FuriousWO
New Member
Damn now I guess it's my turn to use that one too. My gym has the same one as Ozzy, plated loaded. Sunday is back day, I'll report back
MESO-Rx
Anabolic Steroids
Workout Routines
- Thread starter Ozzy619
- Start date
Ozzy619
New Member
weighted chinup
Member
I've been taking a liking the past couple months to doing incline barbell bench with a wide grip (index finger wrapped 1-2" outside of the power rings). I definitely feel like it hits my pec better with this kind of grip. I always do incline with my back arched on the pad to lower the incline (45 is too much front delt imo). This could also cause a lot of shoulder issues for some though.
Still not as wide as Serge:
Still not as wide as Serge:
Brutal Body Blast
By: C.S. Sloan
The ultimate way to build muscle mass and strength is through workouts that are basic, brief and brutal'in other words, what many would call high-intensity training. Like many high-intensity proponents, I believe it to be very effective in terms of both hypertrophying a muscle (making it grow larger) and causing a strength increase. Unlike many HIT proponents, I don't believe it's the only way to add muscle to your frame. Many HIT followers are downright dogmatic about the system's effectiveness and intolerant of those who believe there are other ways to build muscle. They'll tell you that training is a science, and there can be only one scientific way to train.
That's where I beg to differ. For me, training is not a science but, rather, an art form'because there's no one way to build strength or mass. There are many ways. Even within the category of hard, brief and infrequent training, there are tons of ways in which to satisfy those three parameters. You don't have to train the same way your whole life. Instead, you can enjoy a multitude of methods, all of them brief, basic and brutal.
Intense Strength Training
You may doubt the effectiveness of any training that you can do briefly, performing very few sets per workout. After all, you know plenty of people who have grown larger and stronger just fine by using high-set routines. While it's true that some people respond well to that sort of training'and you might want to use it on occasion'once you try the examples below, you'll never doubt the worth of basic and brief workouts again.
An Intense Example
Try this workout the next time you go to the gym, and I assure you you'll never call a high-intensity trainee lazy again. You have no excuse for not being able to do this routine. It requires only a barbell, dumbbells, a bench press and a squatting station, items that every good gym'and most people's home gyms'contain.
After a few minutes' warmup on the stationary bike or a one-lap jog around the block, go to the squat rack and perform a couple of warmup sets with a light weight. Now load the bar with the amount of weight you'd usually use for 10 reps. Rest a couple of minutes and then perform at least 20 reps with that weight'and more if you can. Don't stop until you absolutely cannot perform another repetition, even if someone had a loaded gun pointed straight at your head and threatened to shoot if you didn't do it. Make it that intense. As soon as you finish the squats, rest only about 30 seconds and move directly into a set of stiff-legged deadlifts. Use a weight you think you can get 15 or 20 reps with and do a bare minimum of 30. Your lungs will be on fire, and your head will feel as if it's about to explode, but get those 30 reps.
You're not through yet, however. Rest approximately one minute after the deadlifts and move to everyone's favorite exercise, the bench press. Using a weight that you usually press for 10 reps, go for as many as possible, shooting for 12 as your magic number and absolutely not stopping until you achieve momentary muscular failure.
Without resting, move into a set of wide-grip chins and crank out as many as possible. Once again, do not stop your set short of muscular failure. Okay. You're almost done. For your last exercise grab a pair of heavy dumbbells (something you don't think you could bench-press for even one rep) and go into the parking lot, your backyard or behind the gym. Pick up the dumbbells and walk as far as you can with them, until they literally fall out of your hands. Rest a couple of minutes, pick them up and walk back to your starting place. After that lie on the floor, in the grass or wherever you are for 15 minutes (maybe even half an hour), until your breathing has returned to normal and you believe you're capable of standing once again. Don't think that was hard? Most people reading this have never performed a workout that hard. It's sad to say, but most probably never will, either'unless they have the courage and tenacity to give one of these workouts a try.
Another Intense Example
This one's just as simple, basic and brutal as the above, albeit very different.
This time go into the gym and use only one piece of equipment: the power rack. It probably won't be busy, since no one ever seems to use it (at least that's the way it was when I trained at a commercial gym). Take a bench into the rack and set the pins so that when you lie flat on the bench, the bar is touching your chest in the bottom position of a bench press.
Perform a few reps of bottom-position bench presses with just the empty Olympic bar. Add a wheel (a 45-pound plate for you non-Southerners) on both sides of the bar and perform a single. Do several progressively heavier singles in that fashion, then load the bar with a weight that's 95 percent of your one-rep maximum. Rest a couple of minutes, get under the bar and try to explode the weight off your chest. It might take you a couple of seconds to get the rep, but get it!
Rest two minutes, add 2 1/2 pounds to the bar and try another single. I don't give a damn if that single rep takes you five seconds to complete; try your hardest to reach full extension on the rep. If you make it, rest a few minutes and try another single with the same weight. They'll probably be the hardest reps you've ever done.
After your last set, move the bench out of the way and set the pins at the height of the bottom-position of a full squat. Perform progressively heavier singles in the bottom-position squat as described for the bench press above. If you thought all-out bench press singles were tough, just wait. These will be hell'but do them.
After those devilish squats rest a couple of minutes and perform the same sequence of singles with deadlift lockouts.
It's one heck of a tough workout'different from the first one but still basic, brief and highly intense.
Yet Another Intense Example
Here's a squat-and-assistance-exercise session my training partner and I recently performed. We started with explosive-rep bottom-position squats (that's right, explosive reps) in the power rack with 275 pounds (approximately 60 percent of our one-rep max) for 7x3. As soon as I completed my set, my partner did his. We went back and forth like that, completing the sets in less than five minutes. Okay, so we didn't take each set to muscular failure'or anywhere close'but we did the reps as explosively as we could, which makes for some very hard work on every single rep.
