Day 1 of MaxOT in the books..my review

[Firehawk]

Hey guys...

So I did max OT this morning. Id like for peopel to critique this, make sure i did it properly. Please have some MAX OT experience or know the program well before giving your opinion, thanks.

Well first, let me just tell you how i felt. See im coming from the body for life workouts, where you get 1 minute rest in between, and you have 2 supersets at the end of each muscle group with no rest in between. And you cover 5 muscle groups in a 45 min workout.

Max OT, i covered 2 muscle groups in about 45 minutes. I didnt get winded much at all, never felt any burn, and did heavy sets to positive failure. I did however feel a prtty good pump after, and i was lifting 40 lbs more than i could lift on my bench during Body for life. Heres what I did:

Chest
Flat Bench
x10 warmup 95 lbs
x6 warmup 115 lbs
x3 warmup 135
x1 acclimation 155

x6 heavy set 175 got for 4
x6 heavy set 175 got for 4
x6 heavy set 175 got for 3 (almost got caught)

Incline Bench Press
x6 heavy set 145 got to 5
x6 heavy set 145 got to 5
x6 heavy set 145 got to 5

flat dumbbell press
x6 heavyset 42lbs got 6 easy
x6 heavy set 52lbs got 6
x6 heavy est 52lbs got 6

Triceps

Skullcrushers
x6 heavy set 65 for 5 easy
x6 heavy set 65 for 5 tough
x6 heavy set 65 for 4

Close Grip Press
x6 heavy set 115 for 6 easy
x6 heavy set 135 for 3 tough
x6 heavy set 125 for 5

I rested 2 mins between all these sets, including warmup sets, just like it says in the MAX OT guide. I actually felt TOO rested. Coming from the BFL workouts, this seemed easy as far as the stress on the heart and getting winded, and sweaty. I didnt sweat much or get winded at all. But the heavy sets were intense. Is this accurate?

Thanks Guys

[jgriffith]

The workout is actually only supposed to last 30-40 minutes, 45 is a little long, the Max OT guide says that workouts should actually be a little closer to 30 minutes than 40, thats when test levels will be highest. I'm actually very interested in trying Max OT, I'm going to try it after my 8 week HST program, I'll be checkin' in on how its goin, looks good!

[Firehawk]

lol Griffith, try max OT before you tell me my workout is too long. LOL. Take a workout given in the manual, add in the warmup sets, and count the 2 minutes rest between every set you do in the workout. The REST alone adds up to almost 40 minutes. Id love to know how the hell they are getting only 30 minutes of workouts.

Im thinkin about cutting some of the times down to 1:30.

[jgriffith]

All i know is i read the stuff too, its not like i've never done 5 reps before. I dont need 2 minutes to do 5 reps again thats for damn sure, maybe you do, i'm not sure why you're gettin' like that, check it again, it says 30-40, closer to 30, one of the rules is the length of the workout. might want to read again, cut down your rest

[Firehawk]

Yeah ive read it a few times and yes it does say 30-40 mins, but that is very tough to do. What i mean is, its not taking me 2 minutes to do 5 reps, its taking 2 mins rest between all the sets. Im just telling you, take one of their examples in the manual, assume 2 mins (LOW END BY THE WAY, they even allow for 3 minutes rest time) between all the sets, and add in 5 warmup sets to their workout example.

5 warmup x 2 = 10 mins rest time
1st group: 9 heavy sets x 2 = 18 mins rest time
2nd group: 6 heavy sets x 2 = 12 mins rest time

See my point dude? 40 mins rest time right there, NOT INCLUDING WEIGHT TIME! And this is gonna be one of my shorter workouts. The leg/Shoulder workout is gonan be ridicoulously long, probably near 1 1/2 hours. Im thinkin i gotta cut out a set in each of the last 2 exercises for chest and try to just go 1 1/2 min rest times. I think i can get awway with the shorter rest because im coming off of 18 weeks of working 5 muscle groups in a 45-60 min span, doing 5-6 sets per, and resting 1 min in between.

