Max-Ot Complete Routine

I'm noy sure that I understand the question, but let me offer some of my interpretation of the Max-OT program description:

1. Max-OT is a permanent program. The basic principles are those that you should always follow.
2. In chapter-1, they present a sample workout. They suggest you follow that for 8-10 weeks.
3. In later chapters, they suggest alternate workouts to use after each 8-10 week cycle, and in Chapter-6, they suggest some split routines.
4. They also have a list of exercises for you to use as substitiutions in the case that you don't have certain equipment, or you are looking to design your own Max-OT routine.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

i think they give a workout just for one month yes?

No, go back and read the program. They specify workouts for up to 26 weeks in lesson 12, as follows:

Week 12 (Pages 186 - 223)
-----------------------------------
The 6 Month Max-OT Road Map
Designing a 6 Month "Plan of Attack" For Maximum Results
6 Months - 2 Months - 1 Months - 1 Week - 1 Day
Grading Individual Workout Performance
Muscle Group - Exercise - Set - Rep
The Road Map In Detail
Weeks 1-4
Weeks 5-8
Weeks 9 - Recuperation
Weeks 10-13
Weeks 14-17
Week 18 - Recuperation
Weeks 19-22
Weeks 23-26

Furthermore, in week-6, they go as far as say the following:

"Max-OT parameters are designed to maximize muscle gains, but you can still benefit from Max-OT and the muscle building power it produces even if you cannot follow it letter by letter."

Whey,

I know i don't have to follow the work-outs to the letter, although Max-Ot instructs that work outs should only be 30-40 mins (1hr or so inc. warm-ups), although due to basketball season arriving again i have training on tuesday and thursday afternoon, so what i have done is chopped and changed a bit:

added traps to monday, calfs to wednesday, chest to friday with legs on tuesday as bball is only for an hour(ps. is legs after bball a good idea?)

This will extend my work-outs to 1hr30-1hr45 inc. warm-ups. Is this too long?

Thanks for any help.

(ps. is legs after bball a good idea?)

I'd try to put legs on a day where they're not used that much beforehand- Even though playing basketball isn't anywhere near the same thing as lifting heavy, your legs will still be somewhat tired from it, and of course you want them to be nice and fresh for the most effective workout possible.
As far as your workouts being too long, have you considered splitting them up into two seperate workouts throughout the same day?

Has anyone here been on this program for more than a short time? I have considered starting but would like some feed back on training and nutrition as presented in the complete pdf. The way nutrition is pressented here has you eating almost 470 grams of protien a day! Seems like overkill to me.

NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER.

I've been on the program for over a year. When it comes to nutrition, I follow my own eating needs- But yes, I do eat a hell of a lot of protein every day. If you want serious gains, you need to eat serious amounts of food, making sure you get plenty of calories from protein and good carbs and fats, etc. etc. That's where most of your gains are going to come from. As for a specific number, that does depend on the individual- Someone who weighs 100 pounds is obviously going to need less protein to grow than someone who weighs 280.

I have the same concern even with the suggested Max-OT split routines. They *are* too long. I have read a lot recently about not wanting work out more than 1 hour as you reach a point of diminishing returns. My cardio has been suffering since I started Max-OT b/c I'm so exhausted in the AM when I usually do cardio. When you do Max-OT every day, it's hard to do cardio every day. Since fat-loss is my primary objective right now, I don't want to give that up, but if I start losing muscle I will. Bottom line is that I share your concern. Two-a-days of Max-OT style lifting is not an option for me either.

ORIGINAL: cpl

I've been on the program for over a year. When it comes to nutrition, I follow my own eating needs- But yes, I do eat a hell of a lot of protein every day. If you want serious gains, you need to eat serious amounts of food, making sure you get plenty of calories from protein and good carbs and fats, etc. etc. That's where most of your gains are going to come from. As for a specific number, that does depend on the individual- Someone who weighs 100 pounds is obviously going to need less protein to grow than someone who weighs 280.

yep and then u have a big muscle on your tummy... 400grams of protein is 800calories, and where is carbos, fats? if u eat a 400 grams of protein a day, than u have about 6000calories, and your tummy will look very big. U need 200calrories more than u burn.. when your workout lasts just an hour rememer that u don't burn lots of calories in that hour time.

