YAYOG or CC page

[Stan794]

Hi all

I'm just starting YAYOG but keep reading about CC. I just wondered what people's thoughts are on them especially those doing both. At 48 I just wondered what would be the best one.
Regards

[primalrob]

i'm not all that familiar in YAYOG...but i'm interested in it. i've been doing CC for a few months though, and it's terrific. i've also noticed that you can probably combine it with another program fairly easily. CC is an approach more than it is a program that needs to be followed specifically. the levels, progressions and tempo are designed to help you build the strength (both in muscles and tendons) to move up to the next level. you can do YAYOG while still trying to hit the progression standards for CC.

[SeanC]

For what its worth, I'm 41 and am using the YAYOG Iphone app. I am on my 3rd week of 1st Class. I think it's a good program but I do additional sprints and Heavybag work for added cardio which the program lacks. I also Deadlift once a week as well. I suck at deadlifts and I am trying to work my way up to a 2x BW lift.

[Tom B-D]

Also 48 (male) and getting fitter. I haven't done CC but have been doing YAYOG since the summer--made my way through the "First Class" (second) program, took a break for a while, and am now doing the Master program (1-arm push ups, YEAH!). I think he has a good program since it is periodized (low intensity-high volume, then high intensity-low volume), and gives a structure, which helps me have goals and focus to my workouts. But I don't do it more than 3 days a week so that I can do sprints and also just not overdo it.

[Nigel]

I did BBS for a bit over four months and noticed a great improvement in strength as far as The Big Five went but I realised I wasn't using a lot of minor muscle groups. I bought YAYOG and think it will suit me when I am fit enough to get on the bottom rung. I am 62 and had really not done any exercise apart from walking for over 20 years. I test myself every now and again and know I am improving but I understand it will be a long haul, although well worth the effort in the long run. Having said that, I think PBF is fine for anybody who wants best results for minimum time taken and effort put in.

[BamaAla]

I've got both and have read both, but I'm no expert, so take my response for what it is.

My takeaways:

CC is about building strength through body weight exercise; meanwhile YAYOG is about getting in better condition through mostly body weight exercises.

CC is low volume stuff aimed at strength gains. YAYOG mixes everything up more and seems to be more general physical stuff.

CC has very tedious and very clear progressions for each exercise (6 total that cover the entire body either directly or indirectly.) YAYOG has a lot of exercises, but lacks any clear progressions; rather, exercises are labeled from easiest to most difficult without any way to transition between the levels.

Both authors are easy and fun to read; I give the nod to Wade (CC) though because he peppers in good andecdotes and history. That may sound silly, but then you read something like "Overcoming Gravity" and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I think it might come down to your goals. If you are primarily concerned with strength or learning progressions, go with CC. If you just want to get into better shape and improve overall physicality, go with YAYOG. Both can't hurt though.

Those are just my basic thoughts on the books. If you have any specific questions, I'd be more than happy to share my thoughts for whatever they're worth.

[Diogenes]

I bought both YAYOG and CC and wound up going with CC. Some of the factors affecting my decision were:

1. Simplicity - CC is very straight-forward, four exercises to start. No confusion, no loss of focus, no wondering where you are in the program.

2. Easy entry - One of the core tenets of CC is to build a strong base of joint and connective tissue strength. This is especially important for a geezer like me (started at 53).

3. Effectiveness - I'm not saying YAYOG is not effective, but CC just plain works.

4. Teaches theory and application of progressive exercise - once you grok this book, making your own adjustments or even designing your own program should be second nature.

5. This is the book I recommend to anyone interested in bodyweight exercise because it is good for virtually any level of fitness.

Having said all that, YAYOG is a good book, it works, and I use it as a reference for exercises not included with CC. They are both excellent choices, probably my top 2 for the genre, and they complement one another very well.

[itchy166]

I've just started CC myself. I am a big believer in Stronglifts 5x5, and have made some really good (and useable) strength gains on it.

Unfortunately, my job quite often keeps me hundreds of kms away from the nearest gym, and while I'm away its impossible to keep up the program. Often I'm at a plateau for a long period of time as I keep having to start where I left off, instead of progressing.

I'm starting CC on all the easiest levels, but doing it at four exercises per workout, three workouts per week. I will do CC when I'm away, and Stronglifts when I'm home. I believe I should be able to progress with both programs (albeit a little slower), and that they should compliment each other well given my circumstances.

[Goldust]

I've done both YAYOG and CC, here's my take on how they compare.

