In the summer of ’91, I dove headlong into training. I read all of the various bodybuilding magazines that I could get a hold of—or, at least, all of them that I could both afford and get a hold of. I was lucky, however, in that I had an off-again/on-again training partner who had stacks of magazines from around that time frame—primarily Ironman, Muscle and Fitness, and Flex—and I also had an uncle who had many older issue of Iron Manand Flex, plus things such as Strength and Health, and other such forgotten magazines that seemed (to me, at least) as if they were from another era.

Ironman had the most influence on me due to the “hardgainer” articles written by such writers as Steve Holman, Randal Strossen, Bradley Steiner, and Richard Winnett. All of these preached a “less-is-better” and “hard and heavy, but infrequent” training philosophies. (Not to say that Ironmanonly presented training philosophies from these sort of writers. They also included plenty of pieces from Gene Mozee and Greg Zulak, and neither one of those guys preached a “less is better” style of training, and in time both Zulak and Mozee had a much greater influence on my personal training philosophy in the mid to late ‘90s.)

The July, 1991 issue of Ironman

Anyway, the gym where I trained also sold current issues of Ironman, and none of the others, which meant that I spent hours sometimes sitting in the lobby reading them either before or after a workout. In June of ’91 (I remember it decidedly), I picked up the July, 1991 issue of Ironman and discovered—what seemed to me at the time—the oddest form of training: double-split workouts. The article in particular was one about the training of Francis Benfatto, he of the almost Greek god-like physique. Benfatto used a style of double-split training where he would train a muscle group twice in the same day. The early workout would typically use just one exercise for the particular muscle groups of the day, working on density and muscle mass, and the second, later, workout would consist of multiple exercises for the same muscle group, working on “shaping” a muscle.

I quickly dismissed such a form of training. After all, or so I reasoned, that kind of training was only for “genetically gifted” and “chemically enhanced” bodybuilders.

In case you haven’t already surmised it, I don’t exactly feel that way any more. Not that I would recommend a style of training exactly like Benfatto’s, but I do think that double-split training can be quite effective if used properly[1].

Starting Off

This first program is for those of you who would like to do a double-split workout, but have never done a high-volume program. However, I would recommend at least a couple months training on a 3-days-per-week, full-body workout before attempting this one.

For this program, both workouts of the day will involve only two exercises each. Technically, yes, you could quite easily do both workouts as one workout, but you will gain more muscle at a faster rate if you don’t do this. Using two workouts on each training day allows you to recover faster and take advantage of peri-workout nutrition, not to mention the fact that it allows you to have two more intense, focused workouts.

Day One

Workout One:

Squats: 5 sets of 3 reps. After warm-ups, use approximately 80% of your one-rep max for all 5 “work” sets of 3 reps.
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 3 reps. Same set/rep scheme as the squats.

Workout Two:

Walking Lunges: 4 sets of 10 reps, each leg. After warming up for a few sets, use approximately 70% of your one-rep max (with either dumbbells or a barbell) for all 4 work sets of 10 reps. These sets should be tougher than the squats earlier.
Incline Dumbbell Presses: 4 sets of 10 reps

Day Two

Workout One:

Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 3 reps
Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 3 reps

Workout Two:

Seated Dumbbell Presses: 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Day Three: Off

Day Four

Workout One:

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps
Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps

Workout Two:

Stiff-Legged Deadlifts: 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Day Five: Repeat Day One workout, but take off on day 6 before starting a 2 on, one off/ 2 on, one off cycle again

After about three weeks of training, change over to some different exercises and/or some different rep ranges. On the heavy workouts, change over to either 5 sets of 2 at 90% or 5 sets of 6 at 70%. Conversely, on the lighter workouts, perform some heavier work at 4 sets of 8 reps, or some lighter days at 3 sets of 15 reps.

In Part Two, we’ll take a look at some advanced workouts for those of you brave enough to try them.

[1] I will be honest, here. I don’t think this training is practical for those of you who train at a commercial gym, unless you feel like traveling there twice each day. It’s suited more for those of us who have a home gym, or for those of you who want to perform one workout at a commercial gym, and the second one at the house.

Double-Split Training, Part Two

Understanding Why Double-Split Training is Effective

Here’s a cool thing about double-split training: there’s an endless amount of variety that you have at your disposal when it comes to double-split workouts. In fact, however-the-heck it is that you like to train, you can make your training a bit more effective by turning all of those workouts into double-split programs.

Do you like to train each bodypart once-per-week, by training one bodypart-per-day, and blasting the living hell out of it, then giving it a week to recover? (As I’ve written many times before, this was a very effective training system that I used to pack on pounds of muscle when I was much younger.) If that’s your cup of tea, no problem, here’s what your double-split program could look like:

Mondays: Chest

Tuesdays: Back

Wednesdays: Legs (quads and hamstrings)

Thursdays: Shoulders

Fridays: Arms and calves

And here’s what your Monday workouts would look like:

Workout One: Flat Barbell Bench Presses for 10 sets of 8 reps

Workout Two: Incline Dumbbell Presses for 4 sets of 12 reps, Wide-Grip Dips for 3 sets of 10 reps, and Incline Dumbbell Flyes for 3 sets of 10 reps

Do the second workout about 4 hours after your first workout (so that soreness has yet to set in from all of the flat bench presses) and you should be on your path to an effective once-per-week program.

All of your other workouts should be of a very similar variety, and as long as you’re optimizing your peri-workout nutrition for both training sessions, you should have no problem gaining plenty of muscle on just such a program.

Okay, here are some quotes from several other bodybuilders/writers/strength trainers, and their thoughts about double-split workouts. As you can see, I’m not crazy for recommending such frequent training. It’s been used by others for quite some time in the bodybuilding world. And, besides just bodybuilding, Olympic lifters have used such training methods for decades.

The first quote is from John Meadows, a popular bodybuilding writer (and bodybuilder in his own right):

If you don’t like being in the gym, this program isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you’re a true M&Fer, you can’t wait to get back in there after every session. Sometimes you even wish you could go back sooner. If this is your attitude, or you’re a college student with an open class schedule or a guy who’s currently between jobs and must vent his frustrations by lifting as much heavy iron as often as possible, two-a-days are exactly what you need.

Training twice a day is a concept as old as bodybuilding itself but was popularized by Arnold more than anyone. He firmly believed his “double-split system” allowed him to separate himself from the pack and win his first Mr. Universe title. His rivals criticized it, saying it was too much training, and to their point, two-a-days have run many a lifter into the ground. But applied scientifically, there may be no better method for making big gains in a short period.
Double-split training was obviously effective for Arnold

The reason is frequency. Provided you can recover from each session, the more often you train a body part, the faster you can deliver a growth stimulus and the sooner your muscles will respond. Training your chest so hard that it takes a whole week to recover before you can hit it again isn’t as effective as hitting it light one day and then hard three days later. That’s two chest-building workouts in one week, so you essentially double the stimulus.[1]

And here’s what another popular bodybuilding writer, Christian Thibaudeau, has to say about the way that European bodybuilders often train. I personally find these insights the most interesting:

The more you're involved in the world of strength training, the more you get to meet interesting people and learn new training methods. Last year I attended the Weider International Grand Prix of Canada, a bodybuilding contest organized by the Quebec Federation that included several of the world's best amateur bodybuilders from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, etc.

What's interesting is that these countries aren't under the same influence as North American lifters. They haven't been contaminated by muscle rag propaganda. Rather, their methods are heavily influenced by the training of their Olympic lifters and powerlifters. In some cases, athletes from all three sports train together and some even compete in two or all three of these events!

So when you get to know these guys and learn how they train, you realize there’s more than one way to get big, and you don’t need to follow the 3 x 10 dogma to do it!

Needless to say, these guys know how to train for size. But exactly what are they doing? The following will explain their training system and how it can be adapted to fit the North American lifestyle.

 Principle #1: Intensification/Accumulation Split Training

These athletes have two training sessions per day (on the days they train). The morning session is a high load workout, while the early evening (or afternoon) session is an "intensive" workout.

Don't confuse "intensive" with intensity strength training jargon. Intensity normally refers to the weight used (e.g. an intensity of 90% of your 1RM). Intensive means the use of advanced intensity techniques such as supersets, drop sets, forced reps, etc.

The heavy session is performed first when the CNS is fresh and ready to go. That's a very important point. At least 4-6 hours separate both workouts to allow the athlete enough time to use restorative measures and ingest two or three meals.

 Principle #2: Mornings Are For Strength

In the morning session, train for strength. East European countries have a large background of Olympic lifting and this is reflected in the training of their bodybuilders. The bodybuilding coaches (they do have a national coach and a whole organized coaching system for their top athletes) were often old Olympic lifters. The same could be said about some of their athletes.

While they don't perform the Olympic lifts in their first session, they do employ an Olympic lifting mentality of using few movements (two or three) performed for a lot of sets of few reps, normally above 85% of the athlete’s maximum. This training session serves several purposes:

• It greatly increases muscle density and hardness (myogenic tone or "tonus").

• It can enhance neural efficiency, especially the capacity to recruit high threshold motor units. This means that subsequent bodybuilding-type training will be more effective since the body now has the capacity to recruit more muscle fibers.

• It can increase muscle size in its own right.

Principle #3: Evenings Are For "The Pump"

In the early evening session, train for "the pump." Well, the objective isn't the pump per se; it simply means that in the second workout of the day, the methods used are high-volume and high-density (a lot of work performed per unit of time).

Rest intervals are kept as short as possible and density training techniques such as supersets, pre-fatigue, post-fatigue and drop sets are used, as well as intensity techniques such as slow eccentrics, isometrics combined with regular reps and forced reps.[2]

In the next installment of “double-split training”, I will include some of the workouts I personally believe can be the most effective when using many of these techniques mentioned above.

[1] From the article “How to Build Muscle: Two-a-Day Training” from Muscle and Fitnessmagazine.

[2] From the article “East European Bodybuilding: Muscle Mass Secrets from the Old Countries” by Christian Thibaudeau, from the online bodybuilding magazine T-Nation.

Old-School Arm Training Secrets: John McWilliams’s Arm Routine

My most popular posts here at Integral Strength typically fall into two categories: old-school bodybuilding programs or serious strength and power routines.

With that in mind, I thought I would do a series of articles on various old-school lifters and bodybuilders (the two overlapped once-upon-a-time), and on various old-school methods for training different bodyparts or lifts. Thus, this first entry is on old-school arm training, but others will be on old-school chest, shoulders, back, legs, squats, bench presses, overhead presses, power cleans, etc. And for this first entry, I decided upon an old-school bodybuilder cum powerlifter that many of you may never have heard of: John McWilliams.

McWilliams's back double-biceps pose. He was impressive even in his 40s.

When I first came across an article about McWilliams (written by Gene Mozee) in the early ‘90s, I had certainly never heard of him, despite the fact that I already had immersed myself in the programs of many other old-time bodybuilders. In the 1950’s, McWilliams built arms that stretched the tape at over 20 inches. That’s absolutely massive when you consider the decade his muscles were built—before the advent of rampant steroid use, and when most of the biggest arms on the planet were around 17 inches.

When “the Myth” Sergio Oliva saw John McWilliams’s physique, he remarked that his arms were “too big”, and that’s saying something when you consider the fact that Oliva had some of the biggest and best arms in the history of bodybuilding.

Here’s what Mozee had to say about McWilliams and his massive pair of “guns”:

In 1951, when I first began bodybuilding, I used to go to Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, every day during summer vacation and on weekends during the rest of the year. The superstars of that era – Steve Reeves, Armand Tanny, John Farbotnik, Marvin Eder, George Eiferman, Malcomb Brenner, Joe Sanceri, Clark Coffee, Ed Fury, Joe Gold and Zabo Koszewski, among others – were always there, and you could watch them train at the beach or at Vic Tanny’s famous gym, which was just a couple of blocks away.

Today’s stars are practically unapproachable, but the atmosphere was totally different in those days. The champs and Muscle Beach regulars were accessible and easy to get to know. Once they understood that you were sincere and that you weren’t a flake who was wasting their time, they would freely give helpful training advice. My brother George and I got a lot of workout ideas and routines that way.

There will never be another era like that in bodybuilding. From 1950 to 1980 I met almost every great bodybuilder in the world. I had the opportunity to interview them and discuss their training and nutrition secrets, and I even had the opportunity to train with several of those great superstars. It helped me to build 20-inch arms at a bodyweight of 220 pounds and bench press 455 in strict form.

In 1956, I bought the Pasadena Gym from Farbotnik, who held the titles of Mr. America, Mr. World and Mr. Universe. That’s when I began to use all of the great training techniques and exercise routines that I learned from Reeves, Eiferman, Jan Dellinger, Clancy Ross, Vince Gironda, Bill Pearl, Farbotnik, Sanceri and many others on my clients. We produced dozens of pro football players, track and field record holders, baseball and basketball stars and weightlifting, powerlifting and bodybuilding champions.

One of the greatest physique athletes of the pre-steroid era was John McWilliams. It’s believed that McWilliams and Bud Counts were the first bodybuilders to have arms that measured more than 20 inches cold. John was also one of the first men in the world to bench press 500 pounds. I met him at a powerlifting meet in San Diego. At the moment he was working as the training director of George and Beverly Crowie’s gym in the San Diego area. He had most of the top stars of the Chargers football team under his guidance, including All-Pros Jack Kemp, Keith Lincoln and Ron Mix.

McWilliams was more than 40 years old at the time, and he’d trimmed down to a bodyweight of 186 pounds. Bill Pearl’s mentor, the immortal Leo Stern, measured John’s arm at 19 ¼ inches cold, his chest at 52 ½ inches and his waist at 31 inches. These are phenomenal numbers for someone who weighs 186 pounds, and he got them without steroids or the benefit of today’s nutritional supplements.

John and I became friends, and he described one of his favorite routines for building more massive upper arms. Not only did I use this workout myself, but I put 37 members of my gym on it. The average gain was 1¼ inches in six weeks.

So, what were McWilliams’s secrets for building such massive arm muscles in such an era? Read on.

Train for the Pump

One of the more popular ways of training that most old-school bodybuilders followed was something often referred to as “chasing the pump.” The workouts were frequently performed with minimum rest periods between sets and plenty of volume to boot. This, obviously, results in a large pump in the arm muscles.

The better the pump—or so it was believed—the better chances that the workout would result in muscle growth.

In order to keep rest periods between sets to a minimum, McWilliams liked to employ giant sets, where he would perform a minimum of 4 different exercises consecutively—working both his triceps and his biceps—until his entire arms were engorged to the maximum. Here is McWilliams’s favorite arm routine:

Giant set 

Barbell pullovers 2 x 12 

Close-grip bench presses 2 x 12 

Barbell pullovers 2 x 6 

Close-grip bench presses 2 x 6

Giant set 

Barbell curls 3 x 12 

Triceps presses 3 x 12 

Dumbbell curls 3 x 10

 Dumbbell triceps presses 3 x 10 

Lying barbell triceps extensions 3 x 12 

Close-grip bench presses 3x10* 

One-arm kickbacks 2 x 20**

*Go right into the next exercise without taking any rest

 **Per arm

Train Antagonistic Muscle Groups Together

Notice something else about McWilliams’ program? He liked to train his entire arm in a single workout. But he wasn’t alone. Most old-school bodybuilders—Arnold Schwarzenegger among them—believed that the most muscle growth occurred when blood (the pump) could be localized among antagonizing muscle groups. And arms respond particularly well to this technique.

