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THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH
by Anthony Ditillo
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
The Single and Double Progression Method
Power Rack Training
Isometric and Isometronic Training
Various Sets and Repetition Schedules
The Single Repetition Principle
Chapter Two
The Intensity Factor
The Importance of Training Volume
The Coupling of Intensity and Volume Loads
The Cheating Principle In Strength Training
The Adaptation Principle in Strength Training
Chapter Three
Training For Powerlifting Proficiency
Bench Press Specialization
Squat Specialization For Increased Strength
Deadlift and Back Specialization Programs
Chapter Four
The Development of Muscular Bulk and Power
Power Rack Training For Bodyweight Gains
Various Weight Gaining Routines
Dietary Consideration For Gaining Weight
Chapter Five
Olympic Assistance Movements For Size and Strength
Heavy Dumbbell Training For Size and Strength
Various Strength Specialization Routines
One Lift Specialization Programs
CHAPTER ONE
The Single and Double Progression Method
When beginning a book on physical training, I feel it is only natural to begin with the
most basic concept used in any barbell endeavor. We all use this training aid in one form
or another and its use makes possible the goals of which our dreams are made.
By single and double progression I mean the basic way we arrange our sets and
repetitions with a given weight, which will enable us to do so many things in our training,
that its usefulness cannot and should not be overlooked when discussing barbell training,
in general.
All trainees use this method for keeping track of their progress as well as preventing
injury and over-training. In fact, I would go as far as to say that most of today’s problems
concerning progress with the weights stem from a mistaken notion of the use of this
single, double and even triple progression system and all it pertains to.
When attempting to add to your physical strength, basic training principles such as the
proper pacing of your sets and repetitions as the rate of weight increases as time goes by
are most important to insure proper training pace, freedom from overexertion, proper
recuperation and a lessening in training injuries. We shall now endeavor to explain just
what the single and double progression system consists of.
Since most of you reading this should know by now what a set and rep consists of, I
shall take for granted your being able to follow me and we shall digress further into the
subject at hand.
Since all our work with weights consists of using various sets and repetition systems it
is only natural for us to try and reduce this concept down to its scientific simplistic
essence and thereby guarantee results as fast as could be expected under normal
circumstances.
When we use a certain amount of weight in an exercise, this consistency of weight
becomes the unchanging variable should we decide to do more sets and more repetitions
with this same weight. In such a case, we are increasing both repetitions and sets while
the amount of weight remains constant. This would be an example of double progression.
If, however, we keep the weight and the sets the same and increase only repetitions, as
time goes by, then we are using a single progressive system. If we increase the repetitions
and sets plus weight, strength permitting, we would be using a triple progression system.
This system is extremely tiring and severe and recommended only for brief intense
periods of specialization.
The importance of these basic concepts cannot and should not be overlooked for most
sticking points are caused by not following or understanding these training aids. E say
“aids” because this is what they are. Used correctly they form a direct link between
present and future physical success.
Let us assume you were capable of performing 10 curls with 100 lbs. resistance. After
thoroughly warming up (such as 60x10, 80x10) you put on 100 lbs. and begin your first
set. Tin reps are made. Now using the single progression system you would gauge your
progress by how many reps you could add on to the initial set of 10 using 100 lbs. This
would come to around 13 or so, within a few workouts. When 15 curls could be done, the
weight on the bar would be increased by a few pounds and the process would begin once
again.
Using a double progressive method we would not only try to increase the repetitions
with the 100 lb. barbell but we would also try to include more than one series of
repetitions with this weight and while these additional sets might not immediately net us
three or more sets of 10 repetitions, in time such a goal would be achieved and the
increase in our strength and muscle size would be clearly visible.
We could also add to this progression by increasing nor only the sets and repetitions,
but also the weight: such as 100x10 – 100x8 – 100x6. and finally, back to 100 for as
many repetitions as possible. It is this triple progression system which gives us the most
work in the shortest time with the quickest results!
When a powerlifter is squatting with a weight close to his limit, he knows he’ll progress
much faster if he periodically attempts adding repetitions to this weight rather than
simply trying to peak out with a maximum every week of so, thereby training on “nerve”
in place of common sense.
Our system can and will adopt to increased stress (work) if given time and rest. By
gradually adding repetitions to a 90% limit weight and eventually going into increased
sets and repetitions with this weight, not only will our limit single attempt increase, but
our muscular size and repetition strength will increase also, since we would be
progressing as fast as our system would be capable of without using “artificial aids”
(steroids).
Let us assume tour best back is 500x1. Ninety percent of your limit would be 450. Most
men would be able to do two or three repetitions with this weight for one set; or five
single attempts, whichever they preferred. By using 450 as a base, we have already
established that five single repetitions could be performed with this weight. Now, by
trying to increase our repetitions, ever so slowly over a given peril of time, we would
eventually go from 5 singles to 5 triples with this same 450. Such would be a simplistic
method of increasing your squatting proficiency.
There can be a time when because of past injuries to various muscles and joints, trying
to increase repetitions with a heavy weight becomes impossible due to the possibility of
re-injury. In such a situation, the repetitions could remain constant and the sets could be
increased, thereby decreasing chance of muscle or joint strain while progression is still
possible. A good example of this would be my training partner, Dezso Ban. Due to past
injuries to his knees, he found himself in quite a predicament when it came to squat
training. Light weight and high repetitions became impossible due to the possibility of
recurring muscle pulls. High poundage and low repetitions became necessary, although
too high a weight would also most likely re-injure the knee joint complex. However, by
manipulating this single and double progression system he was able to increase the
amount of sets and reps with a heavy weight (485) and in time was capable of ten triples
with this weight.
How many guys will work up to around 400 on the bench only to become stagnated and
stuck. Do you know why? Because for most of us, 400 on the bench is quite a lift and this
realization forces us to think of it as a limit. Also, when we use the double progressive
system and finally work up to a weight like 400, we hate to reduce this weight back down
to 360 or so and begin to schedule a peaking out double progression system even though
it was this system which helped us initially.
Take this same man, who’s stuck at 400 in the bench, and forbid him to do any singles
for a period of 3 months; reduce the bar down to 350 or so and have him systematically
ass sets and repetitions with this weight and at the end of three months test him. He will
have gained! When using a double progressive system, I myself have a personal favorite.
I begin with a weight I can use for 7 sets of 3 repetitions. What I try to do is, over a
certain period of time, increase the number of sets with this weight until 10 sets of 3 are
possible. I then made one of two choices; I either keep the sets at 10 and increase the
repetitions to 5, or I increase the weight by 20 lbs., and begin once again with 7 sets of
3’s. This type of scheduling of sets in a progressive manner was also coupled with two
other types of progression to ensure continued progress over a long period of time. One
schedule called for higher repetitions (5) and lower sets (7), and from their I would go
from 7 sets of 5, to 7 sets of 7 and then I would increase the weight. This type of schedule
is more suited for heavy bulk building or bodybuilding than for strict strength training but
it is a basic useful tool, nonetheless.
One drawback that this second system had was the lack of appreciable strength
increases as compared to muscle size. The first system increased both size and strength,
however, the high number of sets (10) made it costly as far as training time was
concerned. However, for the most part, both types of progressive cycling have their place
in modern strength methodology.
Finally we come to the triple progression in training. By triple progression I mean
increasing the sets, the repetitions and the weight at the same time. Powerlifters have
used offshoots of this method for years, not knowing the name for what they were doing.
Some call it the “pyramid” system, others call it “peaking out.” Whatever name you
choose to call it is obvious it is the most accepted and most arduous system to use for any
length of time.
Most lifters will follow something like this: 1x10/1x8/1x6/1x4/1x2/5 sets of 1 (5
singles at 90% max). Or else they will go 5-4-3-2-1 working up in weight to one
maximum attempt that day. I’ve also seen many go to 3x3/3x2/3x1 thereby warming up
and going to around 90% for 3 singles, drop 20 lbs., and go to 3 doubles, drop 20 lbs.,
and go to three triples and finish up with 3 sets of 5’s. Each of these three methods you
will find effective if approached with caution and common sense. Each one uses triple
progression and in each case, when the top weight choice is comfortably possible, all
weights are increased in all sets on the next workout , while the sets and repetitions
remain constant.
We also have the type of training used by various “supermen” throughout the years.
Basic single progression (when carried to the extreme) will increase your exercise
poundage, over a given length of time. Begin with a 90% limit weight. Each workout
perform more and more single attempts until you are lifting the bar between 15 and 20
times. Such a simple method can yield much in the way of results.
Finally we come to a combination bulk and strength routine using double and triple
progression interwoven through it. We would gave one basic strength move using triple
progression such as bench presses for 10/8/6/4/2/1/1/1 and 2 or 3 assistance movements
using double or single progression, such as dips, flyes, and triceps extensions for a given
number of repetitions and the only changing variable being an increase in the number of
sets we perform for each. 5x5s going to 8x5s or 7 sets of 3s going to 10 sets of 3s would
be two good examples. It would also be possible to keep the static in certain movements
and increase the repetitions per set, resulting in aerobic conditioning and muscle size
increase as well as endurance.
While discussing our double, single and even triple progression system, we cannot
overlook its ability to control our ultimate ability to absorb both training volume and
training intensity. By training volume we mean the all-over training volume and training
intensity. By training volume we mean the all-over amount of work we perform during
our workout program. This sounds simple, yet it is quite complicated. first of all, we can
increase the amount of work in three basic ways. We can increase the number of sets with
a steady weight. We can increase the number of repetitions with a steady weight and
finally, we can do both. Naturally, increasing both the number of sets and repetitions
cannot and should not be done immediately, for such a “shock effect” would have a
detrimental effect on our bodies and emotions. Since such an action would result in
additional psychic strain, we should proceed with caution when attempting to increase
training load through a double-progression system. However, as an evaluator of our
training load, such a method is indispensable! Since we all should maintain a regular log,
we can easily refer to it from time to time and compare past workout volume with our
present training load, and it is here our volume conscientiousness comes into relevant
importance. If we were to find that during the last few training weeks (4-6) we have
neither increased our sets or repetitions with our training weights, then our training has
been neither good nor bad, but relative to our momentary point in time and constant as far
as ultimate goals are concerned.
It should be pointed out here that an increase in work load can be a goal in itself
(particularly in bodybuilding). However, in strength lifting the ability of an increase in
training load can mean the body is capable of accepting a heavier (more intense)
stimulation and here is where training intensity comes into play.
Training intensity means how hard we work as compared to how much. Using a simple
example: 3x10 with 100lbs. is not as intense as 3x15 with 100lbs. or 3x15 with 110lbs.
Training intensity can be easily regulated or controlled by using a double progression
method and keeping the sets and repetitions constant and the increase in strength brought
about by increase in weight (resistance).
This method of strength training is widely accepted be weightlifters and strength
seekers throughout the world. However, its one drawback is that sooner or later we reach
a point of diminished returns where we can no longer generate their mental or emotional
psyche needed to add heavier weight onto our bar and it is at this point where staleness
sets in.
By using a double or triple method of progression we insure a longer ability of our
bodies to adapt to the continuous stress of physical endeavors. Surely a revamping of our
opinions concerning these basic systems is in order for, indeed and usefulness is highly
underrated and misunderstood.
Power Rack Training
In my opinion, proper use of an adjustable power rack will aid the average trainee
tremendously. Nothing will work you as thoroughly as power rack training. I have never
witnessed physical decline or defeat when a trainee incorporates power rack work into his
training routine. All fellows make gains, in one form or another. The underweight man
van expect to part on massive bodyweight quite readily when power rack work is utilized
for any length of time, while heavier men usually develop muscle hardness and
routinism due to the increase in muscular intensity of effort.
The major tow reasons for my opinions concerning rack work are: intensity overload
and training safety. For the man who trains alone, rack work will allow you to use heavier
poundages in complete safety, without the need for spotters. By using the removable pins,
you can sectionalize your training and work out your sticking points. Fear of failure is
non-existent while using the rack and self-confidence will increase by leaps and bounds.
Also, your heavy partial movements will develop you like nothing else, not to mention
the increase in strength which has to take place.
Rack work will develop a lot of size, power, and muscle and this is why I place as much
importance on this modern facet of overload training. With most conventional power
racks, which are made out of steel tubing , you will be capable of handling the utmost in
training poundages, with no fear as to getting injured through the rack not supporting the
amount of weight usually handled. If you are interested in really heavy training, then I
would heartily recommend this type of rack. Such a rack can easily support half a ton in
complete safety and ease of movement.
The second type of rack consists of steel tubing set up in a “swing” shape with the
necessary holes drilled in both uprights and the training bar attached by two flanges,
causing a slight up and down effect. This type of rack costs less to buy or build and will
hold up quite well under home use as long as the weights used do not exceed 600lbs. Do
not believe that such a rack will not aid you in increasing your size and strength because
for lost trainees, this lighter type of rack will be more than adequate and the only
drawback I can see in using such a rack for any length of time is the lack of developing
balance, position and co-ordination. this is lacking with a two posted sliding type of
power rack, since the bar can move only in a straight line. For home trainees, this is fine,
but for would-be competitors, balance is a training necessity. You can’t lift a heavy
weight in competition without balancing it.
The competitive power lifts do not move in a straight line. The bench press, for
instance, begins with a forward arc on the lowering of the bar to the chest and a sort of
elongated ‘S’ movement on the way back up. When pressing the bar the movement is
both up and back. You can train on a sliding power rack and do bench presses in a straight
up and down movement, but it will not help you when trying to bench in the
conventional manner.
The power squat, as performed in competition today is also another movement which
incorporates both an upward and forward movement when riding, and a downward and
backward movement when lowering into the proper depth. The only kind of competitive
squat which should be aided by a sliding post-type rack would be an Olympic squat, in
which the movement is done solely with the thighs and the movement is almost straight
up and down. Since this type of squat is neither contested or accepted in competition, it
makes little sense to depend on it to move your poundages up without the power squat.
Furthermore, such a type of squat will not completely strengthen and develop the
important muscles of the hips and gluteus muscles and this is the main reason for not
relying on it at the expense of the actual style of competitive squatting. To be sure, if one
is interested in developing the maximum poundage in the contested type of squat, a four
posted type of power rack is really quite necessary.
When lifting a heavy weight, it is far easier to concentrate on merely pushing or pulling
in the right direction without having to stop oneself from swaying to and fro, hence the
popularity in the sliding post-type of rack. But I repeat, to develop maximum competitive
strength, a regular rack is very handy and necessary.
We now come to the various types of routines which are possible using this
indispensable piece of training equipment. Since the aims of powerlifters, weightlifters,
bulk fanatics and bodybuilders are varied, so are the various types of training procedures.
For the bodybuilder, especially the thin fellow, many avenues of operation are to him to
greatly increase his muscular bulk and power. He could incorporate basic muscle mass
movements in various positions throughout the week, with the results being plenty of
hard work and plenty of progress! Such an arrangement would keep our trainee occupied
so that training boredom would not be a problem. This is because of the profound
versatility of the movements, being performed from various positions on the flack, thus
hitting the muscle groups from various angles.
It is necessary to use muscle mass movements when utilizing the power rack because
the training itself demands very heavy poundages done for many sets of low, partial
repetitions. To try to use a peak contraction movement would be a waste of time due to
the nature of the exercise performance itself. Also, muscle shaping movements would be
at a disadvantage, due to the impossibility of using heavy enough poundages to do much
in the way of good. You must rely on basic, heavy-duty exercise movements when
relying on the power rack for results.
For bodybuilding purposes on the rack I recommend the following basic movements:
bench press, parallel or half squats, deadlifts from the knee, and bent barbell rowing. I
would advise two, or at the most three, training periods per wee, and the following will
be tour basic set and repetition schedule: begin each movement with one or two sets of
10-12 repetitions, done outside the rack to maintain style and for a warm-up. Now, place
the bar inside the rack at the appropriate position. One day you could use a low position,
day two would be a middle position, and your last workout on day three would be a top
position or lockout day. Another method would be to use all three positions in each
workout and perform the same workout two times per week. In this situation, I would
advise using all three positions for between 3-5 sets of 5-7 repetitions in each position.
When you realize you will be doing between 9 and 15 sets of rack work for each exercise,
and using between 4 and 6 exercises, you can see how you could only follow this
program twice per week. If you decide to use only one position per workout, then figure
on after ten warm-up sets, working up to between 7 and 10 sets of 5-7 repetitions for
each movement. Such a routine might be possible 3 times per week. You must experiment
and find the proper workload for you.
While on the subject of various used in rack work, I should like to point out that there is
usually in every exercise routine, a section the sticking point in which very little weight
can be moved. This area is where most of our work should go, since this is where we are
the weakest. Many times fellows will limit themselves to only the “lockout” position in
power work because this position usually results in the most weight being elevated and
they can use a lot off iron and impress their training partners with their ability to lift a
heavy poundage a few inches. This would be fine, in itself but in the long run these
misdirected fellows only hurt themselves, because power rack work is truly “beautiful”
and most satisfying when dine correctly. don’t allow yourself to make such a mistake.
When you notice you are particularly weak in a certain area, work that area doubly hard
and in no time at all, your “sticking point” will be overcome and your over-all lifting
proficiency will increase.
We should also mention that failing to use a well-rounded rack routine can result in an
unnatural looking physique. This is because the muscles are not used completely
throughout a full range of movement and such a development is not pleasing to the eye,
nor does it aid you in developing strength on an over-all basis. More than any other
reason, the use of only certain positions in the power rack is the major cause of most
trainees’ failure to correctly respond to this type of training.
While on the subject of a training routine, we can also mention another routine, similar
to the first one which would consist of the basic three powerlifts: the bench press. the
power squat, and the deadlift. For the bodybuilder, such a routine can be performed in the
power rack with much savings in training time and energy. This would enable him to gain
bodyweight and size more easily, since the workouts would be of a heavy nature as
compared to his usual schedules. I would advise higher repetitions per set since strength
is not the sole aim here in this situation. We also must realize that with only three
movements to work with, we must work exceptionally hard on each one in order to
register proper results.
I would begin each movement with one or two sets of between 10-12 repetitions for a
good, complete warm-up. Now, move into the rack and place the bar in the low position.
Do not use a second set of pins to stop you from doing a full movement. Taking regular
jumps, work up doing full movements, to a weight you can use for six repetitions, each
one coming to a momentary stop at the bottom pin before beginning the next one. Work
up to 5 sets of 6 repetitions using this weight. You then can place the bar at your “sticking
point” and from there do five more sets of six repetitions using whatever weight you can
comfortably handle. This workout could be done twice per week with a medium day in
the middle in which you would use the third position you had not used on days one and
three. The set and repetition schedule stays the same on this day, also.
When using the power rack for Olympic lifting or powerlifting, a different approach is
necessary for continued success. The Olympic lifter requires fast strength and this is not
built with power rack work. He can, however, make use of the rack for his assistance
movements such as high pulls, shrug pulls, hang pulls, partial front and back squats, jerks
from the shoulders and jerk drives. While his aims would not be the same as the
powerlifter or bodybuilder, he would find that because of its versatility, the power rack is
truly a handy piece of equipment. Especially when he is trying to work around an injury,
the rack really would come in handy. For here is a safe, simple piece of apparatus which
would enable him to train and avoid re-injury and pain.
Powerlifting proficiency requires regular practice of the competitive lifts to insure a
reasonable constancy in style. We also need, in this case, to keep affinity between
ourselves and the actual movements we use. All the power rack bench presses in the
world will not help you in a contest if you don’t regularly perform the regular lift in your
training. However, we could get away with just the three competitive lifts and use the
power rack as an assistance tool. This would cut down our need for various other
assistant movements such as inclines, presses behind the neck, dips, half squats, etc., etc.
Therefore, the power rack can also be an influential tool in the hands of our powerlifter if
he knows how to use it.
Most powerlifters follow a four day a week, split routine. On Monday and Thursday,
squats, and benches are performed. Arm and deadlift work is done on Tuesday and
Friday. Using the rack in this situation we could do our regular squats and benches on
Tuesday and Friday. this would keep our training style up to par on the competitive lifts
and our strength increasing from the two days per week in the rack. Another version
would be to do benches and partials on Monday, along with competition squats. On
Tuesday, do deadlifts in the usual manner. On Thursday, you do rack squats heavy and
bench presses light. On Friday, you can do deadlifts from the knees in the rack. Finally,
we could specialize on only one movement on the rack, doing regular and partial
movements twice per week and perform the other two lifts during this time in the
conventional manner. It is this versatility of the power rack which makes it so enticing
and popular. For years I have seen guys fail, time after time, doing heavy lifts at certain
“sticking points,” over and over, with no thought as to why or how to improve on their
part. I have also spoken out for power rack work, over and over again, with most effort
falling on deaf ears. The ones who did listen made gains; the ones who didn’t are still
failing with the same weights.
Proper training in a power rack can turn the average trainee into a muscular monster! It
places such an overload on your system that muscular response must take place within
the body, because you are placing the nerves, fibers, tendons, etc., under such stress that
they must develop to make further action possible. The competitive athlete needs to
realize that along with the rack work, regular performance of his competitive sport of
lifts, is necessary for continued progress. The Olympic lifter can use the rack as a time
saving way of performing his assistance movements. The powerlifter can gain basic
strength at a phenomenal rate should he regularly incorporate rack work, and our
bodybuilding friend can achieve a response in muscular bulk which he never before
dreamed possible. No matter how you wish to look at it , power rack training is
indispensable when it comes to developing bigger and stronger muscles!
Isometric and Isometronic Training
During the early and middle sixties, isometric training became a household word in the
world of weights. One particular barbell company on the east coast began advertising this
new method of training and everyone who was anyone jumped on the isometric
bandwagon. It was also around this time that anabolic steroids became popular and after a
few years, the proponents who originally trained on isometrics were also known to have
used these substances to further their gains. This led to disbelief in the system in general,
since many felt it was the anabolics which largely produced the gains and not the
isometric system. Little by little, its initial popularity began to wear off and more
conventional systems took its place. Since then, it has taken a “back seat” to the modern
methods and this is a shame, because there is much value in this method of training and
exercise.
Isometrics are a very useful tool in the development of physical strength. It takes this
type of training to teach you how to “strain” correctly during exercise and during the
critical position in a lift, such an ability can be quite useful, if not downright necessary.
Isometrics were never intended to replace regular barbell training. It is necessary to
have movement during exercise to develop physical power and balance, as well as
co-ordination. Since pure isometrics consist of no movement, only static contraction, it
seems obvious that alone it cannot do a complete job. For best results, it must be used
hand in hand with conventional barbell work and a proper balancing between “no
movement” and “full movement” is necessary for the trainee to gain correctly.
Properly used, isometrics can bring about superior results, without so much time spent
on less efficient methods and on top of this, such an intense method requires little training
time. This can make the difference between missing a heavy lift because of a lack of
determined effort of saving it.
Pure isometrics (pushing or pulling against an immovable object) is especially useful
for power lifters. This is because the power lifts, due to their nature are slow lifts and it is
this slow, grinding strength which is best developed by incorporating isometrics with
regular exercises.
Pure isometrics will increase your tensile strength quite quickly and regularly with
continuous practice. This is because such a training is more mental in preference to
purely physical. You know you can’t bend the bar. You know there will be no real
movement. Yet you exert yourself to the limit for the required number of seconds.
Literally, you are trying to so the impossible. It is this overload tension which activates
the nerve fibers in your muscles and teaches them how to contract fiercely and without
fear or hesitation. This is isometric contraction.
This method when combined with regular barbell work, will build more muscle and
strength quicker than exercise with movement alone. It is closely akin to heavy partials in
the power rack and we should all know by now how important such rack work is. Where
isometrics have an advantage is in their simplicity in performance, since no weight is
needed. A rack is necessary, however, so once again, we see how functional a power rack
can be. With pure isometrics, you can train almost daily, sometimes twice a day, for such
training is very short, due to the intensity of the effort involved. Let us assume you want
to work the bench press using isometrics. You can begin with two or three sets in the
conventional manner, just to warm up the muscles for the work to come. Now go into the
power rack and place the empty bar at the level of your chest, while lying on a bench.
Place a second set of pins one or two inches higher, so very little, if any, movement can
be done. Your aim is to exert maximum pressure against this bar for a period of 8-10
seconds. The first 4 or 5 seconds should be spent mentally mustering all the mental and
physical force you are capable of, while the last 4 or so seconds should find you foucing
at maximum. The number of sets involved is entirely a personal matter. Begin with one
set and three positions for whatever movement you are working and gradually you will be
able to increase your sets in the various positions, letting your body and recuperation be
your guide.
A very advanced method for a powerlifter to follow should be a program of either three
regular barbell workouts, along with tow or three isometric workouts per week; or to
follow a standard workout with the isometric movements being done towards the end of
the routine. You could either choose your sticking point and perform a few isometric
holds from such a position, or perform one or more holds from three different heights of
the same exercise. Whichever you choose, you will gain in strength and muscle size if
you persist in this type of training for any length of time.
I have to warn you, while discussing this system, to take it easy at first, until the
muscles are used to the exertion. There is a great difference between the stress placed on
the muscle during regular barbell work and the kind of intense fierce exertions
necessitated by isometric contraction. Many a seasoned barbell man has been injured by
pulling and straining the muscles through over doing his isometric work. Hold back
some, until you are used to the type of exertion necessary when doing this type of
training.
As I mentioned earlier, puree isometric contraction can be very useful in the
development of physical strength. Coupled with barbell work, it will greatly aid you in
your quest for physical power. Its simplicity of operation fools many fellows into
thinking it is a lazy means of exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Along with pure isometrics, there is also a combination of rack work and isometrics
entitled “isometronics.” These are measured movements with heavy weight. By
combining isometronics, we have tow intense, overload methods combined into one
system of operation. Isometronics can make you a superman! It combines heavy
overload, measured movements and static contraction. When we couple this with a
double or triple progression method, as discussed in the first part of this chapter, I feel we
are at the state of the art when it comes to strength training. It will build muscles quite
rapidly and your strength should make regular, systematic jumps. The performance of
such movements is quite complicated, hence it is and has been misunderstood by many.
Yet, I imagine, all of our top lifters have, and still do, use it regularly in their training.
When you combine heavy, intense muscular exertions in a power rack, plus the isometric
contraction theory, you have the most potent tool available for increasing physical
strength.
Isometric strength consists of a measured movement of a heavily weighted barbell and
an isometric contraction at the end of each set. This combination of heavy muscle
overload will strengthen the entire muscular sections as well as nervous systems of the
body. The isometric part requires a continual development of nerve force, thereby
developing greater ability to contract the muscle and increase the inter-muscular tension
during this critical part of a lift. This increase in the ability to concentrate while under
great physical stress is of the utmost importance to our weightlifters and powerlifters. The
nature of their sport requires a continuous ability not to give up during a difficult part of a
lift and for that reason isometric training can greatly aid in the development of physical
strength.
The bodybuilder can also reap vast reward by using this principle since it allows him to
stimulate various sections of the muscle fibers which he never could have reached under
regular methods. Let us not forger that this sectional training allows us to properly
overload the lockout section of each lift, where the muscles are capable of the most
exertion, since they are under the best state of leverage at that point, to put out the most
resistance. During the course of regular exercise, se are held back by the strength of our
sticking point area. If we can’t finish the repetition, no matter how light it felt when we
began the repetition, the sticking point or weak zone area governs our ability to lift a
heavy weight for repetitions or single attempts. By using isometronics, we can work the
bottom, middle and top positions with an intensity never before realized. Whenever our
sticking point causes failure, we can remedy this situation by incorporating this method
of isometronic contraction.
The basic beneficial difference between pure isometrics and isometronics lies in the use
of weight in performance. When using pure isometrics, the trainee uses an empty bar and
exerts pressure against an immovable object. But how does the trainee know if he has
expended or increased over last week or the week before? In other words, he has no
actual weight on the bar, so how can he measure his progress? In my opinion in this
situation he can’t! What does usually happen is that the ability to concentrate on
generating force has been improved so that when he uses the same technique on a barbell
he will register a strength increase. But is this strength increase due to an increase of
nerve fiber stimulation or muscle fiber excitation? I think it is a little of both.
With isometronics you know how much the bar weighs, hence you know how much
force you are generating when you move it. You can easily gauge your progress through
the use of the single, double, or triple progression systems.
Isometronics first hit the weight world around the middle of the sixties and the first two
men of any prominence to experiment with this system were Bill March and Louis
Reicke. Since their methods were basically weighted isometrics, I will not spend time on
their theories. What I will do is discuss with you the “Theory of Maximum Fatigue,”
which was developed by Dr. Terry Todd and Dr. Craig Whitehead. Such training in a rack
was not entirely new to the lifting world at that time. Harry Paschall had once described
such a rack in one of his course pamphlets years before hand. My editor, Peary Rader,
had a booklet out on this type of training and I believe was the first to call it isometronic.
But we are concerned with the “Theory of Maximum Fatigue” and to the best of my
knowledge, Todd and Whitehead created it.
Using the Theory of Maximum Fatigue, only one set is performed in each of the three
positions for whichever exercise movement you choose to work on the rack. After
warming in the conventional way, you choose a weight you can move from one set of
pins to another. Let us say from shoulder to nose height for the standing press. You take a
weight you can do 4-5 repetitions with and here is what you do: you perform the 5 reps in
an ordinary manner, going from one set pins to another. When you get to repetition 5 you
isometrically contract against the top one, using all the strength possible and push for 810 seconds. Now you lower the bar back down to the first set of pins and you try to do
repetition number 6. When you can get repetition 6 after an isometric contraction with
repetition 5, you know you are stronger, so the next workout you make an increase in the
barbell and you begin again.
For sheer strength you would use a weight you could move from one point to another
for three reps, the last being isometric and then you attempt number 4. For bulk building,
I would advise you to go for 5 reps with an isometric hold on 5 and an attempt at 6.
Finally, there is another method to use during the isometric hold part of the set. Some
men do not force the bar against the top pin on the last set, but merely hold it in mid-air
between the two points for the required period of time, then lower it and try for the “extra
rep.” This is not my preference of using this “maximum fatigue” principle, but many feel
that the pushing against the top pin at a moment when the muscles are already fatigued is
just begging for trouble in the way of muscle or joint injury. While I have never been
injured doing this, I am sure it could happen, should a man have weak muscular links by
way of malformed tendons, etc., so be sure to take it easy with this method as you are
breaking it in.
Because of its severity of nature, the maximum fatigue theory will stimulate 10-20%
more nerve fiber and muscle fiber stimulation. This will increase our muscular size and
strength. He could use it during off-seasonal competition periods or during a bulking up
period in his development. However, we as a whole should realize that this overload
isometronic system will work if we do!
Various Set and Repetition Schemes
The choice of deciding what type of routine you will be following in your attempt at
increasing physical strength is by no means an easy matter. One of the principal problems
connected with this decision, which sooner or later you will have to face, is just how to
decide how much and of what types of movements you should include in your workouts.
This is a fundamental problem of barbell training. No matter whether you are a rank
beginner or an advanced man seeking the ultimate in strength and development: the
number of sets and repetitions you use or will be using in your training will be a source of
aggravation and discussion.
The source of such confusion lies within the fact that we are all different. Some men
will respond to high sets while others, whose temperament is different, would find such
training tiring and boring. For them, low sets and medium repetitions might be the
answer. Usually, the higher the number of sets, the lower the repetition scheme. The
opposite is also quite true; the lower the number of sets, the higher the rep scheme
(within reason) so that the end result in both situations is a fully activated muscle group.
Some fellows will find the answer in the beginning of their training careers, and for
them the way is straight and clear. Others, myself included, will have to search on and on
in a continuous struggle in order to obtain a small fraction of the gains these “naturals”
possess. There are just too many differences in physical makeup for us to come to any
concrete conclusions as to how many sets and repetitions will guarantee results. This
problem is simply too complex for us to come up with any simple, concrete answer which
would be suitable for everybody. Sad as it may seem, while this ability to predict what
will definitely work for someone would make things quite easier for us to handle, I’m not
sure if we would truly like the outcome. For this would then take the responsibility and
hence the freedom away from the individual to experiment with his body for a particular
physical aim.
The human right to decipher, choose, seek out and finally win or lose; but do so with
human dignity would be a thing of the past, were we to follow the western European
“computerized” training routines. More than likely, most of us would become so bored
and tired of the same training routine or theory, that after a given length of time, we
would more than likely begin to go stale and the gains would not continue to come forth,
no matter what we did! So, it would seem to be a blessing in disguise; this constant need
to choose and to experiment on how many sets and repetitions would be best for us at any
given time period in our training. In this manner, we would be capable of having a more
interesting and well rounded training schedule, not to mention the storehouse of
information for others, as to what worked or did not work for us during our intensive
years of training in this wonderful sport.
However, it should be made clear to you here and now that there are certain parameters
of choice as to what to choose and how to go about choosing the proper set and repetition
scheme. The sensible approach would be to use our past experiences as to what worked
for us in the past and as well as the experiences of those who have trained with us and the
men we have read about, with whom we have some physical affinity. You are your beat
and most trustworthy trainer! Only you know what feels right for you and what doesn’t.
No matter what I or anybody else tries to tell you, ultimately the final choice is yours as
to just what you should experiment with and what to discard. I also realize that you are
not expert enough in the field not to feel intimidated by the weight of such decision
making, so you will have to look elsewhere in order to find the varied opinions and ideas
of other trainees and trainers, so that a rational choice from all incoming material will be
at your disposal. And for the most of you, the only contact you have with what is going
on is either at the lifting meets and contests, or by subscribing and reading and rereading
the various magazines. You should take advantage of the availability of these sources of
information and learn to decipher through the advertising and flower words until you are
able to get to the meat of the matter and also, you should learn to concentrate on just what
the writer or lifter is saying to you within the confines of his training article. This is the
key. Instead of glancing quickly through the magazine, looking at the pictures and
advertisements, read slowly and carefully every article of every issue you have of old
magazines and new ones in order to get an idea as to what kind of program is used for
what type of training and how these other fellows were effected by their choice of sets
and repetitions.
I myself have had to change training conceptions during the past eight or nine years.
Years ago I found through experimentation with various training methods that I
progressed well in developing size and physical strength with four basic training periods
per week. I would perform one pressing movement, one pulling movement, and one
squatting movement per workout. I did not perform the same movements two days in a
row, however. An example of the kind of training I was doing during those years would
be the following:
Monday – Full Squat, Bentover Rows, and Bench Press
Tuesday – Seated Press, Barbell or Dumbbell Curls, Half Squat in Rack
Wednesday – Complete Rest Day
Thursday – Floor Press, Bentover Rowing, Deadlift
Friday – Press Behind Neck, Deadlift From Knees, Power Clean
Saturday and Sunday – Rest
This was basically the way I trained and gained in those days. My set and repetition
schedule at this time was as follows: I began each movement with one set of 10
repetitions using 50% of my one rep limit. I would then jump to 70% of my one rep limit
and perform 3 sets of 3 repetitions. Finally, I would use on my heavy day 90% of my one
rep limit and perform 5 single attempts at this weight. On the other training day I would
have stayed ay 70% and forced out 5 or 6 sets of triples with this weight. My final 2 sets
per movement would be with around 60% maximum weight and I would rep out as many
counts as I could, to failure.
At that time in my training such a routine proved to be very successful in developing
additional size and strength. However, just because it worked well for me does not mean
that if you copy it, just as I outlined it here for you, that you will gain at the same rate that
I did. Possibly the heavy single attempts would not be pleasing to you. Many guys do not
have the drive to thrive on heavy single training for any length of time. For me it worked.
For you it might not. But you should not let that stop you from pursuing a schedule in
order to get to know just what helps you and what doesn’t. We learn from our mistakes in
this game.
We must also take into consideration, at this point, that as involved as the various
training systems are, there are basic truths which can help us along in choosing the right
path. For one thing, we know that strength is our body’s way of choosing the right path.
For one thing, we know that strength is our body’s way of compensating for an overload
of work. By that I main that if we overload our muscles with heavy, intense, work, our
bodies will compensate for this by developing greater strength. I realize that some
trainers will both intense and voluminous training routines to their students and I know
this is the way for the advanced man to go in his training regime, should he be interested
in developing maximum bulk and power. However, pure, unadulterated strength is a
combination of intense nerve fiber stimulation and the capacity for the body to overcome
stress. So I would recommend more intense work in your training in comparison to a
great training load.
As a fellow advances to beyond the intermediate stage, he just might have initiate both
an intense routine as well as a routine which is comprised of many sets of low repetitions,
and such a training regimen would be very taxing and time consuming, yet for the most
part it would be the only way to succeed.
Many, many fellows mistake bulk training with power training. While it is true that an
over-all bulking routine, by its very nature, will also add to your bodyweight. While this
will not cause many of you any problems, due to being underweight or “Bulk Fanatics”
(myself included here) at heart, it is not a desirable situation for the would-be powerlifter
to get into unless he has his heart set on becoming a 275l/ class lifter or a superheavyweight. True strength training will concentrate on mainly getting you heavier. For
strength you need cense, not bloater muscle tissue. Many bodybuilders have this blown
up, bloated look and for their purposes, this is the way to go. But for the seeker of greater
physical strength without adding bodyweight, dense, capable muscle wins out every time.
This is why I stated earlier that more intense work is necessary than voluminous work for
the achievement of the goals listed here. Strength requires intense effort, contrary to
muscle growth which requires both intense effort and voluminous workload.
Many of you fellows are following routines which are supposed to be power routines
and when I look them over it becomes quite clear to me that nothing could be further
from the truth. It seems that everybody equates bulk and power (myself included). This is
not true in all cases and the records in the lower classes are made by “unbulky” men who
are as strong as most heavyweights. You can be sure that these men know the difference
between bulk routines and strength routines.