After that we did one set of stiff-legged deadlifts for 30 reps. Resting two to three minutes, we proceeded with squats and presses for an all-out set of 15 reps. Once that demolished us, we took an Olympic bar and two wheels into my backyard and lunged back and forth across the yard until we were ready to puke.
Brief? Intense? You bet!
The Point of the Matter
There are quite a few different ways to train, and they're all effective. More specifically, there are plenty of ways to apply the idea of training briefly and intensely. Just pick up any issue of IRONMAN and you'll find them. For instance, Richard Winett, Ph.D., writes about bodybuilding-style high-intensity sessions. While I might disagree with his use of slo-mo reps (I don't think they build the explosive strength you need to be really strong), and he might disagree with my integration of speed work into brief, basic sessions, the fact is, neither of us is wrong. People can make progress on Winett's routines if they give it all they've got and train with superintensity, and vice versa.
Another person with some great ideas is Bradley Steiner. He recommends doing only one heavy, intense full-body session per week, but he's also in favor of brief, infrequent and hard workouts that are centered solely around the basic exercises.
Even Steve Holman, who champions brief and intense sessions most of the time, uses different methods to achieve his results.
So train hard, heavy and briefly, and discover for yourself what works for your body.
High-Intensity Strength-Training Programs
Here are some actual routines. They can be quite effective for adding muscle to your frame. As with the examples above, they're all very different. Whatever routine you decide to use, stick with it for at least four weeks. After that, if you feel your body needs a change, you can switch things around. These workouts are just guidelines, so you get an idea of how very many effective ways there are to train. None is set in stone, so don't be afraid to adapt them to what works best for you.
Ultraheavy
Workouts don't get any heavier than these. They're fine examples of the kind of programs favored by lifters such as Dinosaur Training author Brooks D. Kubik, powerlifting immortal and gear entrepreneur John Inzer and old-time lifters like the late Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson. The first workout is perfect for when you're just getting started on a heavy program. It's a two-days-a-week program that uses heavy singles, triples and the good ole 5x5 system. There's nothing fancy in it, but I assure you it produces results when you train as hard as possible. In fact, it's probably better than most of what circulates as gospel truth in many of the muscle magazines.
Monday
Flat-bench barbell presses 5 x 5
Begin the week with everyone's favorite. Perform two warmup sets of five reps, then three all-out sets of five. Your goal is to work as hard as possible here, so try tackling weights that are heavier than you've ever used for five reps.
Deadlifts* 5 x 1
Use the sample workout for singles above as a model, but do the intense work described on your last two sets only.
Bottom-position bench presses* 5 x 1
Wide-grip chins 5 x 5
Thursday
Bottom-position squats* 5 x 1
Parallel squats 5 x 3
Perform these in standard style.
Push presses 5 x 3
Perform these as you would standard military presses, except begin the lift by generating momentum with your legs.
Barbell curls* 5 x 1
*Perform progressively heavier singles.
Ultraheavy 2
This one's for more advanced lifters. The volume of work per muscle group doesn't increase, just the number of sessions per week (in fact, overall volume for each muscle group actually drops). Work through the sequence, training two days on/two off. This is also a good program to use if you enjoy the thrill of heavy sessions. Once again, remember what intensity means as you perform the sets.
Day 1
Bench presses, incline
presses or bench presses* 5 x 1
Overhead presses 5 x 5
*Alternate exercises every two weeks.
Day 2
Bottom-position squats* 5 x 1
Bottom-position squats 1 x 5
Stiff-legged deadlifts 5 x 5
Squat lockouts 5 x 3
Day 3
Close-grip bench presses* 5 x 3
Barbell curls* 5 x 1
Day 4
Wide-grip chins** 5 x 3
Bent-over barbell rows 5 x 5
*Perform progressively heavier sets.
**Strap weights to your waist as the sets progress.
Moderately Heavy, High-Rep and Ultraintense
The majority of high-intensity devotees favor these types of workouts. You use a very minimal number of sets for each bodypart and turn up the volume'i.e., the number of reps on each set as well as the intensity'by taking each and every set to the point of absolute muscular failure, maybe adding a forced or negative rep just for good measure. This type of training was made popular by such authorities as Randall Strossen (in his book Super Squats) and Stuart McRobert. It's also the type of training favored by Dr. Ken Leistner, who has trained quite a few powerlifting champs using the method.
On the first routine you perform only two whole-body workouts in a week, using different exercises at each session. Check it out.
Monday
Squats 2 x 20
The first set is just a warmup to get some blood flowing into your muscles. The second is all-out intensity. If you're wondering just how intense, remember the first sample session above.
Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 30
Make it an all-out effort, not stopping until your muscle won't budge the weight.
Bench presses 2 x 10
Wide-grip chins 2 x 10
Thursday
Deadlifts 2 x 20
One warmup set plus one set with all-out intensity, the same as the one described for squats in Monday's workout.
Superset
Pause bench presses 1 x 15
Close-grip bench presses 1 x 15
On the pause benches, stop the bar on your chest for a count of two seconds before exploding back up.
Barbell curls 2 x 10
As you become more advanced, you may find that you like to do fewer exercises at each workout. In that case give this four-days-a-week routine a try. Train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and perform all sets to muscular failure.
