Xtrain 30-Day Rotation (strength only)

[mini-natty]

I saw this in the w/o manager and now I'm very intrigued . My question is for anyone who has done a 6X/week strength only rotation of any kind, what results did you obtain? Did you add cardio?

Please share your experiences!

Thank you,

Natasha

 

[Stacy]

I'm interested in the response to this too!!

 

[deineira]

Hi Natasha,

I have not personally had any experience with this but it seems like a very common approach for body builders or those who are looking to bulk up. I also follow some bodybuilding stuff, and when they are looking to gain muscle they will eliminate cardio completely, increase calories like crazy, and lift super heavy for 8-12 weeks. During this period they gain quite a bit of weight, muscle *and* fat, because of the extra calories. Then they go into a "cut" phase, where they decrease calories and add cardio, which leans them out. This seems to leave a lot of muscle behind, shed the fat, and voila, you've got more muscle than you had when you started.

Again, this is not something I've done, because lord knows I don't want to gain any weight, even temporarily, but it seems to be relatively common for folks who do a lot of serious weight lifting.

You might check around the bodybuilding.com site to see what you can find there, as those folks are focused on serious strength training.

Eva

 

[julia.thieschafer]

30 Day Strength Finished

Hi all,
I did the 30 day Xtrain Strength rotation from mid-Jan to mid-Feb. I loved it! I tend to prefer weight training to cardio. It pushed me to up my weights and use bands as well. I think my upper body benefited from it more than my legs. I did add some cardio (elliptical machine) and I use my pilates reformer a few times a week as well.

Bottom line, loved it so much I'm on my second round.

 

[nckfitheart2009]

30 days strength cutting out cardio

Hi Natasha,

I have not personally had any experience with this but it seems like a very common approach for body builders or those who are looking to bulk up. I also follow some bodybuilding stuff, and when they are looking to gain muscle they will eliminate cardio completely, increase calories like crazy, and lift super heavy for 8-12 weeks. During this period they gain quite a bit of weight, muscle *and* fat, because of the extra calories. Then they go into a "cut" phase, where they decrease calories and add cardio, which leans them out. This seems to leave a lot of muscle behind, shed the fat, and voila, you've got more muscle than you had when you started.

Again, this is not something I've done, because lord knows I don't want to gain any weight, even temporarily, but it seems to be relatively common for folks who do a lot of serious weight lifting.

You might check around the bodybuilding.com site to see what you can find there, as those folks are focused on serious strength training.

Eva

Thanks Eva for sharing your thoughts on this. I have not experienced such rotation either and I am so glad you have replied to this thread. Based on what you have commented above, I am very skeptical cutting out cardio completely even for a period of time although I have done it in the past. Any addition on the scale is just a no no for me .

To Natasha,

Sorry for hijacking your thread...I have not done this rotation even though I might embark on it in future. Should it happen, I won't cut out cardio completely. 2 per week, no addition to calories and will see how my body respond. Cutting out cardio is just too intriguing . Will definitely report on here!

Thanks for asking this question. It is a good one

 

[mini-natty]

LOL I forgot I made this thread .

I believe that in the spring-summer, I will embark on my own rotation of STS/XT, with a format of working each muscle groups 2X/week. I might limit my cardio to 1X/week, which is OK because I walk upwards of 5+ miles each day in the spring/summer that I am not afraid of gaining weight (most importantly body fat %). All those steps keep me in great shape . I am curious as to how my body will respond to this type of training . I will post my official rotation, and my results in summer .

Take care ladies

 

[nckfitheart2009]

2x each muscle group per week/strength training

Hi Natasha,

I was about to ask you a question and your recent reply has partially answered the question. Are you going to workout 6 days with 2x each muscle group and cardio. I think it is okay and do-able.

I am on STS for the first time and I did Meso 1 and 2 for 2x per week on each muscle group. I mainly did short Hiit prior to sts disc, one high impact long step Imax 2 or 3 plus one low impact long steady state cardio. I was fine and did not feel like I was dying .

Now I am on meso3 and have not been able to consistently do the same frequency of workout and I am running late compared to what I planned Not too happy about that.

I have had very good results ( surprisingly I gained overall definition, good definition in my mid back---was not expecting it, plus my scale has finally budged --- I am extremely happy about that) . I am intending to keep the *same* frequency reversing on pyramid meso 2 and meso 3 for 4 weeks only. After that I should not do any STS program for 6 months at least . The thought of coming off STS is not one we all look forward to , not the happiest one cause as we all know, We just love it .

