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LEGAL STUFF
© 2012 Elliott Hulse
All Rights Reserved. International Copyright
www.GrowStrongerMethod.com
This publication is fully copyrighted and does not come with giveaway or resale rights.
You may not sell or redistribute this report. It is reserved solely for paid members of
www.GrowStrongerMethod.com. Copyright and illegal distribution violations will be
prosecuted. This document has been watermarked with a digital GPS identification tag.
NOTICE
The information presented is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor
is it a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice.
This publication is presented for information purposes, to increase the public knowledge
of developments in the field of strength and conditioning. The program outlined herein
should not be adopted without a consultation with your health professional.
Use of the information provided is at the sole choice and risk of the reader. You must
get your physician’s approval before beginning this or any other exercise or nutrition
program. This information is not a prescription. Consult your doctor, nutritionist or
dietician for further information.
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table of contents
Too Much Muscle? “Yo-Yo Muscle Building”...............................................................4
Electric Strength...................................................................................................11
Fibrous vs Fluid Filled Muscle.................................................................................13
A Strong Economy.................................................................................................15
Yearly Training Cycle..............................................................................................19
Monthly Training Cycle...........................................................................................22
Weekly Training Cycle.............................................................................................24
Daily Routine........................................................................................................33
The Bulk Free Diet.................................................................................................36
The BEST Muscle Building Supplement ..................................................................38
Fat Loss Considerations..........................................................................................39
Final Thoughts......................................................................................................43
Recommended Training Equipment.........................................................................46
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Too Much Muscle?
“Yo-Yo Muscle Building”
Back in 1994 I began weight training
to become bigger and stronger for high
school football, and to earn an athletic
scholarship.
At 5'8" and 185 pounds, I was already
big and fairly strong for my age, but as
any 15 year old high school football
player will tell you, I wanted to become
bigger, faster, and stronger.
To be 6'6" and 270 pounds, with the
strength of a powerlifter and the speed
of an Olympic sprinter, is the dream of
every young American football player--at
least, that was my dream.
My parents bought me my first weight set, it included one barbell, about 300 pounds of
plates and a power rack. Everyday after school I would go down into the basement and train
for three hours with the hope of achieving my strength, size and speed goals.
I was fortunate enough to have my uncle, who was a bodybuilder, a martial artist (Kung
Fu) and a former gymnast, travel to our house on Long Island , up from New Jersey, every
Saturday morning to teach my little brother and I how to train for strength. He taught us
how to gain muscle mass, get stronger and become more explosive with the use of exercises
like squats, bench presses, dead lifts, power cleans and gymnastic exercises.
He also taught us how to eat in order to add more size to our young, scrawny little bodies.
We followed the typical bodybuilder’s mass gaining meal plan, including tons of chicken
breasts, egg whites, brown rice and protein shakes. We also supplemented our diets with
“weight gainer shakes.” These shakes contained 3,000 calories or more, most of which
came from sugar!
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Needless to say, I got BIG! I discovered I had a genetic gift for building muscle and getting
stronger--fast. It only took a few months for me to add over 20 pounds of mass to my body,
not all of this was muscle, but I did reach my goal of weighing 210 pounds by junior year.
I got strong enough to bench press over 300 pounds and squat over 400!
By senior year I was bigger and stronger than I had ever been and earned a scholarship to
play football at a Division 1AA school in New York, all thanks to my uncle, the barbell set,
months of hard work and piles of food!
In college I continued to train with barbells, and I continued to get bigger, stronger AND
faster. In fact, in my Sophomore season I weighted over 230 pounds and ran the fastest
40 yard dash on the team, 4.34!
After graduation I decided to make a career out of strength training. I took various jobs as
a personal trainer or strength coach at different gyms in New York.
Working full time made it difficult to eat the amount of food and train as often as I did in
college. Within a few short months I lost all of the weight I gained in college, I went from
230 pounds, back down to 185 in less than a year!
During the time I stayed under 200 pounds I lost a significant amount of strength, mostly
due to a change in my training and lifestyle .
Instead of grinding out 500 pound barbell dead lifts and 300 pound bench presses, I
experimented with so-called “functional training.” This led me into the arena of Swiss ball
and rubber band workouts. The heaviest barbell I lifted during those three years wasn’t more
than 275 pounds.
Instead of eating 6 cups of brown rice, a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs a day, I ate organic
vegetables and grass fed beef. Instead of swallowing spoonfuls of creatine and drinking
Weight Gainer 3000 I took fish oil supplements and drank green tea.
I was healthier than ever before, and I had more energy and vitality than I had ever felt
in my life, but I was weak. A big part of me missed the thrill of lifting heavy weights and
gaining mass. So, I shoved the part of me that wanted to grow bigger than a gorilla deep
down into the recesses of my consciousness and continued along the healthy, but weak,
path.
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Until, I met Tom Mitchell.
In 2007 strongman training began to gain popularity in the sports performance and fitness
industry. Strongman required an athlete build strength, speed, power and endurance in
order to complete exercises such as tire flips, stone loading, sled dragging and log pressing.
Strongman training, with its high
demand on the nervous and muscular
skeletal system, forces the participant
to get bigger and stronger--even if they
don’t want to!
Events such as dead lifting a 2”
thick handled barbell loaded with
500 pounds for as many reps as
possible within 60 seconds places
such a strain on your body that adding
muscle mass, in order to meet the
physical demand, is inevitable.
When I met Tom Mitchell, at a Crossfit clinic in Sarasota Florida, I was still about 185
pounds and eating less food than my 7 year old daughter does. As I listened to the 310
pound man talk to me and the other
150 pounds CrossFitters about
strongman training I thought that it
might be fun to give these “primal”
exercises a try--that’s exactly what Tom
had in mind when he designed his
clinic!
Tom invited us outside where he had
brought along several beer kegs filled
with sand and water, the heaviest
weighing 250 pounds. He also
happened to bring a 400 pound tire
with a handle attached to it by a 4 foot
chain. (Who keeps this kind of stuff in
their truck anyway?)
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For the next 90 minutes we carried,
dragged, pressed and flipped the
random “odd objects” he carried in
the back of his diesel fueled pickup truck. To conclude one of the
most sadistic workouts that I had
ever been through, Tom had us put
all of the kegs and tires into the
back of his truck and then PUSH
his truck across the parking lot.
While laying in the middle of the
concrete parking lot squirming in
pain... I fell in love!
Strongman was the perfect sport for me. It allowed me to use all of my God-given gifts of
strength, speed, power and agility once again. And not only did I fall in love with strongman
training, strongman training fell in love with me.
It didn’t take long before I competed in my first strongman show, and won.
I competed in the 200 pound weight class, but I could feel my body BEGGING me to let
it grow. I knew that if I ate like I did back in high school and college I could gain back all
of the size and strength lost
during my years of “functional
training”.
And that is exactly what I did.
Within less than two years
my bodyweight ballooned up
to almost 260 pounds! I was
winning every strongman show
I entered and even earned my
Pro Card. I finally became a
professional athlete!
My training was TOUGH!-
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-workouts would often last more than two hours daily. The intensity and volume I was
training with was unsustainable and as a result of training so hard, for so long, my body was
always achy and sore. In order to sustain this level of training I resorted to the use of more
powerful “supplements”.
