DC Training for Bulk / Natural Gains.

[Spaniard]

Sounds good man, yeah I planned on starting a little lighter than I could actually do to get used to it / let my body adapt before going for those lower rep ranges. Thanks for your input.

There's a good bit of information on intense muscle dot com, in the puppy pound, like AZ said. It takes quite a bit of prep work man. I absolutely don't recommend just jumping in by any means. That leads to a lot of people trying it, saying they don't like it and bailing. DC is worth the research bro, I promise.

Shoot me a pm I may have a DVD or 2 laying around... ; )

[Spaniard]

How long do you like to blast for personally?

DC is hard on me lol, plus I don't completely abide by the rules, so my blasts are usually 6 weeks or so. I like to run stairs and do sprints, which is a big no no with DC. Only walking for cardio is done with DC.

[Spaniard]

absolutely. you learn what you're made of by 15-16-17 reps

Yea because you see it come out of your mouth by 20 lmao!!!

[AZMIDLYF]

Yea because you see it come out of your mouth by 20 lmao!!!

I also become very religious. Lol

[Torobestia]

Yea because you see it come out of your mouth by 20 lmao!!!

I also become very religious. Lol

Rofl

[ChainLink]

A lot of the guys here know more about the details than I do. I think they got their info from a recent DVD?

But basically, start 15-20 rest-paused reps for barbell benching, 20-30rp dumbbell press, 15-20 for dips, 18-30 tricep extensions, 15-20 close grip bench. Again, those ranges are the total number of reps achieved between the 3 sets you rest-pause.

I personally experienced no problems progressing using the suggested rep ranges for back exercises right off the bat (11-15 for most except bent over barbell rows or deadlift variations).

You'll have to personalize this all, but my point is that don't be afraid to start light. You've read the material on DC training I'm sure - every set is the last set of your life; So what do you do? Go all out! So you're going to go all out, pushing past the extremes your body can handle. So you will grow, and you will get strong. Starting heavy on DC really only risks stalling on your progression and potentially injuring yourself.

Great advice on starting light. I started too heavy with overhead smith presses and jacked my shoulder up. I was only 3-4wks in before the injury. I really should have had a stronger base before starting DC.

The light headed feeling during widowmakers then take 3-4 big breaths and continue to grind is a great feeling of accomplishment. Make sure the widowmaker is the last exercise you do.

[masonmarin18]

There's a good bit of information on intense muscle dot com, in the puppy pound, like AZ said. It takes quite a bit of prep work man. I absolutely don't recommend just jumping in by any means. That leads to a lot of people trying it, saying they don't like it and bailing. DC is worth the research bro, I promise.

Shoot me a pm I may have a DVD or 2 laying around... ; )

Ok, I will send a PM, but yeah I have been researching DC training for over 2 weeks now and don't plan on starting it for a few more. So by no means am I just jumping right into it. Good looking out though, all of you guys have provided helpful information and is much appreciated.

[masonmarin18]

I also become very religious. Lol

Hahah. xD

[superbeast668]

Ill make one suggestion towards dc. Make sure you have a work out partner/spotter. Going to absolute failure doesnt go over well on bench, shoulders and any other movement that can injure you. I liked dc but stopped because of the lack of spotter.

[Spaniard]

Ill make one suggestion towards dc. Make sure you have a work out partner/spotter. Going to absolute failure doesnt go over well on bench, shoulders and any other movement that can injure you. I liked dc but stopped because of the lack of spotter.

That is why smith machines and hammer strength are supposed to be utilized... Also with DB's you go higher rep range 20-30 instead of 11-15. I made the same mistake lol! I almost threw my shoulder out on incline DB press, getting up 90's after your 2nd r/p are dangerous!!!

I do DC alone every sesh and its ideal for me.

[carpee]

I havent picked up the DVD, but have been close a few times. I wish they had a cheaper digital option...

anyway, do you guys do lateral raises at all or only pressing movements for shoulders

[superbeast668]

That is why smith machines and hammer strength are supposed to be utilized... Also with DB's you go higher rep range 20-30 instead of 11-15. I made the same mistake lol! I almost threw my shoulder out on incline DB press, getting up 90's after your 2nd r/p are dangerous!!!

I do DC alone every sesh and its ideal for me.

