Hypertrophy - Body Beast versus X-train and/or Meso 2

nckfitheart2009

nckfitheart2009

Cathlete
Hi Everyone,

I have all programs mentioned above. So far I have done meso 2 and x-train with great result. Body Beast is on my to do list. I am not disputing the product potential result.

I just would like to have reviews from those of you who have done these three hypertrophy programs. Did you feel you needed such variety? What did you like the most or least....

Hope to hear your thoughts on this.

Kind Regards,
 
Which xtrain program did you do/like? If different ones, which one did you like best? I'm trying to find a rotation that seems to be among the favs. I love xtrain and would like to continue with them plus using some of cathe's others, esp. the new dvds. Any thoughts/feelings as to what you liked?

Kim
 
firemedic said:
Which xtrain program did you do/like? If different ones, which one did you like best? I'm trying to find a rotation that seems to be among the favs. I love xtrain and would like to continue with them plus using some of cathe's others, esp. the new dvds. Any thoughts/feelings as to what you liked?

Kim
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Hi Kim,

I have done Burnset plus cardio on upper body strength optional rotation available on workout manager. I did add cardio of course. I can not remember the cardio frequency though. I did it for 8 weeks and it worked well on my upper body. I also did the 30 days official rotation without strength combined with cardio. Those are my favs:D:D

As to new ones, so far I used Great Glutes adds on for some doubles. i.e I added it as second workout for leg days. Lean leg being a compound, I used it a Met.I have done x10 fully twice and loved it phewie:D. Flextrain, PRS are great. I have not done Rockout and pedal as yet. I just previewed it. I have used PRS#1&2 a lot. I usually do long steady pace once per week only. When it came out I did it more often for the learning process:D:D

Hope this answer your question,

Kind Regards,
 
Yes and thanks so much. My dr gave me the okay to start working out again so I'm just trying to figure out what I want to start with. Esp since I haven't been able to do much for the last 30 days.
 
firemedic said:
Yes and thanks so much. My dr gave me the okay to start working out again so I'm just trying to figure out what I want to start with. Esp since I haven't been able to do much for the last 30 days.
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I would not advise plyo as a starting point;)
Start with medium intensity and gradually build up.
30 minutes steady pace is a good starting point.
 
Hi there,
I have done all three, and I love having the variety. I think STS is my overall favorite, and I'm doing xtrain now and loving that too. With that said, I got some nice results from Body Beast as well, especially in my shoulders and biceps where I was (and still am) looking for more growth. I'm thinking of going into a month of STS meso 2 and following that with Body Beast again. I'd love to have some more muscle growth before the warm weather comes around.
 
aloxx said:
Hi there,
I have done all three, and I love having the variety. I think STS is my overall favorite, and I'm doing xtrain now and loving that too. With that said, I got some nice results from Body Beast as well, especially in my shoulders and biceps where I was (and still am) looking for more growth. I'm thinking of going into a month of STS meso 2 and following that with Body Beast again. I'd love to have some more muscle growth before the warm weather comes around.
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That is what I thought when I bought body beast. I have just finished meso 2 and have 3 weeks left of meso 1. I am doing a pyramid. Same here with regards to muscle growth goal. Thanks for chiming in:):):):)
 
I love Body Beast! Sagi comes off as a stereotypical bodybuilder( a lot of beastie talk and getting huge), but he is an amazing person in everyday life! He is a clinical nutritionist and practices sports medicine. He knows how to build a solid program, and you need to trust that.

Something you should know about the beast...you will be forced to back off cardio. There is one cardio day and it's metabolic. I often sub beast cardio for one of Cathe's metabolic workout (crossfire)
For me, that was a good thing. It taught me that I was giving too much credit to cardio for fat loss.
I had more visible results with Body Beast vs STS. I gained a lot of strength doing STS, and I enjoyed the variety, but looking back, I realized too much cardio worked against me. My body held onto fat.
I was doing cardio on non lifting days(3- 60 minute interval cardio a week) during STS.
The next round of STS, I'm going to add in one yoga/barre and limit my cardio to 10 minute tabatas, and one metabolic workout.
 
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Body Beast vs xtrain..

I agree Fit44 that cardio (too much cardio) inhibits growth. It is valuable during cutting and for general health but when it comes to pure strength gains it is not helpful.On many of the sts workouts your heatrate stays up (especially meso 1 due to shorter rest breaks) but even meso 2 & 3 if you are truly lifting heavy, you are getting a cardiovascular positive effect.
 
tslop49 said:
I agree Fit44 that cardio (too much cardio) inhibits growth. It is valuable during cutting and for general health but when it comes to pure strength gains it is not helpful.On many of the sts workouts your heatrate stays up (especially meso 1 due to shorter rest breaks) but even meso 2 & 3 if you are truly lifting heavy, you are getting a cardiovascular positive effect.
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I could not agree more on sentence highlighted above. For me personally preparing all my equipment and notes well in advance with an accurate one rep max made the one minute rest needed with a heart rate constanly elevated.

With regard to cardio frequency, I can recall doubling each STS disc within a week (for meso 1 and 2) with minimal cardio of 3x15 minutes of Hiit per week and gained better results.
 
fit44 said:
I love Body Beast!

For me, that was a good thing. It taught me that I was giving too much credit to cardio for fat loss.
I had more visible results with Body Beast vs STS. I gained a lot of strength doing STS, and I enjoyed the variety, but looking back, I realized too much cardio worked against me. My body held onto fat.
I was doing cardio on non lifting days(3- 60 minute interval cardio a week) during STS.
.
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Too much credit to cardio for fat loss is very much common. There is still this fear of bulk and women tend to go for excessive cardio and a lot of metabolic.