These extra supplements, on top of my genetic gift of strength, literally turned me into a
“super man.” I had become so strong that I was jockeying for the position of America’s
Strongest 105k Man!
All of the success and excitement came crashing down before I could earn that coveted title.
I tore my biceps tendon.
One day after training with my partners my father asked me to help him remove some trees
from his yard. While pulling the root of a dead tree out of the ground, I tore my left biceps
muscle clean off the bone. I wish I could have said that I was surprised, but deep down I
knew this outcome was inevitable.
As a result of the injury I decided to stop strongman competitions all together and let my
body recover from over two years of abuse. I abruptly stopped using all supplements and
didn’t touch a barbell weighing over 300 pounds for the following 24 months.
I experimented with fat loss diets and different types of “hybrid” training until my
bodyweight was back down to around 200 pounds. During this time I also competed in
several long distance, obstacle races. Losing weight and running races was fun, but it is
NOT what I am designed to do.
My body is built for strength, not endurance. So after two years it was clear what I had to do
next, I had to...
Get stronger again!
At this point I’ll bet you can imagine how the story goes. Elliott starts eating like a horse,
lifting like a gorilla and gains back all of his weight , plus 20 more pounds, and goes on to
win The World’s Strongest Man competition--right?
Not quite.
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The injury forced me to step back and re-evaluate my training. This time I set out to gain
what strength coach Dan John calls “Easy Strength”. (To learn more about “Easy Strength”
CLICK HERE).
Instead of beating the crap out of my body, which produces tons of soreness and requires
significant recovery time, I have set out to build as much strength as possible under the
following conditions:
1. Grow Stronger...without gaining too much “puffy muscle” or bulk.
2. Grow Stronger...while staying healthy and “functional.”
3. Grow Stronger...without creating achy joints or chronic pain.
4. Grow Stronger...without spending more than 45 minutes a day training.
5. Grow Stronger...without training more than 4 times per week.
6. Grow Stronger...with the use of only a barbell and chin up bar.
7. Grow Stronger...with the “minimum effective dose” of training.
8. Grow Stronger...while maintaining a high level of conditioning.
9. Grow Stronger...without sacrificing mobility and flexibility.
10. Grow Stronger...WHILE BECOMING THE STRONGEST VERSION OF MYSELF!
That last condition, number 10, is a very important part of my mission.
After my biceps injury I came to the realization that my obsession with training heavy and
hard created a severe imbalance in my life. Although I was becoming physically stronger,
other areas of my life suffered tremendously.
About a year ago I coined the phrase “Becoming The Strongest Version Of Yourself” as a
way to describe what happens when you take a balanced approach to strength and personal/
life development.
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I have dedicated an entire website to this concept and even have a certification program
for people interested in becoming the strongest version of themselves. I call this idea
STRENGTHOLOGY, the science of becoming the stronger you!
You can learn more about STRENGTHOLOGY when you CLICK HERE.
This idea of “balanced training” is a major theme of this book. If you want to become
stronger than ever in the gym, but also have a life that you can participate in and be proud
of outside the gym...then I invite you, join me on this journey.
Let’s Grow Stronger, together.
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Electric Strength
Contrary to what most people believe, more muscle does NOT equal more strength. Of
course muscle plays a huge role in your body's ability to produce force, but the muscle
itself is only capable of producing tension though the nervous system.
If your nervous system can supply the muscle with enough “electricity” to overcome the
resistance, you become stronger; regardless of muscle size.
In my living room at home we have a dial on the wall that allows us to adjust how much
light the ceiling lamp produces. If we want the room to become brighter, we turn the dial
up and the room becomes brighter. If we want the room to become dimmer, we turn the
dial down and the room becomes dimmer.
We do NOT go and buy a larger sized light bulb when we want the room to become brighter.
Instead, we “turn up the dial” which provides more electricity though the wires and into the
light bulb thereby increasing the intensity of light in the room.
This is exactly how your nervous system and muscles work together.
Think of your Central Nervous System as the dial on the wall. When you need more
electricity delivered to the muscle, you need to “turn up the dial”.
When you turn up the dial, your Central Nervous System sends more “electricity” though
your Peripheral Nervous System which acts like the electric wires in my living room walls.
When the increased electricity finally reaches your muscle, it “lights up” with powerful
neurological electricity and produces force against a given resistance. In the same way that
the light bulb lights up the room, your muscle “lights up” the resistance by overcoming it.
Now, this doesn't mean that you can become your strongest without the gain of some
muscle mass, or that you can become “The Worlds Strongest Man” without adding some
bulk to your frame. But what it does mean is that you can teach your nervous system to
produce more force (Grow Stronger) without growing much larger.
One of the main reasons I chose to write this book is because I wanted to continue growing
stronger, without too much muscle gain.
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You might ask, “Elliott, why don't you want more muscle?”
First, after years of bulking up and cutting down I had become sick and tired of the
fluctuations. Buying a new wardrobe every year is not my idea of money well spent--besides,
one of my least favorite places on Earth is the shopping mall.
Also, I'd like to continue competing in various strength sports. I still enjoy strongman
training, power lifting and Olympic lifting. When I compete in one of the heavier weight
classes, my height (5'9") often becomes a limiting factor for me. It would be best to
compete in a lighter, under 200 lbs weight class, and still be competitive. This requires
that I don't gain too
much weight.
My final reason is you.
I know there are several
athletes and fitness
enthusiasts who read
my website and watch
my videos who want to
become stronger but
don't want to gain mass.
Athletes such as boxers,
fighters, skateboarders,
gymnasts, Olympic
lifters, power lifters, swimmers, jumpers, sprinters, etc.--all need to be strong, but either
have to stay within a weight class, or the extra bulk hinder s their sports performance.
With the Grow Stronger system you will become stronger and build leaner, more dense and
functional muscle; rather than large, fluid-filled, bulky muscles. We make this happen is by
focusing on training the nervous system and creating what's called Myofibrillar Hypertrophy.
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Fibrous vs. Fluid-Filled Muscle
There is more than one type of muscle
growth.
First, you have what I call “puffy muscles”.
The scientific name for this type of muscle
growth is Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy.
Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy is achieved by
increasing the fluid, or sarcoplasm, levels
in the muscle. When you train like most
bodybuilders, with high volume and low or
moderate weight and short rest intervals –
you'll get sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
This type of training will make you grow
larger looking muscle, but it will NOT make
you stronger. The reason why you'll look
bigger but remain relatively weak is because
you are simply causing your muscle to retain fluid. Since water can not be flexed, like
muscle fibers can, the extra size doesn't help you produce more force.
If we use the light bulb example again, it is like increasing the size of the glass bulb,
as opposed to delivering more electricity to the bulb, or more accurately, increasing the
filament size inside the bulb so that it can handle more electricity.
With the second type of hypertrophy, Myofibrillar Hypertrophy, we are actually increasing
the “filament” size within the light bulb so that it can handle a larger amount of the
electricity being delivered from your central nervous system!
