1 0 W e e k S i ze ze S u r g e B o o k l e t
Table of Contents Ten Week Size Surge.................. Surge ...................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ....................................2 ................2 Introduction.......................... Introduction.............................................. ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .......................................2 ...................2 Step One: ....................................... ........................................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................2 .........2 Take one full week off from training................................. training..................................................... ........................................ .............................2 .........2 The “Break in” Routine Routine ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ..........................3 ......3 Step Two:.......................................... Two:.............................................................. ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ..........................3 ......3 Diet. ....................................... ........................................................... ........................................ ........................................ ......................................... .................................3 ............3 The Size Surge Diet ....................................... ........................................................... ........................................ ......................................... .................................6 ............6 Meal 1 ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................6 .........6 Meal 2 ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................6 .........6 Meal 3 ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................6 .........6 Meal 4 ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................6 .........6 Meal 5 ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................6 .........6 Meal 6 ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................7 .........7 Grand Totals Totals ........................................ ............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ .......................................7 ...................7 Step Three:........................................ Three:............................................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ..........................7 ......7 Use a phase-training phase-training approach over your ten-week ten-week training period. ..................................7 ..................................7 Step Four:......................... Four:............................................. ........................................ ........................................ ......................................... ......................................... ......................7 ..7 Step Five:.................. Five: ....................................... ......................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................8 .........8 Size Surge Routine Phase Phase One ....................................... ........................................................... ........................................ ....................................9 ................9 Five Weeks Weeks ...................................... .......................................................... ........................................ ......................................... ......................................... ......................9 ..9 Monday.................... Monday ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ......................................... ......................................... ......................9 ..9 Wednesday............................. Wednesday................................................. ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .............................9 .........9 Friday......................................................... Friday..................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ...........................10 .......10 Step Six:.................................. Six:...................................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ..................................10 ..............10 Phase Phase One Tips and Reminders ...................................... .......................................................... ........................................ ..................................12 ..............12 Step Seven: ....................................... ........................................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................13 ....13 7 Sacred Rules for Packing On Muscle Weight You Should Never Break ..........................14 ..........................14
Ten Week Size Surge Introduction 10 Week Size Surge was written to help you close in on your physical potential with sensible bodybuilding strategies. Weight training is a demanding activity, however, so it is highly recommended that you consult your physician and have a physical examination prior to beginning a weight-training program. Proceed with the suggested diets, exercises and routines at your own risk. Ten pounds of muscle or more in 10 weeks may sound utterly impossible when you consider the meagre gains-usually measured in ounces-that most bodybuilders accrue in any 10 week period. With precise training and nutrition, however, it can be done. For example, Casey Viator gained a whopping 63 pounds of muscle in a mere four weeks in 1973 during what's known as the Colorado Experiment at Colorado State University. And he made that tremendous gain while on a high-intensity routine similar to what's presented in this bulletin. (Covered later in this documentary) Granted Casey wasn't starting from scratch. He was regaining muscle weight he'd had during his competitive bodybuilding days, a few years before this experiment, and he was one of the most genetically gifted physique athletes ever to grace a posing dais. Nevertheless, it was a phenomenal achievement and should open your eyes to the fact that putting 10 pounds of muscle, or more, in a mere 10 weeks isn't so impossible after all. It can be done-if you train and eat correctly, as described in this bulletin. This 10-week plan is based on sound, logical bodybuilding applications that have proven effective time and time again. Put everything here to practice, and you; in no doubt be shocked by your reflection in the mirror after only 10 weeks. And who knows. Maybe your mass gains will rival those Viator attained back in '73. How about 20 or 30 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks? That not just a transformation: It's a physical metamorphosis.