Arnold's arms weren't too shabby, either.

Train the Triceps!

Ask the average lifter or gym rat what he does for his arm routine, and he’ll probably spit out the usual about barbell curls, dumbbell curls, concentration curls, etc. The problem is that the bicep muscle only makes up about 1/3 of your total arm mass (or should!)—the rest is all triceps.

McWilliams’s triceps were massive (I was going to say something clichéd about them even needing their own zip code, but I’ll refrain). In fact, as big as his biceps were, it was his massive tris that accounted for his 20-inch arms. (Of course, not all old-timers trained in quite as intelligent of a manner—even Arnold’s triceps were a little small compared to his peaked, almost otherworldly biceps.)

If you’ve been neglecting your triceps, and would like a pair of “guns” that stretch your shirt-sleeves, then try the below arm routine. I used one similar to this to much success when I was younger, and it meets all of the criteria that McWilliams—and the rest of the old-school arm trainers—would have adhered to.

Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4 reps. Take several minutes between sets so that you can push each set close to your “limit”—only leave about one rep “in the tank”, so to speak. Add weight with each subsequent set.
Close-Grip Bench Presses: 5 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4 reps. Use the same technique as the barbell curls.
Tri-Set:

Dips: 3 x 10
Standing Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 10
Skullcrushers: 3 x 10

Tri-Set:

Bench Dips: 3 x 20
Concentration Curls: 3 x 15
Kickbacks: 3 x 20

Last But Not Least: Feed the Biceps (and Triceps) Beast!

John McWilliams had three fundamentals that he lived—and trained—by:

1) consistent hard training

2)  proper nutrition, including supplements

3) sufficient rest, relaxation and growth promoting sleep.

I can’t stress the importance of all three of these enough, but if I had to pick one that is most important when trying to add muscle mass, I would pick #2. You can’t grow big and strong without eating enough quality, muscle-building nutrients. Consume at least 12x your bodyweight in calories each, and every, day, and make sure you consume—at the minimum—one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

For every 10 pounds of muscle that you gain, you can expect 1 to 1 and ½ inches to your arm girth! So get gaining, and get growing those biceps and triceps muscles.

Although my posts on Stoic philosophy are not as popular as those on lifting (or drinking beer, or good literature), I am going to continue with them nonetheless.

For those interested in lifting weights – whether you’re a bodybuilder, powerlifter, or just casual lifter (or, hell, even for you Crossfitters) – Stoicism is the philosophy par excellence. Lifting weights, particularly hard and heavy lifting, can teach us a lot about how to live our lives, but we have to learn to listen to what our lives have to tell us. For some, the art of listening is a little more difficult. This is where philosophy comes in.

This particular piece comes from Seneca. Seneca has long been my favorite of the Roman writers on Stoicism. Perhaps this is because he is not just a Stoic, for he borrows on other philosophies of antiquity when they serve his purpose.

This piece on death, and how it’s one thing to live a life, and it’s another thing to just exist, is also one of my favorite writings from Seneca. I have edited it from Stoics.com, and I have changed some of the wording to (hopefully) make it more readable.

On the Quality, as Contrasted with the Length, of Life

     WHILE reading the letter in which you were lamenting the death of the philosopher Metronax, as if he might have, and indeed ought to have, lived longer, I missed the spirit of fairness which abounds in all your discussions concerning men and things, but is lacking when you approach one single subject, as is indeed the case with us all. In other words, I have noticed many who deal fairly with their fellow-men, but none who deals fairly with God. We rail every day at Fate, saying "Why has A. been carried off in the very middle of his career? Why is not B. carried off instead? Why should he prolong his old age, which is a burden to himself as well as to others?" But tell me, pray, do you consider it fairer that you should obey Nature, or that Nature should obey you? And what difference does it make how soon you depart from a place which you must depart from sooner or later? We should strive, not to live long, but to live rightly for to achieve long life you have need of Fate only, but for right living you need the soul. A life is really long if it is a full life; but fullness is not attained until the soul has rendered to itself its proper Good, that is, until it has assumed control over itself. What benefit does this older man derive from the eighty years he has spent in idleness? A person like him has not lived; he has merely tarried awhile in life. Nor has he died late in life; he has simply been a long time dying. He has lived eighty years, has he? That depends upon the date from which you reckon his death! Your other friend, however, departed in the bloom of his manhood. But he had fulfilled all the duties of a good citizen, a good friend, a good son; in no respect had he fallen short. His age may have been incomplete, but his life was complete. The other man has lived eighty years, has he? Nay, he has existed eighty years, unless perchance you mean by "he has lived" what we mean when we say that a tree "lives."
     Pray, let us see to it, my dear Lucilius, that our lives, like jewels of great price, be noteworthy not because of their width but because of their weight. Let us measure them by their performance, not by their duration. Would you know wherein lies the difference between this hardy man who, despising Fortune, has served through every campaign of life and has attained to life's Supreme Good, and that other person over whose head many years have passed? The former exists even after his death; the latter has died even before he was dead.
     We should therefore praise, and number in the company of the blessed, that man who has invested well the portion of time, however little, that has been allotted to him; for such a one has seen the true light. He has not been one of the common herd.   He has not only lived, but flourished. Sometimes he enjoyed fair skies; sometimes, as often happens, it was only through the clouds that there flashed to him the radiance of the mighty star." Why do you ask: "How long did he live?" He still lives! At one bound he has passed over into posterity and has consigned himself to the guardianship of memory. And yet I would not on that account decline for myself a few additional years; although, if my life's space be shortened, I shall not say that I have lacked aught that is essential to a happy life. For I have not planned to live up to the very last day that my greedy hopes had promised me; nay, I have looked upon every day as if it were my last. Why ask the date of my birth, or whether I am still enrolled on the register of the younger men? What I have is my own. Just as one of small stature can be a perfect man, so a life of small compass can be a perfect life. Age ranks among the external things. How long I am to exist is not mine to decide, but how long I shall go on existing in my present way is in my own control. This is the only thing you have the right to require of me – that I shall cease to measure out an inglorious age as it were in darkness, and devote myself to living instead of being carried along past life.
     And what, you ask, is the fullest span of life? It is living until you possess wisdom. He who has attained wisdom has reached, not the furthermost, but the most important, goal. Such a one may indeed exult boldly and give thanks to the gods - aye, and to himself also - and he may count himself Nature's creditor for having lived. He will indeed have the right to do so, for he has paid her back a better life than he has received. He has set up the pattern of a good man, showing the quality and the greatness of a good man. Had another year been added, it would merely have been like the past. And yet how long are we to keep living? We have had the joy of learning the truth about the universe. We know from what beginnings Nature arises; how she orders the course of the heavens; by what successive changes she summons back the year; how she has brought to an end all things that ever have been, and has established Herself as the only end of her own being. We know that the stars move by their own motion, and that nothing except the earth stands still, while all the other bodies run on with uninterrupted swiftness. We know how the moon outstrips the sun; why it is that the slower leaves the swifter behind; in what manner she receives her light, or loses it again; what brings on the night, and what brings back the day. To that place you must go where you are to have a closer view of all these things. "And yet," says the wise man, "I do not depart more valiantly because of this hope -because I judge the path lies clear before me to my own gods. I have indeed earned admission to their presence, and in fact have already been in their company; I have sent my soul to them as they had previously sent theirs to me. But suppose that I am utterly annihilated, and that after death nothing mortal remains; I have no less courage, even if, when I depart, my course leads - nowhere.""But," you say, "he has not lived as many years as he might have lived. There are books which contain very few lines, admirable and useful in spite of their size; and there are also the Annals of Tanusius[1] - you know how bulky the book is, and what men say of it. This is the case with the long life of certain persons, - a state which resembles the Annals of Tanusius! Do you regard as more fortunate the fighter who is slain on the last day of the games than one who goes to his death in the middle of the festivities? Do you believe that anyone is so foolishly covetous of life that he would rather have his throat cut in the dressing-room than in the amphitheatre? It is by no longer an interval than this that we precede one another. Death visits each and all; the slayer soon follows the slain. It is an insignificant trifle, after all, that people discuss with so much concern. And anyhow, what does it matter for how long a time you avoid that which you cannot escape? Farewell.

[1]This is what the “Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biographies and Mythology” has to say about Tanusius: a Roman historian who seems to have lived about the time of Cicero. The exact nature of his work is uncertain, although we know that in it he spoke of the time of Sulla. (Suet. Jul. 9.) Plutarch (Plut. Caes. 22) mentions an historian whom he calls Γανύσιος, and whom Vossius (de Hist. Lat. 1.12) considers to be the same as our Tanusius. Seneca (Epist. 93) speaks of one Tamusius as the author of annals; and it is not improbable that this is merely a slight mistake in the name, for Tanusius; and if this be so, Tanusius Geminus wrote annals of his own time, which are lost with the exception of a fragment quoted by Suetonins.

The Best Leg Workout You’ve Never Tried!

Two things work the best when it comes to moving massive amounts of weight, and/or gaining massive amounts of muscle: Simple work, combined with hard work. Nothing else is going to cut it.

As Mark Rippetoe once remarked, “the most valuable lessons of the weight room: a simple, hard program works best, and that you get out of your training – and your life – exactly what you put into it.”

I could never have said it better myself.

I also have a good feeling that a whole lot of lifters know that simple, hard work is absolutely the best way to train for building slabs of muscle that is also capable of hefting ponderous poundages, but they don’t do it. And I think they don’t do it for a couple of reasons. First, either they’re lazy and/or have convinced themselves that fancier programs that don’t require hard work—brutally simple hard work—work just as well. Or, second, sometimes they just want to do something different than a steady regimen of regular, flat-footed barbell squats, overhead presses, conventional deadlifts, bench presses, and barbell curls.

I can’t help the first group. Nor do I care to do so—lazy “lifters” who don’t want to work hard, but instead would rather just talk about training, are a segment of the population that I could care less about. No, this article is here to help the second group.

Below is an extremely simple workout program for those of you who understand that heavy, hard, basic training will always be the crème de la crème, but who also want something a little different. This is it.

Perform the following workout program about once every 4 to 6 days. It is meant to be used with a “split” program, so the other training days should be a couple of upper body days. A good split for this program might look like this:

Day One: Legs (workout below)

Day Two: Upper Body Pressing (bench press, overhead presses, and one or two other things should fit the bill)

Day Three: Off

Day Four: Upper Body Pulling and Arms (bent-over rows, chins, barbell curls would be par for the course)

Day Five: Off

Day Six: Repeat

The Best Leg Workout You’ve Never Performed!

The first exercise is my favorite squatting exercise of all-time: the bottom-position squat. At one time in my lifting career (when I was forced to train alone all the time), I used the bottom-position squat, and nothing but the bottom-position squat, to hit a triple-bodyweight raw squat (no suit or wraps, only a belt) in a competition. (I weighed 163 pounds and squatted 510 at a powerlifting meet about 15 years ago.)

For this part of the workout, you are going to do ramps. Work up over several sets of 5 reps until the sets of 5 get extremely tough. At this point, switch over to triples. Once it becomes near impossible to get a triple, switch to singles. Stop when you hit a near max.

Currently, my weight progression in the bottom-position squat would look something such as this (just to give you an idea):

Bar x 2 sets of 5 reps

135x5

185x5

225x5

275x5

300x5

315x3

350x3

375x3

405x1

430x1

455x1

470x1

Your bottom-position squat should start right below parallel (for most lifters). Here is a video of me hitting 405 for a single:

For the second exercise, you are going to perform deficit sumo deadlifts. After squats (in all of the multitudinous squatting varieties), I think this is the best exercise for building muscle and strength. It works your legs—particularly your glutes and hamstrings—hard, but it is also equally as mass-producing for your lower back, traps, and mid-back muscles, plus it works the grip hard, as well.

Work off of a box that is between 4 and 5 inches in height (on average).

Once again, you are going to use ramps, but this time you are going to perform double ramps. Also, you are going to use 5 reps, and only 5 reps, all the way to your 5-rep max (or damn close to it) for the day.

Here is what my typical double ramp of 5s would look like:

135x2x5

225x2x5

250x2x5

275x2x5

305x2x5

340x2x5

375x2x5

430x2x5

And, yes, I’m well aware that this is 30 sets of squats and sumo-deficit deads, and we’re not even done yet. Don’t worry, it is not too much. The truth is, the weaker you are, the less sets you will have to perform to get to your max weights, and the stronger that you are, the more sets you need to perform in order to bump up your volume and intensity.

Now, for the last exercise: backward sled drags. This exercise will be a great way to finish the workout. First, it friesyour quadriceps. And this is a good thing, since our first two exercises are a bit more hamstring and glute happy. Second, it’s primarily a concentric exercise, and this means that it won’t make you near as sore as the first two exercises.

C.S. performing a backward sled drag

Here you are going to perform 2 sets—and only 2 sets—all-out. Load your sled with 5, 6, 7, or 8 45-pound plates (less if you’re not very strong, I suppose), and drag until you just can’t drag anymore.

Conclusion

Yes, this workout was simple.

Yes, this workout was hard.

And, yes, this workout will produce awesome results!

To capsulate the whole thing, this is what it should look like:

Bottom-position Squats: ramps of 5, 3, and 1 reps
Deficit Sumo Deadlifts: double ramps of 5 reps
Backward Sled Drags: 2 max sets
Eat a big steak and drink a lot of beer when you’re finished, followed by a nap.

Happy July 4^th Weekend Ramblings

Yesterday was July 4^th, so my wife Tara and I traveled to my parents’ house to meet some of our family, eat a lot of BBQ—I smoked a butt, several slabs of ribs, and some sausage yesterday; all excellent mass-building, strength-inducing foods—and play a tournament of “washers[1].”

On the way to my parents, Tara and I listened to XM radio, as we usually do. My listening preferences are heavy metal and/or alternative music[2]. Hers are stuff a little more mainstream—pop and country. She tolerates, even likes, some alternative music, but doesn’t care one whit for metal, and so we decided on a compromise by listening to “the Pulse”, a station that plays some pop music and some radio-friendly alternative. I immediately changed stations, however, once Maroon 5 started singing one of their recent releases, and one of their more popular hits.

“I thought you liked Maroon 5,” Tara said. She was slightly annoyed, I think, that I managed to change the stations with such swift speed. Perhaps, she thought, if my hands can move with that much quickness to switch over to “Alt Nation”, I am perfectly capable of moving with more speed when she asks me to take out the trash, or to wash the dishes, or to do any one of the more mundane tasks around the house that we balance between the two of us.

“I used to like Maroon 5,” I replied, but did not offer anything in the way of an explanation.

