I think I am going to do an 8 week cycle of Max OT to put on some muscle. That will last until mid April at which point I will start cutting for summer. I will lift 4 days a week and do cardio 3 days a week. I have never tried Max OT before. For some reason I am scared that I will put on fat along with muscle because of the reduced cardio. Has anyone tried Max OT? Did you like your results? :)

I think Maggie (causticmuse) was/is doing Max-OT. Maybe she can shed some insight into her results with it.

I think Maggie (causticmuse) was/is doing Max-OT. Maybe she can shed some insight into her results with it.

Hmmmm if she is, her results are looking pretty damn good! :tu:

Destiny, I don't know if this will help you, but I can share my short experience with MAX OT. I tried it for two weeks. Many things were very positive. That is not a very long time at all, but I feel that I gained a lot of strength in my butt and legs. I also think I was able to do more on the lat pull down (I'm not sure because I had never tried that much weight before!). I felt powerful during the day and very confident. I also felt like I had a specific goal and was not just doing reps till they hurt for an indefinite period of time. It is nice to have the ten week benchmark ahead where you know you will take a week off.

I did the four to six reps till failure, but it didn't hurt after every set, I just felt tired enough to relish the two minutes of rest between. Also, with it only taking half an hour, I always felt like I would have enough time to fit my workout in.

I stopped at two weeks because for one reason or another I was feeling run down, and I think I strained too much during the reps. I have been prone to hemhorroids since I was one, and at the end of two weeks I got a full blown set of them; they have barely gone away and that was a week ago. So that's something I will have to watch out for next time. Breath, don't strain, which is easy to do with the heavy weight!

If you're looking to build muscle, then definitely try it! I was so pleased and shocked by the quick results of muscle gain. I don't think I gained any fat, because for the first time I was able to measure my body fat, and it's very low, around 14 to 15% when done correctly with the Accumeasure calipers. My body was just drained (I haven't taken a down period from training for a long time, even before MAX OT), so witht hemhorroids and the exhaustion I decided I was overtraining and have taken it easy for the past week.

Did that help at all? I know I ramble. I feel like I have to give all the details so you get a complete picture.

Yes, I believe Maggie does MAXOT, or a modified version of it combining some if it's principles with her own style and principles. Her physique is pretty impressive, hopefully she'll pop in here soon.

Thank you for your replies. Inprogress, I will make sure I remember to breathe, not strain!! I did my first Max OT worjout today. I did Legs. It was a lot different than what I am used to but I am sure it will take a few workouts to get used to the low reps! :)

I have been very intrigued by this Max Ot training. I am trying to lose BF right now so I am not sure I should try this.

Please let us know your progress.

I have been very intrigued by this Max Ot training. I am trying to lose BF right now so I am not sure I should try this.

Please let us know your progress.

I am also trying to lose bodyfat but I am beginning to think that building some muscle will make it a lot easier. I will definitely keep everyone updated in my journal. :)

Of course you're correct: more muscle will make it easier.

You won't "bulk up" and look like a female pro bodybuilder without steroids, the right genetics, and a huge amount of calories. :) Don't be afraid of lifting heavy weight: you can lose fat while on MAXOT very easily. :)

Of course you're correct: more muscle will make it easier.

You won't "bulk up" and look like a female pro bodybuilder without steroids, the right genetics, and a huge amount of calories. :) Don't be afraid of lifting heavy weight: you can lose fat while on MAXOT very easily. :)


OK, I used up all my ink and printed this Max OT program. I am VERY intrigued.

The only problem I have is lifting heavy at home alone. I can only squat about 60lbs because I have to lift the BB over my head. I am looking into getting some kind of small rack. It must be small since my bench is in my bedroom.

How would this work..... I am also going to post this in the equipment section and see if there are any suggestions.

http://www.fitnessfactory.com/FitnessFactory31/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=267&secid=81&linkon=section&linkid=81

The rack is good for the purpose of holding up the weight.. but what are ya gonna do when your caught in between reps/cant go further. There is no place to "dump" the weights, other than sending you down to the floor or the weight crashing down possible causing you injury and anything else in its way.

How much space do you have? Is price a limiting factor?

OK, I used up all my ink and printed this Max OT program. I am VERY intrigued.

The only problem I have is lifting heavy at home alone. I can only squat about 60lbs because I have to lift the BB over my head. I am looking into getting some kind of small rack. It must be small since my bench is in my bedroom.

How would this work..... I am also going to post this in the equipment section and see if there are any suggestions.

http://www.fitnessfactory.com/FitnessFactory31/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=267&secid=81&linkon=section&linkid=81

For a little more you would be better off with something like this http://www.megafitness.com/bsi0015.html It is much safer as it has guard rails that would catch the weight if you couldnt get back up.

You can tuck you bench under it when not in use..

For a little more you would be better off with something like this http://www.megafitness.com/bsi0015.html It is much safer as it has guard rails that would catch the weight if you couldnt get back up.

You can tuck you bench under it when not in use..

Unfortunately there is no room for this in my bedroom where all my equipment is. I am trying to think of an alternative.

Unfortunately there is no room for this in my bedroom where all my equipment is. I am trying to think of an alternative.

I think that rack is okay, but it doesn't have safety supports. You would have to drop the weight off your back. You could look at something like the Impex Fitness (http://www.impex-fitness.com) (Powerhouse) products at Dick's or Play-it-again sports. They have 1/2 cage like the Power 6, 8, or 9 that won't take up too much room. Specifically the 6 or 9. They also have benches that can function as a squat rack that won't take up too much room.

Note that the rack you are looking at only goes to 5' tall at the most. If you are tall, that's not going to work. For now, do Barbell Hack Squats. The bar doesn't go on your shoulders, so you can lift more weight. This will be more focused on your quads, though.

