Max-Ot Complete Routine

No.

Once you add in the warm-up sets.

You are looking at 45-60 minutes total gym time. But only 30-45 of intense workouts.

Marc C. David - NGA CPT
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

i have been using this routine for about 5 weeks now, and i am amazed with how much more weight i have been able to put up. i have been lifting for about 3 yrs, and was able to lift alot of weight but this new routine has super-charged my workout. i just wanted to say thanks for putting that routine on the forum.

NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!

keith deaton

You are very welcome. It made a big difference for me as well.

Marc C. David - NGA CPT
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Whats your guys diet like during Max-OT. And say on week 1 you complete the reps you want, do you bump up the weight the next week? When do you guys usually max out?

I learned about this type of workout reading some of Mike Mentzer's articles on HIT. I adapted his hypotheses to my personal goals, age, and fitness ability. Here is what I do:

- 1 to 2 bodyparts per workout
- 6 sets per body part - (3 exercises @ 2 sets each)
- 10 reps on first set (50% of Max)
- 6 to 8 reps on second set (100% maximal)

As others have stated before, I have seen significant strength improvements. The biggest challenge is mental. It important to believe you are capable of moving more weight each and every workout. I have not increased bulk since I have not increased my nutrition intake significantly. I am currently focused on dropping bodyfat to the 10% to 12% range before bulking up again.

Caveat: I take about two weeks off to focus on smaller muscles in the shoulders and back. I found my shoulders take a beating when bench weights increase too fast.

Ok, this might be a stupid question, but I have only been training for a little under a year with weights. I am not a social person at the gym. I put my headphones on and don't pay attention to anyone else unless it is busy and someone wants to use the machine while I'm resting. I guess you could say I "zone out". I don't want to use a spotter, but it seems like all the workouts take advantage of free weights, which (to my best knowledge) should be only used with heavy weights when you have a spotter. I would like to follow this program, but I would be interested to know if anyone has used a spotter or not. Thanks!

Welcome to DB slayerboy!

I don't think it's necessary but it sure helps. If you are going to attempt heavier lifts and keep pushing the weights, it's a very good idea to have a spotter. But you don't need a spotter for everything.

I mainly need a spot for bench presses and squats. The rest I'm fine to attempt on my own. And if you use the Smith type equipment, you can do some heavy weights safely.

So while I don't think it's necessary, I do believe you can obtain better results with a spot as you'll feel safer (assuming the person knows what they are doing). And a partner can motivate you to the next level.

I'd do Max-OT and just give it your all. On exercises where you want to go to absolute failure, like bench, ask for some help.

Marc C. David - NGA CPT
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Personally, I love the Max-OT workout. The most enjoyment I get from it is watching everyone else in the gym during my 3 minute rest periods and seeing the difference between our routines... So far I haven't seen anybody else at my gym who trains with Max-OT which is funny cuz everybody seems to notice me... Especially with my warm up sets. Everyone sorta gets confused when I pop off 1 rep and wait around a couple minutes b4 increasing weight and lifting again...

I was wondering though... can I switch between muscle groups while im resting... For instance, 1 set straight bar curl... then 1 set of tricept cable push downs??? Or do I have to weight 3 minutes b4 any sort of excersise???

What you're referring to is known as supersets- Doing two different exercises one right after the other. It's a nice way to change things up once in a while, but not as part of a normal workout routine. Your body needs that rest badly when you're pushing heavy weights.

There is something I have to say!

It's not what routine you are doing, most everything you do as long as it is not a negative routine, WILL WORK! About 97% of failiure is because of nutrition, stop worrying about the excersize that's easy. Glancing at the statistics for Americans eating right isn't.

But like I said most every routine you do WILL WORK, BUT ONLY IF YOU STICK WITH IT. It's shouldn't ware you down, losing weight shouldn't be abusing your body, eating less of good food, losing energy. Abusing your body won't do anything for anyone. From what I have seen now a days most people forget that dieting is not a thing you do, it's your lifestyl, it's the compsure of what you eat. Getting healthy should be a pleasure and not a chor!

Good point...

...Im not talking about supersetting... supersetting is working the same muscle group in back to back sets... Im wondering if I could work DIFFERENT muscle groups alternately (working one while recupin the other) in order to cut down on my gym time.

The one problem I have with the Max-OT program so far is on the back day, weeks 1-4... I have trouble perfoming the bent over barbell rows, good mornings, and hyper-extensions. I could handle the hyper's if I didnt mess my back on the previous two. Is there any way around this problem??

