an example with the weights but it gives you an idea. The set is taken to positive failure, meaning you would be able to just do 6 reps with the last set but you wouldn't do forced reps or negatives.

[Bane11]

Yes, you are gradually increasing the weights each set. For Bench Press, as an example, you might do one set with 135 for 15 reps then do 225 for 10, 245 for 8 and finish with two sets of 265 for 6. On Incline Press, maybe do 205 for 8 and 225 for two sets of 6. Just an example with the weights but it gives you an idea. The set is taken to positive failure, meaning you would be able to just do 6 reps with the last set but you wouldn't do forced reps or negatives.

Many thanks for that advice. Just one more thing, are you supposed to pyramid up on every exercise or only on the compound exercises?

[Natural_O]

Many thanks for that advice. Just one more thing, are you supposed to pyramid up on every exercise or only on the compound exercises?

Mostly the compound exercises. If I was doing chest, I would pyramid up on the bench press exercise and then move to the incline dumbbell press. I would start moderately heavy (100's)
and then go up to the 110's or 120's for the next two sets. Start moderately heavy and go up a little.

[Natural_O]

May not of juiced but couldve taken other products deemed "not natural" but IMO his physique and wide waist genetics are terrible and would never be able to compete in an unnatural organization if he tried.

Thanks for the advice, Lol

[Edmoe]

i think its hard to be natural in the mr olympia arena. just my opinion.

[Natural_O]

mate, 100% he's not natural

Yes, I am natural

[euro7muscle]

Can you give your input on training frequency/intensity during contest prep when natty, especially towards the latter half of prep?

My last prep I really could not distinguish if it was the dieting/cardio or "true over-training" that was making me feel so miserable. I definitely want to maximize my training and not get to a point where I am doing more harm than good

[Bane11]

John, have you ever incorporated straight sets or reverse pyramids into your training or do you for the most part do pyramid sets?

[Natural_O]

John, have you ever incorporated straight sets or reverse pyramids into your training or do you for the most part do pyramid sets?

I mostly do straight sets, increasing the weight each set until I perform my heaviest sets for about 6 reps. I don't normally go down in weight after pyramiding up because I'm trying to tear down the
muscle fibers and I believe that doing sets of 6-8 reps with as heavy a weight as possible will achieve that goal.

[Natural_O]

Can you give your input on training frequency/intensity during contest prep when natty, especially towards the latter half of prep?

My last prep I really could not distinguish if it was the dieting/cardio or "true over-training" that was making me feel so miserable. I definitely want to maximize my training and not get to a point where I am doing more harm than good

That's a great question. You have to take into account your recuperation when training for a contest. I don't think you need to train super hard and to failure but you still want to train as heavy and/or as intense as possible to keep the muscle while you are losing fat. You also need to factor in how much cardio you are doing and how strict your diet is. Obviously, if you are doing too much cardio (twice a day or HIIT) and also eating a very strict diet (low in carbs or calories), you have to be careful about training too hard, training too many days in a row and also how strict your diet is. If you are going full speed on everything (training, cardio and diet), something has to give. I like to follow a diet that allows me to slowly lose bodyfat (I go for a 1/4" on my waist each week) without too much of an increase on the cardio. I like to diet longer (as long as 16 weeks if necessary) instead of dieting too intensely because that could lead to muscle loss.

[Goofxta]

John have you ever been tested for hyper gonadism?

[percussion8903]

Hmm, what should I do upon finding out I have A positive blood instead of O positive, due to realizing that the ladder is recessive instead of dominant then finding it out in the lab recently?

I changed to doing mi40x for 1.5 years or basically multiple types of lifts with 4 second negatives and 1 second positives on the reps but as of right now I feel the most lost I have been in a while

I saw something about taking more vegetables and severely laying off protein if so

[BBEng]

John, IMO you're an inspiration and I think what you have done is definitely achievable without steroid abuse. I get what you were saying about contest prep drug use, and I respect the fact that you only used them to maintain as apposed to building synthetic strength that is easily lost once off the juice. Quick question, I'm 22 years old and I would like to compete in natural events in the near future. Is this too old to start a bodybuilding career? I hear of many bodybuilders starting at 15, 16 or whatever, and then there's me, starting under a year ago. Granted I have made some noticeable gains through progressive overload and eating like there's no tomorrow (and probably due to newbie gains), I just hope I haven't started too late. Thanks for all the help, rep'd (even though my puny rep doesn't really count lol).

[ironsheik7]

Is there really a contest called "Natural Mr. Olympia" ?