When you train using the exercises and parameters in The Grow Stronger Method you will
be creating actual muscle fiber growth! In order for your muscles to produce more force
your body will continuously add tiny little “filaments”, called myofibrils, to each myocyte.
or muscle cell.
We call the type of hypertrophy that we're looking to gain, myofibrillar, because we want
to grow more of these myofibrils. Myofibrils are a part of the muscle cell, so when they
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become stimulated by the electricity from your nervous system they contract. This is very
different from the fluid, which doesn't contract, that gathers within the cells in sarcoplasmic
hypertrophy.
There are two main ways that we build myofibrillar hypertrophy within The Grow Stronger
Method.
First, we use a series of core barbell lifts with power lifting parameters in order to produce
as much tension in the muscle as possible. This means using exercises like the barbell dead
lift or a press. We always train very close to our “one rep max”, with intensities that allow
only 1-5 repetitions . We also keep the overall volume very low and take long rest intervals.
The idea that you'll end up a “big fat power lifter” by lifting heavy and taking long rest
intervals is completely untrue. The fact is, most powerlifters have horrible diets and often
add lots of “supplemental” or “accessory” exercises to their workouts, both of these factors
contribute far more to their bulkiness than their heavy lifting. In fact I know first hand some
very lean powerlifters who lift more weight than bodybuilders fifty pounds heavier.
Next, we aim to produce as much tension within the muscle as possible. The more
electricity you drive into your muscle, the more tension is produced. Notice how much
tension a gymnast produces as he holds the Iron Cross position.
In the Grow Stronger system we will add several gymnastics and bodyweight exercises to our
workouts in order to teach our nervous system and muscles how to work together to produce
more force. These types of exercises produce tension in all of the muscles in your body.
Everything from your hand strength to your core strength will be challenged.
And that brings me to my last point. The Grow Stronger Method does not require that you
spend two hours in the gym, everyday. In fact, spending too much time working out is
counterproductive and may cause your results to suffer.
This is the Ultimate Minimalist Workout Plan! All you need is a barbell set, a chin up bar
and thirty to forty-five minutes three times a week to Grow Stronger!
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A Strong Economy
As I write this book, the biggest concern of the average American is “the economy.”
Most people are concerned with high unemployment and skyrocketing gas prices; to them,
this is what the economy is. They see how little money is going into their pockets, versus
how much is going out.
The fact is, our economic problems stem from philosophical errors. For the past one
hundred years the American government, appointed by its people, has been volleying back
and forth between two philosophical viewpoints.
The first viewpoint is that in order to keep the economy strong, we must print more money
to fulfill our desires. This philosophy says, “Let the people keep their money, and we'll just
print more to cover our expenses.”
The second viewpoint believes that in order to keep the economy strong, we must tax the
people and use their money to fulfill our desires. This philosophy says, “The people should
give us more money in order for us to cover our expenses.”
I think both of these philosophies are wrong because they don't follow the principles of
Priorities, Thrift and Natural Correction. Let me explain with an analogy.
We'd all like to get stronger, right?
In order to get stronger we make use of two resources, Energy and Time.
We use energy to train and to recover from training. We also need to conserve energy
for other things in life, like working at a job and spending time with friends or family.
We allocate time to train and must also use it for recovery from training. We also need
to conserve time for other things in life. We can't spend all of our time in the gym.
If we are economical about how we use our energy and time we can get stronger in an
effective and efficient manner over the course of several months and years. In this way we
constantly Grow Stronger and our training enhances our lifestyle instead of detracting from
it.
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Now, if we were to apply the “just print more money” philosophy we'd have to abuse some
extrinsic energy and time producing substance, AKA anabolic steroids.
I'm not going to tell you why you should or shouldn't use steroids. I will tell you that if you'd
like to get stronger, in a very short time, with less intense efforts--steroids work. But you will
pay a hefty price!
Just like the central bankers who insist on printing more money to artificially “stimulate”
the economy, you will be artificially stimulating energy and anabolic hormones in your body.
The problem is that eventually the whole scheme breaks down.
A big reason why things costs so much more for Americans is because our money is worth
less and less. Each time the bankers and politicians “stimulate” the economy they are
diluting the value of the dollar.
These artificial dollars are not backed by anything of real substance, like gold. As the ratio
of dollars to actual gold increases, the dollar loses more and more value. In the beginning
this seems great, you get lots of money for no real effort (credit)...but in time you'll be
called to pay back the debt, and thats when chaos ensues!
The same is true with growing
stronger, you can take your time,
follow sound principles and build
real strength backed by hard
work and good food...or you can
look for a short cut to “stimulate”
growth.
If you choose the stimulus
package, you WILL have to pay
sooner or later. Hopefully it won't
be with your life!
If we were to try the good old, “just increase taxes (especially for the rich)” method, I
promise that our results will be just as dismal as our so-called economic recovery. This extra
“tax” for building strength comes in the form of spending more time in the gym, and doing
more exercises for higher volume.
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Just like the American taxpayer, you'll be working harder to keep less of your earnings.
If you are a competitive powerlifter and dream of being coached by Louie Simmons at
Westside Barbell, then be ready to dedicate your life to your training. This is also true if
you dream of becoming a champion fighter, Olympic athlete or professional ball player.
And there's nothing “wrong” with this approach--if you can afford it.
But if you have a life that includes work, family, school, business, recreation, friends,
hobbies, reading or anything else that you love or take pleasure in...then this approach
might not work for you.
Spending more time in the gym, means that you'll have to pay a “time and energy tax” and
if you think that by taxing “the rich” your little scheme will go unnoticed--think again.
In terms of our analogy “the rich” are your highest time and energy producers—things like
sleep, recovery time, and food.
If you tax your sleep time, family time, business time and adrenal glands, you might earn
a few extra moments to train and you'll probably be able to muster the energy for your long
workouts...but this too will come to an end.
Eventually your body is going to burn out, your wife is going to leave you and your business
will collapse. And just like the damaged condition of the American economy, your body, your
family and your business are going to need a LOT of emergency care in order to be restored.
Simple tricks and quick-fix tactics do not repair a broken economy. What is needed is an
entire philosophical change, and with that change comes severe pain and discomfort
Wouldn't it be better to start with the sound economic principles of Thrift, Priorities and
Natural Adjustment?
The Grow Stronger Method is a sound economic system.
We are THRIFTY with our time and energy. Instead of spending three hours in the gym,
six days a week...we strength train every other day with no more than 45 minutes.
This allows us time to Grow Stronger and enjoy life. What point is there in strength if
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we can't use it to play our sport, enjoy our children or impress women?
The Grow Stronger Method is based on PRIORITIES. Instead of using twenty different
exercises to hit your chest muscles, we use no more than three “big bang” exercises per
workout. We prioritize exercises that give us the biggest bang for our buck.
In this way we employ the “minimum effective dose” for strength training. Why drain all of
your energy with more exercises than are necessary?
The Grow Stronger Method is sensitive to the NATURAL ADJUSTMENTS and corrections
necessary to train at a high intensity for many years. This leads to the progressive
development of
your true strength
potential, free from
any injuries or
“blowback.” We follow
simple periodization
programming that
emphasizes high
intensities, low
volumes and ample
recovery time.