Step One: Take one full week off from training. In Ellington Darden's book High Intensity Training he relates an anecdote about Arthur Jones, ht creator of Nautilus machines and a staunch proponent of brief, intense workouts that has a lesson for every bodybuilder interested in rapid muscle hypertrophy. Years ago Jones wrote in Iron Man magazine "from only one workout I'll put half an inch of permanent muscle size on your upper arms." That may sound preposterous, but Jones made good on his claim with almost every bodybuilder who challenged him. He did it by focusing on rest and recovery, right off the bat by ordering the athlete to rest completely for three full days to counter act the over trained state that most lifters are always in. After this recovery period Jones put the lifter through a full body workout of 10 exercises, with the last four to six sets devoted to arm blasting. The next morning the bodybuilders’ arms were measured, and almost without fail there was a half an inch of extra muscle stretching the tape. If you've been training hard continuously for more than three months, you've no doubt over trained, especially if you've been following the advice of one of the many genetically gifted, pharmaceutically aided bodybuilding stars. One week off from the gym will recharge your batteries, heal your recovery ability and set the stage for new growth. Stay out of the gym for a full seven days-no arguments. After the break you can move onto the high intensity regimen outlined later in this bulletin
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If, on the other hand, you haven't been training hard for a few months and your using this bulletin as a guide to get back into bodybuilding, use this first week as a break in period. Go to the gym and follow the break in routine on the next page. Use poundages that allow you to reach the repetition ranges easily - no straining. That means shouldn't train to failure during this time. You want to feel energized after these workouts, not drained. Try to build your intensity slowly over the three sessions but not to an extreme, For example, you may add a little weight to certain exercises on Wednesday and push a little harder-to one or two steps short of positive failure during this time. You want to feel energized at the end of these workouts, not drained. Try to build your intensity of the three sessions but not to the extreme. For example, you may add a little weight to certain exercises on Wednesday and then push a little harder-to one or two reps short of positive failure-on Friday. This will prepare you for the intense to come as you enter the 10-week Size Surge program the following week. If you're out of shape and have gotten no solid training under your belt for more than a year, stick with this break-in workout for three to four weeks before moving on. See Break -in – Routine
The “Break in” Routine Monday, Wednesday, Friday Squats
2x10-12
Stiff legged Deadlift
2x10-12
Bench Presses
2x10-12
Pulldowns
2x10-12
Bent over barbell rows
2x10-12
Seated dumbbell Press
2x10-12
Dumbbell Upright Rows
2x10-12
Standing calf raises
2x10-12
Lying triceps extensions
2x10-12
Standing barbell curls
2x10-12
Crunches
2x10-12
Step Two: Diet. Adjust your diet so that you're getting enough calories and the optimal protein, carbohydrate and fat percentages over six to seven feedings a day. Start this new diet as soon as you begin intense training. You've no doubt heard it said over and over again that you need protein and more protein in order to build muscle. The hard training bodybuilder does need protein, up to a point.(.85 to 1 gram for every pound of bodyweight is a good rule of thumb: that's 170 to 200 grams of protein for a 200 pound bodybuilder.) The real key to maximum growth, however, is Page 3 of 15
intensity in the gym, which is directly related to the complex carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables and grains, that you eat. Carbohydrates supply your body with glycogen, the substance that's stored your in your liver and muscles and changed into sugar as your muscles need it for high-intensity contraction. In other words, the glycogen in carbs is high-octane fuel that your muscles require for intense all-out effort. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables. pasta, bread and other grains every day-enough to total 50 to 60 percent of your daily calorie intake- in combination with protein, and you'll rapidly replenish the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver, which will ensure the type of high-intensity performance in the gym that creates explosive muscle growth. A good place to start is with the Size Surge Diet outlined later in this work. This nutrition plan takes into account the fact that frequent feedings equal optimal recovery and rapid muscle growth. The reason it's so effective is because the muscle-growth process is a cumulative effect that takes place over a period of days after hard training. Therefore, you have to make sure your system is never starved for the nutrients it needs to accomplish the goal of getting bigger and stronger, especially when it's recovery and building between training