[Firehawk]

Jgrif, let me ask you this now...I dont know your past training experience, but mine is ive been doing the high intensity Body for life weightlifting which involves supersets, and only 1 min rest between the other sets, and doing 5 muscle groups in one workout. Now, i got pretty sweaty, still had my breath pretty good thanks to the cardio i do on off days, but now with this MAX OT, i dont really even sweat much. I mean, im focused and intense, but i just dont get that sweaty. Does that sound wrong? I just want to make sure im doing everything that is required, and I think that I am.

[Firehawk]

Also another question, do you think im getting the same metabolic increase from this weight training as opposed to doing the Body For Life method? I felt like i was workin much harder with the BFL style but i was pushin lighter weight, and resting much less. MAX OT requires heavier weight, so im putting forth short but more bursts of energy.

See my main goal is fat loss, so I want to make sure im still going to benefit from this training in that regard.

[jgriffith]

I hear what you're saying. I'm currently doing HST w/ supersets, and I get sweaty from that. I dont think that you need to get sweaty nescessarily to have a good workout. You can get great results lifting heavy,even with your main goals being fat loss, it wont effect that. Youre building more lactic acid with higher reps and less rest which is why you feel the immediate "pump" but according to Max OT, its not about the "pump" its about overload.

I really feel that if your workout is going an hour and a half then you arent doing Max OT. Thats just way to long in my own opinion. I wouldnt do legs and shoulders the same day. Try Shoulders and Traps in the same day as that will cut down on time and do legs on its own as it is a large muscle group. I would also suggest doing Biceps and Triceps on the same day, not triceps w/ chest. I think 12-14 sets total for biceps and triceps would probably be enough going that intense. I would do Chest alone.

Personally I think Legs, Biceps/triceps/abs, shoulders/traps, back, chest/abs would be a good split, should be able to get that into the proper time slot.

[jgriffith]

I dont think the main goal of weight training should be aerobic, cardio vascular. Cardio should be enough for that.

[Firehawk]

You are right, its not about pump, i was just mentioning that I get a good pump from the workouts.

Also, Id love to go with your 5 day split, unfortunately I don thave time for that, and my primary focus is fat loss, so I am doing 3 days HIIT cardio in between my weight training days. Therefore, I cannot afford to break up Legs on a separate day. I did however adjust to back/shoulders and legs/biceps. This has cut my time down to about 45 minutes. Its still really tough to get a workout in under 40 mins without cutting out a set or 2 which im not willling to do quite yet. Maybe i will as I progress and refine my heavy lifting skills more and more.

[Tuna Fish]

Hi Firehawk-

Is the 2-minute rest mandatory during the lighter warmups? I understand the 2-minute rest between the heavier sets, though... that makes sense to me. I've read thru the site a number of times but I don't remember that "rule".... I'm not ruling out the possibility of my missing it, though...

Tuna

[Firehawk]

As he is talking about MAX OT warmups, he mentions 2 mins to rest in the paragraph.

There is a part before the warmup where he talksa bout recovery, and even though he says you should wait 2-3 minutes, he also says that some people are ready to go at 90 seconds. So its probably how you feel. But if you go by the program, using the minimum 2 minute rule, the workouts are AT LEAST 40 minutes long, unless you do 1 muscle group per day. Well I dont have 5 days to weightlift, I need more cardio in there and im not doing cardio near my weight training or even on the same day. Hence my 3 day split.

[jgriffith]

I see what your saying Fire, but I dont understand why then he would stress that the workout last between 30-40 minutes. Maybe thats the question to ask?

[jgriffith]

Another thing, is it better to keep the workout 30-40 minutes before cortisol can be produced and youre within that anabolic window?? or is it better to get more sets in, honestly I dont really know, just some food for thought.

[Firehawk]

Wait until you try a MAX OT workout with 2 muscle groups. You will see how hard it is to get a workout done within 40 minutes.

I dont know about the cortisol thing.