One of the mast accepted routines used today is the “5 sets of 5 repetitions” routine. To
me such a routine is a complete waste of time. Why? Because it is neither hard enough
nor heavy enough to do you any good. What I see you doing is taking a warm-up and
doing 5 sets of 5 repetitions with the same weight, for workout after workout. Or else you
will begin the first set of 5 with a light weight. Jump and do 5 more reps. Jump again and
do 5 more reps. Jump the third time and do 5 more reps and finally do 5 more reps with
the 5th set and that’s it. Now I ask you, if you could get 5 sets of 5 repetitions with the
same weight as in case number one, isn’t it logical to assume that with real effort you
could manage 1 or 2 sets of maybe 8 repetitions? And if this is so, then how much actual
intense work did you do by doing 5 sets of 5 reps with this weight, if you really wanted
to? The answer should be obvious: you did very little work at all!
In case number two, it’s obvious that only on set number 5 did you do any real work.
Yet you stop here instead of going on, when you’re finally warmed up and the body says,
“let’s go!” What sense does this make? Yet, many of you refuse to think and to have the
courage to change your training concepts because you are afraid to admit that such
training will necessarily be long and hard and at times quite uncomfortable. Yet you moan
and groan when the gains do not come your way and you gave nothing to show for your
efforts but a lot of wasted time and a lot of heartaches. This is one of the reasons I an
writing this book; to try and give you a real story as to why you do not gain the way
others do. My aim is to give you a realistic look at yourself and at this sport of ours and
to enable you to come to some intelligent decision as to how to go about getting where
you want to go, by offering you tried and proven, effective training theories and
schedules.
In order for you to gain rapidly in the field of strength development you are going to
have to train the way our past and present champions train. I would never ask a man who
gas never squatted with weight to advise me as to how to improve on my squat. Neither
should you. There is a great deal of information out there which has already been
deciphered for you. All you have to do is have the self determination to seek out that
which seems the tight way for you to travel and to experiment until you hit upon the
proper set and repetition scheme to use. I can’t decide this for you. Only you can decide
the way for you to go. In order for you to gain as quickly as you can, your entire creative
energy is going to have to revolve around the right path to follow. If you have a favorite
lifter and he is in your weight class or around your bodyweight, try his routines. See how
you react to his all around exercise program and diet. Find out if you can recuperate on
his schedule. See if his exercise movements offer you discomfort. There is no right way
for you. Just be patient and have the ability and courage to grow and to change, because
without change there can be no real growth.
You should also bear in mind that for some people the basic rules of training just do not
seem to hold water. While most guys respond to heavy weight, low repetitions and high
sets, you may find that heavy singles done for many, many attempts would best for you.
Some may prefer the isometric system in conjunction with the barbell moves while others
prefer partials with weight done in the power rack and very little actual practice in the
actual competitive lifts. I know of one man who did very little actual training in general
and yet made fantastic progress (for a while) using the isometric system with movement,
in a power rack. Yet the strongest man I have ever met (pound for pound) feels that power
rack work is a waste of time. Who is right? They both are!
What I have tried to do in this part of Chapter One is to give you a frank, honest, and no
nonsense look at the problem of deciding the amount of work (sets and reps) you should
attempt to do, in order to decidedly increase your physical strength. I have given you
examples of what had worked for me in the past and what has worked for others. I have
also listed a few examples of the mistakes fellows make when deciding just how to go
about what it is they are after. I know it can at times be perplexed and depressing to want
to get somewhere in this barbell game and to feel that something is not being told to you,
that something is being held back. This is what I am trying not to do; I want you to know
what is going on to make these aids work for you.
So be selective. Read and decipher and choose. Take your time and experiment with
whatever strikes your fancy. Just try and be sure that the theory you are using is basically
sound and the approach is realistic. Sooner or later you will hit upon the proper balance
and when you do, things will start to change for you and I am sure then you will feel all
the waiting, hoping, and experimenting was well worth it!
The Single Repetition Principle
It should be obvious to most of you now that to develop yourself to the limits of your
physical capabilities will be a long and hard road to follow. It is not going to be easy to
make yourself into a new, massively strong man. In order to fully develop your strength
potential, you will have to learn to handle heavy poundages regularly in your training.
Many shy away from this. They fear heavy weight. For them, the power rack will be of
some assistance, since it will offer them protection from falling barbells and failures. But
along with this assistance work, heavy poundages will have to be utilized in the regular
barbell moves or else we will not be able to show our usable strength in an accepted
manner. This is where the Single Repetition Principle comes into play. For, by using it
correctly, we will be able to demonstrate our functional strength.
I feel that a regular increase in training poundages is necessary for continued progress.
A trainee should strive to handle as much weight as he can possibly accommodate to, for
the given number of sets and repetitions which are contained in the training regimen.
There is no point in training for increased strength if you are going to persist in training
with light weights. Strength comes from intense effort, whether in the form of low
repetitions or single repetitions, it does not come from pumping out set after set with
medium heavy resistance. This kind of training will only tear down your strength
potential. And just because the bodybuilding champions look strong, this does not make
them strong! This is why I have decided to speak about heavy singles in your training,
because they are a sure measurement stick for you to understand where your limits,
weaknesses and strong points lie and then the ability to correct these faults (if any) will
lie in your grasp.
By using the contained information, most of you hard gainers will at last have a
reasonable approach to your lifting and should realize regular strength increases with
applied work and attention.
One only has to take a look at today’s powerlifting champions to see the physical limits
of size and strength, concentrated in a single body. All these men look strong and are
strong. This goes for the Olympic lifters also. There was a time a while back when the
Olympic lifter could as an example of strength without muscular development worth
speaking of, but today, due to improved methods of raining and the intensity of
competitions you have to be both muscular and strong in order to win. Some of these men
are carrying enough functional muscle on their frames to look almost inhuman! This is
especially true of the heavier classes since this is where there is enough bodyweight to
make up appreciable size. The lower classes have an athletic, well knit together look and
such an appearance gives the impression of hidden strength and a look at the records in
these lower classes will convince you of the truth of this. There can be no doubt about it,
these men have somehow learned to find the right combination of much work and hard
work and the result is an incredibly massive and powerful body.
What makes this so pertinent for this part of the book is that they all have used in one
form or another, the Single Repetition Principle in their training. And by absorbing the
training principles of these men the average strength seeker will be able to gain like he
has never gained before, without the endless hours wasting away in the gym, seeking
answers and not knowing exactly where to go or what to do.
In my own search for better and faster training methods, I came across many fallacies
which most men hold on to in their training and for the most part, did not gain regularly
because of it. I am not going to say that such training systems do not have their place,
only that they, in themselves are not the complete answer. Just about any system we use
will work, to some degree, as long as we work. So it would be wrong to assume that these
methods are a complete waste of time. It is only that I have found a faster way, and I want
to make this known to you for your own sake, that I make these negative comparisons.
The first fallacy I saw through was the notion that high repetitions and light weights
could reduce fat and at the same time build muscle. Many lifters feel that if they go on a
periodic “pump” routine, they will be able to train down some and perhaps go into the
next lower class, thereby becoming lighter and yet almost the same in strength. Hogwash!
It just doesn’t happen that way. Your diet is the key to whether you are soft or lean. Your
dietary habits determine how much muscle density you are going to carry. That along
with genetics will eventually make you into your finished product. Try and remember that
light weights will do nothing for you in developing physical strength. For if you try to
exercise excess weight off, without continuing your strength schedules, you will wind up
smaller, flabbier and a lot weaker and who needs this? In the long run you will be very
disappointed.
The second fallacy I came across was that if you were underweight and you tried to
build up using light training methods, with long and frequent schedules, just like you read
in the magazines, that this would somehow transform into a superman due to all this
excessive work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Strength is not built from
endurance training. Anyone with enough guts and determination can do set after set of
light weights and high repetitions and get nothing out of it but a strong heart. If you are
going after such a healthy condition, fine. But light and excessive work will not help you
gain useful size or strength and if you think it will, think again!
The third and final fallacy was the notion that single repetitions are only a “test” of
strength, they in themselves do not “build” strength. This is simply not true. There is not
one Power or Olympic lifter who has ever made it to the top who has not utilized this
method to some degree. You cannot properly prepare yourself towards competition
without practicing singles because they are not going to ask to see how many reps you
can get out with a given weight at the contest. On the lifting platform it’s how much you
can do for one repetition that counts.
There are ways of incorporating this training method into your program which will
enable you to use it with regularity and not go stale on it as so many of its detractors will
moan about and bring your attention to. You simply do not do limit singles but do singles
over and over with around 90 or 95% or your limit. By leaving this safety margin of 5 or
10% you reduce the possibility of going stale or of getting hurt.
I shall now ask the following question: “Why is this training method so valuable to the
average trainee and how does it compare with other accepted theories?” To answer this
we shall have to take look at what most of you are already doing in your training routines
and then a fair comparison can be made.
First we have the “forced reps” method of training. This is when you have a helper who
aids you to perform more and more repetitions with a weight which usually would limit
your performance to only a few counts. Now this kind of training is very good, except for
one point. For the man with low energy reserve it will be far to strenuous for continued
use or continued gains. Hence it is unsuitable for most men who must work hard at their
jobs all day. These men would never recuperate from this type of training. Training for
“forced reps” is only for the gifted, chosen few. For the rest of us I feel that the only time
we should try to force repetitions is in the comfort and safety of the power rack, because
there you know you can’t get hurt by a sudden failure to finish a forced repetition.
Another method is the “cheating” method. This is where you try to move the weight by
using other muscle groups to assist you. In my opinion all you get out of this is mild
stimulation for a lot of muscle groups and shortness of breath. It makes no sense to take
the stress off the very muscle you are trying to develop, does it? It is also possible to
really hurt yourself from this exaggerated style of exercise performance. The cheating
curl has hurt many a lower back!
The third old standby is the long respected method of “high sets and low repetitions.” A
good example of this would be using 10 sets of 3 repetitions, using the same weight and
trying to slowly get to where you can get 10 sets of 5 repetitions with this weight. Then
you would increase the bar by maybe 20 lbs. and begin all over again with 10 sets of 3
reps. This gas worked pretty well for mw in the past, its main drawback is the amount of
time such a schedule takes and the onset of training boredom doing the same number of
sets and reps with the same weight each training session. Most trainees are too lazy to
make the periodical weight increases which would make this system work pretty well.
What happens is that they stay at the same sets, reps and weight too long and what
happens is that the trainee loses interest and stops gaining.
Finally we come to the Single Repetition Principle. This system is valuable to strength
lifters because it lets you know where you stand strength wise during any time of the
year. You can gauge your overall strength condition by your ability to do a certain
number of singles with a certain percentage of your weight limit. It is used by just about
every top power and Olympic lifter in the country. This is especially true when they are
peaking for a meet. Since you are not, you can use it with great regularity. All you need is
determination and hard work.
When using the Single Repetition Principle in your training you should keep in mind
the following pertinent facts: be sure that you get enough proper rest and recuperation
into your work schedule since this heavy type of training places a great demand on your
nervous system’s capability to respond with renewed vigor, workout after workout.
Working with single repetitions is just about the hardest type of training you can do, save
only the power rack. Remember this and try to get in enough rest and nutritional
supplement into your schedule so that you will gave everything working for you for
gaining and nothing holding you back.
You must also be sure that you are neither underworking nor should you be
overworking. It is possible to train six days per week on this system without
overworking. It is also possible to train for only three days per week, with an improper
scheduling of these principles and you will be overworking to such a degree that you will
be sure to fail, should you not try to remedy the situation by discussing this with someone
who is in the know as to how to revamp what it is that you are doing so you can continue
to gain once again. You must remember that training with heavy singles is very intense
work. It will take a lot out of you both physically and mentally. Your muscles and tendons
will be worked to the limit an the mental stress such training will place upon you defies
description. But rest assured, with the application of this training system the way I am
going to outline it here for you, it will be very hard for you to become overtrained and
you will enjoy the success such training will bring you.
With this program I feel three or four movements per workout is best. Try it this way
and see if it doesn’t react favorably on your system. Just be sure that your diet is adequate
and you are resting enough between workouts and finally that the movements are the
right ones for your particular aims and goals. I am sure after a short while of using this
principle you will be able to judge just what is and what is not good for you, and a proper
application of all pertinent information, you will know how to go about using this system
and the goals will start to come quite regularly.
The following routines are used as models for you to pattern your workouts after. Feel
free to make changes wherever you feel the need to. Remember: What we are trying to do
is to work the particular exercise movements with a series of single repetitions with a
weight close to your maximum. Ninety or ninety-five per cent is more than heavy
enough. There are various ways to incorporate this principle into your lifting and I am
going to list a few of them for you here and now.
One way is to pick a particular movement and do that twice per week. On the heavy
day, you would do a set of 10 reps with 50% of your one rep limit. You’d then go to
around 75% of your one rep limit and do a set or two of between 3 and 5 repetitions.
These are the necessary warm-up sets. Now jump to 90% of your maximum and perform
5 single repetitions with this weight. Do each single as strictly as possible. Be sure to
have a spotter or two in case you need them.
After 5 singles with weight, drop down to around 60 to 70% and gut out 2 or 3 sets of
all the repetitions you can possibly handle. The key to progression here is to key to add a
single or two to the heavy attempts with this 90 to 95% limit weight. It is then time to
take a few days off and go for a new personal record in the lift. After doing so, simply
adjust the training percentiles according to the new strength level and begin once again.
On the other training day, I’d adjust the strength level to around 60% maximum and do
between 5 and 7 sets of whatever repetitions are possible with this particular weight.
On such a schedule, I would do all the heavy single attempt movements on days one
and five and I’d go medium heavy on days two and four. If Monday were heavy then
Tuesday would be medium and Wednesday would be a rest day. Thursday would again be
medium and Friday would be a heavy day, but for a different exercise movement. If I
wanted to use this principle on the Bench Press and the Squat, then I would bench for
singles on Monday Tuesday would be a medium squat day, and Wednesday would be a
day off. Thursday would be medium bench day and Friday would be a heavy squat day.
This way you are able to recuperate most efficiently.
You could also do your heavy singles on both exercises in one workout and rest for two
days or maybe three and hit them both again with medium reps and sets. This way you
would be training hard twice per week. It is really up to you just how many workouts you
decide to undertake. The reasoning behind the training theory is sound, so whatever you
choose will work.
The need for single attempts as a training medium cannot be overlooked because they
teach you, just as the power rack teaches you, to fight against heavy weight. And this is a
requirement for continued success in any strength. Some may argue that all that is
necessary is medium heavy resistance and the strength will come whether you perform
singles or not, but I beg to differ. What happens in most of those cases is that the lifter
becomes proficient at performing many sets of three and five reps with a medium heavy
weight and he also gains in muscle size and density from the work but his limit single and
double attempts do not come to par with his repetition capabilities. It is far easier to learn
to do more repetitions with a given weight than it is to lift a heavier weight for the same
number of repetitions. This is where we have so many guys falling by the wayside. They
can squat maybe four hundred for fine repetitions and fail with four fifty for a single!
This is almost assuredly caused by training with many sets of low repetitions but very
little single repetition work being done.
We who seek higher levels of strength development must admit to ourselves that the
man who can lift heavier weight is stronger than the man who can do more sets, but with
a lighter weight. The second man has more muscular endurance, but the first man has
more strength. If you can overcome this hurdle then you will be one more step on the
road to where you want to go. And if you use the heavy single repetition approach in your
training, along with common sense and a correct combination if proper recuperation and
diet, your strength level should come up quite fast.
The Single Repetition Principle is one of the hardest and heaviest training methods
available for you to use. It takes a freedom from fear of heavy weights and it takes guts
and determination to achieve your aims while using this system. It also takes a great deal
of hark work. But we all know that you get nothing for nothing, so hard work is not a
problem, is it?
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CHAPTER TWO
The Intensity Factor
Training Intensity can best be explained as the amount of work you perform in your
workouts. Over the past few years, this forgotten and misunderstood concept has begun to
gain vast popularity, both in its usage and in its basic approach to training theory. What
the proponents of training intensity are saying is: More work is not better than hard
work.” What they mean is that it is more important to train hard than it is to train a lot!
Weightlifters and Powerlifters have used this training principle whenever they peak out
for a meet. At this time, they purposely cut down on the amount of work, so that
recuperation is at an all-time high and therefore , allows them to work to the maximum of
physical exertion. At this time, it matters not to them how much work they perform, but
how hard (close to their limit) it is.
The routines used at this time are very short, intense and to the point. Assistance
movements are cut to the minimum, since their usefulness would be restricted to the
post-contest phase of the training program. To use assistance movements at this time
would result in gross overtraining with the end result being a lessening in the amount of
weight lifted in the particular exercise used for competition.
The higher you go in intensity, necessarily, the smaller amount of work you can
perform in your workout. This principle also causes a period of staleness to become
almost mandatory, for without this stale period, our nervous system and muscular system
would become overburdened with excessive stress, more than we could adapt to, with the
end result being trauma (injury).
We actually have a built-in “stress thermometer” which will switch off when our
intensity becomes excessive or too frequent, enabling our systems to obtain a necessary
rest.
To properly understand Training Intensity and its importance in the workout scheme
you are using, a basic understanding of the terms used to explain this phenomena is
necessary. To begin with, by Training Intensity, we mean training to the limit for
repetitions each and every set. Such work is very demanding, both on our mental and
physical systems; hence, the more of this kind of work we do, the shorter our workout
program. The kind of training intensity we are talking about now is a bit different than the
kind of training I mentioned before, the kind powerlifters and Olympic lifters use. For
them the intensity is governed by how close to their absolute limit in weight their chosen
movements progress to. This is because their sport and pre-contest training is based
around how much you can do for one repetition. Even during their pre-contest
preparation, they would very rarely perform any set of repetitions to the absolute
maximum of number and performance. This is just one example of how Training
Intensity can have different for different situations.
Training Intensity means the amount of hard work you perform within a given time.
Decrease the amount the amount of rest between sets and you increase the amount of
work. Increase the amount of repetitions with a heavy weight and again, you increase the
amount of hard work. Finally, work each set “into the ground” until you cannot budge the
bar in any direction and again, you have increased the intensity of your efforts. Finally:
combine these methods into one basic training methodology and you have a sure-fire
effective, muscle and strength stimulating routine.
You can do a lot of work or you can do hard work. You can’t do both! To try and do
both would most assuredly to physical collapse. Remember our built-in “stress
thermometer?” It will allow us to adapt to stress only up to a certain point. Beyond this
lies physical collapse. Only the “naturals” can train to this point of “no return” without
doing permanent harm to their physical and mental state. These are the men who break
would records. These are our “Lifting Heroes.”
It is also possible to increase our Training Intensity through the use of negative
resistance. This is part of an exercise movement in which the barbell is lowered back to
its starting position. Experiments have been done in training camps and in colleges and
universities and some interesting findings have come out of all these discussions and
tests. Most observers have come to the conclusion that you can develop more strength by
predominantly using these negative contractions in your training than in training in the
customary manner. It seems that by concentrating on lowering heavier and heavier
weights, you obtain not only more strength and size, but the entire movement, both
lowering and raising, is greatly improved and strengthened.
Have you ever noticed that any weight that you could comfortably lower, let us say in
the Squat or Bench Press, you most assuredly could then lift upward with no problem?
This is partly due to physical and partly due to mental reasons. I also believe that this
constant bombarding with heavier than usual poundages, in the lowering positions, sets
up a strong nerve pathway during the lowering of the lift and the raising of the weight is
stimulated to greater proficiency due to this overload of nerve stimulation! In other
words, by constantly practicing how to get into the bottom position of the Squat, using
much heavier weights than you could possibly rise with. not only are the supporting
muscles strengthened and further developed, but the nerve fiber stimulation is so greatly
increased that this sets up a chemical and physiological situation in which the lifting of
the weight becomes spontaneous and in the right “motor pathway.” This takes the burden
away from the subconscious, “Suppose I fail.” “Suppose I get hurt.” And the whole
situation takes on an unemotional, automatic approach. To be sure, negative work will
definitely increase your physical strength and one period every three or four workouts on
one or two movements should help just about any trainee. Be sure that you have spotters
handy when utilizing this training principle, since you will be handling much more than
you can properly lift by yourself. As far as an example program, I would say pick a
movement and perform 4 or 5 sets of the usual medium-low repetitions, taking the
appropriate weight jumps between each set so that set number 5 has you at a 5 repetition
limit weight. Take this weight and lower it to your chest (Bench Press) for 8-10 slow,
controlled lowerings. Your two spotters will take the bar back up for you on each
repetition. Now you increase the weight 20 or 30 pounds and also decrease the repetitions
until you are at a point where you are doing 4 or 5 heavy lowerings and the last 2 (reps 4
& 5) are hard to control. This should be your top negative weight. Stay her and do a few
sets (amount up to you) and don’t increase this poundage until 5 controlled lowerings are
possible.
Since this method is very intense, I would not recommend any more than 2 movements
per workout using this principle. To try to so all your exercise movements this way most
certainly would lead to overwork. This we want to try and avoid.
We now come to another method of increasing intensity which is quite popular with the
bodybuilders. What we are getting into now is the theory of “burns.” Burns is another
name for forced partial repetitions. The title comes from how the application makes the
muscle fibers feel. You can actually feel the applied muscle burn while using this training
tool. To the bodybuilder this technique aids in the building of muscular definition and
when used with heavier resistance it aids in the building of physical strength. For both
goals, it is a very helpful assistance principal.
When we use the burn theory in our training what we are doing is literally taking a
muscle by its neck and forcing it to respond! When we do a hard set of squats and at the
end of the usual number of repetitions we force more movement from the bar, no matter
how slight, we are momentarily greatly increasing our training intensity. Some may feel
that these slight, partial movements have little benefit to the seeker of strength, but I beg
to differ. If you increase your training intensity using a particular technique, you have to
increase your strength, nothing else is possible. While I admit this technique is mostly
advantageous to the bodybuilding fraternity, it can also be used with success by strength
athletes in general. What we have to do is begin to realize that it matters not how many
sets you do but how hard they were. You can train all day and half the night using light
weight but this is not going to develop any great degree of strength. To increase your
strength you must increase your training intensity and the way you choose to go about
this is entirely up to you.
If you are going to use this burn theory, once again, two spotters are necessity. This is
because of the pain and sometimes resultant loss of control this type of training
methodology causes. You don’t want to get pinned while doing squats or bench presses,
do you? Well then, be sure to have adequate spotters.
The application of this principle is relatively simple. After warming up to a fairly heavy
weight, merely include a few partial lockouts a the end of each set, so that each set then
becomes a set of maximum effort. The number of sets you do this way id entirely up to
you. Just take your time and give yourself a while to adjust to this new inclusion in your
training, since these burns can be quite uncomfortable in the beginning.
The reason why these seemingly insignificant movements offer such development and
strength potentials is that they attack a muscle when it is weakest and ready for rest; at
the end of a set. By hammering a muscle at this point in the training program, you greatly
magnify the physical results and this increases your muscle mass. You also develop the
ability to keep moving the bar during times of great stress and this ability is what
increases your strength.
At this point, we should also include in our discussion our old standby, the Power Rack.
By utilizing the “Theory of Maximum Fatigue” we are using intensity training to the
ultimate degree. First of all, we begin with using a weight for partial repetitions which is
already heavier than we can move in the usually accepted manner. We are forcing this
heavier than possible weight for repetitions, which also adds to the training intensity. Let
us not forget that these partials are a close kin to the burns we have just finished talking
about. This also lends itself to the intensity of the exercise performance. Finally, we are
combining partial overload with Isometric Contraction. Now I ask you: “How much more
intense could you get?!!”
This is why nothing will strengthen you or develop you like Power Rack work! It also
has two added features that no other method of training intensity can claim – you do not
need spotters and the work can be done in complete safety. This is why I prefer this type
of intensity training more than any other. It encompasses all the best training methods for
increasing training intenseness and makes it all the more appealing. You can really
concentrate on power rack work.
When utilizing the “Maximum Fatigue Theory” I feel it is more beneficial to use the
Isometric Hold against the top pin, than to use the supporting method as advocated by
some Why? Because by using the Isometric Hold position you also add to the training
intensity of the exercise movement and as we have already come to realize, strength
requires optimum intensity.
Merely doing partial repetitions in the power rack without using the Isometric Hold
theory at the end of the set will not be quite as effective on your strength gains. However,
there is no reason why you should not do some form of rack work periodically, if for no
other reason than its place in training intensity.
We finally come to the latest method of increasing training intensity and this is entitled
the “Isolation Method of Training.” What we mean by isolation is the choosing of a
movement which will work upon one chosen muscle group and one chosen muscle group
only. There can be no “cheating” when using the isolation principle, since this would be
in direct contrast to our momentary aims while using this principle. This principle shows
that not only heavy poundages are required for maximum intensity stimulation, but
sometimes the way in which a movement is performed can greatly increase the over-all
intensity of operation.
This system also goes hand in hand with the Super Set system. These compound sets
for the same or closely adjacent areas on the body have been favorites of the
bodybuilders for years. Once again, it should be pointed out that this theory can also be
adapted for all around strength training and if used conscientiously, can also give good
results over a given period of time.
Compound set training for strength means using an isolation movement for a given
body part and then performing a muscle group exercise for the same body part, thereby
greatly increasing training intensity. If we were to use the Standing Press as an example,
we would combine we would perform Standing Lateral Raises for the deltoids first and
then combine them with the Front Presses. This way the deltoids are pre-fatigued with the
Lateral Raises and then “worked into the ground” with the Front Presses. Without first
pre-fatiguing them, the shoulders would still be ready for exercise, when the triceps
would be completely exhausted. While such a severe method of training will initially
necessitate a drastic cutback in your training poundages, after a few months performing
compound sets, you could drop this theory and try to peak out on the basic movement and
I am sure you should register a dramatic strength increase! This is how this system works
for strength – you must drop it for a while in order for the pre-development to make itself
manifested.
By now I feel you should have a rather well rounded knowledge of just what Training
Intensity is and how important it is for proper gaining. There can be no significant
strength without it and with too much of it, there can be no recuperation. There must be a
constant watch on the trainee’s part to make sure that he is not training too much on his
nerves. Such a situation would result in decreased work capacity, decreased training
motivation and lack of all-around progress with resultant depression and apathy. This we
are trying to avoid at all costs.
Learn to listen to that little voice within you which will tell you when you are working
on your nerves too often or too much. When this happens it would be best to utilize a less
strenuous form of exercise for a few weeks, giving the entire nervous system a complete
rest.
It should also be mentioned here that Training Intensity, although of paramount
importance when formulating a result producing training scheme, is not the complete
answer to all training problems. For most of us, there must also be coupled with this
intensity just the right amount (volume) off work. In the next part of this chapter, we shall
be discussing just how important training volume really is and how it is interwoven with
our precepts of “much work and hard work.” In this section we shall see how the
Western European athletes make use of both training intensity and training volume to
give them their desired results on the lifting platform an in athletics, in general.
The Importance of Training Volume
When we discuss the training volume of any strength routine, we must take into
consideration two very important points – First, that most of us are only too happy to add
more work to our routines, in place of adding harder work, and; second, that most of us
find it very difficult to add not only hard work boy more hard work. What I mean by this
is that it isn’t too difficult to add a set or too here or there in our routines, if we don’t
mind these sets consisting of light weights without forcing repetitions. But how valuable
are these sets when we measure them from a totally objective point of view? How much
muscle development so you think you are going to get out of doing 5 reps with a weight
that you really could get 8 reps with, if you really wanted to? How much strength
development so you think, using 60% of your limit and doing set after set of a given
number of repetitions with, how much strength development will this grant you? In my
opinion, not very much.
By training volume, we should mean the amount of useful weight we lift for sets and
repetitions. I’m not talking about the tonnage theory of Olympic lifting. I’m talking about
how to intelligently figure out how much useful gross work you are performing in your
regular workouts. This useful (medium-high intensity work) volume of work is what will
eventually enable you to not only begin to gain in physical strength (due to the intensity
load) but also to gain in physical development and cardio-vascular efficiency, due to the
ability of your system to assimilate and deal with (adapt) the increasing amount of
training volume you are deliberately placing upon it.
To have sheer intensity without corresponding volume, we would be working on our
“nervous storehouse” to such a degree that complete recuperation would be almost
impossible.
In determining what constitutes “valuable volume” in our training, we would have to
figure out just what percentile we are using for most of our sets and repetitions. In other
words, we want to first determine just how close to a maximum we are doing most of our
work with. There are guidelines that will determine just what volume of work will help us
and what kind will result in simple physical depletion without a corresponding increase in
muscle mass or strength increase. One such guideline is the rate in which we recuperate
from workout to workout. If we find that our workouts are becoming longer and longer,
and we have established that our maximum performance in repetitions or limit attempts
with maximum poundages have both remained the same, then it is safe to assume that
most of the added work has been done in vain. This would mean that we perhaps chose
too light a weight for the desired repetitions or else that the repetition scheme was too
low for the amount of resistance that we chose. In either situation, we are wasting much
of our valuable training time using weight of little or no consequence, which will do
nothing for our strength program.
Most trainers will agree that the most functional weight to be used for the majority of
training time should be between 75 and 80% of maximum poundage. This means that if
you can Bench Press 300 lbs., your most efficient weight to work at for sets and
repetitions would be around 240 lbs. You could use the double and/or triple progression
method with these weights and over a period of time, add to your training volume quite
proficiently and easily. For heavy singles, 90% or at most 95% would be adequate.
double repetition sets fall somewhere between the 70 and 90 percentiles.
It should be noted that in Olympic lifting if we review the various Bulgarian programs
we would see that they also hold to these percentiles as being the most functional way to
work.
The basic difference between a beginner and an intermediate and an intermediate and
an advanced lifter, is the amount of work he can recuperate from. We also would have to
add here the amount of intensity that his system could his system could generate and that
he could use productively. There is a vast difference between the training approaches for
these three different types of individuals. For one thing, the beginner’s schedule will have
to be rather short and the intensity will have to be held back some so as not to overburden
his, as of yet, unprepared nervous system. To give a beginner a routine I can handle
would almost kill him. For me to try to follow a routine that a champion could thrive on
would almost kill me! We must try to temper the enthusiasm to copy our heroes
somewhat, and choose the right kind of training to suit us in our particular momentary
state of existence.
I believe that a beginner should train only 3 times per week. I also believe that if he
works hard for a living, then perhaps only 2 complete workouts for him would be best.
There is no sense in dealing with the exceptions to the rule. These fellows who are
“naturals” can thrive on just about any amount of workload and intensity. They will not
have any degree of difficulty in deciding the proper way to go as far as how much and
how hard they should work for the proper gains. What I am concerned with is the average
guy who wants improve physically. Let the champions train themselves.
Getting back to “Mr. Average Beginner,” ass I said he should stick to 3 days (or 2) per
week for the first year or so. His increase in muscle size and strength should tell him he’s
on the right track. When he feels that such a schedule is no longer sufficient, let him
experiment with the intermediate type of routine and out for himself just where he stands.
A good, basic beginner’s routine would consist of 5 or 6 basic exercises for the major
muscle groups of the body. Each exercise would begin with 1 or 2 sets of 10 repetitions
for a warm-up. Increase the weight and do 7 reps. Increase the weight to 75% of your
maximum and perform a set of between 3 and 5 repetitions. Increase the weight to 90%
maximum and perform 5 single attempts with this weight. Now drop down to 70 or 80%
maximum and perform a few (2 or 3) sets of whatever repetitions you are capable of
doing at this time. This then would be your set and repetition scheme for your heavy day.
On your second workout (light day), you perform 7 or 8 sets of whatever comfortable
repetitions are possible, with this given weight (70-80% max). This workout is
necessarily light so as to aid in recuperation from the first workout, which was quite
heavy.
On your third workout day (medium day) you would once a gain warm up in the usual
fashion and take the regular weight jumps until you hit a weight of between 70 and 80%
maximum and there you would stay for perhaps 5 sets of between 5 and 7 repetitions
(as many as you are capable of). This would be enough stimulation to aid in increasing
strength levels without the mental stress that heavy singles with close to maximum
poundages carry with them.
On choosing exercise movements, perform the basic movements such as Bench Press,
Squat, Deadlift, Row, Press, Barbell Curl and Triceps Press. I would not do any heavy
single attempts on the direct arm movements.
What the beginning trainee should remember is that, for the most part, much of the
material of this book can be used by him when he reaches the intermediate stage of his
physical and strength development. To use the Power Rack and Maximum Fatigue
Theory, for example, in the beginner’s stage would be a mistake since he would not be
ready for such intense work.
The training volume for the intermediate trainee has to necessarily become greater than
in the beginning of his training career. For one thing, the greater his training poundages
have become, the more they will necessitate more warm-up sets that at first was
necessary. This alone would add to his volume of work over a particular span of time. We
also must consider that his type of work (intensity) has also become greater, hence we
have a twofold problem: how to enable him to do more work and harder work without
staleness!??
It is at this time that I feel our man should incorporate a split routine. We all should
know how to split up our schedule so that we are training four times per week, doing
harder and more work and yet recuperating just as well. To split the routine adequately,
we should evenly distribute the work load to the various lifts or exercises and with the
assistance movements (in this example, Power Rack work).
On day one we could do our Squat and Bench Press in the usual manner.. Figure on 10
or 12 sets each, working up to perhaps 3 singles with around 90% of our limit. Finish off
with a few sets of reps with around 70% maximum and call it quits for those two
movements for the day. You now could include some light arm work or what have you,
but make it nothing of any consequence.
On day two, do the Deadlift, using the usual workout schedule and working up to
maybe a double or a triple. This will maintain lifting style and groove as well as lifting
strength. You can finish up this day some upper back work and a few sets of calf work,
but once again, nothing of any consequence.
Day three would be a rest day. Just relax and let yourself grow!
On day four we could use our Power Rack work. Using the Theory of Maximum
Fatigue, work both the Squat and the Bench Press in this intense manner (see Chapter
One). Do nothing else this day.
On day five you would use the power rack once again for your Deadlift. Finish up with
some light arm and calf work and that is all you do this day.
What we are trying to do with the intermediate trainee is to get him used to the more
sophisticated methods of training load and intensity without getting him overly
stimulated. This is more complicated than it seems. It is hard to develop more strength
when you are already fairly strong. This is because you are then operating at close to your
maximal potential and from here on in, the gains come very slowly. Some superadvanced lifters will train for over a year just to add a few extra pounds to their squat.
But you must remember that these few extra pounds, at this stage may make the
difference between having, or not having, a new national or world record.
The intermediate trainee has at his disposal all the various assistance techniques he
could possibly ever need or utilize. All he has to do is to make sure that whatever kind of
assistance training he incorporates, he must give it a fair trial before deciding if it is
valuable for him or not. One of the most common mistakes made by beginners is to
figure that the more they change their routine, the more variety they will have in their
training routine and hence, the more progress they will make. To be sure, changes will
have to be made from time to time, but not every two or three weeks.
The advanced man has the most intricate problems of them all! Since he has already
been through the beginner and intermediate stages he does have some knowledge of just
how his particular system reacts to the various workloads and techniques which we have
already discussed in the last chapter. To make continued progress at the advanced stage
requires almost superhuman dedication! You are not going to get there by not believing in
yourself and in your training capabilities. You are not going to get their by missing
workout after workout just because the weights are not increasing as they used to when
you were a rank beginner. To be an advanced trainee is a paradox unto itself.
So far we have listed a routine for the first two categories of physical achievement. As
far as outlined a particular routine for the advanced man, I do not feel that one example is
possible. This is because at your stage of strength and development, you will have to
begin to experiment on numerous techniques and methods for increasing your training
proficiency. I can’t give you directions on how to go about this, as if such a task were
simply robot-like in operation. This is a creative situation we are talking about here, with
many avenues of possible travel. What I can do is to remind you that the more intense
type of workouts are the ones to choose. Along with this intensity, you will have to
perform as great a workload as you can recuperate from, so that muscle stimulation
remains constantly increasing. The routines themselves may be quite simple or
complicated, governed by your particular body type and temperament. Once again, you
are in complete control.
The number of workouts and the frequency of exercise movements is a question much
under scrutiny today. Some men, like Jim Williams (the great Bench Presser), believe in
working the particular lift you want to improve every day! The assistance movements for
the adjacent movements for the adjacent muscle groups are also worked daily for a
continuous, hammering effect on the nerves, muscle, and tendons. These men believe that
this is the best way to power. They do not work any muscle to exhaustion on any given
day. What they do is work hard, but not much, almost daily and the results have been
quite dramatic. Others, just as successful, will prefer to hit an exercise twice per week,
once heavy and once light. The assistance movements will follow the exercise on
whatever day it is done. Recuperation seems to be the big word to this style of advanced
training. These men feel that after hitting a muscle hard you must rest it to let it
recuperate. Finally, we come to the kind of training the Western Europeans are doing.
They train both hard and much for up to three workouts per day and six days per week.
Such training is quite arduous on the system and only the “chosen few” can make it to the
top using this system. The other men will become more muscular, more conditioned and
stronger, up to a point and then their system will no longer be able to adapt to the stress
and they will hit a standstill. If further irritation occurs, they will go backwards in
strength.
As you can see, the importance of training volume in tour routine, no matter what level
you are at, is of grave importance. By using it as a guide, you can fairly easily see where
your training lies and whether you are doing too much easy work and/or too much hard
work. It is by being able to delicately balance the two that you will make continued
progress past the beginner’s stage.