between training sessions. You must continually provide it with the elements it requires for hypertrophy-hence the six to seven meals-a-day schedule. You should eat every two to three hours and make sure that every meal includes a complex carbohydrate-for example, an apple, a banana or some dates-and a protein source-like milk, cottage cheese or yoghurt. This strategy ensures that your system always has readily available the elements it needs for the intricate chemical process of growth to take place. Granted, many bodybuilders have a problem eating every few hours, and this is where the blender is a saving grace. You can whip up a nutritious blender concoction and drink it down, saturating your system with muscle-building nutrients without interrupting your schedule for more than 10 minutes. Here's the convenient blender drink that's used in the Size Surge Diet outlined later in this work. It's inexperience and quite effective for providing your system with what it needs for recovery and growth. Power Shake
8 ounces low fat blueberry yoghurt 1 medium banana 1 cup of milk(2%) ice cubes for texture water to thin if necessary) This drink gives you the following calorie and macronutrient totals: Calories 488 Carbohydrates 80 grams Protein 24 grams Fat 8 grams For more calorie punch you can add a couple of scoops of your favourite weight-gain or metabolic-optimiser powder. As mentioned above, a balanced diet is one that includes an ample supply of fruits, vegetables, grains and protein every day and provides you with 50 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent protein and 15 percent fat. It's a good idea to keep most of your meals close to these percentages as well so that you have this bodybuilding balance in your system at all times (see the macronutrient breakdowns of each meal in the Size Surge Diet.) Page 4 of 15
For example in the Power Shake listed above there are: Calories 488, Carbohydrates 80 grams, Protein 24 grams, Fat 8 grams To figure the percentages you convert all of the macronutrient gram counts to calories, as follows. (Note that there are four calories in every gram of carbohydrate and protein and nine calories in every gram of fat.) 80 grams of carbs x 4 calories = 320 calories 24 grams of protein x 4 calories = 96 calories 8 grams of fat x 9 calories = 72 calories To find the percentage of each macronutrient, you divide each of these figures by the calorie total as follows: 320 carb calories divided by 488 total calories = .65 or 65 percent 96 protein calories divided by 488 total calories =.20 or 20 percent 72 fat calories divided by 488 total calories = .15 or 15 percent The Power Shake's percentages are very close to the 60-to-25-15 macronutrient balance that's ideal for bodybuilders, which makes it a near perfect bodybuilding meal. Keep in mind that the Size Surge Diet is a sample schedule that you can use as a template for creating your own eating plan. Yes, you can follow it as it is, but you may want to tweak it because you'll doubt need more or fewer calories depending on your metabolism and activity level. For example, if you need to reduce your calorie count, you can do one or more of the following: •
delete a meal
•
decrease the portions in one or more meals
•
decrease your Power Shake intake
If you need to add calories, you can do one or more of the following: •
add a half or another whole Power Shake to the Size Surge Diet
•
increase your portions at one or more meals-for example, eat two tuna sandwiches instead of one or up your chicken and vegetable intake by a few ounces at dinner.
•
add weight-gain or metabolic-optimiser powder to one or all of your Power Shakes (this is by far the most convenient choice)
Once again, it only takes a few extra calories more than your maintenance needs each day to build muscle. In fact, as Dorian Yates trained through his size-building phase for his '93 Mr. Olympia victory, his calorie intake hovered around 5,000-and he competed at a ripped 250 pounds. Obviously, if you weigh in the neighbourhood 200 pounds or less , 3,500 to 4,000 calories should be plenty to keep growth coming at a rapid clip and may actually be more than enough. You can't force-feed your muscles into growing. Eating binges-even when they consist of nutritious foods-pack your physique with fat and do you absolutely no good because you'll eventually have to lose that fat if you want the solid bodybuilder look. Losing fat is a struggle for most people, plus there's the added dilemma of losing hard-earned muscle during the fat reduction process. A good strategy is, if your abdominal start to do a disappearing act, don't
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hesitate to roll back your calorie intake. Solid muscle-mass gains are what you're after, not definition-blurring fat.
The Size Surge Diet Calories Protein
Fat
Carbs
Milk(2%) 8oz.
140
10
5
13
Oatmeal 8 oz.
150
10
3
25
Egg Whites
20
6
-
-
137
1
-
33
447
22
8
71
20%
16%
64%
24
8
80
20%
15%
65%
Meal 1
(2 stirred into oatmeal) Dates 1/4 cup (about 5 whole dates) Totals Macronutrient Percentages
Meal 2 Power Shake
488
Macronutrient Percentages
Meal 3 Roasted Chicken (6oz)
232
40
8
-
Lima Beans (6 oz.)
