The Slingshot Training System

[SdiZZle]

The best way to make it to the top level in bodybuilding is to stay on anabolic year round but, it doesn't sound too me like you fall into that category-

Not quite in that category, no.

Go ahead and begin the 2 week anabolic cruise immediately. Next, begin the 2week anabolic prime during PCT. By then your test production should be stable enough to start blasting.
P.S. Do not reduce calories by much at all during the priming phase or you will lose some muscle!

So I will start the cruise phase on monday, continue for 2 weeks, and go into the anabolic prime phase. I will drop creatine for the prime phase and all high GI carbs and lower my saturated fat intake. But I should keep my caloric intake up for the prime phase? I weight 193 lbs 5' 6" tall. How many calories should I shoot for? I should shoot for about 250 to 300g protein each day right?

Thanks for your help

S

[Ronnie Rowland]

Guru i have a question about this part:
"You will disregard the 2 anabolic meals in this phase-hydro whey should be taken in conjunction with a meal containing healthy fats and protein from food sources not 10-30 minutes prior".Could u explain a bit more what u say a post workout meal and breakfast must be while ur in the anabolic prime?

Garnelek, breakfast and post-workout meals should consist of a well balanced meal during the anabolic prime. It's best to consume more over-all calories during these 2 meals than the remaining meals. It's okay to add hydro whey to any meal during the prime (including post workout and breakfast) but it should not be taken on an empty stomach. The body will perceive this as a slight catabolic state even though no muscle wasting will occur!

[Ronnie Rowland]

Not quite in that category, no.



So I will start the cruise phase on monday, continue for 2 weeks, and go into the anabolic prime phase. I will drop creatine for the prime phase and all high GI carbs and lower my saturated fat intake. But I should keep my caloric intake up for the prime phase? I weight 193 lbs 5' 6" tall. How many calories should I shoot for? I should shoot for about 250 to 300g protein each day right?

Thanks for your help

S

1) If your bodyfat levels are a little on the high side then you can shoot to lose 1-2 lbs per week during the anabolic prime but no more. If bodyfat levels are low, then simply keep calorie intake at maintenace level while lowering hi GI carbs and saturated fats!

2) Yes, keep protein about 250-300g's for your body weight.

[Garnelek]

Garnelek, breakfast and post-workout meals should consist of a well balanced meal during the anabolic prime. It's best to consume more over-all calories during these 2 meals than the remaining meals. It's okay to add hydro whey to any meal during the prime (including post workout and breakfast) but it should not be taken on an empty stomach. The body will perceive this as a slight catabolic state even though no muscle wasting will occur!

Tnx for the help Guru.I ll try STS soon.

[SdiZZle]

Awesome. I really can't say enough, I am really excited to get started. I will maintain a log on STS and track my gains. Thabnks for your help guru, I will be back with questions soon I am sure.

[Tenmoney]

Since this thread is where STS started for me, I thougt it appropriate to post my results from my first cycle of STS here for anyone that wants to read real life results. If you want to see the entire log here's the link:

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=318855

As far as weight goes... I began at 215 lbs around 12% BF. I was able to maintain my BF % throughout. I stepped on the scale at 223 lbs on Fri. I know where the fat goes on my body when I gain it, and I can say that from the way my cloths fit, or I should say the way the don't fit, the weight gain is muscle. i.e. tight in the arms, chest/back, shoulders, ands thighs. My waist hasn't changed. The goal was to gain a solid 8 lbs of muscle, and that's what happened. YIPEE! (sorry , couldn't help it, lol)

As for strength... Holy Crap!! I calculated 1 rep maxs on bodybuilding.com (both before and after) for the sake of coming up with results that are easier to measure. I don't know if it will impress you guys, but I was extremely happy w/ them.