Apparently, an explanation was what she was expecting. “What do you mean used to? I like them, especially if it allows me to think about a shirtless Adam Levine.”

“I stopped liking Maroon 5 once their sound changed. Now, the people that like them are the same ones that like mainstream pop crap, or the television show Glee, or who think that soccer is a sport Americans should actually try to enjoy.”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking Glee, or soccer for that matter.” She was annoyed now.

I thought about that for a moment. “There isn’t anything “wrong” with enjoying Glee or soccer. Entire countries enjoy soccer, countries that I’m particularly fond of, such as Greece and Russia. But I don’t enjoy soccer and I don’t enjoy Glee, and, the truth is, the kind of people that enjoy watching Glee, or enjoy the music of Britney Spears—or whoever it is that has replaced her as the pop queen of crap, maybe Miley Cyrus?—aren’t people that I tend to associate with. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with those people, but that’s not me.” I paused for a moment, then continued, “I guess you could say that I like things that a lot of alpha males tend to like. I enjoy heavy metal music, lifting heavy weights, arm wrestling[3], and the taste of cold craft beer. Along that same line, from a spiritual perspective, I like Theravada Buddhism, Zen, and, of course, Orthodoxy—three religious traditions that understand the importance of the ascetical along with the mystical.”

My wife, of course, knows all of these things about me, so she just sort of shrugged and didn’t say anything else.

I didn’t say anything else, either, but I did start thinking about some of what I had just said. My wife was, of course, right. There is absolutely nothing “wrong” with people who like Glee, or who like a lot of the current popular trends in music, movies, or television, but there isa lot of stuff in popular culture that is more than just a little bit shallow in our age of post modernity. America, for instance, has become, in many ways, a vast array of anti-intellectuality. To make it even worse, our current culture says it’s actually “okay” to be anti-intellectual. Apparently, as long as you can tweet it, then it holds just as much relevance as anything tweeted by more knowledgeable, better informed individuals. Sorry, but if your opinion is based on ignorance, it doesn’t matter. Which is to say, that not everyone’s opinions do matter, whatever they may think to the contrary.

Perhaps what annoys me, then, about a lot of current pop music ( or books, television, and movies) is the fact that it tends to be a bit shallow, and therefore enjoyed by relatively shallow people. Movies, for instance, are a perfect indicator. If I’m not mistaken, last weekend the latest Transformers movie became the biggest opening weekend movie of the year. I am almost ashamed to say that I was one of the people that saw it—I took my sons and one of their friends. It was just as horribly, awfully stupid as I expected it to be—the acting was so bad that Mark Wahlberg was apparently playing the same character that he played in the movie “Ted”, which is riotously funny, by the way, if you haven’t seen it. But the people in the movie theater seemed to be having a good time. There was some clapping in a few parts, and quite a bit of the moviegoers seemed to think that the “jokes” in the movie were actually funny—such as Wahlberg calling his daughter’s boyfriend “Lucky Charms” because he’s, you know, Irish. Afterwards, I heard several younger kids say that it was the best movie they had seen all year—it was incredibly loud and a lot of things were blown up, which apparently equates to “best.”

Now, there is nothing “wrong” per se with enjoying that movie, but that doesn’t make it good. And the truth is that the average American doesn’t seem to understand what actually makes something good. The average person doesn’t understand great art, literature, cinema, or religion. Instead, they often seem to settle for shallow substitutes.

What makes things worse is that there are people who think the things I enjoy—picking up heavy stuff, listening to heavy metal, arm wrestling other strong, muscled men, and drinking beer—somehow makes me, or other men who really enjoy one or more of all these things, shallow, as well.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

Sure, there are shallow people who do all of these things, but that doesn’t make the thing itself a shallow endeavor.

Some of the most intelligent, cultured men I have ever known have been bodybuilders, powerlifters, strongmen, or just average lifters interested in the art of getting big and strong.

Throughout history, many of the greatest warriors have also been philosophers. (We should all of us lifters strive our best to be warrior-geeks, which is how my wife often describes me.)

Which kind of, sort of brings us around to the last thing I mentioned to my wife in our short conversation: the religion cum philosophies of Theravada, Zen, and Orthodoxy. If you have read this blog for any length of time—or bothered to read my profile—then you will know that I am a convert to Orthodox Christianity. It, along with Theravada and Zen (I was Buddhist before I was Orthodox), are the only three religions that I ever chose to practice. (I was raised Southern Baptist by my parents, but had no actual choice in the matter.)

Orthodoxy appeals to my ascetical/warrior mentality. It is something that you do instead of just talk about. It is filled with a long history of ascetical/mystical saints who chose to live their lives in caves and cells, devoted entirely to the art of spiritual warfare. For these reasons, and many others, it is the only form of Christianity where more men convert to it than women.

The reason I enjoyed—and still enjoy—Theravada and Zen was for much the same reasons. Both of them cut the bull in order to get down to the nitty-gritty—the art of simply following the breath or shikantaza, just sitting.

And, of course, once again there is nothing “wrong” with people who practice other forms of Christianity or Buddhism. But if I were to practice something else, I would not be true to myself, or to others whom I love.

For now, I suppose this is all I have to say on matters some of you may not even care about—but if you made it this far, I hope you, at least, found something of merit in my rambling. It is 4^th of July weekend, after all, and hopefully we didn’t achieve independence just to become a nation of anti-intellectuals who no longer understand the values of hard work, understanding great art, or entering into the depths of things.

[1] For those of you who don’t know, “washers” is a popular game for us native Texans. It involves boards with holes in them, and washers that you attempt to toss into the holes. It’s similar in vein and spirit to horseshoes.

[2] My favorite band, hands down, is the alternative band The Killers. For metal, my moods tend to swing, but currently I find myself listening the most to Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat, Nothing More, Gemini Syndrome, and (probably my favorite) the Christian metal group Demon Hunter.

[3] The latest strength sport that I have taken up is arm wrestling. My 15-year-old son and I arm wrestle with a local team of arm wrestlers about once every 3 to 4 weeks, and my training has recently changed some in order to accommodate this, but I’ll save arm wrestling training for another post.

Sorry for the long delay in posts. I will try to make up for it this month by publishing numerous posts/articles. Here's the first:

For years—back when I was writing almost monthly for IronMan magazine—IM’s editor-in-chief, Steve Holman, penned many articles on his personal brand of high-intensity, briefer-is-better, training: something Holman called “positions-of-flexion” training, or just POF for short.

Holman first revealed this “new” form of training sometime in the mid ‘90s. I can’t remember the exact year, but I think it was sometime in ’94 or ’95, and it was highly touted by IM as a new “state-of-the-art” form of high-intensity training. (IM took advantage, at the time, of the rising popularity HIT was experiencing, especially under the incarnation of it that Dorian Yates was espousing as the key to his Mr.O dominance.)

POF was based on something that I thought—and still do think—to be fairly inventive. Holman’s thought was that if you trained a muscle using only one (at least, it was usually just one) exercise for each “position-of-flexion” for that particular muscle—a midrange exercise, a stretch exercise, and a contracted exercise—then you could better enhance growth—not to mention achieve an out-of-this-world pump—with minimum sets.

At the time, I experimented with some of the POF principles, but I never “test drove” the program exactly as it was written. During those years, I was primarily training with a lot of volume, a lot of intensity, and a lot of rest between each workout for each muscle group. While the POF strategy employed the second and third tactic that my training employed, it most decidedly did not employ the first. Nonetheless, I thought, at the time, that it was good form of training, and I still do—with some minor adjustments.

What follows is a high-volume approach to POF training that I still think is highly effective.

First, however, let’s briefly (one again) outline the three variables of training, and how they should be properly manipulated in order to achieve muscle growth. The three variables are volume, frequency, and intensity. Two of the variables should be high, while the third variable should be low. The exception is, however, if you decide to keep all three variables moderate. A case in point, for instance, would be the classical three on/one off program used ad nauseam by bodybuilders in the ‘80s. In this case, if you train with, say, a three-way split, and perform 9 sets for each muscle group—3 exercises for 3 sets each, for example—without training to the point of momentary muscular failure, then you are using a program that has a moderate amount of volume, a moderate amount of intensity, and a moderate amount of frequency. (This isn’t my favorite form of training, but there isa reason that it worked for a lot of bodybuilders for quite a long time.)

For the sake of discussion, the reason that Mentzerian HIT training sucks, and the reason that the original POF training will only work for so long, is because HIT keeps one variable high (intensity), while keeping the two other variables (volume and frequency) low. This also, possibly, is one reason why Arthur Jones’s original variations of HIT were so successful. Jones kept intensity high, volume low, but frequency relatively high by training each muscle group 3-days-per-week. And one reason that Mentzer’s style of HIT often worked for lifters is because the lifter’s that employed it were coming off of programs where all three variables were high, and so the reduction of two of the variables drastically improved their results. But, alas, I don’t have time to discuss all of this here, so we’ll just save it for another post—or comments at the bottom of this post.

The most popular manipulation of the three variables among bodybuilders these days is to keep intensity and volume high (sky high, in some cases) while keeping frequency low. This is the reason my training in the ‘90s was so effective at building muscle mass. When you train this way, and consume a lot of food while doing so, it can be a very effective program for adding slabs of muscle. This is currently, for instance, how almost every pro bodybuilder on the planet trains. And the pros also (duh) add enormous amount of exogenous testosterone to this mix, which enhances this form of training even more. (I won’t get into all of the details, but I think anabolic steroids work even better for muscle growth when the lifter trains this way compared to any other form of training. But that, as they say, is for another tale.)

Here is an example of what a POF program would look like using the high-volume, high-intensity, low-frequency model:

Day One: Chest

Incline Barbell Bench Presses: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Incline Flyes: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps
Cable Crossovers: 6 sets of 20 reps

Day Two: Legs

Sled Drags: 5 sets for distance, adding weight each set
Squats: 6 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Sissy Squats: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps
Leg Extensions: 5 sets of 30 to 50 reps

Day Three: Shoulders

Standing Overhead Presses: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
One Arm Overhead Dumbbell Presses: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps (each arm)
One Arm Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps (each arm)
Close-Grip Barbell Upright Rows: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Day Four: Back

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps (each arm)
Power Snatches: 4 sets of 3 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers: 4 sets of 20 reps (perform these “cross-bench” style)
Bent-Over Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 20 reps

Day Five: Arms

Close-Grip 3-Board Bench Presses: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Skullcrusher/Pullovers: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps
Dumbbell Kickbacks: 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps (each arm)

Barbell Curls: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Alternate Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Concentration Curls: 4 sets of 20 reps (each arm)

Take days 6 and 7 off, then repeat.

If you want to perform some calf work, not a problem. Every couple of days, perform a couple sets of standing calf raises, a couple of sets of “donkey” calf raises, then a couple sets of high-rep bodyweight only calf raises.

Three On/ One Off Redux

A New Twist on an Old Classic

When I began lifting weights – sometime in the late ‘80s – there was really only one training split that most bodybuilders used: the three on, one off scheme. For any of you unfamiliar with this split, it works like this: You split your body three ways, and then you train for three days straight before taking a day off. After your day off, you begin the split over again.
Most bodybuilders of that era trained legs on one day, and then split their upper body into two sessions; some lifters trained antagonistic bodyparts together on one day – chest and back, or biceps and triceps – while others would train all of their push muscles on one day – chest, shoulders, and triceps – and their pull muscles on the other day – back and biceps.
But the three on, one off split eventually fell the way of the dinosaurs. In the early ‘90s Dorian Yates entered the scene, bringing with him his “blood-and-guts” style of training. This training consisted of minimum sets, heavy weights, ultra-intense sets (which might be an understatement), and plenty of rest between workouts. It didn’t take long for other bodybuilders to follow suit. Within a decade, almost all of your top bodybuilders were taking a week off between training each bodypart, and hardly ever training more than two days in a row without taking a day off. The same, more or less, still holds true today.
But I think there’s a lot of value to the three on, one off split. It just needs a little tweaking. Get ready for a 21st century three on, one off redux.
Principles of Three On/ One Off Mass Building
First, let’s look at what I believe are the “keys” to rapid muscle growth if you are going to use this program. This will allow you to understand why my version of the three on/one off program is designed the way it is.
Key #1: Frequent Training– I know that this one is a bit controversial, considering all of the emphasis these days on giving your muscles enough time to “rest and recuperate.” But you can’t argue with this: The more frequently you can train a muscle, the faster it will grow. The secret is in training just enough to stimulate the muscle so that you can train it again a few days later (which is a real benefit of this training split).
Key #2: Heavy, Multiple Set Training– One of the most effective forms of training that anyone can perform is “neural training”; in other words, using heavy loads for multiple sets. These kind of workouts tend to produce “mass that lasts” more so than higher-repetition training. What you must keep in mind with neural training, however, is that you can’t go overboard with maximal loads to near failure. You must always leave something in the tank, so to speak, when incorporating this method.
Key #3: Don’t Forget the High Reps– Neural training may be highly effective, but you don’t need to neglect the benefits of getting a good pump, which helps to build muscle via sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
Key #4: Stay Away From Training That Induces Too Much Trauma on Your Muscles– The good thing about neural training (when not taken to failure) and high rep training (also when not taken to failure) is that you can recover from these sessions relatively fast. The kind of training you don’t want to perform on a three on, one off program are maximal and even sub-maximal loads taken to the point of momentary muscular failure or beyond.