To fit44, would you mind elaborating a bit more about the visible results gained? Was it more "cuts", definition or tone?:)
 
A few years ago I was lifting very heavy. My workout schedule was three days lifting, one day off, three days lifting one day off. Every body part was worked twice in a seven day period. The days off I did cardio. Not hours of cardio, just a quick session. It was a very hard schedule, but it got me in phenominal shape. It was for a competition, and it definitely was a butt kicker. If it sounds interesting, give it a try. You will get results.

Good luck, with whatever you do!!
 
desertambrosia said:
A few years ago I was lifting very heavy. My workout schedule was three days lifting, one day off, three days lifting one day off. Every body part was worked twice in a seven day period. The days off I did cardio. Not hours of cardio, just a quick session. It was a very hard schedule, but it got me in phenominal shape. It was for a competition, and it definitely was a butt kicker. If it sounds interesting, give it a try. You will get results.

Good luck, with whatever you do!!
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This can feel hardcore---Really butt kicker . Thanks for sharing. Great thoughts:):):) I am going to need a lot of massage, I mean at an hour at least per week:D
 
Now I'm curious about Body Beast and would love to know too, along the Nathalie which do you find the MOST effective in building muscle quickly between the three:
• STS (which phase?)
• XTrain Burn Sets
• Body Beast

I don't have Body Beast so I am VERY curious about it and whether it makes sense to invest in it. I love Burn Sets because I love that fact that it focuses on one muscle at a time and burns it out so to speak. I find this very effective. I loved STS but I didn't find the cycling through 2-3 muscles groups that effective but I was only on Meso 1 I think before I got distracted. Oops!

Also, if somebody knows the three programs well and can tell me the difference between the approaches to muscle building between the three that would be great also. Especially if somebody could give a great description on Body Beasts weight lifting approach that would be awesome!
 
twinkletoes129 said:
Now I'm curious about Body Beast and would love to know too, along the Nathalie which do you find the MOST effective in building muscle quickly between the three:
• STS (which phase?)
• XTrain Burn Sets
• Body Beast

I don't have Body Beast so I am VERY curious about it and whether it makes sense to invest in it. I love Burn Sets because I love that fact that it focuses on one muscle at a time and burns it out so to speak. I find this very effective. I loved STS but I didn't find the cycling through 2-3 muscles groups that effective but I was only on Meso 1 I think before I got distracted. Oops!

Also, if somebody knows the three programs well and can tell me the difference between the approaches to muscle building between the three that would be great also. Especially if somebody could give a great description on Body Beasts weight lifting approach that would be awesome!
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Hello twinkletoes,

How about meso 2 STS? Have you had any joy from it? Did you complete it?

All meso 2 STS, X-train and Body beast are hypertrophy program. The main concept behind the design of those program is the same IMO.

For me personally I added Body Beast because I have a "soft spot" for hypertrophy program i.e building, increasing and gaining muscle:eek::p Because I like venturing and want variety. I gained great overall result with both STS and X-train. I know I will gain more from Body Beast cause I will be executing different moves, the intensity will probably be different, the weight load will may be different, the speed will may be different . In other word my muscles will be hit differently. This could eventually help in gaining more result;);)

New challenge to muscle, the body respond. That is how it work.

Let's hope other cathlete share their thoughts on this:):):)
 
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I just got STS and haven't even done it yet. Now I'm also curious about Body Beast! With all this talk about cardio, I'm wondering if I'm doing too much. Right now I'm doing the XTrain/Crossfire rotation from February 2013. Maybe I need to drop one of the cardio days and put in a total body strength workout instead??
 
catwoman7631 said:
I just got STS and haven't even done it yet. Now I'm also curious about Body Beast! With all this talk about cardio, I'm wondering if I'm doing too much. Right now I'm doing the XTrain/Crossfire rotation from February 2013. Maybe I need to drop one of the cardio days and put in a total body strength workout instead??
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Hi,

STS/Body Beast, you can get a result from any program should it meet the purpose of the goal you are trying to achieve. Take it one step at time. We all do learn from trial and error.

I would advise you choose or set a rotation specific to the goal you really want to achieve. Also I would ensure it does not conflict with What I happily enjoy doing. if it does conflict, well then there is a compromise to come to!

For example: Someone who " happily enjoy" running 4 to 5 days per week with a goal of building lean mass may re-consider the training approach and possibly decrease the frequency of running session per week:cool::cool: This is valid regardless of the body type. Running is simply not the best for building lean mass/Burning fat, specially not visceral fat. The HR monitor can show high calorie expenditure though :D:D;)
There is definitely in this case a conflict between what the individual is "happy" to do as a workout and the set goal.

Send a clear message to your body:):)

Cathe Friedrich - Fitness Goals: Are You Sending Your Muscles Mixed Messages?

Cathe Friedrich - 3 Factors That Impact Your Ability to Build Lean Body Mass

Cathe Friedrich - 4 Ways to Reduce the Muscles Catabolic Effects of Cardiovascular Exercise

All the very best:cool::)
 
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Thanks for the great info! My goal is to build muscle mass, and I truly enjoy lifting weights so you would think I'd be happy to cut out some cardio. My problem is in my thinking...less cardio means less fat burning which leads to weight gain. However, I also know that the more muscle I build, the higher my metabolism will be which leads to more calories burned. Ugh! Maybe I will try less cardio for another month-long rotation and see how it goes.
 
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