While it is true that most of us will never make it to the championship level of strength
development, and this also means that this champion-like method of training (Bulgarian
system) would neither help us nor improve us past our natural potential, there is no
reason to feel downcast because of such a fact. For, by using all pertinent information
available to us, we can improve to a dramatic degree. All we need is the determination
and willingness to have an open mind.
The Coupling of Intensity and Volume Loads
Adaptation is the ability of our nerve fiber receptors to adapt (get used to) a stimulus
(stress). Within the nervous system, this nerve fiber adaptation is an integral part of our
ability to deal with the continued stresses of life. By using this method in our training
program, we greatly reduce our chances of physical failure in achieving our desired aims.
By adapting to stress, we overcompensate for this continued bombardment of physical
stimuli (workouts and training and intensity) and the result is an ability to absorb this
type of physical punishment, with greater ability and ease of recuperation.
The Bulgarian weightlifters have used this system to a great extent for the past eight or
so years with great success on the lifting platform and in all facets of physical exercise.
We all use this system of training, whether consciously or unconsciously, whenever we
increase our training load. The result of this adapting can be seen by our continued ability
to adapt to this increased amount of work, with continued success in our lifting
endeavors. If we could not adapt to the increased work, our lifts would suffer and our
nervous energy would be depleted. This, of course, would mean our strength levels would
decrease and in such a case, a lengthy layoff would be called for.
In order to join the ranks of the “physical elite” in strength sports, it is necessary to be
able to train hard and heavy and long! The majority of us cannot do all three and that is
what separates us from the champions. Most of us can either train hard or we can train
much, but we can’t do both. Most of us can train heavy for short intense periods or we
can train rather light for longer periods, but we can’t seem to get to the level where we
can train heavy for long periods! If we could, there would be many Alexeyevs and
Rigerts.
Our apparent inability to adapt to the increased workloads of the champion lifter does
not mean that we should not try to incorporate to whatever degree we can, this training
system. There will be just about no other way to progress, should we not wish to add to
our bodyweight. Once we have a stabilized bodyweight class to lift in and we can no
longer increase our physical size through “Bulk Training,” we are then left with a
situation which is quite paradoxical, in and of itself. For we need more strength
stimulation, yet we cannot gain more muscle size, (through gaining weight), nor can we
gain an increase in favorable leverage, which this weight gain would have afforded us. So
what is it that we can do? We can use the more intensive training methods, such as
eccentric contraction or the power rack, but these methods carry with them the need to be
able to adapt to a much heavier stimulus, due to the nature of their performance. And how
do we go about developing a this ability to adapt to a more intense stimulus? I believe we
should start by developing the ability of recuperating from a stimulus of volume which,
in time, would create within us the ability to work for long periods with at least medium
heavy resistance. Then, when we were at a well-conditioned state, both strength wise and
physically, we could follow the “peaking” system of the powerlifters and Olympic lifters
and concentrate at this training point of lifting more intense poundages. It would be at
this time that the vast amount of work performed beforehand would make its effect
known and shown. You cannot get something for nothing. You must pay the price
somewhere along the line. And if you think that the men you are reading about got that
way through training for a few hours per week, for a few years, you’re sadly mistaken.
And when you read their routines, remember that these routines are their “peaking out”
routines, just preparing for a contest. They did their real work months beforehand, with
vast workloads.
There are many who believe that a rest day, or two, is absolutely necessary when
training for physical strength. Yet, in the Soviet states nothing could be further from the
truth. Their “rest” day (if any) might consist of two or even four hours of heavy
gymnastics, basketball, medicine ball throwing, sprints, etc. Such a workout would tire
out our average lifter, to such an extent, that ht could never continue to train on the
strength lifts, as well as incorporate these so-called “rest days.” The reason for this lies
basically within our framework of life and theirs. We do not live to lift and they do. That
is why these advanced adaptation theories and practices have not caught on over here to
any large degree. Because even though we know how they work and why, it is almost
impossible to incorporate them into our lifestyle.
A good idea would be to try (as best you can) to embrace as much of this system of
training as possible, within the framework of your working day. Having equipment at
home, as well as a gym to train in should help somewhat, should you wish to experiment
with increasing your intensity through your workload, thereby using the system of
physical adaptation. There have been men who gave used this system to a large degree
and they all have benefited tremendously. Paul Anderson used this system in the
beginning of his career when daily he did many, many sets of both high repetitions and
low repetitions in the Back Squat and a few basic power movements. He didn’t have
anyone there to tell him that such a gross amount of daily work would cripple him! He
didn’t have anyone there to frighten him away! He just thought that the more work you
did and the heavier and harder it was, the better you would gain. He was right.
Jim Williams, the man who is the crowned king of bench pressers, the only man in my
knowledge who has benched 700lbs. in training, had the courage of his conviction and
trained the bench press as well as the other various upper body movements for increasing
the lift 6 days a week! He bench pressed every day! And while the amount of time he put
into the bench was not too excessive, he also incorporated the various assistance
movements daily so that each workout, while seemingly rather short, was quite excessive
when taken on a weekly or monthly measure. Who has even remotely come close to his
marks on the bench today? Nobody!
We realize that such training may not be suitable to you, due to genetics and work
schedules, etc. However, it is of paramount importance that you try to increase your
ability to recover from harder and longer workouts, if you are ever to reach the limits if
your potential. Why do you think it is that quite a few fellows will train on a few chosen
routines for a given length of time, and garnish adequate gains and then suddenly reach a
standstill for months and sometimes years? Part of the reason is that they probably gave
reached the critical point in their potential spectrum and further gains will only come
from increased work and increased amount of work. If they can manage to squeeze in
more training time, then they will increase their muscular condition and this increased
muscular conditioning will enable them to go further into heavier weights, since the
muscles are well trained and can take the punishment. But if they cannot or will not make
the wholehearted effort to revamp their training so that it becomes a more systematic way
of training the body to absorb more stress and more intense stress, then they are doomed
to progress no further, unless they wish to put on more bodyweight. And in this situation,
they are really not getting functionally stronger, they are getting bigger and heavier,
hence they lift somewhat more. Could this be the reason so many men begin training at
one bodyweight class and eight or nine years later, we find them two or even three classes
higher? Maybe so. At least it could be given some thought. The first man I ever trained
with who used one particular method of training adaptation was my coach and closest
friend Dezso Ban. One of the first things I noticed about his type of training was the vast
amount of workload he put into each and every training period. Set after set of 3 and 5
repetitions would be performed, with some movements being performed daily. Double
and single attempts had no place in his training, since he was not peaking out for any
particular meet. His lack of competition was due to various muscle pulls which would not
heal properly, hence, Dezso would train primarily for himself. His results were nothing
short of amazing!
At a bodyweight of around 180 lbs. he front squatted 445 for 5 repetitions. His back
squat eventually went to 445 for 5 sets of 5 reps and one limit set of 5 reps with 500 lbs.
Without concentrating on pure dead lifting power, but only as an assistance movement for
his Olympic lifting training, he would wind up his back routine with 585 for 3 sets of 2 or
3 repetitions done in stiff legged fashion.
When the would record in his weight class was around 400 lbs., he was capable of squat
cleaning 375 and easily jerking it overhead. It was while attempting this record in
training that he seriously tore the inner thigh muscle of his leg, thus ending his
competitive career. At this same point in his training, he was doing lunges with 385 for
repetitions and hyperextensions with 185 (equal to his bodyweight)! In the clean and
press he was doing 285 for 5 sets of 3 reps. He also did a stiff legged power clean with
around 310, with very little specialization on this movement. So, as can plainly be seen,
this man was training quite heavily.
Dezso would train 6 days per week for between 3 and 4 hours per day. Sometimes in
Saturday 6 hours would be spent in the gym. His physique at this time of his life had to
be seen to be believed. He had the muscle quality of Rigert with the Grecian lines of a
classic statue. In his theory of training volume, every muscle received more than enough
stimulation. Nothing was left to chance. Staleness was not a problem, because he did not
have to try his limits too often. In fact, I frequently asked him what his limit poundages in
the assistance movements were, and he always replied in the same way: “I have no idea,
nor do I care.” The unique feature of his training was that it eventually led him to the
point of handling for repetitions, weights that the rest of us would be happy to lift for
single limit attempts. This was the beauty of his system of adaptive training.
Dezso would begin with working up to a heavy set of 3 and use this weight for 5 or so
sets, gradually adding repetitions to each set, until after a certain length of time, he would
be handling the same weight not for one set of 3, but 5 sets of triples. Then, depending
upon the type of movement and preference to repetition scheme, he would either jump
the weight and begin with one set of 3 or stay at the same weight for 5 sets of triples,
increasing the reps until he was doing fives with this weight.
Front Squats, Back Squats, Lunges and Extensions were done on Monday, Wednesday
and Friday. He also included some form of shoulder work on these days. On Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday he worked his pulling muscles with various kinds of High Pulls,
Shrug Pulls, Shrugs, Squat Cleans, and Power Cleans, and he also included more direct
shoulder work. So he was doing shoulder work 6 days per week. Mind you, he didn’t
shrink from all this training, he thrived on it!
By now it should be obvious to you that you will eventually reach a point in your
training where it will not be possible to progress further without your developing the
ability of your body to adapt to increased amounts of physical and/or mental stress. The
various training concepts, such as negative contraction, power rack work, the Theory of
Maximum Fatigue will aid you in continuing your training progress. But along with these
aids, you will have to utilize, sooner or later, a drastic change in your training volume and
intensity.
I have tried to show you that although such a training increase will initially cause a
drop in your training poundages, such a decrease is only momentary. After a given length
of time, you can learn to recuperate from such a workload and even begin to thrive on it.
Should you decide to eventually enter competition, you would merely adjust your
training routine to a peaking out routine and the backlog of work you had performed in
the previous months would then make itself visible. You would definitely be lifting
heavier poundages!
Without competition, such training is quite adaptable on a year-round basis. Without
training on maximum single or double attempts, you would be saving your nervous
system from the additional stress such intense training places upon it. Your training goals
would be revolving around your ability of handling fairly heavy weights for sets and
repetitions. Within a few years, the weights which at one time would have constituted a
close to limit lift would be nothing more than training exercise poundages and such an
increase of muscle workability would have to make itself felt and shown physically.
What Dezso Ban has proved is that normal working men can train in a voluminous,
intense manner while still leading a normal life. The final choice as to how much of the
adaptation principle you utilize is up to you. What I have tried to do here is explain that it
can and does work.
Dezso believes that the average trainee does not train nearly hark enough, nor does he
train long enough for continued progress. We are not keeping up with the rest of the
world when it comes to training volume and training intensity. Without continued
attempts at increasing your ability to recuperate from harder and harder workouts, you
will hit a training plateau and then the only way you will continue to improve is to either
gain bodyweight or begin to use steroids. Neither is healthy nor acceptable for the
average trainee to incorporate. The intelligent thing to incorporate at this time would be
increased workload and increased training intensity! To merely increase your training
intensity would only increase your tendency to become stale within a short period of
time. That is not solely the answer. By increasing both your training volume and your
intensity, you will not only be able to handle eventually heavier weights, but you’ll also
be able to handle heavier weights for more and more sets and repetitions.
This change-over from short, heavy workouts to more voluminous work with mediumheavy resistance will take a while for you to adapt to. This is where the Theory of
Physical Adaptation comes into play. By slowly adding a set here and a set there, in no
time at all we can utilize and recuperate from immense workloads! For the natural lifter,
this will mean a chance at going to the limit in the world of weights. For the rest of us
normal trainees, this kind of training will enable us to reach the limits of our natural
potential, without the use of anabolic steroids. The only thing that is necessary is a vast
amount of long, hard work.
I, myself, have used this principle with great success as far as increased muscle mass,
muscle density and the ability to recuperate from much hard work! Needless to say, my
strength level has improved dramatically as well. However, I must warn the average
trainee that while anyone can use this training principle, it is very hard work!
The Cheating Principle in Strength Training
The Cheating Principle has been used widely throughout the would of weight training
with the primary emphasis being placed on the field of bodybuilding. For the
bodybuilder, this training principle is most helpful in the acquisition of increased
muscular bulk through the use of heavier weights for repetitions, performed in a loose
manner.
Long ago, the bodybuilders found that they could handle much heavier weights and for
more repetitions if they loosened up their style of exercise performance. This led to
greater poundages used in the conventional movements with the results being increased
ability to force out an intensity of motions per set, with the resultant muscle growth
increasing in direct proportion to this increasing workload.
This method of training works because it increases your intensity and your training
volume both at the same time. By increasing your repetitions through this principle, you
not only increase the amount of workload, but the momentary intensity per set is also
increased. This means that theoretically, you are performing more work in a given length
of tome, and this in turn leads to increased muscular size and strength. This increased
amount of repetition work also will aid in the acquisition of muscle density, should you
follow a strict pre-contest diet while using this method of training.
While it would appear that primarily the bodybuilder would benefit from this method of
exercise style, the Olympic lifter and the powerlifter also use this principle, whether they
realize and admit this or not. The Olympic lifter uses cheating movements, by way of
Jerks from the Rack, Shrugs, Shrug Pulls, High Pulls, Jerk Drives, Partial Front and
Partial Back Squats. The powerlifter uses such movements as Partials in the Power Rack,
the Bent Legged Deadlift, Partial Squats and the Power Squat. Deadlifts using a hopper
device, such as the old-timers during the thirties and forties will also aid the powerlifter
in gaining more strength.
The reasons why the Cheating Principle works are varied and many. To fully
understand this methodology, we must look over what is actually taking place while using
this type of training. In any lifting exercise movement, there is a weak point which we
call the “sticking point.” This is a point where leverage is at its weakest influence during
the lift and it is at this point where we usually fail with limit attempts or forced
repetitions. What we do with the cheating principle is try to overcome this weak point by
adding momentum with our bodyweight or adjacent muscle groups to help us overcome
this point of physical weakness. To further illustrate my point, let us use the Cheating
Curl as an example. Most bodybuilders will use this method of training during their arm
work whether they want to or not. This is usually because their training enthusiasm
overrules their momentary physical capacity. Thus, during the end of a series of
repetitions, they will “swing” a bit, to aid in further repetition performance. Of else, they
will use a heavier than they can handle correctly, and perform the entire set with a
swinging method of repetition. They will sometimes combine both these movements
during the course of a workout for a particular body part, or they will use one type on one
day and another type on another training day. Either way, they will use a “loose” style of
exercise to gain in performing more repetitions per set, or heavier weights for each set of
repetitions, or both. And their end result is increased muscle growth and strength.
The Olympic lifter will usually perform many sets of Jerks from the Rack with very
heavy weights, until he can only “drive” the bar past head level, without being able to
lock it out. This will increase his Clean and Jerk proficiency, since the key to a heavy
Clean and Jerk is outstanding leg strength and these heavy “jerk drives” will make use of
the power potential of the frontal thigh. Partial Front Squats will also increase the
strength of these thigh extension muscles so that the drive to jerk the bar to arm’s length
will go unhampered.
The Olympic lifter will also regularly make use of the various pulls in the power rack to
fully work and develop an explosive second pull, so necessary in the Squat Clean
position. Without an explosive second pull, a heavy Squat Clean becomes almost
impossible and without a heavy Squat Clean there can be no heavy Clean and Jerk. So,
many, many sets of High Pulls, Shrug Pulls, and Shrugs are in order. The Shrug Pull, with
much heavier weight than you can Squat Clean will develop your ability to complete the
extension in your second pull position. This will give you added impetus to pull yourself
under the bar and fix it at the shoulders. Shrugs, if done explosively, will aid in fully
developing your trapezius strength and the ind result is a complete extension during your
top pull.
The Olympic lifter also makes use of this principle while doing his Front Squats with
heavy weight. Every time he loosens up on his performance style to grind out an extra
rep, he is using this principle. Every time he performs repetitions with heavier weights
than he can handle for full repetitions he is using this principle. Every time he combines
either or both of these methods of cheating he is giving mute testimony as to the
effectiveness and necessity of this training principle.
Finally, we come to the powerlifter. Although the rules governing the performance of
the three accepted powerlifts would seem to serve the purpose of regulating the exercise
style of these lifting movements, nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, the
Power Squat makes use of this cheating principle, since it throws most of the stress of the
heavier poundages onto the hips and lower back. It does not restrict the performance of
the lift on to the muscles of the frontal thigh alone, which theoretically, should be of main
consideration when deciphering leg strength. Also, the low bar placement of the upper
back also aids in heavier weight performance, since this aids the loft in being performed
with hip and lower back strength in comparison to the frontal thigh.
The Bench Press, as it is performed today is also a cheating movement. Although the
bar is rested momentarily on the chest, it is also then “sunk” into the thorax somewhat,
with the advantage here being a greater ability to explode when beginning the big push.
The placement of the bar excessively low on the chest (below the pectorals) also aids in
driving heavier weights to the lockout position, as compared to the Bench Press to upper
chest or neck, as some bodybuilders perform. If we were really interested in deciding the
triceps, pectoral and deltoid strength of an athlete, the Incline Press with a pause at the
chest, or the Military Press while seated on a very steep incline would be a better choice.
Finally, I wish to make it dear that I am not criticizing the way the three power lifts are
performed in competition today. What I am trying to do is show you that even in strict
competition, a form of “cheating” is taking place, to enable us to reach our physical
potentials.
In training, the Cheating Principle makes itself felt in many ways. When the powerlifter
does partial squats, he is using the cheating principle. When we do “bouncing” bench
presses we are using the cheating principle. This can be so that more repetitions can be
done per set, or heavier weight can be handled for limit attempts. Either or both will
make us harder, denser, and a lot stronger.
By properly combining the ways of using this principle in your regular exercise
performance, you can simultaneously add to your training volume and your training
intensity per set. Therefore, be sure you know how to use it properly for best results.
It is possible, by using the Cheating Principle, to greatly intensify your workouts. This
means you will be doing harder work for each set. This will take place whether or not you
are training for power, lifting strength or pure bodybuilding. To be sure, the Cheating
Principle will enable you to get more work in less time. The work will also be done with
heavier weights, depending upon your method of operation.
For increasing your lifting strength, you merely “overload” the muscles with partial,
assistance movements, with much heavier weights and choose movements which closely
approximate the actual lifts used in competition. The heavy overload pulling movements,
which I briefly touched on a while back, would fall into this category. Heavy High Pulls,
Shrug pulls, Shrugs, etc., will respond to this cheating method, since they are in
themselves cheating movements, even though we may be cognizant of correct lifting
style, while executing them in our training. Naturally the repetitions should be kept rather
low, mostly doubles and triples because in this situation we are trying to build “useful”
muscular strength. To use light weights on these movements would be a waste of time for
the Olympic lifter.
Again, I repeat, the Partial Front Squats and Back Squats, done in Olympic lifting style
(bar held high on traps, thigh folding over completely on calf in the bottom position)
should be used regularly when attempting to increase thigh stretch and squat cleaning
proficiency. Leg work, such as described, should be done at least twice per week,
possibly three times if the trainee wants one “light” day in between two heavier ones. The
pulling movements should also be dine either two or three times weekly, on opposite
training days. It depends on whether you wish to train four or six times per week.
Finally, as an Olympic lifter you would benefit from not using the “forced repetitions”
of cheating movements, done at the end of each set in which the beginning repetitions
were done “correctly.” What the Olympic lifter wants to do is merely incorporate muscle
group movements, in themselves.
For the powerlifter, the situation is somewhat different. His type of competitive lifts
demand explosive, yet restrained, grinding strength. He could benefit by two types of
“cheating” utilization in his training. First of all, hr can benefit greatly by doing all
repetitions possible for each and every chosen set of heavy and medium-heavy weights.
To do this “cheating forced rep” type of training with the lighter workloads would be a
waste of time for the powerlifter. He does not need blown up muscles, such as the
bodybuilder does. But he can benefit from forcing, even if this means a “loosening” of
style, for each set of heavier weights. This will enable him to handle heavier weights for
more repetitions and the end result will be an increased capacity for heavier work. It will
also alleviate any fears of grinding out heavy weights in competition, since he will be
using heavy weights and really “forcing” reps in each and every set.
The powerlifter will also need to specialize on the “cheating” muscle group movements
in which he uses additional muscle groups to lift heavier weights in the chosen
movements he will be competing in. He will have to learn to use his hips and glute
muscles as well as his thighs to squat with maximum poundages. He will have to learn to
use not only his lower back, but also his legs, in order to register heavier and heavier in
the deadlift. For the Bench Press, he will have to use all the allowable techniques which
are legal in competition, in order to handle the heaviest weight he is capable of.
A good idea would be to use the stricter style of the power three twice per week, and the
competitive style twice per week, so that both are trained sufficiently for best results. The
Stiff Legged Deadlift, the Olympic Back Squat, and the Bench Press to Upper Chest
(close to neck) would be the assistance isolation (more on that later) movements, and the
style used in competition would be the muscle group “cheating” style. Both are necessary
to continued progress and continued gains.
For the bodybuilder and all-around strength trainee, the road is wide open for using the
Cheating Principle in your training. No matter what movement you decide to get stronger
on, you can greatly intensify your efforts if you strive to do a few “loosely performed”
repetitions at the end of each of your sets. It would be more effective if you persisted in
using this system with the heavier poundages, for the most part, unless you are truly
trying to increase muscular mass as an end in itself. There is a difference between the
loosely performed repetitions and the “burns” we had talked about earlier in a past
section. The burns are usually done at the end of a set of medium to medium-heavy
resistance, as a way of stimulating more muscle fibers. Also, their performance is
different in that they are only partial movements done at the end of a set, while the
cheating repetitions are full repetitions at the end of a set, done in a looser style. There
may seem to be a similarity between the two, but practice both and you will definitely
notice the difference.
For sheer muscle gains I would recommend the method of using extra repetitions, done
loosely, at the end of every “normal set”, with the weight being medium to mediumheavy. You want to be able to really control the weight and this will not be easy if the
poundages are too heavy. This is because you want to do more repetitions than the other
lifters do. This is necessary for increased muscle simulation, however.
For a combination of muscle size increase and over-all power, I would recommend that
from time to time, both styles of cheating be employed so that you can gain from both
training methods. By combining both exercise styles, you will be amazed at how fast
your muscles respond with greater size and power. Of course, such a condition will
eventually lead to bodyweight gain, so this would be suitable for only those who are not
restricted to a particular weight class in competition. However, it is effective!
The only drawback to such training lies within the egos and the morals of the trainees
who utilize it. The only thing wrong with the Cheating Principle lies within the name we
use to govern its meaning and its usage. To use the cheating method to enable you to
handle more and more weight in the stricter movements is quite all right to do. To use it
to gain more strength in the competition lifts is quite all right also. However, it may cause
a trainee to forget about lifting style, depending upon his “new found” power to carry him
through. This would be a mistake, for Olympic lifting requires both speed and technique
as well as usable power for success! to depend on more strength, no matter how explosive
it may be, is quite a mistake.
For the powerlifter, to depend on this system without further usage of stricter
movements would develop both weak links in the chain of command and a tendency to
lose all semblance of form when in competition. You cannot do the three power lifts
without having complete control of the bar at all times. The motor pathways for
competent performance must be regularly strengthened for continued lifting success.
Also, the weak links, such as the pectorals, frontal thighs, and lower back will be
neglected if only forced repetition cheating movements are solely performed. You must
combine both for best results.
The all-around trainee would also be making a mistake in thinking this system is an end
in itself. In doing so, he would lose contact with the reality of his true usable strength.
Bouncing Bench Presses, Presses done with exaggerated back arch and Half Squats
called Full Squats would be the end result of not using any “psyche control” over the
Cheating Principle. The end result would be ridiculous!
As I mentioned earlier, the only thing wrong with the Cheating Principle is its name.
Use it and don’t abuse it for best results.
The Adaptation Principle in Strength Training
Finally, we come to the Theory of Adaptation, which will close out this section on
useful training principles in the quest for physical strength. What we are going to try to
do here is to show you how to adapt to continued increases in both training intensity and
volume, for an overall increase in body power and muscular development. As you
progress from beginner to intermediate and finally from intermediate to advanced trainee,
it will become necessary for you to learn how to use this Principle of Physical Adaptation
for continued training success. The reality of the situation lies within the premise that in
order to reach your maximum potential, you will have to learn how to increase your
overall workload so that more training will become an acceptable responsibility that you
will have to deal with, no matter how you may wish there were another way to go. Be
assured, the top men in our field of endeavor did not get there by an easygoing
methodology. The only exceptions to this rule would be the “easy gainers,” the kind of
men who can do literally anything and still progress and grow. For the rest of us, hard
work and increased training time will become an athletic necessity.
We must begin with the physical stress, if given enough time and period of relaxation,
in order to be given adequate stimulation to further increase physical capabilities. Your
body is not your enemy. It wants to do whatever you ask it to do. We are built this way.
Only time and patience are required for us to reach the zenith ort bodies are capable of.
By learning how to coax our bodies into greater physical abilities, we will be able to
grasp the most important facet of advanced training terminology. We will literally learn
how to “take it” and still come back for more. Without adaptability we would reach a
stalemate in physical strength and development and only an increase in overall
bodyweight and size would make further gains possible. But what if we do not want to
gain any more bodyweight? To be sure, it is quite easy to keep a certain workload,
gradually bodyweight and at the same time register strength gains. But how much of this
is due to the added bodyweight? To be sure, in most cases, the heavier we get, the less
functional our bodyweight-strength ratio becomes.
In order to gain additional strength, once past the beginner’s stage, our training tenacity
and dedication must increase thrice fold! To do this without increasing bodyweight
becomes quite an accomplishment within itself. To try and do this without increasing our
training volume becomes quite ludicrous, if not downright impossible! There comes a
time when we have to face facts. If we are going to force ourselves to increase our
workout intensity and volume, we are going to have to learn how to do it in a measured
out, systematic way so that overtraining and physical trauma will be kept to a minimum.
This is where the Principle of Adaptation comes into play.
The success of the Bulgarian Olympic training system is based solely upon this psychophysical theory: the more we make ourselves used to doing (in a physical sense), the
more we can do! The secret of their lifters’ success lies within their ability to take vast
workloads on a daily basis, continuously, all year round. You only have to compare their
physical appearance to our men to see what truly being in shape looks like. Even their
heavier lifters, the ones who usually carry the most adipose tissue (myself included), even
these men on their teams look like a million compared to ours. And while I fully
understand that their lifestyles are different than ours and they are funded by the
government to literally do nothing except train, you can’t argue with success. The way
their men are trained is far superior to ours.
While it would be almost impossible for us to fully embrace their training system, we
can make use of its basic points to further our own gains. The methodology of this
training scheme will at first seem hard and complicated, but with resolution and a belief
in ourselves and what it is we want to do, we can and should incorporate this system into
our training routines. The end result will be a more well conditioned body, less training
injuries due to increased muscular proficiency and finally, an excess of strength reserve,
capable of being called upon should we ever need it.
One of the basic rules of this type of training is to make haste slowly and train, do not
strain. It is not necessary to continually try our limits for an increase in training
poundages to take place. There are other ways to go about this and to rely only on
continuously heavy single attempts (possible ego problems here) is not only self
defeating but it can also be downright dangerous with continued application. To be sure,
heavy singles and doubles are quite necessary, for formulating future training percentages
and when peaking out for a contest or just to occasionally see where our strength levels
are at. But to rely primarily upon these heavy, grinding attempts will not build the
explosiveness so necessary in competition, nor will they build an increase of muscle size
or conditioning. This is because singles and doubles place no real strain upon the muscle
fibers, only upon the muscle attachments and ligaments, and it is here where the trouble
begins to show itself in the way of physical trauma (injuries). How many of you have
been injured when training on that too close to maximum Bench Press or Squat. Many of
you, I’d bet. This has happened to me also and I know the feeling of frustration that
ensues. This is one reason why this system of training is so great – you are constantly
trying to add to your physical proficiency without taxing your body to the physical limits
that excessive single and double attempts carry with them. By using this system, your
conditioning improves as well.
It is important to bear in mind that when we speak of increasing your over-workload we
are talking about increasing the “functional” weights within our training scheme. I would
advise most sets to be done with close to 75% of your one repetition limit and try to stick
to this percentile as much as possible. Compound sets may also be used with this system,
with the overall result being an increase in strength registered when such compound type
of training is eliminated and a breaking in period is undertaken so as to give the muscles
full time to fully recuperate, for an increased strength gain to be registered at the point of
peaking. If you wish to use compound sets, then by all means do so. Try to use
movements which compliment both the competitive lift you are ultimately training to
increase, and the selected themselves. Try to keep the blood in the area being worked this
way as long as possible for complete muscular anabolism to take place. Actually, you will
be training quite like a bodybuilder, except that the weights will be somewhat heavier and
the rep scheme somewhat lower than actual bodybuilding entails. Once again, try to use
weights which are at the 75% limit of your one repetition poundage. For the compound
sets only, I would advise from time to time a lessening of the training poundages until the
overall physical effect has been given time to become used to. These compound sets can
be quite fatiguing if you do not warm yourself into them. In the beginning, try to get at
least six to eight repetitions with these compound movements, going for a full muscular
stimulating pump. Later on, you can toughen the movements up by increasing the
weights of the bars so that a more meaningful amount of weight can be handled regularly
and competently. The closer you come to the point of peaking out, the heavier you try to
get these training poundages to become. This will enable you to toughen up sufficiently
so that when in the peaking season your strength will increase by leaps and bounds!
At this point in our discussion, I shall endeavor to outline for you various ways in
which you can use this physical adaptation theory in your training schedules. To begin
with, we shall first outline the basic intermediate routine which is used by most trainees
the lifting world over. We shall not concern ourselves with the competitive trainee, since
this aspect of physical conditioning shall be fully outlined in the proceeding chapter.
What we shall do, however, is concern ourselves with the average lifter of around 200
lbs. bodyweight who has been training faithfully for the past few years and has registered
the following basic strength lifts: Bench Press 370 lbs., Power Squat 450 lbs., and
Deadlift 540 lbs. This is the present state of our chosen trainee’ present capabilities. In
order for him to go beyond this stage, he will have to begin to incorporate the adaptation
phase of his training.
Let us suppose, for the purpose of giving a viable example, that our lifter is training
four days peer week for approximately two hours per workout. He performs Bench
Presses twice per week, once heavy and once light. On his heavy days he works up to two
or three singles with around 90% if his one repetition limit. He then drops down and does
four or five keys of medium repetitions, with steadily decreasing weight. He may or may
not have an additional movement to supplement his Benches. If he does, more than likely
it is done on his light training day, in which he will Bench for around seven of eight sets
using lighter weights (60 or 70%) for six to eight repetitions per set. On this day if he
decides to use an assistance movement, he will use primarily the same set and repetition
scheme as he does on his light training days. Does this type of bench training sound
familiar to any of you? It should. From the majority of letters I have received this is
exactly the type of workout most of you are doing. Now let us try to incorporate our
Adaptation to Stress theory to this type of workout scheme. First of all, we shall keep the
one heavy day of training as well as the second light day. However, on our heavy day we
shall work up to three singles with a weight we could get one double with if we really
gutted it out! Our first goal is to systematically add one single with this weight, as time
and energy permits, until we are doing five singles with this same training poundage.
Now drop the bar by 20 or 30 lbs. and try to get in three doubles. Your goal is to get five
sets of doubles with this weight whenever you are able. Finally, drop the bar by another
20 or 30 lbs. and try to get in three triples. Your goal with this weight would be to get to
five sets of triples. This type of heavy training will greatly develop your ability to work
much and hard, Joe Buck. Do you know of any champion who can’t work much and
hard?!!
On your light day begin with five sets of between five and seven repetitions using
around 65 or 70% of your one rep maximum poundage. What you want to do is to
someday get eight or ten sets of between five and seven repetitions with this weight. If
you wish to include any assistance movements, by all means do so. Begin with three to
five sets of five to seven reps and stay with this weight until six to eight sets of these reps
can be done. By increasing this workload, you are simultaneously increasing both your
physical condition and your muscular development and strength. What more could you
want?
Contrary to what many people believe, it is quite hard to become overtrained with this
system. This is because you choose the weights right from the beginning and you merely
add greater volume as your body becomes adjusted to the workload. This makes far more
sense to me than to be going up and down in your training programs, due to injury from
trying to heavy too often or staleness from over-exhaustion due to overworking with
weights too heavy to handle regularly from week to week. The beauty of this type of
adaptation training is that the mental stress of not knowing what you will be capable of
handling today as compared to what you were able to work up to last week is alleviated.
You are under no pressure to perform beyond your present physical limitation. In this
type of training you are in complete control as to how heavy and how much work you
will be doing and you do not have to increase the weight of the bar until you feel ready
for it. All the while you will be experiencing increased resiliency due to increasing your
physical conditioning and the muscles will begin to take on a dense, well-trained look.
The overall effect will be quite enjoyable, I can assure you.
With the Power Squat, we shall endeavor to follow a somewhat different course of
action, although the adaptability to the increased stress will be of the utmost concern and
importance. Let us assume that you are following the same set and repetition scheme as
previously outlined for the Bench Press. This means one heavy day working up to a few
singles and one light day using mainly fives and threes with lighter weight. Let us try and
change this methodology in the following manner. On your light day begin with three of
four sets of tens using 50% of your one repetition limit. For these tens try to use a
medium stance and try to keep the back flat and on the descending motion allow the
thighs to fold up over the calves so that when you are in the bottom position, you will
assume the position of an Olympic lifter doing a Squat Clean, only in your case the bar
will be behind your neck, not racked on your chest. On this light day your training goal
would be ultimately to do six or seven sets of ten repetitions, done in the strict style I just
outlined. When this is possible, merely increase the weight of the bar sufficiently and
resume with three of four sets of tens once again.
On your heavy day for Squatting, warm up sufficiently and go up to three doubles with
a weight you could squeeze out one triple with if you really had to. Stay with this weight
until you can get five sets of threes with this weight. When this happens it is time to add
weight to the bar once again.
So let us assume you are capable of squatting 405 for three doubles. Now you drop the
bar down to around 365 and try to get in three triples (eventually working up to five
triples). Finally, drop the bar down to 315 and try for three sets of fives, increasing to five
sets of five after appropriate training time and experience. Remember that on this day you
would be using the conventional power squat style so that the entire gluteal, hip, and
lower back region could be brought into play eventually increasing your overall
competitive squatting proficiency.
This type of leg training will develop your entire lower body to an extant it had never
reached previously. This is because of the two contrary styles used in your training
scheme. There will be little chance of injury since you are not forcing your physical
limits to any degree. Here again, as in the Bench Press, you are merely getting your body
used to more and more work. Should you wish to either peak out or go into competition,
merely go back to a normal week by week peaking routine and you will find that all this
hard work you have been doing in the months previous gas been more than worth it,
because your limit squat is really going to climb!
In the next chapter we will be discussing the general training of a powerlifter and I shall
go into the various details concerning “peaking out” and “intensity” and “volume” and
the value of these various terms and principles in our general training for physical
strength. We will be outlining more routines with various workloads for the all-around
home trainee as well as for the would-be competitor and I am sure you will find our
discussions stimulating since we all fit into one category or another and we all want to get
better developed and stronger.
If I could name the main value of the Adaptation Principle, it would be that it allows the
trainee the freedom to train and not strain and in the process of such training, to become a
better conditioned athlete.
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CHAPTER THREE
Training For Powerlifting Proficiency
When training for proficiency in the three power lifts, it is of the utmost importance to
bear in mind just what it is we are going after and how we should go about obtaining our
desired results. Power training is not bulk training. Here is a basic miscalculation that
many trainees make. They assume that if they gain muscular bodyweight, they will
undoubtedly increase their power. While this is true, to a great degree, it gas no place in
the training for powerlifting competition. This is because when we are training for
competition we should try to gain as much usable strength as we can without gaining
additional bodyweight. This way we can greatly increase our power proficiency, which
would necessarily decrease if additional bodyweight is added. Since not all of us wish to
become superheavyweights, there is really no sense to adding to our bodyweight for this
kind of training, unless it is obvious that the trainee is greatly underweight for his height
and structure.
When we consider the totals of the heavier classes and compare them with the
achievements of the lighter men, we soon realize that the lighter men are far more
functional in their strength sifting as compared with the superheavyweights. Men today,
weighing under two hundred pounds, are totaling as much if not more than the supers did
some years ago. So it would seem that an increase in the three powerlifts does not
necessitate great bodyweight or increasing additional bodyweight to any degree. What
does seem to be a necessity is a continuous training schedule which will enable the
trainee to peak two or three times per year and in doing so, annually adding to his three
lift total. Along with this is the necessity of increasing the muscular density and overall
conditioning of the trainee, regardless of his weight class or bodyweight or muscular
measurements.
To mistake power training for training for training for massive muscular size is one of
the biggest and greatest mistakes that an aspiring young trainee can make, because it does
not enable him to reach a physical peak in any one class.
When training for powerlifting proficiency without gaining additional bodyweight, a
very complex and intricate situation for any inexperienced trainee to attempt to grapple
with is involved. To be sure, it is much harder to gain more and more strength without
adding to one’s physical size and massiveness and for most men like myself who are
cursed with an extremely low metabolism, it is almost impossible to do without total
training dedication! You are going to have to train to lengths which beforehand would
have seemed impossible! This is because you are asking your body to do two things at the
same time, which are in themselves paradoxical in nature. that is, you are trying to gain
additional strength without additional size and this size is almost a natural side effect of
such heavy weight, low repetition training. And it is quite hard to try to counter this
weight gaining effect with the conventional high set, low repetition methods used by the
majority of trainees.