There is also Mr. Natural Universe and Mr. Natural World

[psassano]

John, I have your Natural Bodybuilding book and consider it to be an excellent reference. I've actually had it for quite a few years now and I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have it. Congratulations on having written an excellent piece of bodybuilding literature.

I have a question about something that isn't covered your book. It isn't covered in any bodybuilding books, frankly. How do you know when a muscle has reached its maximum potential? My triceps don't get sore anymore and don't even get me started in on my forearms. I feel like I'm wasting my time working those. Trying to find a way to stimulate some of these muscles, but I think the muscle tissue has grown too dense for me to break down. :P

[johnhansen1]

John have you ever been tested for hyper gonadism?

No, I have not.

[johnhansen1]

John, IMO you're an inspiration and I think what you have done is definitely achievable without steroid abuse. I get what you were saying about contest prep drug use, and I respect the fact that you only used them to maintain as apposed to building synthetic strength that is easily lost once off the juice. Quick question, I'm 22 years old and I would like to compete in natural events in the near future. Is this too old to start a bodybuilding career? I hear of many bodybuilders starting at 15, 16 or whatever, and then there's me, starting under a year ago. Granted I have made some noticeable gains through progressive overload and eating like there's no tomorrow (and probably due to newbie gains), I just hope I haven't started too late. Thanks for all the help, rep'd (even though my puny rep doesn't really count lol).

No, I don't think 22 is too old at all. I just did an interview with Chris Dickerson recently and he also started training after college, in his early 20's. He actually thinks it was an advantage because his body was more mature and he gained size faster. I know when I was a kid and I started lifting at 13-14 years old, it took quite a few years before I started getting bigger. I was much bigger at 20-21 years old than I was when I was a teen. Most of us have very fast metabolisms when we are younger which makes it harder to gain muscle mass. I think most bodybuilders (natural and not natural) reach their peak in their 30's and still look really good in their 40's so you have a lot of time left. Good luck to you!

[johnhansen1]

John, I have your Natural Bodybuilding book and consider it to be an excellent reference. I've actually had it for quite a few years now and I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have it. Congratulations on having written an excellent piece of bodybuilding literature.

I have a question about something that isn't covered your book. It isn't covered in any bodybuilding books, frankly. How do you know when a muscle has reached its maximum potential? My triceps don't get sore anymore and don't even get me started in on my forearms. I feel like I'm wasting my time working those. Trying to find a way to stimulate some of these muscles, but I think the muscle tissue has grown too dense for me to break down. :P

A muscle will grow when it is stressed enough. Of course, it gets harder to build muscle as you get older but it's still possible to grow muscle in any one muscle group at any time if you are stressing the muscle with enough resistance or intensity. I'm 54 years old now and I have been training 40 years. This year, I have really been focusing on building mass in my triceps. I have been training them twice a week (one heavy, one light workout) and using exercises where I can really feel the muscle working and doing movements that work for me. I am seeing more growth in my triceps now because I am really focusing on them. I think this would be the same for any muscle group that I want to focus on so I don't think a muscle gets too dense and that prevents it from growing.

[M2PK]

John Hansen says hes a natural competitor and has won the natural mr. olympia and universe. Do you think he is natural? He is a very big guy, probaly the biggest claimed natural. I know Ronnie and Jay and those guys claim natural but this guy actually has competed in national natural events. I know the human body is capable of great things but getting this big naturaly is hard top concieve. Whats your thoughts?

I know people as big as him who are not professional bodybuilders, he is big but not to the point to raise a flag.
and by the way, the biggest claimed natural bodybuilders are Kali Muscle and Simeon Panda (and I don't beleive any of them)

[craxkpathan]

John i no way meant disrespect by the thread i made. It was more of a compliemnt and im glad that you took it that way. Your just an amazing specimen among bodybuilders that chose a different path. With my comment about jay and ronnie claimng to ne natural i shouldnt have mentioned them speficailly i just meant IFBB pros in general that claim they are natural.

[Natural_O]

John, IMO you're an inspiration and I think what you have done is definitely achievable without steroid abuse. I get what you were saying about contest prep drug use, and I respect the fact that you only used them to maintain as apposed to building synthetic strength that is easily lost once off the juice. Quick question, I'm 22 years old and I would like to compete in natural events in the near future. Is this too old to start a bodybuilding career? I hear of many bodybuilders starting at 15, 16 or whatever, and then there's me, starting under a year ago. Granted I have made some noticeable gains through progressive overload and eating like there's no tomorrow (and probably due to newbie gains), I just hope I haven't started too late. Thanks for all the help, rep'd (even though my puny rep doesn't really count lol).