The Redux Training Program

The following program involves two different phases. Each “phase” lasts for three days. After taking a day off, the second phase is performed. This form of training is often called micro-periodization (as opposed to macro-periodization). With micro-periodization, the training will fluctuate during a week of training, allowing you to train multiple aspects within a short period of time.
Phase One: Neural Training
The first three days of training focus on using near maximal loads for multiple sets and low reps. You should be able to recover from these workouts within 72 hours. Keep in mind, however, that you may be sore at first, especially if you have never performed this kind of training. Don’t worry if this happens. Train through the soreness and your body will adapt in no time.
Day One: Neural Leg Training
Squats – 10 sets of 3 reps. After warming up with two to three warm-up sets, load the bar with a weight that would typically allow you 6 to 8 reps before reaching failure. Use this weight for all 10 sets.
Donkey Calf Raises – 5 sets of 10 reps. Calves tend to respond better to higher reps, hence the lack of neural training on this exercise.
Day Two: Neural Chest and Back Training
Incline Bench Presses – 8 sets of 3 reps. After warming up with two to three warm-up sets, load the bar with a weight that would typically allow you 6 to 8 reps before reaching failure. Use this weight for all 8 sets.
Wide Grip Chins – 8 sets of 3 reps
Day Three: Neural Shoulder and Arm Training
Standing Military Presses – 8 sets of 3 reps
Barbell Curls – 6 sets of 3 reps. Once again, use a weight that would typically allow you 6 to 8 reps before reaching failure. Perform less total sets, however, due to the indirect work your biceps received with all of the chins the day before.
Lying Triceps Extensions (a.k.a. skull crushers) – 6 sets of 3 reps. As with the barbell curls, there is no need to perform more than 6 sets on this exercise. Your triceps have already received plenty of stimuli from the military presses and the incline bench presses.
Day Four: Off
Phase Two: Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
The following sets should be taken a few reps shy of muscular failure. None of the sets listed include warm-ups. Perform at least one warm up set for each exercise.
Day Five: High Rep Leg Training
Hack Squats – 2 sets of 25 reps
Walking Lunges – 2 sets of 30 reps
Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 2 sets of 25 reps
Standing Calf Raises – 4 sets of 30 reps
Day Six: High Rep Chest and Back Training
Wide Grip Dips – 2 sets of 15 to 25 reps
Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 2 sets of 20 reps
Feet Elevated Push-ups – 2 sets of 20 reps
Wide Grip Pulldowns – 2 sets of 25 to 30 reps
Close Grip Pulldowns – 2 sets of 25 to 30 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers – 2 sets of 20 to 25 reps
Day Seven: High Rep Shoulder and Arm Training
Seated Dumbbell Presses – 2 sets of 20 to 30 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 2 sets of 20 to 30 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 2 sets of 20 reps (each arm)
Concentration Curls – 2 sets of 20 reps (each arm)
Lying Dumbbell Extensions – 2 sets of 20 to 30 reps
Bench Dips – 2 sets of 20 to 30 reps
Day Eight: Off

Closing Remarks

This program is designed for building muscle mass, so make sure that you’re consuming plenty of calories every day. As a starting point, consume at least 12 times your bodyweight in calories on a daily basis (although 15 would be even better). And be sure to get plenty of protein. Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.
When not training, make sure you rest and relax as much as possible. And I don’t just mean to sit around on your couch, watching television mindlessly. That kind of behavior can actually be very “non-relaxing.” Take a nap, practice a relaxation technique (such as meditation), and read a book. Relax and grow.
After two to three weeks on the above program, you may want to rotate to some new exercises. Just make sure that the new exercises are as equally demanding as the originals.

The following article is a combination of a couple of different articles I wrote for some different magazines, and a few brief posts that I've written on this blog in years' past. I hope you enjoy the outcome—and find that it offers some valuable insight, AND a kick-ass training program for packing on the mass!

Old School Muscle

Training Strategies of the Classic Bodybuilders

Most bodybuilders today think that newer is always better; doesn’t matter if it’s the latest pill, protein powder, diet, or workout program. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not always the case. I think it’s time some of the old-school training strategies once again saw the light of day. In fact, I think if you combine many of the ideas of the “old-timers” with today’s state-of-the-art supplements, the results could be amazing.

In the following article, I’m going to outline many of the best strategies the old-time bodybuilders had for building slabs of muscle mass—and then I’ll outline a sample program using these strategies. It’s time for an old-school resurrection.

Enter Old School

The following training regimen is based on principles that a majority of old-time bodybuilders adhered to. Before we get to the nuts-and-bolts of the program, let’s look at a few of these principles.

Principle #1—Don't go by the mirror, go by the weight on the bar.

One of the major mistakes current bodybuilders make is to assess their progress based on the results they see in the mirror. A lot of this has to do with the way they lift. When you train for the pump, you often go by feel, and never make many strides toward increasing the weight that is used.

There are a lot of problems with going by "feel" or "looks." Often, your memory lies to you. You think you look better than you did three months ago when, actually, there isn't any change (or you look worse).

While bodybuilders of the past enjoyed the benefits and the feeling from getting a good pump—they often called it “chasing the pump”—they worried more about increasing their strength. It's the reason they used methods like 5 sets of 5 (a favorite of Reg Park's), 5 sets of 5/4/3/2/1, and heavy singles. With these techniques, the emphasis is on performance, though the looks will soon follow.

Principle #2—Train through the soreness.

I know this method's going to be a bit controversial, given all the emphasis in muscle magazines the past two decades or so on giving your muscles enough time to "recuperate" and "repair" (although I do think the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way). Let me explain, and maybe I'll have a few converts (especially once you put the method to proper use).

I think it's mistakenly believed that bodybuilders of the past trained so frequently (usually 3x weekly for each bodypart) because they simply didn't know any better. But if you were to ask the great Bill Pearl if he would change the way he used to train considering all the new "knowledge" about recovery, he would flatly tell you, "no."

One of the reasons bodybuilders who train each bodypart once-per-week get so sore is because, well, they train everything once-per-week. This never allows you to increase your rate of recovery, because the demands are never placed on your body to do so. Sure, if you start training everything two, or even three, times a week you're going to be sore, but after a couple of weeks the soreness will subside. Then, look out, because it's growth time.

Principle #3—Train long, not hard.

A favorite quote of Arthur Jones goes something like this: "You can either train long, or you can train hard, but you can't do both." And everyone seems to immediately assume that the answer is to train hard. Not many consider that training long might be the better option. Bodybuilders from the past, however, understood this well. It's the reason Bill Pearl always advised taking sets about two reps short of failure. This allows one to perform more sets.

This training long option doesn't necessarily have to apply to the length of the workout. It applies more to the duration spent on an exercise. For instance, what do you believe is the better sets/reps method for the squat? Three sets of ten reps or ten sets of three? Three sets of ten is definitely the "hard" method, even though both schemes involve the same total workload. And if you were to ask this question in the gyms of today, you would undoubtedly get the answer that three sets of ten is the best. Any lifter who trains with me, however, would immediately know my answer. Ten sets of three is the better method. Though both involve the same workload, only the ten sets method allows for maximum force to be applied on every rep. It also ensures that all reps are performed with perfect form, and none are taken to failure.

Principle #4—Perform only one or two exercises per bodypart.

When Reg Park was in preparation for a bodybuilding contest, he would always perform multiple exercises-per-bodypart (sometimes as many as eight), but he didn’t train this way in the off-season. He was adamant about using only one to two exercises-per-bodypart, as were the vast majority of other lifters from his era (and before).

There are several benefits to the multiple sets of one exercise approach. One, it allows you to get really strong on your core exercises: benches, squats, deadlifts, curls, overhead presses, etc. And remember, you are worried about the weight on the bar. Performing multiple sets on bench presses, for example, allows you to improve your synaptic facilitation on the lift, or what Russian strength coaches would call "greasing your groove." Basically, the more you perform the exercise, the better (and, therefore, stronger) you get at it.

Another benefit is it allows you to really focus on the bodypart you're training. I can't tell you how many times when I was performing the multiple exercises method that I lost focus (and pump, strength, etc.) when, after a couple of sets on my first exercise, I moved to something else.

Vince Gironda called one-exercise-per-bodypart training the "honest workout." Why? Because he knew it worked like no other.

The Old School Mass from the Past 5x5 Program

The following is a program for almost 4 months of training. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity when you first look at it. And make sure that you move through it progressively by following each phase.

Phase One

Perform the following workout for 4 weeks. The weights lifted do not include warm-ups. Be sure that you perform 2 to 3 warm-up sets on each exercise before proceeding to your work sets. Make sure that you train on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

Day One:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work of your choice

Day Two:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Chins: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Day Three:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Power Cleans: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Rest 2 to 3 minutes between work sets. After you have finished 4 weeks of training, perform a “down week” where you perform the same workout, but you cut your weights used in half.

Phase Two

This phase will also last four weeks. The first week, your body may have to adjust to the increased workload, so there’s a possibility that you will still be sore on days 2 and 3. That’s okay—train through the soreness.

Day One:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Weighted Dips: 5 sets of 5 reps

High Pulls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Day Two:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Seated Behind-the-Neck Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Day Three:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Chins: 5 sets of 5 reps

Power Cleans: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Rest 2 minutes between work sets. Following 4 weeks of this workout, be sure to take another “down week.” On this week, cut the weights and the number of exercises in half.

Phase Three

Phase three is a killer. It’s so tough that there’s no way you would be able to finish it unless you have first completed phase one and two. With that in mind, perform the following phase for only 3 weeks before taking a “down” week.

Day One:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps

High Pulls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Day Two:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Weighted Dips: 5 sets of 5 reps

Power Cleans: 5 sets of 5 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 5 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

Day Three:

Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Bradford Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps

High Pulls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 5 reps

Abdominal work

When you are done with this phase—and after you’ve taken your “down” week—you will probably want to try something different. You could continue with full-body workouts, but start using the 5/4/3/2/1 method, or 5 sets of 3s or 2s. Either of those methods can be productive. Another option would be to perform some split workouts, but only split your body two ways, and follow the same principles.

One final thing: Make sure that you get plenty of sleep and eat plenty of protein every day. This program requires that you take your nutrition and recovery methods seriously.

As of late, I have—for multitudinous reasons—found it hard to write very much. (Please forgive me, in fact, if I have yet to respond to anyone’s email questions—I will as soon as possible.) Not that writing itself, per se, is hard. Once I sit down to my computer, open up Word, or once I sit down on my couch, notebook in hand, I find writing to be—while not the easiest thing—not much of a chore. No, I have been busy with so many other things that, unfortunately, I just haven’t found the time to write much on my blog. And when I have found the time, I have attempted to work on some articles, or some other stuff that actually makes me money writing—or, at least, has the potential to make money.

Despite my inability to write as much as I need to, I would really like to write on this blog more, despite the fact that I don’t know if I always have something very important to write about. (Most of my writing here, in fact, is very much the same stuff said different ways, but, I suppose, that’s how it is with most muscle magazines, power training articles, and the like.)

Until now, I had not found a solution out of my dilemma—my dilemma being how in the world do I post multiple writings each week, as opposed to a few times a month, or maybe just once every month or two?

The solution is what you are currently reading: a “journal” of sorts, where I will write my various thoughts for the day involving workout principles, diet strategies, or—when the mood strikes me—musings of a more philosophical bent.

My goal is write a couple “journals” each week, along with my usual stuff. I hope you will find the result at least somewhat interesting.

Journal of Strength

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my sons walk over to my house from their high school, and we (of course) lift. (They stay with me on the weekends, and we train every Saturday, and Sunday, as well.)

My youngest, Garrett, who is 14, wants to compete in a powerlifting meet soon. He’s small—only weighs 105 lbs—but he bench presses 165 lbs. Not shabby. He alternates between days when he squats, days when he deadlifts, and days when he just bench presses. His goal is to be as strong as possible for his bodyweight, and so far the workouts are paying off.

Typically, when training someone Garrett’s age, I wouldn’t allow him or her to train with such a “split” routine unless the sole goal is strength, so this kind of workout is fine for Garrett. It would also be fine for any teenagers who need strength—but not necessarily more muscle mass—in their chosen sport. An example would be a teenager who wrestles or competes in martial arts.

My oldest son, Matthew, 15, simply wants to be as big as humanly possible for a teenager his age. I would, in fact, say that he’s a bit obsessed with it. Here’s his current program:

Saturday: Upper body “density” day

Sunday: Lower body “density” day

Tuesday: Full body “high rep” day

Thursday: Full body “maximal strength” day

The two density days are performed with multiple exercises, using multiple sets of low to moderate reps. The goal is to get as many reps as possible in a relatively short period of time with relatively heavy—or at least moderate—weights. Typically, for instance, Matthew begins Saturday’s workouts with chins, performing multiple sets of 3 reps with very little rest between sets. He usually gets 20 to 30 reps done in ten to fifteen minutes. He then follows—hypothetically; the exercises change—with something such as bench presses, overhead presses, power cleans, power snatches, and curls.

Sundays it’s more of the same for the lower body.

Tuesday is a full-body workout using such things as squats, benches, overheads, lunges, curls, farmer’s walks, and sled drags. The sets are about 3 to 4 per exercise with relatively high reps in the 15 to 25 rep range.

“Maximal strength” Thursday means that he will pick two—maybe three— exercises and work up to a heavy set of 5 reps (typically). Bench presses and deadlifts are good choices, as are overhead presses and squats.

This program, by the way, is a sound way for any teenager to train—so long as he or she has cut their teeth on full-body workouts. Matthew, for instance, put in his share of full-body workouts centered on nothing but squats, bench presses, and (either) deadlits or heavy overhead presses for a long time before he switched over to this workout. (And, I must admit, I let him perform an even more “bodybuilding-friendly” program before this one.)

The program is, for the most part, still centered on full-body workouts—a “must” for teenage lifters—but, because the weekends are “split” workouts, it also allows the teenage lifter to do stuff that I might not always be that fond of—such as lots and lots of dumbbell curls—but that most teenage boys seem to love.

Journal of Strength

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

My current workout program is a bit haphazard. But it’s also enjoyable and effective for my current goals.

It’s haphazard in the fact that I pretty much do whatever I feel like on whatever days I feel like training. Of course, to be honest, that’s not entirely the case, but it’s close to it. There is some structure—I always begin each workout with high-set singles of one exercise. I rotate between a few different exercises. Deadlifts, power cleans, power snatches, full snatches, clean and presses, or one-arm dumbbell presses are the typical exercises, although occasionally I will do flat bench presses or squats. Also, I sometimes do two exercises for high-set singles instead of just one, and I always finish the workout with two or three additional exercises of whatever I feel as if I should do, for two or three sets each of whatever rep range I feel like doing.

There is structure, true. But there’s also chaos—or what seems to be chaos to someone who witnesses my training on a regular basis. Truth be told, there’s really nothing too chaotic about it, for the structure of the high-set singles—the single-pointedness of such a technique—leads, often, to something akin to flow states, and, so, what seems as if it’s nothing more than chaos is really the flow of what my auto-regulated body-mind knows that it should be doing.

(Typically, I would write this journal entry immediately after training, when the training is fresh on my mind, but I’m rather tired this afternoon, and may be that much more tired once my evening’s session is finished, and I’ve consumed my fair share of grilled salmon and red wine—a pinot, perhaps, or maybe several glasses of a cabernet sauvignon. So, be that as it may, this entry comes before the actual workout. But I digress…)

Tonight I will be doing one-arm dumbbell overhead presses for 15 to 20 sets of 1 repetition—at least, that’s the plan. And since I haven’t done this workout yet, I have no way of knowing exactly what my auxiliary movements will be, although I suspect something along the line of chins, bench presses of one sort or another, a curl of some sort, and maybe some thick-bar dumbbell deadlifts.

Last night I did power cleans with a relatively light weight—only 205 pounds—for 10 singles, and then I followed this with some Bulgarian split squats for 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps (each leg), some walking lunges, and some dips.

My weight was light because I currently have a herniated disk which is pinching a nerve, and causing some pain and numbness in my right arm. Eight or nine years ago, I had surgery to repair two herniated disks in my neck, and I don’t really want to repeat that, which brings me around to the subject of this entry: the benefits of performing high-set singles. (My herniated disk is also one reason that good ol’ barbell squats are not on my list of “regular” high-set single exercises. For everyone else reading this thing, they should be on your list.)

I enjoy workouts of high-set singles, and I have for some time. I also think they are, hands down, one of the most effective ways to train (along with high-set doubles and triples, to be fair).

One of the greatest benefits is that they allow you to get a relatively high amount of work done in a short period of time—without suffering form degradation. In my workout last night, I was able to perform all 10 singles in less than 10 minutes, and every rep was fast and explosive.