Monday
Bench presses 2 x 10-15
Overhead presses 2 x 10-15
Tuesday Deadlift lockouts 3 x 20
Thursday
Close-grip bench presses 2 x 20
Superset
Barbell curls 1 x 10
Dumbbell curls 1 x 10
Friday
Squats 2 x 20
Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 25
Heavy and Explosive One area where I think most basic, brutal trainees miss the boat is explosive training. That super-slo-mo crap, while it might work for hypertrophy, just can't build the type of concentric power it takes to lift monstrous tonnage. I recommended the following program in 'Mass and Might' in the May '99 IRONMAN. Because it seems so basic and simple, I think many lifters might have overlooked its effectiveness.
Give it a try if you're interested in increasing the power on your core lifts. It could be the ultimate program for those who have only a couple of days a week to train. Alternatively, if you find you want to train a little more frequently, you could use the two workouts in an every-other-day split, taking two days off over the weekend.
Monday
Deadlifts 5 x 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Flat-bench presses 5 x 5
Bench press lockouts* 5 x 2
Push presses 5 x 5
Thursday
Squats* 5 x 2
Squats 3 x 5
Barbell curls 5 x 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Alternate dumbbell curls 2 x 5
Leg raises 3 x 10-15
Hyperextensions 3 x 10-15
*Use explosive reps.
Final Notes:
Like life, your training should be a journey, an ever-evolving process. So train with the basics, make your workouts brief and make them intense'and discover everything else on your own. IM
By: C.S. Sloan
The ultimate way to build muscle mass and strength is through workouts that are basic, brief and brutal'in other words, what many would call high-intensity training. Like many high-intensity proponents, I believe it to be very effective in terms of both hypertrophying a muscle (making it grow larger) and causing a strength increase. Unlike many HIT proponents, I don't believe it's the only way to add muscle to your frame. Many HIT followers are downright dogmatic about the system's effectiveness and intolerant of those who believe there are other ways to build muscle. They'll tell you that training is a science, and there can be only one scientific way to train.
That's where I beg to differ. For me, training is not a science but, rather, an art form'because there's no one way to build strength or mass. There are many ways. Even within the category of hard, brief and infrequent training, there are tons of ways in which to satisfy those three parameters. You don't have to train the same way your whole life. Instead, you can enjoy a multitude of methods, all of them brief, basic and brutal.
Intense Strength Training
You may doubt the effectiveness of any training that you can do briefly, performing very few sets per workout. After all, you know plenty of people who have grown larger and stronger just fine by using high-set routines. While it's true that some people respond well to that sort of training'and you might want to use it on occasion'once you try the examples below, you'll never doubt the worth of basic and brief workouts again.
An Intense Example
Try this workout the next time you go to the gym, and I assure you you'll never call a high-intensity trainee lazy again. You have no excuse for not being able to do this routine. It requires only a barbell, dumbbells, a bench press and a squatting station, items that every good gym'and most people's home gyms'contain.
After a few minutes' warmup on the stationary bike or a one-lap jog around the block, go to the squat rack and perform a couple of warmup sets with a light weight. Now load the bar with the amount of weight you'd usually use for 10 reps. Rest a couple of minutes and then perform at least 20 reps with that weight'and more if you can. Don't stop until you absolutely cannot perform another repetition, even if someone had a loaded gun pointed straight at your head and threatened to shoot if you didn't do it. Make it that intense. As soon as you finish the squats, rest only about 30 seconds and move directly into a set of stiff-legged deadlifts. Use a weight you think you can get 15 or 20 reps with and do a bare minimum of 30. Your lungs will be on fire, and your head will feel as if it's about to explode, but get those 30 reps.
You're not through yet, however. Rest approximately one minute after the deadlifts and move to everyone's favorite exercise, the bench press. Using a weight that you usually press for 10 reps, go for as many as possible, shooting for 12 as your magic number and absolutely not stopping until you achieve momentary muscular failure.
Without resting, move into a set of wide-grip chins and crank out as many as possible. Once again, do not stop your set short of muscular failure. Okay. You're almost done. For your last exercise grab a pair of heavy dumbbells (something you don't think you could bench-press for even one rep) and go into the parking lot, your backyard or behind the gym. Pick up the dumbbells and walk as far as you can with them, until they literally fall out of your hands. Rest a couple of minutes, pick them up and walk back to your starting place. After that lie on the floor, in the grass or wherever you are for 15 minutes (maybe even half an hour), until your breathing has returned to normal and you believe you're capable of standing once again. Don't think that was hard? Most people reading this have never performed a workout that hard. It's sad to say, but most probably never will, either'unless they have the courage and tenacity to give one of these workouts a try.
Another Intense Example
This one's just as simple, basic and brutal as the above, albeit very different.
This time go into the gym and use only one piece of equipment: the power rack. It probably won't be busy, since no one ever seems to use it (at least that's the way it was when I trained at a commercial gym). Take a bench into the rack and set the pins so that when you lie flat on the bench, the bar is touching your chest in the bottom position of a bench press.
Perform a few reps of bottom-position bench presses with just the empty Olympic bar. Add a wheel (a 45-pound plate for you non-Southerners) on both sides of the bar and perform a single. Do several progressively heavier singles in that fashion, then load the bar with a weight that's 95 percent of your one-rep maximum. Rest a couple of minutes, get under the bar and try to explode the weight off your chest. It might take you a couple of seconds to get the rep, but get it!
Rest two minutes, add 2 1/2 pounds to the bar and try another single. I don't give a damn if that single rep takes you five seconds to complete; try your hardest to reach full extension on the rep. If you make it, rest a few minutes and try another single with the same weight. They'll probably be the hardest reps you've ever done.