By embracing the methodology of the Olympic lifters and continuously trying to
increase our physical conditioning as well as our strength, we can, in time, increase our
physical capabilities without the bodyweight increase and this should be the goal of a
genuine powerlift trainee. It makes no sense to jump from weight class to weight class
throughout our training career for in this way, we cannot attain a maximum degree of
lifting efficiency in any weight class whatsoever. Instead, we should strive to get
ourselves into the best physical condition we can and couple this physical conditioning
with increased volume and intensity by using the Adaptation Theory as discussed in the
previous chapter. In this way we can begin to scratch the ultimate of our physical
potential to whatever heights nature and heredity can take us.
To be sure, to greatly increase existing body power without adding bodyweight is going
to take an increase in our workload, so as to offset any growth potential such heavy
workouts might stimulate. Also, this kind of training will aid us greatly in attaining
maximum muscular conditioning.
First and foremost in our training considerations is the development of slow, steady
strength. This is the kind of strength which will enable you to “grind” through a tough set
or a maximum repetition in competition. It is this kind of lasting strength which will see
you through when the going gets tough, whether in training or on competition. While it is
necessary to develop speed and flexibility as well as explosiveness in order to total your
maximum, as far as capability is concerned, first and foremost, I still rank slow, steady
strength.
In order to develop this capacity to grind through the tough spots of a loft or in a set,
two things must place in your training. First, you must fully develop the strength of your
ligaments and tendons through partial movements in a power rack and secondly, you
must perform your exercise movements with correctness and complete control. To try and
heave your Bench Presses is only self-defeating, for in competition they will have to be
done from a dead stop. To try to bounce out of your Squats is also a mistake, for a true
power squat is done in slow, steady control. Finally, it is literally impossible to jerk up a
maximum Deadlift, so once again, correct exercise style is of the utmost necessity.
The cheating principle, while it may add to your muscular measurements, will do nest
to nothing when trying to develop usable physical strength. Only in such movements as
the Jerk from Shoulders or the Power Shrug would a cheating overload principle come
into prominent effectiveness. For the powerlifter, such a loose measurement of
performance would leave much to be desired, so rely on heavy partial movements in a
power rack instead. I would also recommend the Theory of Maximum Fatigue, as
outlined in the previous chapters, when trying to increase your lifting proficiency. Such
an overload system, coupled with a close watch on your diet will yield the desired results
of increased strength along with increased muscle density.
Let us not forget to mention the necessity of training both hard and much, for it is this
increased workload which will lead to physical conditioning.
Along with the partial movements in a power rack, I would heartily recommend the
“negative” type of training. This is because this overload method will greatly enhance
your ability to lower a heavy lift with complete control and confidence, hence it is half
the battle of getting the lift finished and over with. To be sure, this type of strength
training will necessitate two or more spotters and hence, it is not very useful for the home
trainee. However, for the fellow who trains regularly in a gym, such training will greatly
add itself to his lifting proficiency in training and in real life competition.
When training each of the power three, twice per week, once should be with a strict
performance according to the present rules and the other workout can consist of a
coupling of the partial movements in the power rack along with negative contractions. In
this way, we are hitting the muscles from all sides, leaving nothing to chance. I also
would recommend additional work in the power rack on the areas of any lift which could
be considered a “sticking point.” We all have these in our lifts. It is where our personal
point of lifting leverage is at its weakest. This is where we either fail or make a lift. Up to
this point the lift seems to “fly.” If we can generate enough nerve fiber stimulation
(through power rack work) we can “fly” once more. By doing a great deal of work
through this point as an assistance to the actual lifting of the barbell in competition, we
can greatly develop our nerve fiber stimulation, hence we will lift heavier poundages.
Once per week using this “sticking point” training is more than enough. Remember, we
must adapt to the stress, not try to force it.
By regularly combining the performing of the lifts, in competition style along with the
three assistant methods just described, any sticking point will find it very hard, indeed, to
stick around for any length of time. By continuously forcing this intensity and volume in
your training, success will come.
It should also be pointed out at this time that along with all this intensified work and
increase of volume and load, we must bear in mind the problem of maintaining muscular
flexibility while increasing our lifting proficiency. In order to truly develop our utmost
potential in the lifting arena we must give thought to muscle flexibility. Stiff muscles can
lead to incorrect lifting styles and habits, thereby lessening the ultimate we can lift in any
particular movement. Also, such a tightening up of any muscle groups will eventually
lead to a decrease of muscle explosiveness and along with this, a decrease of nerve fiber
stimulation which can only lead to a lessening of our lifting potential.
A short, tight muscle will snap and not bend, should the extreme tension of competitive
lifting make itself felt for too long a period of time. A tight, inflexible muscle means that
the lactic acid will not be filtered out as quickly as desired after vigorous exercise. Also,
such a condition will most assuredly cause physical trauma over a long period of time
and especially if the trainee is at a mechanical disadvantage while performing the lift.
Once such a difficult method of performance is developed, it is very difficult to do
away with. Such inferior motor pathways are quite hard to alleviate. Furthermore, it will
take longer to recuperate from our workouts, since tight, stiff muscles are less pliable and
resilient to in use and hold their waste products longer than a fully flexible muscle will
do. And at the end of your workout, be sure to include regular intensive stretching
movements, such as utilized by gymnasts. They will only help your lifting, not hinder it.
The present champions on the lifting platform have the combination of explosiveness,
flexibility and pure, unadulterated strength and it is through copying their routines and
methodology that we can hope to attain a small measure of their success.
Developing explosiveness in your lifting training is also quite important in your quest
for increased lifting proficiency. In order to handle really heavy weights in the various
movements and in the competitive lifts themselves requires the ability to forcefully
contract the muscle groups used in the various exercise movements when training and
also in competition. To neglect this physical “explosion” in preference to working for
slow, grinding muscular strength is a mistake that should not be adhered to. Do not feel
that such a training necessity exists only for the Olympic lifters just because their
movements are with split second timing. Such is also the case with the would be
powerlifter. When you are squatting with more than double your bodyweight and
deadlifting even more than this, the proper amount of explosion can mean the difference
between fifty and one hundred pounds to your limit as well as the difference between
success and failure.
One of the ways of developing this necessary explosiveness is through the power rack.
By handling such overload movements as Partial Presses, Squats, and Pulls, and by doing
these movements correctly, yet with as much speed as possible, the trainee is literally
teaching himself how to forcefully contract his muscles against heavy resistance and at
the same time, keep correct form. This trait is of utmost necessity when trying to elevate
really heavy poundages in your training movements and in competition it is definitely
vital and necessary.
It is quite reasonable and possible to maintain correct lifting style while still handling
very heavy weights and at the same time, performing these movements with as much
explosion as you can possibly muster. What it takes is concentration, knowing in just
what direction or motor pathway you wish the bar to travel and it also takes practice. You
must literally force the muscles to respond the way in which you want them to. This will
initially require you to handle lighter weights in the competitive movements so as to get
used to the necessary speed of movement so necessary for contest survival. Your deadlift
should accelerate from floor to finish. The same for the squat. By incorporating “sticking
point” along with overload power rack training and the actual performing of the
competitive lifts with medium heavy resistance and as much functional speed as possible,
you are hitting the problem from three angles at once and such intensity of action should
bring results.
How many times have you seen a man begin the deadlift with the correct starting
position only to lose this “power groove” three quarters of the way to the top? In this
case, instead of the bar moving faster the farther it leaves the ground, the slower it
becomes, showing that the lift is way off the groove and the sticking point has not been
saturated with the proper training. Such a problem can be alleviated with time, patience,
and correct training style. The same applies also to the squat. It makes no sense that at the
quarter squat position the lift should slow down to almost a complete halt. This only
happens when the style is inadequate to behind with and the “groove” has not been
perfected and strengthened with the methods just mentioned. If you can “break through”
the bottom position, there is every good chance that the poundage is within your
capability if you have trained to be both strong an functionally explosive.
Developing the proper groove and explosiveness when bench pressing is also of the
utmost importance. All the top bench pressers use this technique when attempting limit
weights. Because of the pause at the chest, the movement lends itself quite well to this “
rocket firing” of the adjacent muscles and tendons while attempting limit weights in
training and competition. Also quite important for this exercise is the old reliable power
rack. Try to place the bar just above the level of your chest and perform some “starts”
from this position. It will help you to really “thrust” the bar off your chest in competition.
Of great importance also, and really quite helpful is the medium close grip bench press,
because this movement strengthens your triceps muscle considerably and allows you to
really “explode” the bar off the chest. Couple these with some middle position and
lockout bench presses and your lift should really climb. Such is the importance of
explosiveness.
When discussing explosiveness in your training, let us not lead you to believe that
explosiveness should become an end in itself. This type of reasoning would at first glance
seem quite rational, yet it will not work to any great extent in increasing your usable
strength unless this explosiveness is regulated by the proper training style. Many a lifter
has reached a seemingly insurmountable plateau because hr has let excessive thrusting
and heaving, in an attempt to become more explosive, take the place of good training
style. You cannot “thrust” up a six hundred pound barbell. Don’t believe you can. And for
the champions who make world records and use fair to poor style, I believe these men
could and would lift even more had they adhered to basic, sound training principles and
correct exercise performance.
I am not speaking of “cheating” movements in order to get used to the feeling of
heavier weights. Nor am I speaking about the partial power rack movements. These are
useful tools in developing strength and should be implemented by all of us who seek to
get stronger. The kind of incorrect training I am speaking about is when you try to handle
more weight than you properly can in a movement for the sheer ego boosting effect such
shenanigans will give you. It may be possible to impress the uninitiated youngsters in the
gym with these antics, but the experienced trainee will see through this situation
immediately. Of what sense does it make to lift the butt when bench pressing so that a
few more pounds can be handled? Will this help you when trying to lift a maximum
poundage in competition? I do not think so. All this inferior style will do for you is make
you depend on it for the mainstay of your training time and such a situation will
ultimately hold back your progress. Correct training time and lifting style is of the utmost
necessity if you are ever going to develop into a world-class or national caliber lifter.
Today the competition is so intense that even on the local scene such correct is necessary
for continued progress. It seems that the best way to maintain correct lifting style is to
determine the best style for your physical type and try to adhere to this methodology, no
matter how heavy the poundage on the bar becomes.
What I am going to do now is show how to develop the ability to lift maximum weights
with a strict style and at the same time have the necessary explosiveness to do your lifting
ability some good. First of all, we will go through each of the three power lifts and try to
find an example training schedule for each lift, incorporating these topics now being
discussed. From this example you can improvise as to your own personal wants and
needs but at least you will have some idea as to how to formulate these traits to the best
of your advantage.
We shall begin with the Power Squat. To elevate the most weight in the regulation
manner, you will have to learn to incorporate the hips, thighs, and lower back into one
smooth effort. By using a combination of these three muscle groups, you are greatly
adding to your power potential. First of all you must learn to place the bar as low down
on your upper back as you can without breaking the present rule. I believe the rule is
three cm. below the top of the anterior deltoid. The stance is also of the utmost
importance. The medium-wide and the wide stance offer the most leverage for moving
the greatest weights. Try and get used to this wider than usual stance a little at a time. It
can be quite painful in the beginning. With the descent of the bar you should “rock”
somewhat rearward on the descent. This will bring the hips and lower back into proper
lifting leverage and greatly aid you in coming erect. The wide stance will stop you at
parallel position or a little lower and this is just what you want. You do not want to go
any lower than you have to when doing these in competition style. You should try and
“explode” out of the bottom position and this can be dome by the following assistance
movements: the Olympic Squat and the Good Morning Exercise. With the Olympic Squat
you place the very high on the traps, maintain an erect back position, and go into a
complete full squat. At the bottom position the leg biceps should be “crushing” the
calves. This type of squat will greatly strengthen the knee area and the frontal thigh
muscles. On a two day per week squatting program, it should be performed once per
week for a high number of sets of three to five repetitions using around 80 to 85% of
maximum. When you couple these Olympic Squats with Partial Squats you have
completed your power squatting proficiency program.
For the Bench Press we have the Close Grip Bench Press with a pause at the chest, for
increasing our initial explosion from the chest, and we have the various partial
movements in the power rack. As far as the competitive lift is concerned, I would advise
the following measures to insure continued progress: try and get as much “natural” back
arch as you possibly can. This will come with practice. Also, use a maximum allowable
width on the bar, provided this does not lead to shoulder injuries. Along with this you
must remember to work the lats and the triceps muscles very hard with dumbbells and
with pulley work so as to develop them to a large size for your bodyweight. This will add
to your “power leverage cushion” while benching and should add a few pounds to your
total tonnage ability. Remember to “rock” the weight backward to the uprights when
pressing the bar, because this movement does not follow a straight path. When at the
bottom position, try to tense all the assisting muscles of the upper torso as well as the legs
so that a muscular explosive “recoil” will take place when beginning to start your lift.
The Close Grip Benches will help this. Sometimes lighter sets of somewhat higher
repetitions will help. With a twice per week scheduling of this lift, I would do the Bench
Press as well as the Close Grip Benches on one day ind the partial movements and the
Dumbbell work for the adjacent body areas on the other day. This way you can do justice
to all the necessities and not go stale.
Finally we come to the Deadlift. First of all, I would recommend deadlifting from just
below the knee on the power rack. Do these once per week. Along with this in another
back day I would advise Stiff Legged Deadlifts and Bentover Barbell Rowing. On these
movements do sets of five and eight repetitions, since they are very severe in nature and
can cause overtraining if done too heavy, too often. For the regular Deadlift, once every
week is more than enough. This lift is pure strength and requires mental “psych” which
you will run out of quite quickly if done too frequently. You cannot overtrain on the
Deadlift and expect to make gains.
Bench Press Specialization
I have decided to begin this section of Chapter 3 with the most favored of the three
power lifts, the Bench Press. What we want to do in this section is to give you a various
assortment of training methods and workouts in order for you to be able to decide for
yourself just what would be the best method suitable foe you to use. By no means do I
wish to infer that there are no other ways to increase your bench than by the ones outlined
here. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are as many ways to incorporate the
necessary training principles outlined in previous chapters as there are leaves on a tree.
This is the beauty of physical training with weights: you can “create” yourself with your
own decisions and choices of undertakings. But you can rest assured, the methods I have
decided to list here are among the very best and will work for most men, most of the
time.
Before we get into actual routine methodology, let us describe the many ways of
performing the basic lift, the Bench Press. For the most poundage lifter, I would
recommend the wide grip for most trainees with average to long arm length. By using the
close to, if not right at, maximum allowed grip in competition, you are assured of the
most beneficial leverage for pressing the heaviest weight. By using the close to thirty two
inch grip you are taking the greatest strain with the frontal deltoids and the pectorals. You
are allowing the usually weaker triceps muscle to lessen its burden in preference to the
heavier muscles of the shoulders and chest. This alone will increase your poundage
potential. However, this grip does pose certain problems to the men who can’t refrain
from constantly using limit singles in their training. This grip can and has caused
shoulder strains among the over enthused (myself included). Upon observation it seems
that it is not the width of the grip that is to blame, rather it is the way we use the
movement over long periods of time that causes most muscle and joint strains. We
usually train too hard and too heavy on this movement and coupling this with the wide
grip, we come up with frequent injuries. This situation can be avoided, though. By using
discretionary tactics as to how often to go really heavy with this movement, part of the
injury problem is put to rest. In this way the wide grip can still be employed and for the
most of us, this wider grip will allow heavier weights to be pressed while still keeping
within the reach of the rules.
The medium grip (around thumbs length from the beginning of the knurling) gas been
used by some men and remarkable poundages gave been hoisted by these chosen few.
Mel Hennessey, Bill Seno, and Ed Riley immediately come into mind, However, it should
be pointed out that these men did a lot of work on the triceps muscles and the entire
shoulder girdle in general, and their corresponding development showed how they were
able to bench so much with a rather narrow grip. Such a grip will give you one heck of an
explosion coming off the chest, but the lockout part is very difficult because there you
will be forced to use sheer triceps strength in finishing the lift. With the wide grip, the
beginning is steady and slow, but the lockout is really easy as compared when trying to
use the medium close grip. You should experiment with both styles to find out which is
best for you.
The close grip bench press is really an assistance movement and only a true superman
could negotiate truly heavy poundages while using so close a grip on the bar. First of all,
it works primarily the outer triceps and the inner pectoral, This alone makes the lifting of
truly heavy weights almost impossible. Also, continuation of the type of leverage
movement for too long a length of time will surely result in elbow problems because with
such a close grip the elbow is almost completely hyperextended with the low and the top
position of the actual pressing motion. However, let us not deter you from this useful
movement completely, for as an assistant movement it has few peers when it comes to
aiding bench pressing power. The point here is not to overdo a good thing.
So far we have covered the three basic grips for heavy bench pressing. Let us now
digress into the various assistance movements and their value to you.
To be an outstanding bench presser certain physical requirements are necessary before
you can hope to reach even close to your ultimate potential. First of all, the entire upper
torso must be heavily developed. The pectorals, the triceps, the latissimus, the biceps and
the deltoids must be developed fully and heavily in order to obtain any real progress for
any length of time while training on the bench. There are many good assistance
movements to use for these areas and to try and list them all would take up too much
space so I will endeavor to list just a few for your discretionary use.
For the deltoids I have always favored the Press Behind Neck and Partial Presses in the
power rack. This is because these movements are muscle movements are muscle group
movements and their power development goes far beyond their limited performance. By
using these movements you will also be strengthening your triceps and the upper back
muscles to a great degree. Standing Side Laterals and Forward Laterals have also been
used by some with great success. Their only drawback is the injury potential of going to
heavy on a leverage movement.
For the triceps muscles we should concern ourselves with Standing Triceps Extensions,
Lying Triceps Extensions and the Pushdown on Lat Machine. You could also throw in
here the Parallel Bar Dip, but I regard this as a combination triceps and pectoral
movement, not merely a triceps builder. These listed movements are favorites of both Mel
Hennessey and Mike Macdonald, so I would assume that most of us would benefit from
their use.
For the pectorals themselves, the various Incline Presses at 40 and 45 degrees as well as
heavy Dumbbell Flyes and Dumbbell Bench Presses should develop the pectorals to a
great extent. We also must remember that the actual bench press with a wide grip will
work the pectorals quite hard, also.
For the upper back I would recommend Bentover Barbell Rows, Dumbbell Rows,
Seated Lat Cable Pull-ins, and Shoulder Shrugs, as well as Chinups and Pulldowns on the
Lat Machine. This wide range of movements should aid you in choosing the best
combination that will work for you. Experiment and grow!
The biceps can be developed through any of the modern barbell or dumbbell
movements followed by bodybuilders the world over, for upper arm development. The
necessity of a thick upper arm for heavy bench pressing should not be overlooked.
Thickness will help you in the position of the bar at the chest, as it aids in developing
greater explosion when beginning your pressing movement. This is especially true are
utilizing the medium to close hand spacing on your bench pressing. With the wider grip,
the effect is somewhat lost, however, the heavier developed upper arms will aid you in
keeping the bar moving in the right direction on the upward ascent.
With our various assistance movements already listed, we can now get into the
applicable training methodologies and their importance in bench pressing progress. The
power rack with its overload movements can be very helpful in developing drive and
explosion off the chest when bench pressing. It can also be helpful in working through
the sticking point and in strengthening the lockout portion of the lift, so I would readily
recommend the power rack as an integral part of your bench press specialization
program.
Forced repetitions, with the help of a partner or through the rest pause system of
training, can aid you in developing greater muscle size and greater “fight” with heavy
weights. However, this principle should not used with the power rack movements
because the combination of the two at one time will usually lead to overstraining. Save
this aid for the regularly performed repetition lifts, not partials performed in the power
rack.
Isometric contraction can also be used from time to time to instill in you the ability to
concentrate under great mental stress. If you decide to use this principle with the overload
system of measured isometric contraction, so much the better. Only in such a situation it
would not be wise to try to include on another day the power rack work with partial
movements, for here again, the overload would become redundant and overwork would
surely result.
After listing the available effective training we have at our disposal, we can now
consider the various methods of using these principles to best advantage in our training
regime.
For the average man who is trying to build a stronger bench press, I would begin with
him bench pressing three times per week. This is because more than likely, he is little
more than a beginner or at best, an intermediate and he would not be capable of
generating the intensity necessary for a two day a week routine to work. Monday would
be a heavy day, since he would have just come out of a two day rest. On this heavy day I
would have him go up to around 90% of his one rep limit and perform two or three
singles with weight. These would be done after a competent warm-up period of slowly
increasing the weight of the bar and a gradual lowering of the repetition scheme. After
these three singles with 90% he should drop down some in weight until between four and
six repetitions can be performed and stay with this weight for three or so sets. This then,
would end his actual bench pressing routine for Monday. He could finish off this day with
one movement for each adjacent muscle group and perform five sets for each of these
movements and the rep scheme could be held constant at between six and eight
repetitions. If he were interested in squatting during this time of bench pressing
specialization, I would recommend one heavy day for the squat on Tuesday and a very
light squat workout at the end of the Friday bench press routine. The same could also be
said for the deadlift. If, however, we are dealing with a man who wants to work only the
upper body for a certain period of time, we can then continue on to Wednesday’s
workout. This day would be a light day for the bench press and the most weight used
would be around 60% maximum done for four or five sets of between five and seven
repetitions. This is of course after a thorough warm-up. From here we ho into the
assistance movements again, only on this day we pick a different movement for each
adjacent bodypart and work it for only three sets of between eight and ten repetitions,
mostly for circulation and pump.
Friday would be our medium day. On this day we would work up to around 75% of our
one repetition limit and use this weight for sets of three to five repetitions, whichever we
were capable of at the time. Naturally we would be sure that we are thoroughly warmed
up at this time, for to try to use a weight so close to our limit without warming up would
only be courting disaster. Let us stay at this 75% weight for five to seven sets and
maintain the rep scheme to between three and five.
When sets of five are possible it is then time to increase the entire weight progression
scheme by ten or so pounds and then, on the following workout to begin once again.
After these benches we would once again go to an assistance movement for each adjacent
body part and perform five sets of five to seven repetitions after a warmup.
What I have given you is a basic intermediate routine for increasing bench pressing
strength and development along with adequate work (on opposite days) for the other parts
of the body. We did not go into severe overload techniques in this routine for I feel that
such a jump would be presumptuous and would only lead to overwork and lack of
recuperation should it be utilized too early.
For the man who is just about ready to be considered advanced or a bit too conditioned
to be classified as rank beginner or intermediate, we shall now outline a few overload
workout schedules which he could incorporate without too much time or trouble. Let us
repeat ourselves here and make it clear that these routines which are about to be listed
here are not for the rank beginner or for the man who gas only recently left the beginner’s
ranks. Such overload work as I am about to describe would most certainly overwork him
should he try to implement it in his training routine.
We shall first outline a four day routine for the intermediate-advanced man who is
interested in mainly specialization of the upper body muscles with most emphasis placed
upon bench pressing prowess. In this situation w would be bench pressing two days per
week. One would consist of heavy weights, mostly single and double attempts, along
with an assistance movement for each adjacent body part used in our bench pressing. The
second day would consist of power rack work done from various heights on the power
rack. On the two alternate days we would do would for the squat and the deadlift, using
sets of threes on one day and sets fives on the other. Here, then, is a step by step
description of the entire routine.
Monday
Bench Press heavy – warm up and work up to 90% of your one repetition limit for five
single attempts. Drop thirty pounds and do three sets of doubles or triples. Drop another
thirty pounds and do three sets of five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions. You
would then choose one assistance movement for the deltoids (Press Behind Neck), the
latissimus (Bent Over Rowing), triceps (Lying Triceps Press), the biceps (Scott Bench
Curl). These assistance movements should be performed for between three and five sets
of five to seven repetitions.
Tuesday
Power Squats – warm up and work up to a weight comfortable for five sets of three
repetitions. Some abdominal and calf work can also be done on this training day.
Thursday
Bench pressing done for between eight and ten sets of three to five repetitions, working
up from a warmup to approximately 80% of your one repetition limit. The next
movement would be Partial Bench Presses on a power rack. figure on three different
positions and three to five sets of three to five repetitions for each position. You may
finish up this day’s routine with triceps and biceps work for five sets each and five to
eight repetitions per set. But do not do any other assistance work on this day since the
power rack in itself is a most fatiguing way to train and most complete in its physical
developmental abilities.
Friday
Begin with the Full Olympic Squat for eight sets of five reps, working up from a
warmup to around 80% of your maximum poundage. You can finish off this workout with
deadlifts, working up to a maximum set of three after a thorough warmup, using six sets
for this movement and finish off the routine with the deadlift from below knee in power
rack for singles.
For the advanced man who is solely interested in increasing his bench pressing power, I
would recommend the Jim Williams type of routine. In this training scheme the bench
press is done five or six times per week. You begin each workout with seven or eight sets
of bench presses and then go on to one assistance movement for each adjacent body part.
These are also done daily. You will discover that at first it is almost impossible to fully
recuperate from workout to workout and the used muscles and joints will be constantly
inflamed and sore. But if you persevere past this initial period of physical discomfort you
will reach a point where you will most assuredly recuperate from this daily grueling
work, and it is at this point that you will really begin to gain!
The secret to this type of training is adaptation. We mentioned this in past chapters.
What you are really doing is getting your body used to a certain amount of work,
performed daily and after a certain length of time, we begin to adapt to this amount of
stress and our body begins to respond to this constant stimulation. The reason why we
can expect to get stronger when using this grueling type of training is because at no time
do we use a weight we cannot handle correctly and confidently. We do not try for
maximum attempts except once every ten days. When we do hit a new maximum we
revamp our training percentages and begin to work once again in the pre-described
manner.
On our daily bench pressing routine we will use the following repetitions and poundage
percentages for best and almost guaranteed results. 50% for one set of eight reps, 60% for
one set of six reps, 70% for one set of four reps, 80% for one set of two or three reps,
90% for one set of two reps, and finally, 95% for one single. We then drop down to 80%
and do one double or triple and that’s it for the day. If hitting 95% of your maximum
daily is just too much, then use 90% of your maximum as a daily single repetition goal.
What makes this routine work so well is that you are hitting close to your limit on the lift
daily, along with daily assistance work. As we mentioned earlier, at the beginning of this
type of training you will experience great soreness and a drop of your bench pressing
limit poundage. This is natural and should be expected at the beginning of so hard a
training schedule. What will happen after a while is that the body will begin to respond
with increased muscle development and it is around this time that you should think in
terms of temporarily taking a layoff from the daily assistance work an concentrate mainly
on the daily bench pressing as previously outlined and described so that the previously
performed workload of past months will begin to show it effect by regularly increasing
your limit capabilities in the bench press in particular.
I have had great success with this method of training, not only on the bench press but
with other movements also. I deviate from the original idea somewhat, in that I would
perform a different type of pressing movement each day for five days per week. Each
movement is performed from between ten and twelve sets of three to five repetitions
beginning from a thorough warm-up and working to a heavy triple or sets of five and
finishing with two or so sets of five repetitions with less weights. What has happened is
that after an initial period of no gains at all, I became initiated into this kind of physical
stress and punishment and the end result id that I have gained fairly well on every one of
the movements I chose to perform, each one daily. The results of this slight deviation of
the five or six day “Jim Williams” routine have been most gratifying. First of all,
capability to take a gross amount of work has greatly increased with regular training.
Also, my muscular development has increased with regular training. Finally, my allaround strength level has improved to such a degree that I am certain this is the way to
train for the rest of my days.
The basic difference between my type of training and the “Williams” type of schedule
is that his is geared towards working one lift daily with assistance movements being done
to compliment the major concern, the bench press. The method that I have employed will
develops your lifting ability over a wider range of movements, though these movements
will incorporate practically the same muscle groups. Both methods will further your
massive muscular development and finally both methods will greatly stimulate your
strength levels.
The other methods used successfully with bench press specialization are: forced
repetitions, whereby your partner aids you in forcing out additional repetitions with a
heavier than usual weight; the cheating method, whereby you bounce the weight
somewhat off your chest while doing repetitions in the bench press; and finally, the
isometric hold system which you can use along with the power rack system outlined in
previous paragraphs and chapters. It is up to you to determine just what types of
assistance methods you will incorporate in your quest for increased bench pressing
ability. You must experiment and find out what works best for you!
In closing this section on bench press specialization, let me leave you with the
following basic points: You should try to maintain the correct training style that will
facilitate itself the easiest to the form necessary to lift maximum weights in the
competition situation. To rely upon cheating repetitions without enough work being done
in the stricter manner, you will ultimately be limiting your power potential. This does not
have to happen, should you have the foresight and self control to lower the amount of
weight on the bar and do sets and repetitions in the strict style as outlined previously.
You should to strive for increased strength and useful muscular development. By
continuing the work with your chosen assistance movements, you will be assured of
continuing your muscular development as well as an increase in all around useful,
physical strength.
Squat Specialization For Increased Strength
At this point we are going to begin a section your strength training program which is of
the utmost importance to you, no matter what your ultimate goals are in the field of
weight training. It makes no difference where your aims may lie in the would of weights,
leg work is of the utmost importance in determining whether you eventually reach your
maximum potential or whether you fall by the wayside, somewhere along the road. There
is so much positive information concerning correct leg training for increased muscular
development and increasing muscular power, that to outline such a subject in minute
detail would take in itself a complete book. The value of heavy leg and squat training is
so far reaching that by now it should seem somewhat redundant to hear these time worn
clichés repeated here, once again. Yet, I feel such remarks are indeed necessary , for in
today’s world of weights, the amount of competition has increased so drastically and
dramatically that some feel in order to reach the top in a given lift or two, only these
particular lifts should be concentrated on so that increased workloads can be adapted with
little or no increase in the overall training volume, which would take place , should we
include sufficient leg work and squatting practices along with our particular chosen lifts
in our particular chosen fields of physical endeavor. However, such a situation is not
conducive to any great increase in the individual’s overall conditioning and overall body
power. This is because it is absolutely necessary to work the thigh and hip area quite hard
and regular in order for these sought after attributes to become physically possible for any
real length of time. Made no mistake about it – hip and thigh specialization is necessary
for any great increase of bodily strength and proficiency in which the immediate gains are
sought to be held onto for any great length of time.
Hip and thigh specialization, with most emphasis placed upon the various squatting
movements, can and will literally transform your physique beyond your wildest dreams,
should you have the intelligence and fortitude to undertake a rigorous training regime and
all around training program.
the most important aspect of hip and thigh specialization is the overall conditioning
such training will develop in you. It matters not what field of lifting you are interested in,
be it powerlifting, Olympic lifting or bodybuilding, such specialization will enable you to
handle longer and more intense workouts, for all the areas of the body and this in itself is
worth the price in energy such work warrants.
One major value of grass amounts of lower body work is the stimulation of the
circulatory and metabolic systems of the body. Such stimulation will enable you to
develop greater muscle mass and definition as well as muscle density, not to mention the
increase in physical strength such undertakings will involve. With heavy lower body
work, the blood is circulated to the working muscles at a faster rate and this has a carry
over effect on the rate of muscular recuperation and physical adaptability, which we have
already mentioned in previous chapters. Since one prerequisite for muscle growth lies in
the increase of muscle pump, through exercise such an increase in your circulation is a
handy way to develop the ability to “pump” the muscles with less sets and repetitions.
This means the muscles will be operating at a higher level of proficiency and capability
and this will develop greater gains in muscle size and athletic conditioning given enough
time and sweat as well as determination on your part.
Make no mistake about it, a better conditioned athlete has the potential to be a stronger
athlete as compared to another trainee with the same amount of basic power but without
the same level of athletic conditioning. How many times have you been to a lifting meet
and noticed how tired and pooped out the lifters were by the time it came to take their
third attempts on either of the two Olympic lifts, or the three power lifts? Do you think
the Western European athletes of the lifting platform suffer from this same lack of
conditioning? I should say not. Nothing could be further from the truth. The major
difference between our lifters and theirs lies in their superior conditioning.
When training the lower body for the purpose of developing greater physical
conditioning, certain points in the training should be emphasized for the greatest results
in the shortest possible time. To begin with, it is not necessary to use any assistance
movements besides the conventional Back Squat when training for this pre-mentioned
goal. Three workouts per week on the Back Squat will be necessary and for the most part
weights will be handled that are well within the lifter’s physical capabilities. Further
gains in strength will come as a natural by-product of such vigorous training and no
attempt to handle maximum weights for singles will ever be necessary. Why? Because
such training will cause a strength increase without the usual coaxing with very heavy
poundages that most strength programs deem necessary. However, in our situation, we
will be using the Squat as an exercise, sot as a lift. and the difference will be both seen
and felt after the initial breaking-in period and with regular performances.
With our three day per week squat routine for conditioning purposes we will break our
training into one heavy, one light, and finally, one medium day. On the first squat day we
well be working with 80% of our limit for ten repetitions and our goal will be to
ultimately perform five sets of ten reps with this weight. This means that if your limit for
ten reps is 300 pounds, then you would be using around 240 pounds for the five sets of
repetitions and your ultimate aim on this day would be to get five sets of ten reps with it.
I would advise one or two sets of six to eight reps with lighter weights to properly warm
up the muscles. After these sets you are ready to go. Finish up with one set of eight or so
reps with around 50% of your maximum and then call it quits for that day. To do them
first would over fatigue you for the rest of your program.
On our second day of squatting we will be using 50% of our one rep limit and our goal
will be two or three sets of twenty repetitions with this weight. Have one warm up set and
then get to the working poundage and get to work. Although the weight will be light the
high number of repetitions will greatly stimulate your entire body with increased physical
endurance and long lasting stamina. You can cool off from this work with a very light
weight and one set of ten reps. Do these last in your program because you will not be able
to walk properly after doing them. All rest between sets during this leg work (on all three
days) should be kept to a minimum in order to further intensify the stress (effort). All
other upper body work can be done on alternate training days, if you desire, or first on the
squatting days before such leg work is undertaken. It is this light training day, with its
few sets and very high repetitions, which is so important for increased cardiovascular
efficiency and muscular development. Do not be misled by the use of such light training
poundages that the routine is not of any great importance. One month or six weeks on
such a routine will more than testify to its value and importance.
On our final day of squatting we will be using 70% of our one repetition limit and the
rep scheme will be seven sets with between five and seven repetitions. Naturally a
thorough warm-up will be necessary and desired. Two or three sets with increasingly
heavier weights, until we are at our poundage for the day’s work, will be necessary to
enable us to train unhampered with injuries. After our selected number of sets, one or two
cooling off sets with around 50% maximum should do nicely. Finally, be sure to do this
work at the end of the day’s routine or on another training period. By no means put this
leg work first!
The kind of routines I have outlined for you here will revamp your metabolism to new
heights of efficiency and ability. The overall results will be an increase in training drive,
an increase in your workload capability, and finally, a great increase in tour leg
development and repetition squatting proficiency. Your ability to recuperate from heavy
exercise will enhance beyond your wildest dreams and the beauty of this type of
repetition squat training is that the amount of weight handled will seem oppressive and
overly heavy on the shoulders. This will enable you to use fairly good style and finesse
while using this kind of squat training. This freedom from pain will enable you to attempt
limits in repetition strength which you would have never reached had you continuously
used the usual “five by five” routine used by so many of us. After some time at this type
of training, you will find yourself using repetitions for very heavy weights.
For bodybuilding, heavy leg work and various assistance movements are both desirable
and necessary for complete physical development. Make no mistake about it, heavy leg
development is of the utmost necessity for top physique honors. The day of the top heavy
bodybuilder is slowly but surely coming to an end. Such a half-developed physique is
surely becoming a thing of the past. Leg work is paramount in importance for the wouldbe-bodybuilder competitor and champion. Along with the various squats, there are many
leg assistance movements which are also necessary for complete development along
aesthetic lines of achievement. To be sure, the high repetition squatting previously
mentioned will develop a well developed pair of legs, but for the bodybuilder such
development must also be defined, shapely, and aesthetic in shape. Correct squatting
techniques are of the utmost necessity when planning to develop a pair of legs to rival
John Grimek and all the rest of our bodybuilding heroes. It will take a lot of work and a
lot of planning.
First and foremost, an exercise style should be developed which closely patterns itself
after the style exhibited by the various Olympic lifters who use the Back Squat and Front
Squat as a means to an end and not an end within itself. For the bodybuilder, squatting
should be done primarily with the muscles of the frontal thigh and not with the muscles
of the hips and buttocks. To work the muscles of the hip and buttocks at the expense of
the thigh is indeed foolish for both the Olympic lifter and for the bodybuilder, since the
lifter depends on the frontal thigh when coming out of the clean and snatch position. The
bodybuilder will miss an important shaping benefit if he does not squat correctly and
such a development will offset his overall impressiveness and beauty.
To Back Squat correctly the bar should be placed high on the traps for better control
and balance. The foot spacing should be medium to medium close and the most important
part: when lowering into the deep position, keep the torso erect and make the knee the
axis of movement, not the hip. At the fully flexed bottom position, the leg biceps muscle
should be “crushing” the calves with the upper thigh folded over the lower thigh as much
as possible. Rebounding out of the bottom position is necessary so as not to utilize the
muscles of the hips and buttocks.
For bodybuilding purposes I would advise two squat woodcuts per week. I also would
advice additional assistance movements in order work the thigh from various angles so as
to gain both in development and muscle density as well as shapeliness. The repetition
scheme should incorporate both high and low repetitions so as to develop both usable
strength as well as muscular size. I would still advise that such leg work be done at the
end of the usual routine so as not to deplete oneself too early in the training day, or better
still, do such work on separate days of the week which the lower body would be worked
alone, so as to incorporate maximum muscular recuperation. The main assistance
movements used by the majority of successful trainees would be the Leg Press, Leg
Extension, Leg Curl, and at certain times, the Hack Squat.