Just popping in to say that I have been doing Max-OT since November 29 or so. I've been using it for all of my upper body workouts and alternate it with high rep/low weight workout every other week for my legs. My overall strength improved greatly on the program, and I definitely feel like I've added more muscle in the 9 weeks doing Max-OT than I did in the entire 24 weeks of BFL pyramids I did prior to that.

On BFL, I did 67 full push-ups in 2 minutes. Three nights ago, after 2 months of Max-OT, I did 66 push-ups in ONE minute. ;)

Of course, I was eating at and above maintenance (2000-2200) during my Max-OT run, too, instead of the 1300-1500 I got while sticking mainly to BFL. It's so hard for women to acquire more muscle that trying to build it at such a major deficit was futile for me.

Max-OT is definitely not just for the guys. I gained some muscle, but I am far from bulky. If you are due for some variety in your lifting routine, I think Max-OT is a very good way to shake things up.

Thanks for your input Maggie. Today was my 2nd day of Max OT and I loved it! I really need to put some muscle on my upper body to balance it out with my lower body.

My lower body already has tons of muscle and really just needs to shed fat. Maybe I shouldn't do Max OT for my legs? I really like the SGX workout for my legs that I was doing previously. Maybe I will mix the two up. Did you find that Max OT made your lower body look bigger or smaller? I really want mine to get smaller and look more even with my upper body.

Thanks for your input Maggie. Today was my 2nd day of Max OT and I loved it! I really need to put some muscle on my upper body to balance it out with my lower body.

My lower body already has tons of muscle and really just needs to shed fat. Maybe I shouldn't do Max OT for my legs? I really like the SGX workout for my legs that I was doing previously. Maybe I will mix the two up. Did you find that Max OT made your lower body look bigger or smaller? I really want mine to get smaller and look more even with my upper body.


May I ask what the SGX workout is?

May I ask what the SGX workout is?

I was doing Swolegenix for a while. It's a program designed by Chris Janusz aka Swolecat. You can find more info about it on his website:

http://www.vizualxcellence.com/

I see that he also has a program specifically for women now too, femgenix.

I don't think that Max-OT had much effect on my lower body at all, to be honest, but it's hard to say for sure since I was bulking during my entire Max-OT run. I put on muscle, but I also added a bit of fat. Bulking took me from 130 lbs to 136 lbs in 9 weeks, hehe. Most of my measurements are still the same, but I did gain 0.5-1" in my legs, hips, waist, and arms. The deflated chest, of course, stayed the same! :p

I won't really know how Max-OT affected my legs until I finish cutting again in about 6-8 weeks. They were pretty muscular to begin with, and it's not as if they were ever super slim (21" of solid muscle at my lowest scale weight of 128 lbs). The program definitely bulked up my arms and back, though.

If you don't really want to add more muscle to your legs, maybe sticking with your SGX leg workout would be better given Max-OT's focus on mass gains. I did a very high rep/low weight leg routine every other week instead of doing only Max-OT legs.

The only thing that trimmed down my legs was dropping my body fat through extra cardio. It's definitely the last place to give up the adipose tissue on me.

Thanks again for the info Maggie. I am not sure what to do now. My build is very similiar to yours. My legs just won't let go of the fat. I was doing 45-60 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week on top of weights 4 times a week and still they haven't lost much fat. Its so frustrating.

I definitely don't want my legs to get more muscle because I have large quads and calves already. Its my poor upper body that needs some muscle. I think I will give the Max Ot a try for a couple weeks and if it seems to be putting more muscle on my legs I will go back to the SGX workout. :)

Thanks again for the info Maggie. I am not sure what to do now. My build is very similiar to yours. My legs just won't let go of the fat. I was doing 45-60 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week on top of weights 4 times a week and still they haven't lost much fat. Its so frustrating.

I definitely don't want my legs to get more muscle because I have large quads and calves already. Its my poor upper body that needs some muscle. I think I will give the Max Ot a try for a couple weeks and if it seems to be putting more muscle on my legs I will go back to the SGX workout. :)


I am in the same boat! I think I may try MAX OT also. I am very intrigued by this Swolecat workout too.

I don't think that Max-OT had much effect on my lower body at all, to be honest, but it's hard to say for sure since I was bulking during my entire Max-OT run. I put on muscle, but I also added a bit of fat. Bulking took me from 130 lbs to 136 lbs in 9 weeks, hehe. Most of my measurements are still the same, but I did gain 0.5-1" in my legs, hips, waist, and arms. The deflated chest, of course, stayed the same! :p

I won't really know how Max-OT affected my legs until I finish cutting again in about 6-8 weeks. They were pretty muscular to begin with, and it's not as if they were ever super slim (21" of solid muscle at my lowest scale weight of 128 lbs). The program definitely bulked up my arms and back, though.

If you don't really want to add more muscle to your legs, maybe sticking with your SGX leg workout would be better given Max-OT's focus on mass gains. I did a very high rep/low weight leg routine every other week instead of doing only Max-OT legs.

The only thing that trimmed down my legs was dropping my body fat through extra cardio. It's definitely the last place to give up the adipose tissue on me.

Hi Maggie-your a total inspiration! I am fat, plain & simple...I weigh 175 and about 34% bf! :eek: I carry most around my belly area-is Max OT more for someone who is already at a fairly low body fat than for someone who needs to drop body fat?
thanks!

I am in the same boat! I think I may try MAX OT also. I am very intrigued by this Swolecat workout too.

Where do ya'll learn about these workouts? I think I am behind and need to drop the body fat and then work on the various workouts that you guys are doing. What do you think Yvette?
thanks!
gina