Why Bib's LOT Theory holds water

His last activity here was 22 June 2012.

Since an old thread has been resurrected my take is don’t worry about it to much.

Hang BTC. After you have the technique down then follow these simple guidelines.

Move up in weight slowly. As long as you are growing keep doing what you are doing.

Once you have stopped growing and you no longer feel that deep burn in the ligs then add weight slowly until you do. If you still don’t feel that burn in the ligs and you aren’t gaining start transitioning to the upper angles.

None of the above is done quickly. You don’t add tons of weight over night. You don’t abandon the lower angles over night out of frustration.

The one exception could be for the guys with the extremely low exit point. Keep adding weight using a progression system but be prepared to transition to the higher angles sooner. Again not an over night decision.

We each have our own risk vs reward. Some people might never gain because they aren’t going to hang a weight that will get the job done. That is okay.

Thats been my route in the past except I hung mainly SO or SD. I never really gave much thought to the LOT theory but the one thing I admire about it is the progression and the “divide and conquer” route. My schedule is even more tight now than it has been in the past but its best quality is it is consistent and not so hectic. I’m now looking to be super consistent in my PE career to finally reach 8 NBEL. Since time is tight I’m trying to exercise the most effective routine I can.

You’ve made some very nice gains in a short amount of time bhcentral, congratulations.

Thanks. I am guessing more physiology and regaining from my youth than effort.

Now I will tell you that I don’t like SD. I do hang it and even now I am hanging it because my skin is really beaten up. I find SD a good angle to hang when I am having skin problems.

But I truly believe most of my gains came from BTC. I can feel the difference. It is far more intense than SD (night and day). If you are trying to get the maximum out of your time I would start replacing more of those SD sets with BTC sets. Then try doing a light back and forth swinging of the weights while doing BTC. You will feel your ligs the entire next day. When I get a good week of BTC hanging I know I am going to gain. When I have a lot of SD I truly don’t know.

I lie down overhanging from my bed to my legs on a chair. I have my laptop on my lap. Remote controls and other devices within my reach since BTC isn’t the most practical angle for multi-tasking. I do the best with what I can work with.

In my honest opinion SD seems to work the best because most do it in the beginning, in other words it is just as beginner gains in most other PE exercises. It works, hanging at other angles can work as well. I hang straight down almost all of the time because it is the easiest. If something seems easier you will do it more. More can be more sometimes, I change angle just enough to feel a new stretch.

You must try different things and find what works for you. I actually went to lower weight and longer sets and I started gaining again. How can a guy that has hung 38 lbs and stopped gaining now hang with 13 and gain again? I am not sue if I know the exact reason but I gained 1/4 inch with low weight. Many of the things we take as gospel may not work. Experimentation works and i now believe that many guys use way too much weight. A

At sets of 35 for 20 minutes I was no longer gaining. I went to a different hanger and I gained at much lower weight, for me it was time that made the difference, not weight. Keep trying new things.

I can only go off of my excel file. When I hang more SD I don’t gain as much. Even if the SD is 33% more weight than BTC I still gain more with BTC.

However, we all are a little different and since this thread was about LOT my LOT didn’t even register for the first few months. When I finally did get a LOT result it was 11:30 or higher

So if there is any truth to LOT then perhaps that explains why BTC is so effective for me. I also have a very high exit point. For those who believe those tests

Funny that you mention the lower weights with more time.

A different thread in regards to extenders had me thinking about a graph with an optimal point for gains. Comparing extender low tension many hours versus hanger with high weights far fewer hours.

Where is that exact sweet spot where you have that weight and time that give maximum effectiveness. Again my guess is that it would be different for all of us. It would just be nice to know especially since most of us don’t have all day to PE.

Now if you follow Bib’s reasoning the sweet spot would actually change depending on your next limiting factor.

I am trying to graph all my work but it will probably end up being useless.

I have never charted my angles and gains, maybe I should but that much work would take the enjoyment out of it for me but I appreciate guys like you that do this. I just hang and do my business paperwork on my laptop. I alternate from standing and sitting, SD and BTC but that is about it with an occasional 5 minute shot over each thigh.

Your work will not be useless, many will learn from it if you share it. I respect that you do graph it. Best of luck with your gains and recordings.

Very sound advice.