It's a very good book. I read it a couple of times. However, you won't agree with his volume and frequency recommendations (which he loosened up a bit in recent years). His workout is generic, but his explanation of the science behind the benefits of working out and bodybuilding is impressive. (Assuming it's all accurate, of course; I'm just a layman. )
Yeah, I'm too much of an ectomorph for his once every 7-10 days workout schedule to work for me. Hell, I wish I could get away with that low of a training frequency. I do enjoy reading about the science of it all, which it was his book seems to center around.
From the pics you've posted in the past, I would not describe you as an ectomorph. Regardless, why not take a few key measurements and then try a variation of it for a month or so to see what happens? If you lose any size it won't be much, and you'll be able to get it back in no time by returning to your normal routine. But what if there is no difference (or even an uptick)? Imagine that payoff. I'd say that's some low cost primary research. Just be sure not to eat more with all that extra free time.
I have, and that's how I came to my conclusion. I just think certain people have more myostatin than others. Myostatin is like your body's muscle-building stopping point, so it inhibits the ability of the body to easily put on muscle and more importantly, to retain that muscle after a period of time of doing nothing. That's why they say that PED usage is generally set up in six-week cycles. It's not because the drugs just magically stop working after six weeks. It's because mystotain levels increase each week until they get to the point six weeks later where the body says, "Nope. Your muscles aren't allowed to get bigger than this".
Well, if you arrived at your current volume and frequency by experimentation (trial and error), then that's all you can do. I'm vaguely familiar with myostatin, as I've read a bit about it online and McGuff covers it in BBS. If you're an ectomorph, then I'm afraid to ask what I am. Interestingly, I've recently posted in another thread that I went from 3x/2wks to twice a week at the beginning of the month. And about midway I added 3 additional compound sets for a total of 10, excluding calf raises and HIIT cardio. Since that time, I actually lost a bit of size in my chest, arms and legs. (I measured on Thursday.) Very slightly, but I can't attribute it to measurement error. And so, I'm now debating whether to reduce frequency back to 3x/2wks or possibly even once a week again, with another very brief HIIT session (~6 minutes) thrown in midweek. As I've noted in the past, I was fairly bigger when I was doing a lot more volume with either an ABA/BAB routine (to 2005) or full body twice a week (from 2005 to 2012). But by the spring of 2012, as I was approaching my mid-50s, I could no longer keep it up. Which is why I started experimenting with lower volume at first, and then with reduced frequency as well. And, yeah, I gradually got smaller. But was it because of the change in routine, or the inevitable result of getting older? If I had to bet a dollar, I'd say the getting older part had a bigger hand. Regardless, I could no longer handle the volumes I had grown accustomed to earlier in life. Plus, an accident outside the gym in the spring of 2013 left me with complete full thickness tears of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons of my left shoulder, along with a partial substance tear along the long of the biceps. My right shoulder, the "good one," already had a full thickness tear of the supraspinatus tendon, and split tears of the subscapularis and biceps tendons. Those were the result of bad exercise form in my earlier years. So I'm guessing my physique is a bit compromised and took a bit of a hit because of the weakening effect of those injuries, notably the one in 2013, although I think I work around them very well. As a final point, I believe I posted a link some time ago about an interesting exchange regarding workout frequency between a fairly young lifelong natural lifter and the guy who runs the ExRx website. Have a look: https://exrx.net/Questions/TrainingFrequency And if you ever do decide to read BBS, let us know what you think.
Watching this has me asking myself, how much time have I wasted training to cardiovascular failure rather than muscular failure? MIKE MENTZER: HARD WORK -- THE ESSENCE OF MUSCLE BUILDING - YouTube
I'm not referring to individual workouts, I'm talking big picture, all the years I spent doing balls out high reps, many sets, ass dragging workouts that left in me a blob on the floor. How productive was that? I ended up weaker, not stronger as a result. While my endurance improved for a while, that eventually fell apart too. When finally following some of your advice, (it pains me to say LOL) and cutting back I have seen better gains during the last couple of years, even as the aging process takes it's toll. I think it best to separate the two, endurance and strength training. Both are important, but when done together the result is losing both. Perhaps the youth can pull this off, but I think anyone over 40 should separate the two.