168
10
-
32
Rice (1 cup)
124
4
-
27
Sherbert(3 scoops)
270
3
2
60
Total
794
57
10
119
29%
11%
60%
Macronutrient Percentages
Meal 4 Cottage Cheese 6 oz.
162
22
6
5
Pears canned in own juice
120
-
-
30
Totals
282
22
6
35
31%
19%
50%
Macronutrient Percentages
Meal 5 Peanut butter sandwich
355
18
13
42
Milk 2% 8 oz.
140
10
5
13
One Banana
95
1
-
23
Totals
590
29
18
78
20%
27%
53%
Macronutrient Percentages
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Meal 6 Tuna sandwich
299
28
3
41
Apple
88
-
-
22
Peanuts handful
110
5
8
2
Totals
497
33
11
65
27%
20%
53%
Macronutrient Percentages
Grand Totals
Macronutrient Percentages
Calories
Protein
Fat
Carbs
3,586
211
69
527
23%
17%
60%
For Nutrition and Supplements see Nutrition and Supplements
Step Three: Use a phase-training approach over your ten-week training period. The overall training schedule in this work is broken down into two high-intensity training phases, one five weeks long and one four weeks long, separated by one week of mediumintensity workouts. The reason for the medium-intensity week is simple-it heals your recovery ability and prevents over training. This back-off period is necessary because of the way the body handles stress. Dr. Hans Selye called this stress-coping mechanism the General Adaptation Syndrome, stating that when your body encounters a repeated stress like high-intensity weight training, it goes through three levels of response, as follows: Alarm: During the first one to two weeks of training your body begins adjusting as it prepares to compensate for the new stress. Resistance: During weeks three to five body actually adapts to the stress by getting bigger. Exhaustion: During week six your body hits a wall, or plateau, and your gains are stalled as a state of over training sets in. By shifting into a medium-intensity phase after four to five weeks of high intensity-training, you avoid exhaustion. In other words, you can go from alarm to resistance, back to alarm and then to resistance again. With this strategy you get two growth surges, resistance stages in a 10-week period, whereas if you continued with a high-intensity training without a break, you'd dig yourself into an over training rut-the exhaustion stage-and cause your muscle growth to stop completely and perhaps even regress.
Step Four: Use training routines that are dominated by the big, compound movements for the most rapid muscle gains possible. Compound movements are those exercises that involve more than one joint. For example, when you squat, there's movement at the knee, hip, and ankle joints. This allows many muscles-the gluteus, lower back, hamstrings and calves-to work as a team to stress the target muscles-the quadriceps, or front-thigh muscles. This teamwork is known as synergy, a Page 7 of 15
phenomenon that allows you to hit the target bodypart with heavy poundages and stimulate the bulk of it's muscle fibres. Synergy has the potential to do even more than just stress more muscle fibres, however. Research has shown that when you perform squats with high intensity, you actually get a natural surge of testosterone, a hormone that's believed to stimulate muscle growth. Notice that phase 1 of the Size Surge Routine is dominated by compound movements and that each workout leads off with either the squat or the deadlift, two of the most powerful size stimulators. By using the two compound anabolic accelerators you ensure not only maximum muscle stimulation but a testosterone surge every time you hit the gym. Notice also that each bodypart routine in the phase 2 program begins with a compound movement-listed as midrange-so that in the second phase you continue to give the muscle fibres of your major body parts a synergistic blast for the fastest development.