Growing stronger does
not require that you
over extend yourself,
go deep into debt,
or steal from other parts of your life and health to earn. In fact, the development of pure
strength may be the most beneficial thing you can for health and longevity.
If you follow sound economic principles!
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Yearly Training Cycle
The next few chapters are dedicated to showing you exactly how The Grow Stronger Method
works and how it fits into your training and lifestyle.
We will begin with the big picture, your Yearly Training Cycle, then work our way down to the
most minute parts of your daily workouts.
Whenever I take on a new project I like to consider the big picture first.
This is where I ask myself questions like; What is my goal? Why is this important to me?
And most important, What am I willing to do?
When you ask questions like this, it forces you to step back a moment and look objectively
at what you want and what you are willing to do. This is important because the emotional
high that you get from starting a new program eventually dies out.
Once the high wears off, you're left with a half-completed program, poor results and
distractions from every other coach who wants you to buy his book. Of course, there is
nothing wrong with trying other programs, but if you want to gain results with this method
I invite you to stick with it for a year.
The reason why I suggest a year is because it allows you enough time to build a habit
of commitment, experience some success and overcome the inevitable failures you'll
encounter on your journey. In addition there are some advanced exercises you will need time
to become proficient in that are detailed in the “Weekly Cycle” section of this book.
With that being said, here is your first assignment.
STEP #1 - Buy A Brand New Black Speckled Composition Notebook.
In an effort to keep your training as consistent and reproducible as mine, I'm going to ask
you to follow some of my steps exactly. If you follow my example to the letter your results
will be almost identical to mine.
So, the first step in The Grow Stronger Method is to purchase a black speckled composition
notebook, just like the one you see below. The reason why I like this kind of notebook is
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because the pages are sewn
into the binding. As opposed to
spiral bound notebooks, these
notebooks last a very long time
and almost never lose pages.
If you are like me, this book will
last you several years.
I have training journals dating as
far back as my high school days.
It is always enlightening to look
back at how you trained and what
you were lifting in the past. You may find mistakes as well as finding it a valuable tool for
keeping you focused when training begins to steer off track.
Later I will show you how to use your training journal to track your monthly, weekly and
daily progress.
For now...Buy your new notebook.
STEP #2 - Set Up Your Journal And First Cover Page.
Give your notebook a name, then print that name with a marker on the front cover. Then
on the first page inside the notebook, in the upper right corner, write the date and your
current bodyweight. (This is your “cover sheet”. You'll make a new one every 90 days,
or when you set new goals.)
Below that, in the middle of the page, write down your goals. Keep it short and simple.
Like, “I will dead lift 405 pounds and win my first strongman competition”.
Finally, below that you will list all of the things you commit to doing (or not doing) for the
next three months (90 days).
This list should be personal. It should include things that you know you can personally do
better in your training, nutrition and lifestyle. It may look like this....
- I will not drink any alcohol.
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-
I
I
I
I
I
will
will
will
will
will
eat vegetables with each meal everyday.
drink one gallon of water per day.
go to sleep at 10pm everyday, even weekends.
read one training related book every month.
not use profanity when speaking to my girlfriend.
This list is not about being right or wrong. I want you place on this list three to seven
things that you know you can do better and feel confident that you'll achieve.
Do not put things here that you are really not willing to do. If you have no intention of not
drinking alcohol for the next 90 days, then don't write it on the list.
Like I said at the beginning of this book, Growing Stronger is not just about lifting more
weight in the gym, it's about becoming the strongest version of yourself and that means
in ALL areas of your life.
A good friend and mentor once told me, “you bring your REAL self to everything that you
do.” This means that if you're a jerk to your girlfriend or are always getting into fights,
that stress will find its way into the gym. Think of the gym as a microcosm of your life.
How you are outside of the gym will be reflected and magnified inside the gym.
If you're distracted and burned out, that is no way to become stronger...in OR outside of
the gym.
Use your “cover page” to remind yourself of the person you'd like to be--the most ideal
version of you--the STRONGER You!
Once you've set your commitments for the next 90 days you're off on a running start! After
the first 90 days you are going to revisit your goals, take a look at the program you've been
following and adjust it to keep moving forward. I don't do official “test days” to see how
my strength has progressed. Instead I simply look into my journal and take note of which
exercises I've steadily improved on and which ones need more work.
It's at this point that you can decide if you are on the right path or if you need to make
changes. If you have new goals or your life has changed, then let it be reflected on the
“cover page” of your new 90 day commitment.
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Monthly Training Cycle
This is how you will break up your MONTHLY training cycle.
Week
Week
Week
Week
1
2
3
4
-
Heavy Lifting (3 x 3 ) + (optional) Support Strength + Gymnastic Progressions
Heavier Lifting (5 x 2) + (optional) Support Strength + Gymnastic Progressions
Heaviest Lifting (6 x 1) + (optional) Support Strength + Gymnastic Progressions
Light Lifting (3 x 10) + (optional) Support Strength + Gymnastic Progressions
Like I mentioned in earlier chapters, the main objective with this program is to Grow
Stronger with as little bulk as possible. The way we do this is by lifting heavy and teaching
the nervous system to maximize its output. Also, we are being “economical” by only training
what needs to be trained and with the minimum amount of volume.
What you'll find in The Grow Stronger Method is a mixture of barbell powerlifting (or sports
specific lifting) and gymnastic training.
The Heavy Lifting parameters you see above are borrowed from Dan John's “Rule Of Ten”
mentioned in his book Easy Strength. According to John, “exercise form begins to diminish
after ten reps.” So, we aim to keep the reps for each workout under ten.
There are three major lifts that we'll be working, the press, the deadlift and the squat. As
you'll learn I prefer the over head press, but we will also program the bench press, there are
several variations of the dead lift that we'll use, and although I prefer the front squat we will
also program the back squat and other variations as well.
The Gymnastic Progressions are bodyweight and chin up bar calisthenics designed to teach
the nervous system to “tense” the muscles for an extended period of time. These exercises
also emphasize core strength and will contribute to improving posture, strengthening
stabilizers and decreasing the risk of injury.
There are two types of gymnastics exercises that we're looking to master. The first is
the basic handstand and handstand variations. Most of the handstand exercises and
progressions that you'll find in this book have been borrowed from my friend Arash Baboo's
Strength Project YouTube channel.
The second gymnastics exercise that we'll master are chin up bar levers and lever variations.
22
Most of the chin up bar exercises and progressions that you'll find in this book are borrowed
from Raising The Bar by Al Kavadlo (this book also has a ton of great info about developing
the handstand as well) .
STEP #3 - Label Your Monthly Cycle In Your Journal.
In you training journal, after your
cover page, each additional notebook
page represents one week and every
four pages equals a month. At the top
of the next four pages you will write
“Week 1.1 - (3 x 3) Heavy”,
“Week 2.1 - (5 x 2) Heavier”,
“Week 3.1 - Heaviest (6 x 1)”,
“Week 4.1 - (3 x 10) Deload.”
The first number represents which week in the month you are training, the second number
represents the month you are in. Since this is your first month, the second number will be
a one. Next month it will be 2, when you have completed twelve months of training, the
second number on your weekly page labels will be 12--Get it?