Sorry if this has already been asked, but when do you switch from Max-OT workout #1 to workout #2? They present #2 in "week-3" of tha Max-OT program. I am in my 4th week of #1 and wondering if I should have jumped to #2 already, and if I should go ahead and do so next week. So far my strength is increasing more than it ever has in such a short time. I'm lovin' this stuf!!!!! Any help here would be great. Thanks in advance!!!
-Macka

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

actually 400 grams of protein is 1600 calories.
4cal per 1g protein
4cal per 1g carb
9 cal per 1g fat
7cal per 1 g alcohol

And people burn calories differently. Some people have a high metabolism and need much more than 200 extra calories to make gains. each person is different in terms of how they handle the nutrients put into their body. I may be able to use 400 g or protein a day effectivly whereas someone else may not. It's all individual. I was a prime example of eating far more calories than you burn/day. I used to eat about 2,000 calories just after I worked out for one meal, and it worked fine for me. I didn't gain fat and gained 30 pounds of muscle in a little over 3 months. I was one who's metabolism was very high.

Ok, I'm ready for Max-OT workout #2. The first day is leg day, with these exercises:

1. Leg Presses
2. Squats
3. Leg Curls
4. Stiff Leg Dead Lifts

Can anyone suggest a good Max-OT style replacement for Leg Presses, since I don't have a leg press machine?

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

Lunges

ORIGINAL: ftwarrior

but the thing is on chest day youre working your triceps when youre benching and doing some other things, so when you go to work your biceps and triceps a few days later isnt that impeding the healing process for your tris? i havent gotten to the part where he talks about the benefits of working your biceps and triceps together and im sure theres reasons for it but i dont see how if youre supposed to be giving it a week to heal working it twice is going to be helpful. a lot of things like the 2-3 minute rests go against everything ive ever been taught, where everyone says take short breaks and push the muscle, but i like the idea of overload intead of fatigue, it makes sense.

Great observation! This was one of my first questions too. One problem that I have is that I don't like to wait a full 7-days to re-work a muscle. It feels like too long. In Max-OT however, you are FOCUSING on one muscle group per day, but you are WORKING almost every muscle group every day in some way or another, because they are all COMPOUND exercises. Furthermore, I think that the suggested Max-OT workouts spread the FOCUSED muscle groups for example, in Max-OT Workout #2....

1. Leg FOCUS is Monday. Lower back is a big secondary here. Back is not FOCUSED until Wed.
2. Chest is Tuesday's FOCUS. Secondary muscles are shoulders and triceps. Those are FOCUSED together on Thursday.
3. Back FOCUS is Wed. Biceps are the big secondary and those aren't FOCUSED until Friday.

So, I like the idea of FOCUS on a muscle group once per week, but working it a second time each week as a a secondary group. It's a nice split with a nice synergy of mixing the primary focused and secondary muscle groups.

Max-OT feels very different. You don't get a traditional "pump". Honestly, I miss that. I really love that feeling. The day after a Max-OT workout you just ache but not specifically in one spot. It's a different type of soreness the next day.

i really dont like how the thing goes on to be a big advertisement for all their supplements but the lifting aspect of the program sounds great. if someone could answer my question it would be appreciated.

Ignore the supplement ads. IMO, few supplements are worth it. Definately recommend whey protein powder, to supplement what your missong from diet. Also, flax oil to make sure you get enough EFA's and maybe some form of creatine. Eat lots of whole foods and complete protein every 3-4 hours and you won't need any supplements.

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

ORIGINAL: mmcwiz

Lunges

Great suggestion by the way! Those are tough to keep balanced. Lunges, then Squats, then leg-curls and stiff-deadlifts.....KILLER!!!!!