Of course! Alternating your muscle groups is really good, like arms shoulders one day, chest and back another etc.

If one type of workout doesn't feel right to you, switch it toa workout that will do basically the same thing. Try maybe substituting the Hyperextensions with just a regular back extension on a machine. See http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/WaistWt.html#anchor1945210 for more types that will work the general area.

That reminds me... I want to research the different exercises for the different muscles. See which one would be effective for my goals.

This kind of research is fun because you see a lot of interesting things

I read all the thread and it seems to be good like training program, i will begin to use it soon after i read the PDF for all the info.

Thank Everyone, interesting info and feedback

Be strong !

Working alternate muscle groups back to back with no reps is also supersetting...

I usually do 2 muscle groups at a time, Chest/back, Bi's/Shoulders/, Legs/Tris/. I am really considering trying the max-ot routine. are any of you doing cardio with it as well? Basically I want to lose another 30lbs, alot in my abdomin and then will prolly try to bulk, my goal is to get to a 32-33 waist from the 36 I am now. I used to do cardio 4-5 times a week for 30-45 minutes and weights 3 times a week, in the 2 body parts I just listed, I need to come up with a new routine though, been doing the same sets of exercises for a while now, but then again i have been slacking big time for the past few months, however been able to maintain my weight, so I don't really think my body has adjusted to the routine, so I might keep the same for about 4 weeks then switch it up. I do try to rotate my days though, like wed-chest back, thurs- legs/tris-, fri- bi's/shoulders, wed-legs-tris, thurs-bi's/shoulders, fri- chest/back. that type fo thing. but not always on those days :p


Great sites for researching exercises :
http://www.bsu.edu/webapps/strengthlab/exercise.asp

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

the bsu has a lot of color videos, the exrx is a larger site I beleive though.

Sure, the max OT document has a whole section on cardio. Of course, you can try whatever you like- But they do discourage overdoing the cardio when you're trying to bulk up.

Hi - I'm a newbie to this site and would like some opinions on Max-OT. I am 30 y/o, 170 lbs and I have not worked out in about a year, but would like to begin the Max-OT Program. My Goal is to lose body fat (mostly in the mid-section) and gain mass and strength. Here are my questions:

1)I plan on using whey protein, creatine, and multi-vitamins as supplements. Is it recommended to supplement right away, or should I start the program for a certain amount of time before supplementing

2)How often is cardio recommended in order to lose fat and gain mass. (my goal is to go from a 34 to 32 inch waist).

3)Can this program be done at home w/ free weights? Are their alternate exercises that can be done in place of the machine exercises?

I would appreciate any advice you guys who have used this program can offer.

1)I plan on using whey protein, creatine, and multi-vitamins as supplements. Is it recommended to supplement right away, or should I start the program for a certain amount of time before supplementing

No, not at all. You can should start supplementing right away with protein and multis. You can do the same with creatine as well unless you want to see how much it increases your strength/endurance. Keep in mind when using creatine, you need to drink tonnes of water!!! If you can't manage to drink at least a gallon of water a day plus extra for every caffeinated drink you consume, hold off on it.

2)How often is cardio recommended in order to lose fat and gain mass. (my goal is to go from a 34 to 32 inch waist).

If you've never ran before, start slow. Really slow. Once per week should be your minimum. Anything more than that is a bonus. Keep in mind, cardio is probably the least enjoyed bodybuilding tasks (besides choking down flax oil) so doing too much before your heart, lungs, muscles and mind are ready for it could throw you off it completely. Max-ot reccomends a HIIT or high intensity interval training as it does not put your muscles at risk of catabolism (oposite of anabolism). A program quickly becomeing popular on these forums is Guerilla Cardio. Not for the faint of heart. Start very slowly and work your way up. Even highly trained individuals have trouble with this program.

3)Can this program be done at home w/ free weights? Are their alternate exercises that can be done in place of the machine exercises?

The nice thing is, Max-ot is rather void of machines. Its mainly comprised of compound free weight movements. Because of this, you'll need a spotter for quite a few of the lifts. Max-ot is also a very heavy lifting program, so if you can quickly run out of enough weight to continue. It sounds like you have lifted before, which is very important for this program. When lifting heavy, form goes from important to essential. Don't attemt any heavy movements if you are unfamilliar with the excersises. Im going through this myself with squats, deadlifts and some back movements. In my opinion, its better to do this routine at a gym. But if you can make it work safely and effectively, by all means do it.

Hope this helped

By the way, Mosely kicks ass!

(Something Inspirational)!!!