As mentioned earlier, IJ would recommend a strict, upright, Olympic squat for properly
developed thighs without excessive use of the hips and glutes. Be sure to keep the bar
high on the traps and fold the thighs over the calves when in the low squat position. For
the shaping movements such as the Hacks and extensions and Leg Curls, I recommend
rather high repetitions such as ten to fifteen reps and at times, even higher. The Front
Squat could be incorporated here on one squat training day, in place of the Back Squat,
however, by using the correct squatting techniques I’ve outlined, the Front Squat is not
really necessary for the bodybuilder. His Back Squat will work the same muscle groups
much more comfortably. Using a two day squat routine, the following is an example of an
intermediate trainee’ schedule:
Monday
Back Squat – seven to ten sets of eight to ten repetitions increasing to a weight just
about maximum for one set of ten repetitions. Leg Extensions – four sets of ten to fifteen
repetitions, done slowly. Leg Curls – four sets of ten to fifteen repetitions done slowly.
Calf Work – eight to ten sets of whatever movements you decide to work on, keeping the
repetitions rather high and the sets done rather quickly.
Thursday
Front Squat – seven to ten sets of ten to fifteen repetitions done quickly for muscle
shaping and pump effect. Hack Squats – four sets of ten to fifteen repetitions done slowly.
Calf Work – the same as chosen previously.
On the opposite days you would work the upper body and on one of the squatting days
you would finish up the routine with heavy deadlifts, if you are a powerlifter of light Stiff
Legged Deadlifts, should you decide to do them solely for bodybuilding purposes.
Leg work for the bodybuilder is no longer a point of debate in lifting circles. The
necessity of such work is made more apparent with each succeeding bodybuilding
championship. The kind of routine listed for you here is a basic, sound, intermediate
routine which you can work with after a given period of time, and improve upon by
choosing your own method of incorporating the previously discussed training theories.
The rest is up to you.
Squat specialization and leg work for the Olympic lifter or powerlifter is another matter
which will require further discussion in this part of our chapter. Although many will
disagree with me, I feel the training methods of the Olympic lifter will more than suffice
as a training medium for the powerlifter also. This is because the Olympic lifter sill try to
develop as much usable strength in the frontal thighs as he possibly can. This is necessary
in order to recover strongly from the front squat-like clean position. Also, the squat
snatch will necessitate such frontal thigh strength or he will never be able to recover from
this position. I also believe that their attitude towards the amount of weight one regularly
handles in the Back Squat is a more intelligent application of training ego. An Olympic
lifter is not interested in how much he can Back Squat for a single, he is interested in how
many sets and repetitions he can handle with a certain percentile of his limit as this
volume and load training will develop itself in terms of how much he will be able to lift
in competition. While the powerlifter is in a somewhat different position, being
responsible for back squatting very heavy limit attempts in training during his peaking
period before a contest, this idea of being concerned with not how heavy you can go, but
how much work you can do does have merit. By keeping this mental attitude in place of
trying to force up anything you can in training to impress your friends, you will develop a
much superior style in your squats due to not having to concentrate solely upon the
weight of the bar. Moreover, such use of the Olympic Back Squat as a main thigh
strengthener will undoubtedly increase your leg strength to such an extent that during
your pre-contest peaking periods, when utilizing the much more lax powerlifting style,
the pre-developed leg strength will show itself with an increase in your powerlifting squat
capability.
When formulating a basic power squat training routine, we must remember that the
kinds of overload principles discussed in previous chapters will be most useful in trying
to develop our ultimate squatting potential. However, it would be almost impossible for
me to outline an example routine for each and every type of training principle and
training methodology previously outlined. This is because such a topic would take the
length of a book, in itself, to discuss fully. By attempting to overcome the stress of the
proposed training routine which I am about to give you, the Olympic lifter as well as the
powerlifter can incorporate the various training methods into future advanced routines as
he sees fit. By first working on the program outlined, he is guaranteed that he has
developed past the intermediate level of training and from there on in, it will be his own
choices of training programs and how to mix these various methods, that will develop
him into an advanced lifter.
The powerlifter should be squatting two days per week. The Olympic lifter can go to
three days, since he will not be interested in some of the assistance movements which
will prove most helpful for the powerlifter. For the powerlifter, one day heavy and one
day light will usually suffice. On your heavy day you will be using the power style of
back squatting. This means that the bar will be placed low on the back and the foot
placement will be necessarily wide. Hips and glutes will be forced into play with this
style and this will greatly add to your squatting poundage. This is as it should be since
this is the style you will be using in competition.
On your light squatting day, perform the squat in Olympic lifting style. There should be
no need to go over performance style again. The Olympic lifter would doing Back Squats
twice per week in Olympic style and Front Squats once per week. The amount of sets and
repetitions he will decide to utilize will be chiefly up to him and his coach, since he will
be using these squatting movements for a means to an end, not as an end in themselves.
For the powerlifter, I would advise Partial Back Squats within a power rack after the light
Olympic Back Squats in his light training day. By using the power rack and doing a few
sets but without maximum poundages, he will be adding to his training intensity without
undue strain to his physical capabilities.
The closer you will get to a contest, the less volume of work you will be doing in your
squats. This is known as peaking. For the powerlifter, this is the time for doing the heavy
singles and doubles in the power style and for holding back on the power rack work and
the Olympic style squats. For the Olympic style lifter this is the time to be mainly
concerned with how much you can handle in the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch, not in the
Squat. Be sure to realize what a peaking period in your training really stands for. For the
powerlifter to rely on strict Olympic squatting at this time would be a mistake. For the
Olympic lifter to be doing power squats at this time would be ludicrous. Think, and then
train accordingly.
By cultivating an intelligent approach to lower body training, both the power and
Olympic lifter may learn that they have a lot more in common than they would have
previously thought. Correct leg training is one such consideration. By incorporating the
Olympic strict style in back squatting our powerlifter will develop the ability to use his
frontal thigh muscles to great advantage and this increase in sheer leg strength will
definitely gave a carrying over effect on his regularly performed power squat. The
Olympic lifter will also benefit from such regular strenuous thigh programs because his
sport requires that he have developed just about the most powerful thighs one can
imagine. Both facets of our sport require massively developed, terribly strong lower
bodies.
In closing out this part of Chapter 3, let me remind you all, once again, that no matter
what facet of the sport you are into at the present time, you will never make it to the
ultimate of what it is you are really capable of without hard, regular lower body training.
Intense, voluminous leg work will literally revamp your conception of just what
constitutes plain, hard work. It will also aid you in developing a more muscular physique.
The ability of the metabolism to ge greatly stimulated through vigorous leg training is the
key to your weight training future. Without this intense worthwhile training, you will be
doomed to a future of lifting mediocrity. It is up to you to decide just what it is you want
and where it is you wish to someday go.
Deadlift and Back Specialization Programs
The importance in back work should not be overlooked in the training routines of
would-be champion bodybuilders and weightlifters. To try to develop yourself without
the use of strenuous back work would be quite impossible. Second only to leg work, back
specialization is one of the main keys to developing maximum muscular bulk and power.
For the bodybuilder such training will develop a more completely developed upper body,
along with a great density in the upper body in general. The variety of movements which
can and are used for developing the upper and lower back are many. By specializing on
them for any real length of time, both the body weight and the power of the trainee will
be increased due to the nature of the severity of such work. There are very few isolation
movements in back training. Most movements will would the adjacent muscle groups
quite hard along with the main concern, which is the upper or lower back muscles. When
thinking in terms of bodybuilding there have been many champions who have exhibited
tremendous development in the upper and lower back region. From the days of Reg Park
and Bill Pearl, we can trace such massive, yet shapely development right up to the
present day development of Sergio Oliva and Arnold Schwarzenegger. To be sure such
development takes much time and much consideration, not to mention a great deal of
hard work.
The development of the backs of the Olympic lifters and powerlifters is also legendary
for their massiveness and power, yet density of useful coiling muscle. The names of these
men are took numerous to mention, yet a few immediately come to mind. The lighter
lifters such as David Rigert, Pervushin, Shary and the Ivanchenko. Not only were the
trapezius muscles completely developed in these men, but the entire upper and lower
back were muscularized to the point of incredibility. Such development gives mute
testimony to the completeness of their training routines when it comes to developing back
strength and power.
When discussing back power, we cannot neglect the development of our champion
powerlifters. The necessity of their doing many sets of partial and competition deadlifts,
along with the large variety of movements used in their routines develop for them
outstanding back development and power. While their emphasis development is
somewhat lacking in comparison to the Olympic lifters, the development of the latissimus
muscles, along with the muscles of the entire shoulder girdle show a density any Olympic
lifter would envy. To be sure, such workouts are quite complete and strenuous, since the
powerlifter must be very proficient and the various pulls from the floor as well as the
Bentover Rowing motion, favored by so many bodybuilders for so many years. To try
and develop into a top-notch powerlifter without adequate work on the pulling muscles
and the deadlift in particular, you would be aiming for a near impossibility. Back
development and back power go hand in hand.
By now you should be convinced at the importance in working the back muscles quite
hard and quite regularly, mo matter what branch of the sport you are interested in.
However, we must mention and make note of the differences in the need for sectionalized
development of the back muscles, in general, dependent upon the needs of the particular
facet of weight training you are involved in. For the bodybuilder, the upper back is of
prime importance, since such development accentuates the popular “V” shape which
bodybuilders are noted for. The trapezius muscles are plated down somewhat in their
development, for to overdevelop these muscles, no matter how powerful they will make
you appear, would ruin the accepted lines of the bodybuilding physique.
Overdevelopment of the trapezius muscles will give the shoulders a rather narrow and
sloped appearance, which no bodybuilder in his right mind would wish for. Yet, by
playing down this muscle’s importance and concentrating on the muscles of the upper
back and shoulder girdle with adequate lower back work, the bodybuilder can develop a
back which would be the envy of his training contemporaries, or competitors, should he
decide to enter competition.
For the Olympic lifter to specialize upon the latissimus muscles would be a complete
waste of training time and energy, Yet, these very same muscles will show an increase in
development, in spite of themselves, due to the amount of pulls done. By continuing to
train on the various assistance pulling movements which the Olympic lifter must utilize
in order to attain maximum pulling efficiency, he will develop a completely developed
back, in spite of his not caring about his degree of muscularity, or so he will say. The
shapeliness of his back will appear different from the bodybuilder, yet the back will be
developed just as complete in accordance with its use and the training regime’s necessity.
Our powerlifter will neither have the flowing lines of the bodybuilder nor will he wish
to develop the huge trapezius muscles of the Olympic lifter, yet his back development
will not suffer in the least. The necessity of his doing many sets of deadlifts will take care
of the lower and center part of his back and the various bodybuilding assistance
movements which he will use to fully develop his upper body for heavy bench press
proficiency will take care of the rest of the upper back muscles, with size and power to
spare.
So you see, though each of the three facets of our sport will make use of various
training techniques and movements which will result in basic differences in the
development of the physique, all three will develop as completely as possible, their
muscularity and power in order to elevate heavier and heavier weights.
Since the goals of the three various sports within our weight training sphere will be
different, so will the training programs be different in order for our men to teach their
chosen aims. The powerlifter will be training mainly with the deadlift and not so much
with the various high pulls of the Olympic lifter. The powerlifter will need the slow,
grinding type of strength ability as compared with the fluid, explosive type of lifting done
by our Olympic lifters. And the difference will be shown to have a direct effect upon the
volume and the intensity of the workouts and the training programs each will submit to.
For the most part, the Olympic lifter will be training more frequently and with greater
variety in his training movements. The powerlifter will train times per week due to the
key work being done with great intensity, not volume.
And while the powerlifter’s development will be smoother, it should also be thicker.
Out bodybuilder friend will wish to borrow, from time to time, the various training
methodology of both these sports. However, for the most part, he will not be interested in
development of either a huge muscular trapezius or a thick lower back. For the
bodybuilder, shapeliness and upper body width and density will be his main concerns.
Such movements as the heavy Bent Legged Deadlift would be of no importance in a
bodybuilding routine. Nor would heavy high pulls of shoulder shrugs fit into his training
picture. Yet these areas will fill out and become more developed with time and energy
spent on the various pullet work and dumbbell rows as well as the Lat Machine
Pulldowns, which have been bodybuilding favorites for years.
Finally, before we get into various training routines and how they can be incorporate
and implemented into your present training schedule, dependent upon your training goals
and aspirations we shall mention the all-around weightman – the noncompetitor. For this
man, all these different movements can be used with great improvement in training
muscularity as well as muscular strength. Because he will not be competing in any event
or field of physical accomplishment, the all-around trainee can become a Jack-of –alltrades and borrow as he wishes ton from the entire training methodology with no respect
to the individual usage of such movements and their ultimate aims in performance, save
only the acquisition of increased muscle mass and strength. By not competing he is
actually “freeing” himself to become more spontaneous and creative in his training
routines and such a situation will only lead him in developing increased physical
development. He can work the trapezius muscles until they almost cover his ears! The
latissimus muscles can become as wide as humanly possible for his particular structure.
And the muscles of his shoulder girdle can become so thick and shapely defined that it
will defy the imagination. Such are the rewards for the non-competitor.
By reaching out to the various successful programs of the powerlifters and the Olympic
lifters, our stay at home trainee can develop along with a thickness and solidarity, a
powerful appearance and well trained and conditioned muscular look. By incorporating
the bodybuilding movements with these others, muscular completeness is guaranteed.
I shall now endeavor to outline two or three back routines for the intermediate
bodybuilder to use in a general training period, a pre-contest period, and a period of back
specialization. For general training and in using a four day routine, our bodybuilding
enthusiast should center his back work around basic, muscle group movements which
will work the entire upper and center back muscles from various angles and degrees. In
the acquisition of muscular size as well as strength, medium repetitions should be
adhered to, without the use of maximum training poundages, but with the emphasis
placed upon the speed of performing the sets and the strictness and pump of such
performed movements. One or two movements can be incorporated here at this time for
power and the rest used for assistance in developing muscular size and shapeliness. On a
four day schedule, back work would be done twice weekly along with the legs. In a
period of general training, begin one such workout with the leg routine and the other
workout with the proceeding back routine. This way the legs and back are both worked
equally hard each week.
Monday
Upper body work
Tuesday
Leg work and back work – after your chosen leg routine, do the following back work:
Bentover Barbell Rowing, eight sets of eight to ten repetitions. Seated Lat Pull-ins to
Chest, four sets of eight to ten reps. Stiff Legged Deadlifts, four sets of eight to ten
repetitions.
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Upper body work
Friday
Back work and leg work – do your back work first on this day. Begin with Leverage
Bar Rowing, eight to ten sets of six to eight repetitions. Bentover Dumbbell Rows , eight
sets of six to eight repetitions. Pulldowns Behind Neck on Lat Machine, four sets of eight
to ten reps. Hyperextensions, six sets of all repetitions without using additional weight
besides bodyweight.
You finish up the day with leg work.
As I mentioned earlier, this type of program is for general training periods during the
training year. Although it is not a specialization routine, it is most complete. For the
intermediate bodybuilder who is interested in back specialization, I would recommend a
six day training routine. This way the back could be worked quite thoroughly and hard by
itself two times per week. On two other days the legs could be maintained with a medium
workload an finally, on still two other training days you will be able to maintain the upper
body. To be sure, this strenuous of a routine could not be handled for any real length of
time, but should and could be handled intermittently throughout the noncompetitive
season of the year. The end result would be a thoroughly developed back from the hips to
the trapezius with adequate muscularity in the rest of the body. For combining power and
physique training, this method of training each session twice per week also works
wonderfully well, since you can specialize on enough movements so that the end result is
both an increase in development and power.
Here then, is your back specialization routine:
Monday and Thursday
Back Work – Bentover Barbell Rowing, eight sets of six to eight repetitions. First two
sets warm-up, then heaviest weight possible for the remaining six sets. Pulldowns on Lat
Machine, four sets of ten to twelve repetitions. Cable Pull-ins to Chest, four sets of ten to
twelve repetitions. Stiff Legged Deadlift, four sets of ten to twelve repetitions. Shoulder
Shrugs, three sets of eight to ten repetitions. Hyperextensions, three sets of eight to ten
repetitions.
Tuesday and Friday
Upper Body Work – figure on ten to twelve sets per bodypart. This is because this
routine is geared to back specialization.
Wednesday and Saturday
Leg Work – figure on ten to twelve sets of repetition squats along with the same
number of sets of calf work.
The abdominals should be worked with a few sets of waist work, done daily, for the
proper accumulative effect.
Remember, this routine is for bodybuilding specialization, with its emphasis on the
development of the entire back. This is not the kind of routine to use all year round unless
you happen to be a back development fanatic. Also, it should be pointed out that the rep
schedule is too high for developing basic power.
For the powerlifter, the training routine he follows for the most of the training year
should include periods of intense specialization on the deadlift, with its various assistance
movements. To be sure, for most men, it is the deadlift which gives them the most
trouble. This is because if you are not physically set up to be a good deadlifter through
nature giving you the proper leverage and super arm length, then it is a very hard lift to
improve upon, past a certain intermediate point of achievement. First of all, the lift itself
is one that refuses to allow much in the way of cheating, like the power squat does. With
the power squat, by taking exaggerated bodily positions, much more weight can be
handled than with the legs alone. With the deadlift either you can pull the weight through
or you can’t. It’s as simple as that. Believe me, it takes a very strong man, both physically
and mentally, to become a champion class deadlifter, unless, of course, you happen to be
born with the unusual favorable leverages and extra arm length which will undoubtedly
aid you in elevating gross amounts of weight in this lift. For the rest of us, it’s an uphill
battle all the way in order to develop much in the way of deadlifting power.
This is not to say that only those blessed genetically can become good deadlifters, it’s
only that for the rest of us, much in the way of additional workload and variety of
movements is in order, in the hopes of milking as much in the way of continued gains.
One favorable side effect of this type of varied and voluminous workload in the powerful
development such training will develop; the kind of development which will aid you in
lifting heavier weights in other movements which at first glance will seem to have
nothing to do with back power. Movements, such as the Incline Press, the Bench Press,
the Standing Press, etc., all these movements will be helped by increasing the power of
the back, in general, with emphasis placed on the ability to deadlift heavier and heavier
weights. The squat, with its exaggerated body positions will also be greatly aided with the
inclusion of gross amounts of back work along with heavy deadlifting done regularly. So
it would seem that the powerlifter has much to gain with deadlift and back specialization.
Much more than would be realized upon taking only a first glance.
What I shall endeavor to do now is outline for you two distinct types of training
routines for the powerlifter to utilized in his quest for both powerful back development,
which inadvertently aids him in other upper body movements and a deadlift
specialization for an intermediate powerlifter to follow in hopes of increasing his
deadlifting strength.
For the powerlifter who wishes to include a greater volume of back work in his
training, one who is interested not only in his deadlifting ability, but also his over-all back
strength and development, I recommend the following routine:
Monday
Bench Press and Squat Day – Bench Press: 1x10, 1x8, 1x6,1x4, 3x2, 1x10 to cool off.
Dumbbell Bench Press: 4x8. Lying Triceps Extension: 4x8. Power Squat: 1x10, 1x8, 1x6,
1x4, 3x2, 1x10 to cool off.
Tuesday
Back Work – Deadlift: two sets of eight for a warmup, then go up to 80% of maximum
for three sets of threes. Bentover Barbell Rowing: four sets of six reps. Barbell Shoulder
Shrugs: four sets of eight reps. Hyperextensions: four sets of ten to fifteen reps.
Wednesday
Rest Day
Thursday
Chest and Legs – Incline Barbell Press: one set of ten for a warmup, then jump to five
sets of five to seven repetitions. Parallel Bar Dips: four sets of six to eight reps. Standing
Triceps Extension: four sets of eight to ten reps. Lying Triceps Extension: four sets of
eight to ten reps. Scott Bench Curls: six sets of eight to ten reps. Olympic Back Squats:
six to eight sets of three to five repetitions using all the weight possible after a warm-up.
Friday
Back Work – Deadlift from below knee on power rack: six to eight sets of threes,
working up to maximum weight for three repetitions. Bentover Dumbbell Rows: four sets
of sex to eight reps. Pull-in to Chest: six sets of eight to ten reps. Weighted Chin-ups
Behind Neck: four sets of six reps.
In the case of the powerlifter who is basically interested in deadlift specialization,
without any great interest in deadlift specialization, without any interest in the increase of
development of the adjacent muscle groups, but with competition first and foremost on
his mind, the following routine is both fairly short, intense, and to the point. It is quite
complex and intense in its approach. First of all, you will be doing some partial
movements in a power rack, since this is one of the quickest ways of increasing carryingover deadlifting strength. Along with this, on another training day various assistance
movements will be included so as to remedy the possibility of lack of muscular
recuperation or completeness in development which in itself, will hold back deadlifting
proficiency. During this period of actual deadlift specialization, I would recommend a
laxity in the working of both the Bench Press and more so the Power Squat. This is
because of just how incredibly fatiguing heavy work in the various positions of the
deadlift is. For the legs, during this period, I would recommend two medium-heavy days
of squatting in the strict Olympic style. This is so the back is not used in the squatting
movement, hence, it is not further irritated of abused. Any pressing work should be done
on a bench, not standing or on the incline. This is also done to save the back for the heavy
deadlifting work to come. Any shoulder or arm work should also be done seated or lying
down, also.
For this specialization schedule, I would recommend only a three day training week.
This is to aid you in fully recuperating from each workout. On Monday do bench work
and leg work, with a few sets of arm and shoulder work thrown in at the end. On
Wednesday, first and foremost will be the deadlifts within a power rack, finishing up with
a few light assistance movements and some arm and shoulder work once again. On
Friday, very light repetition squats will be done with light bench work, finishing up the
day with two or three medium weighted back assistance movements. In this way the rest
of the body is worked fairly adequately without undue time or effort, with the brunt of the
work and physical energy falling on the deadlift and its complimentary movements.
For the Olympic lifter, one who is interested in developing pulling power, I can
recommend the back routine of my coach and mentor, Dezso Ban. Dezso has always been
a believer in developing total back strength and power to aid the Olympic lifter in
increasing his pulling strength, which will result in greater squat clean and squat snatch
proficiency. His training regime is not for the fainthearted or the lazy. It is effective,
however, if given enough time and effort.
In this schedule the back is worked three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday. Presses and leg work are done on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Here then,
is the pulling routine used by Dezso Ban during this time of his training career.
Power Clean: eight sets of three repetitions, working up to a fairly heavy weight.
Clean Grip High Pull: eight to ten sets of two’s and three’s, up to a heavy triple.
Power Clean: eight to ten sets of two’s and three’s, working up to a heavy double.
Squat Clean: six to eight set of three’s, working up to a heavy double or triple.
Shrug Pulls: eight to ten sets of three’s and five’s, working up to a maximum set of five.
Stiff Legged Deadlift: six to eight sets of two’s and three’s up to a heavy weight.
Hyperextension: six to eight sets of five’s with additional weight behind the neck.
There you have it. Around fifty or so sets of brutally hard work which would kill the
average trainee should he care to emulate this man’s routine. Will this much work add to
your power? Dezso was capable of a 375 Clean and Jerk when the world record in his
class was around 390! After fifty sets of back work he was capable of three doubles with
585 in the Stiff Legged Deadlift at a bodyweight of around 185! Along with this goes a
Power Clean with no knee dip with 315. Also a Hyperextension with 185 on the bar
(bodyweight!!!). Does this sound like back power? I should hope so!
I am sure if the rest of us mere mortals would take this routine and modify the amount
of sets for each movement, and given enough time to break into it gradually, we too
would reap vast benefits from this intensive and extensive back specialization routine.
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CHAPTER FOUR
The Development of Muscular Bulk and Power
In this chapter of our book, we shall endeavor to explain the usability of various
exercise routines which will increase your physical strength levels but also increase the
development of your muscular bulk. To be sure, proper training with the tight choice of
exercises, along with the proper performances of these movements will enable the
trainee, if he so desires, to add greatly to his overall physical development with an
overlapping effect of increased strength levels. For the competitive powerlifter, such a
situation of gaining greatly in bodyweight and size is not the main consideration, unless
the trainee is interested in outgrowing his particular present weight class. However, the
knowledge as to how to go about this physical transformation may be useful in the future
for this trainee should he someday wish to experiment as to the effect such weight and
muscle gaining would have on his overall power potential. Also, he may be interested in
growing into the super-heavyweight category and in such a situation, knowledge as just
how to go about this will be invaluable.
When attempting to add to the muscle size of the affected muscle groups used in our
training, first and foremost is the necessity of proper exercise style. The more we heave
and thrust our poundages, the less we are actually working the very muscle groups we are
trying to develop. Just as the bodybuilder must use discretion and self control when using
his movements to best training advantage, we too must the power trainee use slow,
correct exercise performance when calculating his exercise style and program. The
combination of muscular bulk and power is the result of hard, intense work done
correctly over a long period of time. It is not the amount of food intake which is of
primary importance, since most lifters will eat a rather adequate diet no matter how they
train. Rather, it is the correct application of exercise performance, with slowly increased
workloads of heavy and light weights, for low and high repetitions, which will. in time,
cause a substantial muscle size increase with the increase being primarily usable,
functional muscle.
Muscle size is developed through the amount you can perform within a given period of
time. When not taking into consideration the aspect of increasing our physical strength
along with this muscle size increase, the answer to sheer muscular bulk lies within the
system of training presently used by the world’s top bodybuilders. Set after set of
medium-heavy resistance, done for long periods, with the scheme kept fairly high and the
sets done quite quickly, will result in adequate muscular hypertrophy. However, for the
combination of muscular bulk and strength, a different is somewhat necessary.
To combine size and strength training with the end result being somewhat guaranteed, I
would advise the following types of procedures: First we must remember that a muscle
does not have a brain within itself to know how much weight it is expected to lift in the
chosen movements of any exercise program. What happens is that according to the
intensity of the resistance or the volume of the resistance, it will contract as many fibers
as necessary to get the job done. If you wish to shorten your workouts, you will have to
either perform your sets very quickly, with rather light weights, or gradually increase the
amount of weight you will be handling for each set that you do, or finally, you can do
both at different workouts for the same body parts during any particular training week.
For the fellow who wishes to greatly increase his mass and strength, the combination of
volume and intensity is the way to go. In this way, he will be doing both hard work on
one day and much work on another day and the end result will be larger muscular size
and an increase of his lifting proficiency.
By now you should all understand just why it is important to familiarize yourself with
these theories of training volume and training intensity and I shall now endeavor to bore
you with a rehashing of these points. Just remember that the proper combination of both
these aids is necessary, particularly when trying for an increase in strength with an
additional increase in muscle size.
Since we have already determined that a combination of much work and hard work is
necessary for the particular aims of this chapter, it is now time to discuss the groupings of
these movements for the best size and strength results. Of primary consideration is the
usage of muscle group exercises, coupled with lighter shaping movements for an increase
of muscle fiber stimulation without the chance of physical exhaustion due to overwork, or
incidence of training injuries due to overworking past the point of possible recuperation.
By carefully combining these muscle group movements with shaping movements, we are
increasing our momentary volume capability through multiple sets and heavy and light
training days within the scope of the weekly training load. By coupling heavy mediumgrip bench presses, done strictly, with a pause at the chest for each and every repetition of
each and every set, along with the Decline Dumbbell Flying Motion, or Flying Motion
done on a Flat Bench, we can work for both size and strength increases with very little
wasted motion or time coming into the picture to decrease our training efficiency. It
would also be possible to concentrate on the heavy bench presses on one training day and
the various dumbbell movements on another training day, thus getting the benefit of both
types of exercise movements without the intensity at the severe level as would be the case
with exercise coupling. With a bit of thinking and patience, you will be able to find quite
a few combinations to use with this training theory for the goals which have already been
ascertained. With time and adequate training, such goals are more than possible.
When training for size increase without a corresponding strength increase, the volume
of our work is of prime importance and since the percentile of our work will be of
medium intensity, it will be almost impossible for us to overtrain within the limits of
common sense. However, with the strength being one of our training aims, we will have
to barter these two training methodologies somewhat to come up with a favorable
combination which will yield favorable results. To use only muscle group movements
will cause undue ligament and joint strain when we try to increase such a workload due to
the strenuousness of the weights these types of movements necessitate. For best results,
combine both types of exercises.
We should also mention at this point in time the advantage such muscle size increases
will expedite within the leverages necessary to hoist maximum poundages in the
powerlift movements of today. To be sure, if you increase certain muscle groups, such an
increase will develop more favorable results in your lifting ability due to increasing the
leverages of such performances. The deeper the chest and the thicker the arms, the more
leverage we will have for the bench press, as an example. Also, the thicker and larger the
upper thigh and the larger the calves, the greater the squatting proficiency, everything else
remaining the same. To be sure, leverage through increasing muscle bulk is a useful
training aid.
The debate as to whether sheer bodyweight increases will give you all the leverage
advantage you will need as compared to sheer muscle size increases being the cause of
leverage preferability, is still under scrutiny and debate in the various training circles the
lifting world over. Similarly, we can find examples of both these situations within the
ranks of our present champions. We can all cite examples of hugely muscular men who
are quite adept at registering a high powerlift total and also, we all should know of a few
of the lighter men who seem to possess neither the size or the bulk of the heavier men,
but who also can lift quite a load in the three competitive movements.
I believe what we have here are two distinct types of lifters. One who was not born with
favorable muscle insertions and ligament attachments, but who overcame these
deficiencies with increases in muscular bulk, and the other type of lifter who has very
little need for additional bulk, due to extremely strong attachment points for muscles,
tendons, and ligaments. Both types of lifters have the ability to go to the top, all else
being equal. Only the training methodology needs to be varied for each type of man to
develop to the limits of his particular potential. This is not to say that a slender man who
has favorable attachments could not improve even further through training to increase his
muscle size, only this size increase would necessitate a weight gain into another higher
class. Also, this is not to say that our muscular man could not lift more with partial
movements for joint strengthening.
Another common denominator for error in training for muscle size and strength is the
problem of exercise frequency. We should remember that past an intermediate stage of
development our ability to gain will rest predominantly upon our ability to handle heavy
weight for an increased number of sets and repetitions. To be sure, such work will have to
be at an intensity which we can determine as rather high, for to do much light work
without an equal amount of heavy work will not grant us the results we are looking for in
this particular situation.
Common sense will tell us that in the beginning of such training endeavors the harder
we work, the longer we will to rest between workouts so as to recuperate adequately
enough for another hard training session. However, as time and experience goes by, we
should come to the point where such hard training is not so totally fatiguing as it once
was. It is at this point in time that we will be able to better embrace the advanced training
programs and theories which are used presently to so successful a result by the Western
Europeans. To be sure, our present living conditions in the USA will dictate what extent
such an embracing can take place, dependent upon isolated conditions of physical limits,
training time allotments, living conditions, and the types of work done to make a living.
All these factors will make an effect as to our ability to work for so many times during
the week and even in some cases how many times we can train each day. As I mentioned
earlier, the more you are interested in increasing muscular bulk, the more frequently you
can work out with no detrimental effects, due in part to the lessening of training intensity,
in preference to training volume or load. The more you are interested in squeezing out the
utmost strength potential at a given bodyweight without getting heavier, the more you
must be concerned not only with how often you work out, but how hard you work out.
For combining both of these traits, you will have to gingerly work out a system in which
at certain periods the weight will be quite heavy and at other periods the weights will be
rather light. This will promote size and strength increases. The possibility of combining
these undertakings within the framework of the same training routine, on a daily basis,
should not and must not be overlooked when deciding how to train.
The end result of this type of bulk and power work is best explained through the
examples of men from the ranks of both bodybuilding and power lifting who have
embraced the training philosophy outlined in the section just discussed. Two
bodybuilders who immediately come to mind when discussing power and bulk training
are the immortal Reg Park and Bill Pearl. Park, particularly, was an incredibly powerful
man who pressed behind his neck over 300lbs. many, many years ago. Reps on the bench
with over 500lbs. were child’s play for this bodybuilding immortal and I am sure this
power development went a long way in his winning Mr. Universe so many times in the
past. I remember reading somewhere of his doing partial squats with over 1,000lbs. some
years ago while training on a power-bodybuilding routine. This should give you some
idea as to how heavy Reg Park trained when he was interested in increasing both his
development and his lifting power. Bill Pearl has squatted with over 600lbs. for
repetitions and bench pressed close to 500lbs., so he too would be a good example for
bodybuilders who are interested in lifting strength to imitate. Any photo of Pearl at his
heavier bodyweight gives mute testimony to his powerful development.
In the lifting world we have two prime examples of lifters who developed incredibly
massive and shapely physiques while at the same time lifting very heavy poundages in
the power lifts, in general. These two men have the developments of bull gorillas. Their
names are Mel Hennessey and Steve Marjanian. You would have to look far and wide to
find two better examples of muscular bulk and power than the men mentioned here.
The secret to developing incredible lifting strength as well as massive muscular size lies
within the trainee’s ability to take a very severe workload for a continuous time, year in
and year out, for many, many years. And this even includes the use of steroids. For even
steroids will not work for you if you will not work for yourself! To be sure, the reason
why most men cannot step over from the intermediate class to top Class-A material is due
to their inability to work for great lengths of time with increasingly heavier and heavier
weights.
By now I feel it is time to outline a few basic bulk and power routines for those of you
interested fellows to incorporate into your training scheme. These routines are not the
only ones to choose from, for such a topic would (and has) taken an entire book by itself
to handle completely and adequately. But I am sure these few routines will be most
helpful and interesting for you to follow. With time and experience you will be able to
manipulate these routines to suit yourself and your particular aims.
First we will outline a three day per week routine for the intermediate power bulk
devotee to follow for a period of two or three months without letup or any meaningful
changes. Remember that for adequate strength and bulk gains it will be necessary to do
each and every set both slowly and correctly for best results.
Monday
Bench Press: two sets of ten for a warm-up, then jump to five to seven sets of five to
seven reps using all weight possible. Press Behind Neck: two sets of ten for a warm-up,
then jump to five to seven sets of five to seven reps using all weight possible. Full Squat:
one set of ten, then eight, then six, then four, then a double, and finally three sets of eight
to ten reps with a lighter weight. Scott Bench Curls: between six and eight sets of six to
eight reps. Triceps Pressdowns: between six and eight sets of six to eight reps.
Wednesday
Bentover Barbell Rowing: between six and eight sets of six and eight reps. Stiff Legged
Deadlift: four sets of between twelve and fifteen reps. Incline Barbell Press: one set of ten
for a warm-up, then five to seven sets of five to seven reps using all the weight possible.
Parallel Bar Dips: between five and seven sets of five to seven reps.
Friday
Bench Press: five to seven sets of five to seven reps. Flat Bench Flyes: five to seven
sets of five to seven reps. Alternate Dumbbell Press: five to seven sets of five to seven
reps. Cheating Barbell Curl: five to seven sets of five to seven reps. Lying Triceps
Extension: five to seven sets of five to seven reps.
The aforementioned routine is more than adequate in the amount of work and in the
intensity of work for the intermediate trainee. By training three days per week, we have
mare than enough time for completed muscular recuperation, which at the intermediate
level, is of the utmost importance. With time and patience, we would be able to increase
this workload even further to a four day routine and an example of this routine is listed
for you below:
Monday and Thursday
Upper Body Work – Bench Press, Flat Bench Flyes, Bentover Barbell Rowing,
Pulldowns on Lat Machine, Press Behind Neck, Seated Dumbbell Presses. All of the
above movements are to be performed for one or two sets of ten reps as a warm-up, then
jumping to between five and seven sets of between four and six repetitions.
Tuesday and Friday
Squats and Arm Work – Parallel Squat, Stiff Legged Deadlifts, Leg Presses, Scott
Bench Curls, Lat Machine Pressdowns. All of the above movements are to performed for
one or two sets of ten reps as a warm-up, then jumping to between five and seven sets of
four and six repetitions, except the Stiff Legged Deadlifts, which are to be performed for
four sets of between twelve and fifteen repetitions.
As can be plainly seen, the workload of this particular routine is a bit more voluminous,
hence, each bodypart is to be trained only twice per week. This allows more and harder
work to be done for each body part without any one particular part being overtrained or
overworked. If you check out the routine very carefully, you will note the thoroughness
of the workload and the overall growing and developmental effect of such an amount of
work, spread out over the entire body. Remember, these routines can be utilized by both
the power trainee and the bodybuilder who also seeds strength, for their completeness and
intensity will grow muscle and increase training poundage strength. The only thing
required is work.
While discussing bulk and power training, let us not forget that in certain types of
training situations, a correctly managed bodybuilding routine can be successfully coupled
with a powerlifting routine and the overall result is a heavier, muscular body which is
greatly strengthened and oozing with excess of power. We must bear in mind that such a
routine will to include a great amount of work for the powerlifts as well as for the
bodybuilding movements. This will mean that in most cases, the trainee will be training
six days per week for around two hours per training session. If you will not or cannot
work out this hard and much, then forget it, because this is what it will have to take.
You will be working the chest and shoulders twice per week, the legs and arms twice
per week, and the back twice per week, with each workout taking around two hours to
finish. Each of the powerlifts will be performed twice per week, save the deadlift, which
is only done once weekly. Along with the powerlifts, there will also be included enough
shaping movements to suit any bodybuilder or bulk fanatic. This, coupled with a
nutritious diet will give you the end result – muscular bulk and power!
