My approach on Training

[BendtheBar]

Well it's good to have you. Please feel free to speak your mind.

One thing I haven't asked you about it diet. What is your approach to diet?

[BRaWNy]

What exactly do you mean about diet?
About food choices?

Well,
For Protein choices:
Lean sources like chicken breast, lean red meat, eggwhites, lean fishes and protein supps, low fat drained yoghurt to combined with carbs in a protein/carb meal.
Other protein sources like red meat, whole eggs and fatty fish, to combined with fat in protein/fat meals.
Of course, the lean sources can also be used in a protein/fat meal.
My approach is not to eat large amounts of carbs (except veggies) with large amounts of fat in the same meal.
One of the two (carbs or fats) should be low or not at all in the same meal.
So if someone has plenty of rice in a meal, it's ok to add a little bit fat, like 1-2 teaspoons olive oil for example.

Another thing, I do not have fat and veggies just after training, because they slow down the absorption etc.
It's just protein and carbs.
Same thing before training, if the meal is very close to training.
If the meal is about 2-3 hours and more, far from the training, it's ok to have fat and veggies added.
This is more an individual thing, for example I can't train with my stomach full.

For Carb choices (in preference order, this means 1 is my best choice, 2 next better choice etc, for me)
1.Basmati Rice
2.Potatoes, Yams
3.Oats
4.some dark fruits
All the other, like pasta, breads, other fruits, legumes etc, coming next and rare in the plan.
Dextrose/Glucose can also be used, but only in a post workout meal, especially if it's a shake.
If it's about a fat loss diet, all after 4 should be avoided, and when diet gets further it should be only with 1 and 2, and very rarely with 3.
In a fat loss diet, some of the proteins will also avoided when the diet is getting advanced, like the dairy and some of the read meat.
Except of drained yoghurt, I am against other dairy, especially milk, in my opinion it is one of the bad things in nutrition for many reasons.
It's ok to use dairy and milk, if someone is in a bulking phase or as cheat meals, but if someone wants a clean diet, he should avoid dairy and milk especially.

Veggies
1.Everything green
2.other veggies

Fats and oils
1.Fish oils as supplement or from fatty fish
2.Olive oil
3.egg yolks
4.some nuts
5.some other oils
plus any fat contained in the foods it self, for example in read meat, oats etc, it's ok, you can't avoid it and abstract/remove it.
Again, after 4, everything else should be avoided in a fat loss diet, at least in the middle and the end of the diet.

I think I haven't forgot something.

Well, the choose of a diet, or better how to diet for fat-loss is individual.
I mean with which way,
you can choose to diet with low carbs/high fat, or low fat/high carbs, or target carb approach, or carb cycling or any other method, but I recommend to use the food choices above, more from my experience and the fact what works for me.

Anyway, if someone is using a food source, and see that is holding water from it, or become bloated, or can't digest it good, or having made an kind of intolerance to it, he should stay away from it, at least for a period of time.
Everybody is different, and there are differences also individually, for example some times someone can handle a food and getting results, and sometimes (next year or next six months) having problem with this same food, and then again, another time later can handle it again etc.

PS
I don't count calories or worry so much about it, I look to count nutrients more, especially protein and to have protein in every meal.
Carbs and fats can be different each day, it goes sometimes with feeling or what I do.
Protein can change also sometimes, it depends sometimes how much the other things are.
I believe in high protein, at least 2,5 to 3 times the bodyweight (in kilogramms) or 1 to 1,5 times the bodyweight in pounds.
But I think this is also more an individual thing, how to cut down the nutrient amounts/percentages etc.
For example, if someone having insulin sensitivity problems, he should avoid to use much carbs, especially if he is high in bodyfat etc.

[BendtheBar]

Is your post-workout meal larger then the meals?

[BRaWNy]

Sometimes.
Maybe it must be always, but I never thought about it so much.
That what I'm after at post workout, is that the meal should be clean and rich in nutrients.
Sometimes I eat cheat meals too, but not immediately after workout in the first PW meal.

Of course, when I go with low carbs, I try to have the most after workout and in the breakfast.