After your last set, move the bench out of the way and set the pins at the height of the bottom-position of a full squat. Perform progressively heavier singles in the bottom-position squat as described for the bench press above. If you thought all-out bench press singles were tough, just wait. These will be hell'but do them.
After those devilish squats rest a couple of minutes and perform the same sequence of singles with deadlift lockouts.
It's one heck of a tough workout'different from the first one but still basic, brief and highly intense.
Yet Another Intense Example
Here's a squat-and-assistance-exercise session my training partner and I recently performed. We started with explosive-rep bottom-position squats (that's right, explosive reps) in the power rack with 275 pounds (approximately 60 percent of our one-rep max) for 7x3. As soon as I completed my set, my partner did his. We went back and forth like that, completing the sets in less than five minutes. Okay, so we didn't take each set to muscular failure'or anywhere close'but we did the reps as explosively as we could, which makes for some very hard work on every single rep.
After that we did one set of stiff-legged deadlifts for 30 reps. Resting two to three minutes, we proceeded with squats and presses for an all-out set of 15 reps. Once that demolished us, we took an Olympic bar and two wheels into my backyard and lunged back and forth across the yard until we were ready to puke.
Brief? Intense? You bet!
The Point of the Matter
There are quite a few different ways to train, and they're all effective. More specifically, there are plenty of ways to apply the idea of training briefly and intensely. Just pick up any issue of IRONMAN and you'll find them. For instance, Richard Winett, Ph.D., writes about bodybuilding-style high-intensity sessions. While I might disagree with his use of slo-mo reps (I don't think they build the explosive strength you need to be really strong), and he might disagree with my integration of speed work into brief, basic sessions, the fact is, neither of us is wrong. People can make progress on Winett's routines if they give it all they've got and train with superintensity, and vice versa.
Another person with some great ideas is Bradley Steiner. He recommends doing only one heavy, intense full-body session per week, but he's also in favor of brief, infrequent and hard workouts that are centered solely around the basic exercises.
Even Steve Holman, who champions brief and intense sessions most of the time, uses different methods to achieve his results.
So train hard, heavy and briefly, and discover for yourself what works for your body.
High-Intensity Strength-Training Programs
Here are some actual routines. They can be quite effective for adding muscle to your frame. As with the examples above, they're all very different. Whatever routine you decide to use, stick with it for at least four weeks. After that, if you feel your body needs a change, you can switch things around. These workouts are just guidelines, so you get an idea of how very many effective ways there are to train. None is set in stone, so don't be afraid to adapt them to what works best for you.
Ultraheavy
Workouts don't get any heavier than these. They're fine examples of the kind of programs favored by lifters such as Dinosaur Training author Brooks D. Kubik, powerlifting immortal and gear entrepreneur John Inzer and old-time lifters like the late Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson. The first workout is perfect for when you're just getting started on a heavy program. It's a two-days-a-week program that uses heavy singles, triples and the good ole 5x5 system. There's nothing fancy in it, but I assure you it produces results when you train as hard as possible. In fact, it's probably better than most of what circulates as gospel truth in many of the muscle magazines.
Monday
Flat-bench barbell presses 5 x 5
Begin the week with everyone's favorite. Perform two warmup sets of five reps, then three all-out sets of five. Your goal is to work as hard as possible here, so try tackling weights that are heavier than you've ever used for five reps.
Deadlifts* 5 x 1
Use the sample workout for singles above as a model, but do the intense work described on your last two sets only.
Bottom-position bench presses* 5 x 1
Wide-grip chins 5 x 5
Thursday
Bottom-position squats* 5 x 1
Parallel squats 5 x 3
Perform these in standard style.
Push presses 5 x 3
Perform these as you would standard military presses, except begin the lift by generating momentum with your legs.
Barbell curls* 5 x 1
*Perform progressively heavier singles.
Ultraheavy 2
This one's for more advanced lifters. The volume of work per muscle group doesn't increase, just the number of sessions per week (in fact, overall volume for each muscle group actually drops). Work through the sequence, training two days on/two off. This is also a good program to use if you enjoy the thrill of heavy sessions. Once again, remember what intensity means as you perform the sets.
Day 1
Bench presses, incline
presses or bench presses* 5 x 1
Overhead presses 5 x 5
*Alternate exercises every two weeks.
Day 2
Bottom-position squats* 5 x 1
Bottom-position squats 1 x 5
Stiff-legged deadlifts 5 x 5
Squat lockouts 5 x 3
Day 3
Close-grip bench presses* 5 x 3
Barbell curls* 5 x 1
Day 4
Wide-grip chins** 5 x 3
Bent-over barbell rows 5 x 5
*Perform progressively heavier sets.
**Strap weights to your waist as the sets progress.
Moderately Heavy, High-Rep and Ultraintense
The majority of high-intensity devotees favor these types of workouts. You use a very minimal number of sets for each bodypart and turn up the volume'i.e., the number of reps on each set as well as the intensity'by taking each and every set to the point of absolute muscular failure, maybe adding a forced or negative rep just for good measure. This type of training was made popular by such authorities as Randall Strossen (in his book Super Squats) and Stuart McRobert. It's also the type of training favored by Dr. Ken Leistner, who has trained quite a few powerlifting champs using the method.
On the first routine you perform only two whole-body workouts in a week, using different exercises at each session. Check it out.
Monday
Squats 2 x 20
The first set is just a warmup to get some blood flowing into your muscles. The second is all-out intensity. If you're wondering just how intense, remember the first sample session above.
Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 30
Make it an all-out effort, not stopping until your muscle won't budge the weight.
Bench presses 2 x 10
Wide-grip chins 2 x 10
Thursday
Deadlifts 2 x 20
One warmup set plus one set with all-out intensity, the same as the one described for squats in Monday's workout.
