DC vs. 5x5 vs. HIT vs. Westside vs. Periodization ...

[RobertFontaine]

So who's actually tried enough of these programs to get an idea of what works best?

I've seen some consistent improvements with 5x5 in strength and size over the summer. Had to take a week off then shuffle my program around to give my biceps tendons a chance to catch up and now i'm continuing 5x5 with a bit better exercise balance and schedule. Woo hoo for me! I like the simplicity of the program and the fact that I'm seeing progress.

DC has made some pretty big claims for rest/pause and more frequent training and I'm curious if it's better, worse or just different.

Westside seems very strength oriented but I still equate getting stronger with getting bigger in my mind. If I could develop a significant increase in strength I could use that to develop a significant increase in size through greater intensity. Kind of like a two step program. Is this true?

And oh wait what about Periodization, I can never convince myself of the easy medium hard thing. Best I can manage is to work till I start to break, take a break to heal and start again. It doesn't seem to suit my personality. Does it actually help you get stronger/bigger?

So who's tried a few of these for enough time to have formed some kind of opinion on what work for them?

 

[c3bodybuilding]

All of the above are GREAT programs. You just have to find out what works for YOU the best. I've tried all of the above, and liked them all. In the end, I came up with something that fit me.

 

[casualbb]

Stronger does not equal bigger. They do correlate, but increase in strength does not cause growth. That came about because most people notice that when they get stronger over a period of weeks or months they tend to get bigger as well. It's not because they got stronger; it's because the load was increasing. A subtle difference. So periodization is good if, and only if, you go from light to heavy over a significant period of time (ie weeks).

A little bit on strength... Strength is a result of the absolute number of motor units recruited for a motion. The two main ways the body gets stronger is first through greater fiber recruitment and second by hypertrophy, the enlargening of fibers. The army analogy is often made: motor units are like soldiers. The total size of the army does matter, as it determines how many soldiers are available fight. But when it comes down to it, only the number that actually are fighting really matters. Most strength programs are designed to make the body better recruit muscle. They're not designed for growth; any growth is only coincidental.

DC's a good hypertrophy program because it has progressive and frequent loading. All the research points towards higher frequency as a way to best cause growth.

 

[Toptoon1]

bump

 

[future]

All are valid.

 

[Chill Trojan]

i can only comment on a bill starresque 5x5 and hst
both have produced grt results 4 me although got fatter than necessary doing 5x5 probably a result of more cals to aid weight gain therefore strength in core lifts
hst soon dropped that extra fat tho and still increasing core lifts i think the high rep 2-4 weeks start is very beneficial for maintaining conditioniong and the final 4 weeks of a cycle really improve strength
i also think the whole idea of dual factor is a must for anyone far enough along the road to appreciate it
p.s. an afterthought linear{single factor} should be flogged to death b4 periodised{dual factor} is even considered

 

[joe d]

all verry good programs providing you do them correctly. some are more advanced than others. i wouldnt dare jump into dc in the first couple years training.

 

[ExtraMile]

Im interested, what are they all? All I know so far is:

5x5 is based on the idea of simple training concentrating on adding weight to bench,squat,DL,row and military over a long peroid of time with a few assistance things. (Iv done 5x5 before)

DC is centered around continous strength gains for continous size gains and involved doing just 1 work set per exercise taking it beyond failure with dropsets, forced reps, negatives and rest pauses, it also prescribed extreme stretching for each bodypart

HIT, westside and periodization what the hell are they?

 

[Chill Trojan]

Im interested, what are they all? All I know so far is:

5x5 is based on the idea of simple training concentrating on adding weight to bench,squat,DL,row and military over a long peroid of time with a few assistance things. (Iv done 5x5 before)

DC is centered around continous strength gains for continous size gains and involved doing just 1 work set per exercise taking it beyond failure with dropsets, forced reps, negatives and rest pauses, it also prescribed extreme stretching for each bodypart

HIT, westside and periodization what the hell are they?

HIT is shit
westside is mainly powerlifting based louie simmons knows his stuff
periodisation = dual factor
most people with an ounce of brain cells will flog single factor{linear progression} to death
then do a dual factor type method
which why how its up 2 u have a search and read then put in motion what u learn

 

[DiamondCutCows]

all verry good programs providing you do them correctly. some are more advanced than others. i wouldnt dare jump into dc in the first couple years training.

Agreed. I've actually done all of these and DC is easily the best one for me. NO WAY I could have done this program properly and survived in my first few years of lifting. This is seriously for experienced guys. If you DC there shouldn't be a "big lift" (Bench, Squat, Dead) under 300lbs IMO.

Those are the only people I see as candidates for DC.

My 2 cc's.