Exercise: Before/ After/ Difference/ % change

Bench Press: 366 lbs/ 387 lbs/ 21 lbs/ 5.5%

Dead Lift: 470 lbs/ 496 lbs/ 26 lbs/ 5%

Stiff Leg Deads: 393 lbs/ 470 lbs/ 77 lbs/ 27%

T Bar Row: 315 lbs/ 447 lbs/ 132 lbs/ 30%

Bentover BB Row: 320 lbs/ 340 lbs/ 20 lbs/ 6%

DB Pull Over: 132 lbs/ 161 lbs/ 29 lbs/ 18%

I couldn't tally the results for legs because my back was a major factor in my squats... which in turn affected the rest of leg day. Please don't think that I simply neglected legs (they are one of my favorite body parts to do). It's just that the poundages were all over the place depending on how fried my back was after warming up squats. I'll be switching to leg press for the next cycle of STS, so my back won't bother me (and in turn the results will be easier to read).

I have never seen across the board improvements like this ever, let alone in 8 weeks. If there was ever any doubt about STS, I hope that this helps put them to rest. If you're looking for something new to jump start your gains, I highly recommend that you try STS (and log it).

Special thanks to Ronnie Rowland for all your help and support. You have been a great coach and friend. The advice/instruction that you have given me has helped me go farther than I ever before.

[Ronnie Rowland]

Happy New Year to everyone here at the Anabolic Review Board!!!

[Ronnie Rowland]

deleted...

[RaidersFan]

If i am taking in around 220 grams of protien how low should i reduce my protein intake during the first three days of the blast?

Also during the blast when you consume the the pre meal to the the actually post work out meal do you take your creatine with protein and glutamine? I was wondering because Ithought you werent suposed to take them together.

[Ronnie Rowland]

If i am taking in around 220 grams of protien how low should i reduce my protein intake during the first three days of the blast?

Also during the blast when you consume the the pre meal to the the actually post work out meal do you take your creatine with protein and glutamine? I was wondering because Ithought you werent suposed to take them together.

1) Take in around 25% of 220 during the 3 day protein cycling.

2) Yes, take creatine/glutamine/protein/fast acting carbs together post workout before big post meal.

Taking them all together gives the best results! Research has shown that postworkout protein doesn't inhibit glycogen synthesis and actually improves protein synthesis. In addition, whey protein is highly insulinogenic-hence it's the perfect time to indulge!

[RaidersFan]

I usually take my creatine with gatorade then have a whey protein shake with glutamine then wait 30 mins then have a meal.

[draftwho2003]

Ok let me see if i got this right.

During the prime phase, you do not warm up, and only do 1 high rep workset per muscle group. Going by the example on page 1 you do 6 sets per day and your done.

During the blast phase, you warm up, and then do 4 high>low rep worksets per body part. Do you increase the weight as you get to workset 4 or do you maintain the same weight throughout?

Cruise phase is essentially the same format as blast but with less sets?

Thanks for the help..

[Ronnie Rowland]

I usually take my creatine with gatorade then have a whey protein shake with glutamine then wait 30 mins then have a meal.

That's good!

[Ronnie Rowland]

Ok let me see if i got this right.

During the prime phase, you do not warm up, and only do 1 high rep workset per muscle group. Going by the example on page 1 you do 6 sets per day and your done.

During the blast phase, you warm up, and then do 4 high>low rep worksets per body part. Do you increase the weight as you get to workset 4 or do you maintain the same weight throughout?

Cruise phase is essentially the same format as blast but with less sets?

Thanks for the help..

1) Druing the prime you still do warm-up sets as needed.

2) Take a look at post 140 for the updated version.

3) Here's a very descriptive version-

Every advanced power-lifter I have worked with soon realizes they must hit their heaviest set on key movements before the neural muscular pathways weaken yet while they have some pump in the muscle. This is important because when a muscle is fresh, ATP (the chemical responsible for energy and contraction) and stored glycogen in the muscle are at their highest. That's when you can really lift some heavy weight loads. Stopping 1 rep shy of good failure on the first work set will keep the CNS strong and will awaken and optimize the firing of neural pathways for the heaviest work set to follow. I call this the "prep set" and it's far more fatiguing than a warm up set. You must never train to good failure during the prep set or it will exhaust the CNS before the heaviest set. One prep set must be done prior to the heaviest set in order to optimize the firing of the neuro-pathways so more weight can be lifted. And you'll need to wait an additional minute or so before going to your heaviest work set (set # 2). My power-lifters are known for doing a prep set and then waiting around 5 minutes or more before doing their heaviest set to increase weight load range and workload capacity. You'll be required to wait around 4 minutes as a bodybuilder before doing your heaviest set on compound movements and 3 minutes for main isolation exercises for body parts such as the arms. Then go back to 3 minutes between sets for the rest of the compound lifts and 2 minutes for isolation movements.