Well I have XTRAIN to fully utilise and I am sure I will love it two...I love cardios I have tried out so far. I won't be embarking on any of official rotation. I will instead do The feb rotation consisting of XTRAIN , cross fire and To the max.

All the best Natasha. Please keep us posted.

 

[nckfitheart2009]

LOL I forgot I made this thread .

I believe that in the spring-summer, I will embark on my own rotation of STS/XT, with a format of working each muscle groups 2X/week. I might limit my cardio to 1X/week, which is OK because I walk upwards of 5+ miles each day in the spring/summer that I am not afraid of gaining weight (most importantly body fat %). All those steps keep me in great shape . I am curious as to how my body will respond to this type of training . I will post my official rotation, and my results in summer .

Take care ladies

This sounds sensible considering you are not *necessarily* looking to loose weight i.e scale IMO,keep the same eating habit and calories allowance.

All the very best Natasha,

 

[fit44]

I saw this in the w/o manager and now I'm very intrigued . My question is for anyone who has done a 6X/week strength only rotation of any kind, what results did you obtain? Did you add cardio?

Please share your experiences!

Thank you,

Natasha

I was thinking about trying doubling Xtrain like Dirt Diva did STS.
Maybe give it a try for two weeks to shake things up.

Mon- Chest, Back, Shoulders
Tues-Legs
Wed- Biceps/Triceps
Thurs- Burn Chest, Back, Shoulders
Fri- Cardio Leg Blast
Sat- Burn Biceps/Triceps
Sunday- Rest/stretch

 

[mini-natty]

I was thinking about trying doubling Xtrain like Dirt Diva did STS.
Maybe give it a try for two weeks to shake things up.

Mon- Chest, Back, Shoulders
Tues-Legs
Wed- Biceps/Triceps
Thurs- Burn Chest, Back, Shoulders
Fri- Cardio Leg Blast
Sat- Burn Biceps/Triceps
Sunday- Rest/stretch

Ohhh, I like the look of this! Thanks for posting it .
What I love about XT the most is the versatility and flexibility of it. It would be super easy to do a STS/XT rotation. I was also thinking a rotation that went something like this:

Weeks 1-2

D1- STS M1 Chest, Shoulder's & Bi's
D2- STS M1 Legs (any disc)
D3- Rest
D4-XT BS Back & Tri's
D5- STS Plyo Legs (any disc)
D6- STS M1 Chest, Shoulder's & Bi's
D7- XT BS Back & Tri's

Weeks 2-4

D1- STS M2 Chest, Shoulder's & Tri's
D2- XT Legs
D3- Rest
D4- XT BS Back & Bi's
D5- STS M2 Legs (any disc)
D6- STS M2 Chest, Shoulder's & Tri's
D7- XT BS Back & Bi's

I've never done a 6X/week strength only rotation, but I'm willing to give it a try . My only concern is over-training, BUT I am really curious as to how my body will respond to this type of training. I walk so much in the spring/summer, that I am not worried about adding any cardio, really.

Good luck! Please come back and post results when/if you do this

 

[Gibbee]

Ohhh, I like the look of this! Thanks for posting it .
What I love about XT the most is the versatility and flexibility of it. It would be super easy to do a STS/XT rotation. I was also thinking a rotation that went something like this:

Weeks 1-2

D1- STS M1 Chest, Shoulder's & Bi's
D2- STS M1 Legs (any disc)
D3- Rest
D4-XT BS Back & Tri's
D5- STS Plyo Legs (any disc)
D6- STS M1 Chest, Shoulder's & Bi's
D7- XT BS Back & Tri's

Weeks 2-4

D1- STS M2 Chest, Shoulder's & Tri's
D2- XT Legs
D3- Rest
D4- XT BS Back & Bi's
D5- STS M2 Legs (any disc)
D6- STS M2 Chest, Shoulder's & Tri's
D7- XT BS Back & Bi's

I've never done a 6X/week strength only rotation, but I'm willing to give it a try . My only concern is over-training, BUT I am really curious as to how my body will respond to this type of training. I walk so much in the spring/summer, that I am not worried about adding any cardio, really.

Good luck! Please come back and post results when/if you do this

Did anyone try this STS/XTRAIN 2x week weight training rotation ? Thoughts? Results?