For a frame of reference I'm 49 years old, I've worked out for my entire life and I've also trained in martial arts in one form or another for over twenty years. I did YAYOG for about nine months, took a few months off to fool around with several video series, (RushFit, Weider X-Factor) did nine months of CC and recently went back to YAYOG which I've been doing again for the last five months.

CC does one thing and it does it very well, it focuses on the "big six" exercises (push ups, pull ups, squats, leg raises and later on in the program bridges and handstand pushups). The progressions are laid out quite well and the book is entertaining if you can get past the sometimes questionable "this is hardcore prison training!!" marketing. I didn't have a problem with it but many/most of the negative reviews that I've seen largely stem from peoples distaste for the way that the book was marketed.

The workouts are easy to follow and require virtually no equipment aside from a pull up bar. Results can best be described as "slow and steady". You won't see magical results over night but if you follow the program as written you will get much stronger and will see results over time. A friend of mine who I've known/trained with for over ten years has been doing CC for the last year. He's gained about ten pounds over that time and when we spar (submission grappling/bjj) he definitely feels much stronger than he ever did in the past when he was lifting weights so the program does work.

So why did I go back to YAYOG? Well for starters while I felt that I improved in some areas I definitely regressed in others due to the somewhat limited scope of the program. The workouts in CC have much less variety than YAYOG which I found to be a much more complete program. The greater variety also kept me from getting bored, my wife has also done both routines and also voiced a similar sentiment. In YAYOG the routine has you working out 4-5 days a week for about 20-30 minutes per workout. CC calls for a schedule of 2-3 days a week, I found that the workouts usually took about roughly a half hour to complete. YAYOG does requires the use of some equipment to get the most out of the workouts. I bought a pull up/dip station and a cheap suspension trainer for the Let me in's/vertical pulls, Let me up's/horizontal pulls.

After having done them both I can definitely say that I personally got clearly better results from YAYOG. When I went back to it after doing CC for the previous nine months within six weeks my abs were much more clearly defined and my arms, shoulders, back, legs were clearly bigger/more defined than they were from doing CC. I've gotten the best results from YAYOG than I have from any other workout that I've done over the years. At 49 my physique looks as good if not better than it ever did, I wish that either of these two books had been available when I was younger, I would have saved a lot of time and gotten a lot better results.

That isn't to say that I disliked CC, it's a great book/workout. For someone who has limited time I think that it would be perfect. I only wish that it had been available back when I was still competing in grappling/mma as it would have been a great strength training supplement to my martial arts training. YAYOG would probably have been too much volume combined with the 5-6 days a week of martial arts training that I was doing back when I was still competing.

Strangely enough the things that I liked/disliked about YAYOG and CC the friend who is still training in CC had the exact opposite reaction to. The variety/rotating workout schedule of YAYOG was something that he disliked and found to be a pain in the ass, he preferred the simplicity of CC. Also since he has two kids he's a lot busier than I am and found it a lot easier to work CC into his week.

To sum it up, CC takes less time and is good at what it sets out to do. If you are interested in eventually performing one hand pushups or one leg squats it will get you there much quicker than will YAYOG. The downside is that the lack of variety in the workouts can eventually lead to boredom and I don't personally consider it to be a complete workout routine. At the very least you may want to include a day of Tabata style workouts with something like burpees to supplement the routine.

YAYOG in my opinion is a more complete routine that for me at least brought clearly better results. On the downside it requires a greater commitment of time (though hardly excessive like something like P90X) and more use of equipment/apparatus (pullup/dip station, suspension trainer) to make the most of it.

At $40 CC is the much more expensive of the two but is a well printed quality product. You can probably pick up a used copy for about $25-30.

You can get YAYOG for $11 which given what I've gotten out of it was the best $11 that I've ever spent on any kind of workout book/equipment. You may want to eventually have the book spiral bound as otherwise it is a pain in the ass to flip back and forth to review the exercises.

[jfreaksho]

A couple of questions for Goldust:

Does YAYOG include sprint-like activities for cardio, or were you doing them in addition to the program like most people do with CC?

Is it possible the results that you got from YAYOG were from the time you spent on CC, and continuing CC with similar effort as you put in with YAYOG could have gotten you similar results?

(Since this is the internet, I'd like to state here that I am genuinely curious, and not trying to defend CC. It works well for me, but we aren't the same. I do, however, have a lot of people asking me about programs and I like to know about them, as I know people aren't all like me.)