"Cliff Notes" for Slingshot Training!!!

[Ronnie Rowland]

I'm getting tons of e-mails about Slingshot Training. I wrote out some cliff notes this morning and they are located on the first page of the Slingshot Training thread. I will continue to scale down things for easier understanding. Here's some cliff notes-

Slingshot Training Overview and Cliff Notes:

BLAST: You'll want you to put all your focus on one long training phase called a "blast". During this blasting cycle you will perform 2 mini-cycles. I refer to them as a reload and a deload. A reload is high volume training cycle and a deload is low volume training cycle. A good plan is to reload for 2 weeks then follow up with a 1 week deload. For example you can do 12 sets once a week for your chest for 2 weeks. Next, after doing high volume (12 sets) for 2 weeks, you will deload for 1 week. A deload consist of performing about half as many sets while using the same intensity, weight loads and rep-ranges. During this 1 week deload you would do only 6 sets once per week.

The entire blast will consist of training each body part once a week for 3 months straight! After 3 months you have the option of changing over to training your chest twice a week for a period of time in order to break a training plateau and deter staleness/mental boredom. The period of time you chose to train your body parts twice a week should be 8-12 weeks in order to allow full-adaptation to occur. After you finish this blast by training each muscle twice a week, you revert back to what you were doing in the beginning (train each muscle group only once a week for 3 months straight). THE CYCLE CONTINUES ON AND ON!

Note: Some people prefer twice a week muscle training over once a week muscle training. If you fall into this category then you'll need to train each muscle twice a week for 3 months straight and then after the blast is completed, start a new blasting phase where each muscle is trained only once a week for 8-12 weeks.


PRIME: Eventually you will get burned out from all the blasting and need a break from all the heavy lifting. When this occurs it will be time to do a prime. A prime is simply an active-lay off. During this 1-2 week cycle you train with low intensity, low volume training and high reps. Its all depends on the individual how oftern a prime is needed. I like to do a 2 week prime about every 6 months or so.



Slingshot Diet:


RELOAD: During a reload you will need to increase carbs and protein while reducing fats. Carbs spare protein sources better than fats during a high volume trainin phase. Also, more protein is needed dueing a relaod (high volume training phase). Do not exceed 1-5 to 2 grams per pound of body weight!

DELOAD: During a deload less carbs are needed because your intense work sets will decrease. Protein intake will need to be reduced by .5 to 1 grams per pound of body weight. I generally take in 1.5 to 2 grams per lb of body weight during a reload and only 1-1.5 grams during a deload. Cycling your protein intake will make your body more anabolic ! During a deload you will need to keep calories the same. Use mostly healthy dietary fats like olive oil and ***** 3's from various nuts and smart balance peanut butter to replace the protein and carb calories that have been removed.

[B]PRIME:[/B] If you are over-trained you should begin each training cycle by using strategic de-conditioning (priming phase) over a 1-2 week time span in order to down-regulate anabolic hormones and receptor sites for androgens if needed. Total work sets and weight loads are reduced during the prime to make the muscle more responsive to the stimulus of weight training. You drop protein intake in half, replace those calories with carbohydrates, and decrease calories and/or increase aerobic training to lose body fat if needed to increase insulin sensitivity. This will put your body in a controlled catabolic state which sets up an environment for muscle growth during the following blast!

Important Note: The prime can be skipped altogether when trying to gain mass if you are fully recoverying and/or are utilizing an extended anabolic cycle!


BLAST:[/B] Protein consumption increases to normal (high protein), carbohydrate calories are decreased somewhat, overall calories can be increased, and mini cycles called reloading and deloading are utilized. Reloading involves using twice as many work sets for a 1 to 4 week (depending on how you respond) to fully stimulate type-2 fibers-hence increase muscle mass. For instance, if you performed 6 intense work sets for chest during the deload you will need to use around 12 sets during the reload. Deloading involves decreasing total work sets as needed to allow for catch up growth that was stimulated during the reload, making continued strength improvements, and to prevent over-use/over-training. A deload should not exceed 1-2 weeks in duration and must be utlized after reloading for 1 to 4 weeks. During the deload you reduce the amount of work sets by about half. For instance, if you have been doing 12 sets for chest during a reload you will need to perform only 6 sets during the deload. Then you repeat this protocol over and over until the blast is complete. The deload has nothing to do with the amount of weight used, just with the number of sets. Which means that you can bump up the weight if capable of doing so as long as the number of work sets are reduced! After completition of the blast it's time to revert back to 2 weeks of priming before entering another blasting phase.

