Articles By Anthony Ditillo P ar artt 1
A SAMPL SAMPLE E LEG AND BA BACK CK BULKIN BULKIN G ROUTIN E
Monday – Full Squat Bent Legged Deadlif Deadliftt Bent Over Row Tuesday – Bench Press Seated Press Seated Curl Wednesday – Complete rest Thursday – H alf Squat High Deadlift Shrug Friday – Repeat Tuesday Saturday and Sunday – Complete rest
A SAMPL SAMPLE E LEG AND BA BACK CK BULKIN BULKIN G ROUTIN E
Monday – Full Squat Bent Legged Deadlif Deadliftt Bent Over Row Tuesday – Bench Press Seated Press Seated Curl Wednesday – Complete rest Thursday – H alf Squat High Deadlift Shrug Friday – Repeat Tuesday Saturday and Sunday – Complete rest
And there you have a complete leg and back bulk building routine. In case you are wondering why I have included an upper body routine to performed two days per week along with the lower body routine which is also to be performed two days per week, it is because of the overall growing effect that such heavy lower body specialization has upon the entire body. This way, by also including some upper body work you will add somewhat to your upper body bulk while you are increasing the mass of your thighs and lower back as well. I sh all outline for you now, in comp lete lift lift by lift lift form, the th e entire routine. rou tine. I shall endeavor end eavor to explain more fully the individual performance of each exercise and also just what kind of sets and repetitions have proven proven to me to be m ost valuable valuable in training. Monday – Full Squat I want you to perform five sets of this exercise. On your first set load the bar up to 50 per cent of your one rep limit. Perform ten repetitions using this light weight for a warm up. Now increase the bar to 75% of your one rep limit. Perform as many repetitions as possible with this weight. Now rest for two minutes. Now increase the weight of the bar to a poundage which is 90% of your one rep limit. Perform three sets of as many repetitions as possible using this weight. Rest for two minutes between each of the three sets. Proper performance performance is most important while performing performing th e full full squat. Be sure th at you take a wide foot stance, as this seems to give the steadiest balance position. Breathe in very deeply before before you you begin to descend into the squ at, and hold the breath until you you are almost standing erect. When you arrive at the sticking point, you may then forcibly exhale and strivee to stan d erect with this weight. Be sure to add wei striv weight ght to the bar whenever you you can, as this is the only way for you to be able to keep an accurate check on your progress. Bent Legged Deadlif Deadliftt I want you to perform three sets of this exercise. For the first set put 50% of your one rep limit on the bar and perform ten repetitions for a warm-up. Now rest for to minutes. Next increase the weight of the bar to 75% of your one rep limit and perform as many repetitions
as possible with this weight. Now rest for two minutes. Finally, put 90% of your one rep limit li mit on the b ar and perf perform orm one set of as m any repetitions as ph ys ysical ically ly possible. When performing these deadlifts, I want you to be sure and breathe in very deeply when commencing to begin the lift. Then, while performing the lift itself, slowly but surely, exhale all the air out of the lungs. This will prevent possible muscle strains in the lower abdomen and groin area. I would also advise you to wear wrist straps as these will help you in concentrating on the lifting of the weight itself and not worrying about your grip giving out during the lift. I have only advised three sets due to the heaviness of the weight you will have to lift. I do not want you to go stale. Be sure to add weight to the bar whenever you possibly can. Bent O ver Rowing This Th is last exercise exercise in your Monday routine will will bulk up all the muscles of the u pper back and I want you to use it here as a tapering off exercise. For the first set use 50% of your one rep limit and perform one set of ten repetitions. Rest for two minutes. Now increase the bar to 75% of your one rep limit and perform three sets of as many reps as you possibly can. Rest for two minutes between each set. Be sure and pull the bar up into the lower abdomen and pause two seconds when it reaches this spot. Use a close grip and be sure to add weight to the bar whenever possible. This, Th is, then, is a step b y step description of your your Monday bulking routine. Next on our agenda is a step by step description of the routine you will be following on Tuesday and Friday. These three exercises are for the upper body. Since this is primarily a lower body bulking routine, I shall not go into minute detail concerning these three upper body exercises. They are placed here in this routine only to allow you to continue to gain in the upper body while you are specializing on the lower body. Now since these routines are not for beginners, I feel that all of you readers should know just how to perform these three exercises for best results. H owev owever, er, I sh all give give you a brief account of sets a nd rep s which I feel will be helpful. Tuesday Tu esday and Friday –
Bench Press: 5 sets of 5 reps, add weight whenever possible Seated Press: 5 sets of 5 reps, add weight whenever possible Curl: 5 sets of 5 reps, add weight whenever possible Be sure to perform these sets and reps slowly and correctly for best results. You should rest for two minutes b etween each set. Wednesday – Complete rest. Do no t raining at all. Thursday – H alf Squat. Begin t his movement by taking your top FU LL SQUAT POUN DAGE and perform one set of ten repetitions. You should use a power rack for this movement. BE VERY CAREFUL WHE N PE RFORMIN G TH IS MOVEME N T. Now, rest for two minutes. Next, increase the weight of the bar to a poundage which is heavy enough so that you can’t do more than three repetitions with it. Stay with this poundage until you can perform five sets of three reps with it. Then it is time to add ten pound s to the bar. Rest for two minutes between each set. Remem ber: when you are able to use the same poundage for five sets of three repetitions, you should increase the weight of the bar by ten pounds the very next workout. This will be the way you can gauge the progress you are m aking. Rack Deadlift. begin by using the same weight can deadlift full from the floor one time. Perform one set of ten repetitions in high deadlift, using th is pound age. Rest for two minutes. Now increase the weight of the bar to a weight which you can’t possibly do more than three reps with. Stay with this poundage until you can perform five sets of three reps with it. Then on the next training period, increase the b ay by ten poun ds. Because of the heaviness of the barbell, it will be n ecessary for you to use wrist straps in order for you to hold onto the bar. Be sure to rest for two minutes between each set of various repetitions.
