Primed For Growth Updates 5 6

by: Pm - December 24th, 2007

As they do for most everyone, the holidays have made training, eating right, and even proper supplementation difficult the last two weeks. Nonetheless, I made it through the last two weeks of the Primed for Growth program. I was on-the-road for a week and still seem to be battling a sore throat that’s lying-in-wait, so not every workout was all-out or exactly as outlined. But, all in all, I am pleased with the last several workouts …and the P.F.G. program as a whole.

My muscle strength and, especially, muscle endurance are up considerably over the last month. Whereas I was lucky to make it through the first and second 30-rep sets in each of the “primed” workouts at the start, I was able to make it through all (or nearly all) of though them by the time that I entered the final week.

Though I wasn’t able to maintain all of the mass that I initially gained from P.F.G., positive changes in body composition are evident in the way that my clothes fit and compliments that I receive from people who haven’t seen me in awhile. Had I done a better job of consistently keeping my energy and protein consumption higher, I may not have shed 5 lbs in the last two weeks. Running out of my creatine/glutamine/taurine (CGT-10) supplement about two and a half weeks ago certainly didn’t help either. Even though the performance benefits of glutamine are debatable, many strongly believe that it does enhance immunity. (Given that the glutamine is the primary fuel for the enterocytes that line your gastrointestinal tract [i.e., the primary entry site where things enter the bloodstream], it’s certainly very possible). Also, as a vegetarian, who gets very little (if any) naturally occurring creatine from food sources, the supplemental stuff plays a vital role in maximal power output. So, while my muscle endurance did improve in the “primed” workouts as the weeks went on, some of my earlier “growth” workouts were better.

For those of you considering this program, I stand by the following recommendations:

(1) If possible, split your “prime” and “growth” workouts (e.g., do your prime workout in the morning and your growth workout for that same body part several hours later that same day). Not only do I find that the split allows you to train with greater intensity, it also seems to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness.

(2) Keep your calories close to the 21 calories, 1.5 g protein, and 2.5 g carbs that M&F recommends per pound of bodyweight. Whenever I cut back too far on my calories, my workouts suffered, my joints ached, and I started to exhibit classic signs of overtraining.

(3) Bare minimum supplements: a good protein powder and multivitamin. Given the brutality of some of the workouts and the number of training days per week, a post-workout shake like 2:1:1 Recovery, extra BCAAs/EAAs, glutamine, and some zinc (ZMA) are probably a good idea too. I strongly recommend that vegetarian athletes use about 5 grams of creatine and 2-3 grams of beta-alanine daily as well. These supplements are especially beneficial to people who don’t eat meat, poultry, or fish.

(4) Don’t be afraid to mix-up the exercises a little bit – especially during the last two weeks of the program. If you don’t feel anything (or worse, feel joint pain) from a certain exercise, find a suitable substitution. Likewise, I found that changing from barbell to smith machine, dumbbells to pecdeck, and smith machine to Hammer Strength machine for bent over rows, flyes, and shrugs, respectively, kept workout fatigue from setting-in as the workouts went by.

(5) Don’t follow the P.F.G. program for more than four full weeks (I actually went for 5 weeks because of a number of interruptions during weeks 3 &4). This is what M&F recommends, I agree. The program is too grueling to be followed (at least with the proper amount of intensity) for any longer than a month or so.

Well, that’s my Primed for Growth summary. While it’s far from easy, P.F.G. is a very worthwhile program. I encourage anyone with at least several months of prior training experience and the intestinal fortitude to handle at least 24 workouts a month to give it a shot. It humbled me, but I’m glad that I pushed my way through it. You will be too.

Many thanks to Jerry, Bloodgroove, Gizmonel, etc., who have posted notes of encouragement along the way, as well as everyone else who has taken the time to read my blogs & posts.

…till next time.

Happy Heaving,

PM

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