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

Ok.....after reading thru all of Max-OT again, I am confused. I know it's a lot to ask but could someone tell me which workouts I should be using? I will refer to each chapter as a week, b/c that's how they are presented on the MAx-OT website. The workouts are presented as follows:

A - Workout#1 is presented in Week#1 (I did 4 weeks of this)
B - Workout#2 is presented in Week#3 (I started week 5 with this)
C - Another workout is presented in Week#5 (Should I have started week-5 here? It sounds like it)
D - Several split workouts are presented in Week#6 (What do I do after 4 weeks using (C) until week 8?)
E- Jeff Willet's workout is presented in Week#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.

Finally, my question: Is the roadmap routines listed in Week#12 (F) intended to be followed in week 12, or is (F) really meant for Week#1, when you start MAx-OT? They do a really crappy job of presenting these workouts and make it hard to "follow to the T", as they so adamantly demand of you.

HELP!!!!

Thanks in advance!
-MACKA

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

I went back and you said it best in one of your previous posts:

No, go back and read the program. They specify workouts for up to 26 weeks in lesson 12, as follows:

Week 12 (Pages 186 - 223)
-----------------------------------
The 6 Month Max-OT Road Map
Designing a 6 Month "Plan of Attack" For Maximum Results
6 Months - 2 Months - 1 Months - 1 Week - 1 Day
Grading Individual Workout Performance
Muscle Group - Exercise - Set - Rep
The Road Map In Detail
Weeks 1-4
Weeks 5-8
Weeks 9 - Recuperation
Weeks 10-13
Weeks 14-17
Week 18 - Recuperation
Weeks 19-22
Weeks 23-26

Furthermore, in week-6, they go as far as say the following:

"Max-OT parameters are designed to maximize muscle gains, but you can still benefit from Max-OT and the muscle building power it produces even if you cannot follow it letter by letter."

Once you get to Lesson 12 that should tell you which weeks you start with. Then look to the headings as it will tell you which exercises you are doing that particular week.

I hear your confusion but I don't think I understand it completely. Hence this post really isn't all that helpful. Have you printed out the book? It's so much easier to follow it when it is in front of you rather the scrolling around on a computer screen.

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

Ok....I did print it out and that's what confused me. So, what you are saying is what one might think: Workout-1 that is presented in Lesson-12 is what you should do on your very first week of Max-OT?

You see, I started with the routine they presented in Lesson-1, which is NOT the same one. In lesson-12, they say something like, "It's week 12 already....here's your 6-month roadmap", which lead me to think that the 6-month map started after week-12. Also, at the end of LEsson-5, they say...

You have been following Max-OT for 4 solid weeks now. You should be getting the feel of this training method and you should already be reaping some rewards in new strength and new muscle growth. And judging from your letters you're making some serious progress. Congratulations.

Over these past four weeks I have heavily emphasized intensity and overload. ...

The next Max-OT routine coming up will have fewer sets than the previous ones. You'll be training less and getting more out of it. ... You'll start lifting heavier weights and really begin to "zone-in" during your workouts.

Then they present a workout, which is very different from the week-5 workkout presented in Lesson-12 for Week-5.

So, is this correct: Lesson-12 is the Max-OT workout and the stuff in Lessons 1-11 are only examples ????

Thanks much!
-Macka

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

I'm kind of confused by the manual on the other exercises, exactly how would you warm-up and do an exercise such as Dumbbell curls?

Also, you can use other exercies, just in the same rep/set basis, correct?

And thanks for the help

Warm-ups are nothing more then doing a couple of light sets to get the muscle in question ready for the exercise. However, in Max-OT theory, there is no need to warm-up once a particular muscle is already warm. And that just means, if you do dumbbell curls with a warm-up and then move onto cable curls, you would not do warm-up sets for biceps. You'd just hit it hard.

Max-OT should be followed to the letter if possible. I did not do that so I'm guilty. But in theory, the exercises listed were picked for very specific reasons. You would not swap out leg presses for lunges unless it said to do that. The reason they picked the exercises they did was because of the multi-joint movements. So unless you must, don't try and swap exercises around.