23
Weekly Training Cycle
This is how you will break down your WEEKLY training cycle.
Monday - Barbell Dead Lift Variation + Handstand Progression
Tuesday - “Play Workouts”
Wednesday - Barbell Pressing Variation + Lever Progression
Thursday - “Play Workouts”
Friday - Full Body Density Workout
Saturday - REST
Sunday - REST
Now it is time to choose which exercises you will be focusing on for the next four to twelve
weeks.
For each barbell movement (press, pull, squat) I will offer you several variations to choose
from.
My suggestion: if you have been training for less than one full year or if you're coming off
a long break, choose one variation of an exercise and stick with it for the first twelve week
cycle. The reason is that your nervous system is still “young” enough that strength gains will
come regardless of what exercises you choose. This is a great place to be. As your nerves
and muscles become more accustomed to the basic exercises you may notice a stall in
progress; this is when you'll need to add the variations mentioned below.
If you are an advanced lifter and have been weight training for several years, then rotate
the lift variations from month to month. This will keep your nervous system “guessing” and
may avert any strength stalls you might otherwise experience. Do NOT rotate exercises from
week to week, you will be rotating the intensities and rep/set variables and this will create
enough variation to avert stagnation.
For the Gymnastic Progression portion of your workout I will first offer you “Basic Level”
exercises. These exercises are designed to help you nail down the essential components
of each movement. For example, you may perform “Wall Walking” drills in order to build
up core strength and wrist flexibility before moving on to the next handstand level.
The “Standard Level” exercises are performed when you have mastered the basic
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movement. When you are capable of doing free standing handstands you may work on
holding the handstand for a given time or work on a combination movement such as “Press
To Handstand”.
Finally the “Advanced Level” exercises are for you gymnastic champions! These exercises
take Standard Level movements to the next level. To be honest, I will probably never reach
this level, but it is always fun watching some of my younger athletes nail these crazy
acrobatics.
If you get to the Advanced Level exercises please send me an e mail with a video or pictures
of yourself doing them. I'll be sure to congratulate you personally and post your video on the
HulseStrength.com blog!
STEP #4 - Choose Your Barbell, Support & Gymnasitic Exercies
In your training journal you will record each of your daily workouts on the weekly pages you
labeled earlier. Begin each workout by recording the day of the week and the date in the
column of the page. Then write down the Part 1 exercise that you will be performing that
day. After the exercise name leave two lines blank, you will record your weights and reps
in on those lines.
Next, write down 1-3 optional "Support" exercises that you will use in addition to the
Barbell lift. The support exercise is there to support your ability to grow stronger in the main
lift. Often you will find that you have specific muscular or movement weaknesses that hinder
your progress. The addition of the support lift is to help you move past these sticking points.
Below you will find a basic list of preferred Grow Stronger exercise along with a picture
and a very short description. In some cases I will link to videos that may be helpful to you.
Although there are dozens of variations for these exercises, I have purposely chosen to keep
the list short and simple.
If you need more instruction on how to perform basic barbell exercises, Mark Rippetoe's
Starting Strength is a great reference.
25
On Mondays you will PULL & HANDSTAND.
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING (Part 1):
Dead Lift
Sumo Dead Lift
26
Choose 1-3 of the following Support Exercises (part 2).
Bend Over Row
Variation
3-5 sets of 3-5 reps
Weighted Chin Up
Variation
3-5 sets of 3-5 reps
Unilateral Leg Exercise
(Lunges / Step Ups)
3-5 sets of 3-5 reps
each leg
27
PLUS ONE TO THREE OF THESE (Part 3):
Wall Kick Ups — Stand
in front of a wall. Place your
hands on the floor about 12”
away from the wall and “kick”
yourself into a handstand
position with feet supported
by the wall.
Frog Stands — Squat
down and place your hands
on the floor with your elbows
slightly bent. Next, bring your
knees up towards your armpit
and rest your shins on your
triceps. Now hold it!
Handstands — This is
performed just like the “Wall
Kick Ups” described above.
Only now there is no wall to
balance on!
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On Wednesdays you will PRESS & LEVER.
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING (Part 1):
Overhead Barbell Press
Bench Press
29
Choose 1-3 of the following Support Exercises (part 2).
Weighted
Chest Dips
3-5 sets of
3-5 reps
Resisted
Push Up
Variation
3-5 sets of
3-5 reps
Triceps
Extension
Variation
3-5 sets of
3-5 reps
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PLUS ONE TO THREE OF THESE (Part 3):
Tuck Front Lever —
Hang from a pull- up bar and
pull your legs into your chest
while rolling your hips back
until your torso is parallel to
the ground. Hold this position
as long as you can.
Half Tuck Front Lever
— Hang from a pull-up bar
and pull one leg into your
chest while rolling your hips
back until your torso is parallel
to the ground, your other leg
will be stretched straight in
front of you. Hold this position
as long as you can.
Front Lever — Hang from a pull-up
bar, pull your entire body off the floor
until it's parallel to the ground. It's like
your laying down in the air! I might
also perform some light strongman
moves such as tire flips or stone lifting.
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On Fridays you will use the following Full Body Density workout which is a form of “Hybrid
Muscle Building”. By mixing variables from both strength and muscle building systems we
aim to maintain or increase our muscle mass. The purpose of this component is NOT to
become huge and swollen, just to retain a base level of muscle while increasing strength.
If you are already at a comfortable level of muscle mass and wish to avoid any further
hypertrophy then you may choose to exclude this day from your routine or simply “cherry
pick” which muscles you'd like to build and only perform exercises for those body parts.
In order to build more density in these muscles we are going to keep the weights relatively
heavy and the reps low, BUT we'll shorten the rest intervals between exercises.
Unlike on Monday and Wednesday, where we allow as much rest as needed between sets,
with these full body density workouts we want to keep the rest between 60 and 90 seconds.
Of course, with rest intervals this low you may have a hard time lifting the same weight for
multiple sets. When necessary, lighten the load to continue.
This is a general training template you can use, or modify, for your Friday workout.
Friday workout
EXERCISE
1. Back / Front Squats
2. Weighted Chin Ups
3. Barbell Bend Over Rows
4. Incline Bench Press
5. Over Head Dumbbell Press
SETS
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-6
REPS
2-4
2-4
2-4
2-4
2-4
Tuesday & Thursday “Play Workouts” — Personally I use Tuesdays and Thursdays to either
join a CrossFit workout at my friend's gym or I'll perform my Bio-energetic Warm Up Routine
followed by a game or some sort or low intensity plyometric work, like broad jumping or
medium height box jumps.
I like to say that these are my “play” workout days. I encourage you to do the same thing.
Go into the gym on these days and just “play around,” don't take the workout too seriously.
The main point of these workouts is to keep your nervous system sharp by exposing it to
different stimuli. Also, by keeping a playful attitude about the session you are inviting a
parasympathetic/anabolic response from your body.
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Move, sweat a little, have some fun and leave the gym feeling more energized than when
you walked in.
Weekends REST — You Grow Stronger when you REST. Take your rest days very seriously.