Shrug. T his movement will help develop all the remaining muscles of the up per back and the shoulder area. It is included in this routine more or less as a tapering off exercise movement. I want you to perform one set of ten repetitions using 50% of your one rep limit, then rest for two minutes. Now increase the weight of the bar to 75% of your one rep limit and perform three sets of as many reps as possible, while using this same weight. As soon as you are able to, be sure to increase the pound age. Rest for two minutes between each set. While performing the shoulder shrug, I would also advise you to use wrist straps and get a complete circular motion to the bar as you raise and shrug your shoulders. This will help to fully develop your shoulder group and upper back muscles to their fullest. Be sure to perform the repetitions slowly and correctly for best results. I hope I have made the execution of this routine simple and easy to follow. I would advise anyone interested to reread this routine over and over again, until they are sure they know just what it is they are to d o. Be sure t o perform your repetitions slowly and correctly for best results. Be sure to add weight to the bar whenever possible. Try to follow the instructions I have given you just as I have written them up. I have a definite reason for grouping the exercises in this certain way and I would like you to perform this routine just as I have written it up for you. N EW IDEAS ON TRAIN IN G DOWN AN D H OW TH EY WORKED by Anth ony Ditillo At 5 feet 6 inches in height I h ave weighed from 185 to 258 pound s at on e time or anoth er during m y training, so I know what it is to be b ig. I can recall wearing slacks that 4 years previous would have been identical to my coat size, and I have also worn coats the size of tents! At 185 my family said I had a good b uild; at 258 my friends said I ‘radiated’ power and massiveness and yet, all the while, my wife has been telling me that I’m just plain fat!
If you are interested in losing a few pounds to keep in your weight class, or perhaps are just a wee bit too ch ubby or ‘bulky’ (whichever name you prefer) I feel I’m the m an to see. E ven though I can ’t lift my way out of a pap er bag com pared with other lifters, and even thoug h my physique may app ear rath er ‘piggish ’ to any ‘Mr.’ winner, I do claim a t itle which can b e very important to many overweight people. That title is: “Mr. Weight Control.” The diet and routine I am going to list later on in this article are the exact ones I have used for the past half a year in reducing my body from a ‘monstrou s’ high to a m ore ‘subtle’ low of 215. Before diving righ t in on the m atter of my diet p lan, I would first like to give my own personal views of weight control. To me, losing fat and losing loose skin, in order to define yourself for some physique event, are two entirely different situations and require two entirely different remedies. Many, many trainees misconstrue a fining down routine with a training down routine, and the consequ ence in th e pre-mentioned situa tion is very little weight loss in p roportion to the am ount of strength that fades away. You see, as far as defining a physique is concerned, light weights and absolute concentration, along with peak contraction movements are the key. N aturally, a high p rotein, low carbohydrate diet is necessary or all is in vain. This d iet plus training principle applies to a m an who is already well developed and needs to lose 10-15 pounds in order to show outstanding definition. The diet alone will result in a m ore defined p hysique an d coup led with m any sets of many repetitions with light weights success is almost assu red! But, dear readers, there is an other side to out coin. What about the REALLY bulked-up fellow with the low metabolism? Will the same principles apply for him? I, for one, don’t think so. I h ave personally tried a protein diet and while I did lose some weight without having to count calories, the results were certainly slow. I also felt devoid of any energy. I d id find, however, when I used h eavy weights, high sets and low reps, using a slight cheat on the last few, and p erformed on ly muscle-group exercises, and along with this training plan ingested a diet th at was medium -high in p rotein, high in carbohydrates and very low in fats, my strength increased along with my training drive and the weight began to really melt off. I also used water excretion ta blets which reduced my water weight somewhat. I know this sounds like a complete reversal concerning nutrition an d exercise, yet all the sam e this is how I reacted. I also feel I can give reasons for this ‘strange p henomen on.’