Monday and Thursday
Chest and Shoulders – Bench Press, Parallel Bar Dips, Press Behind Neck, Seated
Dumbbell Press, Flat Bench Flyes. On the Bench Press, work up to three singles with
around 90% maximum an Monday and work up to triples with around 80% on Thursday.
On the other movements on these two days do between five and seven sets of between six
and eight repetitions.
Tuesday and Friday
Squats and Arm Work – Parallel Power Squats, Cheating Barbell Curls, Lying Triceps
Extensions, Standing Triceps Extensions, Incline Dumbbell Curl. On the Squats work up
to three doubles with 90% maximum on one day and work up to triples and fives with
around 80% on the other squat day. One squat day use a Power Squat style and on the
other day, use an Olympic Squat style (previously described). On the arm work for this
day, use on one day between six and eight sets of between eight and twelve repetitions
and on the other day use between five and seven sets of between five and seven
repetitions. If this doesn’t make the arms grow, nothing will!
Wednesday and Saturday
Back Work – Deadlift (competition style), Bentover Barbell Row, Lat Machine
Pulldowns, Dumbbell Bentover Lateral Raises. On the Deadlift, work up to a heavy
double or triple an one day and on the other day use the stiff Legged style and perform
sets of between ten and fifteen reps. For the other back movements work out with
between five and seven sets of between five and seven reps using all weight possible.
This amount of back work should really stimulate additional muscle growth along with
an increase in your lifting proficiency.
Finally, for the strong of heart, there is the type of routine which Doug Hepburn
recommended for increasing both size and strength within a short period of time. What
you do is train six or seven days per week and use two or three movements each day.
Each particular competitive movement is done twice per week and the overall effect is a
great weight gaining stimulation taking place throughout the entire body. As far as sets
and reps are concerned, for the most part he believed in many, many, sets of three and
five reps per set. By many sets we mean between eight and twelve sets per exercise. For
certain lifts he believed in first working up to five singles with 90% maximum poundage
and then dropping down to five sets of between three and five reps per set. This type of
routine must increase size and strength at the same time, for its entire conception and
value lies within the metabolic stimulation effect.
Doug Hepburn was the first man to bench press 600lbs. in training and he developed a
maximum amount of muscular bulk on his frame through the types of routines previously
outlined here in this section of Chapter 4.
Power Rack Training For Bodyweight Gains
Of all the types of training available to the trainee today, to me none is more important
and beneficial than work done in a power rack. If the same trainee is trying to gain
muscular bodyweight while working on the rack, his gains will come to him all the easier.
This is due to a multi-faceted situation which encompasses rack work in general. First of
all, the use of the rack for heavy partial repetitions is just about the most severe form of
overload possible. Also, this severe overload training will literally force the trainee to
gain in useful bodyweight, due to the stimulation of the deeper muscle fibers and the
stimulation to the muscular system and the metabolic system such heavy workloads bring
with them.
I have never met a man who trained on the power rack for any length of time who has
not gained greatly in size and strength and since this chapter deals with just this same
goal and situation, you can be sure power rack training will aid you greatly in your quest
for additional size and strength. This goes along with the theory that the proper diet will
be followed during this training scheme. Without the proper diet, size will just not be
possible to develop. At the end of this chapter we will discuss at length the use of various
dietary concoctions and drinks, etc., to bring about a positive nitrogen balance which in
turn will stimulate bodyweight gain.
Just as there is a multitude of movements you can perform on the rack, so too there are
quite a few different methods of using the rack for best results in weight gaining. It would
seem at first that the basic training theories which powermen follow for gaining power
would also help you in gaining size, but this is not always the case. If it were, we would
have no smaller men in the lighter classes, since they al would have outgrown themselves
before they were through competition. Gaining bodyweight and size with a power rack
will require somewhat of a different repetition and set scheme than what is customarily
used for gaining power in the body. For one thing, the set scheme is decreased somewhat
and the repetition scheme is increased to stimulate more muscle fibers into growth
contraction.
We should also mention at this time the ability to couple various movements together
for the pumping effect, and the growth effect such a coupling will produce. For regular
power rack work, this would be out of the question, since the main idea would be to gain
in strength, not bodyweight. However, in this situation, you will be trying to cause the
muscle groups to respond with additional growth and so the inclusion of two or more
movements for the same bodypart, both full and partial, will be of the utmost helpfulness
and availability.
It is possible to combine various partial movements in a rack with full movements done
in the standard way with the end result being a thoroughly congested, fully worked and
pumped up muscle, in which the fibers have been exhausted completely due to the
combination of training theory and the usefulness of this combination. Another way of
combining these two distinct types of training is to work in the rack once or twice weekly
and for the other workout do full movements. This way both types of work will be
adequately used with enough training time and volume of workload to produce most
favorable results, given enough time and sweat.
While mentioning the power rack in its relationship to increasing bodyweight and
muscular size, we must mention the discretionary habits necessary for success in this type
of training venture. Since power rack training uses the deepest lying muscle fibers in its
functioning training scope, it stands to reason that it will be very easy to overtrain when
using the rack. To avoid this is not as easy as at first it may seem. There is something
contagious about power tack work. which invades your very soul and you are apt to go
overboard while working on the rack with the end result being a decrease of performance
potential and o lack of bodyweight and muscular size increase. You simply cannot
overtrain on the power rack and expect to to continue to make gains. You will have to
learn to meter out your training enthusiasm when working on the rack, if additional
muscle size is what you are going after. Also, the generally accepted theory of working
the sticking point the hardest of any position of any exercise you decide to do on the rack
does not apply in this case, since we are not particularly interested in the sole acquisition
of power, but more into gaining that much desired powerful, bulky physique with body
size and massiveness being paramount in our considerations.
One valuable method used in the rack for the acquisition of size and strength is the
Theory of Maximum Fatigue. For lifters it aids them quite quickly to increase their lifting
performances. For the bulk fanatic, such a training method will aid you quite quickly to
gain additional size throughout the entire body. You would have to go a long way to find
a more effective method for gaining useful muscle size. This Theory of Maximum
Fatigue will enable you to utilize and develop the size of the deepest set muscle fibers,
which would otherwise lie dormant with the sole training methodology being the
basically accepted exercise performances. Since you will be training to gain in muscle
size, the set and repetition scheme will have to be updated for the use of a size seeker, not
merely a power seeker. This means that the repetitions will be somewhat higher than
previously accepted. Let us use a repetition scheme of between six and eight repetitions.
The number of sets for each section of each movement will depend upon many factors.
Take into consideration the total workload and evaluate the amount of rack training from
that point. Naturally, if you are going to depend solely on the rack work, then you will be
able to stand more volume of work done in the rack. If, however, you wish to combine
rack work with regular movements, then the overall amount of the rack work will have to
be reduced in order not to overtrain yourself to a point of nervous exhaustion. This can
and has happened to many an overenthusiastic trainee. It is very easy to overdo this kind
of training due to the likeability of the performance of basic movements with extremely
heavy weights. Finally, we must take into consideration the previous experience of the
trainee, before assuming this training methodology. Naturally, the more pre-worked the
trainee, the more work he will be able to handle without becoming completely exhausted.
What I would advise you to do is to surmise just how much work you will be able to
comfortably handle and thrive and formulate your training routine around this fact. As
time goes by, you will be able to add a set here and a set there and as long as the gains are
coming your way, you will know you are on the right track. With a little patience and
some thinking on your part, you will find the right amount of work which will work right
for you. In the following pages, I will outline for you various schedules utilizing the
power rack for size increases.
The first rack routine I am going to outline for you in this part of Chapter 4 will be a
basic, three day per week training routine with emphasis on power rack work for size
building. This fundamental routine will allow the majority of you fellows to begin to get
used to rack work and also, it will be just hard enough for you to begin to grow from its
application. Further on down the line, as it becomes harder and harder for you to continue
to gain in both size and strength, I will outline more advanced methods of using the
power rack, which will require greater effort and training time, but which will aid you in
continuing your aims and goals of increasing size and strength.
For this first routine we will endeavor to couple full movements with partial
movements in order to maintain a necessary maintenance of lifting ability as well as wellroundedness of muscle structure and flexibility. While the brunt of the work will be done
in the rack, there will be corresponding movements to use in which standard barbell
exercises will be utilized to bring about the desires results. The combinations of there two
types of training procedures will enable you to gain in an all-around way without losing
any basic muscular qualities which were originally developed through standard exercise
movements. The results will surprise you, to say the least.
With this first routine we will have to be interested in the amount of work as well as the
intensity of this work, since we do not want the intermediate or beginner trainee to
become overtrained for this is a major pitfall in the beginning of such weight training
programs. Later on, after the trainee has become accustomed to such workloads, ht will
be better able to adjust his workload suitable to his available training energy and
recuperability, which is as it should be, for continued progress. Up until this point,
however, do not deviate from the foregoing routine. Try to be regular in your training
habits and in your living habits, for these play a major part in the gaining of muscular
bodyweight. Also, do not add anything to this routine, save some calf and abdominal
work done for a few sets at the end of each workout, but not to any great extent.
Here then is your primary three day power rack routine:
Monday
Full Movements – Bench Press: one set of ten repetitions for a warm-up, then a set of
seven with heavier weights, then a set of three, and finally three single attempts with
around 90% of your one repetition limit. Now finish off with four sets of between four
and six repetitions using all the weight you can properly handle. Bentover Rowing: one
set of ten for a warm-up, then jump to a weight you can get between five and eight
repetitions and with and stay with this weight for five or so sets. Parallel Squat: one set of
ten reps for a warm-up, then jump to a set of six reps with heavier weights, then finally
jump to a weight which is fairly hard for sets of three repetitions. Finally, go down to a
weight in which eight reps is possible and stay with this weight for three sets.
Wednesday
Power Rack Work – Bench Press: use three positions, from the chest, midway, and a
lockout position. Perform three sets of between six and eight reps for each of these three
positions. On the last rep of each set hold and push against the top pin for around six
seconds. This will activate the deeper muscle fibers and the high rep scheme will cause
greater muscle pump. Power Squat: use three positions, from the bottom, midway, and a
quarter squat position. Perform two sets of between six and eight reps in each position
and be sure to push against the top pins on the last rep of each of these sets. Your Parallel
Squat will surely improve from using this routine! Deadlift from Below the Knee: this is
the basic sticking in most deadlifts. Do threes from this position in a rack. Perform
around six or seven sets and work up to a maximum set of three with all the weight you
can properly handle. This movement will greatly strengthen your lower back and hips as
well as building greater deadlifting power.
Friday
Full Movements mixed with Rack Work – Incline Press: five sets of between five and
seven reps. Sticking Point Bench Press: five sets of threes, pressing in a rack from your
particular sticking point. This will immediately increase your bench press power. Leg
Press: four sets of six to eight repetitions. Sticking Point Power Rack Squat: five sets of
threes, working up to a maximum set of three sets from the sticking point in your
particular squatting movement. Shoulder Shrug: five sets of eight to twelve reps using a
very heavy weight. Scott Bench Curl, Lying Triceps Extension: perform these two
movements in a superset fashion for five sets with each movement of each set done from
eight to ten reps per set.
This then is your basic power rack training routine. As you can see, if you look this
routine over carefully, you will see it is quite complete in its training volume and
intensity, yet it is not as severe as some of the other rack programs which the more
advanced trainee will be able to incorporate with time and persistence. We couple the full
movements with the rack work so as to incorporate the good points of both systems of
exercise and terminology so as to incorporate the best that both forms of training have to
offer. This is a most complete way to fulfill training dreams and desires.
Upon further consideration, you will discover that the smaller muscle groups have been
given adequate work to carry them through this intensive training period, yet the brunt of
the work has been placed on the large muscles of the shoulder girdle and the legs and
hips. This is so that the amount of size gained will be put in the right places with the
bodyweight going all over the body, giving it a well-rounded look with symmetrical
development being an end product. The workload is also suited for increasing body
power and this is another basic requirement of any weight gaining routine, for it makes
no sense to gain additional size if this size is not coupled with additional power. By
working the major muscle structures of the body quite hard, you are guaranteed to build
usable power along with your increased physical size. The arms and calves will grow
somewhat, from the intensity and volume of the work placed on the larger muscle
structures, by no means will they remain at a standstill or worse yet, shrink. As long as
we work the basic muscle group exercises the hardest with the most consideration, the
smaller groups will coast along and go along for the ride, so to speak.
As we mentioned earlier, there are more intense methods of training on the power rack
and the following routine is a good example of such a routine with its volume and
intensity increased the point of the first three day rack routine. This will be necessarily be
a four day training routine, since we will be performing both harder work and a greater
amount of work. This means that we will have to increase the training days so that each
section will be trained twice per week, but much harder and more thorough than done
before. In the long run, we will be training harder, yet we will be resting more from each
type of exertion.
The following routine will require a sound nutritional basis for complete success. You
are going to be expending immense amounts of nervous and physical energy and the end
product is supposed to be increased bodyweight as well as increased power, so be sure to
follow the dietary recommendations which will be listed for you in the final section of
this chapter. Try to find the time each day for a half hour nap, or a few fifteen minute
breaks throughout the day in order to aid yourself in muscular recuperation. Also, try to
maintain a tranquil mind throughout this training program, especially since you are trying
to gain in bodyweight and everyone knows that a high strung person usually is an
underweight person. Try to maintain a positive mental attitude towards the amount of
work you are going to have to do, because there is going to be plenty of it to get used to!
We are going to couple the movements once again so as to maintain a fine balance
between partial movement proficiency and actual lifting finesse, but in this routine the
rack work will be of optimum importance. The free movements will be only for muscle
stimulation and not for the acquisition of strength. For this, we will depend on the power
rack. I would also advise additional stomach work on the off days when you are not
training on the rack, so as to strengthen the abdomen and maintain a trim waistline while
gaining in size and power. I would nor advise any additional barbell work beyond the
amount of work I advise here in this routine, for if given half a chance, it will prove to be
most complete within itself. Additional work with the barbell would only hinder your
ultimate progress.
Here then is your four day routine on the power rack:
Monday and Thursday
Partial Standing Press: from below the chin to top of the head. Perform eight sets of
five to seven repetitions, working up to a maximum set of five repetitions. On the final
rep of each set push against the top pin for six to eight seconds. Bench Press Lockouts:
from three quarters off the chest to lockout. Perform six to eight sets of four to six
repetitions with the last set being the heaviest weight you can handle for six repetitions.
On the last rep of each set push against the top pin for an additional six to eight seconds.
Deadlift From Below Knee: perform six to eight sets of three repetitions, working up to
the maximum set of three reps on the last set. Prone Hyperextensions: five to seven sets
of eight to twelve repetitions using bodyweight as the resistance and later adding weight
behind the neck.
As you can see, this first half of our four day routine is quite complete in the amount of
work performed for the chest and shoulders with additional work being included for the
lower back region.
Tuesday and Friday
Partial Squats: position the bar at your sticking point and work up to eight sets of three
to five repetitions, using all the weight possible for the final set of five. Front Squats:
perform between five and seven sets of three to five repetitions with the final set being
the heaviest weight you can properly handle. Bentover Barbell Rowing: five to seven sets
of six to eight repetitions using all the weight you can properly handle. Cheating Barbell
Curl: five to seven sets of eight to twelve reps using all the weight possible and slowly
lowering the bar on the descent part of each repetition. Close Grip Bench Presses: five to
seven sets of five to seven repetitions using all the weight possible for each and every set
after warming up for the first two sets with a lighter weight.
What we have tried to do within this routine is to activate the deepest fibers with an
overbalance of rack work, while at the same time adequate amounts of work are included
for the adjacent muscle groups so that muscle shape is maintained. We have even make
sure that this power work in the rack would be sure to carry itself over to the regularly
performed movements so we have even included the Close Grip Bench Press so as to
maintain a certain amount of bench pressing familiarity. Coupling this with the heavy
partial bench presses in the rack should cause not only size gains but a carrying over
power effect as well. For the squat, while we have not included the actual full squat, we
have concentrated on the sticking point of the squat in the rack and it would take a very
short time to acquaint our muscles back to the competitive manner of squatting with
backlog of work which we have performed here in this routine. Let us not forget that the
Front Squat is quite a leg developer and I am sure by including this movement with the
sticking point squats the effect on the Power Squat should more than make itself felt.
Since the sticking point of the deadlift is fust below the knee, we have concentrated on
this position for our rack work for the deadlift. To be sure, your deadlift will increase
with enough training time and patience. If you check out the routine more closely, you
will see that the number of sets have been increased in comparison to the first routine I
listed for you and it is from this increase that you will be more advanced and conditioned
when finished training for any length of time on this routine. Upon graduation from this
type of routine on the power rack you will be ready for the advanced rack work, which
will combine both full and partial movements using the Theory of Maximum Fatigue and
isometric overloads, in conjunction with forced repetition training. Finally, by the time
you have finished with this initial four day per week rack routine, you will be ready for
the elite system of power rack training.
When this time for training conversion comes around I want you to get yourself ready
for the hardest and most severe type of work your body will ever be asked to perform. Be
sure that the dietary end of your lifestyle is most complete and the vitamin and mineral
ingestion as well as protein supplementation is at an all-time high, for you will need to
have at your disposal all the possible aids to enable you to further yourself along the
goals and aims of this section and chapter. The kind of work you will be doing will be the
hardest and most tiring of all.
This routine will require training five days per week. Before undertaking this routine,
reread the section in previous chapters on isometric contraction, forced repetition
training, and the Theory of Maximum Fatigue, for you will be utilizing all three of these
methods within the framework of this routine. Most men will shy away from this routine,
saying that it is too intense and voluminous for the average man to make gains on. They
are right. It is not for the mediocre lifter. But until you allow yourself to attempt such a
routine, you will never know just how far your particular potential will take you. Besides,
you will be trying to gain weight while using this routine, so it will not be so hard as it at
first may seem. Just give it a try and see how your progress comes along after the first six
weeks or so. Let your conscience be your guide as to how long to stay on this routine.
Monday
Back Work – Bench Press Top Lockout Position: five sets of three reps working up to a
maximum set of three. Standing Press, from the clavicle to eye level: five sets of threes,
working up to a maximum triple. Deadlift From Below Knee: five doubles working up to
a heavy double using good style and technique. Bentover Barbell Rows: five sets of five
reps, forcing out an additional two or three reps per set through cheating the last few reps
up.
Tuesday
Free Weights – Parallel Squats: five sets of eight to ten reps, working up to the heaviest
set of ten. Leg Presses: four sets of eight to twelve reps forcing out additional “burns” at
the end of each set. Incline Dumbbell Curls: four to six sets of six to eight repetitions.
Close Grip Bench Press: four to six sets of eight reps using a knurling wide grip.
Wednesday
Isometrics – Bench Presses: after warming up, perform five isometric contractions from
the sticking point in the bench press. Each contraction should take between six and eight
seconds. Parallel Squat: after a warm-up, from the sticking point, use five isometric
contractions for six to eight seconds each. Deadlift: five single contractions of six
seconds each from the sticking point after a warm-up.
Thursday
Free Weights – Incline Barbell Press: four to six sets of four to six reps, working up to a
heavy set of four. Bentover Barbell Row: four to six sets of five to seven reps using
medium heavy weight. Prone Hyperextensions: four to six sets of eight to ten reps using
bodyweight alone. Breathing Squats: two sets of fifteen to twenty reps using bodyweight
on the bar. Take four or five deep breaths between each rep.
Friday
Free Weights – Bench Press: five sets of four to six reps using the heaviest weighty
possible after a warm-up. Press Behind Neck: five sets of five to seven reps using the
heaviest weight possible after a warm-up. Scott Bench Curls: four sets of eight to twelve
reps for a complete pump of arms. Lying Triceps Extension: four sets of eight to twelve
reps with a medium-heavy weight.
As I mentioned earlier, this is quite a routine, both in its severity and in its volume and
completeness. Do not be afraid of it, nor become too complacent in your attitude towards
it. It will work if it is coupled with intensive dietary consideration and proper mental
attitude and training receptiveness. Work your way into it gradually, and see what it can
co for you. The movements are basic and the methodology involved is complete and most
effective for the majority of cases coming into contact with it. Give yourself half a chance
and see what it can and will do for you.
Various Weight Gaining Routines
The gaining of additional bodyweight and the weight itself, being useful in the further
acquisition of physical strength, is a topic of great discussion and magnitude. Several
weight training authors and writers have dwelled upon this subject for many, many years
with their aims being to help the duly underweight trainee gain enough bodyweight to
begin to develop a more ruggedly developed frame and musculature for the acquisition of
additional muscular bulk and power through additional training and exercise.
There is a basic difference between regularly accepted bulk and power routines which
advanced and semi-advanced lifters and bodybuilders may follow to further develop their
frames and the kind of training we are talking about here and now. For the truly
underweight man, the predicament he may find himself in is one of great frustration and
mistaken notions. First of all, he can be so underweight that he appears as a skeleton to
the naked eye of the observer, yet be paunchy and flabby in certain areas of the body due
to lack of any real previous exercise and complete lack of muscle tone or shape. There is
a great difference between this type of trainee and an intermediate bodybuilder of lifter
interested in “bulking up” a few additional pounds for increased muscular size and/or
power. For the truly underweight man, the acquisition of a heavier bodyweight is of the
utmost importance. Whether or not all these pounds are of solid, shapely muscle is not the
main consideration at this point, for this “tightening up” can be accomplished much later
on, after a basic frame is developed.
One of thee most important things to be considered in such a situation is the complete
recuperation of the muscular system between each and every workout. When you are
really trying to gain additional bodyweight: do not overtrain! You are not in the same
situation as other trainees with your particular problem. You cannot hope to add greatly to
your bodyweight if you work too long and too hard. This advanced training ideology can
come later on in your training scheme when you gave finally arrived at your new
bodyweight and the muscular size has begun to show through. At the present time rest
adequately and then grow!
Try to remember that when you are trying to add greatly to your bodyweight, your
entire lifestyle and bodily functions must be geared to operate united or such a physical
transformation will not be possible. To overwork without proper or complete recuperation
is like asking yourself to run in two directions at the same time; it is a physical
impossibility. To be sure, to work out hard and regular is very important, but not at the
expense of recuperation, at least not when you are trying to gain additional bodyweight.
Better to have two hood hard workouts per week and recuperate fully from these, than to
try to workout almost every day and be continually tired and run down. In this situation
you would probably run into viruses and colds, etc., and the end result would be a short
layoff from training every five of sex weeks, due to illness and overwork. So who is
kidding whom? Weight training is not like other training and you cannot and should not
force the body to operate outside its natural limits and still expect time and energy to take
the place of common sense.
The proper selection of exercise movements is also of the utmost importance and
necessity. It is important in that this is not a muscle shaping period in your training. You
are not trying to work additional density, definition, and roundness at this particular
training period in your life. What you have to be primarily concerned with at this time is
the addition of extra bodyweight which through training can be made into useful,
functional muscle. To work with muscle shaping movements at this time would be a
complete waste. To worry about how much you may be shifting during barbell curls is
not sensible in the least. At least not when trying to gain extra bodyweight. Stick to a
basic muscle group exercises when trying to add those extra pounds to get stronger, only
your set and repetition scheme will be somewhat different in scope due to a different aim
and goal. I also would not recommend to follow the accepted style on these powerlifts,
since these styles are for shifting the most weight, not for working the muscles the
hardest way possible. By using basic movements and a medium repetition scheme, along
with very strict exercise performance, you will be guaranteed bodyweight results,
providing the diet is followed correctly and regularly.
We shall now endeavor to outline for you a few weight training gaining routines which
can be followed quickly and easily by the average underweight trainee who is interested
in gaining additional bodyweight with the extra weight adding to his overall power. Our
first weight gaining routine will be a three day per week routine in which we will try to
cover most adequately the muscle groups most responsible for bodyweight gains and the
exercise movements regularly used to project these aims.
Monday
Parallel Squats: begin with one set of ten repetitions for a warm-up, then jump to a
weight which permits between eight and twelve repetitions and perform four sets with
this weight. Try to perform this movement primarily with the legs and not with the back,
as the powerlifters do. Do not be so concerned with the weight on the bar as with correct
exercise style and technique. Medium Grip Bench Press: take one set of ten for a warmup, then go to the maximum weight possible to between four and six repetitions and use
this weight for four sets. Do not arch or bounce the bar during your workout and
concentrate on working the upper body thoroughly and correctly. Do not cheat on this
movement. Bentover Barbell Rowing: use a relatively close grip on the bar and pull the
bar into the stomach instead of into the chest. Begin with one set of ten for a warm-up
and then jump to a maximum poundage for five repetitions and use this weight for
between three and five sets. Jerking the weight will not grow larger muscles.
Wednesday
Incline Barbell Press: One set of ten reps for a warm-up, then jump to the heaviest
weight possible for six reps and stay with this weight for four additional sets. Be sure to
lower the bar correctly and slowly and do not bounce the weight off your chest during the
repetitions. Bent Legged Deadlift: Begin with one set of ten reps. Then jumpo to a set of
seven reps. Finally, use a weight for four sets of three repetitions, done slowly and
correctly. Cheating Barbell Curls: after a complete warm-up of sets with light weights for
a few repetitions, jump the weight to a poundage which you have to use some body
momentum to aid the bar in getting to the shoulders. Resist slowly on the downward
movement of the bar to further work the muscles. Use a weight you can handle for five
sets of between five and seven repetitions. Triceps Pressdown on Lat Machine: after a
few sets of ten for a warm-up, jump the poundage to a maximum weight for between five
and seven sets of between five and seven repetitions. These sets and repetitions should be
done slowly and strictly for proper muscular congestion.
Friday
Weighted Parallel Bar Dips: we shall perform between five and seven sets of this
exercise with a weight which will permit between five and seven repetitions. First, we
would do one or two weightless sets for a warm-up. Chin Ups With Weight: use a
medium grip with the palms facing away from you. After a set or two without weight for
a warm-up, jump to a weight you are capable of handling for five to seven sets of
between five and seven repetitions. Stretch fully and completely between each and every
repetition so ass to thoroughly work and then congest the upper back and shoulder
muscles. Breathing Squats: using a weight which you can get out ten repetitions with,
perform twenty reps for one set and breathing four of five times between each repetition.
Do not ho below parallel in this exercise and do the exercise with a medium foot
placement and a rather high bar placement on the shoulders. This is to enable you to
develop both stamina, a better metabolic rate which will stimulate further weight gains
and finally, the lower thigh development which will boggle the average onlooker’s mind!
The beauty of this three day per week routine lies within the amount of work done for
each major bodypart and the amount of rest between workouts that is afforded the trainee.
In this situation where the trainee is not advanced enough to work out more frequently
than three times per week, the amount and intensity of the workload has been carefully
prepared for you so as to facilitate complete recovery within the framework of the
allotted training time.
There are other roads leading to the same goal, however, and before this section of
Chapter 4 is over, we shall endeavor to digress further into these possibly useful training
methods. This way mo matter what condition you may find yourself in, you will have
more than one choice for developing additional bodyweight and with persistent training,
an increase of body power. Depending upon your capability to recuperate from hard
physical exertion and also, depending upon how much actual training time you can allow
yourself, the ways for increasing your over-all bodyweight and measurements are varied
and many.
For the intermediate trainee who has a fairly rugged constitution, the following four day
training routine will be of great benefit, should he care to try it for a few months without
jumping from one kind of routine to another. We have once again chosen set and
repetition schedules which have shown to cause rapid bodyweight increases for the
majority of trainees, depending upon their desire and their training education. The
particular movements are among the best for gaining bodyweight and the overall
workload is more than adequate for substantial weight gain for the majority of trainees.
Later on in this chapter we shall get into various menus and dietary habits for gaining
bodyweight which will be primarily functional muscular massiveness and not soft, flabby
and entirely useless! Be sure to adhere to these dietary habits and tips since they have
been gathered from the archives of the training world’s greatest lifters, bodybuilders, and
bulk fanatics, men whom we all admire and respect. You will not be taking any chances if
you follow the directions I am about to outline for you.
Here then is your weight gaining four day per week training routine:
Monday and Thursday
Upper Body Work – Medium Grip Bench Press: one or two sets for a warm-up, then
jumping to all the weight you can possibly for four of five sets of six to eight reps.
Perform these repetitions slowly and correctly without arching the lower back or raising
the hips off the bench. The use of medium grip work will work the majority of the upper
body muscles quite hard while at the same time will aid in gaining additional power
through the extra weight gains. Flat Bench Flyes: use a medium heavy weight and
perform four of five sets of between five and seven repetitions using a slow methodical
style, concentrating on really stretching the upper body muscles. Bentover Barbell
Rowing: use a close grip and bring the bar into the stomach, not the chest, so that a more
complete stretching of the upper back muscles will be accomplished. I should advise five
to seven sets of between five and seven repetitions, using the heaviest possible weights
for the final three sets. Lat Machine Pulldowns: use a wide grip and pull the bar down to
the chest, not behind the neck. Work for four sets of ten to twelve repetitions. Press
Behind Neck: try for five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions, using the heaviest
possible weights for the final three sets. Alternate Forward Raise: Work up to four sets of
between ten and twelve repetitions. Do this movement slowly and strictly, with very little
body swinging and motion. This movement will really out the deltoids, given enough
time and sweat and work.
In checking out the aforementioned routine, for the upper body you can see that for
each of the two training days there was an increase in overall workload as compared to
the first three day per week routine. This is because you will only be training the upper
body two times per week and even though the lower body and the arms will be worked an
additional days, the overall effect is greater time for each individual muscle group to
recover from the exercise motions allotted them. This will mean that in essence, you will
be training more but recuperating better. This will aid you in gaining more bodyweight
and the amount of work for the used muscles will be great enough to make the
bodyweight gain primarily muscular.
The second half of this four day a week routine is listed rot you below. On these two
days you will be training the legs and the upper arms. Here then is the second half of your
routine:
Tuesday and Friday
Legs – Parallel Squats: on one day work out with two or three sets of twelve and fifteen
repetitions using a fairly light weight, but concentrating primarily on keeping excellent
style and technique. On the other squatting day work up to a heavy set of three or four
reps and stay with this weight until three sets of five reps can be done. On both squatting
days, finish up the leg work with the following movement: Leg Presses: try for four sets
of eight to twelve reps using all weight possible. Stiff Legged Deadlifts: three sets of
twelve to fifteen repetitions using a medium weight and concentrating on proper exercise
style. Prone Hyperextensions: three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions using at first only
bodyweight, and later on additional for added resistance.
Arms – Cheating Barbell Curls: use a slight swing to get the weight into orbit and then
use sheer arm strength for finishing the repetitions. Try for five sets of eight to ten
repetitions using a really heavy weight. Be sure to work this movement hard since it will
really bulk up your arms. Incline Dumbbell Curls: try for four sets of between six and
eight repetitions using a medium heavy resistance and working for proper exercise style.
Lying Triceps Extensions: do this movement slowly and correctly for best results. Try for
five sets of between eight and ten repetitions using a medium weight and proper exercise
style. Standing Triceps Extension: try for four sets of between six and eight repetitions
using medium heavy resistance and proper exercise style.
As can plainly be seen, this second half of the four day a week routine is by no stretch
of the imagination easy. You are going to have to learn to work hard in order for the
amount of weight you will be gaining to be primarily muscle. You do not want solely
inflated tissue for this type of development will literally shrink and vanish without
constant stimulation. The kind of training outlined here for you will aid you in getting
heavier and more massive. It will not allow you to get fat.
We now get into training for those foolhardy souls who are really fanatical about
increasing muscular bulk and power, and will go to all ends to attain this goal. They have
the time and desire to train almost every day. To be sure, men such as Paul Anderson and
Doug Hepburn have used this severe system of training when trying to lift new records
and gain in bodyweight, because this type of everyday routine lends itself quite will to a
power routine, since most movements will be done only once per week, or so, and there
will be plenty of work.
It should be obvious to you that if you are going to train with heavy weights five or six
days per week. then your diet and your training load and intensity will have to be
monitored quite closely for best results. An increase in training load may at first seem
within reason, yet with additional training time and energy, you may find yourself slowly
becoming quite stale. If this happens, it is time to either lesson the amount of work done
daily or reduce the number of workouts, or in some situations do both for the good of the
entire scope of the routine.
Do not feel that training almost every day will hamper your gain in bodyweight. This is
not true and in most cases this daily training, if not overly long and excessive, will enable
you to gain primarily muscle with very little fat being accumulated during the experiment
and the overall effect is a more massive, more powerful you. To be sure, you will have to
keep a close check on the amount of work you allow yourself to do on any given day,
since this will make up the week’s workload and by overdoing it for one or two days the
rest of the week will suffer because the recuperation potential of the muscles will be
overlooked.
In this daily routine it is not the number of sets that count, but the strictness of the
movements and how hard each set is; this is what counts. Since you will be training
almost every day, the muscles will remain fairly pumped during the entire training week
and this will enable them to grow in size since the slight pump will be reconstituted every
day and hence the blood and the nutrients will be coursing through the muscles daily,
leading to fast growth response. Naturally, such an undertaking will have to be aided with
proper nutritional considerations and in the next section of this chapter I will outline for
you various dietary considerations an drinks and snacks which have worked for me and
for other men interested in fast size and power development and lifting ability. Since I am
by no means a champion, I feel that my ideas have merit for you, the average trainee,
since we are both in the same boat, as it were, To listen to a champion is not always the
way to go, since he is operating from a greater genetic potential than you and I and what
will work for him does not have to work for you and me. Many times it is the average
lifter who can help another fellow make it to the top faster and easier through his own
past mistakes.
To follow a six day per week training routine and at the same time try to gain
dramatically in bodyweight increases is no easy matter. First of all, you must be sure that
the diet you are following is complete and high enough in calories and protein to ensure
enough material for you to grow on. You also must see to it that on each day you have
time to relax and take it easy for a few hours or so, in order to aid you in recuperating
from this gross amount of work. In short, your entire life must revolve around your
training if you are to succeed with this training idea and methodology.
A simple way to formulate such a routine is to decide the various movements you
intend on using for your routine and then set a minimum amount of work each day for
each movement. According to how regularly you are gaining, simply adjust the amount of
workload to suit your rate of progress. In other words, the more you gain, the greater the
daily workload; the slower you recuperate the less you allow yourself to do. After a short
while experimenting as to how much and of what movements you will be working, you
will find the right work from there. Only time and patience will give you these answers.
As a choice of correct movements to employ, I would advise the following basic,
muscle group exercises as a basis for a sound choice: Bench Presses, Curls with a
Barbell, Lying and Standing Triceps Extensions, Incline Presses, Bentover Barbell
Rowing, Bent Legged Deadlifts, Parallel Squats, Front Squats and Leg Presses, Standing
Presses, Seated Presses and Presses Behind the Neck can also be employed, if you so
wish. All these movements are useful and will work for you as far as the addition of
bodyweight, muscular size and overall power are concerned. If you adhere to these
movements, you will become a much heavier and stronger man.
As a final suggestion in setting up this type of specialized weight gaining routine, let
me digress a bit further. I would advise you to begin with two or maybe three movements
per day with no particular movement being done more than once of twice per week. This
will help you see that you do not work the same favored muscle groups at the expense of
the lifts and muscle groups which you personally do not like as much. By limiting the
frequency of any particular lift or exercise, you will be forced to vary your routine daily,
in order not to repeat yourself and to see to it that your exercise choices are well rounded.
In the beginning use a rather low number of sets fot each movement. Let us use six sets
for each movement as an example. Now, depending upon the rate of improvement, you
will gauge your set increases by the amount of weight you gain and the ease in which you
recuperate from the initial workload. This way will guarantee that you do not overextend
yourself while trying to gain bodyweight. It will also help you from overtraining, whether
it is deliberate or not.
Here is a sample six day routine for bodyweight gain:
Monday: Bench Press, Parallel Squat, Curl.
Tuesday: Deadlift, Bentover Rowing, Lying Triceps Press.
Wednesday: Incline Press and Cheating Curls.
Thursday: Front Squat, Standing Press.
Friday: Standing Triceps Extension, Bentover Rowing.
Saturday: Bench Press and Full Squats.
As I mentioned earlier, begin with only a few sets of this and that and work up the
volume and the intensity as time and progress permits. Do not do doubles or singles at
this time, for this amount of work will not work well with too high a degree of intensity.
Try to work with medium repetitions, let us say, between six and eight sets of five to
seven repetitions for most movements. On the leg work, you might wish to go a bit high,
let us say, up to twelve or so repetitions. You will have to be the judge as to how far to go.
It is really up to you. You are the one in charge.
This type of routine has done wonders for past “monsters” of the weight game. Follow
adequate dietary habits and it will do wonders for you too. All you need is time, hard
work, and confidence.
Dietary Considerations For Gaining Weight
With this final part of Chapter 4, we are going to close out this section with a brief
discussion of just how correct dietary habits are not only essential, but downright
priceless when attempting to gain additional bodyweight through the use of weight
training as an exercise medium. To be sure, this is one area where many of you miss the
boat. there are very few trainees who are so naturally gifted through fate and heredity that
they can allow themselves to neglect their dietary habits without losing out in precious
training time (due to colds) and ultimate potential, due to not having the primary material
to build this additional muscle and power from
Of chief concern to the bodybuilding enthusiast is to see to it that his diet contains a
more than adequate supply of the necessary nutrients which he will need in order to gain
additional size and strength from. Also, his nutritional standpoint must be more than
adequate for him to have the necessary training drive and energy in order to be able to
work regularly and hard in his chosen training endeavors. So you see, the necessity of
correct eating habits is of the utmost concern to anyone who trains regularly with weights
and trying to go to the limits of your potential without checking regularly into your
dietary habits is like trying to do a two arm curl with only one arm: you’re making a hard
job even harder by not having the patience to plan and follow whatever your plan
happens to dictate.