I personally look forward to my REST days on the weekend, particularly Sunday. On Sundays
I spend the entire day at the beach with my wife and children . We just sit in our beach
chairs with our feet in the water, watching the children play in the ocean. I don't bring any
books or “homework” I just sit, stand, walk around and swim. That's it!
You're encouraged to do the same thing. Find a way to break free from the “normal”
patterns of your daily life and immerse yourself into a new, relaxing environment, even if
its only for an hour.
If you can find the time to take a nap, go for it. The extra sleep with help you Grow Stronger
faster. If you can get a massage, schedule an appointment on these days. If you simply take
a long walk around your city or in a public park, you will be doing wonders for your strength,
muscle and mind! -- Enjoy.
Training Overview
Warm Up — before every workout, as well upon rising in the morning, I perform my
Bioenergetic Warm Up Routine. CLICK HERE for a blog post and video explaining how it's
done. I highly recommend this 10 minute routine. It charges your body with energy, orients
your muscles for training and brings focus to your workout.
MONDAY workout
EXERCISE
PULL & HANDSTAND
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Tuesday workout
PLAY WORKOUTS
33
SETS
REPS
3
5
6
3
3
2
1
10
Wednesday workout
EXERCISE
PRESS & LEAVER
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
SETS
REPS
3
5
6
3
3
2
1
10
SETS
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-6
5-6
REPS
2-4
2-4
2-4
2-4
2-4
Thursday workout
PLAY WORKOUTS
Friday workout
EXERCISE
1. Back / Front Squats
2. Weighted Chin Ups
3. Barbell Bend Over Rows
4. Incline Bench Press
5. Over Head Dumbbell Press
WEEKENDS - REST
In the next chapter I will show you how to use your training journal to log every workout and
keep track of your progress.
34
Daily Routine/Training Journal
At this point you should have a clear idea of how your training will progress over the next
12 months. Every month you begin a new “phase” of training by switching the main
exercises. Every week you stimulate new strength by changing the reps, sets and weights
being used. Now we'll discuss how your daily routine will look.
I've been keeping training journals
since I first began training
back in 1993! Keeping a daily
training journal is one of the
most important things you'll do to
ensure you GROW STRONGER!
STEP #5 Logging In Your
Training Journal
You already have your black
speckled composition notebook,
and you've already set up your
cover sheet. In order to teach you
how to use your journal on a daily basis I'll share a few pictures from my personal training
journal so that you can follow along and use the same format as me.
Cover Sheet (new phases)
As you'll notice, I begin every month (or phase) by writing
the month or what number cycle I'm in at the top. The
example above was created in preparation for one of my
strongman shows...but had I been simply following The
Grow Stronger Method for strength, I would have noted
what number cycle I am starting. If this was my third
month following the system I would have written
“Phase 3” at the top of the page.
35
Cover Sheet Example #2
This example is closer to what your journal may
look like. Begin with the month or phase at the
top. Sometimes I give the phase a name based
on the new exercises I'm following or what
goals I have set. You might call the first phase
“Phase 1: Getting Started”.
Below the phase and name I describe
what exercises and rep/set scheme I will
be following. Since you'll be following The Grow Stronger
Method, you may choose to add the reps and sets for each week or just write the exercise
names.
This is a good place to also note your bodyweight, body fat percentage, any strength records
you hold or goals you'd like to achieve in this phase.
Daily Recordings
At the top of this page you'll see “Week 1”,
this reminds me that it is the first of the four
weeks that I'll be following this plan. It is also a
reminder of what rep/set scheme I am following.
In this example I am using a 5 x 5 scheme.
In the left column you'll notice the date 2/13.
To the right I put the name of the first exercise
I am going to do, along with the rep/set
scheme I am following. Underline both.
Leave 2 blank lines beneath the exercise name and write the name of the other
exercises in your workout. Since you might be doing gymnastics progression, you might just
write the name of what progression exercise you'll be working on for that day.
In the first of the two spaces that you left between exercise names you are going to record
the weight you are using along with how many reps you were able to complete with an “x”
36
between them. Like you see in my example
above.
Daily Recordings Example #2
Optional Notes
In Your Journal
It is well known that keeping a daily “life
journal” is good for mental health, success and achievement. A life journal is a
place where you can record insights, problems and achievements that you can go back and
reflect on years later.
Although this is your training journal, you might also want to leave space to record your
daily reflections. Things like your mood, what you ate, what time you slept, stressors or
challenges you are having outside the gym can have a negative impact your ability to Grow
Stronger. Keeping track of all of these things and how they affect you can improve your
performance in the gym--Try it!
In the next section I will offer you a few auxiliary ideas and methods that have been useful
to me on my journey of strength. The ideas, products or suggestions that I make here are
not mandatory, just things that have helped me and so I wanted to share them with you.
37
The Bulk Free Diet
I know this might sound like a strange problem, but I gain both fat and mass way too easily.
Of course, no one wants to get fatter, but I also can't help but gain tons of “puffy muscle”
no matter what kind of program I follow.
I designed this program to add “dense” muscle to my frame and get stronger without too
much weight or muscle gain. I've found that by keeping my diet in check I am able to gain
strength without the size. I have followed and created tons of diets, but what I am going to
share with you happens to be the easiest and my favorite.
Years ago I experimented with Intermittent Fasting. This is where you don't eat for the whole
day and then “break fast” with a huge meal in the evening. At first this didn't work too well
for me because I would come home at night and PIG OUT.
I thought that since I wasn't eating that it was okay for me to pile tons of empty calories
onto my plate and gorge myself before bed. Of course, I was dead wrong and this clearly
method wasn't working for me.
Then I tried another form of Intermittent Fasting created by my friend Jason Ferruggia. He
calls it The Renegade Diet.
The difference between my first attempt at fasting and what I discovered in Jason's book
is that there are different ways to fast. Depending on your goals you can manipulate your
“break fast” meal to accomplish them.
For example, if you want to gain muscle mass while following this simple diet then you'll
want to follow the Muscle Gaining parameters on page 68 in his book.
If you're like me and want to stay at your current weight then you'll follow the same plan
that I've been using for the past several months.
The image below comes straight out of The Renegade Diet manual. This is one of several
“fat loss” methods for intermittent fasting. The other big reason why I personally follow The
Renegade Diet is that it's just easy to follow.
The fact is that I hate dieting. I hate counting calories and I hate having to “watch what I
38
eat”. With this simple program I just drink water and eat some protein during the day, then
I fill my belly with veggies, meat and potatoes at night.
There is no thinking. No calorie counting, and it works!
EARLY MORNING TRAINING
SAMPLE MEAL PLAN ­- EXTREME FAT LOSS FOCUS
Pre Workout ­— 6:30am:
Post Workout ­— 8:30am:
Post Workout 2 ­— 10am:
Meal 1 ­— 12pm:
Meal 2 ­— 3:45pm:
Meal 3 ­— 7pm:
1 cup black coffee
10 grams BCAA
10 grams BCAA
3 eggs over easy
1-2 cups green veggies
8oz chicken breast
mixed greens salad
1 tbsp olive oil & apple cider vinegar
Huge spinach & arugula salad with veggies
Olive oil & apple cider vinegar
Raw Kimchi
8-16 oz blackened Cod
2 cups red potatoes
If you're happy with your diet and the results you are getting with it, then continue to use
it. But if you're looking for something new to follow while using The Grow Stronger Method,
give The Renegade Diet a try.