Exercise selection: Do no exceed 12 intense work sets for each major body part or 4 exercises per body part. Concentrate on performing 6-12 reps per set. I you take multiple exercises to their utmost strength plateau with volume training (reload). When you plateau within this 1 to 4 week trainin phase, you switch over to lower volume training (deload) to gain even more strength/size. If have not plateaued in strength by the 4th week of reloading you will still need to deload for a week to prevent over-training and allow for catch up growth that was stimulated during the reload. When you gain some additional strength and/or decide your battery has been fully recharged during a 1-2 week deload, you revert back to reloading to enhance muscle size. You can stay with the same exercises until you experience over use or plateau on them. A 1-4 week reload is a brief higher volume training cycle. A 1-2 week deload is a a brief lower volume training cycle.


During a blast, you gain maximal strength during a deload, then take these strength gains and break down more muscle tissue during a reload by performing more work sets. This type of repetitive progress is the secret so many are in search of yet few have found! Pro-bodybuilder’s would not be the size they are today if they lifted the same weights they started out with or used the same low volume programs they used as a beginner to get stronger! I am often asked, "is it really neccesarily to do both a deload and a reload during a blast"? My answer is this- There are a lot of people who think they are making progressive strength gains but in reality they are stuck in a training rut using the same weight loads over and over again. They will keep returning to train hard but continue using the same weights they used last month when their genetic potential in strength is far from being reached. They get a massive pump but they do not get any stronger! On the other hand, there are people who think they are making progressive gains in muscle size because they are getting stronger but in reality their ability to max out muscle size for their genetic potential is not being reached because they are always performing low volume. They use the same low volume approach over and over again while neglecting to go for a serious pump. They will keep returning to the gym pushing heavy weight loads for only a set or two while making minimal gains in muscle size. In final, it takes both high volume and low volume to max out your genetic potential!!! [/COLOR]

[collar]

thanks mate.

[VASCULAR VINCE]

it's working wonders for me.. luv the slingshot!!!

[eatrainrest]

seems like an excellent training system overall, will definately add it awesome advice to a trainer!

[eatrainrest]

"If have not plateaued in strength by the 4th week of reloading you will still need to deload for a week to prevent over-training and allow for catch up growth that was stimulated during the reload"

i know this is a preventative statement, but if your seeing great gains by the 4th week, shouldnt you extend it until it plateus, wouldnt this be more ideal before jumping into the deload phase when you are still seeing results? because in the event of overtraining, your strength gains will diminsih, and you will not get stronger so isnt progress a better method than a week number to jump into the deloading phase?

[Ronnie Rowland]

"If have not plateaued in strength by the 4th week of reloading you will still need to deload for a week to prevent over-training and allow for catch up growth that was stimulated during the reload"

i know this is a preventative statement, but if your seeing great gains by the 4th week, shouldnt you extend it until it plateus, wouldnt this be more ideal before jumping into the deload phase when you are still seeing results? because in the event of overtraining, your strength gains will diminsih, and you will not get stronger so isnt progress a better method than a week number to jump into the deloading phase?

You bring up a very good point!

Throughout the years, myself and other bodybuilders/power-lifters have experimented with reloading for longer than 4 week intervals. On paper the idea sounds promising but in reality it causes progressive gains to stop sooner that what can be accomplished with proper periodization.

Slingshot Training is not just another training routine. I have been fortunate enough with my profession to be able to perform many trial runs with people coming from various genetic backgrounds and who where at diffferent training levels (beginners, intermediate advanced and very advanced)!

Weightlifting is about creating continual adaptation. Gains in muscle mass are not made in a linear fashion. My studies have found that after reloading for 4 weeks max, the body's ACTION/REACTION FACTORS catch on to the same training stimulus even if some gains are still being made. What occurs next is that all gains will come to a sceeching halt much sooner! Why? Beause a deload provides the body with a different training stimulus while allowing Central Nervous System recovery-hence muscle gains are also made during a deload. It's not just during a reload that muscle gains are made! Alternating back and forth between a reload and deload will certainly extend your growth period by keeping the body off balance. The old sayings that sometimes "less is more" or "a lot of things work but nothing works forever" is correct.