Using more than 3 warm-up sets for any cold body part (for i.e. chest and quads) will hurt your performance. If you need more than 3 warm up sets your doing something wrong (for i.e.; ego lifting). If a muscle group is completely cold, you should always start using 1 high rep warm-up set of 12-15 reps followed by 1 to 2 heavier warm-up sets using only 6 reps. If you fail to warm up properly you won't be able to bring enough blood flow (pump) into the muscles before performing the heaviest set even though you've done a PREP SET and this will increase the risk of getting injured. In addition, a muscle that is not warmed up sufficiently will contract and stretch with less efficiency and this means less muscle fiber stimulation.

On the other hand, if you over exert yourself during the warm up sets by using more than one high rep set or using too much weight, you will become to fatigued to produce the desired training effect during the work sets. Warm ups are designed to bring blood flow into the muscle not break down muscle tissue or exert yourself. Using too much weight during warm-ups sets or pushing too much intensity is a huge mistake being made by many bodybuilders and it's really hurting their ability to increase weight load range and workload capacity. A moderately pumped muscle responds better to heavier workloads and it takes a non-fatiguing high rep set followed by one or two moderate low rep sets to make this happen if the muscle is completely cold. Anytime you do not feel adequately warmed following a high and a low rep warm up set, you'll need to add an additional low rep warm up set using the same amount of weight used in the second set. Adding more weight to the third set can produce too much fatigue and do nothing to further prepare the joints for the heavy workload to come. However, it's okay to add a few more pounds to the 3rd warmup set and drop the reps back to only 4.

One low rep set is usually sufficient for the deltoids because they are to be trained directly after chest. When training bicep after lats, a warm up set is generally not needed before proceeding to the work sets. If you feel the need to use more warm-ups set for the delts or biceps because it's an area that's been injured in the past, you can use a total of 2 low rep sets of 6 repetitions. In these particular cases, you would need to shun high reps during the warm up because of the fatigue already present from training the chest and lats. This rule applies to every body part. Performing countless warm-up sets for a body part that's already filled with blood is counter productive and only wasting valuable gym time.

I have found Slingshot Pyramiding to be the best way to increase both strength and muscular size. Warming up the right way and starting out with a medium rep work set taken 1 rep shy of good failure before performing a heavy low rep set with key movements allows you to take a much bigger jump in weight during a low rep set without becoming injured. When following the 5 day per week Slingshot Training System here's the proper way to train chest. Let's say your getting ready to do 10 work sets during the blasting phase with the decline press (key movement) and incline flyes (secondary movement). First are the warm-up sets. 1st warm up set using the decline bench press 135lbs-12 reps, 2nd warm up set 175lbs-6 reps, 3rd warm up set 185 lbs-4 reps, 1st work set 250 lbs for 8 reps (medium rep "PREP SET" stopping 1 rep shy of good failure and (waiting an additional minute before proceeding to 2nd work set). 2nd work set/heavy low rep-set 350 lbs-4 reps to good failure in order to increase myofibrillar growth, 3rd work set 250 for 8 reps (medium rep set) to good failure, 4th work set for 230 lbs for 8 reps (medium rep set) to good failure. The 5th work set would be 190 lbs 12 reps (high rep set) to good failure in order to completely burnout the strongest regions of the chest and increase sarcoplasmic growth. Next, you would switch over to dumbbell flyes to finish off the entire chest. Work set # 1 would be 40 lbs for a high rep set (12-15) to good failure. Work set # 2 would be 50 lbs a medium rep set (8-10) to good failure. Work set # 3 would be 50 lbs for a medium rep set (8-10) to good failure. Work set # 4 would be 50 lbs for a medium rep set to good failure (8-10) and the 5th and final set would 50 lbs for a low rep set (6-8) to good failure to break down the muscle group in its entirety.

