Colorado Experiment - Anyone tried it?

[TonyToneTone]

The Experiment:
The Colorado Experiment, Casey Viator's Workout, Arthur Jones Nautilus Bulletin 1 2 3

And 4 Hour Work Week author Tim Ferriss showing his impressive results:
From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks

[Raymond Burton]

I tried it a few years ago and did not see much happen. The idea of intensity over volume is a good one though even though both are necessary depending on the goal your working on.

[jamesbiz]

I'll start off by saying that not only is that 1.2 lbs a DAY in muscle growth is not only impossible, but doesn't even happen with steroids. On top of that, his skin would have such bad stretch marks it's not even funny. Your bones and ligaments aren't even strong enough to sustain the load the muscles would put on your body, as well as the extra weight you'd have to use to achieve and maintain that muscle. You know when they say results may vary? It should be posted for this thing as well. If it worked for him, then it is an extreme fluke and anomaly. Am I saying it doesn't work? No, but it won't work like it did for him.

[Daffy Duck]

Tim had good success with it. I wouldn't recommend such an intense program for most people though, especially if they aren't used to exercising in general. And yeah, growth like that is very uncommon...

[ThoughtAddict]

Originally Posted by TonyToneTone

The Experiment:
The Colorado Experiment, Casey Viator's Workout, Arthur Jones Nautilus Bulletin 1 2 3

And 4 Hour Work Week author Tim Ferriss showing his impressive results:
From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks

Tried it. Got some serious results, but the eating requirements are a bit much. It made me really sick of food.

[TonyToneTone]

Originally Posted by jamesbiz

I'll start off by saying that not only is that 1.2 lbs a DAY in muscle growth is not only impossible, but doesn't even happen with steroids. On top of that, his skin would have such bad stretch marks it's not even funny. Your bones and ligaments aren't even strong enough to sustain the load the muscles would put on your body, as well as the extra weight you'd have to use to achieve and maintain that muscle. You know when they say results may vary? It should be posted for this thing as well. If it worked for him, then it is an extreme fluke and anomaly. Am I saying it doesn't work? No, but it won't work like it did for him.

I've gained around 20lbs of muscle (maybe more) in about a month's time so it is possible. Also, with the huge amounts of eating he was doing it seems likely.

Tried it. Got some serious results, but the eating requirements are a bit much. It made me really sick of food.

Few questions:
1) How many exercises would you do?
2) How do you get completely sore from just doing one set?
3) How long did you wait before doing your routine again?

Any help is appreciated.

Tim had good success with it. I wouldn't recommend such an intense program for most people though, especially if they aren't used to exercising in general. And yeah, growth like that is very uncommon...

Hey DD, I've been lifting weights for years now so I'm hoping that this is a way to cut down the amount of time I have to spend in the gym.

[Daffy Duck]

Sounds good, Tony. Let us know how it goes if you follow the program.

[ThoughtAddict]

Originally Posted by TonyToneTone

Few questions:
1) How many exercises would you do?
2) How do you get completely sore from just doing one set?
3) How long did you wait before doing your routine again?

I was fairly close to Tim's recommendations. One set to failure, extremely slow motion, and absolute failure. Generally, I did exercises to the point where full effort was obtaining negative results.
The absolute key here is to do things slow. Really, really slow. You never want to use momentum to lift. You want to force every muscle, whether major, minor, or stabilizing, to work.

After the first few workouts, I was painfully sore. My forearms hurt. Muscles that I didn't know I had hurt. Later, it got much less painful and the pain did not last as long.

I worked out twice a week.

[jamesbiz]

Originally Posted by TonyToneTone

I've gained around 20lbs of muscle (maybe more) in about a month's time so it is possible. Also, with the huge amounts of eating he was doing it seems likely.

That defies basic human physiology, and unless you did an extensive body composition test, you did not gain 20lbs of pure dry muscle tissue. Not water weight. Not glycogen weight. Pure muscle weight! So right there you might as well cut that number down to 10, as half of that was glycogen.

There is not a chance in heaven that you will gain 5, 10, or even 20 pounds of dry muscle in one month or even 3 months - not even close. I hate to be the messenger of this bad news but unless you are using growth enhancing drugs... nder the BEST possible circumstances (training, diet, supplementation, recovery) the average male body can create between *0.25 and 0.50* pounds of dry muscle tissue per week. That's the natural amount that your body chemistry will allow. And rarely often will someone not gain any fat if you are gaining more than 3 pounds per month. So tell me. How did you measure and what were your pre and post numbers, and did you actually calculate that with water, and increased glycogen stores?

And all that is if you haven't been weight training for awhile, and or used to weight train and just regrew the muscle you lost.

[ThoughtAddict]

Originally Posted by jamesbiz

That defies basic human physiology, and unless you did an extensive body composition test, you did not gain 20lbs of pure dry muscle tissue. Not water weight. Not glycogen weight. Pure muscle weight! So right there you might as well cut that number down to 10, as half of that was glycogen.

Who said anything about "dry" muscle tissue? Muscle tissues are made of roughly 75% water. Intramuscular glycogen stores can account for an additional 40% increase on weight (after factoring in water).

Talking about dry tissue is a strawman for all practical purposes.

[TonyToneTone]

Edit.

[jamesbiz]

Originally Posted by TonyToneTone

Jamesbiz, what woud you say in regard to Tim's accomplishment?