I h av avee read and hold to be true, th at carbohydrates supply a great abund ance of energy fo forr a short time an d then th en are comp letel letely y burned-out by the b ody and used very quickly. quickly. This is unless the diet is very high in calories with a surplus of all types of food; then the carbohydrates turn into b ody fat. fat. T his is why FAT FAT is said to b e a b etter source of energy. energy. It has m ore staying staying power for for the b ody to use. I agree this is qu ite true. But what if you you were to lower your your calories to m aybe half of what it normally n ormally takes t o main tain your present pres ent weight? Wouldn’t Wouldn’t you you be operat operating ing on a deficit? Do you think it would really mat matter ter what type of food you ate? Since fat stays longer in the body wouldn’t that mean that it would be a poor food for a calorie-coun calorie-counting ting diet? A tab tablespoon lespoon of but ter has ha s 100 100 calories in it – all fat; yet a cup of macaroni macaron i has aroun around d 10 10 times th e filling filling power of butter but ter an d on ly 50 50-6 -60 0 calories. calories. Do you get my point? Also, if carbohydrates are supposed to move through the body faster than fats, unless there is an overabun overabun dance of food food ingested , which on a calorie-counting calorie-counting diet there couldn’t couldn’t be, t hen wouldn’t wouldn’t it b e easier to burn up the t he calories calories contained in the carbohydrates and p roteins than in the fats? I will will leav leavee the final decision decision up to the reader himself. N ext on the li list st is protein. I fe feel el we we all know enough enough about this nu trient without without try trying ing to get too technical, so I’ll come right to the point and say that I feel many fellows overdo this ‘blessing’ much too much. No matter how much you stuff yourself with protein you can only use as m uch as your body needs and the rest will will be excreted. excreted. On ly so much can be used for building mu scle and this a mount is governed governed by the amount of H ARD WORK yo you u perform. T hat’s the key, k ey, fellas, fellas, H ARD WORK! Suppose we have two guys perform th e following routine, starting with the curl: N o. 1 performs 5 sets of 10 10 reps with all the weight he can u se. N o. 2 performs performs 10 10 sets of 5 reps with all the weight he can use. They Th ey each concentrate as mu ch as possible on the muscles being worked worked and the movement being p erf erformed. ormed. Which one performed performed the h arder work? work? Even though they both totaled 50 repetitions in the m ov ovement, ement, N o. 2 handled more weight, so he increased the intensity of the work performed, while No. 1 did not. Therefore, wouldn’t it be sensible to infer that No. 2 would need more protein than No. 1, all other relevant facts and figures being equal? I certainly think so. Yet in reality No. 1 may be
forcing himself him self to gulp down d own 200200-30 300 0 grams of protein prote in per p er day. Where is it all going? Ou t the oth er end, in all probability. probability. A 120 2000-1 150 500 0 calorie diet, in most cases, without concern for how much muc h of each nut nutrient rient ingest ed, will cause a large man m an to lose weight very qu quickly ickly.. Smaller built fellows fellows will will probably not fall fall into the wei weight-reduction ght-reduction categ ory I have been referring referring to throughou t th is part of the article, art icle, anyway. anyway. While on this type of power routine-low fat diet, my energy has been at an all-time high. I now train 5 days a week with full body routines and my enthusiasm is growing by leaps and bound s. I have lost lost very very little little muscle size while while on this diet an d m y strength has increased somewhat also. I feel tighter now and more like a recoil of a rifle ready to spring when the bullet is sent on its way. I find find I a m ore alert at m y job job (store keeper) and more content wi with th the variety of food that I can eat. I h ave decided t o stay at 215 215 for for a numb nu mber er of reasons. First, First , I felt too weak and brittle at 185 185.. Second , at 258 258 I felt felt (and (an d looked, to t o some) some ) like Paul And Anderson, erson, who is not n ot gen erally known for his aesthetic physique. At 215 I like the way I feel and look and I also enjoy that heavy bodyweight feeling of power. To put it briefly (paraphrasing Goldilocks and the Three Bears): This Th is one’s one’s too big; b ig; this one’ one ’s too sm all; this on e’ e’ss just right! righ t! SQUATS
At this p oint we are going to b egin a section your strength training program which is of the utmost importance to you, no matter what your ultimate goals are in the field of weight training. It makes no difference where your aims may lie in the would of weights, leg work is of the utmost importance in determining whether you eventually reach your maximum potential or whether you fall by the wayside, somewhere along the road. There is so much positive information concerning correct leg training for increased muscular development and increasing mu scular power, power, that to outline such a subject in minut e detail would would take in itself a complete book. The value of heavy leg and squat training is so far reaching that by now it should seem somewhat redundant to hear these time worn clichés repeated here, once again. Yet, I feel such remarks are indeed necessary , for in today’s world of weights, the amount of competition has increased so drastically and dramatically that some feel in
order to reach the top in a given lift or two, only these particular lifts should be concentrated on so that increased workloads can be adapted with little or no increase in the overall training volume, which would take place , should we include sufficient leg work and squatting practices along with our particular chosen lifts in our particular chosen fields of physical endeavor. However, such a situation is not conducive to any great increase in the individual’s overall conditioning and overall body power. This is because it is absolutely necessary to work the thigh and hip area quite hard and regular in order for these sought after attributes to become physically possible for any real length of time. Make no mistake about it – hip and thigh speciali specialization zation is n ecessary fo forr any great increase of bodily strength strength and proficiency in which the immediate gains are sought to be held onto for any great length of time. H ip and thigh sp ecial ecialization, ization, with with most emp hasis placed upon th e various various squatting movements, can and will literally transform your physique beyond your wildest dreams, should you have the intelligence and fortitude to undertake a rigorous training regime and all around training p rogram. The most important aspect of hip and thigh specialization is the overall conditioning such training will develop in you. It matters not what field of lifting you are interested in, be it powerlifting, Olympic lifting or bodybuilding, such specialization will enable you to handle longer and m ore intense workouts, for for all the areas of the b ody and this in itself is worth worth the price in energy such work warrants. One major value of gross amounts of lower body work is the stimulation of the circulatory and metabolic systems of the body. Such stimulation will enable you to develop greater muscle mass and definition as well as muscle density, not to mention the increase in physical strength such undertakings will involve. With heavy lower body work, the blood is circulated to the working muscles at a faster rate and this has a carry over effect on the rate of muscular recuperation and physical adaptability, which we have already mentioned in previous chapters. Since one prerequisite for muscle growth lies in the increase of muscle pump, through exercise such an increase in your circulation is a handy way to develop the ability abili ty to “pump” the mu scles with with less sets and repetitions. This m eans th e muscles wil willl be operating at a higher level of proficiency and capability and this will develop greater gains in