The culprit with deloading is when someone absuses it as an excuse to become lazy or look for an easy way out. Think about this-Mike Mentzer was always big due to his genetics. For years he had utilized a constant reload to obtain pro-level status. One day he decided to reduce his training volume by way of a deload. What happened next? Mike experienced a huge growth spurt that made him believe low volume training was the holy grail of bodybuilding. However, this was not the case at all. He simply provided his with body with a new training stimulus while simultaneously allowing the body full-recuperation. Mike should have returned to his old higher volume training method of reloading and then changed things up with proper deloads. Instead he went from one extreme to the others and this kind of thinking has brought forth much confusion in the bodybuilding community that should not be. Dorian Yates when through the same exact thing!

I believe in taking the path of least resistance in all that I do bodybuilding wise. Paralysis by Overanalysis is a common thing with today's bodybuilder's and Slingshot Training is helping people break away from the viscious cycle of obsessive compulsive high-volume training and obsessive compulise low-volume training!

[eatrainrest]

You bring up a very good point!

Throughout the years, myself and other bodybuilders/power-lifters have experimented with reloading for longer than 4 week intervals. On paper the idea sounds promising but in reality it causes progressive gains to stop sooner that what can be accomplished with proper periodization.

Slingshot Training is not just another training routine. I have been fortunate enough with my profession to be able to perform many trial runs with people coming from various genetic backgrounds and who where at diffferent training levels (beginners, intermediate advanced and very advanced)!

Weightlifting is about creating continual adaptation. Gains in muscle mass are not made in a linear fashion. My studies have found that after reloading for 4 weeks max, the body's ACTION/REACTION FACTORS catch on to the same training stimulus even if some gains are still being made. What occurs next is that all gains will come to a sceeching halt much sooner! Why? Beause a deload provides the body with a different training stimulus while allowing Central Nervous System recovery-hence muscle gains are also made during a deload. It's not just during a reload that muscle gains are made! Alternating back and forth between a reload and deload will certainly extend your growth period by keeping the body off balance. The old sayings that sometimes "less is more" or "a lot of things work but nothing works forever" is correct.


The culprit with deloading is when someone absuses it as an excuse to become lazy or look for an easy way out. Think about this-Mike Mentzer was always big due to his genetics. For years he had utilized a constant reload to obtain pro-level status. One day he decided to reduce his training volume by way of a deload. What happened next? Mike experienced a huge growth spurt that made him believe low volume training was the holy grail of bodybuilding. However, this was not the case at all. He simply provided his with body with a new training stimulus while simultaneously allowing the body full-recuperation. Mike should have returned to his old higher volume training method of reloading and then changed things up with proper deloads. Instead he went from one extreme to the others and this kind of thinking has brought forth much confusion in the bodybuilding community that should not be. Dorian Yates when through the same exact thing!

I believe in taking the path of least resistance in all that I do bodybuilding wise. Paralysis by Overanalysis is a common thing with today's bodybuilder's and Slingshot Training is helping people break away from the viscious cycle of obsessive compulsive high-volume training and obsessive compulise low-volume training!

great answer! definately cleared up confusion that i had, i can tell you first hand that i was doing a 4 day split constantly at 12 sets larger, and 8-10 smalle rmuscle groups FOR YEARS working in the 6-12 reps. i literally cut the sets in half with chest-6-8 and back-8-10 biceps-3-5, triceps 4-6.. and whatever else.. in 1 month i saw drastic changes... 30lb on bench! and up on everything else.... working in the 4 max rep range.. although i was very foolish and developed tendonitis in my elbows from doing heavyy skull crushers etc. (learend the hard way), but anyways i went through this routine for almost about a year and results never peaked much. I CAN DEFINATELY SEE THIS BEING A VERY EFFECTIVE LIFESTYLE WORKOUT CHANGE. my example basically is proof and i hope it kicks ass! thanks

[Ronnie Rowland]

great answer! definately cleared up confusion that i had, i can tell you first hand that i was doing a 4 day split constantly at 12 sets larger, and 8-10 smalle rmuscle groups FOR YEARS working in the 6-12 reps. i literally cut the sets in half with chest-6-8 and back-8-10 biceps-3-5, triceps 4-6.. and whatever else.. in 1 month i saw drastic changes... 30lb on bench! and up on everything else.... working in the 4 max rep range.. although i was very foolish and developed tendonitis in my elbows from doing heavyy skull crushers etc. (learend the hard way), but anyways i went through this routine for almost about a year and results never peaked much. I CAN DEFINATELY SEE THIS BEING A VERY EFFECTIVE LIFESTYLE WORKOUT CHANGE. my example basically is proof and i hope it kicks ass! thanks

You got it! That's precisely how Slingshot Training works.

I also have some tendonitus in my right elbow from doing heavy skull crushers in my youth. It's funny how people can lift from various places in the world yet experience similar results.