Step Five: Go to positive failure on all of your work sets and increase your training poundages on the big, compound exercises as often as possible. Building muscle mass requires progressive resistance, or overload. You must push your muscles to failure-until you can't get another repetition in good form-during a high-intensity phase, and you must continue to add weight or reps to your exercises, with special emphasis on compound movements. If you don't use this progressive overload, your muscles will have no reason to adapt with muscle increases. You must also hit positive failure in seven to nine reps on most exercises. That means you should select a weight that allows you to get at least seven reps but no more than nine. When you get to nine bring your weight up so that your rep count back to seven. Seven to nine is the optimal rep range for stressing the white, fast-twitch muscle fibres that have the greatest potential for growth: However, it's not so much the rep range as the time it takes to do this number of reps with a two second positive and a two-second negative. Research has shown that pushing a muscle with high-intensity exercise for up to 45 seconds is ideal for stimulating fast-twitch fibre hypertrophy. If you take longer, one of two things will happen: You run the risk of having lactic acid and other fatigue products shutdown your muscles before the majority of fibres fire, or , if the weight is light, you end up working mostly the red, slowtwitch fibres, which are aerobic and don't have as much potential for growth as the white, fasttwitch fibres do. As for the number of sets, don't do more than two per exercise. Two sets will hit many fibres as possible on any particular movement without overstressing the muscle. Here's why the twoset rule is so important for encouraging hypertrophy while avoiding overtraining. First, keep in mind that a muscle fibre fires completely or not at all. This is known as the allor-none principle. Let's take a hypothetical set of curls to demonstrate exactly what happens during each rep.(Keep in mind that theses numbers are merely hypothetical and that there are thousands of fibres in each muscle.) Your first rep may require, say, 20 fibres to move the weight, and the 20 fibres completely. On the second rep those same 20 fibres fire completely again, but now they're somewhat, so three more fibres join in and fire completely for a total of 23. On the third rep the same 23 fibres fire completely again, but they are fatigued, so five more fibres are called in, and they fire completely for a total of 28 This goes on until you hit failure, at which point the majority of your biceps muscle fibres that can contract during the exercise have fired completely. It's the reason that your reps drop when you attempt another high-intensity set-you simply can't get the same number with the same weight, because so many fibres have already worked to exhaustion on the first set. Page 8 of 15
Based on the all-or-none principle, you might conclude that hitting positive failure means you've trained the majority of the biceps' fibres maximally, but the are still fibres that haven't been called into play. For example, if on the eighth rep of the above set you use 100 fibres and your ninth rep requires 130fibres to move the resistance, but you only have 125 available, you'll fat; to do that ninth rep and 25 fibres will be left unused. One way to get at those unused fibres is to do another set. In other words, if you only go to positive failure on a set of a given exercise and you're interesting in hitting as many muscle fibres as possible for maximum growth stimulation, then you need to perform one or more positive-failure set-after a res6t of 1 1/2 to two minutes, which is the amount of time it takes your worked muscles to recover so they can recruit and contract the maximum number of fibres again. What actually happens on that second set is you get a different fibre-recruitment pattern; that is, fibres that were left unused after your first positive-failure set are brought into the action, and your previously taxed muscle fibres fire in a different order. Physiologically speaking, even if you do two sets to positive-failure, there are still fibres left in reserve. You can never exhaust a muscle's total makeup, no matter how many sets you doof the same exercise. During the third set of, say, standing barbell curls only stresses the biceps fibres that have already worked maximally and won't call those reserve fibres invocation. In order to get at some of those reserve fibres, you must use more-isolated exercises, specifically ones that provide pre-stretch, or myostatic reflex, and peak contraction. The addition of exercises that use these reserve-fibre-recruitment tactics is the reason why you graduate to phase 2 of the Size Surge Routine after you complete phase 1 and a one week medium intensity training phase. (Note that some of the above discussion on fibre contraction and recruitment hasn't been scientifically validated, as researchers have yet to delve that deeply into this complicated physiological process.)
Size Surge Routine Phase One Five Weeks Monday
Squats*
2x7-9
Leg extension
1x7-9
Stiff-legged deadlifts*
1x7-9
Leg curls
1x7-9
Bench Presses*
2x7-9
Flat Bench Flyes
1x7-9
Incline dumbbell presses
2x7-9
Chins or Pulldowns*
2x7-9
Bent over Rows*
2x7-9
Behind-the-neck presses*
2x7-9
Dumbbell upright rows
2x7-9
Wednesday
Deadlifts*
2x7-9
Standing calf raises
2x12-18
Barbell curls*
2x7-9 Page 9 of 15
Lying triceps extensions*
2x7-9
Wrist curls
1x7-9
Knee-Ups
2x7-9
Crunches
2x12-18
Friday
Squats*
2x7-9
Leg extensions
1x7-9
Leg curls
2x7-9
Seated calf raises*
2x12-18
Bench presses*
2x7-9
Flat-bench flyes
1x7-9
Incline dumbbell presses
2x7-9
Chins or Pulldowns*
2x7-9
Bent over Rows*
2x7-9
Behind-the-neck presses*
2x7-9
Dumbbell upright rows
2x7-9
* Do one to two light warm-up sets with about 50 percent of your work weight on the first set and 70 percent on the second prior to your two work sets.