[image]http://www.supplements101.com/dbbanners/banner2.gif[/image]

The one thing a lot of benches don't have, or don't have an adequate version of, is the lat pulldown station. Max OT has you doing some lat pulldowns, and it's also great for triceps pressdowns and cable crunches. It's a shame that most of the bench- attatched versions of this I've used don't seem too stable, and aren't built to hold a lot of weight.

Since coming here and reading about the MAX-OT routines, I have given it a try and have gotten really good results. Been paying attention to diet, rest and training and in the past months and made a lot of gains in weight and strength.

However, I have sustained an injury on my right arm now, I think its tendonitis and now I am at a lost as to how to continue training heavy without worsening my condition. Tendonitis hurts real bad and besides focusing on training legs and abs, does anyone here have any ideas how to continue so??

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I just started coming here to see what you guys do to help me out.

Take care of the tendonitis before you continue, Redtab. You don't want it to become a bigger problem than it is now.

I just finished 4 weeks of GVT and I am starting Max-OT today. The GVT program seemed to work pretty good but it's boring. All you lift is light weights, you just seem to lift forever. The Max-OT workout looks promising!

I now have the MAX-OT complete routine in book form thanks to my copy center; they even put it in a nice hard bound jacket so I can read at my will, mainly on the train to work.

Its truyly amazing how much one can lift when using the max ot. one of my smaler firends(he is quite little, well about 144lbs) ive seen him bench before, using machines just this monday, he was using 85 for five(not to failure, but close). he never thought he would break the 90 barrier, letalone the tripple digit. well today, he pushed 132.5 for 3 sets of 6, onyl one to failure. , warming up was fun, and i must say,, was quite proud. twas 14, and had never lifted that weght, but got the hang of it. lol he asked me about barbell curls and tricep kicbacks. i asked him how long he was using them and he said a few months. did he grow? nopers. similar story, wrestling season, i was deadligting about 225 for a single, now, 5 months later, i raised 460 for the max ot usaual. ive never felt my lats work s, and its pretty amazing how much compound movements work. out..

i agree thats so similar to mine its very popular

alot of famous body builders do it accept i only have a 90 sec brake

Hey Guys.

It is very intersting to try this MAX-OT thing out...and I´m going to do it soon. But I dont undesrtand how he desings the warm-up and aclimation weigth... They only gives us ONE exemple in the couse text and they dont explain where did those numbers came from.... I saw a postin in this thread before, but it folows the same proportion of the example, so my doubt is : is ti allways the same? for every bodypart? for bigger and smaller muscles?

I have writen to the AST sport team and jeff willet himself througth the site, but they dindn´t care of answering my questions... This put some doubts in my judment... (why wouldn´t they answer if there were a logical response for the matter?...)

So did anyone have this answer before? I would like to try it but this is a crucial point further to I am not going without a adequate information...

Welcome sarado28sp


Have a look at my spreadsheet I made up.
I workout at a home gym. He has all the equipment plus a computer in his gym. So we always follow this spreadsheet and update this one as well.

http://www3.telus.net/SlySi/Workout.xls

Its pretty straight forward.

There are 6 TABS on the bottom.
Chest/Legs/Back/Shoulders/Arms/Max + Warmup

You may have to scroll left and right to see the tabs.

What we do is, we figure out what our max weight is. And we enter our max weight in the following tabs depending on your muscle group.
We enter them into Chest/Legs/Back/Shoulders/Arms

After you have entered them. You can goto the MAX + Warmup tab. This tab will tell you what your warmup and acclimation reps/sets should be.
This tab is broken down to what our Warmup/Acclimation/Max should be.
So for example.

Goto Max + Warmup Tab.
Look at Flat Bench Chest.
I color co-ordinated the warmup and acclimation depending on the name.
For example Simon (Me)
My first warmup 12x set is 33lbs a side.
10x = 33lbs a side
6x = 40lbs a side
3x = 53lbs a side
1x = 60lbs a side

Then I do 3 full sets of my max which is on the number on the left. And try to push higher if I can. I I push higher, I update my max Chest Tab. Not the Max + Warmup tab.

Hope that makes sense.

You are welcome to download it and use it as well.
There are formulas on the spreadsheet.
So I suggest you dont edit the MAX + Warmup.
You can edit all the other tabs.
Whatever you enter in the muscle groups, for example "Chest"
The Max + Warmup will automatically be entered in there.
And will spit out the what you should do for warmup, acllimation, and max set.

If you want to download it. Goto this link. Right click and save as.
http://www3.telus.net/SlySi/


Hope that helps.

Si,