Note: Stronger people will need up to 3 warmup sets but some can get by with only 1 high rep one warm ups for cold bodyparts like the chest. I will add this to the main section!

[Ronnie Rowland]

The 3 day per week Slingshot Training System listed located in this thread is for some beginners!!! I plan to post a 3 day per week split based routine for those beyond that stage in the near future.

[Ronnie Rowland]

I am working over-time at the gym but will do my best to catch up with pm's over the weekend.

Ronnie

[mikesportsguy22]

Would you reccomend this training system for someone who is not going to take AAS?

If so how often should i take creatine, and by a serving of it do you mean 5g?

Sorry it was a lot to read....thanks

[Ronnie Rowland]

Would you reccomend this training system for someone who is not going to take AAS?

If so how often should i take creatine, and by a serving of it do you mean 5g?

Sorry it was a lot to read....thanks

mikesportguy, the training routine to be used by naturals should be no different than the routine used by the chemically enhanced bodybuilder.
Steroids increase actual muscle tissue recovery. However, CNS, joint, and muscle recovery must be treated as the same entity for maximal results to occur. It's rarely about muscle recovery, it's about tendon, joint and CNS recovery! Meaning the joints, tendons and CNS of steroid users cannot withstand more than a natural bodybuilder regardless of how many steroids they take to enhance protein synthesis. Just because someone using steroids will experience faster muscle recovery does not mean they can get by with more volume and make maximal gains. The muscle tissue of natural bodybuilders also recovers at a fast rate but they still need to wait for CNS and joint recovery to take place prior to training again.

Anabolic steroids are known for increasing the rate at which a muscle recovers by accelerating protein synthesis and up-regulating neuro-muscular pathways. This combination makes "steroid users" stronger and bigger at a quicker rate than natural trainers. The extra strength allows those who are on steroids to generate more intensity and push heavier work loads. The additional stress breaks down more muscle tissue, increases joint deterioration, and puts a tremendous strain on the central nervous system.

Creatine- take 3-5 grams in the morning before breakfast and another 3-5 grams post workout.

[Prop Shoulder]

I love your system man, and i think i'm gonna give it a shot after i wrap up pct. I wanna get my diet figured out for this type of training first though. If I were to make up a diet based on my stats for the Prime, Blast, and Cruise would you mind critiqin it for me? I think it may also help out a lot of the other people, being as it would be sample diets for each of the 3 phases to go off of.

[Ronnie Rowland]

I love your system man, and i think i'm gonna give it a shot after i wrap up pct. I wanna get my diet figured out for this type of training first though. If I were to make up a diet based on my stats for the Prime, Blast, and Cruise would you mind critiqin it for me? I think it may also help out a lot of the other people, being as it would be sample diets for each of the 3 phases to go off of.

Sounds like a good idea Prop Shoulder.

I'm very busy at the present but I'll try and find some spare time to critque your diet so others can learn...List your diet for the 3 phases in this thread and I will work on them.

[Prop Shoulder]

Sounds like a good idea Prop Shoulder.

I'm very busy at the present but I'll try and find some spare time to critque your diet so others can learn...List your diet for the 3 phases in this thread and I will work on them.

great thanks. I'm having a hard time keeping the fats and carbs in equal measures. Any ideas?

[Ronnie Rowland]

great thanks. I'm having a hard time keeping the fats and carbs in equal measures. Any ideas?

Consuming 2 carb grams for each fat gram is only a baseline figure. You do not have to be too meticulous but keep it in the ball park. In order to bump up fats and keep carb cals in check you'll need to add macnut oil or virgin olive oil to your meals and possibly even your protein shakes.

Think- high protein, moderate fat and low carb diet to build muscle while dropping some bodyfat!

[Prop Shoulder]

Consuming 2 carb grams for each fat gram is only a baseline figure. You do not have to be too meticulous but keep it in the ball park. In order to bump up fats and keep carb cals in check you'll need to add macnut oil or virgin olive oil to your meals and possibly even your protein shakes.