muscle size and a thletic conditioning given given enou gh time and sweat as well well as determination on your part. Make no mistake about it, a better conditioned athlete has the potential to be a stronger athlete as compared to anoth er trainee with with the same am ount of basic power power but without the same level of athletic conditioning. How many times have you been to a lifting meet and noticed how tired and pooped out the lifters were by the time it came to take their third attempts on either of the two Olympic lifts, or the three power lifts? Do you think the Western European athletes of the lifting platform suffer from this same lack of conditioning? I should say not. Nothing could be further from the truth. The major difference between our lifters and theirs lies in their superior conditioning. When training the lower body for the purpose of developing greater physical conditioning, certain points in the training should be emphasized for the greatest results in the shortest possible time. To begin with, it is not necessary to use any assistance movements besides the conventional Back Squat Squat when training for this pre-mentioned goal. T hree workouts workouts p er week on the Back Squat will will be necessary and for the m ost part wei weights ghts will will be han dled that are well within the lifter’s physical capabilities. Further gains in strength will come as a natural by-product of such vigorous training and no attempt to handle maximum weights for singles will ever be necessary. Why? Because such training will cause a strength increase without the usual coaxing with very heavy poundages that most strength programs deem necessary. necess ary. Howev H owever, er, in our situation , we we will will be using the t he Squat as an exercise, sot as a lift. lift. and the difference will be both seen and felt after the initial breaking-in period and with regular performances. With our three day per week squat routine for conditioning purposes we will break our training into one heavy, one light, and finally, one medium day. On the first squat day we well be working with 80% of our limit for ten repetitions and our goal will be to ultimately perform five sets of ten reps with this weight. This means that if your limit for ten reps is 300 pound s, then you would be u sing around 24 240 0 pounds fo forr the five five sets of repetitions and your ultimate aim on this day would be to get five sets of ten reps with it. I would advise one or two sets of six to eight reps with lighter weights to properly warm up the muscles. After these sets you are ready to go. Finish up with one s et of eight or so reps with around 50% of
your maximum and then call it quits for that day. To do them first would over fatigue you for the rest of your program. On our second day of squatting we will be using 50% of our one rep limit and our goal will be two or three sets of twenty repetitions with this weight. H ave one warm up set and then get to the working poundage and get to work. Although the weight will be light the high number of repetitions will greatly stimulate your entire body with increased physical endurance and long lasting stamina. You can cool off from this work with a very light weight and one set of ten reps. D o these last in your program because you will not be ab le to walk properly after doing them. All rest between sets during this leg work (on all three days) should b e kept to a minimum in order to further intensify the stress (effort). All other upper body work can be done on alternate training days, if you desire, or first on the squatting days before such leg work is undertaken. It is this light training day, with its few sets and very high repetitions, which is so important for increased cardiovascular efficiency and muscular development. Do not be misled by the use of such light training poundages that the routine is not of any great importance. One month or six weeks on such a routine will more than testify to its value and importance. On our final day of squatting we will be using 70% of our one repetition limit and the rep scheme will be seven sets with between five and seven repetitions. Naturally a thorough warm-up will be necessary and desired. Two or three sets with increasingly heavier weights, until we are at our poundage for the day’s work, will be necessary to enable us to train unhampered with injuries. After our selected number of sets, one or two cooling off sets with around 50% maximum should do nicely. Finally, be sure to do this work at the end of the d ay’s routine or on an other training p eriod. By no m eans p ut this leg work first! The kind of routines I have outlined for you here will revamp your metabolism to new heights of efficiency and ability. The overall results will be an increase in training drive, an increase in your workload capability, and finally, a great increase in tour leg development and repetition squatting proficiency. Your ability to recuperate from heavy exercise will enhance b eyond your wildest dreams and the b eauty of this type of repetition squat training is that the amount of weight handled will seem oppressive and overly heavy on the shoulders. This will enable you to use fairly good style and finesse while using this kind of squat training. This freedom from pain will enable you to attempt limits in repetition
strength which you would have never reached h ad you continuously used th e usu al “five by five” routine used by so many of us. After some time at this type of training, you will find yourself using repetitions for very heavy weights. For bodybuilding, heavy leg work and various assistance m ovements are both desirable and necessary for complete physical development. Make no mistake about it, heavy leg development is of the utmost necessity for top physique honors. The day of the top heavy bodybuilder is slowly but surely coming to an end. Such a half-developed physique is surely becoming a thing of the past. Leg work is paramount in importance for the would-bebodybuilder competitor and champion. Along with the various squats, there are many leg assistance movements which are also necessary for complete development along aesthetic lines of achievement. To be sure, the high repetition squatting previously mentioned will develop a well developed pair of legs, but for the bodybuilder such development must also be defined, shapely, and aesthetic in shape. Correct squatting techniques are of the utmost necessity when planning to develop a pair of legs to rival John Grimek and all the rest of our bodybuilding heroes. It will take a lot of work and a lot of planning. First and foremost, an exercise style should be developed which closely patterns itself after the style exhibited by the various Olympic lifters who use the Back Squat and Front Squat as a means to an end and not an end within itself. For the bodybuilder, squatting should be done primarily with the muscles of the frontal thigh and not with the muscles of the hips and buttocks. To work the muscles of the hip and buttocks at the expense of the thigh is indeed foolish for both the Olympic lifter and for the bodybuilder, since the lifter depends on the frontal thigh when coming out of the clean an d snatch position. The b odybuilder will miss an important shaping benefit if he does not squat correctly and such a development will offset his overall impressiveness and beauty. To Back Squat correctly the bar should be placed high on the traps for better control and balance. The foot spacing should be medium to medium close and the most important part: when lowering into the deep position, keep the torso erect and make the knee the axis of movement, not t he hip. At th e fully flexed bottom position, the leg biceps muscle should b e “crushing” the calves with the u pper th igh folded over the lower thigh as mu ch as p ossible. Rebounding out of the bottom position is necessary so as not to utilize the muscles of the hips and bu ttocks.