[BRaWNy]

Basic Muscle and Exercise Groups for B.i.Z.Z. Training Splits

Zig Day Groups
1.The Chest Group
#Header exercise:
Barbell Flat Bench Press

#Accessory / Assistance / Supportive Exercises:
Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
Incline Bench Press (including Dumbbells)
Decline Bench Press (including Dumbbells)
Parallel Bar Dip
Fly variations (Incline, Decline or flat, Dumbbells or Cables)
Power (Speed) Bench Press (DE)
Dead-stop Bench Press (including DE).

2.The Back Group
# Header exercise:
Pull-Up (Widegrip, Closegrip, Reversegrip, V-Grip, with Ropes, Conventional or Convex/Curved)

# Accessory / Assistance / Supportive Exercises:
Pull-Down and Pulley variations
Row variations (including DE)
Back Fly variations
Pullover variations

3.The Delt Shoulder Group
#Header exercise:
The Standing Overhead Barbell Press (Military Press)

#Accessory / Assistance / Supportive Exercises:
Shoulder Press variations (dumbbells and Barbell)
Power Jerk (DE)
Push Press variations (including DE)
Lateral Raise variations

4.The Arms Exercise Group
Tricep Exercises
Bicep Exercises
Some good Tricep exercise choices: Barbell or Dumbbell Extension variations, Rope Pulley Extension variations, Parallel Bar Tricep Dip, closegrip Bench Press, JM Press
Some good Bicep exercise choices: Barbell or Dumbbell Standing Curl, Incline Curl, Preacher Curl, Prone Curl

Zag Day Groups
1.The Glute and Quad Group
#Header exercise:
The Back Squat (Low-Bar or High-Bar position)(Full, Quad Parallel, Ham Parallel or Olympic)

#Accessory / Assistance / Supportive Exercises:
Box Squat (including DE)
Front Squat
Lunge variations

#For Rarely Use
Leg Press
Hack Squat
Leg Extension

2.The Posterior Chain Group
#Header Exercise:
The Dead-Lift (Barbell)(Romanian, Conventional or Sumo and their variations)
With or without Rack, Full, Below knee, From Knee or Above Knee etc.

#A (Low and Medial) - Accessory / Assistance / Supportive Exercises:
Dead-Lift (Light) variations including dumbbells (and including DE), bands and pulley.
GM variations
Hyper variations
Pull-Through
GHR

#B (Upper and Traps mostly, Pull Shoulder Zone) - Accessory / Assistance / Supportive Exercises:
Shrug variations (including DE for Power Shrugs)
Power or Muscle Clean (including DE)
High Pull variations (including DE)
Upright Row variations.
Also can be used: Lateral Raise variations (based on your plan/split)

3.The Calf Exercise Group
Calf Exercises
some good Calf exercise choices: Donkey Raise, Barbell or Dumbbell Calf Raise, Leg Press Calf Press

4.The Abdominal and Core Group
Ab and Core Exercises
Some good choices: Full Range Bench or Swiss-ball Crunch, Reverse Crunch variations, Janda Sit-Up, Ab Pull-Down, Planks etc.

Optional Exercise and Practice Group
1.The Olympic Lifts and Drills Group
Any Lift and Drill (mostly with Zag Days)

Íotes:
Header exercises are recommended to be used in a plan, in one of the 2 "Z" days for each group.
In "big" groups (like back, posterior chain, glutes/quads), someone can have up to 2 exercises per day, according his needs, plan, recovery etc.
And of course in the arm group, it can be one for tris and one for bis

Main Sets

Straight sets
Classic, Wave loading, Contrast load
If failure is used, no more than 2 sets/exercise

Rest Pause sets
Classic, Clusters, 5/4/3/2/1, 4/3/2/1, 3/2/1, and Bulldozer style (*new, added them lately in my recommendations)

Dropsets
Classic, combined with Rest Pause

[tim]

I just seen this post, I have to reread it a few times but thanks for sharing this looks awesome hope I can get a few questions from you.