When performed with heavy weight—90-95% of your one-rep maximum—this becomes even more evident. For instance, my current max in the deadlift is probably around 500 pounds (I have not done these very heavy lately, due to the pinched nerve, so I’m not entirely sure.) If I was to put 450 pounds on the bar—90% of my max—and perform 2 or 3 rep sets, I would not be able to do many. Fatigue would set in fairly fast. If, however, I elected to perform multiple singles, I would be able to get 8 to 10 reps in without too much of a drop in speed and power with each ensuing set.

But even when not performed with heavy weights, the workouts are still effective. This is especially true when doing the various quick lifts. Cleans and snatches in all of their varieties should not be done for sets of high reps, no matter how many times Crossfit “lifters” do such a thing. Form degradation quickly breaks down when you exceed 3 reps per set on these lifts.

But I don’t think it’s just the quick lifts that multiple sets of singles (or low reps) should apply to—I also like them (obviously) with bench presses, squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses. When you are only doing 1 rep on all of these exercises, technique remains perfect and speed and power quickly escalate over only a few weeks of training.

When I was teaching martial arts, I never let any of my students perform more than 5 consecutive repetitions of a single movement before taking a short (albeit, sometimes a very short) break. After a few reps, speed and power are reduced, and form breaks down—even though it’s only slight in advanced practitioners, I’ll admit—this despite the fact that most people would be able to continue with hundreds of reps of each movement if they so chose to. Obviously, the load is very low when punching air, but form breakdown occurs nonetheless.

Here’s the thing: when practicing karate-do this way, I would still do hundreds upon hundreds of punches and kicks in each session, just not consecutively. If I had tried to do them consecutively, then I simply wouldn’t have been able to do enough in each workout compared to doing them non-consecutively.

Do less early so that you can do more later.

That’s another benefit. High-set singles—and their siblings: multiple sets of doubles and multiple sets of triples—allow you to do a lot of work in each session. If you don’t believe me, then load your bench press barbell with 80% of your one-rep maximum and see how many sets of 5 to 6 reps you can do. At the session after that one, load it with 80% of your max and see how many singles you can perform—you might be a little surprised when you crank out 50 singles, whereas I doubt you could manage 10 sets of 5 reps[1].

Another benefit—and this is one my favorite—is that you can recover quicker from high-set singles than you can with sets of multiple reps. And the quicker you can recover, the quicker you can train again. And the more you can train, the faster are your gains going to be.

If you want to get really strong on just a couple of lifts—the power clean and the bench press, for instance—then perform those exercises almost daily for high-set singles. You may be shocked just how quickly you get really strong.

But you don’t have to only pick a couple of exercises. You can certainly do as I’m currently doing and have a lot of exercises at your disposal. You could even do just one lift per-day using this technique, and train each lift only once-per-week, without adding any auxiliary movements. Here is what 5 days of training may look like:

Monday: Squats

Tuesday: Power Cleans

Wednesday: Bench Presses

Thursday: Power Snatches

Friday: Deadlifts

Saturday and Sunday: Rest a lot. Eat a lot.

Next week: Repeat

[1] This is especially true if you’re a power athlete who is “built” for power, for lack of a better word. If you’re one of those lifters who finds that you can only get about 5 to 6 reps with 80% of your one-rep max before reaching momentary muscular failure, then there’s no way you would be able to manage 10 sets of 5 reps. This is not entirely true for those of you who have more “endurance” fibers, and can manage to crank out 10 reps—or more—with 80% of your max.

While reading Nick Horton’s good blog “The Iron Samurai” the other day[1], I came across this quote by the samurai Yamaoku Tesshu: “In order to learn about the Way, forget about self and awaken to the truth… Exerting self is a mistake… We should not say “myself” — in truth there is no such thing… When there is no thought of self, true Bushido develops.”

the samurai, and Zen master, Yamaoku Tesshu

The essence of Bushido is summed up in the last sentence.

When there is no thought of self, true Bushido develops.

Bushido—for those of you who are unaware—is often translated as “the way of the warrior” or, a more literal definition, “the samurai’s way.” It is the way of one who practices Budo. (Budo means “martial path”.)

I have often thought of lifting as a form of Budo, and my gym as the dojo. (This is one reason that I enjoy lifting at home, in my garage dungeon gym. It is not commercial, and, therefore, becomes more of a dojo than anything commercialized. The furthest thing from a dojo, for instance, would be Planet Fitness.)

Lifting as Budo becomes even more true when performing only one or two exercises at each workout for multiple sets each. A lot of lifters who train in both martial arts and Olympic lifting understand this the best—martial arts training (particularly the Japanese martial arts, which I’m partial to) and Olympic lifting allow one to lose thought of self—what my sensei would refer to as “mushin”—and, thus, attain true Bushido.

I don’t think this can really be explained adequately in a blog post—or in any writing, for that matter—so I’m not going to even try to do so. As my sensei was also fond of saying throughout the course of a training session: “Fight without fighting and think without thinking.” He never attempted to explain this to anyone. If you didn’t “get it”, or if it didn’t dawn on you at some point during your Budo practice, I doubt he thought there would be much point.

The only way for any of us to develop true Bushido, and experience this directly, is to train. Training is the path. The path is the goal.

When there is no thought of self, true Bushido develops.

[1] I read his blog once every two weeks or so—I would read it more but, to be honest, I’m afraid I simply don’t peruse the internet enough, which I think is a better trade-off than perusing it too damn much

Journal of Strength

Monday, November 17, 2014

Today I did something that—to some lifters, at least—might seem rather odd. I performed a full-body workout of whatever I felt like doing, for relatively moderate to high reps. I had no idea what I was going to do, with the lone exception of the first exercise, until I actually started training.

This might seem even more odd for those of you who read this blog regularly, which includes me often praising—rather highly, I might add—the benefits of high-frequency training for multiple sets of low reps.

And here’s the thing: I actually think the kind of workout I did today can be highly effective, for a certain segment of the lifting population, at least.

First, a little backtracking is in order.

Last week I mentioned that I have been training using a regular program of high-set singles for the past few weeks. I also mentioned in a previous post that I have been having some pain and numbness in my left hand and arm from a pinched nerve in my neck. Well, the last few days—in addition to being sick—the pain in my arm and neck had increased dramatically, so I knew that it was time for a change[1].

I decided for the next several weeks I would perform a high-frequency, high-volume, low-intensity training program where I will train my entire body every day at each training session. I will work out 5 to 6 days each week, basically just taking a day off whenever I feel as if I need it.

I first discovered how beneficial this program could be about 8 years ago from the strength-training guru—and my mentor, though I have never met him—Bill Starr. At the time, I was coming off of neck surgery for a couple of herniated disks. It was almost six months after the surgery before I could train, and when I did train, I couldn’t resume my ultra-heavy training that I had done for the decade previously. (Now, let me add that, unfortunately, I attempted some very heavy training at first, which only resulted in unnecessary injuries, because I trained too heavy, too quickly.) I was familiar with Starr’s theories on training for the older athlete, which basically involves full-body workouts performed 5 to 6 days each week for fairly high reps, and, so, I thought I would give it a shot. Although not “old” by any stretch of the imagination, my body needed the break until I could recover more fully. (I must add that during this time I first started experimenting with bodyweight-only training during some sessions, as well, and found that it could be quite effective.)

I was surprised with the results I was getting at the time, and it cemented my belief that high-frequency training was the most effective all-around way to train, but that it didn’t have to necessarily be performed for multiple sets of high-reps. It could, in fact, work well with both high-volume and high-frequency.

I must caution something here: this training is probably best done by those who have trained for many years, and have a keen understanding of how training affects their bodies. This is one reason that this kind of training works well for the older athlete—the older athlete understands his body very well.

The fact is that it’s simply harder for novice or intermediate lifters—or even some advanced lifters—to train using high-volume and high-frequency. High-frequency, high-intensity programs (with low volume) and high-volume, high-intensity programs (with low frequency) are simply much easier for the average lifter to understand/control.

I will perform this new program for the next 4 to 6 weeks, at which time I will go back to heavier training—assuming the pain I’m having abates. I am also fully aware that, at some point, I will need to perform this kind of training for the remainder of my life—which may not be for another 10 or even 20 years down the road—because this is the best form of lifting for the older athlete. It’s great for focusing on the muscles without overloading the joints, tendons, and ligaments.

Tonight, here’s the workout I ended up performing:

Deadlifts: 4 sets of 20 to 30 reps with 135 pounds
Bench Presses: 1 set of 50 reps with 110 pounds (warm-up)
Dumbbell Bench Presses: 3 sets of 20 to 25 reps with 50 pounds
Dumbbell Pullovers: 3 sets of 15 reps with 40 pounds
Dumbbell Shrugs (seated): 3 sets of 20 reps with 50 pounds
Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 20 reps with 55 pounds
2 sets of Hanging Leg Raises for 10 reps

One of the keys is to not feel overly tired at the end of each session. This will allow you to train with the frequency you need. You may (or perhaps should) be a little sore the day following each workout, but it should be slight.

The workout I did may not seem as if it was much[2], but the key is to string a lot of workouts such as this one back-to-back-to-back. Tomorrow I will probably perform something along the lines of lunges, overhead presses, dips, forearm curls, and calf raises. The day after that it may be squats, chins, dumbbell rows, pullovers and presses, and push-ups.

When I feel tired, I’ll take the day off.

And when I feel like pushing it “balls-to-the-wall”, I’ll do that, too.

You get the drift. Doing this consistently, day-after-day, not missing a workout, can add up to some nice gains in the course of a couple of months.

Now, about that doing whatever you feel like thing: for guys such as myself who have been training for 20-plus years (and have spent much of that time doing full-body workouts), this kind of training is ideal. I know my body. It tells me what I should—and shouldn’t—do during training. I know when to back-off, and I know when to push it harder. I know when I can do 5 sets of high-rep deadlifts, and when I should only do 1 set, but this isn’t for everyone. Most of you need to be on a specificprogram, knowing exactly what exercises you will do on each training day.

[1] Also, the Nativity Fast has just begun for us “Eastern Christians”, which means that, until Christmas, I will primarily subside on a vegan diet of relatively low calories. This will necessitate some lighter training, as well.

[2] For some lifters—those of you who I have referred to in the past as “low-volume lifters”—this may actually be too much. My ex-training partner—and dear ol’ friend—Puddin’ (search for past blog posts if you would like to read some exploits) would do just fine, for instance, with about half of this volume. In fact, I have a feeling that he would gain muscle rapidly.

For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, forgive my long delay in posts. I have been going through some personal stuff the last couple of months—some of which I may write about at some point—and have found it difficult to write things for this blog. Hopefully this post will be the first in many to come over the next month or two.

High-Volume, Low-Frequency Training for the Ultimate in Mass-Building

Part One

Dennis Du Breuil’s “Ultimate Bulk and Power” Rules

Most of what I write on this blog deals with more of my recent training tactics—and the stuff I’ve written about the most recently revolves around my recent training strategies. One problem I’ve always had as a writer on strength-training and muscle-building is that I’ve always—or almost always—been the kind of writer that has trouble writing about training other than what I was currently doing at the time.

When I first started writing for Iron Man magazine over 20 years ago, I wrote about high-volume, high-intensity, low-frequency training since that is the kind of training that I was doing at the time. In the late ‘90s, early ‘00s, I switched over to all-out power training, and my writing switched to the same stuff. (I must add here that, at the time, no one was writing about serious strength training—ultra-low reps, power training with multiple sets of low reps, 5x5 training, 10x3 training, that sort of stuff—in the major magazines other than Bill Starr and myself (nowadays, it’s much more commonplace). Thus, power training became something of a writing boon for me. I had stuff published almost every month for years in both Iron Man and MuscleMag International—sometimes in both mags in the same month.) But I never really forgot my high-volume, low-frequency beginning—and the serious muscle mass that I put on back then—and I have occasionally returned to articles about that kind of training here at Integral Strength, but, for the most part, the writing on this blog has been decidedly power oriented, with the occasional forays into bodyweight-only workouts.

A couple of weeks ago, when I returned from a funeral in my home state of Texas (I live in my adopted home state of Alabama), my oldest son Matthew—who is 15, and my workout partner these days—suggested to me that we perform what he calls “old-school” (for me, they’re not really “old-school”) bodybuilding routines: ultra-intense, high-volume, relatively low-frequency workouts with the sole intent of packing on as much muscle as possible and “for looking good” (to use his nomenclature). I have almost always had us train with full-body workouts or two-way splits of one sort or another, but he has always listened to me regale him with tales from the early to late ‘90s when I trained one-bodypart-per-day and with the sort of intensity that would have envied the Golden Eagle himself.[1] He has also heard my claims that I once packed on 20 to 25 pounds of mass in 2 to 3 weeks using such a routine, and other tales of yore (for him) that seem well-nigh impossible.

So I relented.

And we have been enjoying some of the best workouts over the last two weeks that we have ever had while training together. And, for me, it has brought back memories of training from years’ past, and it has awakened training knowledge—gleamed from such ‘90s luminaries as Greg Zulak, Don Ross, Gene Mozee, and, hell, even Mike Mentzer—that I haven’t applied in many-a-year.

And I decided it was time to once again write stuff using this dormant knowledge.

I was also quite surprised when I finally got on my blog today—I haven’t looked at it in about 2 months—and found a comment from an occasional commenter, Alexander Nilsson, who asked for something on the very same topic. (Odd how synchronous life can sometimes be.)

One more word of note before we actually get started on the nuts-and-bolts of our mass-building rules: There are some things that I know now that I wish I would have known 20 to 25 years ago—this series of articles will include my acquired knowledge as well as what I learned in the past.

Dennis Du Breuil’s “Ultimate Bulk and Power” Rules

For this article, I’m going to use the mass-building “rules” of Dennis Du Breuil as a springboard for discussing many of my thoughts and theories on high-volume, low-frequency muscle-building. Du Breuil’s “rules” are a good starting point for this series of articles. Du Breuil—for those of you unfamiliar—wrote an article for Iron Manmagazine in 1976 entitled “The Ultimate Bulk and Power Theory” that laid out his thoughts on the best practices to build muscle mass. I have never read that article. Instead, I became familiar with Du Breuil’s theories via the May, 1994 issue of MuscleMag International, in an article written by Greg Zulak that was (aptly) named “Your Way to Ultimate Bulk and Power”. Zulak outlined Du Breuil’s various rules of muscle-building, along with his own thoughts on the matter. I’m going to pretty much do the same here by outlining Du Breuil’s and Zulak’s theories, along with my personal two cents worth.

Rule 1: There is a strong relationship between increased blood circulation and muscle growth. Some of you may be reading this and thinking that it means “the more of a pump you get in a muscle, the more it will grow,” but this isn’t exactlywhat Du Breuil was getting at. This is how Zulak explained it: “The better the blood circulation to a muscle, Du Breuil theorized, and the easier it pumps, the better the muscle will grow. And it will recover better because the blood can carry away fatigue products and bring nutrition in.” In other words, it’s not just the pump, but how easy and quickly a muscle gets a pump that will determine muscle growth. It is also predicated upon how easy and quickly a muscle pumps using traditional training that will determine muscle growth. After all, anyone can get a decent pump with really high-rep training, but this doesn’t mean that ultra-high rep training is the best for muscle growth.