Superset
Pause bench presses 1 x 15
Close-grip bench presses 1 x 15
On the pause benches, stop the bar on your chest for a count of two seconds before exploding back up.
Barbell curls 2 x 10
As you become more advanced, you may find that you like to do fewer exercises at each workout. In that case give this four-days-a-week routine a try. Train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and perform all sets to muscular failure.
Monday
Bench presses 2 x 10-15
Overhead presses 2 x 10-15
Tuesday Deadlift lockouts 3 x 20
Thursday
Close-grip bench presses 2 x 20
Superset
Barbell curls 1 x 10
Dumbbell curls 1 x 10
Friday
Squats 2 x 20
Stiff-legged deadlifts 1 x 25
Heavy and Explosive One area where I think most basic, brutal trainees miss the boat is explosive training. That super-slo-mo crap, while it might work for hypertrophy, just can't build the type of concentric power it takes to lift monstrous tonnage. I recommended the following program in 'Mass and Might' in the May '99 IRONMAN. Because it seems so basic and simple, I think many lifters might have overlooked its effectiveness.
Give it a try if you're interested in increasing the power on your core lifts. It could be the ultimate program for those who have only a couple of days a week to train. Alternatively, if you find you want to train a little more frequently, you could use the two workouts in an every-other-day split, taking two days off over the weekend.
Monday
Deadlifts 5 x 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Flat-bench presses 5 x 5
Bench press lockouts* 5 x 2
Push presses 5 x 5
Thursday
Squats* 5 x 2
Squats 3 x 5
Barbell curls 5 x 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Alternate dumbbell curls 2 x 5
Leg raises 3 x 10-15
Hyperextensions 3 x 10-15
*Use explosive reps.
Final Notes:
Like life, your training should be a journey, an ever-evolving process. So train with the basics, make your workouts brief and make them intense'and discover everything else on your own. IM
Total Training
C.S. Sloan
Build an Awesome Physique With Advanced Full-Body Workouts
Page 1
Many bodybuilders believe that full-body workouts are only for beginners. In fact, they’re so out of fashion nowadays that it’s not uncommon for rank beginners to go right to split workouts without ever attempting a full-body program. What a travesty! The old-time bodybuilding gods must be hanging their heads in bewilderment and shame.
It’s time to correct that gross misconception. I’m here to tell you once and for all that full-body sessions are some of the best workouts you’ll ever perform. No matter how advanced you are or how long you’ve been working out, full-body training can completely transform your physique.
In case you’re having a hard time digesting that because it goes against what you’ve been told or you’ve read in other muscle magazines, let’s get some of the facts straight.
First, some of the best physiques in the history of bodybuilding have been built with full-body workouts. Steve Reeves—arguably the best-built bodybuilder of all time—never performed anything other than full-body workouts, three days a week. Reg Park—who had a physique similar to Reeves’ but carried more muscle mass—primarily performed the 5x5 routine three days per week. Marvin Eder, who was pound for pound the greatest bodybuilder/strength athlete to ever walk the planet (he could bench-press 510 pounds and squat 550 for 10 reps at a bodyweight of 198), always performed full-body workouts. And let’s not forget Casey Viator. Training under the tutelage of Arthur Jones, he gained 60 pounds of muscle in only 28 days using a three-days-a-week full-body program.
Second, full-body workouts enable you to give equal attention to all of the muscles of your physique. Of course, proponents of split routines would object to that statement, claiming that split workouts enable you to give each bodypart more attention by training them on separate days. I find, however, that using split routines often has the opposite effect. Bodybuilders have a tendency to skip the days involving heavy leg and back training and show up more frequently for the days involving chest, shoulders and arm training. If you resign yourself to training your legs and lower back first in a full-body workout—before training your upper body and arms—you’ll become a more balanced and symmetrical, not to mention stronger, bodybuilder.
Third, full-body workouts enable you to train your muscle groups more frequently. Yep, you read that correctly. Frequent is good. It has become almost a fad to train infrequently and irregularly, the rationale being that increased rest between workouts will aid recovery and, therefore, growth and strength. It sounds simple; it sounds as if it will work. Unfortunately for many who have tried it, it just doesn’t.
Also, if you look at all of the good systems of training over the past 20 years—from Bill Starr’s full-body 5x5 workouts to Louie Simmons’ Westside Barbell system to the full-body powerlifting methods of Russian coach extraordinaire Boris Sheiko—the one thing they all have in common is that they train the major lifts frequently.
Consider this oft-quoted principle from the great Russian strength coach and current director of the biomechanics laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, Vladimir Zatsiorsky: The idea is to train as often as possible while being as fresh as possible.
Full-Body
Mass Builder 1:
The Hypertrophy Program
This routine is geared strictly toward packing on as much muscle as possible. If you haven’t been performing full-body workouts, then ease into it for the first week. After that you should be pushing yourself hard.
It’s a three-days-per-week program. For many lifters that means Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but any three nonconsecutive days will do.
DAY 1
Squats 5 x 8
Perform five progressively heavier sets of eight reps. The last set should be all out.
Incline-bench presses 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps. The last set should be as tough as possible
Sumo deadlifts 4 x 8
Perform four progressively heavier sets of eight reps
Standing overhead
dumbbell presses 5 x 10
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 10 reps.
Superset
Barbell curls 5 x10
Lying barbell
extensions 5 x10
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 10 reps of each, alternating the two exercises and taking minimal rest between sets.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 2
Front squats 5 x 8
Perform five progressively heavier sets of eight reps.
Dumbbell bench
presses 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps, working up to one all-out set.