Step Six: Graduate from a basics-only routine to a multi angular-training approach to recruit more muscle fibres. While compound, or multi-joint, movements as bench presses, squats, deadlifts and shoulder presses-are best for hitting the majority of fibres in the target muscle due to synergy, if you want to force out of reserve and into action, you must resort to exercises that isolate the target muscle more and that allow you to take advantage of the myostatic reflex and peak contraction. Positions of Flexion lets you stress the maximum number of fibres in any target muscle at any one workout because you train the target muscle with midrange, stretch and contracted positions exercises and thus force maximum fibre recruitment, which enables you to develop each muscle rapidly and completely. Midrange position. Midrange position exercises, as mentioned earlier, are simply the compound movements, many of which you use in phase 1 because they work the bulk of the fibres. Even after two sets to positive failure of any midrange exercise, however, there are still fresh fibres you can stimulate by training the target muscle in the other two positions-stretch and contracted-because they allow you to use the aforementioned myostatic reflex and peak contraction, respectively. Stretch Position. Here you put the target muscle in an elongated state so that you can take advantage of the myostatic reflex, or pre-stretch. For example, on an incline dumbbell curl for your biceps you use a quick twitch at the bottom of every rep so that you can engage more muscle fibres. Other stretch position exercises that allow you to take advantage of the myostatic reflex include overhead extensions(triceps) , sissy squats (quads) , inline one arm laterals (lateral delt head) , stiff-legged deadlifts (hamstrings, flyes (chest) , one-arm dumbbell rows (mid-back) , and pullovers (Lats) . Notice that there's a distinct, almost uncomfortable pull on the target muscles at the bottom of each of theses movements. Page 10 of 15
Contracted positions. You usually finish off the target muscle with a contracted-position exercise, which allows you to maintain resistance through the entire range of motion and, therefore, end each rep with a powerful peak contraction. It's even more powerful after a stretch-position movement because those reserve fibres that you awakened with myostatic reflex remain in action during this exercise as well. What's more, resistance in the contracted position is mandatory for squeezing out that last bit of fibre stimulation and muscle glycogen. For example, when you do non support concentration curls, one of Arnolds' favourite biceps exercises, you have to fight to hold the weight in the top position. That's peak contraction. Other contracted-position movements include kickbacks (triceps) , leg extension (quads) , lateral raises (lateral delt heads) , leg curls (hams) , cable crossovers (chest) , bent-arm bent-over laterals (mid-back) and stiff-arm pulldowns (lats) . Notice there is resistance at the top, or finish, position of each of theses movements. Phase 2 of the Size Surge Routine, is a POF every-other-day-split program. With this type of recovery-oriented schedule you get maximum fibre recruitment and then one day of rest between workouts, which facilitates muscle growth. Here's a two week snapshot of how your workout fall on this schedule:
Week 1
Monday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Tuesday: Rest Wednesday: Workout 2 (back, deltoids, biceps, abdominals) Thursday: Rest Friday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Saturday: Rest Sunday: Workout 2 (back, deltoids, biceps, abdominals)
Week 2
Monday: Rest Tuesday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Wednesday: Rest Thursday: Workout 2 (back, deltoids, biceps, abdominals) Friday: Rest Saturday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Sunday: Rest
Notice that you always train once on weekends, alternating Saturdays and Sundays. If you don't like to train on the weekends or you're an extreme hard gainer, who could use the extra rest, try this weekends off variation of the every-other-day split: Week 1
Monday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Tuesday: Rest Wednesday: Workout 2(back, deltoids, biceps, abdominals) Thursday: Rest Friday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Page 11 of 15
Saturday: Rest Sunday: Rest Week 2
Monday: Workout 2 (back, deltoids, biceps, abdominals) Tuesday: Rest Wednesday: Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, chest, triceps) Thursday: Rest Friday: Workout 2 (back, deltoids, biceps, abdominals) Saturday: Rest Sunday: Rest
This schedule is even more recovery0oriented than the basic every-other-day split and can be quite effective for hard gainers. Those who have average or above average recovery ability may find their muscles atrophying due to the extended time between sessions, however-up to five days from Wednesday to Monday. A third option is the regular four-day split, on which you workout Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Because you train two days in a row, this type of routine requires a different bodypart split than those listed above. If you prefer the four-day schedule, use the following split (you'll have to rework the program so that you train the appropriate body parts on the designated days) : Monday:
Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, abs)
Tuesday:
Workout 2 (chest, back, deltoids, biceps, triceps)
Wednesday:
Rest
Thursday:
Workout 1 (quads, hams, calves, abs)
Friday:
Workout 2 (chest, back, deltoids, biceps, triceps)
Saturday:
Rest
Sunday:
Rest
Notice that you work your lower body on one day and your upper body on the next. This prevents you from training a bodypart two days in a row. On the other splits described in this bulletin, the overlap isn't a problem, because you get a day of complete rest between sessions, which prevents you from overtraining. If you don't mind training on the weekends, you should choose the every-other-day split, which is the best of the three for body builders.
Phase One Tips and Reminders 1) Do one to two warm-up sets with 50 percent of your work-set weight on the first and 70 percent on the second on the exercises that are marked with an asterisk(*) . Concentrate and try to get in touch with the target with slow, albeit light, movements. 2) Push your work sets to positive-failure until you can't do another rep with good form 3) The ideal rep speed is two seconds up and two seconds down; always keep your form strict.. 4) Rest 1 1/2 minutes between sets
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5) When you can get nine reps-or 18 in the case of calf work and crunches-up your weight enough to bring down your reps to the bottom of the range-seven on most exercises. 6) The reason you do higher reps on calf work and some abdominal exercises is the shorter range of motion. Remember, it's not actually the number of reps you do that's important but rather the amount of time the target muscle is under anaerobic stress, or tension, prior to reaching failure. Twelve to 18 reps one exercises that have a short stroke-such as calf raisesequals 30to 45 seconds, the same amount of time it takes to do seven to nine reps on movements that have a longer stroke. 7) Never do more than 24 sets in one workout, or you risk overtraining. 8) Your arms get plenty of indirect stimulation on Monday and Friday from torso exercises such as presses, rows, pulldowns and chin-ups. Therefore, the one direct arm workout on Wednesday is enough to stimulate maximum growth. 9) After five weeks on this routine continue it for one more week but drop to a medium intensity, stopping every set two reps short of positive-failure. Then move into phase 2 routine, which is another high-intensity period. [Note: For exercise descriptions as well as variations on the Size Surge Routine-including Target Overload, Metabolic Metamorphosis and Anabolic Acceleration--see IRONMAN'S Mass- Training Tactics]
Step Seven: Stay focused, be patient and don't get greedy. You mustn't be afraid to push to failure during each of the two high-intensity phases. Concentrate and squeeze out every last rep possible on every set--other than warm-ups--of every exercise. Also, try to add weight to the compound exercises often--at every workout if you can--but don't compromise your form. Greed will only lead to sloppy workouts, which don't do much to stimulate muscle growth and may lead to injury. If you properly incorporate the advice in this bulletin into your training and diet, you'll be astounded at your ability to surpass your so-called genetic limitations and develop pounds of muscle mass in record time. More weight-gain suggestions: 1) Take a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Although the Size Surge Diet is balanced, a multi-vitamin and -mineral supplement will provide insurance-just in case you're not getting enough of one or more critical nutrients. Be cautious with products that give you excessive amounts of nutrients, however. Look for a supplement that has at least 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance for each nutrient, but if you're using one that provides more than 1,000 percent of the RDA's, you may want to take it every other day or every third day to prevent toxic build up of fat soluble vitamins. 2) Supplement your diet with extra vitamins C and E and beta-carotene. These nutrients are known as free radical scavengers. When you train hard, your body produces free radicals, which are cell damaging substances that can wreak havoc on your health. While exercise also makes your body better to fight free radicals, this is another area you can give yourself some real insurance. For optimal health and to enhance recovery from your workouts, take 500 milligrams of C, 500 international units of E and 20,000 international units of beta carotene. Before you start taking theses extra supplements, check the labels of the multivitamin/mineral supplement you're already taking, as you may getting close to theses amounts.
