Q&A with Jose Raymond | The Boston Mass Addresses Your Problems
Q&A with Jose Raymond
The Boston Mass Addresses Your Problems
Hey Jose, I know most people seem to do “pyramid training” but what is that exactly? Does it mean you just keep increasing weights as the sets go on? I read about something called “reverse pyramid training” where you start as heavy as you can, and then use less weight as you get tired. That seems better to me because you don’t waste as much energy. Which one do you think is better?
With pyramid training, you warm up first with lighter weights, but as you start to hit the heavier weights close to what you’ll be using, you don’t go all out. You maybe do 1 or 2 reps until you reach what would be considered your working sets (6-10 rep range) for a few sets, and then come back down with limited rest for a few sets of 10-15 reps. This allows you to get max reps with your heaviest weights, and also allows for a lot of volume to really fill the muscles with blood and promote growth in said muscle. This is pretty much what I do with my compound movements (squats, deads, presses), but I personally need a lot of warm-ups first through isolation exercises. That’s because I have been training heavy most of my life and I’m riddled with aches and pains!
But to finish your question, I don’t like the reverse pyramid style. I’ve tried it and just never got the same degree of pump in the muscles as when I took more time to build up to heavy weights and then did another couple of lighter sets afterward. And at this stage in my training career, if I tried going to my heaviest weights with minimal warm-ups, I would probably be tearing a muscle every other week. That’s really only something you can get away with when you’re young and your body is super resilient.
I’m in deep off-season shape— around 30 weeks out. I’m currently eating roughly 500 grams of protein a day, 400 to 500 grams of carbs and around 70 to 60 grams of fats. Is my protein too high for off-season? When I diet, my carbs will drop and shouldn’t my protein increase? I would like to drop the protein and up the carbs a bit, but to me that doesn’t seem right— considering I’m pretty carb-sensitive and at 265, I need a fair amount of protein. Thanks, bro!
OK buddy, first— yes, I think you’re taking in too much protein. You must shit like a horse all day. You commonly hear such numbers as 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, which is a lot. If you did 1.5 grams, that still puts you at less than 400 grams per day. Now I’m guessing that you’re not shredded by any means at 265, considering you’re a young college kid. I use my goal weight as the number to calculate with. For example, right now I’m 235 but my goal is to be 210 shredded. So I take 210 x 1.5 = 315 grams of protein per day. To be honest, I have a tough time reaching that goal each day and I would vomit daily if I were to try and eat 500 grams. I’m pretty sure you’re putting on a good amount of fat with whatever muscle you’re putting on, so a lot of what you are eating is just being wasted. In conclusion, yes I would drop the protein to 400 grams or less.
Hey Jose, do you ever take days off training, or even a full week or so every now and then? How often do you do this? I’m feeling run down. I was lifting super heavy for eight weeks in a lead-up to a Strongman contest. I did the competition and took 3 days off, and starting back heavy training again— and four weeks later I’m feeling wiped out. I’ve been training through it just to see if I can pick myself up, but I’m not sure if I can. I’ve got back training today and I don’t even want to go to the gym— this is unlike me.
I do everything instinctively. Sometimes I’ll train two weeks straight, and sometimes I’ll take a day off after three days. It all depends on how I’m feeling. If I just went through a long stretch like a run for the Olympia, I take a few months off from everything (supplements, training, high food intake, etc.). I think you may need a little more time off than three days to let everything recharge and reinspire you. Try a week away from the gym, minimum. Wait until you feel like you’re going crazy not training, and then go back and hit it hard!
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