We must remember that when we try to make the muscle size of our structures grow
heavier and more massive, what we are literally trying to do is make something. Look at
your upper arm. Measure it. Then figure on developing an arm one or two inches larger
than at present. Where is this size and accumulated tissue to come from? It does not exist
at present so are we not trying to create it from nothing? Does it not seem normal to
assume that in order to make this tissue appear and thrive and grow, we will have to work
very hard and eat quite well, in order for this endeavor to work for us and not against us?
When you look at the situation in this objective, cold, yet scientific way, you can see just
how important it is to follow an adequate diet.
One of the major pitfalls that any interested can fall into is the age old belief that all
that is necessary for tissue building is an adequate supply of protein in the diet, with no
concern as to how much of the other nutrients one may or may not ingest. This fallacy is
exaggerated on by the companies who manufacture protein supplements and their
financial success depends upon how much in the way of protein pills, powder and
capsules they sell each year. A diet primary in protein with little of close to nothing in the
way of carbohydrates or fat, is not healthy by any stretch of the imagination. What will
happen after a certain length of time is that the body will literally live off its own fat
stores and use protein as a source of energy in training and daily living. This is not a
healthy situation to be in for any length of time, for all this excess protein leaves a urea
residue which causes additional burden on the kidneys and liver, in order to oxidize it and
alleviate its post-ingested irritation.
Another fallacy is the accepted theory that it takes a very high protein diet in order to
develop the look of the present day physique champions. In reality, those men are using
huge amounts of anabolic steroids along with thyroid preparations so that any body fat is
literally burned off and the end result is the popular muscle density which the present
crop of men seem to enjoy possessing. They are not obtaining this physical effect through
natural or ordinary means and it is not the anabolics which are of the greatest concern, it
is the thyroid hormones which can be quite dangerous if misused or used incorrectly.
They can stimulate blood pressure and rate of heartbeat, while they are working on
burning off body fat and as much as I would like the physical cosmetic result, I would not
want to chance a heart attack and stroke through the misuse of thyroxin preparations.
To be sure, a diet high in protein will give you a more muscular look if you cut down
drastically on the amount of sugars and starches in your diet, as will as the total amount
of calories ingested daily. But to forego all types of fruits and vegetables in the belief that
they will smooth you out is ridiculous! As further proof, some of the finest built men in
the world are vegetarians! They obtain their quota of protein from milk products, eggs
and from vegetable sources, yet their end product is just as impressive as the protein
fanatics!
When trying to gain additional bodyweight, protein is not the most important topic of
conversation! Your diet should be well rounded with an adequate supply of calories
coming from natural, untainted foods, with a reduction in the amount of sugars and
starches. The protein intake should be geared for completeness, not sheer quantity of
substance. It would be more effective to take in eighty grams of complete, class A
protein, than to consume two hundred grams of a poorly balanced, incomplete source of
protein. Also, it must be noted that protein from meat sources, is very high in saturated
fats and this in itself may cause problems in some individuals who find digesting large
amounts of fats very hard on the digestive system. Such an overloading of our stomach
sack and such continuous irritation to our stomach lining is mo guarantee that we will
obtain the results in muscle growth we are going after. In fact, such a situation may be a
prime cause or catalyst for various types of ulcers to grow in. Try to maintain a happy
medium as far as combination of food is concerned with liberal amounts of food
substances coming from all three major food groups. This way you will not only have an
adequate supply of the muscle building materials, but you will also be protecting your
internal workings from mal-operating, through the ingestion of the protective foods from
natural sources.
If I were to have to list one major food substance (if you wish to call it that) that the
average trainee should stay away from, it would be sugar. It contains not one vitamin or
necessary in it, yet it is a favorite culinary past- time of the general American public. This
is why so many of us lifters are a bit of extra fat around the middle, yet we are training
hard and regularly. Cut out the sugar and you will cut down on the excess fat.
Carbohydrates are not the enemy you may think they are. Natural sources of
carbohydrates consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables will give you an internal cleansing
which will aid you in better regularity, digestion, and most of all, energy for everyday life
and for hard, regular training. Carbohydrates are not in themselves responsible for excess
weight gain. It is the overburdening of our systems with sugar and starches which causes
an insidious build-up of excess bodyweight.
Fats are another source of mistaken opinions among the lifting fraternity in general.
First of all, they are the most condensed in calories of all three food groups. They cause a
build-up of fatty acids throughout the bloodstream and there have been some opinions
within various medical communities that such a build-up can cause heart attack and
stroke. Also, it should be noted that a diet high in saturated fats is one source of the skin
problems in teenage youngsters. If I were interested additional bodyweight without
adding excess fat to the body, I would first and foremost, alleviate the saturated fats from
the diet. This would drastically cut the amount of calories ingested and along with a sugar
reduction would allow for more decent and adequate foodstuffs to be included in the diet,
without worrying about gaining weight which is not functional or useful for the
weightlifter to carry.
At this point we must differentiate between the truly skinny trainee and the trainee who
has to be more careful of what kind of weight he puts on through his training. For the
really underweight trainee, it would be ludicrous to worry about what kind of weight is
put on since some extra weight would have to be gained in such an extreme situation.
This fellow, who is nothing but skin and bones, will need some additional weight to allow
his system to realign itself for future weight gains and more strenuous training routines.
This in not the same situation that the intermediate lifter or trainee might find himself in,
after already gaining some additional bodyweight previously. In this situation, the trainee
will have to be a bit more careful about how much an primarily what kind of extra
bodyweight he continues to allow himself to put on.
Finally, for our competing athlete, in Olympic lifting and powerlifting, if such a weight
gain is desirable (it seldom is) the trainee must be sure that the weight gained must be
primarily muscle, since it will aid his lifting proficiency and excess bodyweight will not.
Therefore, he will have to be a bit more careful than the train-at-home trainee, as to what
he eats in order to put this extra bodyweight on.
At this time, I feel that I should outline for you a few dietary drinks and concoctions
which may be of some benefit in your gaining those must sought after pounds. We will
begin with a few protein drinks and preparations which are most complete in their dietary
scope and in their usability by the body when situations of great physical stress take
place. By no means do I consider myself an expert nutritionist, yet I can recall what has
definitely worked for me in the past and it is this useful information which I am going to
pass along to you.
If I were interested in gaining a large amount of additional bodyweight and at this time
of weight gaining I was trying quite hard and regular with the emphasis on muscular bulk
and power, I would concoct a muscle building drink which would contain a mixture of
various nutrients which would consist of a high amount of calories, which could be used
as a “protein sparing action” and also, a large amount of various sources of class A
proteins, which could be utilized in the manufacturing of new muscular tissue. Here is an
example of such a drink:
One cup of whole milk
One cup of powdered skim milk
Three tablespoons of peanut butter
Three tablespoons of milk and egg protein powder
Three tablespoons of Beef Hi-protein powder
Two soft boiled eggs
One pint of your favorite ice cream
Sweeten with chocolate syrup or honey to taste
I am sure if this drink is mixed and taken every day, as an in-between meal snack, or an
after dinner supplement, you will be going quite far in the acquisition of additional
muscular bodyweight.
The following is a high protein, high calorie, muscle-building stew which is very
nutritious and filli8ng and will supply the body with very many useful and necessary
nutrients. I have used this stew myself for some time during periods of bulk building and
have always received gratifying results with its daily inclusion as the evening meal. Of
course, it could be taken separately as an extra meal if you so wish.
Here then, is your nutritionally sound muscle and bulk building stew:
One and a half cups of tomato juice
One can of corn niblets
One can of sweet peas
One can of green beans
Three cut up cooked potatoes
One pound of cooked ground sirloin
One and a half cups of pre-boiled rice
Two ounces of your favorite cheese
Seasoning to taste
If such a stew does not aid you in building up strength, stamina, and bodyweight, then
nothing will! What makes this type of meal so valuable is that it contains not only a
liberal supply of protein from the meat and cheese, but also the vegetables are quite
varied and plentiful, which only adds to the deliciousness an the solidarity of nutritional
value through this dietary coupling.
For the man looking for a complete muscle building and weight gaining breakfast, try
the following dish and see what it does for you:
Four scrambled eggs
Half a pound of diced ham
Hashed brown potatoes
One glass of vegetable juice
One glass of fruit juice
One glass of milk
Being a working man, sometimes it is necessary to carry your own lunch to work.
This does not mean that you cannot take adequate care of yourself for optimum
nutritional content. The following would be a complete fare for the weight training
enthusiast who wants to gain additional muscular bodyweight:
Two or three pieces of fresh fruit
One pint of whole milk or fruit juice
Two or three sandwiches made from the following:
Tuna fish; scrambled eggs and ham; peanut butter,
jelly, and banana; roast beef; etc.
There are many sources of complete protein which do not have to come from a health
store. For the most part, the only benefit of these health food protein supplements lie in
their ease of availability and potency of content. To be sure, you can combine various
sources of protein supplements together and come up with quite a conglomerate of high
intensity protein, but at a cost far above what regular foodstuffs would cost. The cheapest
sources of complete protein are milk, eggs, cheese, and liver. These natural foodstuffs are
quite bountiful and cost pennies per gram of protein contained therein. Liver is one of the
cheapest sources of meat protein you can find, yet when it is made into tablets and
powder, it is quite expensive. Milk, also, is quite cheap when bought and drank by the
glassful or pint. However, when made into supplement form its cost is multiplied tenfold!
This is one of the drawbacks of supplementation. In today’s inflationary market, the cost
of such supplementation makes the usage to most of us relatively impossible to keep up
for any length of time.
When trying to make up a daily dietary schedule, stay close to basic natural,
unprocessed foods as much as possible for complete value and little cost. Stick to basic
dairy products for a cheap, usable form of protein and fresh vegetables and fruits as
sources of natural carbohydrates, with butter and cooking oil maintaining the proper
quotient of fats in your diet. All of these dietary suggestions are complete nutritionally
and very cheap when compared to foodless foods consumed by so many of us.
When trying to bulk up to a higher bodyweight, the trainee cannot go far off the correct
path to success if he regularly follows the suggestions found within this section of
Chapter 4. Remember: for proper results keep a proper balance of the three necessary
food groups for continued success.
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Chapter Five
Olympic Assistance Movements For Size and Strength
There is a very large segment of our lifting and training population which neglects a
very important facet of athletic training which, for want of a better name, we will
entitle Olympic Assistance Movements. Why these muscle building and power
building movements have become ignored by so many otherwise interested trainees
is beyond me, unless the reason lies somewhere within the confines of basic
ignorance and a repulsion of hard work. To be sure, the basic movements used by
Olympic lifters in their quest for Olympic lift proficiency will cause an almost
immediate increase within the musculature and the power potential of just about any
interested trainee. All that is necessary is a basic understanding of the principles at
work and a desire to make use of these facts in order to improve.
To save time and a bit of your patience, I will endeavor to outline the basic movements
and how to perform them for the proper training results. But before we get into the
actual training movements and the routines used to utilize these movements to
greatest advantage, I would like to digress for a moment if I may, on just why this
type methodology will work for you in ways impossible for any other.
First of all, it is the intensity of the movements involved which results in such dramatic
development and strength increases. You see, in order to perform movements to aid a
lifter in Olympic lifting, the movements themselves must be of the dynamic type for
best results. This means that not only must the weights be heavy enough to require
adequate exertion for correct style of performance, but the movements must be
performed dynamically and explosively or the lifting value of such movements is
completely lost. This means that the muscles are developed not solely through the
muscular overload of the training itself, but also through the intensity of the physical
exertions required to move the weights fast, dynamically and explosively with speed
and technique being of paramount importance. This is basically why so many other
trainees will not incorporate these movements into their routines: they fear the
intensity and hard work required.
There is a world of difference between training on basic slow movements in which the
trainee “grinds” through each repetition of each set with very little speed or
techniques involved, and in the type of speed of movement necessary when utilizing
these Olympic movements in your training regime. There is just no way can “grind”
up a Power Clean or a High Pull or a Power Snatch. These movements must be
performed with the utmost speed and explosiveness or the entire effect is lost. It is
for this reason that they are so effective as a training medium when combined with
basic power movements; they compliment one another and they enable the trainee to
develop speed, coordination and a sense of timing and balance possible through no
other way. Also, somewhere along the line, they also develop quite a bit of muscle
and quite a bit of strength.
For years we have put up with “old wives tales” concerning the incorporating of
Olympic lift training within a basic power format. We have heard from one
“authority” after another that these movements will not develop any real strength,
that they are “all technique” and this has caused many a trainee to overlook these
otherwise very effective training mediums. Yet, if one uses sheer objectivity in
assessing the value or worthiness of these previously discussed movements and the
technical aspects concerning correct performances of the involved lifts and
assistance movements, in general, we cannot overlook the apparent fact that such
training must help us in acquiring greater muscle, greater muscle density and size,
and quicker reflexes and athletic ability.
In order to incorporate these useful movements into your present training routine it is of
the utmost importance to outline for you just what is required as far as training
methodology is concerned, in order to solidify your understanding of just what you
will be doing and how you will be doing it, and for what ultimate goal or purpose
such hard intensity work will be done.
For any Olympic assistant movement to be used correctly, it is necessary to realize that
with these movements style plays an important part in the ultimate outcome of the
training motive. To try and force up the weights when using these movements will
not give you the effect you are looking for. In order for these movements to develop
you correctly, you must pay paramount attention to exercise style!
When an Olympic lifter performs a Backsquat, he is not solely interested in how much
weight he can “shift” up, he is interested in working primarily his frontal thigh
muscles without utilizing the muscles of his lower back and hips. What he tries to do
is perform the Backsquat in such a way as to localize his exercise so that the
developmental value of the movement is intensified within the muscles of the thigh.
By placing the bar high on the traps and using the knees as the axis of the movement,
by way of rotating the body around the knee and not rotating the body around the
hip, he is able to utilize the isolation principle of training and the end effect is a pair
of very muscular, impressive legs! Also, he is not apt to become poundage happy in
his leg training since his leg work is a means to an end (increased lifting
performance) and not an end in itself. This will enable him to train quite comfortably
within his present physical capabilities without the constant urge to see how much he
can lift for one repetition. This also will alleviate most training injuries, since the
brunt of the work done will be done with weights not too difficult to handle.
What all this means for the average trainee is that by utilizing these movements we
“free” ourselves from overtraining and overstraining which usually happens with
powerlifts as a rule of thumb, followed for any length of time and with any
regularity. By using the assistance movements to supplement our training, we are
given an emotional break so to speak, with the end result being a rekindling of
training desire, after a sweet respite incorporating these movements. We must also
mention that these movements will strengthen us for practicing the powerlifts, since
they basically take the different powerlifts and make you perform a close “cousin” of
a sort, with speed, technique, and explosion. Then, when we revert back to the usual
lax method of performance, the lifts improve since they gave been strengthened
through the full range of motion with a style which usually borders on the
ridiculously strict side!
What the end result of this situation usually is, is a change in the ability of the trainee to
utilize explosiveness when he is called upon to lift his maximum in a powerlift and
also, his musculature usually is greatly changed and developed.
By now, you are probably wondering just what kind and how large a variety of
movements we have to choose from when deciding to utilize this training medium.
There are usually a few movements for each bodypart and also, there are usually
quite a few deviations of the basic powerlifts, done in specific ways, with the results
being a much harder workout for the affected muscles due to the strictness of the
style of the movements employed.
There is no way you will be able to learn good operational technique in these
movements without having an experienced Olympic lift trainee coaching you for
quite some time, watching your performances and keeping track of your style
improvement and your over-all progress. For from it being helpful, such coaching is
necessary if you are to reap much muscle-stimulating value from these types of
exercises. However, since most of you are not that interested in having yourselves be
coached to any great extent, and since the aims of most of you are not to become
proficient at the Olympic lift competition, it will not be necessary to go to such
extremes in your training in order to obtain much in the way of benefits such training
will bring out in you.
By studying the basic explanations as to how to best employ the various movements,
you will develop a certain amount of training style and technique, enough to utilize
these movements with great success in your musculature and in your basic lift
training proficiency. By remembering that the training ideology of these movements
lies not within the amount of pounds lifted for each set, but within the quickness,
explosiveness and dexterity of each exertion, you are already part way home, so to
speak. By continually trying to improve your lifting ability through proper technique,
without the constant forcing and forcing heavier and heavier exertions, you will learn
that these movements must be performed correctly for the best of results to take
place and when you have learned this, you have learned practically all you have to
know!
When attempting to utilize the proponent theories of such Olympic lift assistance
movement training you must keep uppermost in your mind that this system of
exercise movements are primarily athletic in nature and their chief value for you as
an all-around trainee lies in their mode of performance and their strictness and
intensity.
While discussing these assistance movements we should at this time list most of them
for you, along with the particular powerlift they have the most effect of
strengthening. For the squat we have the Olympic Back Squat and the Front Squat.
These two leg movements when utilized in the way I will outline for you later on in
this section of Chapter 5, will literally revamp your entire lower body musculature
while at the same time increase your overall squatting proficiency when the laxer
power style of squatting is once again employed.
For the deadlift, we have the various High Pulls, with close and wide grip. Shrug Pulls
with both style grips also, and finally we have the Stiff Legged Deadlift from the
floor, from the knees, and from the standing block. making the bar closer to the floor.
We should also mention the Prone Hyperextension, which will thoroughly congest
the lower back as well as develop for you a strong tie-in between the lower body and
the upper body, which is necessary to be successful at heavy squatting and
deadlifting in the conventional manner. We have not even begun to mention the
various kinds of cleaning movements from the floor, from the hang, off of blocks,
etc., and by now you should be able to see that it is the pull which is of primary
importance in Olympic lifting.
For increasing the bench press, there is also quite a list of assistance movements which
can be utilized for good training effects. The Seated Incline Press at 45 degrees, the
Steep Seated Press at around an 80 degree angle, the Push Press from a Rack, and the
Jerk From the Shoulders all make up a pretty good selection of exercise movements
to choose from. What these movements do is work the muscles of the shoulder girdle
and the triceps muscles quite hard and quite completely, and when coupled with
heavy bench work, success is almost guaranteed. The strictness of performing the
Steep Seated Presses will strengthen your shoulder girdle muscles like nothing else
under the sun, and it will take a very strong man to handle over three hundred pounds
in this movement, utilizing a pause at the chest and no bouncing and heaving and
keeping the body solid and rigid under the weight with the back flush against the
back support of the bench. This movement is paramount in developing frontal deltoid
power and we all should know by now that bench pressing success relies upon
having strong deltoids!
The physical results of utilizing these assistance movements , borrowed from the
Olympic lifters, are varied and many. By incorporating these movements into your
routine you are sure to see a difference in your musculature, given enough energy
and training time. I would say that the lower thighs and the entire lower and upper
back musculature will be the first areas to develop a difference, both in appearance
and in density and power. This is quite simple to explain, as it is due to the
complexity and intensity of the different exercise movements and how they develop
the involved muscle masses.
By properly using the various pulling exercises, your upper and mid back will grow and
become more dense by leaps and bounds. The trapezius muscles will begin to fill out
and the overall appearance of your upper body musculature will take on a new,
rugged look which will amaze and impress both you and your friends. This will give
mute testimony as to the effectiveness of the new movements in your workouts and
this should instill in you a desire to continue this type of training for yet more time
and energy with a look to the future as to further physical gains.
By incorporating Olympic back squatting into your present squat routine, the lower
thigh will take on a new, exciting shape and fullness which will allow you further
advances in strength due to the greater musculature developed as well as the
stronger frontal thigh muscles which this strict style of squatting will develop. There
is no Olympic lifter on the platform today with weak, underdeveloped legs. for
strong legs and back are prime requisites for successful lifting. By copying their
exercise choices and style of performance, you too will be assured of continued
progress as well as increased muscular development. Finally, we come to the
shoulder girdle muscles. By far, the most severe type of pressing is the Seated Press
on a Steep Incline, set at around 85 degrees. It is almost to cheat in this position and
the brunt of the work is performed by the frontal deltoid muscles with secondary
consideration being given to the muscles of the upper arms. There can be no
cheating, shifting, or bouncing the way it can be done on the flat bench when bench
pressing, so the amount of weight will be limited somewhat, but the overall results
will speak wonders.
By utilizing these upper body movements within your present pressing routine, you will
be developing such an immense amount of size and strength in the shoulder girdle that it
will literally shock you! I know. I have experienced this myself. Of particular importance
as an assistance movement to increase overall pressing strength is partial pressing on the
power rack, with the bar positioned in front as well as behind the neck. This will develop
all-around muscular size and power and when the regular routines are instilled once
again, the carrying over of these overload movements will bring up your bench pressing
power like nothing else will ever do. Finally, by combining these heavy partial overload
movements along with the steep seated inline presses, your entire shoulder musculature
and power potential will be redeveloped at such a quickened pace that it will be useless
for you to purchase any new shirts, etc., for in no time at all you will most assuredly be
outgrowing them!
By isolating the lower back while doing Stiff Legged Deadlifts, the legs are not brought
into play and the back can be worked quite adequately without the legs combining into
the movement thereby taking away somewhat of the developmental value towards the
lower back with the thighs taking much of the muscle effectiveness. Also, by standing on
blocks so that the bar is at the level of the toes. thereby making it much harder to begin
the pull, and also performing this movement with somewhat stiff legs, the muscular effect
is twofold, both in its severity and in its effectiveness. Then, when we begin to use the
deadlift with the legs bent in the usual performance style, this pre-worked area of the
lower back will make itself felt and the increase of the amount of weight capable of being
handled will surely show an increase. With the trapezius muscles further strengthened
through the heavy shrugs, and the heavy high pulls, it will help you in finishing the top
part of the deadlift in the competition style and in the competitive situation. Many times
we will see a competitor make the deadlift through the hardest positions (or so it seems)
only to lose the lift at a point when the only thing necessary would be a standing erect
with a pulling back of the shoulders, and for the life of him, the fellow cannot loch his
shoulders back! This is due primarily to a weak trapezius muscle and a lack of power
throughout the shoulder girdle. This painful situation can be remedied through the correct
application of the described exercise movements of this chapter. With the shoulder girdle
further strengthened, the lifter will never fail to get the shoulder back in the finished
position of the competitive deadlift and with utilization of the various lower back pulling
exercises, you can see how the entire pulling structures of the lower back will be retained,
so to speak, to use in a more proficient manner, with the end result being a high lifting
total. This then, is the true value of such training.
At this time, it will be necessary and helpful for me to outline for you a series of
training schedules utilizing these important assistance movements in order for you to reap
the utmost results from your training endeavors and the sweat and strain contained
therein. It is my hope that by the utilization of these training aids and principles you will
be able to see a difference in your training poundages and in the musculature of the use
areas of the body with the end result being a new and improved you!
What we shall do first of all, is to develop for you a routine based around the three
power lifts, with each of these lifts being trained on one day per week and on the other
training day we will be utilizing the pertinent Olympic assistance movement. This means
we will be training four days per week. We will be working the upper body on two days
and the lower body on two training days with the emphasis being placed on registering
higher totals in the three power lifts. Whether or not any additional weight is going to be
gained at this time will depend chiefly upon the diet you choose to follow while on this
routine. Therefore, the end result of weight gained or not gained will be left primarily up
to you. By following the dietary suggestions of the last chapter, I am sure, for the most
part, bodyweight can be gained quite easily with a little bit of experimentation on your
part as to what to use for best results.
With this routine there will be listed for you a few basic muscle-shaping movements
which can also be utilized with this routine along with the assistance movements already
discussed within the section of this chapter, since there will have to be more to the
program than four of five lifts, for best all-around results.
Here then is your first listed, four day per week training routine:
Monday and Thursday
Upper Body Work – Bench Press: utilizing a medium grip for all-around muscle
stimulation, perform one set of ten reps for a warm-up and then jump to a set of five, a set
of three, and finally three single attempts with around 90% of your one rep limit. Steep
Seated Inclines: after two warm-up sets, with conservative weight jumps. work up to
three reps using all the weight possible. Shoulder Shrug: take fifty or one hundred pound
jumps and perform sets of five reps with each weight until you hit a heavy weight for five
reps and you should stay with this weight for between five and seven sets of these five
repetitions. Barbell Curls: this movement is used solely to bring some work into the
upper arms. Perform five to seen sets of five to seven reps with a fairly heavy weight.
Lying Triceps Extension: once again, five to seven sets of five to seven reps with a heavy
weight.
Tuesday and Friday
Lower Body Work – Power Squat: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, and
finally, three sets of three reps using around 85% of your one rep maximum poundage.
Olympic Squat: five to seven sets of three to five reps after a warm-up set of ten reps. On
this movement you should concentrate on proper exercise form, mot weight. Stiff Legged
Deadlift: three to five sets of three to five repetitions using a fairly heavy weight and
concentrating on proper exercise form and not weight lifted. Prone Hyperextensions: five
sets of eight to ten reps using light weight and performing the movement correctly,
fluidly, and slowly.
Another way of handling this amount of work is to perform the Bench Press by itself on
Monday and on Thursday to work the Steep Seated Incline, once again working it by
itself. Also, on the lower body training days, you can do the Power Squat by itself on
Tuesday and the Olympic Back Squat by itself on Friday. This would be useful for you if
you have a limited supply of training energy and a limited amount of time to train.
For those souls who are not afraid to work like two men to get the goals they have
formed for themselves in their mind, I shall now outlined a six day per week training
routine. However, we shall limit the amount of work therein in order for most men to
gain on it.
On this training program we will be working six days per week and in this way we can
incorporate adequate work for the entire muscular system without fear of overtraining or
undertraining any particular body part, with the developing of a lopsided lifting
proficiency or with the muscular development of a lopsided nature, also. For the lower
back we will be utilizing two weekly workouts with the emphasis upon conditioning as
well as complete muscular development.
Monday and Friday
Upper Body – Bench Press: one set of ten for a warm-up and then take regulated jumps
to a weight you will be handling for three sets of three repetitions. Steep Seated Press:
two sets for a warm-up and then jump to a weight you can handle for five sets of three to
five repetitions. Press on Rack: five sets of three to five repetitions using an adequate
amount of weight.
Tuesday and Friday
Thighs and Hips – Power Squat: five sets of three to five reps working up from a warmup to the heaviest weight possible for three reps. Olympic Back Squat: five sets of three
to five reps using an adequate amount of weight. Front Squat: after one set of ten for a
warm-up, jump to all the weight possible for rive repetitions and work for three sets of
five reps with this weight.
Wednesday and Saturday
Lower Back – Stiff Legged Deadlift: one set of ten for a warm-up then work for rive
sets of five to seven reps using a medium amount of weight for resistance. Shoulder
Shrug: five sets of five to seven repetitions using heavy weight and good style. Prone
Hyperextensions: five to seven sets of eight to ten repetitions using adequate resistance.
Arm Work: six of seven sets for the biceps and six or seven sets for the triceps. You can
choose whatever barbell movements which may strike your fancy at any particular time.
This choice is solely up to you.
The final routine in this section of Chapter 5 will be a three day per week routine, in
which we will attempt to utilize the Olympic assistance movements, solely throughout
the training week, with the complete lack of other training exercises. In other words, we
will be working solely with the Olympic assistance movements for a period of three or so
months. In this way, this type of routine could be utilized for a short period of
specialization within the non-competitive season of the year. This change of pace would
be sure to give you a well-rounded look at these training exercises and training methods
and in this way you will gain firsthand knowledge as to how these techniques will work
for you.
Since you will only be using the Olympic assistance movements throughout these
periods of intense specialization, you will be sure to have more than enough time to
incorporate the wide variety of movements which would have had to be reduced
somewhat when attempting to couple this work with the basic training exercise
movements. This means that the muscles used will be further developed since they will
be more than adequately worked from all the possible angles of exercise application. This
should increase both the size of these muscles and their density and shape, because you
will be using dynamic movements which will completely develop and fatigue the muscle
fibers. The density aspect of this exercise methodology will be caused by the complete
contraction and extension of the exercise movements and in the manner in which they are
performed.
Here then is your final, three day routine:
Monday
Partial Press in Power Rack: take fifty pound weight jumps and work up to all the
weight you can move from the chin to the height of the eyes, for five reps. Power Clean
From Hang: these should be done in sets of rives. Take regular jumps in weight until you
are at the maximum weight you can rack for five reps. Olympic Back Squat: you should
be taking fifty pound weight jumps until you reach a maximum of weight for three sets of
three to five reps. Stiff Legged Deadlift: perform five sets of three to five reps using a
medium heavy weight, concentrating on style and not solely on weight used.
Wednesday
Steep Seated Incline Press: after a few light sets for a thorough warm-up, take thirty
pound weight jumps until you are at a weight you can handle for three reps. Work with
this weight for five sets of three to five repetitions. Jerk Press From Rack: take fifty
pound jumps and do sets of threes. Work up to all the weight possible for one heavy
triple. Be sure to use correct style. High Pull: take a grip between the Clean and the
Snatch grip and perform sets of threes. Taking conservative weight jumps, work up to a
poundage heavy enough for three sets of three reps using good style and explosiveness.
Front Squat: after a set or two for a warm-up take conservative weight jumps until you
are at the appropriate weight for five sets of five reps using good upright style. Prone
Hyperextensions: five to seven sets using reps of between eight and twelve.
Friday
Seated Press: after one or two sets for a warm-up, take thirty pound jumps and use a five
repetition scheme. Work up to a maximum weight for five sets of three repetitions.
Shoulder Shrug: take the bar from crotch height in the power rack. Take fifty pound
jumps until you reach a maximum weight for five set of five to seven reps. Snatch Grip
Deadlift: five to seven sets of three repetitions. Take fifty pound jumps and work up to a
maximum set of three repetitions. Partial Front Squat: take the bar from the three quarter
position in the power rack. Take fifty pound jumps and work up to a maximum set of five
reps.
As can plainly be seen, while this routine does not contain the actual competitive lifts
which the Olympic lifter uses in competition, the amount of assistance movements are
most complete with the exception of the two lifts themselves. In other words, although
the competitive two lifts are not included, the workouts are most complete from a
developmental standpoint, with emphasis being placed on the muscles which are usually
neglected in the usual training schedule.
Whether you have particular aspirations for the lifting platform or whether you are a
“dyed in the wool” home trainee, you should really give these Olympic lift movements a
decent chance in your schedule to see what changes they can make both in your lifting
proficiency and in your muscular development. I am sure, given enough time and training
energy, you will be amazed at your rate of progress. Your muscles will be developed from
different angles than you are customarily used to experiencing. This may at first seem
quite a bit hard and unusual but with patience and practice, you should be able to
persevere to a level of capability otherwise unavailable to you, with the customary
training routine you have become accustomed to following.
These Olympic assistance movements should not be overlooked by you, though your
goals may be somewhat different than the Olympic lifter. For the powerman, the new
ways of working the thighs and the lower back will open up new developmental vistas.
For the all-around trainee, additional muscle growth is most assuredly guaranteed, with
the muscles taking on a new, capable look which will add to your overall physical
ruggedness.
Do not sell these movements short by limiting their supposed usefulness to the Olympic
lift specialist for nothing could be further from the truth. I am sure, with the addition of
all the heavy pulls, shrugs, and squats, your entire physical conditioning and mental
outlook towards the value of this kind of training will be greatly changed, for the better I
might add.
Heavy Dumbbell Training For Size and Strength
Since the beginning of training with barbells, heavy dumbbell movements have played
their part in developing the majority of the world’s strongest men. The forerunners of
today’s powermen used dumbbells in their training routines to the point of obsession. The
reasons why this took place is a multi-facetted situation which will cover a great deal of
ground and it is in this section of Chapter 5 that we shall seek out and decipher many of
the answers to the questions which this subject necessarily brings with it.
Heavy dumbbell training coupled with an all-around effective barbell routine will
literally revamp your physical ability and muscular development both quickly and
adequately, given enough training time and training energy. Dumbbell work really adds
the finishing touches on the already massively developed physique and the over-all
strength development effect of such dumbbell work will easily incorporate itself into the
average all-around training routine, with the end result being a more effective training
mode for all of you to follow. The muscular development afforded with this kind of
training will aid both the power trainee and the would-be bodybuilding champion in their
search for the more densely developed physiques.
Dumbbells really mold the physique, both in its muscular development and in its ability
to aid the trainee in gaining further increases in lifting proficiency. This twofold ability
will see most of you men quite far in your particular lifting and/or bodybuilding
aspirations. All that is necessary for you to do is to incorporate this methodology into the
proper balance with regular barbell work. This is because of the simple fact that this
dumbbell work must be coupled with sufficient barbell work for irs developmental value
to really show itself, since most of the recognized lifts today are performed with a
barbell. If we were to try to develop sufficient strength without barbell work incorporated
into our routine, we would not be able to carry over the strength potential which the
dumbbell work would normally afford us. The two must be combined for best results.
What makes dumbbell work so effective is its ability to intensify and isolate the effort
put forth from the affected muscles. ability to “home in” on precise sections of various
muscle groups can be most effective from both the standpoint of strength training and
muscle training. The developmental aspect of this kind of training is most complete in its
ability to thoroughly congest and “pump” up the involved muscle groups. Along with this
ability to localize the developmental effect of the working muscles, these movements will
also stretch out the muscle groups somewhat, which will allow for a more powerful
contraction when lifting limit or close to limit poundages.
The ability of dumbbell work to isolate the affected muscle groups which in turn will
increase their strength and development potential is accepted fact not training theory. This
ability of isolation is one of the major reasons for the increases in development of today’s
physique men, who literally form the brunt of their training solely on the use of heavy
dumbbells. When looking at the development of today’s muscle men, remember that their
physiques were shaped primarily through the use of a combination of heavy barbell and
assistant dumbbell movements.
While we are on the subject, there is an unmistakable difference in the quality of the
champion powerlifters over the past few years and along with the physique men, the
reason (drugs) for the majority of these increases is through the use of properly
performed and properly balanced dumbbell movements and training programs. This
method is one of the quickest ways of isolating the involved muscle groups which will be
used on the lifting platform and the intensity of such work will greatly develop the
muscles along with an overall increase in the lifting strength.
What separates the lifting champions of today and yesterday is their muscular
appearance as bodybuilders, coupled with the lifting proficiency of the great strength
champions that they are. This hearty combination of development and super strength is
impossible without a scientific application of techniques and styles as well as pertinent
training equipment and it is this last point which we will be thoroughly discussing
throughout this section of Chapter 5.
While discussing dumbbell training in general, we must also mention the fact that such
training offers greater muscle fiber stimulation through greater range of movement. This
means that the greater range involved with this type of training will stimulate greater
amounts of muscle fibers and this, in a round about way, will cause a greater growth of
muscle size. There is a world of difference between the kind of dumbbell work we are
going to describe here and the type usually utilized by the average trainee the lifting
world over. For most of us, the weight of the dumbbells we usually handle comes
nowhere near the amount we could handle if we really so desired to specialize on this
type of training for any length of time. In fact, one of the chief reasons thy such training
has not grown in popularity to the extent that its effectiveness warrants, is the difficulty in
handling such heavy dumbbells without having two helpers to give the weights to you, to
lighten your burden, as it were. Most men begin to incorporate this work for a brief
period of time and when it becomes obvious that they will be shortly handling much
heavier weights than ever before, the problem of getting these weights into position
becomes quite a problem and for most men, there ends the period of dumbbell
specialization.
For the men who are truly interested in reaching the zenith of their powers with this
type of training, it will be necessary for helpers to get the dumbbells into position when
anything really heavy is to be done on either a flat or an incline bench. For the other
movements, if there is any real problem, then only one arm can be worked at a time,
thereby giving both arms the opportunity to get the weights into position, thereby not
requiring the assistance of anyone.
The difficulty of such work with heavy dumbbells will astound you! There is a world of
difference between using two one hundred pound dumbbells and using a barbell weighing
two hundred pounds. First of all, the balance is more precarious ad this will develop in
you better motor pathways for the heavier lifts, and also, a better degree of muscular
conditioning and finesse through the balancing of these heavy short-handled weights for
reps and sets of the various exercises. The extra stretch provided from the use of these
short bars will undoubtedly develop additional muscle size due to the increase of range of
exercise motion and this is a fact, not mere unfounded opinion: anyone who has used
heavy dumbbells for any length of time will agree with me!
When you isolate a muscle and work that muscle from a greater range of motion than
ever before and when that muscle is subjected to further stress than it has ever had to
compensate for in the past, common sense will tell you that this muscle has to grow!
Furthermore, when attempting to strengthen any particular muscle group for competitive
lifting, the addition of this assistance work is sure to make itself felt when this additional
work is cut down and the main lift is specialized for any length of time. We should also
mention that one other good point of dumbbell training is the intensity of the movements
and how they stimulate muscle size while at the same time the actual amount of weights
lifted in these dumbbell movements is actually much lighter then what could be
registered in the barbell method of performance. In other words, because the dumbbell
moves are so much harder and more intense, they will aid you in increasing your physical
development although the actual weight of these dumbbells will be much lighter than the
actual amount of weight you will be capable of lifting in the barbell version of the lift
worked upon with this method. You are almost getting something for nothing, or so it
would seem. Actually, your sweat and time exertion will pay your ease of
accomplishment with these advanced methods of training.