If you have been training for any length of time with more “generic” bodybuilding programs, then you know this rule to be true. Your muscles that pump quickly using a moderate number of sets (6 to 10) combined with a moderate number of reps (8 to 12) grow with relative ease.

Rule 2: Work a small area of the body and then rest for at least 20 minutes. Here is what Zulak had to say about this rule (which is pretty interesting if you have a knowledge of the ‘70s bodybuilding culture): “When Du Breuil wrote his article, Arthur Jones of Nautilus fame was considered the authority on muscle growth. Nautilus machines were the hottest ticket going, and Mike Mentzer, whose heavy-duty system was based on Nautilus principles, was just making a name for himself. Arthur Jones insisted that the whole body must be treated as a unit. He said the best way to build a lot of muscle was to work the whole body in a single workout, and to train very fast, going from one set to the next with very little rest, until the whole body was covered. However, many people discovered that such routines were actually better for conditioning than building size. Endurance was improved, sure, but the muscles were not worked as hard as possible because the cardiovascular system gave out first before the muscles were worked to failure.

“Du Breuil totally disagreed with Jones.”

Now, to be honest, I think that both kind of programs build muscle, but for different reasons. (If you want to read my thoughts on full-body workouts and how theybuild muscle growth, there are plenty of articles here on my blog, or stuff of mine you can find on other sites.) However, you have to use Du Breuil’s method when utilizing high-volume and low-frequency.

Du Breuil, for what it’s worth, advocated training on double, or even triple, split programs in order to achieve the end result. In other words, his trainees would train chest, wait an hour or so, train shoulders, wait at least an hour or longer, and train arms, and so on and so forth.

That is, obviously, impractical for the majority of bodybuilders. (Hell, it’s impractical for me—for the most part—and I have a home gym replete with almost everything a hardcore ‘builder could ask for.)

The solution lies in training muscle groups that are very close to one another in order to keep blood flow localized. Your split may look something like this:

Day One: chest and shoulders

Day Two: quads, hamstrings, calves

Day Three: back

Day Four: biceps and triceps

Day Five: Off

If you prefer to train more consecutive days in a row, then you could just train one-bodypart-per-day, and rarely, if ever, take a day off. Here’s the example of a split with this kind of training in mind:

Day One: Chest

Day Two: Shoulders

Day Three: Triceps

Day Four: Legs

Day Five: Back

Day Six: Biceps

Day Seven: Repeat (take a day off whenever you feel as if you need one)

Of course, in the above scenario, you do have to train each muscle group with extreme intensity (we’ll get to more of that in a little bit), but I have actually come to believe that the more days you can train in a row, the better. I have often gone 7 or 8 days before taking a day off, and it didn’t matter what kind of training program I was following, whether it was Bulgarian training for extreme strength and power or Du Brueil’s style of blood-volume training.

And I’m not crazy in thinking this—or, at least, not alone. Top trainers such as Scott Abel and Christian Thibaudeau believe the same thing.

Rule 3: Work as hard as possible on every rep. Du Brueil believed that most bodybuilders simply didn’t train hard enough—not just on every set, but on every rep. He believed that the harder that you made every rep of every set, the better the results. Here’s what Du Brueil had to say in his original article: “First, very few bodybuilders work as hard as they should for maximum gains. It takes brutally hard workouts to produce the fast, superior gains we’re talking about. And, second, most bodybuilders have no idea what really hard work is.”

When training relatively infrequently, I agree wholeheartedly with him. Once you are a few sets into a workout, it’s important that each set is pushed to the maximum. You can do this with such intensity techniques as rest-pause training, strip sets (or drop sets, as they are often called), super-sets, tri-sets, and pre-exhaustion training, among others.

Now, I don’t believe, typically, in using any of these intensity techniques in the first exercise of the program. As I’ve said before, elsewhere, “it’s best to do less early, so you can do more later on.” I recommend beginning with one exercise of straight sets, preferably a large, compound movement, then you would move on to the more intense stuff. Here would be an example of a typical chest workout:

Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 8 -10 reps (Only the last set should be all-out, where it’s hard, or impossible, to get the final rep. At this point, your chest muscles will be neurally “primed” for the intense sets that follow.)

Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 16 to 20 reps (For these, you will use a rest-pause technique. Perform about 6 to 8 reps, until you almost reach failure, rest a few seconds and crank out a few more reps. Repeat this rest-pause technique until you get somewhere close to 20 reps. The last couple of rest-pause “sets” should be until all-out failure.)

Wide-Grip Dips supersetted with Flat Bench Flyes: 3 supersets of 6 to 8 reps on the dips and 12 to 16 reps on the flyes

Cross-Bench Pullovers: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps—each set taken to momentarily muscular failure

In the next installment, I’ll discuss the remainder of Du Brueil’s rules, and hopefully have some pretty cool input of my own on the topic. Until then, eat big, train big, and, in the case of these workouts, rest big.

[1] If you don’t know who-the-hell the Golden Eagle is, look it up!

It Came from the ‘90s:

The Anabolic Diet

Today, I sat down at my computer to write the second-part in my Denis Du Breuil “rules of bulk-building” when something I was writing (about the benefits of carbohydrates) made me think—for some odd reason—about Mauro Di Pasquale’s “anabolic diet”, a diet I had great success with in the mid ‘90s. One of my training partners had even better success with it—I remember it vividly because it was the first time that I witnessed someone get bigger while staying very lean. (These days, bodybuilders tend to know better. But back then, the over-riding philosophy was that you bulked up as big as possible in the off-season—gaining a combination of fat, water, and muscle—and then got really lean starting 12 to 16 weeks out from a competition—or the summer, if you didn’t compete. Of course, “over-riding philosophy” didn’t mean that everyone did it—there were some bodybuilders sounding the trumpet against such bulking strategies, the staff of the old MM2K magazine being a prime example.)

Then I thought about something else. The most popular post on this blog the past year—by far—was/is my rambling semi-essay on “Big Beyond Belief, HIT, Phil Hernon, and Other Things that Came from the ‘90s.”

The ‘90s were the heyday—for me—of bodybuilding. I liked the training that was popular during those years, I enjoyed many of the bodybuilders—back when all the guys competing for the Mr. Olympia or the NPC Nationals didn’t look as if they were simply pumped-up clones of one another—and I spent the vast amount of the decade trying to put on as much muscle mass as was humanly possible on my frame. (In the late ‘90s, strength and power became my “thing”, but I’ll save the specifics of that for another time.)

And so, I thought if my Big Beyond Belief post was so popular, maybe I should do a series of posts entitled “It Came from the ‘90s!” And why not start with the “anabolic diet”, since it’s what’s currently on my mind.

“Pork Chop Diet” Beginnings

Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale, the creator of the Anabolic Diet, wrote a monthly column for MuscleMag International all throughout the ‘90s. (I think he began writing the column in the ‘80s, but I may be wrong.) It was entitled “The Doctor’s Corner”, and it had a plethora of good information that mainly dealt with overcoming injuries or dealing with minor pains of one sort or another, although it occasionally had information about steroid abuse effects—gyno, anyone?—or answered questions about various supplements from a medical point-of-view. But I didn’t first read about the Anabolic Diet through MuscleMag but rather through an article that appeared in the September, 1992 issue of Iron Man magazine. Greg Zulak wrote the article, and it wasn’t entitled “The Anabolic Diet” but, rather, its title was “The Pork Chop Diet”. (Sometime within the next year or two, Dipasquale must have decided that the Pork Chop Diet wasn’t the best diet-name—it started appearing in bodybuilding publications with the name it’s had ever-since.)

These days, low-carbohydrate diets don’t even cause people to bat an eyelash—with all of the crap like Paleo, Atkins, and South Beach that have been around for some years. At the time, however, reading the article was quite a shock for me. Everyone that I trained with, everyone that I knew, and all of the articles I had been reading for years told me that I needed to eat a high carbohydrate, moderate protein, low fat diet if I wanted to pack on the muscle mass and stay lean at the same time. Now, don’t get me wrong, the book Super Squats taught me that it was a great idea to drink a gallon of milk per day if I wanted to grow massive, and quite a few articles from Zulak over the years before I read his pork chop-touting had espoused diets with plenty of fat in order to help build muscle, but no one was saying that an extremely high fat, high protein, low carb diet was great for getting shredded.

Of course, eventually I realized that Dipasquale wasn’t really coming up with anything new. Vince Gironda, the “Iron Guru”, had touted high-fat, high-protein diets for many, many years. In the 1950s, Gironda got so ripped for bodybuilding competitions that he actually had points deducted by the judges for being too-damn lean. And Gironda got that way by eating little other than whole eggs, steak, butter, and whole cream. His favorite “protein shake”, in fact, was nothing but a dozen raw eggs and several cups of whole cream blended until smooth.

Nonetheless, the “Pork Chop Diet” was a revolution to me in 1992.

Here’s how Zulak described the diet in the ’92 article: “For five days (say, Monday through Friday) you follow a high-fat, high-protein, high-calorie diet, including less than 50 grams of carbs a day. Then on the weekend, you have two days of high-carb, high-protein, low-fat eating. Dipasquale said that a 200-pound man should probably be eating 6,000 to 8,000 calories a day. Because so many high-fat foods are also high in protein, this includes about 350 to 400 grams of protein.”

My Experiment with the Anabolic Diet

The original Pork Chop Diet article fascinated me, but I never gave it a test-drive until a few years later (’94 or ’95, I think). By this time, it had re-invented itself as the Anabolic Diet, since it was supposedly capable of packing on mass, while staying lean, unlike anything else. (It had also made a bit of a name for itself since Dispaquale was the resident doctor for the soon-to-be-defunct World Bodybuilding Federation headed by Vince McMahon. The good doctor thought that the Anabolic Diet would be an excellent choice for the bodybuilders in the WBF, since the federation had issued a strict drug-testing policy. It didn’t go over so well—to say the least—but that’s for another time and another story. Maybe I’ll decide to do an “It Came from the ‘90s WBF special” at some point.)

My training partner, Dusty, and I both experimented with it in stretches of 6 to 8 weeks. Monday through Friday we would eat all we could possibly muster of steak, eggs, whole cream, butter, bacon, ham, sour cream, cheese of any sort, hamburger meat, sausages of all kinds, and, yes, even pork chops. On top of this, we would often “swig” shots of vegetable oil throughout the day to make sure we were consuming the requisite number of calories. And on the weekends, we basically ate whatever-the-heck we felt like eating, as long as we kept the carbs high and the fat relatively low. This even included things such as donuts, ice cream, and beer—we loved beer; I still do.

Did it work? Yeah, I stayed lean, while gaining a few pounds of muscle. For Dusty it worked even better. His abs began to really show, he looked hard as a rock, and I think he gained 10 to 15 pounds of mass—probably a little water, but mainly it was hypertrophy.

But I didn’t continue to do it. I always felt the best while eating a good amount of carbohydrates when trying to gain muscle mass, and this is still the way I feel to this day—I eat vegan for at least half of the year, for God’s sake. But it did work, while I think that diets such as Atkins, Paleo, and South Beach will very decidedly not work, and may even be dangerous, in the long haul.

Fast Forward to 2015

When it comes to building muscle, gaining strength, and staying lean, I would stay away from low-carb diets. Depending on your body-type, a traditional bodybuilding diet of 60% carbs, 30% protein, and 10% fat may be good, or it could be that you function on more of a 40-30-30 ratio of either carbs, fat, protein, or fat, carbs, protein.

But, if I’m honest with myself, then I have to admit that a lot of people would do very well on the Anabolic Diet. It also wouldn’t cause metabolic damage, a real problem on Paleo, South Beach, or other similar crap. (If you doubt me, read this article from Scott Abel. It’s rather enlightening.)

The Anabolic Diet still works because, unlike Atkins, et al, its focus is not low carb, but, rather, it’s high fat. (Read that sentence at least two more times to let it sink in.)

Atkins, Paleo, and the others emphasize low carb, relatively high amounts of protein, and only a moderate amount of fat. These diets will work for a couple of weeks, but then—even if the fat loss doesn’t completely plateau—the diet has the potential to really screw up one’s metabolism. However, when a lot of fat is consumed—70% or more—the dieter’s metabolism stays healthy, and the fat loss is more continuous.

A couple of months ago, Scott Abel wrote an article about real low-carb dieting for his own blog. It was based on the diet of his business partner, and bodybuilding competitor, Kevin Weiss. Here are some excerpts from that article:

World Powerlifting Champ Kevin Weiss and I get together at least once per week for coffee.

At our last get together I could tell Kevin had dropped a couple lbs.

“Back on the high-fat diet” I asked him.

“Yep”, he said.

You see Kevin is just several weeks out from the next World Championships and he wants to make weight for a lighter weight class. And when dieting, Kevin—who is a natural “meat tooth” (in contrast to my “sweet tooth”)—always opts for the extremely high-fat diet approach.

Now with Kevin, I would never ask “So, you back to low carbs diet?”

That would be like an insult to him. Kevin is an astute student of the game. He knows that the term “low carb diet” has no relevance to what he is doing: it’s the extremely high fat diet that is more descriptive of his approach.

And this is the mistake 99% of people out there make. Over coffee, Kevin explained to me why he gave up trying to help people with this diet: “Scott, they just won’t take their fats high enough to make it work long-term.”

Right on top of it as always!

Weight-Loss Competition Diet

Kevin needs to drop some weight but still be able to perform at his best. And if you buy into industry nonsense you would think that since Kevin is a powerlifter his emphasis would be on getting in enough protein.

WRONG!

His emphasis is in getting in a high enough amount of fat.

In fact, the protein macro ratio of his weight-loss competition diet, is just over 12%! That’s right! 12% Protein!!! Read on. This is what the “low carbs diet approach” was supposed to be all along – AN EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY HIGH FAT DIET. So I got Kevin to scribble down his meals for that day for me, but I’ll only show you two. I had a great laugh out loud moment: Check this “weight-loss diet” out:

Breakfast: 3 whole eggs

4 slices bacon

4 tablespoons sour cream 

2 slices cheddar cheese 

2 tablespoons butter 

½ cup heavy cream

Lunch: 2 cups spinach 

1 avocado 

3 oz. regular ground beef 

4 tablespoons olive oil 

1 slice cheddar cheese

Meal Alternative: Sometimes he’ll have this meal option: 

2 teaspoons coconut oil 

4 ounces prime rib 

3 whole eggs 

1 cup spinach 

½ cup feta cheese 

½ cup heavy cream 

4 tablespoons sour cream

OK, so you get the picture: the true essence of a low-carbs approach that can actually work and not negatively impact metabolism is that it is EXTREMELY high in fat.

Kevin and I then discussed how many ladies we know who whine about being “carb resistant” would ever eat a diet high enough in fat to be metabolically constructive.