CLICK HERE To Lean More About The Renegade Diet.
39
The BEST Muscle Building
Supplement
Back when I first started training in high school with my uncle he put me on two
supplements, the first was called “Muscle Maxx”, it was a meal replacement shake I took
between meals to gain mass, the other supplement was creatine.
Back then we'd go through a “loading phase” when first starting the supplement. That
meant taking a serving once every three hours for about five days.
During this “loading phase” it was not uncommon for me to gain 10 pounds of mass and
see an increase in all of my lifts. There's no doubt that creatine works, almost like magic.
Since 1994, supplement companies have gotten better at making their supplements. By
combining them with other substances and enhanced refining they've learned to produce
the purest version possible. Today there are dozens of companies that make creatine, some
of which are pretty good.
I have found a formula that works faster, lasts longer and is by far the best available. It's
called Hypergain Creatine.
To be honest, I am not much of a supplement user. Nor do I sell supplements or make
money endorsing them. I think most supplements are a waste of time and money. I
recommend Hypergain Creatine because I have experience with it myself and I know it
works.
I cycle on and off of it though out the year, but you'll be able to tell
the difference between when you are on and when you've come off.
By the way, creatine is not only super effective, it has proven to be
100% safe. But like I said, I'm not a supplement scientist so your
best bet is to do your own research before starting.
CLICK HERE For A Short Video About How To Use Creatine
Effectively .
40
Fat Loss Considerations
Although our main purpose for using The Grow Stronger Method is for strength gains,
maintaining or creating a healthy body fat percentage is important. There is nothing worse
than a super strong guy who can dead lift a Mac Truck but is too embarrassed of his fat gut
to take his shirt off at a pool party.
If you are following The Renegade Diet like I suggested you'll have no problem keeping your
waistline in check. In the off chance that you need a little more help, keep reading.
The problem with most fat loss routines is that they take away from our strength gaining
results, both in time and energy. That is why I recommend using short “Metabolic
Resistance” circuits at the end of your workouts to burn fat. These are “hard and fast”
circuits that you can just stick at the end of your Grow Stronger workout. They are fun and
work wonders for getting you leaner and helping you grow stronger!
Below is an article that my friend Mike Whitfield wrote for us. Mike was once a super fat
dude. He became fed up with being overweight and began using these short “fat loss
finishers” at the end of his workouts to great effect.
Accelerate Fat Loss with MRT and MFs
By Mike Whitfield, CTT
Author, Workout Finishers
It was a big day for a client of mine named Chris. He hit the 65 lb mark recently. He has
lost that much in just a little over 5 months. He didn't use any secret pill or any fad diet,
either. When I asked him, “Chris, what do you think is the #1 secret to your success?”, he
responded with one of twothings and I'll let you guess:
“Once a week, I am surrounded by awesomeness, and it's the awesomeness I find with you
Mike”. OR...
“Paying attention to what I eat, drink lots of water and stay consistent with my workouts
even when I don't want to”.
41
He said the second one, but I know he was thinking the first one. Trust me on that.
I'm going to tell you what Chris has done to lose so much weight in a short of amount of
time so you can jump start your fat loss or break a plateau you might be experiencing. It's a
one-two punch that your belly fat doesn't stand a chance of fighting. Plus, what has worked
has pretty cool initials--MRT and MFs.
Dude, What is Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT)?
What Chris has been using is a combination of Metabolic Resistance Training and Metabolic
Finishers to accelerate fat loss. Why do I find the need to capitalize the first letter in each
word of the title? I don't know really--but pause for a second and look at it. It looks cool
with the letters capitalized. Maybe that's why. Maybe you're bored with this paragraph.
Maybe I'll make this the last sentence of this paragraph.
Metabolic resistance training has been getting a lot of buzz lately due to its fat-torching
abilities. But many people don't quite understand what MRT is.
It's almost like strength training and intervals done at the same time. The reason I put
“almost” in italics is because it makes the sentence look awesome. Seriously, you get
the best of both worlds because MRT is strength focused, but with short rest periods and
using compound movements, you improve your conditioning. For example, performing 8
Bulgarian Squats on each leg followed immediately by 6-8 Pullups and then resting for
1 minute is metabolic resistance training. However, performing bicep curls, resting for
2 minutes and then doing sit-ups, and then finally taking a sip of a protein shake while
looking at facebook on your phone is not MRT.
MRT burns a significant amount of calories in a short amount of time due to the compound
movements and shorter rest periods. A program with squats, rows, and pushups set up in a
non-competing superset or circuit fashion hits all your major muscle groups in no time. You
not only burn calories while working out, but you also set your body up to burn calories well
after the workout--as in up to 38 hours.
So let's do the math:
Hundreds of calories burned during the workout + Even hundreds more of calories burned
after the workout = New wardrobe and feeling dead sexy (too much?)
42
What are MFs?
Metabolic finishers (MFs) is a way to replace interval training and finish your main strength
workout. They are designed to burn a ton of calories in a very short amount of time, pretty
much making you feel spent. When done right, you will typically have nothing left in the
tank once you complete them. That is why they are at the end of a workout. Some finishers
take only a couple of minutes.
After one of Chris's main workouts, he does the following circuit 3 times, and rests for 30
seconds between circuits:
1) DB Swings (20)
2) Incline Push-ups (15)
3) Total Body Extensions (15)
As you can see, by incorporating these moves at the end of his main workout, Chris
improves his conditioning by working his cardiovascular system without the redundant
cardio machines. He uses his own body and a dumbbell to elevate his metabolism, hitting
many muscles in a short amount of time. This is a great metabolic finisher for his fitness
level.
To make the above finisher more difficult and challenging, you can do this:
1) DB Swings (20)
2) Spiderman Push-ups (10 ea side)
3) Burpees (15)
By using a combination of metabolic resistance training and metabolic finishers, you do
more in less time, creating an environment within your body that requires a substantial
amount of calories to recover. Yay for science. Yay for fat burning. Yay for new clothes.
Yay for the last sentence in this paragraph.
One Last Secret Chris used to Burn 65 lbs of Fat in Less than 6 Months (by the way, this
is a long header but you didn't notice until now, and now you're chuckling, and now you're
welcome)
Chris has been using metabolic resistance training and finishers for a while now. He
has been typically using superset or circuit fashion workouts lifting heavy early on in his
43
programs (usually in the 8 rep range). But get this--when he knew he would be busy at
work, he would still put in a fast metabolic resistance bodyweight circuit after work, even if
he couldn't complete his main workout. He would knock out the circuit in 15-20 minutes.
He had this “back-up” program set up of body squats, inverted rows, pushups and crossbody mountain climbers, followed by a 2-minute metabolic finisher for those busy days (he
works in retail).
By staying consistent, that has allowed him to drop so much weight in a short amount of
time. So yes, you can use your own bodyweight as a tool for metabolic resistance training.