Wide-grip chins 4 x max
Using only your bodyweight, perform four all-out sets.
Superset
Dumbbell curls 4 x 10
Lying dumbbell
extensions 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps of each exercise, alternating the two exercises.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 3
Walking lunges 4 x 10
Use the same weight on all sets. Be sure to perform one or two bodyweight-only warmups first.
Incline dumbbell
presses 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps. The last set should be as tough as possible.
Deadlifts 4 x 8
Since you used a sumo stance for the deadlifts on day 1, you use a conventional stance here. Perform four progressively heavier sets of eight reps, working up to one all-out set.
Seated military
presses 5 x 10
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 10 reps, working up to one all-out set.
Superset
Incline curls 5 x 12
Pushdowns 5 x 12
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 12 reps of each exercise, alternating the two exercises.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
Full-Body Mass Builder 2: The Strength, Power and Mass Program
This routine is for those of you who want it all: not just muscle but the strength and power to go along with it. To do that, you use a heavy/light/medium system of training. Because you’ll be using heavy training loads coupled with a greater number of sets, you’ll need the variation.
DAY 1: HEAVY
Squats 7 x 5, 1 x 10
Flat-bench
presses 7 x 5, 1 x10
For both exercises perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets with the same weight. You should struggle to get five reps on all of your sets, the last set being damn near impossible to perform. After your final set of five, drop down in weight for one all-out set of 10 reps.
Sumo deadlifts 8 x 3
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets of three reps, followed by five work sets of three reps.
Incline-bench presses 5 x 5
Standing
presses 5 x 5
Barbell curls 5 x 5
For these three exercises perform two warmup sets, followed by three work sets.
Steep-incline
situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 2: LIGHT
Squats 7 x 5
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 65 to 70 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day. If you squatted 400 pounds for four work sets on heavy day, you’d use approximately 260 to 280 pounds on these.
Flat-bench presses 7 x 5
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 65 to 70 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day.
Good mornings 6 x 5
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets followed by three heavy sets of five reps. Heavy is relative on this exercise, of course, since you won’t be able to handle weights anywhere close to what you did on the sumo deadlifts in the heavy workout.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 3: MEDIUM
Squats 7 x 5, 1 x 10
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 85 to 90 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day. If you squatted 400 pounds for four work sets on heavy day, you’d want to use approximately 340 to 360 pounds on all four work sets. After your final set of five, drop down in weight and perform one set of 10 reps. Unlike what you did on heavy day, the down set should not be all out.
Flat-bench
presses 7 x 5, 1 x 10
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 85 to 90 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day.
Snatch-grip deadlifts 8 x 3
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets of three reps, followed by five work sets of three reps. Take a conventional stance, but use a wide grip, as if you were performing a snatch. The weight should be less than what you used on the sumo deadlifts.
Behind-the-neck
presses 5 x 5
Perform two warmup sets, followed by three work sets.
Barbell curls 5 x 5
Perform two warmup sets, followed by three work sets of five. Work this exercise as hard as you did on your heavy day.
Steep-incline
situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
Keys to Success
Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of these programs.
• Whichever of the programs you’re on, stick with it for four weeks. After that you’ll need a down week to allow your body to recuperate and your mind to rejuvenate. During the down week perform the same workouts for the same number of sets and reps, but cut your poundages in half.
• Make sure that you get plenty of protein. These programs are physically demanding. If you’re trying to gain weight, you need to take in somewhere between 15 and 20 times your bodyweight in calories each day.
• Every few months you might want to switch back to a more conventional split program, especially if you enjoy such workouts. That will keep your mind fresh and your workouts interesting.
Give these workouts an honest try, and I can guarantee that you’ll be more than just pleasantly surprised with the results full-body workouts can bring. You’ll be elated. And you’ll know—once and for all—that full-body training isn’t just for beginners
C.S. Sloan
Build an Awesome Physique With Advanced Full-Body Workouts
Page 1
Many bodybuilders believe that full-body workouts are only for beginners. In fact, they’re so out of fashion nowadays that it’s not uncommon for rank beginners to go right to split workouts without ever attempting a full-body program. What a travesty! The old-time bodybuilding gods must be hanging their heads in bewilderment and shame.
It’s time to correct that gross misconception. I’m here to tell you once and for all that full-body sessions are some of the best workouts you’ll ever perform. No matter how advanced you are or how long you’ve been working out, full-body training can completely transform your physique.
In case you’re having a hard time digesting that because it goes against what you’ve been told or you’ve read in other muscle magazines, let’s get some of the facts straight.
First, some of the best physiques in the history of bodybuilding have been built with full-body workouts. Steve Reeves—arguably the best-built bodybuilder of all time—never performed anything other than full-body workouts, three days a week. Reg Park—who had a physique similar to Reeves’ but carried more muscle mass—primarily performed the 5x5 routine three days per week. Marvin Eder, who was pound for pound the greatest bodybuilder/strength athlete to ever walk the planet (he could bench-press 510 pounds and squat 550 for 10 reps at a bodyweight of 198), always performed full-body workouts. And let’s not forget Casey Viator. Training under the tutelage of Arthur Jones, he gained 60 pounds of muscle in only 28 days using a three-days-a-week full-body program.
Second, full-body workouts enable you to give equal attention to all of the muscles of your physique. Of course, proponents of split routines would object to that statement, claiming that split workouts enable you to give each bodypart more attention by training them on separate days. I find, however, that using split routines often has the opposite effect. Bodybuilders have a tendency to skip the days involving heavy leg and back training and show up more frequently for the days involving chest, shoulders and arm training. If you resign yourself to training your legs and lower back first in a full-body workout—before training your upper body and arms—you’ll become a more balanced and symmetrical, not to mention stronger, bodybuilder.