After reading that, I thought more about why my training partner had such good success with the Anabolic Diet in the ‘90s. And why it would still work for anyone today.

High-Volume, Low-Frequency Training for the Ultimate in Mass-Building

Part Two

More of Dennis Du Breuil’s “Ultimate Bulk and Power” Rules

After my brief interlude into the world of high-fat “anabolic” muscle-building diets, it’s time to continue with some more of Du Breuil’s old-school wisdom on building bulk and power, with some more than occasional comments from Greg Zulak, along with my wisdom—for what it’s worth—on the matter. (If you haven’t done so by this point, read Part One first.)

Rule 4: Use plenty of isolation movements in your routine. Of all of Du Breuil’s “rules”, this one is going to be the most controversial for many of you reading this. It goes against a lot of the stuff you’ve read in other places—heck, it goes against a lot of what I’ve said (or seems to) over the years.

But I think it has plenty of merit—for the advanced lifter, at least.

First off, Du Breuil believed that beginner and intermediate lifters didneed to focus on the big, compound lifts, but he believed that, once you reached a certain level of growth, you weren’t going to continue to make progress unless you also included plenty of isolation movements.

Here are his words on the matter: “After we’ve conditioned our body with muscle-group exercises like the bench press and the squat, most of us find that we reach a point where we no longer gain, or, at least, we make progress very slowly. Because a muscle can work harder against a contraction if it works alone than it can if it’s a member of a team, isolation exercises like triceps extensions and curls will work the muscle harder, stimulating further progress.

“Believe me, if you are at a plateau, hard work on isolation exercises will make you grow.”

Even having said all of that, Du Breuil, rather surprisingly, wasn’t an advocate of pre-exhaust training. Instead, he believed that you should start with a heavy, compound movement to begin blasting the muscle group, and then finish with some very hard sets of isolation exercises.

As I said, I think there’s some merit in this approach for advanced lifters. Here would be an example of a quad routine using this principle, along with the ones we discussed in Part One:

Squats: 8 sets of 8 reps (Use a weight where you can probably get 16 reps—rest only about 30 seconds between each set.)
Leg Extensions: 3 triple-drop strip sets of 6, 12, and 20 reps on each drop
Negative-accentuated Sissy Squats: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Barbell Walking Lunges: 1 set all-out (Load a barbell with 135 lbs or so, and lunge until you damn-near puke)

Rule 5: Use a variety of exercises for each bodypart. Here’s how Zulak explained it in his original MuscleMag article that summed up these principles: “Du Breuil believed that for each muscle group, you should use one basic exercise and several isolation movements. Since there are various parts to a muscle, obviously several exercises are required to hit a muscle from all angles. It is important for both size and symmetry to work the total muscle.”

The previous quad workout would be a perfect example of what Du Breuil was talking about.

Now, some of you may be saying “duh?” to this rule, but it’s still amazing to me that there are so many people who think they can make a muscle large, shapely, and symmetrical by using only one exercise alone. Don’t get me wrong, there are exceptions to the rule, but most everyone—myself included—needs more than one exercise. And, no, this doesn’t fly in the face of what I’ve written previously when I recommend full-body workouts, and just one exercise per muscle group, per workout, because, even in those instances, you’re going to be using a lot of exercises over the course of a month or two. Keep in mind that, when training with high-volume, high-intensity, and low-frequency, you really must hit a muscle with a variety of exercises.

Rule 6: Work fairly quickly. This really goes back to our first rule. When using Du Breuil’s techniques, remember, you’re trying to really pump a muscle with blood in the shortest amount of time possible, and you’re trying to build up fatigue products in the muscle at the same time (which goes back to the second rule).

How fast is “fairly quickly”? I would always perform your next set before you’re completely recovered from the previous one. Now, you don’t want to train so quickly that it becomes a lesson in cardiovascular health, but you do want, with each subsequent set, to increase the pump more and more.

Rule 7: Light, flushing movements done at a separate time from your workout will remove the fatigue products and augment recovery, as well as reducing soreness. At first glance, this may seem to go against the rest of Du Breuil’s theories on pushing fatigue products into the muscle, and on making sure you maintain a pump in the muscle for an extended period of time. But, in this case, he’s referring to the recovery of a muscle once it’s already been flushed and pumped with blood, and been allowed to stay that way for some time.

He recommended doing two or three very light, very high-rep, very low-intensity sets for a muscle group either hours after the muscle has been trained, or, possibly, the next day.

I would perform this the day after you’ve trained a muscle. For instance, if you performed the hellishly devilish quad workout above on a Monday, then on Tuesday perform 2 or 3 sets of bodyweight squats for sets of 30 to 50 reps. If you’re supposed to train another muscle on Tuesday, that’s fine. Do the bodyweight squats at either the beginning of the workouts as a warm-up, or at the end of the session—but don’t do it until at least 20 minutes after the workout’s over. And if it’s an off day, that’s fine, too. The bodyweight squats won’t cut into your ability to recover from your previous workouts. They will enhance it.

Rule 8: Maintain at least a minimum amount of cardiovascular conditioning. About the same time that I stumbled upon Zulak’s article on “Ultimate Bulk and Power”, I had also just read John Parrillo’s book “High-Performance Bodybuilding”. (Parrillo, by the way, needs his own “It Came from the ‘90s” post.) And Parrillo said the same thing as Du Breuil. Which was odd, I thought, at the time, since both authors were concerned with packing on as much muscle as possible on their bodybuilders. And I had always thought, up to that point, that aerobic training would adversely effect by ability to gain mass.

But the more I thought about the rest of Du Breuil’s principles, the more it began to make sense. Sure, you can’t train for maximum endurance and maximum size at the same time, but that wasn’t the point. Here’s what Zulak wrote back in ’94: “The better condition you are in—cardiovascular-wise—the faster you will recover your wind between sets, so you can train faster without making the cardiopulmonary system fail. And the because the blood supply must remove the waste products from the muscles, while delivering fresh nutrients, the more efficient the cardiovascular system, up to a point, the faster you will recover from your workouts, and the better progress you’ll make.”

So, how much cardio work do you need in order to make your muscles bigger? It depends, but I think 30 minutes-a-day, three-days-a-week would be a good starting point. Zulak said that an hour per day should be the maximum, and I tend to agree. Too much would hinder your progress, but done in the correct doses, and one should be pleasantly pleased with the gains that result.

If you read this blog regularly, then you know that I haven't posted anything in quite some time.

There are a few reasons for this. I've been extremely busy with work, training, and writing some totally non-strength related material. The lack of material here, however, is about to change.

First, you'll notice that the blog has a new "look"—assuming enough readers like the new look, we'll keep it as is.

I'm also proud to say that I've hooked up with a couple of people who are very important to me—my dear friend Jared Smith and my oldest son Matthew Sloan—who are going to do some regularly contributing to the blog. Hopefully it will be enough so that, between the three of us, we can have two to three posts each week.

Jared Smith

Jared is a former workout partner of mine, and a man who I'm proud to have called my friend for the past decade or so. He's also one incredibly massive S.O.B. But don't take my word for it. Here's a pic:

Jared is currently embarking on the daunting task of completing Nick Horton's "Squat Nemesis Program." He's planning to journal his results here, in addition to writing other material.

Jared's main emphasis—heck, his only emphasis—is on getting as massively big as possible. His training is pure hypertrophy bodybuilding taken to the nth degree. His writing, hence, will focus on massive muscle-building.

He's gonna be cool because his methods are different from mine, although they overlap somewhat—we both favor high-frequency training, for instance. He, however, is much more "into" intensity techniques that really "thrash" the muscle groups. His writings will reflect this.

Matthew Sloan

Matthew is, quite obviously, my son.

At 16, his main concern is getting as "ripped" and "shredded" as possible, while maintaining muscle mass, and all while doing this in a healthy manner. (He doesn't take any "stimulants", for instance—I wouldn't want him to.)

Also—and this is an important note—he's not one of those kids who can just eat whatever-the-hell they want and get in great shape. He's had to really work for it.

His writing will focus on the nutritional aspects for getting in awesome shape, while including some high-volume and bodyweight training articles.

a.k.a.: The Squat Nemesis Training Journal:

Part One

by Jared Smith

For some time now, I have been a firm believer that overtraining a muscle is about as possible as winning the lottery a dozen times in a row or establishing peace in the Middle East. While the nervous system is another issue in-and-of-itself, the muscles can withstand much more punishment than the vast majority of people are willing to dish out. I admit that, when my training was in its infancy, I too was under the impression that infrequent training for each muscle was optimal. However, as my knowledge evolved, I learned that the more frequently you can stimulate a muscle, the more opportunities for growth you can experience. After delving into all the information I could find on how to enhance recovery between sessions, I embarked on a mission of training muscles as often as possible while remaining as fresh as possible. Within months, I was a man transformed. My muscular density and strength were increasing at a remarkable rate. Fast-forward to today and my training has become a hybrid of hypertrophy and power. While my main goal is hypertrophy, I realize that the only way to become as massive as humanly possible is to not only add strength but to PERFECT the king of all lifts…THE SQUAT!

I am no stranger to the lift, but my technique and ability to hit a deep squat without feeling like I was going to die was very much lacking. I am a prime example of fear preventing progress. After a partial tear of my right quadriceps tendon over a year ago, I avoided the squat for some time. I’d do insanely high-rep leg workouts and literally push myself to the point of puking many times, but my legs just never seemed to grow. I knew what I had to do, and although it would be like starting over, I was not about to let it defeat me. I sat down and thought of all the things that could have played a part in my injury and, though I didn’t want to admit it, I knew that a lapse in technique during the squat was my downfall. The next day I got back in the rack and instead of training like a “bodybuilder”, I decided to train like a LIFTER. Trust me when I tell you there is a huge difference between the two. A lifter is one that trains simply for the love of doing so. A typical bodybuilder is concerned only with the change to physique. I realized that the path to the physique I wanted was through perfecting the LIFT!

I decided that I would squat in some shape, form, or fashion every-single-day until form was second nature to me. I used eleven different variations of the squat during the next four weeks. The first week was almost like squatting with a broomstick, because, if I could not use a light load and go ass to grass, I didn’t deserve—nor was I ready—for anything substantial sitting atop my back. Everything about my technique was tweaked, and, while not comfortable, I knew that I had to force my body to relearn how to squat. After two weeks, my elbows were throbbing like an infected wisdom tooth from using a close grip and crankingdown on the bar. At this point, I switched to front squats and—all of the sudden—everything fell into place. Whether it was from all the overload of the back squat, or just the change of bar path, it clicked. The sequence of un-racking, walking out, getting set, breathing, dropping the hips back, sinking into the hole and staying there…FINALLY!

I began squatting before each hypertrophy session for every-other-muscle, and I continued to add weight to the bar. Though technique was my primary focus, my confidence in my ability to handle weight was growing, and, by the third week, I was sinking back squats complete with a pause in the hole as if it was nothing. During week four, I snapped a photo of my quads, and I was stunned at how much thicker my legs had become! I realized then that the cumulative volume over the course of each week, coupled with a single hypertrophy session for each muscle, had really done the trick! Nothing—and I mean nothing—fuels enthusiasm like results.

Now that we’ve got my little history lesson out of the way, we can get down to the reason I’m writing this. This will serve as my journal for the Squat Nemesis program. I am four days in, and thus far, it is going pretty well. Though I did squat every day for a month prior to starting this program, the intensity was not quite as high as this! The daily max-effort singles are taxing, but I find myself being very ‘’amped” upon completion. Thus far, the most remarkable part is the “heavy three” and two sets of five afterwards. Perhaps it’s the activation of my nervous system, or just that primal rage that comes from sinking a max effort squat, but those triples feel awesome. I find myself using more weight on the triples than I expect, which fuels my desire to get back under the bar the next day and try to add some weight to my singles. The sets of five are there to continue working on technique and the fact that such a thing is built into the program is awesome. What you must realize is that lifting is a skill, and the more you practice, the better you will be! I will be the first to admit that my numbers are NOT impressive but, keep in mind, I am a bodybuilder and am using programs such as this to improve the efficiency of my training, so adding pounds to my lifts is an added bonus that I will gladly take!

My weekly training schedule:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday= Back squat

Tuesday/Thursday= Front squat

On each day, I work up to a max effort single, then reduce the poundage to around 70% of the weight I worked up to and begin triples. My goal is to never get less than three reps on these. If I feel I can add weight, I do. Next up is the practice round. With around 50% of the weight I used on my single, I will perform two sets of five reps explosively. This is to keep “dialing in” my technique. My approach to maintaining the rest of my muscularity is a minimalistic approach, and rightfully so. The squat hammers not only the legs, but the whole posterior chain, and done with intensity and frequency, the cumulative stress of this will make everything grow! The training for all other muscles is mainly to fill it with blood, and give it just enough stimuli as to not regress, and cause minimal stress on my joints. My aim is not to cause much muscle damage but to promote recovery of tissues through blood flow.

Training continued:

Monday: Chest

Decline presses or dips 3x 10-12

Tuesday: Back

Chins 3x Max

Barbell Rows 3x 10-12

Wednesday: Shoulders

Standing Barbell Shoulder Press 3x 8-10

Thursday: Arms/Calves

Blood Flow Restriction training

Dumbbell Curls 2 clusters of 30, 15,15,15

Pushdowns 2 clusters of 30,15,15,15

Seated calf Raise 2 Clusters of 30,15,15,15

Well, the dull ache from the week is starting to settle in, and its time for me to do the one thing I enjoy more than training….GET MY GRUB ON!

a.k.a.: The Squat Nemesis Training Journal:

Part Two

by Jared Smith

It is week two, and to say that my legs feel like they have gone through the meat grinder would be a huge understatement. I must say that there is something almost enjoyable about feeling this way. Perhaps it is the fact that I am testing myself, which gives me a sense of accomplishment. I know what some of you are probably thinking (and you are correct): You don’t have to be sore to know you’ve trained hard, but sometimes we need that painful little reminder that we killed it!

I must say that I am pretty happy with the gains I have made thus far. Going from hardly being able grind out a triple just to parallel with 315, to taking such a weight ass to grass with a pause in that position, before attempting to send it through the roof, makes me happier than a witch in a broom factory. I know that number is not impressive, but being able to do that after coming back from my injury and a lifetime of the “squeeze it like it owes you money” mentality of my former training fuels my enthusiasm.

While the program doesn’t exactly call for a pause squat, I make sure that I do so on my max effort attempts. With each of these, my aim is to make sure that I am moving the weight as precisely as possible without the aid of momentum. The eccentric portion of these lifts typically takes about three seconds, which further reduces the chances of momentum aiding me in the lift.

The most remarkable thing about the program so far is the change in my mood. After hitting a few heavy sets of squats daily, I seem to feel better and am more productive. I may not be a psychology major, but I am going to attribute this to the “confidence boost” I get from knowing that I am improving. I have struggled with anxiety for many years now, and since adopting a frequent approach to squatting, I have found myself being far more relaxed. Of course, I can’t decidedly say that the training is the reason for this. I am aware that correlation does not equal causation, but I do know that lifting seems to ease my mind.