For bodybuilding purposes I would advise two squat workouts per week. I also would advice additional assistance m ovements in order work the th igh from various ang les so as to gain both in development and muscle density as well as shapeliness. The repetition schem e should incorporate both high and low repetitions so as to develop both usable strength as well as muscu lar size. I would still advise that su ch leg work be d one at the end of the usual routine so as not t o deplete oneself too early in the training day, or better still, do such work on separate days of the week which the lower body would be worked alone, so as to incorporate maximum muscular recuperation. The main assistance movements used by the majority of successful trainees would be the Leg Press, Leg Extension, Leg Curl, and at certain times, the Hack Squat. As mentioned earlier, I would recommend a strict, upright, Olympic squat for properly developed thighs without excessive use of the hips and g lutes. Be sure to keep the bar high on the traps and fold the thighs over the calves when in the low squat position. For the shaping movements such as the Hacks and extensions and Leg Curls, I recommend rather high repetitions such as ten to fifteen reps and at times, even higher. T he Front Squat could be incorporated here on one squat training day, in place of the Back Squat, however, by using th e correct squatting techniques I’ve outlined, the Front Squat is not really necessary for the bod ybuilder. H is Back Squat will work the same muscle groups m uch m ore comfortably. Using a two day squat routine, the following is an example of an intermediate trainee’s schedule: Monday Back Squat – seven to ten sets of eight to ten repetitions increasing to a weight just about maximum for one set of ten repetitions. Leg Extensions – four sets of ten to fifteen repetitions, done slowly. Leg Curls – four sets of ten to fifteen repetitions done slowly. Calf Work – eight to ten sets of whatever movements you decide to work on, keeping the repetitions rather high and the sets d one rather quickly. Thursday Front Squat – seven to ten sets of ten to fifteen repetitions don e qu ickly for muscle shaping and pump effect. H ack Squats – four sets of ten to fifteen repetitions don e slowly. Calf Work – the same as chosen previously.
On the opposite days you would work the upper body and on one of the squatting days you would finish up the routine with heavy dead lifts, if you are a p owerlifter of light Stiff Legged Deadlifts, should you decide to do them solely for bodybuilding purposes. Leg work for the bodybuilder is no longer a point of debate in lifting circles. The necessity of such work is made more apparent with each succeeding bodybuilding championship. The kind of routine listed for you h ere is a basic, sound , intermediate routine which you can work with after a given period of time, and improve upon by choosing your own method of incorporating the p reviously discussed training theories. The rest is up t o you. Squat specialization and leg work for the Olympic lifter or powerlifter is another matter which will require further discussion in this part of our chapter. Although many will disagree with me, I feel the training methods of the Olympic lifter will more than suffice as a training medium for the powerlifter also. This is because the Olympic lifter sill try to develop as much usable strength in the frontal thighs as he possibly can. This is necessary in order to recover strongly from the front squat-like clean position. Also, the squat snatch will necessitate such frontal thigh strength or he will never be able to recover from this position. I also believe that their attitude towards the amount of weight one regularly handles in the Back Squat is a more intelligent application of training ego. An Olympic lifter is not interested in how much he can Back Squat for a single, he is interested in how many sets and repetitions he can handle with a certain percentile of his limit as this volume and load training will develop itself in terms of how much he will be able to lift in competition. While the powerlifter is in a somewhat different position, being responsible for back squatting very heavy limit attempts in training during his peaking period before a contest, this idea of being concerned with not how heavy you can go, but how much work you can do does have merit. By keeping this mental attitude in place of trying to force up anything you can in training to impress your friends, you will develop a much superior style in your squats due to not having to concentrate solely upon the weight of the bar. Moreover, such use of the O lympic Back Squat as a main thigh st rengthener will undou btedly increase your leg strength to such an extent that during your pre-contest peaking periods, when utilizing the much more lax powerlifting style, the pre-developed leg strength will show itself with an increase in your powerlifting squat capability.