There's really no right or wrong answer to whether it's best to reload for 1 week or 4 weeks before doing a 1-2 week deload. However, we are all different and the only way to know is to try it out. You just never know how you're gonna respond to things.

[xnotoriousx]

I'm going to give this reload deload thing a shot.

I've read alot of the info on it, this post just now made me have a much better understanding for it.

So you work each part once a week for 3 months doing the 2 weeks full workout, then 1 week half a workout.

Then after that, you basically beat the crap out of your self working each muscle 2x a week for 8-12 weeks and then fall back into the 2 week full workout, 1 week half.

I'm going to try it.

[eatrainrest]

I'm going to give this reload deload thing a shot.

I've read alot of the info on it, this post just now made me have a much better understanding for it.

So you work each part once a week for 3 months doing the 2 weeks full workout, then 1 week half a workout.

Then after that, you basically beat the crap out of your self working each muscle 2x a week for 8-12 weeks and then fall back into the 2 week full workout, 1 week half.


I'm going to try it.

i think he means more like doing chest 2x a week or back for example... just to keep the body from adapting.. i wouldnt look at it like beating the shit out of yourself its not liek duplicate workouts

[VASCULAR VINCE]

I'm going to give this reload deload thing a shot.

I've read alot of the info on it, this post just now made me have a much better understanding for it.

So you work each part once a week for 3 months doing the 2 weeks full workout, then 1 week half a workout.

Then after that, you basically beat the crap out of your self working each muscle 2x a week for 8-12 weeks and then fall back into the 2 week full workout, 1 week half.

I'm going to try it.

xnotoriousx...i have tried max ot.....5x5...german volume...dogcrapp...and many in muscle magazines...imo this slinghshot system is best....gotta give ronnie props for a job well done..

[xnotoriousx]

Oh so during the 8-12 week period you only do 1 body part x2 that week?

I was thinking it was every bodypart 2x each week for the 8-12 week period

[Ronnie Rowland]

Oh so during the 8-12 week period you only do 1 body part x2 that week?

I was thinking it was every bodypart 2x each week for the 8-12 week period

Some people can only train each muscle group once a week indefinetly while Slingshot Training because twice a week muscle training is too hard on their joints!

The ideal situation for most bodybuilders is to train each muscle group only once a week for 3 months straight and then change over to training each muscle twice a week for 8-12 weeks. After the 8-12 week period change back over to 3 more months of once a week muscle group training and repeat protocol. Do a 1-2 week prime only when needed and a week lay-off from the gym counts toward a prime.

Some do best with twice a week muscle training. If you are one of those people train each muscle group twice a week for 3 months straight and then change over to training each muscle once a week for 8-12 weeks. After the 8-12 week period change back over to 3 more months of twice a week muscle group training and repeat protocol. Do a 1-2 week prime only when needed and a week lay-off from the gym counts toward a prime.

[xnotoriousx]

Some people can only train each muscle group once a week indefinetly while Slingshot Training because twice a week muscle training is too hard on their joints!

The ideal situation for most bodybuilders is to train each muscle group only once a week for 3 months straight and then change over to training each muscle twice a week for 8-12 weeks. After the 8-12 week period change back over to 3 more months of once a week muscle group training and repeat protocol. Do a 1-2 week prime only when needed and a week lay-off from the gym counts toward a prime.

Some do best with twice a week muscle training. If you are one of those people train each muscle group twice a week for 3 months straight and then change over to training each muscle once a week for 8-12 weeks. After the 8-12 week period change back over to 3 more months of twice a week muscle group training and repeat protocol. Do a 1-2 week prime only when needed and a week lay-off from the gym counts toward a prime.

I'm on it big man. Got everything lined up for the diet along with the volume schedule.

I have a real good feeling about it also.

As I start here, i'll be reading more and more into the fine tweak you have for this and that.

Odd how you come help people here for free, maybe there are some good people out there.... Thanks man.

[Ronnie Rowland]

I'm on it big man. Got everything lined up for the diet along with the volume schedule.

I have a real good feeling about it also.

As I start here, i'll be reading more and more into the fine tweak you have for this and that.

Odd how you come help people here for free, maybe there are some good people out there.... Thanks man.

I am one of the good guys! Bodybuilding is my passion. I try to separate the material world from the bodybuilding world as much as possible. I would never do something just for the sake of money. I help others for free only because I enjoy doing so. In the gym, I hand out free advise to anyone who ask. In return, I have been rewarded financially. My finacial rewards in the gym (my work place) is only the effect of my actions and never the cause.