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3) Drink plenty of water. Six to seven glasses a day will keep your system running efficiently and actually promote muscle growth. Also, drink water during your workouts, especially during the summer months, to prevent dehydration. 4) Avoid excessive activity. If you want to gain muscular bodyweight, try to keep energyburning activities to a minimum. A game of basketball every now and then won't hurt, but if you do it on a regular basis, your body will have a hard time coping with the repeated stress on top of the stress on top of the stress from your weight training. This could really put a cap on your muscle gains. 5) Don't let your exhaustion get the best of you. If you start adding exercises and/or sets to the listed workouts, you'll no doubt end up over trained, which is the primary reason that so many bodybuilding can't gain more than a few pounds of muscle every year. If you want the fastest gains possible, focus on intensity, not the amount of work you do in any given session. In other words, train harder, not longer. 6) Don't weigh yourself more than once every two weeks. If you continue to get on the scale day after day, you'll only discourage yourself. These gains will come: however, they won't show up on a weekly basis. One reason for this is that you may be losing fat as you're gaining muscle. If you lose a pound of fat and gain a pound of muscle you will not register a weight gain on the scale. Go by how you look in the mirror, and remember to avoid getting-always keep your abdominals fairly sharp. 7) Get plenty of sleep. Some people can get by with seven hours or less of sleep a night. If you're interested in gaining muscular bodyweight, then you're not one of these people. Try to get at least eight of restful sleep each and every night-even on weekends. It's best to keep your body on the same sleep cycle throughout the 10-week Size Surge program-and that includes Saturday and Sunday. By going to bed and waking up at the same time every day of the week, you avoid unnecessary stress and fatigue. If you stay up late on the weekends, even when you don't train on these two days, you'll shock your body's built in clock and you'll have a hard time getting back into the groove on Monday. You may even feel as if you have a hangover, which will be detrimental to your training. You must be sharp at every workout to make the fastest gains possible. Regular sleep cycles will enhance the recovery process and help you pack on mass faster. Also, a nap during the day can help boost recovery and growth. If you can manage a 30minute nap after lunch, you'll undoubtedly feel the difference during your workouts and see a marked improvement in our muscle gains.
7 Sacred Rules for Packing On Muscle Weight You Should Never Break 1) Eat at least five times a day-every two to three hours. You must keep your system saturated with amino acids and glycogen from protein and carb sources, respectively, if you want to push muscle growth to abnormal levels. You never know when your body will need theses precious nutrients. What's more not eating every few hours can cause the starvation mechanism to kick in, which signals your body to begin consuming its own muscle tissue. 2) Centre your bodybuilding program around big compound movements, such as squats and presses. You should strive for maximum efficiency of effort, or to work as many muscle groups as possible with as few sets as possible. Squats, for example, train not only your quads but also your lower back and glutes, so direct work for the muscles that assist during the squat should be minimal. This leaves more of your recovery ability to help in the growth process when you're out of the gym.
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3) Don't do more than 30 sets at any workout-and less is usually better. Overtraining is the number-one reason most bodybuilders can't pack on muscle weight. 4) Don't train more than two days in a row-the best schedule is to take a day rest between workouts. Your muscles aren't the only things that have to recover after a heavy workout; your entire nervous system needs a rest too. 5) Have a protein drink immediately after every training session. Research indicates that boosting insulin levels right after an intense workout promotes muscle protein synthesis, which leads to faster growth. 6) Take a break after four to six weeks of high-intensity training. Either take a full week off or downshift your intensity for two weeks. This lets you recuperate fully and in many cases promotes a new growth spurt. 7) Keep your cruise control on. Try to keep your cool during the day no matter what. Getting overly excited can stress you out and cause excessive energy burn-energy your body could be using to fuel extraordinary muscle growth.
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