Where’s the Beef?

While my primary goal with this program is to become a better lifter, and attain more strength/neuromuscular efficiency, I know you may be wondering if any size will be lost from training in such a way. Abso-friggin-lutely not! While the cells may not be a “volumized”—as with traditional bodybuilding-style training—the entire body is still getting more than enough stimulation. One reason the body builds muscle from the get-go is a response to stress. This goes back to the S.A.I.D. principle. For those unfamiliar, this stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. This essentially means that “your body becomes its function” by adapting to the specific stresses placed upon it.

Feeding the Machine

When training with this level of intensity, it is important to “chow down” on a regular basis! Upon starting this program, I automatically added an extra 300 calories to my diet, which bumped me up to around 4,300 calories daily. Seeing as I have the metabolism of an anorexic crack-head, I require a pretty decent amount of food. While I keep it as clean as possible, I do NOT shy away from a high-calorie meal on the weekend. I am a huge fan of carbohydrate back-loading (but we will discuss that another time).

Supplements

I will be the first to tell you that there is no magic potion. Supplements are used only to fill in small gaps, or give you a slight boost in recovery. When utilizing heavy weights and frequent training, you will want to remain as fresh as possible. I find that a primary limiting factor is inflammation. I use a hefty amount of BCAA and Glutamine. I have found that Glutamine greatly reduces the amount of inflammation that I experience from training. I didn’t fully realize how much it helped until I ceased using it after the last month long squat program I did. Even with a frequency reduction, the inflammatory response was immense and caused my performance to suffer! With that said, I am currently taking around 20 grams of glutamine a day and about seven grams of BCAAs. If the cost of such a thing is a concern—as is the case with me—you can always buys the flavorless kind, and mix them in with water or whatever it is you like to sip on during training. This is much more cost efficient, and you can buy this stuff by the bucket when it’s flavorless.

Post Apocalypse (Teaser)

I’m not one to get ahead of myself, but when I’m excited, I find it hard to contain. I learned a long time ago that it always pays to think a few steps ahead, and in training it’s no different. I am a bodybuilder and my ultimate goal is mass. With that in mind the program that follows this four week block is geared toward one thing: MASS! You will want to stay tuned. Much like in a Hollywood epic, after the Apocalypse is over, something—or someone—always rises from the ashes!

One of the Greatest There Ever Was... and Ever Will Be

May His Memory be Eternal

(a.k.a. "Bill Starr-style Advanced Squat Training")

I've been away from the internet, and lifting in general, for too long over the last couple of months. Generally, of course, lack of internet-perusing is, decidedly, not a bad thing. But in this case, I failed to read the news that Bill Starr died about two months ago.
If you haven't read much of my material, then you may not know that one of my greatest influences in lifting has always been Bill Starr.
There was no one like him. No one. Period.
This is what I had to say in a post a few years ago:

For those of you who don't know—and most of you who have read my training articles do know—my primary inspiration in training and writing has always been Bill Starr. Perhaps nowadays people—powerlifters, strength athletes, readers of the major bodybuilding magazines—think that Starr is too "old-school." Well, old-school, in my book is just fine. Bill Starr is still, and always will be, one of the best-of-the-best.

When I grow tired of writing training articles, I return to Bill Starr. (Who writes damn good, by the way.)

When I grow tired of my current training program, I return to Bill Starr.

When I grow weary of all the modern gadgets—stuff like training balls, chains, bands, and one-legged whatever—I return to Bill Starr.

When I grow weary of all the modern "trainers" and all of their methods (like everyone that writes for T-Nation, for instance—as much as I like that magazine), I return to Bill Starr.

And when I just need a reminder of why I love to write and love to lift in the first place, I return to Bill Starr.

I wish I could have met Bill Starr, but I never did, and now I will never get the chance. I should have written him at some point, if for no other reason than to tell him that the writer "CS Sloan" would never have been without his immense influence. But I let that time pass me by, as well, so the best I can do is offer a few training pieces in the coming days in his honor. Hell, it's probably exactly what he would have wanted.

What follows is one of the first articles I wrote exclusively for this blog back in 2009. It's a piece on "4 tips for building a massive squat using the heavy-light-medium program" that has Bill Starr's influence oozing from the pores of all the sentences, and his obvious stamp on the training program itself.

In memory of the great man himself, enjoy:

Bill Starr "Advanced" Squat Training

The purpose of this article is to show you how to boost the numbers in your squat using the heavy-light-medium system of training. These tips and techniques can be used by powerlifters, athletes, or any of you who just want to be stronger than you currently are at the moment.

This article also assumes that you are already familiar with heavy-light-medium training. If you're not familiar with this form of lifting, then the first thing I suggest is reading my article on H-L-M training that I wrote for Dragon Door. You can find it here:

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/508/

More than just being familiar with this sort of training, it's best to actually do it for an extended period of time. If you've never done full-body workouts, much less H-L-M training, then you definitely need to perform the basic workout listed in my Dragon Door article for at least 8 weeks, minimum. Twelve to 16 weeks would be even better. After you have done that, then you're ready to start specializing. Which is where an article such as this one comes in handy.

When writing articles like this, the best way to often get your point across is through "tips" or "keys," so I guess that an alternate title of this article could have been something such as "4 Tips For Building A Massive Squat Using the Heavy-Light-Medium System." That's a little more catchy. I kind of like it.

Tip #1: Know How Frequently You Need to Squat

When you first begin the H-L-M method of training, you typically want to squat 3 days each week. Every lifter that I have worked with has gotten good results at the beginning of their H-L-M training by training the squat on each day.

The squat, in this regard, is different than the bench press or the deadlift. Even when starting out, I typically have my lifters deadlift only once a week, and bench press twice each week. It's harder to overtrain the movement pattern in the squat compared to the other lifts.

Some lifters can get away with training the squat on all 3 days throughout their training careers. (Of course, some—even if they could get away with this—would rather do other exercises just for the sake of variety.) If you are built for squatting, then this would be you. How do you know if you're built for the squat? First off, if you haven't done squats for an extended period of time in order to increase your strength, you don't know. If, however, you have rarely done anything other than squats to increase your squatting strength, then you're probably built for this exercise.

When you decide to add some exercise variety to your squats, I would start by substituting a different exercise on your light day. I like the reverse lunge on this day. I say the reverse lunge for a couple of reasons. One, you can do it in the squat rack in the same place that you perform your squats. Two, it seems to have a better carryover to your squats—for whatever reason—than do forward lunges. This probably has something to do with the fact that the movement of stepping back, instead of forward, is more natural. Perhaps it also has something to do with the fact that a reverse lunge more closely resembles a step-up. And step-ups are a great exercise for increasing your squat. (It also more closely resembles a one-legged squat, since your "squatting" leg stays put in the reverse lunge.)

The reverse lunge is a natural exercise for your light day because of the weights used. Reverse lunges just don't allow you to use very much weight. If you squat 400 on your heavy day and 350 on your medium day, you will have a tough time achieving 275 on your reverse lunges on the light day. This also helps to take a lot of the guesswork out of the light day. With reverse lunges, you can train as "heavy" as you are capable of training, and it will still be "light".

As you get more advanced, and as you discover that you really do need more variety than just lunges, you should substitute another exercise for squats on the medium day. I think the best exercise to start with on medium day is the front squat. If you perform 5 sets of 5 for squats on Heavy Day, 5 sets of 5 for reverse lunges on Light Day, and 5 sets of 5 for front squats on Medium Day, the front squats will be a natural medium exercise without even trying.

As you progress even further, it could be that you will want to start rotating to some different exercises other than just these three. First things first when doing this: Stick with squats as your core exercise on the heavy day. In other words, never deviate from Heavy Day squats. However, feel free to rotate to other exercises as you see fit on the light and medium days. Although, when first doing this, I would be hesitant about rotating exercises on every light day or on every single medium day. It's probably best to stick with an exercise for 2 to 3 weeks before rotating to something new. For instance, here's an example of what 9 weeks of training might look like:

Weeks 1-3:

Heavy Day: squats

Light Day: reverse lunges

Medium Day: front squats

Weeks 4-6:

Heavy Day: squats

Light Day: walking lunges

Medium Day: barbell hack squats

Weeks 7-9:

Heavy Day: squats

Light Day: overhead squats

Medium Day: bottom-position squats

One thing that I hope you're beginning to understand at this point is that variety is important. You always need to use a system of training—which is H-L-M training in this case—but you need plenty of variety built within that system. Which brings us to our next tip.

Tip #2: Vary Your Repetition Ranges on a Regular Basis

The more advanced you become, the more variety you need. This is true even for those of you who can get away with—and enjoy—squatting 3 days each week.

As a rule of thumb, I would advise to vary your repetition ranges, on each training day, once every three weeks. If you use the above 9 week example for changing exercises, this would mean that you would change your repetition ranges each time that you varied your exercises.

Here is the repetition scheme that I most prefer (and it's also the one favored by Bill Starr, which is where I learned it, although his method is slightly different, but we'll get to that in a little bit): Weeks 1-3: 5 sets of 5 scheme; Weeks 4-6: 2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3 scheme; Weeks 7-9: 4 sets of 8 scheme; Weeks 10-12: progressively heavier singles scheme. (Note: When performing the singles, you will probably want to perform 5s, then 3s, as you work up to a heavy, near-max weight. Take your time to work up to your maximum single, but DO NOT fatigue yourself as you do so.)

Bill Starr advises—and here's the difference—that advanced lifters vary their repetition schemes on a weekly basis. So, the first week would be 5s, the second week would be triples, the third week would be 8s, and the fourth week would be singles.

Learn what method of variation works best for you. Do you get the most out of weekly variation? Or do you do better by waiting 2 to 3 weeks before changing reps? I think that the more advanced you are, the more variation you need. For instance, if you've been lifting hard and heavy for over ten years, you could probably use the weekly variation. If you've been training hard for just over a year, then you will probably do better by waiting 3 weeks before changing to a new scheme.

Keep in mind, as well, that you can use different repetition schemes than what I've recommended here. You might want to perform a 10 sets of 3 scheme, where you take minimum rest between each set but you use the same weight on each set (as opposed to the progressively heavier sets that H-L-M training usually entails). Or you might want to use another one of my favorites: the 5 sets of 1 method. For this method, use a weight that you can only get 2 or 3 singles with. Stick with this weight until you get 5 singles with it. At the next workout, add weight and repeat the process.

Tip #3: Increase Your Workload Via Back-Off Sets and Assistance Exercises

As you get more advanced—and as you really focus on bringing up the numbers on your squat—you will need more than just 5 sets of 5 reps, or 4 sets of 8 reps, or whatever it is that you are using for the training week. You will need both back-off sets to increase your workload for that exercise and assistance exercises to work on any weak points that you have.

When first performing back-off sets, I would stick with a 2 sets of 8 scheme on days where you do sets of 5, triples, or singles. Let's say that you work up to 400 pounds for your final set of 5 reps. Rest a few minutes, strip the weight down to around 275 to 300 lbs and perform 2 sets of 8 with this weight. On days where you might use a 4 sets of 8 scheme, I would only perform 1 back-off set of 15 to 20 reps.

At first, only add back-off sets to your heavy days. After a few weeks of this, add back-off sets to your medium days. You can probably stick with doing the back-offs on both the heavy and medium days throughout your training. The exception is for those of you who are really advanced. If you are squatting close to triple your bodyweight, then you will want to also add some back-off sets to your light days.

After you start performing back-off sets, you will want to begin adding some assistance work for your squats at some point. Some of the stuff you are already doing should naturally be assistance work. For instance, deadlifts definitely improve your squats, as does abdominal work. And for some of you, this will be enough to keep your squats moving upward for a long time. For others, it won't be.

The assistance work shouldn't be done in a haphazard manner. It should be done knowing what your weak points are. Now, weak points can be complex things, but we'll try to keep it simple here.

If you are having problems coming out of the "hole" in your squats, then you need some specific work for your glute-hamstring tie-in muscles. I like good mornings and stiff-legged deadlifts in this instance. A couple of sets at the end of the workout—but before abdominal work—should do the trick. I would advise using the same repetition schemes as on your back-off sets. So, 2 sets of 8 should work just fine. But make sure that the 2 sets are hard. Easy stuff just won't cut it.

If your lower back is giving you problems—for instance, do you tend to "bend over" when coming out of the hole?—then good-morning squats are probably the best thing in your arsenal. Once again, 2 sets of 8 should be sufficient.

Assistance exercises are something you need to experiment with. Try some different ones, and try them for several weeks. If your squat starts moving upward again, then you're probably on the right track. Keep in mind that you don't need them, however, if your squats are increasing steadily without them. But you do need the back-off sets.

Tip #4: Add an Extra Light Day

The more advanced you become, the more total workload that you need. There's just no getting around it. However, at some point, you will not be able to train just 3 days each week. Not unless you want your heavy and medium days to start going over 2 hours in length. (I must say, at this point, that I have—in the past—trained in excess of 2 hours on both my heavy and medium days and I was strong as hell while doing so. So, the idea that your sessions should never last longer than 45 minutes—or an hour at the most—is a bunch of hogwash. However, most people don't want to—nor do they have the time—to train this long.)

The best thing you can do at this point is add an extra light day to your program. If you train on Monday (heavy), Wednesday (light), and Friday (medium), then your extra light day should fall on Tuesday. Don't worry about the fact that you are training three days in a row. The extra light day should be a little "lighter" than the light day on Wednesday. Also, this will—because you will now be advanced before attempting this—aid in your recovery from the heavy day of training.

If you are still squatting 3 days each week at this point, don't squat on this extra light day. Perform reverse lunges instead. If you are, say, squatting on Monday, doing lunges on Wednesday, and performing front squats on Friday, then it's time to change things. You will do better by squatting on Monday, doing reverse lunges on Tuesday, front squats on Wednesday, and bottom-position squats on Friday.

Summing Things Up

I hope I have covered most of the things that followers of H-L-M training have been pondering when it comes to their squat training. If not, then please feel free to e-mail me with any specific questions you might have.

Double-Split Training, Part One

Double-Split Training, Part Two

Old School Arm Training Secrets: John McWilliams's Arm Training Routine

Seneca on the Quality of Life

The Best Leg Workout You've Never Tried!

Happy July 4th Weekend Ramblings!

High-Volume "POF" Workouts

3 On/1 Off Redux

Old School Muscle

Enter Old School

Journal of Strength: Teenage Muscle-Building

Journal of Strength: Benefits of High-Set Singles

The Lifter's Bushido

Journal of Strength: Training the Ageless Athlete (aka: High-Frequency, High-Volume Lifting)

Dennis Du Breuil’s “Ultimate Bulk and Power” Rules

It Came from the '90s: The Anabolic Diet

High-Volume, Low-Frequency Training for the Ultimate in Mass Building, Part Two

Change is Coming!

All Hail the Apocalypse! The End of the Overtraining Myth!!

All Hail the Apocalypse! The End of the Overtraining Myth, Part Two

R.I.P. Bill Starr