Third, full-body workouts enable you to train your muscle groups more frequently. Yep, you read that correctly. Frequent is good. It has become almost a fad to train infrequently and irregularly, the rationale being that increased rest between workouts will aid recovery and, therefore, growth and strength. It sounds simple; it sounds as if it will work. Unfortunately for many who have tried it, it just doesn’t.
Also, if you look at all of the good systems of training over the past 20 years—from Bill Starr’s full-body 5x5 workouts to Louie Simmons’ Westside Barbell system to the full-body powerlifting methods of Russian coach extraordinaire Boris Sheiko—the one thing they all have in common is that they train the major lifts frequently.
Consider this oft-quoted principle from the great Russian strength coach and current director of the biomechanics laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, Vladimir Zatsiorsky: The idea is to train as often as possible while being as fresh as possible.
Full-Body
Mass Builder 1:
The Hypertrophy Program
This routine is geared strictly toward packing on as much muscle as possible. If you haven’t been performing full-body workouts, then ease into it for the first week. After that you should be pushing yourself hard.
It’s a three-days-per-week program. For many lifters that means Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but any three nonconsecutive days will do.
DAY 1
Squats 5 x 8
Perform five progressively heavier sets of eight reps. The last set should be all out.
Incline-bench presses 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps. The last set should be as tough as possible
Sumo deadlifts 4 x 8
Perform four progressively heavier sets of eight reps
Standing overhead
dumbbell presses 5 x 10
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 10 reps.
Superset
Barbell curls 5 x10
Lying barbell
extensions 5 x10
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 10 reps of each, alternating the two exercises and taking minimal rest between sets.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 2
Front squats 5 x 8
Perform five progressively heavier sets of eight reps.
Dumbbell bench
presses 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps, working up to one all-out set.
Wide-grip chins 4 x max
Using only your bodyweight, perform four all-out sets.
Superset
Dumbbell curls 4 x 10
Lying dumbbell
extensions 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps of each exercise, alternating the two exercises.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 3
Walking lunges 4 x 10
Use the same weight on all sets. Be sure to perform one or two bodyweight-only warmups first.
Incline dumbbell
presses 4 x 10
Perform four progressively heavier sets of 10 reps. The last set should be as tough as possible.
Deadlifts 4 x 8
Since you used a sumo stance for the deadlifts on day 1, you use a conventional stance here. Perform four progressively heavier sets of eight reps, working up to one all-out set.
Seated military
presses 5 x 10
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 10 reps, working up to one all-out set.
Superset
Incline curls 5 x 12
Pushdowns 5 x 12
Perform five progressively heavier sets of 12 reps of each exercise, alternating the two exercises.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
Full-Body Mass Builder 2: The Strength, Power and Mass Program
This routine is for those of you who want it all: not just muscle but the strength and power to go along with it. To do that, you use a heavy/light/medium system of training. Because you’ll be using heavy training loads coupled with a greater number of sets, you’ll need the variation.
DAY 1: HEAVY
Squats 7 x 5, 1 x 10
Flat-bench
presses 7 x 5, 1 x10
For both exercises perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets with the same weight. You should struggle to get five reps on all of your sets, the last set being damn near impossible to perform. After your final set of five, drop down in weight for one all-out set of 10 reps.
Sumo deadlifts 8 x 3
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets of three reps, followed by five work sets of three reps.
Incline-bench presses 5 x 5
Standing
presses 5 x 5
Barbell curls 5 x 5
For these three exercises perform two warmup sets, followed by three work sets.
Steep-incline
situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 2: LIGHT
Squats 7 x 5
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 65 to 70 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day. If you squatted 400 pounds for four work sets on heavy day, you’d use approximately 260 to 280 pounds on these.
Flat-bench presses 7 x 5
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 65 to 70 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day.
Good mornings 6 x 5
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets followed by three heavy sets of five reps. Heavy is relative on this exercise, of course, since you won’t be able to handle weights anywhere close to what you did on the sumo deadlifts in the heavy workout.
Steep-incline situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
DAY 3: MEDIUM
Squats 7 x 5, 1 x 10
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 85 to 90 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day. If you squatted 400 pounds for four work sets on heavy day, you’d want to use approximately 340 to 360 pounds on all four work sets. After your final set of five, drop down in weight and perform one set of 10 reps. Unlike what you did on heavy day, the down set should not be all out.
Flat-bench
presses 7 x 5, 1 x 10
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets, followed by four work sets. For your work sets use a weight that’s 85 to 90 percent of the weight that you used on your heavy day.
Snatch-grip deadlifts 8 x 3
Perform three progressively heavier warmup sets of three reps, followed by five work sets of three reps. Take a conventional stance, but use a wide grip, as if you were performing a snatch. The weight should be less than what you used on the sumo deadlifts.
Behind-the-neck
presses 5 x 5
Perform two warmup sets, followed by three work sets.
Barbell curls 5 x 5
Perform two warmup sets, followed by three work sets of five. Work this exercise as hard as you did on your heavy day.
Steep-incline
situps 5 x 20
Using your bodyweight only, perform five sets of 20 reps, taking as little rest as possible between sets.
Keys to Success
Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of these programs.
• Whichever of the programs you’re on, stick with it for four weeks. After that you’ll need a down week to allow your body to recuperate and your mind to rejuvenate. During the down week perform the same workouts for the same number of sets and reps, but cut your poundages in half.