Smith and hammers dont work as well as free weights. They have their place but not in place of a compound free weight movement like bb inclines flats and declines.

[Spaniard]

Smith and hammers dont work as well as free weights. They have their place but not in place of a compound free weight movement like bb inclines flats and declines.

That may be true in other routines but... In DC those forms I mentioned are the go to choice.

That and DB's since when going to failure on those you can drop them to the sides instead of crushing yourself...

[superbeast668]

That may be true in other routines but... In DC those forms I mentioned are the go to choice.

I will argue that only because the only things that made progress in dc for me were biceps and calves. The rest i feel like it went backwards BIG TIME. Especially my chest, which has always been my strong point.

[superbeast668]

I will ask though. Where did you get the dc dvds? I am interested in them and eventually making another run at dc.

[Torobestia]

My chest, personally, responded the most dramatically to DC training. Went from nothing to full blown pecs that I can bounce at will. I used all barbell for it (incline, flat, decline). I know flat benching is really only recommended if you do it light, but I was fine using the traditional 11-15. I even went down to 9 a few times including 285, which was a massive PR.

[masonmarin18]

That may be true in other routines but... In DC those forms I mentioned are the go to choice.

That and DB's since when going to failure on those you can drop them to the sides instead of crushing yourself...

Yeah I've seen peoples success with DB's / Hammer strength machines.

[John Smeton]

I did it for two years, every time I did it without using hormonals -naturally. I made strength and size gains, I pushed too hard and didnt back off when injuries occurs, and they did for me with this type of training.

I ended up messing up my elbow and took a good year to heal, had to completely stop upper body for a year.

Then i hurt my shoulder and had to take off two months completely, then had to go light untill it healed, which took quite a while

while I still may do dc once in a blue moon, I seemed to get injuries on it a lot.

[Spaniard]

Yeah I've seen peoples success with DB's / Hammer strength machines.

Did you get my pm? Check inbox. Time is of the essence...

[Distilled Water]

Ok, I wanted to do this from a desktop but my phone will have to do, bare with me on grammar and look out for auto corrects bc I'm not proof reading lol.

First thing to know, DC is a lifestyle not a workout. Along with the workout there are other factors to follow that a lot of people don't, either they don't know or choose not to. Either way, if you follow the lifestyle, you'll make great gains. What I'm talking about is protein reccomendations, carb/pro & pro/fat meals & carb cutt offs. These are often over looked, now I will say this; some people (Rick rock) have been having great results with IF diet and DC, I have zero experience with this so I cannot comment. Stick to the principles to get an accurate assessment before changing things.

My advice would be to start with 2 weeks prior to doing DC get your routine down and do this exercises, just 1 set til failure of a weight 8-12 reps. This will give you a gauge of what exercises you like and what weight you should use. As other said don't start too heavy bc it's setting up for failure, it'll still work but it'll be slow and discouraging. Not to mention wreck your tendons, I'd also like to point out DC is very demanding on joints/tendons and why it's not recommended for beginners. If your joints can't handle the load they'll fail. Muscles strengthen much faster than tendons (why people who use AAS too soon have problems)

I advise blasting for only 6 weeks your first go no matter what with a 2 week cruise. It lets you asses your progress and regroup and give joints a break being natty. The rep ranges differ from what people have said in this thread, this is where people "customize"....that's not really DC. Like others said go over to intense muscle dot com and browse, they have good info (where I started)

Hammer strength and smith machines will let you grow just fine so don't worry about that. Here's a basic overview of rep ranges, all are rest pause unless says otherwise.

Chest pressing 11-15
*flat bb 20-30
Shoulder press 11-15
*DB 20-30
Biceps 11-15
Forearms 10-20 straight sets
hammys 15-20
Calfs 10-12 (DC reps)
Triceps 11-15
*skull crusher 15-20
Quads 4-8 straight set & 20 rep widow maker
Back width 15-20
Bath thickness 11-15 machines
or 8 & 12 straight sets DB rows, t-bar, bent over (anything that compromises back health during movement when tired
Deadlifts hit sets of 6 til you can't get 6

Now exceptions can me made to these depending on circumstances but try and stay as close to these as possible, IMO.

Hope that helps, anything else shoot me a PM, I have a log of DC training somewhere around here. Did it last winter (most recent) I will be starting again in about 4 weeks. I'll send you the link when I do