Using metabolic resistance training and metabolic finishers are the latest tools for creating
your own body transformation. A well-designed MRT and MF program can strip off fat in
just 40 minutes a day, 3 days a week. You can do that.
Mike Whitfield, CTT
CLICK HERE To Try Mike's 40 Fat Loss Finishers at the end of your workouts.
44
Final Thoughts
Growing Stronger is a lifelong process and requires that we constantly upgrade our
knowledge, try new things and build upon our experiences. The best way to do this is to
read more books, consult more experts, experiment with new things and keep track of what
works for us--regardless of what others say.
Growing Stronger is a
personal experience.
But we can glean from
the wisdom of others
who have been on the
journey longer than we
have. When we consult
with these people
we can choose to use their experiences to support us, leave their insights for a later more
appropriate time, or reject them entirely.
You and I are on the same journey. We are committed to our personal growth and evolution.
Hopefully the insights I've shared with you in this book can help you to continue moving
forward.
I appreciate you as a customer and respect you as a fellow warrior of strength.
I will leave you with this one last idea:
The ONLY real secret to growing stronger is to NEVER, ever give up. No matter what,
KEEP GOING!
Frequently Asked Questions
As you can imagine, it is impossible for me to answer everyone questions via e mail,
Facebook or YouTube. But it is extremely important that I address the questions that most
people have; I really want this program to work for you.
Q: Should I lift each set to failure?
45
The goal of this program is to get stronger. We do this by teaching our nervous and
muscular system to overcome resistance. Every time we “win” the resistance war we have
an opportunity to grow stronger, but each time we “fail” we teach the body that failure is an
option.
There is NO need to go to failure with these sets, in fact it may be detrimental. The best
gauge for intensity it to make sure that you have about one rep “left in the tank” after each
set.
Q: Should I perform “forced reps” if I am going to fail at a set?
No, instead you should rack the weight and choose a lighter intensity for the next set. There
is nothing wrong with lightening the weights in order to hit the prescribed reps per set. I do
this all the time.
Q: Why don't you use percentages?
In my experience designing a program based on percentages is not only time consuming and
tedious, it rarely ever translates in the gym as it is written on the page. Instead I invite you
to listen to your body and become an “intuitive lifter”.
Also, we have rotated the rep and set schemes so that you are not always training with the
exact same intensity. When you are doing 3 x 3 for the first week, you will likely be using a
lighter weight than when you do 6 x 1 later in the same phase.
Q: How much rest should I take between sets?
Except for on Friday, when you are keeping your rest intervals at sixty seconds, you can
choose to rest as long as possible between sets. In fact, I suggest you rest as long as it takes
to complete the given reps in the following set. This also applies to your gymnastics training
as well.
There is no rush with these workouts. The volume is low enough that you can take your time
between sets and still complete the workout in 45 minutes.
Q: Why don't I get sore after these workouts?
If you're training just to get sore, then this is the wrong program for you. The purpose of this
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program is to train your nervous system for strength gains first. For the most part this will
leave your muscular system relatively fresh, you won't be “killing” your muscles with drop
sets, burn out sets or super short rest intervals.
There is no reason to feel sore to get stronger. In fact, I'd rather not be sore all the time
since I want to enjoy my “play and rest” days.
Q: Can I do squats instead of dead lifts on Mondays?
I personally feel that dead lifts are the best full body exercise and are best for building
overall strength. Squats come in a very close second.
The reason why I chose dead lifts over squats is because they force you to address posture
problems instead of just “hacking” through the movement and creating more muscle
imbalances. If you MUST do squats, then I suggest you use front squats instead of back
squats. Front squats also force you to address posture and thoracic extension. I prefer you
learn how to do these instead.
Q: What should I do for my abs?
A big reason why I love gymnastics exercises so much is they force your abs to get stronger.
Without having to do tons of crunches you will be building a leaner, solid and functional
core when you build up your lever and handstand strength. If you MUST do ab exercises
then I suggest you invest in an ab roller and do rollouts instead of crunches. I also suggest
you do some research and learn how to perform “tummy vacuums”.
Q: Can I use The Grow Stronger Method for sports conditioning?
This manual is the “base” Grow Stronger Method, meaning that you can use it to grow
stronger no matter what sport or activity you participate in. Since the volume is so low you
will still be fresh enough to practice your sport.
I will be creating several “auxiliary” Grow Stronger workouts in the near future. If you have
suggestions for specific Grow Stronger workouts that you would like me to create, just shoot
me your idea at elliotthelp@gmail.com
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Recommended Training Equipment
The Rogue S2 Squat Rack
You really don't need too much equipment to
use The Grow Stronger Method, but there is one
piece that I think you should have. A durable
rack where you can perform all of your pressing,
squatting and pulling.
I have three Rogue S2 Racks in my garage gym.
The reason why I love these so much is because
the don't take up too much space, they're durable
AND they have cool chin up bar that includes a
2” diameter option.
CLICK HERE If You're Interested In Learning More About The Rogue S2 Rack.
Westside Power Bar
If you choose to buy a cheap bar and plate set from your local sporting goods store you'll be
good to go, but I can promise you that within a few months, the bar is going to begin falling
apart...especially if you train as hard we do at my gym.
Your best bet is to get a quality bar that will last you years and years.
These power bars are designed for abuse. I have
two of them that I bought over 5 years ago and
they are still holding strong. I highly recommend
them. Even though they seem expensive, you'll
save money in the long run.
CLICK HERE To Invest In A Westside Power Bar
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Rogue Wood Rings
Although you don't need rings to use the Grow Stronger method, I personally enjoy using
them for my lever work. It also provides an opportunity to work on “reverse levers”,
something you can't do with a chin up bar alone.
These rings can easily be attached to the chin up bar in your squat
rack and be used for dozens of great bodyweight strengthening
exercises. I have three pairs of these at my gym and we use them on
a daily basis.
CLICK HERE If You'd Like To Learn More About The Rogue Wood Rings
Recommended Reading Material
The following books have been referenced though out The Grow Stronger manual. I
purposefully did not fill this manual with too much technical talk in order to keep it simple
and allow you to get started right away, without too much thinking.
But if you're a strength geek like me, then you'll want to dig a little deeper into the
mechanics of barbell and gymnastics training. You can never have enough books in your
library, especially books that help you become a stronger version of yourself.
The following books are highly recommended for additional, in depth, study.
Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
Easy Strength by Dan John & Pavel
Power To The People by Pavel
Raising The Bar by Al Kavaldo
Renegade Diet by Jason Ferruggia
Workout Finishers by Mike Whitfield
Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson (Bonus Reading)
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Elliott's Books & Resources
Lean Hybrid Muscle
Strength Camp Workouts
Gridiron Domination
Superior Program Design
Superior Speed System
Hybrid Strongman Training
14 Day Hybrid Mass Building
Aggressive Strength Complexes
Anabolic Energizers
The Muscle Virus Solution
Warehouse Gym Business Course
Passion Cash Control
Elliott's Websites
HulseStrength.com
Strengthology.net
Elliott's Facebook Page
Elliott's YouTube Channel
Elliott's Twitter
Thank you for investing in this book and taking the time to try my methods for building
strength!
Grow Stronger,
Elliott Hulse
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