Think- high protein, moderate fat and low carb diet to build muscle while dropping some bodyfat!

ya i have been resorting to olive oil for this.. thanks

[Prop Shoulder]

well before I type anything up I wanna see what you think of the macros first. For the PRIME i have Cals: 2,653 Fat: 92 Carbs: 204 Pro: 254.

Im around 180-185lbs right now. with 10-12% BF

Does fat need to come up and carbs down?

[Ronnie Rowland]

well before I type anything up I wanna see what you think of the macros first. For the PRIME i have Cals: 2,653 Fat: 92 Carbs: 204 Pro: 254.

Im around 180-185lbs right now. with 10-12% BF

Does fat need to come up and carbs down?

Your fine!

[Ronnie Rowland]

I've had several bodybuilders asking me- "how do I incorporate more of a (powerlifting oriented style) with Slingshot Training"?



Important note: Bodybuilders wanting to follow more of a powerlifting/power-building oriented approach can substitute the 3rd work set on key movements for another low rep set (4-6 reps).

[Ronnie Rowland]

More on low rep training for breaking strength plateaus- http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=333195

[Ronnie Rowland]

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=331356

[Ronnie Rowland]

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=334153

[Ronnie Rowland]

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=331006

[Ronnie Rowland]

Anyone who wants the Slingshot Training System in PDF FILE needs to pm me.

Thank you,

Ronnie

[ThePump]

hey ronnie... i sent you a PM.

[moush]

ok so if im doing the 4 day split (mon, tues, thurs,fri) then I would do one carb up day on Monday and the other one on friday? How low am I keeping cals and carbs the other 5 days? How many grams of carbs should I aim for on the carb up days? I would like to keep the 6 meals a day if thats possible. Heres my diet that I was doing the first week...where should I make changes and what changes should I make depending on if its a carb up day or not?

[Ronnie Rowland]

hey ronnie... i sent you a PM.

Got it!

[Ronnie Rowland]

ok so if im doing the 4 day split (mon, tues, thurs,fri) then I would do one carb up day on Monday and the other one on friday? How low am I keeping cals and carbs the other 5 days? How many grams of carbs should I aim for on the carb up days? I would like to keep the 6 meals a day if thats possible. Heres my diet that I was doing the first week...where should I make changes and what changes should I make depending on if its a carb up day or not?

Keeping carbs/calories in check 5 days per week during the off-season is the best way for all somatotypes to add lean muscle mass without putting on as much bodyfat and getting too smooth. On the other hand, aggressively increasing caloric and carb intake twice a week will actually help prevent the build-up of adipose tissue. The body responds in a positive manner when 2 non-consecutive calorie/carb up days are included each week. It does so by driving up anabolic hormones and increasing thyroid hormone output-hence speeding up the metabolism and increasing lean muscle mass. When carbs are constantly kept in check, your body adapts and the metabolism slows down. Eating less carbs/calories 5 days per week helps keep body fat levels in check while increasing carbs/calories intake twice a week encourages your body to burn more body fat for fuel. Focus on making one calorie/carb up day a clean eating day full of complex carbs and have some junk food like pizza during the second calorie/carb up day (preferably after leg day). A good plan is to have one calorie/carb up day the day after training legs because that’s when you’ll find your self the hungriest. Bumping up the nutrition the day after training back is another good idea since it’s also a very demanding group to train. By using this approach you will kill two birds with one stone! If you begin to gain to much bodyfat during the 6 week mass phase simply take away some carb calories even if it puts you below the 2-1 carb to fat ratio. If your carbs are already low then you will need to reduce fats inorder to have an adequate supply of glycogen to fuel workouts. Set aside a designated cheat day once a week (my preference is Saturday after leg day) where you go wild on the unclean carbs within reason. Carbs should replace fat calories for the most part. Splurge according to your metabolism. Start carbing up twice a week during the 2nd week of the 6 week mass phase and continue throughout. No need in counting calories with unclean carb up/calorie up day. You can have Pizza, Mexican food, etc. Make sure and consume adequate protein. Drink a protein shake with these meals if needed. Low fat products like cereal, oats, baked chips, fat free pancakes and syrup, wheat thins, fruit, fat free ice cream, etc work great. The extra sugar is going to boost your metabolism, make you sharper in regards to your diet the rest of the week and give you something to look forward to-“big-time”. You have to be disciplined but you need a day to look forward to each week where you can ease the cravings for junk food. By night-time your muscles will be absolutely full and vascular from all the extra glycogen stored in the muscles!