Bench presses may be fine for all-around massiveness in the upper body, but for further
development of the pectorals, without additional bodyweight being gained, you would
have to go far indeed, to find a more effective movement than the Flat Bench Flying
Motion With Dumbbells. For the deltoids, the Press Behind Neck is fine if what you are
primarily going after is bulk or size, but to further deltoid development, the Heavy
Standing Laterals to the Front and to the Side and the Rear will work wonders for fully
capping out the deltoid muscles with additional muscular shape and density. Heavy
Dumbbell Rowing will localize the stress of the movement and will further the
development of the latissimus muscles without interference of the muscles of the hips and
lower back, which can become a problem with the barbell version this lifting motion.
Made no mistake about it, heavy dumbbell training will literally transform your physique
if given enough time and patience and work on your part.
One only has to look at the development of today’s bodybuilding champions to see the
developmental value of dumbbell work in the acquisition of muscular size and shape.
This effect is not localized to bodybuilders only, but the entire lifting world, with
powerlifting in general, can gain immediate benefits from adapting this method of
training, coupled with the basic, heavier barbell movements so used and cherished for so
long. The reason for the popularity of this training in the bodybuilding field is because
barbells spread the stress of an exercise throughout the various muscle groups and
throughout the various muscle groups and throughout the entire body, to a certain extent,
whereeas with dumbbell work the movements are quite localized and the intensity of
effort is not spread out, but on the contrary, it is precisely positioned wherever you wish
to feel the tension the most. This alone would lead to further degrees of muscle
stimulation, but when you combine this with the fact that such will work the muscles
from previously untouched areas due to the limited range of movement barbell work
brings with it, you can then plainly see as to just why this kind of training is felt to be so
indispensable to the majority of bodybuilding champions who utilize it. For the power
men who are somewhat hesitant to try dumbbell work in their training routines, I can only
mention that some of the strongest lifters the world has ever known have used and still
are using heavy dumbbell training interspersed throughout the regular training periods of
the lifting year. Men like Paul Anderson, Steve Marjanian and Melvin Hennessey have
done a great amount of dumbbell work in their training careers. And what about Bill
Kazmaier and the immortal Chuck Ahrens? Their strength borders on the unbelievable
and both men have used dumbbells for quite some time. The first man to bench press 600
lbs. officially, the immortal Pat Casey, would do set after set of unbelievably heavy
Incline Dumbbell Presses during his great lifting career and this assistance work gave
him and Incline Barbell Press of over 500 lbs. Quite a bit of weight wouldn’t you say?
It is a mistaken notion to feel that this dumbbell work is for the bodybuilder alone, for
nothing could be further from the truth. Dumbbell training can be satisfactorily utilized
by anyone who is interested enough to break away from incorrect preconceived opinions
which have no real basis in fact.
At this point in our discussion, I would like to list for you the various dumbbell
movements which will offer you the most return in additional strength and muscular
development, when combined with regular basic barbell training routines. These listed
dumbbell movements are not solely the only dumbbell movements that exist but I feel
they are among the very best we have to offer you and when utilized as assistance work
for the basic barbell movements, the results will be quick, regular and quite impressive.
While it would not be complete madness to substitute with these dumbbell movements
for a short period of time, and during this period of training to use solely dumbbell work
in place of the barbell kind; however, I would not recommend this to anyone interested in
future or present competition in powerlifting, for let’s admit the truth – to be a good
powerlifter you must perform the power lifts. Therefore, try to maintain somewhat of a
balance between the barbell work and the specialized dumbbell work, for guaranteed
overall best results for your sweat and exertions.
Since dumbbell training will, for the most part, be limited to the muscles of the upper
body and the lower back, we will not at this time be discussing any work for the thighs,
or recommend any methods for squatting proficiency. The use of dumbbells for leg work,
while possible, is quite impractical due to the necessity of handling such heavy
poundages that the total tonnage prohibits the use of this work for any real length of time.
However, there will be more than enough work to discuss for the entire upper body and
you should have quite a workload to choose from, in finally formulating your particular
assistant dumbbell training routine.
We shall begin with the muscles of the chest and shoulders. There will be two lists of
dumbbell movements to choose from, depending upon whether you are working towards
a heavier bench press through the use of these movements as assistance to your heavy lift,
and the second situation in which you will primarily be interested in knowing which
movements to choose from for developing additional muscle size throughout the chest
and shoulder region. This way, both the powerlifter and the bodybuilder will have more
than enough work to choose from, in order to gain at the quickest rate possible for him
with applied work and intelligent choices.
For those of you interested in increasing the amount of your bench press, I would
recommend the following heavy dumbbell movements:
Dumbbell Bench Presses: this movement is best handled with both light and heavy
weights with the repetition scheme going from high to low with each set. Flat Bench
Flyes: this movement seems to be best performed with very heavy weights and the rep
scheme fairly low, with the sets medium to high. Incline Dumbbell Press: this movement
should be done with both light and heavy weights and a mixture of repetitions will both
pump and strengthen the muscles into a greater developmental state. Standing Dumbbell
Press: this movement will really build strong deltoids with power to spare! Try to work
into very heavy weights for sets of threes and fives after a suitable warm-up. Forward
Dumbbell Raises: using relatively heavy weights, you can develop a bit of useful muscle
with this movement which will have a carrying-over effect on the strength of the entire
shoulder girdle. Side Lateral Raise: while this movement is primarily a muscle builder,
not a strength builder, with high sets and low repetitions the deltoids get both a growth
stimulus and a strength stimulus all in one.
The following movements, whole not primarily for building additional strength into the
upper body, will develop quite a bit of muscle size in the affected muscle groups:
Flat Bench Laterals: using relatively straight arms this movement will work wonders
for the pectorals, using medium resistance and a high number of sets and repetitions.
Incline Laterals: using strict, straight arm style, using medium resistance and high
repetitions, this movement will reshape the upper pectorals to a new degree of
development for you. Decline Laterals: this is a great movement for reshaping the lower
pectorals with new size and density and for overcoming the flabby, hanging pec look.
Bentover Laterals: this movement will reshape the entire rear deltoid area, giving a
pleasing shape throughout this area, using medium resistance and high repetitions with a
moderate amount of sets performed regularly.
For those of you interested in developing additional back power, I would recommend
the following movements incorporated into your present training routine:
Dumbbell Bentover Rowing: using two dumbbells, work into fairly heavy weights after
a thorough warm-up with lighter poundages. This will add size and strength throughout
the upper back area. Dumbbell Upright Row: this movement, while clumsy and difficult
in the beginning, will greatly add to your size and strength in the trapezius muscles and
the muscles of the upper back and shoulder girdle. Begin with relatively light weight and
in time work into fairly heavy dumbbells with heavy resistance. One Arm Dumbbell
Row: by using only one arm at a time, you can really handle some heavy weights and this
should stimulate additional growth and strength with persistence and time. Keep the
weight heavy and the repetition scheme rather low for best results in power. Dumbbell
Shrugs: for this movement you will have to use lifting straps to hold onto the bars for any
length of time, since the weight potential of this movement is immense and the amount of
weight you will ultimately be handling will be very heavy. Keep the repetition scheme
rather high so as to be able to congest the muscles without undue strain due to the overbearing heaviness of the weights involved in this exercise movement. Dumbbell Deadlift:
using primarily the muscles of the back without bending the legs to any great degre will
allow you to work the back muscles without the inclusion of the muscles of the thighs.
The freedom of movement in this exercise due to use of the dumbbells will make it quite
a successful movement for building additional size and strength in the lower back
muscles. Be sure to use lifting straps in this exercise due to the amount of weight capable
of being lifted with time and patience.
For building of shapely muscle without the thought of the strength aspect of the
exercises being performed, I would recommend the following movements for you to use:
Bentover Lateral Raise: while this is primarily a deltoid movement, it will also shape up
the entire upper back with emphasis on the middle section. Keep the repetition scheme
rather high and the resistance rather light, depending upon proper execution of the
movement for best results. Prone Laterals: by lying face down on an exercise bench and
raising the dumbbells sideways out to the side, you will also be working the entire
musculature of the upper back without the lower body or torso muscles coming into the
picture and this will localize and intensify the effort of such work for additional muscle
growth.
These two movements coupled with a few of the dumbbell movements for the shoulder
girdle and the upper back will work wonders for your muscular development as well as
your lifting strength, if followed correctly for any length of time. This is not mere
conjecture, it is pre-accepted reality.
It is not my purpose or intention to formulate for you particular routines in which these
dumbbell movements could be incorporated, for this would be taking away from your
creativity in formulating your choices and preferences, and such a situation would not be
constructive for you in the long run, for in order to become the ultimate of which you can
become, you must learn to think and to decipher for yourself. This applies to all of us
trainees, no matter how advanced we may become. What I would advise you to do is first
of all decipher first what your particular goals are and then formulate the routines you
will be using from the movements we’ve discussed and outlined for you in this section of
Chapter 5. If you do this, you will not fall far from the path of success in your training
endeavors.
Various Strength Specialization Routines
What we shall endeavor to do here in this section of Chapter 5 is to outline for you a
few choice specialization programs which can be utilized by you in the training year, for
whatever particular training goal you may endeavor to fulfill. These routines are not mere
figments of my creative imagination, for they have been used and presently are being
used throughout the lifting world by lifters of all calibers and all probable situations in
which they can offer some help. By adhering to the types of programs outlined here for
you, you can rest assured that the information will be well founded and most helpful,
provided the lifter or trainee makes no effort to abort the basic principles outlined for him
just the way they have been reported. There is a reason for this requirement of strict
adherence to these principles and the way in which they are outlined for you.
What we have tried to do here is to take the guess work out of your training while you
are in this period of deep specialization. This way, your psyche will be at rest with your
routine and this will allow you to concentrate on simply following the routine the way it
is listed for you with no subconscious contradiction as to the worthiness or validity of the
work predetermined for you in advance. It makes quite a difference as to the amount of
wasted nervous energy if you firmly believe in the routine and the training principles of t
he routine in question, when assessing the value of the work and the possible outcomes of
the work if performed as suggested for any length of time. By nor having to concentrate
on the “yes” or “no” of the work to be followed, your unconscious will be at rest and
fully recuperated to handle the work to come, with no fear on your part as to whether you
are doing too much or too little for best results.
This is one time when you cannot rest on your ability to make pertinent decisions for
yourself as far as training load or volume is concerned. When undertaking a period of
such intense specialization, it is best if you follow a preordained schedule by someone
who has been there before you and therefore knows what to expect from the desired work
and all it encompasses.
By following the leadings of a man more advanced than you, you will have a better
chance of succeeding to the maximum of your capabilities, with little chance of failure
due to wrong choices make on your part.
We should mention at this time, that whenever any period of intense physical exertion is
undertaken, it will be of the utmost necessity that the dietary habits of the person
involved are most completely formulated with no chance of any vitamin or mineral
lacking in both quantity or quality. During this period of such intense specialization you
are actually asking your body adjust to a greatly accelerated workload, with the intensity
and volume making jumps by leaps and bounds past the amount and kind of work
previously performed by the interested trainee. This workload increase and intensity
acceleration will become an all-encompassing physical and emotional drain on the
nervous system and the psychological state of the involved trainee and in order to make
such a strenuous situation more easily acceptable to follow, we shall endeavor to outline
for you the correct dietary and nutritional regime for you to follow, depending upon
whether you are seeking increased muscle size with very little weight gain, or overall
bodyweight and size gains along with an increase of lifting proficiency.
For the fellow who wishes to sharpen up his muscularity and density along with a
certain amount of increased muscle size, but not with any increased bodyweight to speak
of, I would recommend a diet which is low in calories, almost completely devoid of sugar
and white flour products and high in protein and protein supplements. This way there is
very little in the way of fattening foodstuffs incorporated in this fellow’s eating patterns
and in this way, he will gain very little in the way of excess bodyweight and excess
bodyweight. For the fellow who wishes to gain in size and strength but not gain to any
great degree in bodyweight, carbohydrates, especially sugar, are his worst enemy. Sugar
and sugar by-products will pry excess weight on you faster and more insidiously than any
other type of foodstuff and the pitiful thing is that for most of us raised in this country,
this means that many of our favorite foods and eating pastimes will have to be done
without.
While the fellow seeking pure muscle and strength gains with mo excess bodyfat
accumulation must indeed be sure that only good, wholesome, nutritional foods fall into
his daily caloric intake, hr must see to it that a minimum amount of natural carbohydrates
are included into his diet for the sake of his training and overall energy requirements and
also, for the health of his liver and kidney functioning. Even when in the process of
losing bodyweight, we must keep a certain balance in the nutrients we ingest to insure
proper internal functioning of the body, with mo particular organ undergoing any
unnatural stress due to dietary insufficiency of necessary foodstuffs. One small serving of
fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables per day, along with your strict diet of primarily
protein foods will more than suffice in keeping your internal organs functioning at the
proper rate, with the consumption of such a large amount of protein allowing the greatest
rate possible of muscle hypertrophy (growth).
For the truly underweight trainee, the amount of carbohydrates consumed in his daily
dietary schedule is not as important as the all- around amount of usable calories
consumed while undertaking such intensified work. This means that he will have a much
larger variety to choose from when deciding on what to eat each day and how much of
each food group to include in his daily diet. What this will mean is that the dietary
schedule for the really underweight trainee will be most plentiful and well rounded, with
much in the way of tasty dishes and beverages and special drinks being included in the
daily dietary chore.
I hope I am not giving the impression that the underweight man can forget about
attempting to eat the most nutritious food that he can afford to get a hold of, for this
simply would not be the truth. What I mean to say here is that since is not merely
interested in muscle gains but also in the acquisition of additional bodyweight, he can
afford to be a bit more lackadaisical when it comes to the bartering out of the particular
groups of foodstuffs and the desserts which will tickle the tastebuds and bring about the
additional weight gain this man is interested obtaining. For this man it would be to his
benefit to include a liberal amount of milk and milk products to round out the basic diet
of lean meats, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. By including the milk and milk products
you will be greatly adding to the amount of calories consumed and at the same time, you
will also be adding greatly to the amount of protein consumed and this protein will be of
a very first class nature, which will aid you greatly in developing size and strength.
I feel at this time, it will be to your advantage if I were to outline a few dietary
concoctions for both the muscle seeker and the bodyweight seeker to utilize in their
dietary schedules while on these routines of intense physical specialization. For the man
who seeds primarily additional muscle growth and response, the following drinks and
snacks will aid you greatly in maintaining positive nitrogen balance in the bloodstream,
which will in turn aid you in building additional amounts of useful, solid muscle.
(A) Hi Protein Drink
Three tablespoons of liver powder
Three tablespoons of beef hi-protein
Three tablespoons of soya powder
Four tablespoons of peanut butter
Sweeten to taste with honey
Mix in blender using tomato or orange juice for liquid
(B) Super Hi Protein Drink
Two raw eggs
Four tablespoons of peanut butter
Two packets of gelatin, unflavored
Half pint of ice cream
Sweeten to taste with honey
Mix in blender using skim milk for liquid
(C) Hi Protein, Low Carbohydrate Snack
Four ounces of boiled ham
Four ounces of chicken loaf
Four ounces of American cheese
Four ounces of Swiss cheese
Dice the various meats and cheeses into small bite-sized pieces and season to
taste, This is a very nutritious snack to be eaten anytime the urge for something
substantial makes itself felt.
With these two types of hi protein drinks you gave a good source of additional protein
with very little in the way of carbohydrates. The same for the meat and cheese.
For the man who truly needs to gain a large amount of additional bodyweight the
following dishes and drinks should prove to be most beneficial, when coupled with the
type of specialization routine we are about to outline for in this section of Chapter 5. You
will be able to enjoy these dietary suggestions since you will not be limited to the kinds
of foods you can choose from, due to your not having to follow a low calorie, low sugar
type of diet. Of course, this is not to say that you should go overboard on the sugars and
the sweet things which most of us have been raised on eating before we have taken up
this sport of weight training. While it will be to his benefit to choose primarily from the
natural types of foodstuffs with little choices as to how much sweets and fattening foods
to be eaten, this man will not have to worry about gaining excess bodyfat! Since his
metabolism is too high to begin with (this is why he is already underweight), he will not
have too much worry about concerning how many calories and from what sources of
foods these meals and menus come from, providing they are primarily sound nutritionally
and well-rounded vitamin and mineral wise.
(A) Hi Protein and Weight Gaining Beverage
One pint of heavy cream
One pint of ice cream
One cup of whole milk
Three raw eggs
Three ounces of milk and egg protein
Sweeten with honey or chocolate syrup
(B) Hi Protein and High Energy Drink
One ounce of liver powder
One ounce of milk and egg protein
One ounce of beef hi-protein
One ounce of soy powder
One raw egg
One ripe banana
One pint of ice cream
One pint of whole milk
(C) Hi Calorie Hi Protein Soup
One cup of tomato juice
One cup of tomato sauce
One can of corn niblets
One can of sweet peas
One diced carrot
One can of pork and beans
One half pound of sliced, precooked sausages
Three preboiled, prediced potatoes
Season to taste
(D) Hi Calorie and Hi Protein Breakfast
Four scrambled eggs, cooked with butter
Eight ounces of fried Virginia ham or bacon
One pound of cooked chopped beef
Season to taste, mix together in a frying pan and simmer until warm.
What these types of of beverages and drinks will do for the would-be bulk fanatic is
that they will stimulate his entire metabolic make-up to work at a more favorable pitch,
thus making his training endeavors all the more easily obtained. These dietary
suggestions are both high in calories and high in protein so that the basis of these foods
will be more nutritious and aid in delivering the kind of results you are looking for.
Coupled with the right amount and the right kind of training, these dietary schedules will
aid you in developing the kind of muscles you are seeking with little in the way of excess
bodyweight being brought into the picture. Although this man is not primarily interested
in maintaining the same bodyweight and seeks to add greatly to his ultimate size and
strength, he is not interested in gaining excess fat, since this will not make him appear
any more impressive, only sloppy and unathletic.
Since it is already an accepted fact that most of you trainees will gave different goals
and aims, while using weight training as a medium to obtain these goals and the answer
to your training difficulties must therefore become a specialized method in order for you
to obtain the avenues of success you indeed feel are important. So we shall, therefore,
outline for you now in this section of Chapter 5, various special routines which can be
utilized by you depending upon your personal goals and their ultimate possibilities as to
the level of achievement.
Some of you men will be seeking the three lift proficiency along with the acquisition of
additional bodyweight, while others will seek to maintain basic body size, with the gains
in the routine coming only from additional strength gain. Since these are two distinct
goals and therefore require different avenues of work, it is only natural to assume that the
kind of training necessary to achieve these goals will for the most part be somewhat
different for each individual case. This means that the trainee who is not seeking
additional bodyweight will not only be following a different dietary schedule, but also he
will be utilizing a different set and repetition schedule, as compared to the truly
underweight trainee who is seeking additional pounds as well as additional strength
potential.
For the trainee who is not interested in gaining any more bodyweight but who is
interested in gaining in strength, the two following routines will be more than adequate
for the average trainee to follow in his seeking of greater lifting proficiency and muscular
development. The first routine will be a short, intense, three day per week routine which
will develop body strength without muscular growth, or rather, a gain of bodyweight.
Monday
Bench Press: one set of ten for a warm-op and then work with three sets of five reps using
all the weight possible. Finish up with three sets of eight, done lighter. Power Squat: one
set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, and three sets of three reps using all the weight
possible. Finish up with three sets of eight, done lighter. Bentover Rowing: seven sets of
five reps, with the last three sets done with heavy weight.
Wednesday
Incline Press: one set of ten reps for a warm-up, then jump to three sets of four to six
reps. Half Squat: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, then three sets of four. To
be safe, you should do these in a power rack. Barbell Curl: four to six sets of six to eight
reps using all the weight possible. Lying Triceps Extension: four to six sets of six to eight
reps using al weight possible.
Friday
Close Grip Bench: one set of ten for a warm-up, then work up to three sets of five,
heavy. Deadlift From Below Knee: one or two sets of triples for a warm-up, then work up
to three heavy doubles using all the weight possible. Do these in a power rack. Bentover
Rows: four to six sets of five to seven repetitions using all the weight possible.
For the fellow who is able to train four days per week, and who also is not interested in
gaining much in the way of additional bodyweight as well as strength, I advise the
following four day a week training routine:
Monday and Thursday
Bench Press, Incline Press, Dips, and Power Squat. Each of these movements on these
two training days should be performed for a total of eight sets each, with the reps ranging
from between four and six. Take two or three warm-up sets, then work with the heaviest
weight possible for three sets of four to six reps, finishing up with two or so sets of eight
reps with a somewhat reduced weight.
Tuesday and Friday
Bent Legged Deadlift, Bentover Rowing, Cambered Bar Curls, Lying Triceps Extension.
Each of these movements, except for the deadlift, should be worked for four to six reps
per set with a total of six to eight sets, three of each being heavy. On the deadlifts do six
sets of triples.
For the fellow who is interested in also putting on some additional bodyweight along
with his increase in lifting strength, I would heartily recommend the following training
routines which have been especially planned out for the trainee with these types of goals
on his mind. I am sure that if you work according to the workout listed for you here and
follow the suggested dietary principles lusted earlier in this chapter, you will most
assuredly gain additional bodyweight and the brunt of this gained weight will be for the
most part, useful functional strength.
The first routine is a three day routine with its main point of concentration being placed
on the development of additional muscle growth as well as an increase in overall lifting
proficiency and power.
Monday
Bench Press: one set of ten, one set of six, one set of six, and five sets of between four
and six repetitions using all the weight possible. Press Behind Neck: one set of ten and
then four sets of six reps using all the weight possible. Bentover Row: one set of ten and
then five sets of five to seven reps using heavy weight. Shoulder Shrug: five to seven sets
of six to eight reps using all weight possible. Breathing Squat: one set of ten for a warmup, then jump to all weight possible for one set of twenty forced repetitions.
Wednesday
Incline Press: five to seven sets of four to six reps using all weight possible. Flat Bench
Flyes: four to six sets of six to eight reps using medium heavy weight. Barbell Curl four
to six sets of eight to ten reps using all weight possible. Lying Triceps Extension: four to
six sets of eight to ten reps using heaviest weight possible.
Friday
Close Grip Bench: five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions using heaviest weight
possible. Power Cleans: five to seven sets of four to six reps using medium heavy
resistance. Power Squat: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, and finally, four
sets of triples using heaviest weight possible.
For the underweight trainee who is interested in training four days per week and also in
gaining additional bodyweight, the following routine will work quite well for you, should
you follow the suggested eating schedules which have appeared earlier on in this section.
We must remember that in order for your bodyweight to climb while you are gaining in
size and strength, the proper diet will have to be followed so that the gains will be
functional and regular in their development. We must keep in mind that the main
difference between these routines for gaining weight and the ones regulated for sheer
strength with no appreciable increase in size and bulk lies in the dietary principles and
suggestions which are to be followed while training on the particular routine of your
choice and desire.
To follow one type of routine without adequate nutritional habits to aid you in gaining
the aims of your chosen routine, you will be fighting only half a battle, with the outcome
both being not as effective, and also taking longer and longer to obtain. You will have to
follow the suggested dietary menus listed here, along with these routines, if you wish to
gain at the maximum rate possible for you.
Here then is your four day per week training routine for size and strength:
Monday and Thursday
Bench Press, Flat Bench Flyes, Press Behind Neck, Bentover Rowing, and Lat Machine
Pulldowns. These movements are to be performed from between sex and eight sets of sex
and eight repetitions, with the first two sets acting as a warm-up and the following four
sets being performed with maximum poundages and finishing up with two or so sets with
lighter weights.
Tuesday and Friday
Power Squat, Half Squat, Scott Bench Curl, Lying Triceps Extension. These
movements should be performed for five to seven sets of five to eight reps using the
heaviest weight possible for sets three, four, five, and six. Finish up with lighter weights
for the last set or two.
Both the routines for the seeker of additional bodyweight and the routines for the fellow
seeking only an increase in strength will result in both a degree of strength increase,
hitherto deemed impossible and also, whatever weight is gained will be functional and
useful, resulting in greater lifting proficiency and increased muscle size.
It is my deepest wish that you try to adhere to both the routines and the dietary
schedules, because both will work hand in hand in aiding you in gaining at the fastest rate
possible for you in your present state of conditioning and development.
One Lift Specialization Programs
With this final section of Chapter 5, we are going to get into the utmost effective
specialization programs of which there have been many records kept. For the most part,
these methods of acute specialization will work the muscles and the lifting movements to
a peak of development and proficiency which beforehand would have been felt were
completely impossible or out of the question of being attained by the average trainee.
What we are going to be doing in this section of Chapter 5, is outline for you in the most
intense situation of physical endeavors. This means that you will be narrowing in on your
training goals and aspirations in order to “milk” from your body all the utmost potential
as far as development and physical lifting abilities you are capable of. These techniques
are by no means completely new or untried by other men before you; on the contrary,
most men who are the champions of today and yesterday have tried these training
methods at some prior time of their lifting life. These routines must cause an increase in
size and strength, due to their severity and their specificity of nature.
When you work only one or two movements per workout and those workouts are both
voluminous and intense, with the brunt of the work strictly and thoroughly performed,
you must gain in one way or another, due to the very nature of such an undertaking and
the way in which the average person’s body will adjust to an overload of stress. This is
especially true for the man with a very low energy level, who has trouble in formulating a
routine which he can recuperate from, throughout the many years of his lifting career. For
the man who is constantly complaining of being overtrained, these types of routines will
do wonders for both his physical development and his all-over lifting potential. This does
not mean that these routines will not also benefit us more toughened-up trainees, for we
all can reap great amounts of benefit from this type of workout if we have the self-belief
and the self-control to give these short, intense routines a chance to show us exactly what
they can do. Therefore, it would be to all or our benefit to look over these suggested
routines, no matter haw short and simple they may seem to us at first, for in the long run
they will work only if we will work.
This first specialized routine will be for the man who wishes to experiment with
training for only one hour per day and using one exercise movement per training session.
This will mean that each movement will gave to be an all-around muscle group
movement to stimulate the most available fibers of the largest muscle groups of the body.
In this way, such short training will be most complete and result producing and in the
long run, will develop the most muscle for the amount of work and time put into the
training period of any type of training that I know of.
By training five days per week and using only one movement per day, we must make
sure that such choices will not cause muscle overlap and therefore become physically
redundant, thereby leaving out certain muscle groups which would produce a lopsided
physique and d decrease in all-around lifting power.
Therefore, before undertaking this type of routine, be sure to know how to set up your
schedule beforehand as to what to do and what not to include so that the entire body
becomes stimulated to greater developmental heights during the course of a lifting week.
This will allow rot adequate recuperation although you will be training almost daily and
also, it will develop for you an increase in all-around listing power. This will develop the
capability of going just about as far as your particular potential will take you in the way
of lifting proficiency. To stimulate additional muscle growth, it will be necessary to
include in the future additional work for the aforementioned muscles in order to fully
work them and reshape them, as it were, to greater development and shapeliness. But for
the fellow who is primarily interested in all-around lifting proficiency and a welldeveloped rugged physique, this is the routine to follow.
Here then is your five day per week training routine:
Monday – Bench Presses
Tuesday – Squats
Wednesday – Deadlift or Bentover Rowing
Thursday – Power Clean and Push Press
Friday – Jerk From Rack
With the choice of these movements we have given the entire body quite a workout by
the end of the week. For each of these movements I would suggest you choose one of the
following set and repetition schedules. The reason I am giving you somewhat of a choice
as to the number of sets and repetitions you will be using, is due to the complexity of the
choices of exercise movements and the importance of your being able to choose the right
schedule which will work best for your personal preferences as to how many sets and
how many repetitions will work best for you. With such a short, daily exercise program to
work with, it is important to choose the right balance of work.
I would advise either that you perform each exercise for around ten sets of five to seven
repetitions, with the first three or so sets as progressive warm-ups and the brunt of the
work taking place from set four to set nine, and the final set or two being flushing sets
with somewhat lighter weights. Another suggestion would be the following tried and
proved effective repetition and set scheme: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six,
and five sets of three reps using all weight possible. Finish up with two or three sets of
five or so reps with somewhat lighter weight for complete flush.
Finally, when feeling particularly energetic and strong, you could take a set or two fo9r
a warm-up and then progressively add to the weight of the bar until you are at close to
90% of your limit and try for three to five single attempts with this heavy weight,
finishing up with a few sets of lighter poundages with higher reps.
All three of these suggestions will work for you on such an intense, short routine. In
fact, one week you could use one schedule and the following week the other, and so on. It
really is up to you in the final estimation as to how many sets and how many reps you
choose to follow when working on such a course. They all have merit, if followed using
intelligence and patience.
You fellows who are always complaining about how little time you have to spend on
your training will find that these schedules take very little time as compared to other
routines that the majority of us trainees follow in our attempts at getting bigger and
stronger. With such short workouts you should be able to recuperate quite easily and the
result will be an increase in your training enthusiasm, less missed workouts, and a general
increase in both lifting proficiency and in muscular development.
The next type of specialization routine will be somewhat more complicated than the
first example I used to demonstrate such training and the effects of such types of work.
With this following routine, we will be training four or five days per week, with the
average routine consisting of two movements per day. This way, you will be able to
perform a more diversified amount of work each workout and in the long run, the allaround effects will be more predominant in muscle building and strength level increases.
This is because of the coupling of two such movements each day. By coupling two
movements daily, or almost daily, it is not necessary to train each and every day; in fact,
it will be possible to cut down the number of training days each week to four. Also, with
the coupling of two movements daily, you will be training a bit longer each day, but the
total amount of work done weekly will remain approximately the same. This may mean
the difference between success or failure depending upon the rate of recovery your body
can acclimate itself to. Some men will find that two movements per day is just about right
for best results. Others will prefer less training days per week but will prefer maybe three
movements done on each of these days. Others, in the extreme other end of training
energy levels, may find that one movement per day is just right to insure continued gains.
So you see, in this section of this chapter, we will be discussing each of these types of
personalized specialization routines, so as to give all of you a chance to try whatever kind
of routine you may feel will be right for you. There is only one way to find out: you must
experiment and see what will work and what will not work.
This following routine is for the man who wishes to specialize on the pressing muscles
of the upper body, but at the same time, wants to be sure that he is including enough work
for the additional parts of the body so as to not lose anything previously developed in the
past. In order to insure this not happening, you will have included on an almost daily
basis, enough work for the additional muscle groups which will keep them in proper state
of tone as the brunt of your workouts will be geared to developing additional size and
strength in the pressing muscles of the body.
What I would advise you to do in this case, is to work one pressing movement each
training session, with one squatting movement on one day and one pulling or arm
movement on the following training day. This way, the rest of the body is adequately
stimulated.
Here then is your two movement per day training routine:
Monday – Bench Press and Power Squat
Tuesday – Incline Press and Bentover Rowing
Wednesday – Press Behind Neck and Arm Work
Thursday – Take the day off
Friday – Close Grip Bench Press and Front Squat
Saturday – Standing Press and Bent Legged Deadlift
Sunday – Take the day off
With this routine I would advise you to perform the following set and repetition
schedule: for the majority of movements except the Bent Legged Deadlift, warm up for
two or so sets and then move up to weight which you can handle for between three and
five sets of four to six repetitions. After this, cool down with two or so sets of eight or so
repetitions, with a somewhat lighter weight. For the deadlift, I recommend sets of three
repetitions, working up to a maximum triple. This should develop more than enough
power for the limit deadlifting. For the rest of the body, there is more than enough work
to stimulate increases in muscle size and power. With continued application of this kind
of training, you will realize a great increase in your pressing power from all angles and
the rest of the body will not suffer in development or power because of the inclusion of
additional work for these areas. This type of training can become most meaningful and
enjoyable for you and many men enjoy this kind of training so much that they stay on
these kinds of programs for the entire training year.
For the man who has a greater ability to recuperate after strenuous training there are
further methods of training which will stimulate even further rates of growth and
development, due to the extent of their severity and complicated nature. With these types
of workouts you would do all your pressing on one day, the whole amount of squatting on
the following day, and finally, on the third training day you would follow a most
complete routine to fully work the pulling muscles of the body. In this way, although you
would be training six days per week, you will only be working each muscle group twice
weekly, so that the entire workload would be evenly distributed throughout the entire
body, with adequate rest between workouts.
The severity of this routine will make it necessary that you do not try to stay on this
routine for more than a month or so, unless you are one of those rare individuals who can
thrive, or seem to do so, on such a great quantity of hard work. If such is the case, then by
all means stay on this type of routine as long as you wish to. But for the majority of the
rest of us, a month and a half of so would be long enough to stimulate correct training
responses. As soon as one begins to feel somewhat drug out and less proficient at one’s
workouts, it is then time to switch to a less severe amount of work until full recuperation
is realized.
Here then is your six day per week specialization routine:
Monday – Bench Press, Incline Press and Flat Bench Flying
Tuesday – Power Squat and Leg Presses
Wednesday – Deadlifts, Bentover Rowing and Lat Machine Pulldowns
Thursday – Take the day off
Friday – The same as Monday
Saturday – The same as Tuesday
Sunday – The same as Wednesday
If you cannot train on Sunday, then train from Monday through Saturday and take
Sunday off.
With this type of routine, there is a tremendous amount of stress placed on the physical
and emotional parts of the mind and body, so be sure to realize this and take steps to deter
physiological staleness, which may step in and force an unwanted layoff. A good idea
would be to take a few extra naps throughout the day so as to make this excessive work
more acceptable to the body and more easily recuperated from. Just as we must learn to
creep before we can walk, so must we find our way through this kind of workout, slowly
and with great hesitancy to overwork, since this would work against us, not for us. Rest
assured, if enough care is taken to see to it that the correct kind of diet is followed
throughout this entire training affair, the result we are seeking will make itself felt. All
that is necessary is to barter our energy and see to it that we are properly fed and
adequately rested.
Another avenue of experimentation which has been proven most successful to the few
men who have proved to be innovative enough to attempt such a unique incorporation of
training schedules and exercise frequency would be where you will be working the entire
body each and every workout. Then, after working extremely hard on the entire body, you
rest until you feel that you have completed the amount of rest and then, and only then, do
you take another workout. This means that some weeks you may be training three times
per week and other weeks you will be training only two times per week. But in both
cases, you will be sure to work more than enough to stimulate sufficient gains without the
chance of under-recuperation or overtraining becoming a problem. This way, there are
very little wasted training programs when on this type of routine. By limiting the amount
of training periods each week, you can greatly magnify the amount of work done on each
chosen exercise period. Also, you will be able to rest assured that sufficient rest takes
between each workout bout. For the man with limited training time and limited training
energy, this type of routine may be just what the doctor ordered.
In this situation, we would naturally place the most important movements first in our
routine, in order that most of the energy can be spent on the movements which are the
most important to us, with our particular training goals and endeavors. This does not
mean that there will not be enough work for the rest of the body, for this is the beauty of
such a scheduling of exercise periods. When you know that you will be training the entire
body only two or three times per week, it is only natural that you wish to work very hard
and completely an each and every exercise chosen for each and every exercise period.
When you know that the workout of the day will be the only chance you will have to
get to work the body for a few days, you will really try to get psyched up for the workout
and this will help you to get the most out of each and every training routine. Some men
cannot seem to keep up this amount of psyche for any length of time. For these men it
would be wiser to work out more frequently but less intensely. But for the man who can
gear up this extra emotionalism two or so times per week, this is the way to go. On the
days you are not training, be sure to rest adequately and as completely as possible for this
how you will be able to gear up for the next workout. Try to get in an occasional nap
every so often to enable you to save necessary training energy. For let no one tell you
differently: with this program you will have to work!
This then, would be your whole body, twice per week specialization routine.
Monday
Bench Press, Press Behind Neck, Bentover Barbell Rowing, Scott Curls Lying Triceps
Extension, and Power Squat.
With this workout you should perform the following set and repetition schedule for the
majority of movements, except perhaps with your arm work, in which higher repetitions
should be included. For the rest of the body, try to warm-up sufficiently with two of three
sets of medium repetitions and then jump to a poundage you can handle for between six
and ten repetitions and work with this weight for three to five sets. Cool down with two
or so sets of somewhat lighter weights and somewhat higher repetitions. For the upper
arms, I would recommend that the set scheme be somewhat reduced while the repetition
scheme be increased so that you are handling weights for each set for between eight and
twelve repetitions.
After a two or three day rest, try to get in the following routine. This will be somewhat
different from the first routine since you will be trying to work the muscles from a
somewhat different angle. However, both routines will work the muscles most fully,
completely, and adequately.
Friday
Standing Press, Parallel Bar Dips, Lat Machine Pulldowns, Shoulder Shrugs, Cheating
Barbell Curls, and Olympic Back Squat.
For this workout, I would recommend a similar set and repetition schedule. Warm-up
for the first two or so sets an then work into a weight you can handle for five to seven
repetitions. Use this for four sets and then cool down with two sets of eight reps.
The secret of properly working the body through these periods of super specialization
lies within the mind and the integrity of the trainee. He must see to it that his diet is
adequate and complete for the increase of workloads he will be undertaking. Also, in
order for him to stimulate additional muscle growth, it will be necessary for him to face
the fact that only through a great deal of self confidence and a strict adherence to the
dietary principles discussed beforehand, will he succeed to the limit of his potential and
physical capabilities.
What I have tried to do in this chapter is to give you a selection of the most potent tools
or weapons you will ever have at your disposal in the hopes that through the proper
utilization of these techniques, you too will move one step closer to the goals of which
your dreams are made.
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