What I did was swap exercises around and such. I just held true to the theory of Max-OT. Warm-up sets, and maxing out and such. But I did not follow the exercises to the letter. I just didn't have the right schedule to do so but the theory was something I wanted to try and I did get good results.

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

Ok, I have one last set of questions though, on the workout #1's "tricep/bicep" day the 3 exercises listed equal up to 5 sets, could you get off with only doing 2 warm up sets? I know that would equal 7 sets but would that mess up the OT training? And if so what rep range should they be?

Warm-ups don't count for the sets.

And warm-ups should be in the 8-10 range. Nowhere near failure. Just enough so that when you grab some crazy weight and try and curl it 4-6 times, you don't injury yourself because of a cold muscle.

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

hi, i want to ask u, i have to do 3 sets with 4-6reps yep?
Ok, let's say i do bench press so first set must be to failure? If my first set is to failure(6 reps) second set is just 5 reps and also to failure, and the third set is just 3reps, and 3 reps is not in the 4-6 reps interval. So what max ot says, to do first set to failure, or to earn strenght to the third set?

In my experience, with a 2-3 minute rest between sets, you should not have a problem finding a weight that will allow more than a 2 repetition variation over so few as 3 sets. If your muscles have been warmed up properly, without fatigue then you should not have a problem. Are you actually having this problem or just asking in case it happens to you?

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

with an 110kg barbel first set i do 6reps, second just 4-5 sets, and third i can't lift even 4reps, so if i change a weight to lower than first set i can lift 7 reps, but i have to do just 6 yep? because if i do 7reps, it is not in 4-6 reps interval...

ORIGINAL: lopas
with an 110kg barbel first set i do 6reps, second just 4-5 sets, and third i can't lift even 4reps, so if i change a weight to lower than first set i can lift 7 reps, but i have to do just 6 yep? because if i do 7reps, it is not in 4-6 reps interval...

What exercise is this? Are you waiting 2-3 minutes between the sets? Are you cheating at all on the first 2 sets? IF you're cheating to get the first set of 6, then the weight is too much to begin with. I have never exeperienced this with a rest this long. Try waiting longer between sets maybe?

A success is one who decided to succeed - and worked.
A failure is one who decided to succeed - and wished. (Ward)
There is no tomorrow, Rock!
There is no tomorrow! (Mickey Goldmill)

No! no cheating. And how about u? First set u make 6 reps, second 5 and thid 4 reps yep? And all to failue??

It also takes time with this program.. 2 weeks minimum to even know which weight you can handle at these reps.

I knew pretty well how many reps I could get out with each set. Not perfect but damn close.

What a lot of people don't understand when starting this routine for the first time, is what they really can handle for 4 reps. That's very heavy and it is something that most beginners have no idea. Becuase nobody pushes themselves that hard.

In many cases, don't worry about the weight, the sets and reps until you start to get a good feel.

When I first started, I had no idea what I could squat for 4 reps. Sometimes it was too heavy. Sometimes it was too light.

Only until a few workouts did I have a very good feeling for my personal rep ranges with a particular weight and exercise.

If you haven't done Max-OT for at least 2 weeks, there is pretty much no way you can just print out the manual and hit the right combinations Day 1.

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

Ok i understood everthink, and how u train by max? Let's say how u do bench? All sets to failure, and 1st set 6 reps, 2nd - 5 and the third - 4?

I think you've got the wrong mindset. dont think of it as 1st set -6reps, 2nd set-5 reps, 3rd set 4 reps. use the appropraite wieght that u would use to acheive maximum overload (ie 4- 6 rep range) and push yourself. if u think that you're goin to get 4 on the last set, tell yourself that u will get 6 and then make it happen. i've had times where i only get 4 on my first set, then go on to get 5 or 6 on my last sets. it often depends on if your mind is i the right place, but u have got to make sure that when u go to the gym to work out, your mind is also ready to give 110%. i dont think u should drop the weight to complete your last set. just need to push yourself that much harder