When formulating a basic power squat training routine, we must rememb er that th e kinds of overload principles discussed in previous chapters will be most useful in trying to develop our ultimate squatting potential. However, it would be almost impossible for me to outline an example routine for each and every type of training principle and training methodology previously outlined. This is because such a topic would take the length of a book, in itself, to discuss fully. By attempting to overcome the stress of the proposed training routine which I am about to give you, the Olympic lifter as well as the powerlifter can incorporate the various training methods into future advanced routines as he sees fit. By first working on the program outlined, he is guaranteed that he has developed past the intermediate level of training a nd from there on in, it will be his own choices of training programs an d how to mix these various methods, that will develop him into an advanced lifter. The powerlifter should be squatting two days per week. The Olympic lifter can go to three days, since he will not be interested in some of the assistance movements which will prove most helpful for the powerlifter. For the powerlifter, one day heavy and one day light will usually suffice. On your heavy day you will be using the power style of back squatting. This means t hat the bar will be placed low on the back an d the foot placement will be necessarily wide. Hips and glutes will be forced into play with this style and this will greatly add to your squatting poundage. This is as it should be since this is the style you will be using in competition. On your light squatting day, perform the sq uat in Olympic lifting style. Th ere should be no need to go over performance style again. The Olympic lifter would doing Back Squats twice per week in Olympic style and Front Squats once per week. The amount of sets and repetitions he will decide to utilize will be chiefly up to him and his coach, since he will be using these squatting movements for a means to an end, not as an end in themselves. For the powerlifter, I would advise Partial Back Squats within a power rack after the light Olympic Back Squats in his light training d ay. By using the power rack an d doing a few sets but without maximum poundages, he will be adding to his training intensity without undue strain to his physical capabilities. The closer you will get to a contest, the less volume of work you will be doing in your squats. This is known as peaking. For the powerlifter, this is the time for doing the heavy singles and doub les in the power style and for holding back on the p ower rack work and the
Olympic style squats. For the Olympic style lifter this is the time to be mainly concerned with how much you can handle in the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch, not in the Squat. Be sure to realize what a peaking period in your training really stands for. For the powerlifter to rely on strict Olympic sq uatting at th is time would be a mistake. For the O lympic lifter to be doing power squats at this time would be ludicrous. Think, and then t rain accordingly. By cultivating an intelligent approach to lower body training, both the power and Olympic lifter may learn that they have a lot more in common than they would have previously though t. Correct leg training is one such consideration. By incorporating th e Olympic strict style in back squatting our powerlifter will develop the ability to use his frontal thigh muscles to great advantage and this increase in sheer leg strength will definitely gave a carrying over effect on his regularly performed power squat. The Olympic lifter will also benefit from such regular strenuous thigh programs because his sport requires that he have developed just about the most powerful thighs one can imagine. Both facets of our sport require massively developed, terribly strong lower bodies. In closing out this part of Chapter 3, let me remind you all, once again, that no mat ter what facet of the sport you are into at the present time, you will never make it to the ultimate of what it is you are really capable of without hard, regular lower body training. Intense, voluminous leg work will literally revamp your conception of just what constitutes plain, hard work. It will also aid you in developing a more muscular physique. The ability of the metabolism to b e greatly stimulated through vigorous leg training is the key to your weight training future. Without this intense worthwhile training, you will be doomed to a future of lifting mediocrity. It is up to you to decide just what it is you want and where it is you wish to someday go. WEI GH GAIN IN G Routines If I were to choose four movements which would work all the mu scles of major importance of the body, I would choose the Parallel Squat, the Dead lift, the Medium Grip Bench Press and the Medium Grip Bent Over Row. These four m ovements will force power and m uscular growth into just about all the major muscles of your bod y. H owever, you m ust be sure that your set and repetition scheme will work with and n ot against such a choice of exercises. First of all, you must learn to know when you have had enough . As the late Ea rl Liederman used to say, " Th ere's a little voice inside you which tells you when you should stop." Th is is quite true. Rem ember: you are trying to a dd t o your ph ysical proportions, you are not trying to define them . The amoun t of sets of each exercise performed will vary naturally with the p articular schedule, bu t your repetition schem e
should always remain the sa me. I personally feel that in order for you to ga in mu scular bulk you must and should use h eavy weights. The h eavier the weight gets the slower the repetitions become in performance, and it is this slowness of movement which will work your muscles most severely. That is why I would not advise you to ever use more than five repetitions per set of any exercise movement which you use. This way, by constantly keeping the repetition scheme to five and und er, you will be forced to p erform eac h repetition an d set with g rit, determination and slowness, an d it is these factors which will enable ou to gain as h our should in m uscular bulk. A proper warmup a nd a final 'p ump ' set can be u sed and these natu rally will be of a higher repetition scheme . So rememb er: stick to basic m ajor muscle bu ilding m ovements and a high set, low repetition sche me, along with a high com plete protein and high calorie diet for best results. Th e following four routines are ones that I p ersonally have used and th ey have also aided man y an und erweight t rainee to gain. Th ey will be comp rised of the aforementioned four basic exercise movements. Th e numb er of days per week and the set an d repetition scheme h ave slight differenced in order for you to be ab le to go from one type of training sched ule without suffering from menta l or physical staleness. At the end of each of the four routines are a few remarks concerning the proper performance for the best results. Routine N o. 1. Monday and Thursday: a.) Squa t - On e set of 10 reps, as a warmup , followed by five sets of five reps u sing a ll the weight possible for each set. b.) D eadlift - Same as Squat. c.) Bench P ress - Same as Squat. d.) Bentover Row - Same as Squat. Th is full schedule should b e repeat ed 2 times per week. H owever, if you want, you could increase it to three times p er week, but th is is up to your ability to handle work. Routine No. 2. Monday: a.) Squat - 1x10; 1x8; 1x6; 1x4; 1x2 and then 5 sets of 3-5 reps using all the weight possible. b.) Bench P ress - Same as squ at. Thursday: a.) Dead lift - same sets and reps as Mond ay. b.) Bentover Row - same sets and reps as Monda y. Th is kind of training routine is more severe and tha t is why you only do 2 movements per training day. You will be working t hese 2 movements qu ite hard and t his will cause you to gain. Routine No. 3. Monday, Wednesd ay and F riday:
a.) Squat - 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps using all the weight possible. b.) Bench P ress - same as Squat. c.) Dead lift - same as Squat. d.) Bentover Row - same as Squat. Th is would b e he ordinary every other day schedule for the am bitious, underweight trainee. Routine No. 4. Monday: Squat - 1 set of 10 for a warmu p, and th en 8-10 sets of 3 reps u sing all the weight you can possibly hand le for each set. b.) Bench Press - 2 sets of 10 for a warmup and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. c.) Bentover Row - 2 sets of 10 for a warmup and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. Thursday: a.) D eadlift - 1 set of 10 for a warmu p, an d th en 8-10 sets of 3 reps u sing all the weigh t you can possibly handle for each set. b.) Bench Press - 2 sets of 10 reps, and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. c.) Bentover Row - 2 sets of 10 reps, and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. Th is type of routine would enable you to concen trate on one m ovement per workout for power and the oth er two for added m uscular bu lk. H owever, you will positively have to be su re to eat enough of the comp lete protein foods and get m ore than enou gh calories in order to grow.
