4HB geek-to-freak or Occam's

[born150]

There is a lot of stuff on weight loss. Was wondering if anyone wants to post their workout routines/diets for putting on muscle and weight.

How do you incorporate the Kettlebell swing in this? In the bodybuilding.com video (posted on his blog as well), he mentions doing it 48 hours after a pulling workout routine, but this isn't mentioned in the book!

This part of the book is confusing, because Tim talks about his own routine where he put on muscle, but doesn't describe how he splits it up or exactly what he does, rather just describes the Occam's protocol. Any idea how he splits his routine up?

Anyways, I am pretty much following Occam's protocol but want to know more about the geek-to-freak section in the book since it lacks the details of what he did.

-Thanks

[pants31]

I was looking for a bit of clarification also on this topic. At 6'5, and stuck at 185 for the past 10 years, I thought geek to freak was the way to go, but also not sure of the workout regiment? I may have not read right or missed something, can it be assumed if I am working out using the supplements and exercises of "Geek to Freak" and following Occam's protocol for all else I am headed in the right direction?

[Blayne]

@born150: Actually, Tim does note KBs in relationship with Occam's Protocol - it is listed as an optional part of both the Machine and Free Weight routines. (It is mentioned after the squat and leg press exercise in the B Workouts).

@pants31: You actually cannot do the G2F workout that Tim describes and the exact OP plan in the book - OP has a very specific list of exercises to follow, and does not include many of the exercises in Tim's example workout. I think the idea here was that Tim followed some of the OP concepts for his successful G2F workout, specifically making sure there were good breaks between workout days and that the span between workouts increases along with size/strength improvements.

At least that is my interpretation. Tim clearly states that he recommends following the specific OP described in the book for most people, so why not start there? If it doesn't work, you can always move to his G2F scheme, and find a workout schedule that suits your needs/physiology best.

[pants31]

@Blayne: thanks for the reply, as you pretty much hit the nail on the head as to what I was thinking. It seems as though the G2F is where I wanna be right now, but the OC concepts would play a directional role as stated.

[Blayne]

@pants31: Good luck with the G2F plan - I'm starting OP myself to see if it will work at all. I've been weight-training for a little over 20 years, but much of that time has been without substantial progress. (I'm 6-1, ~184 right now at about 13-14% BF (guessing), but had gotten myself up to 210 a few years back. Some additional muscle, some fat from weight gain products to facilitate growth.)

I suspect most of my lack of progress at times has been from overtraining, so I'm curious to see if such a limited duration/frequency like OP will make a difference. I figure it cannot hurt...

Let us know if you have success!!

(And consider visiting 4hbtalk.com - much more 4HB activity on those forums)

[cbad]

Simple formula and don't get cought up in all the BULL SHIT! Anyone can add lean mass as long as you follow the "rules"

TRAIN - EAT - REST


1. review your current training/workout schedule - To much, not enough, wrong exercises?

2. review caloric intake- what and when you are consuming. This includes all supplements/vitamins etc

3. review your rest habits


C

[AlexMoen]

I was in an almost identical place as pants31- I'm a shade under 6'6" and my weight fluctuates between 180-195 depending on my work outs and diets that I'm testing (185 being what I'm typically stuck around).

Currently, I just finished 4 weeks of a Geek to Freak like workout. Much of it was derived from Tim's materials.

Twice a week, I do the following exercises at a 5/5 cadence, 3-4 minute break between sets, 1 set per exercise unless otherwise noted, and 10+ seconds of struggling failure:
Standing assisted squat machine (essentially a squat with the guiding bars, so you don't tip)
One legged calf lifts, with my heel dropping below a raised surface. 1 minute rest between each leg.
Reverse leg curl machine
Pec machine with zero rest right into tricep push down machine
Reverse bicep curls, dragging my arms across my body
Pull overs, no rest right into Yate's Bent Row
And finish with either an ab machine, or doing full extension situps with weights over head on a ball.

Aside from this, I occasionally do a few wall pushups or squats to try and direct my incoming calories, but I'm constantly eating, so it's not a habit exactly.

My diet is roughly the same everyday for breakfast and lunch-
12 eggs total
about 200 grams of sausage
240 grams of peanuts
2.5 liters of milk
On most days I'll typically have a second lunch, not too huge, of anything from sushi, to dumplings, to soups, etc.
Dinner is similar to the second lunch, except maybe going to some restaurants instead. I occasionally am not beyond eating double cheeseburgers from McDonald's, ha.
I also cut all alcohol out of my life for this experiment. I don't drink soda, either.

I don't take any protein powders, or currently have access to any creatine, NO Xplode, etc. What I listed is all I take.

My results aren't quite as spectacular, but considering the no drug thing, that I'm a hard-gainer, and that I was already in shape before starting, the fact that I put on roughly 12 pounds so far in a little under 4 weeks isn't bad.

Chalk it all up to 9-12,000 calories a day with 250-300 grams of protein, and twice a week failing with an all-body exercise.

Next week I'll be push my strength for a month to consolidate my mass, then try another round of growth.

I'm tied for my rough peak weight (just over 200), but I got there much more quickly than ever before, and last time it was after a more intense workout regimen done for far longer than 4 weeks.

[Marcie]

Hi there - we've been asked that you direct 4HB questions to 4hbtalk.com. Tim will have news about the "official" forum soon. Thanks!