• Make sure that you get plenty of protein. These programs are physically demanding. If you’re trying to gain weight, you need to take in somewhere between 15 and 20 times your bodyweight in calories each day.
• Every few months you might want to switch back to a more conventional split program, especially if you enjoy such workouts. That will keep your mind fresh and your workouts interesting.
Give these workouts an honest try, and I can guarantee that you’ll be more than just pleasantly surprised with the results full-body workouts can bring. You’ll be elated. And you’ll know—once and for all—that full-body training isn’t just for beginners
FuriousWO
New Member
Question on chin-ups. My goal is 25 w body weight. First set I can knock out 9 sometimes even a 10th. After that it's 4's. Should I not push so hard on the first set or just keep going?
Ozzy619
New Member
I've been taking a liking the past couple months to doing incline barbell bench with a wide grip (index finger wrapped 1-2" outside of the power rings). I definitely feel like it hits my pec better with this kind of grip. I always do incline with my back arched on the pad to lower the incline (45 is too much front delt imo). This could also cause a lot of shoulder issues for some though.
Still not as wide as Serge:
Hell yea, I love wide grip. I too arch my back, hits the chest like a mofo.
weighted chinup
Member
Push hard even on the first set. You want to bring each set close to failure or 1 rep short of failure so that the effort needed to finish the set is high. The increased effort will cause you to get stronger faster.
Its not uncommon for you to go from 10 reps in your first set to 5-6 in the subsequent ones, as you get stronger you will be able to push more reps in the subsequent sets, and pretty soon you should be able to add weight.
I use short rest periods so its not uncommon for me personally to get less reps in the subsequent sets on certain compounds (like dips and chinups).
FuriousWO
New Member
Okay I'll keep doing what I'm doing then. I really like this new back workout. I definitely feel stronger.
weighted chinup
Member
Awesome 
Once you can do 10-12 reps in the first set of chinups (failing at the 10-12th rep) and maybe around 6 in the subsequent sets, I think that is a good starting point to add weight with a dip belt. Shouldn't take you very long at all.
Once you can do 10-12 reps in the first set of chinups (failing at the 10-12th rep) and maybe around 6 in the subsequent sets, I think that is a good starting point to add weight with a dip belt. Shouldn't take you very long at all.
FuriousWO
New Member
I'm hoping by the end of the month I'll be able to followup the first set with 6+ reps.
Is my target rep range too low at 25?
Is my target rep range too low at 25?
weighted chinup
Member
I think you should bump it up a bit, just based on your current strength levels since you are getting a good number of reps in your sets already.
You will see quicker progress if you did more total reps for chins. I can assure you, you can handle it no problem.
You are strong enough in the amount of reps you are getting where doing 50 total reps would be a good spot for you. I would keep 50 reps as your total rep goal for a while, even when you start adding weight. That's how much I do and it works just fine, I haven't found it to be too excessive and I haven't felt the need to go much higher than that.
Since I do P/P/L/P/P/L/R I end up doing chin ups twice a week, 50-60 reps per pull session twice a week, so about 100-120 total reps per week of weighted chinups. That is plenty of weekly volume imo, should be more than enough to grow off of and get stronger really fast with.
FuriousWO
New Member
I was toying with the idea of changing my overall workout to PPL. Based on yours and Ozzy feedback (and many others) it seems solid. And honestly Im getting sick of my other days
Ozzy619
New Member
Since I started weighted chinups PPL routine Im finally getting the results I want. Been getting compliments on both my size and physique the past week. Had a pool party yesterday and my wife got pissed from a chick that wouldn't stop staring at me.
FuriousWO
New Member
That's the reaction I'm going for
weighted chinup
Member
Try it out and see! The routine I run is based on a few other popular PPL routines out on the web (one in particular has had a strong influence in how I approach training, most of what I have learned has come from that) that I have run, I just made changes in exercise selection and volume and ended up with a routine that suits me perfectly, in terms of volume and exercise selection.
I think PPL works great for BB'ing for a few reasons: its split up further than full body and upper/lower routines so you can do a larger number of exercises (good for bodybuilding), and the frequency is moderate so you are still progressing faster than a low frequency routine.
It also simplifies things a lot, there are only so many lifts that make sense in a PPL routine so finding a routine online and making the changes suitable for you are very simple.
4leafclover
New Member
I follow Joe Weider's principals and Arnold's volume approach. I think free weights with some machines and simple movements are where it's at!
Joe Weider- you must be old, like me!
I also believe meso should have more discussions about work out every new want a source and get mad about why no spoon feed them any ways sorry for the rant I'm actually doing a CT.fletcher move I'm doing arms everyday after my workout like if
Monday I do chest I rest 10min start tri's then bi's
Tuesday off
Wed.legs then arms (every part)
Thurs.off
Friday back then arms (every part)
Sat.all arms (shoulder,bi's tri's ect.)
Sunday off
Monday,wed.sat I also do cardio I had to try his work out over training in 2 1/2 month arm grew 1/1/2inches over training does work if you think about haven't we all over train a body part and seen gains but also everyone is different and injuries play a big part on how you work out my 2 cents
Monday I do chest I rest 10min start tri's then bi's
Tuesday off
Wed.legs then arms (every part)
Thurs.off
Friday back then arms (every part)
Sat.all arms (shoulder,bi's tri's ect.)
Sunday off
Monday,wed.sat I also do cardio I had to try his work out over training in 2 1/2 month arm grew 1/1/2inches over training does work if you think about haven't we all over train a body part and seen gains but also everyone is different and injuries play a big part on how you work out my 2 cents
12.5 hrs of back breaking work and I'm still going to squat! Dedication my meso brothers!!!!!