[BRaWNy]

My Splits and plans lately, to have an idea where I'm standing

Until a few days, I was doing the following plan:

Upper 1
A1.Dead-Stop Bench Press - 4-6 ramped sets of 3 to max set of 3
A2.VS Dead-Stop Pendlay Row - 4-6 ramped sets of 3 to max set of 3
B1.Bench Press - 1 cluster set of 2/2/2/2/2
B2.Pendlay Row - 1 cluster set of 2/2/2/2/2
C1.Military Press - ramped sets of 5 or Cluster set of 3/3/3/3/3
C2.Widegrip Pull Up - ramped sets of 5 or Cluster set of 3/3/3/3/3

Lower 1
A.Dead-Stop Bottom Back Squat - ramped sets of 1 to max set of 1
B.Back Squats - 1 cluster set of 1/1/1/1/1
C.Dead-Stop Power Shrug - Ramped sets of 3
sometimes I used Power Cleans before the Shrugs to activate the CNS more.
D1.Goodmorning Bent - ramping up to 1 cluster set of 3/3/3/3/3
D2.Janda sit-up - ramping up to 1 cluster set of 3/3/3/3/3

Upper 2
A1.Barbell Incline Press - ramped sets of 3 to max set of 3 and then 1 cluster set of 3/3/3/3/3
A2.Closegrip Pull Up - ramped sets of 3 to max set of 3 and then 1 cluster set of 3/3/3/3/3
B1.Dead-Stop Incline Tricep Extension - Cluster or bulldozer set
B2.Incline Dumbbell Curl -- Cluster or bulldozer set

Lower 2
A.Dead-Stop Romanian Deadlift - ramped sets of 3 to max set of 3 and then 1 cluster set of 1/1/1/1/1
sometimes I used Power Snatches before RDL to activate the CNS more in alternate set fashion with ab work.
B.Box Squat (+for activation)- ramped sets of 2 to max set of 2
C.Front Squat - 1 cluster set of 2/2/2/2/2

A1 and A2 etc, means the sets of these exercises made alternated as antagonist pairings

3 times/week (week 1: upper 1-off-lower 1-off-upper 2-off-off, week 2: lower 2-off-upper 1-off-lower 1-off-off etc)

Now I 've moved to this plan:
Upper 1
A1.Dead-Stop Floor Press
A2.Dead-Stop Pendlay Row
B1.Bench Press
B2.Pendlay Row
C1.Lateral raise
C2.Rope Pull Up

Lower 1
A.Dead-Stop Bottom Back Squat
maybe after them, I will add Regular Back Squats too, like the former plan.
B1.Power Shrug
B2.Janda Sit-Up

Upper 2
A1.Dead-Stop Incline Press
A2.Dead-Stop T-Bar Row
B1.Incline Press
B2.T-Bar Row
C1.Incline Tricep Extension
C2.Incline Dumbbell Curl

Lower 2
A.Box Squat
B.Front Squat
C1.Goodmorning Bent
C2.Barbell Sit Up

Upper 3
A1.Behind Neck Press
A2.Widegrip Pull Up
B1.Parallel Bar Tricep Dip
B2.Dumbbell Curl

Lower 3
A.Dead-Stop Romanian Deadlift
maybe I'll have an olympic power drill before them for activation.
B1.A quad dominant exercise
B2.A ham dominant exercise

3 times/week (week 1: upper 1-off-lower 1-off-upper 2-off-off, week 2: lower 2-off-upper 3-off-lower 3-off-off, week 3: upper 1 -off-lower 1-off-upper 2-off-off, etc etc)

I have not figured out exactly what sets and rep shemes I will use with the new plan (maybe I'll come back for this), but it will be pretty much with same parameters like the last one.
So far I've done, in upper 1 and lower 1, I had also wave sets.
I plan to use more straight sets, wave sets, and more rest-pause and bulldozer sets at this paln.

[BendtheBar]

What is the rest like between cluster sets? And how do you determine when it's time to move up in weight? Looks like a very solid training approach!

[glwanabe]

Nice thread Brawny. Lot of info to digest.

[BRaWNy]

Originally Posted by MuscleandBrawn

What is the rest like between cluster sets? And how do you determine when it's time to move up in weight? Looks like a very solid training approach!

Rest is an average of 20 secs between the parts of a cluster set.
Maybe a little longer when its getting tough or the last reps was to failure or close to failure, and maybe a little shorter when all is going easy.
The same goes with rest-pause and bulldozer sets.

When I get all the reps of a cluster set solid and good executed, I move up in weight.
A strange thing lately is, when I use clusters, I always get the reps and always add weight the next workout, about 2-3% and go on.

Somedays when I feel from the start or the earlier sets, that my power is down a little bit, I make this day an back-off day and use a little bit lesser weight and mostly do straight sets only.
It happens for about 2-3 times out of 10 for me for the most training days.