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

 

[Debinmi]

Reviving this thread --- I'm curious as to whether anyone has completed the 30-day XT Strength Only rotation or something similar, and what your results were. I see it may appeal to bodybuilders more, but I enjoyed the 90-day undulating XTrain rotation and was curious about this one. I'd probably substitute XT Cardio Leg Blast for the mid-week Leg workout and add a HIIT to the BS-Bi/Tri day to add in cardio at least twice a week.

 

[Kellyro77]

I can't imagine not doing cardio in my fitness routine. It's important for me to give my body balance: strength, cardio, and flexibility... since all have their benefits.

The only thought I have here is that most heavy leg training days may substitute in a way as cardio. I'm pretty sure most of you find your heart rate gets up there when doing heavy and/or intense lower body work. I know mine does. It's pretty unavoidable. And if you're doing a rotation that includes XTrain Cardio Leg Blast, well, you're definitely in for some cardio.

 

[AVeyRa]

Hi Natasha,

I have not personally had any experience with this but it seems like a very common approach for body builders or those who are looking to bulk up. I also follow some bodybuilding stuff, and when they are looking to gain muscle they will eliminate cardio completely, increase calories like crazy, and lift super heavy for 8-12 weeks. During this period they gain quite a bit of weight, muscle *and* fat, because of the extra calories. Then they go into a "cut" phase, where they decrease calories and add cardio, which leans them out. This seems to leave a lot of muscle behind, shed the fat, and voila, you've got more muscle than you had when you started.

Again, this is not something I've done, because lord knows I don't want to gain any weight, even temporarily, but it seems to be relatively common for folks who do a lot of serious weight lifting.

You might check around the bodybuilding.com site to see what you can find there, as those folks are focused on serious strength training.

Eva

Correct: this is the “old school” approach to bodybuilding. It has several caveats, however.

1) This approach is only advisable for athletes at their optimal weight. If you are already overweight or obese, your body will use the energy from your fat stores as the “extra calories” to build more muscle. “Bulking” will only add more fat.

2) There is a newer approach that works better — “maingaining”. Eat a *little* more. (Maybe 200-300 calories more) and train hard. Cardio is encouraged in 30-45 minute sessions, three times a week, but only at a steady-state level (think: fast walking or elliptical). This approach ensures you gain muscle but not fat.

Bulking and cutting is extremely stressful on your body and the cutting gets harder the more often you do it. ”Maingaining” results are a bit slower, but just as effective. And — as the name implies — you are maintaining while gaining = “maingaining”. You can get off the “bulk and cut” Ferris wheel and just live your life. (Source: Greg Doucette, IFBB pro, M.A. In kinesiology; look him up on YouTube, he’s hilarious)

30 Day Strength Finished

Hi all,
I did the 30 day Xtrain Strength rotation from mid-Jan to mid-Feb. I loved it! I tend to prefer weight training to cardio. It pushed me to up my weights and use bands as well. I think my upper body benefited from it more than my legs. I did add some cardio (elliptical machine) and I use my pilates reformer a few times a week as well.

Bottom line, loved it so much I'm on my second round.

I can't imagine not doing cardio in my fitness routine. It's important for me to give my body balance: strength, cardio, and flexibility... since all have their benefits.

The only thought I have here is that most heavy leg training days may substitute in a way as cardio. I'm pretty sure most of you find your heart rate gets up there when doing heavy and/or intense lower body work. I know mine does. It's pretty unavoidable. And if you're doing a rotation that includes XTrain Cardio Leg Blast, well, you're definitely in for some cardio.

I’m doing this rotation in November/December — the height of holiday craziness. I’m really looking forward to it. I love weights and I bulk pretty easily. I don’t enjoy running or loads of high-impact, so YMMV on this approach. I just can’t see doing loads of cardio at Thanksgiving and during Christmas prep while I’m running around like a crazy headless chicken. Weights — even heavy weights— are relaxing for me. I feel amazing when I get a good weight workout in.

I’ll report back on results, pinkie promise. But I have done very weight-centered and low cardio rotations before. My strength and bulk improved greatly and my cardio did not suffer. You are breathing under strain during weight work. Your heart and lungs are definitely still working — or you are not lifting hard enough! (Friendly reminder that women rarely get bulky unless they are abusing PEDs. So don’t be afraid of heavy weights. They are your best insurance policy as you age.)

The rotation after that is Step Lovers — which I’m also excited for! Thanks for this thread.