Single Rep traing
It should be obvious to most of you now that to develop yourself to the limits of your physical capabilities will be a long and hard road to follow. It is not going to be easy to make yourself into a new, massively strong man. In order to fully develop your strength potential, you will have to learn to handle heavy poundages regularly in your training. Many shy away from this. They fear heavy weight. For them, the power rack will be of some assistance, since it will offer them protection from falling barbells and failures. But along with this assistance work, heavy poundages will have to be utilized in the regular barbell moves or else we will not be ab le to show our usable strength in an accepted m anner. T his is where the Single Repetition Principle comes into play. For, by using it correctly, we will be able to demonstrate ou r functional strength.
I feel that a regular increase in training poundages is necessary for continued progress. A trainee should strive to handle as much weight as he can possibly accommodate to, for the given number of sets and repetitions which are contained in the training regimen. There is no point in training for increased strength if you are going to persist in training with light weights. Strength comes from intense effort, whether in the form of low repetitions or single repetitions, it does not com e from pu mping out set after set with med ium heavy resistance. This kind of training will only tear down your strength potential. And just because the bodybuilding champions look strong, this does not make them strong! This is why I have decided to sp eak about heavy singles in your training, because t hey are a sure measuremen t stick for you to u nderstand where your limits, weaknesses an d strong p oints lie and th en the ability to correct th ese faults (if any) will lie in your grasp. By using the contained information, most of you hard gainers will at last have a reasonable approach to your lifting an d shou ld realize regular strength increases with ap plied work and attention. One only has to take a look at today’s powerlifting champions to see the physical limits of size and strength, concentrated in a single body. All these men look strong and are strong. This goes for the Olympic lifters also. There was a time a while back when the Olympic lifter could as a n examp le of strength without muscu lar development worth speaking of, bu t today, due to improved methods of raining and the intensity of competitions you have to be both muscular and strong in order to win. Some of these men are carrying enough functional muscle on their frames to look almost inhuman! This is especially true of the heavier classes since this is where there is enough b odyweight to m ake up appreciable size. The lower classes have an athletic, well knit together look and such an ap pearance g ives the impression of hidden strength and a look at the records in these lower classes will convince you of the truth of this. There can b e no dou bt about it, these men have somehow learned to find the right combination of much work and hard work and the result is an incredibly massive and powerful body. What makes th is so pertinent for this part of the book is th at th ey all have used in one form or another, the Single Repetition Principle in their training. And by absorbing the training principles of these men the average strength seeker will be able to gain like he has never
gained before, without t he end less hours wasting away in the gym, seeking answers and n ot knowing exactly where to go or what to do. In my own search for better and faster training methods, I cam e across man y fallacies which most men hold on to in their training and for the most part, did not gain regularly because of it. I am n ot going to sa y that such training systems do not h ave their place, only that they, in themselves are not the complete answer. Just about any system we use will work, to some degree, as long as we work. So it would be wrong to assume that these methods are a complete waste of time. It is only that I have found a faster way, and I want to make this known to you for your own sake, that I m ake these n egative comparisons. The first fallacy I saw through was the notion that high repetitions and light weights could reduce fat and at th e same t ime build m uscle. Many lifters feel that if they go on a p eriodic “pump” routine, they will be able to train down some and perhaps go into the next lower class, thereby becoming lighter and yet almost the sam e in strength. H ogwash! It just doesn’t happen that way. Your diet is the key to whether you are soft or lean. Your dietary habits determine how much muscle density you are going to carry. That along with genetics will eventually make you into your finished product. Try and remember that light weights will do nothing for you in developing physical strength. For if you try to exercise excess weight off, without continuing your strength schedules, you will wind up smaller, flabbier and a lot weaker and who needs this? In the long run you will be very disappointed. The second fallacy I cam e across was that if you were un derweight an d you tried to build up using light training methods, with long and frequent schedules, just like you read in the magazines, that this would somehow transform into a superman due to all this excessive work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Strength is not built from endurance training. Anyone with enough guts and determination can do set after set of light weights and high repetitions and get nothing out of it but a strong heart. If you are going after such a healthy condition, fine. But light and excessive work will not help you gain useful size or strength and if you th ink it will, think again! The third an d final fallacy was the notion tha t single repetitions are only a “test” of strength, they in themselves do not “build” strength. This is simply not true. There is not one Power or Olympic lifter who has ever made it to the top who has not utilized this method to some
