Q & A: Is Reveal The Steel for beginners?

This week I received an email from someone who was interested in Reveal The Steel, but understandably, had a few questions that needed answering. In coming weeks, I’ll be posting more information on the program outline, to make sure everyone is crystal clear about what they are getting themselves into.

Hi,
I am interested in your new program but would have a few questions before hitting the “buy” button.

1. How many days a week does this programm require? I am only able to train Monday to Friday. Would this work? And it’s max 1 hours a session? Do you also incorporate HIIT?2. Does it matter when you train during the day? I am either training first thing in the morning or during lunch.

3. You incorporate IF in your programm. I am on the renegade dietat the moment and very happy. Can I continue using this with your programm?

Also, I’ve read this program is especially for beginners. I’m working out for years now and currently using the VIMB program from Rusty. Would your program be of any benefit for me?Also, would I start with week 1 or jump right somewhere in the middle?

Thanks a lot,
Gordon

A: Great questions Gordon…

1. The program works well for anyone training for 3 days+. Those who are time poor will even benefit from only 2 days training, although their results possibly won’t be quite as good). So your schedule of Mon-Fri would work perfectly. The one hour sessions are inclusive of 10-15 mins of steady state cardio with a few quick sprints at the end of each session (in HIIT style). These sprints start from 1 per session at the beginning of the course, up to 3 sprints by the end.
2. I talk about why this is optimal in the book. Having said that, there are ‘specific’ cardio days where-by you can choose any method of cardio from steady-state, walking to HIIT. This is also thoroughly explained to make sure there are plenty of options (a lot of people don’t enjoy HIIT, or treadmills for example).
3. It makes no difference at all when you train. Most people train at night, whilst myself and others prefer to train in the AM or sometimes lunch (personal preference here).
4. The Renegade Diet would definitely work well with the outlined training. Intermittent Fasting (IF) is only ‘one’ of the methods i touch upon in Reveal The Steel and it definitely isn’t the only way. It’s all about choosing a dieting method that you can ‘stick to long term’ and in your case, the Renegade Diet sounds perfect.

Is Reveal The Steel for beginners?

There has been some confusion with the ‘targeting’ of RTS due to a review floating around the web stating that it was in fact squarely aimed at ‘beginners’.
This however, isn’t the case. I’ve lifted the opening paragraph from page 79 of RTS which details the ‘Training Overview’ section:

Whilst beginners would no doubt benefit from this system, it is largely targeted at intermediate to advanced level fitness enthusiasts and athletes. More importantly, both men and women will benefit from this program.

As for someone coming from Rusty’s Visual Impact Muscle Building program, I’d say due to the setup, you’d want to be starting from week 1 of the program. Rusty’s Phase 3 incorporates a lot of volume with short rest periods — Reveal The Steel ‘Stage 1’ concentrates on Reverse Pyramid Training (RPT) with heavier weight and longer rest periods (predominantly for strength gains).

In summary

Reveal The Steel is great for anyone looking to ‘change it up’ and try a program that relies heavily on periodization with enough variance in routine setups stage to stage to keep it fresh. It definitely isn’t targeted at beginners, but anyone looking to get started with a training program (no matter how advanced they are) will benefit.

More about Reveal The Steel here >

Update: 9th July, 2012

I believed I was referencing the ‘Bonus’ phase of Rusty’s program in answer to ‘No. 4’ where it switches to high volume for few weeks. I’ve since responded to this in more detail in the comments section below.