No, I don't think it's too late at all. A lot of bodybuilders start young like 14 or 15. I did that myself. However, your early 20's is still very young and, best of all, your hormone levels (testosterone and growth hormone) should be very high naturally so you can make some awesome gains at this age. When I was a teen, my metabolism was so fast, it was hard for me to gain weight or put on any muscle. When I got to my early 20's, those were the best years for bulking up and putting on size. So, to answer your question, it's definitely not too late.

[Natural_O]

John, I have your Natural Bodybuilding book and consider it to be an excellent reference. I've actually had it for quite a few years now and I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have it. Congratulations on having written an excellent piece of bodybuilding literature.

I have a question about something that isn't covered your book. It isn't covered in any bodybuilding books, frankly. How do you know when a muscle has reached its maximum potential? My triceps don't get sore anymore and don't even get me started in on my forearms. I feel like I'm wasting my time working those. Trying to find a way to stimulate some of these muscles, but I think the muscle tissue has grown too dense for me to break down. :P

I don't think the muscles have grown too dense to grow. You just probably need to use different exercises or a different system of sets and reps to stimulate the muscles to grow again. I wouldn't think in terms of a muscle being maxed out. Muscles will grow with stimulation, no matter how long you have been training or how old you are.

[HD301]

Hi John,

I’m a little confused on how to do pyramid sets that you recommend in your book Natural Bodybuilding. What I’m confused about is how much weight to add on each set and exercise. My guess is I add about 20 pounds on each set of a compound movement like bench press, incline press, rows, deadlifts, barbell press etc and add about 5-10 pounds on the smaller movements like curls, extensions, laterals, calf movements etc. Is that a good guide line to go by?

Also, how much effort to put into each set. For example if I do 3 sets of 10-6 reps the first set is 10 reps easyish,add weight then do 8 reps on the second set which is moderate effort, add weight then the third set is the hard set and pretty much to failure or close to it. Is that right?

[Natural_O]

Hi John,

I’m a little confused on how to do pyramid sets that you recommend in your book Natural Bodybuilding. What I’m confused about is how much weight to add on each set and exercise. My guess is I add about 20 pounds on each set of a compound movement like bench press, incline press, rows, deadlifts, barbell press etc and add about 5-10 pounds on the smaller movements like curls, extensions, laterals, calf movements etc. Is that a good guide line to go by?

Also, how much effort to put into each set. For example if I do 3 sets of 10-6 reps the first set is 10 reps easyish,add weight then do 8 reps on the second set which is moderate effort, add weight then the third set is the hard set and pretty much to failure or close to it. Is that right?

I could give you some examples of how I increased the weights in my workouts. When I did deadlifts, I would do my first set with 225 for 10, go up to 315 for 8 and finish with 405 for 6. Same thing with squats, 135x12, 225x10, 315x8, 365x8, 405x6 x 2 sets. On bench press or incline press, it would be 135x12, 225x10, 275x8, 315x6. Barbell rows would be 185x10 (I would do chins first so I was already warmed up), 225x8, 275x8, 315x6. On military press, 135x10, 165x8, 185x6, 205x6. For side laterals, it would be 40x10, 45x8, 50x6 x 2 sets. Lying tricep extensions would be something like 100x10-12, 150x8, 170x6. I hope that helps you out.

For all the sets except the heaviest sets, I would stop at the number of reps I was aiming for. When I got to the heavy sets for 6 reps, I do as many as I could all out and if I got more than 6 reps, I would use a little more weight (maybe 5 pounds more) the next workout.

I have to mention a new book I have out called The MP6 Workout. I have been using this workout system for the last few years and it is really working well. It involves cycle training. I do a 6 week cycle for Power first, using heavy weights for low reps (3-5 reps or maybe 6-8 reps, depending on if the exercise is a compound or isolation exercise). After the 6 weeks is up, I do a light deload week using half my normal weight and then I go into a Mass Cycle for 6 weeks. I use the exact same training routine as I did for the Power Cycle but I use slightly lighter weights for more reps (6-8 reps for compound movements and 9-11 reps for isolation exercises). After I do a Power and Mass Cycle, I switch up the exercises for the next cycles and start with the Power Cycle again. You can get The MP6 Workout book on Amazon.com or message me directly and I can send you a copy. It's really good and I like the idea of doing a set amount of weight for a set amount of reps and gradually increasing the resistance over time instead of training super heavy all the time and trying to always increase the weight or reps. That worked good for me when I was younger and had less injuries and my body produced more natural testosterone. The approach got a lot harder as I got older and had more injuries. Now, I am specifically training for power so I keep my strength up and then I use that added strength to use more weight for the mass building reps.

[phuongdv]

props!!!

i think it is good idea