[Ronnie Rowland]

Insulin spikes should be kept to only 2 per day on weight training days and at peak times for everyone in order to stay leaner and have steadier energy levels. Insulin spikes should be kept to only 1 per day on non-weight training days. The body requires 2 daily cholesterol, amino acid, insulin and calorie spikes from foods like whole milk, eggs yolks and red meat to increases size-strength to the maximum on the days you weight train. Saturated fat is a natural precursor to testosterone. And foods such as red meat is choke-full of pro-inflammatory fats that increase muscle mass. It should be no surprise that a steak and potato combo will result in serious muscle growth. Additional calories should be consumed throughout the day (depending on your metabolism), especially during the 2 most catabolic periods of the day (breakfast and post workout) in order to minimize fat gains caused by insulin, cholesterol, amino acid, and calorie spikes. On non-training days the second “anabolic meal” can be eaten at any time that’s convenient for you-“my preference is dinner”. If you created very high insulin levels and consumed just as many calories during the 3-4 smaller meals, less would end up in muscle stores to promote recovery and more of those calories would be stored as fat- hence body composition would get worse over time. When you consume more calories and spike insulin, cholesterol, and amino acids during breakfast and after exercise, more calories will be absorbed and go towards muscle recovery and growth as opposed to being stored as fat. This means body composition will improve over time! And the body's metabolism revs up more efficiently after a somewhat "dirty meal” than after a “clean meal” when eaten during catabolic periods. That said, the bulk of your dietary fat and carb intake should still come in the form of healthy fats like raw nuts/oils and carbs ranging on the lower end of the glycemic index scale such as steel cut oats. **Total calories determined how much weight you will lose or gain, but macronutrient ratios determines how much muscle you will lose or gain while making those calorie adjustments. * *

[F4iGuy]

Thanks for all this information. I've been lifting for several years and hit a rut, this program has taken me out of that rut. I'm still amazed by the increase in chest, I didn't think this would happen when I looked at the volume for chest but man, I finished one training cycle and max went from 365 to 385. Not bad considering I've been trainining for 9 years.

I have a question about cardio (I never do it). I plan to do cardio after lifting. I will not be doing cardio durring the blast phase. I'm currently 5'6" 177 lbs. 9% b.f. (I maintain this with no cardio) I'd like to maintain 7%-8% b.f. Would 30 minutes durring the prime (4 days per week) and 20 minutes durring the cruise (4 days per week) be sufficient? I guess what I'm asking is whats the least amount of cardio I can get away with (providing no change in diet) and drop 1-2% b.f.?

[moush]

I dont know why but I seem to be having trouble increasing my incline presses and my shoulder presses with the 4 day split. I have actually dropped in reps each week (check out my STS thread). I dont know what I can do or change to improve this??

[F4iGuy]

I'm no 'Guru' but this is my advice. I looked at your log and I have a few ideas. I don't do as many warm up sets. I would try cutting out one warm up set per muscle. I only do two high rep (12-15) warm up sets. Also, I only go all out on two sets (by all out I mean using a spot to force out the last rep) the heaviest low rep set, and the final high rep set. For all the other sets I stop short of failure. Give that a try.

[Ronnie Rowland]

I dont know why but I seem to be having trouble increasing my incline presses and my shoulder presses with the 4 day split. I have actually dropped in reps each week (check out my STS thread). I dont know what I can do or change to improve this??

If it continues you can go to a chest, shoulders,tricep split and work legs/back/biceps together.

For now I would simply replace incline presses for slight incline flyes on a 10 degree bench! You could be over-training the front delts with those standard 30 degree incline benches! And you are going to get weaker upfront training everything twice a week. Give it anohter 6 weeks and watch your strength go up!