I thought I was on the right track untill I started reading through all these threads now im feeling like im more confused than ever.

a brief background

Started serious cutting/lifting/cardio just over 1 month ago, have made the expected strength gains everyweek but I want to make sure im doing this the most effective way.

my main goal is to cut the body fat, but also lift to my maximum potential untill I can start a bulking cycle. (IE: bodybuild)

I started MAX-OT last month and even though I feel like im doing okay and im making gains I want to tripple check that im not missing something or see if there is something I can add to make this more effective.

Right now a sample day would be

Weds:

Triceps.
Chest.

Cable pulldown: warmup sets then 3 sets of 6 at max weight
Skull crusher/nose breaker: (flat on back, drop weight behind head, tri extensions) 3 sets of 6 at max weight
behind head upright tri extensions: 3 sets of 6 at max (both hands on dumbell, sitting upright on bench)

Chest.
incline DB bench press: warmup sets + 3 sets of 6 at max
Flat DB Bench press: 3 sets of 6 at max
DB fly: 3 sets of 6 at max.

I train 3 days a week, mon/weds/fri and mix up my workouts everyother week, but try to increase my weight each time I train (I have gained every week so far)

Is there something else I could be doing to build mass that is more effective?

If I dont feel like I have enough weight (even though it would be an increase from the week before) on the 6th rep on the 1st set, ill bump the weight up a notch and do 2-3 more sets.

if I can hit 6 reps on my 3rd set, ill bump up the weight and do another set of 6 reps for a positive failure. (minimum 4 reps)

please help me, I have this nagging feeling that I could be tweaking this.

I think you're doing your reps wrong, sounds like you should be adding some weight.

You should be failing on your 5th rep, and shouldn't be able to pull a 6th rep out. Your 4th rep should take a lot out of you, and then that 5th rep should take EVERYTHING out of you, if you're able to do 6 reps, increase the weight slightly. This is how I have been doing it for the past couple of weeks, and it's been working flawlessly. There are exceptions for certain exercises though, like ab stuff, and forearm exercises.

That sounds better, but reading the MAX-OT system, I had it in my mind that I should be failing on my 6th rep.

I had a lingering feeling, becuase I would leave the gym not feeling that I had achieved a *great* workout. left me wanting more. I figured I was not doing something right.

Thanks, I really appreciate your reply.

*edit

Also wanted to know if this was the best system for adding muscle mass. im all for strength too, but m not going to do any competing, I just want to look hot for my wife. :tu:

Seems to me that you have a lot of heavy sets for Max-O/T. Not to mention that all those tricep excercises are isolation. You may want to try substituting weighted dips or close grip bench press for the cable pulldowns. Since you combine chest and tricep on the same day you might also find it beneficial to drop the third tricep excercise. Also, you could get rid of a set of flys and just do 1-2 sets at the end of your workout. Definately up your weight if you are able to do six reps but also be careful to keep strict form - at least for the first 3-4 reps. Other than that, be patient. If you've seen results after 1 month you are on the right track.

I think your routine looks good, although do your larger muscle group before the smaller, as in chest before tri's, back before bi's etc.
They both work together but the smaller group will fail before the larger.
Do isolation before compound exercises ie: flyes then bench as this will pre exhaust the larger pecs and leave the tri's fresh for the bench.
You'll find training correctly you should increase in strength each and every workout, however this wont always be in the form of more weight.
An extra rep or 2 is indication of a strength gain also, so use the 4-6 rep range of Max Ot as a guidline only, if you think you can get to 8 then do it, but up the weight for the next set, dont just stop because you have reached an arbitrary number of reps.
And dont waste your energy on too many warm up sets, 1 set at 60% of max should be enough.
After doing chest there is no need to warm up the tri's as you should notice they will be quite pumped already.
As far as cardio, keep it to a bare minimum while 'bulking'. concentrating on diet is all thats needed.

my main goal is to cut the body fat, but also lift to my maximum potential untill I can start a bulking cycle. (IE: bodybuild)

Is there something else I could be doing to build mass that is more effective?


If you are on a cut, you are probably on a calorie deficit. So yes, there is a more effective way to build mass - EAT MORE FOOD.

Choose one path- cut or bulk. If you are going to cut, you might see some gains, but you probably won't see the mass you want. I do Max-OT during cutting, while making modest gains, but I make much more when I'm eating more.

I suggest doing lots of heavy, compound lifts- squats, deadlifts, pullups, bench, dips, etc., during a cut.