From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks

That gaining one pound of muscle for every 7 minutes of working out is BULLCRAP?

He worked out for FOUR HOURS. I can't believe anyone would believe any of that, when steroids barely claim 4-20 pounds a month gain.

Something is up, one way or another. Either he's lying, is a biological freak, or took some drug, and either way, the results are not even close to being typical, or did you gain your "20 lbs of muscle" after 4 hours of working out too? Not to mention, if he was a biological freak, he wouldn't have been skinny in the first place. Any small amount of exercise should have gotten him out of that size. I can't imagine how much protein a person would need to consume to create that type of muscle.

And again, where are his stretch marks, which is seen on just about anyone that gains any kind of size like that so fast?

[jamesbiz]

Seems like literally anyone who is anyone that actually KNOWS about body building, muscle gain, and human physiology is calling BS on this one and I'm surprised no one caught this yet.

Can you gain 34lbs of muscle in 4 weeks? No!

Can you regain 34lbs of muscle in 4 weeks? Yes!

This guy used to have that muscle, lost it and gained it back.

Casey Viator did something similar when he worked with Arthur Jones. He went through a period of time "detraining" prior to his stint with Jones and Nautilus. Then just like magic he gained several pounds of muscle quickly. When in reality all he did was regain the muscle. And as everyone knows regaining is pretty easy, especially if it's done immediately after losing it.

[ThoughtAddict]

Originally Posted by jamesbiz

That gaining one pound of muscle for every 7 minutes of working out is BULLCRAP?

He worked out for FOUR HOURS. I can't believe anyone would believe any of that, when steroids barely claim 4-20 pounds a month gain.

Something is up, one way or another. Either he's lying, is a biological freak, or took some drug, and either way, the results are not even close to being typical, or did you gain your "20 lbs of muscle" after 4 hours of working out too? Not to mention, if he was a biological freak, he wouldn't have been skinny in the first place. Any small amount of exercise should have gotten him out of that size. I can't imagine how much protein a person would need to consume to create that type of muscle.

And again, where are his stretch marks, which is seen on just about anyone that gains any kind of size like that so fast?

I'm not the one who gained 20 lbs. My gains were probably roughly 12-13 lbs in 5 1/2 weeks. My starting bodyweight was 163. My ending bodyweight was 178.

My workouts were twice a week, for roughly 45 minutes a workout. I had never been as big before, nor as strong.

As I've said, I'm skeptical of 34 lbs in the same period. Much of that could have been reactivated muscle. I do not know and I do not care. The system is extremely effective and I would recommend it. It embraces the fundamental physiology and uses modern nutrition to exploit it. 12-13 lbs may not sound like much, but before that, I had never been able to break 170lbs.

Snipes and calls of "BS" don't sound all that substantial when you've put yourself on the line, tried it, and had it work. Skeptics abound. Experience proves them wrong.

[TonyToneTone]

Originally Posted by ThoughtAddict

I'm not the one who gained 20 lbs. My gains were probably roughly 12-13 lbs in 5 1/2 weeks. My starting bodyweight was 163. My ending bodyweight was 178.

My workouts were twice a week, for roughly 45 minutes a workout. I had never been as big before, nor as strong.

As I've said, I'm skeptical of 34 lbs in the same period. Much of that could have been reactivated muscle. I do not know and I do not care. The system is extremely effective and I would recommend it. It embraces the fundamental physiology and uses modern nutrition to exploit it. 12-13 lbs may not sound like much, but before that, I had never been able to break 170lbs.

Snipes and calls of "BS" don't sound all that substantial when you've put yourself on the line, tried it, and had it work. Skeptics abound. Experience proves them wrong.

Good stuff TA! Do you still do the same routine now or have you changed it?

When I gained my weight, I was around 155lbs and went up to around 175 (maybe a little more). Some of it was regained muscle as JamesBiz mentioned.

Thanks for that James. I hadn't thought about that before as no one had mentioned it.

As I've said, I'm skeptical of 34 lbs in the same period. Much of that could have been reactivated muscle.

Some of it was reactivated muscle as Tim had lost weight to get himself skinny enough for the Tango world-championship. Either way it's an impressive accomplishment for the little amount of time he trained.

[TonyToneTone]

TA, how should I feel after doing the routine? My back is a little sore, as are my arms but I don't feel super sore like when I do my normal routine. I feel like I could do the whole thing again tomorrow.

[ThoughtAddict]

Originally Posted by TonyToneTone

Good stuff TA! Do you still do the same routine now or have you changed it?

I dropped it. The eating was a bit much for me. I'm a vegetarian. It is difficult to get calories on a low GI diet without meat. I was eating 6 meals a day, tons of beans and legumes with quinoa. While the food tasted great and I felt energetic, the time spent in food prep and physically eating just didn't fit into my schedule.

I'm on a maintenance diet and training regiment for now.

TA, how should I feel after doing the routine? My back is a little sore, as are my arms but I don't feel super sore like when I do my normal routine. I feel like I could do the whole thing again tomorrow.

Hard to tell. Check and see how you feel tomorrow. You may need to increase weight or slow your movements. I found myself with massive strength gains in the first few weeks. Most of it was probably getting over the fear of complete muscle failure and the desire to leave a little bit in the tank for later reps/sets.