degree. You cannot properly prepare yourself towards competition without practicing singles because they are not going to ask to see how many reps you can get out with a given weight at the contest. On the lifting platform it’s how much you can do for one repetition that counts. There are ways of incorporating this training method into your program which will enable you to use it with regularity and not go stale on it as so many of its detractors will moan about and bring your attention to. You simply do not do limit singles but do singles over and over with around 90 or 95% or your limit. By leaving this safety margin of 5 or 10% you reduce the possibility of going stale or of getting hurt. I shall now ask the following question: “Why is this training method so valuable to the average trainee and how does it compare with other accepted theories?” To answer this we shall have to take look at what most of you are already doing in your training routines and then a fair comparison can b e made. First we have the “forced reps” method of training. T his is when you have a h elper who aids you to perform more and more repetitions with a weight which usually would limit your performance to only a few counts. Now this kind of training is very good, except for one point. For the man with low energy reserve it will be far to strenuous for continued use or continued gains. H ence it is unsuitable for most men who must work hard at their jobs all day. These men would never recuperate from this type of training. Training for “forced reps” is only for the gifted, chosen few. For the rest of us I feel that the only time we should try to force repetitions is in the comfort and safety of the power rack, because there you know you can’t get hurt by a sudden failure to finish a forced repetition. Another method is the “cheating” method. This is where you try to move the weight by using other muscle groups to assist you. In my opinion all you get out of this is mild stimulation for a lot of muscle groups an d shortness of breath. I t makes no sense to take the stress off the very muscle you are trying to develop, does it? It is also possible to really hurt yourself from this exaggerated style of exercise performance. The cheating curl has hurt many a lower back! The third old standby is the long respected method of “high sets and low repetitions.” A good example of this would be using 10 sets of 3 repetitions, using the same weight and
trying to slowly get to where you can get 10 sets of 5 repetitions with this weight. Then you would increase the bar by maybe 20 lbs. and begin all over again with 10 sets of 3 reps. This gas worked pretty well for mw in the past, its main drawback is the amount of time such a schedule takes and the onset of training boredom doing the same number of sets and reps with the same weight each training session. Most trainees are too lazy to make the periodical weight increases which would make this system work pretty well. What happens is that they stay at the same sets, reps and weight too long and what happens is that the trainee loses interest and st ops gaining. Finally we come to the Single Repetition Principle. This system is valuable to strength lifters because it lets you know where you stand strength wise during any time of the year. You can gauge your overall strength condition by your ability to do a certain number of singles with a certain percentage of your weight limit. It is used by just about every top power and Olympic lifter in the country. This is especially true when they are peaking for a meet. Since you are not, you can use it with great regularity. All you need is determination and hard work. When using the Single Repetition Principle in your training you should keep in mind the following p ertinent facts: be sure that you get enough proper rest and recuperation into your work schedule since this heavy type of training places a great demand on your nervous system’s capability to respond with renewed vigor, workout after workout. Working with single repetitions is just about the hardest type of training you can do, save only the power rack. Remember this and try to get in enough rest and nutritional supplement into your schedule so that you will gave everything working for you for gaining and nothing holding you back. You m ust also be sure that you are n either underworking n or should you be overworking. It is possible to train six days per week on this system without overworking. It is also possible to train for only three days per week, with an improper scheduling of these principles and you will be overworking to such a degree that you will be sure to fail, should you not try to remedy the situation by discussing this with someone who is in the know as to how to revamp what it is that you are doing so you can continue to gain once again. You must remember that training with heavy singles is very intense work. It will take a lot out of you both physically and mentally. Your muscles and tendons will be worked to the limit an the
mental stress such training will place upon you d efies description. But rest assured, with the application of this training system the way I am going to outline it here for you, it will be very hard for you to become overtrained and you will enjoy the success such training will bring you. With this program I feel three or four movements per workout is best. Try it this way and see if it doesn’t react favorably on your system. Just be sure that your diet is adequate and you are resting enou gh b etween workouts and finally that the movements are the right on es for your particular aims and goals. I am sure after a short while of using this principle you will be able to judge just what is and what is not good for you, and a proper application of all pertinent information, you will know how to go about using this system and the goals will start to come quite regularly. The following routines are used as models for you to pattern your workouts after. Feel free to make changes wherever you feel the need to. Remember: What we are trying to do is to work the particular exercise movements with a series of single repetitions with a weight close to your maximum. Ninety or ninety-five per cent is more than heavy enough. There are various ways to incorporate this principle into your lifting and I am going to list a few of them for you here an d now. One way is to pick a particular movement and do that twice per week. On the heavy day, you would do a set of 10 reps with 50% of your one rep limit. You’d th en go to around 75% of your one rep limit and do a set or two of between 3 and 5 repetitions. These are the necessary warm-up sets. Now jump to 90% of your maximum and perform 5 single repetitions with th is weight. Do each single as strictly as possible. Be sure to h ave a sp otter or two in case you need th em. After 5 singles with weight, drop down to around 60 to 70% and gut out 2 or 3 sets of all the repetitions you can possibly hand le. The key to progression here is to key to add a single or two to the heavy attempts with this 90 to 95% limit weight. It is then time to take a few days off and go for a new personal record in the lift. After doing so, simply adjust the training percentiles according to the new strength level and begin once again. On the other training day, I’d adjust the strength level to around 60% maximum and do between 5 and 7 sets of whatever repetitions are possible with this particular weight.
On such a schedule, I would do all the heavy single attempt movements on days one and five and I’d go medium heavy on days two and four. If Monday were heavy then Tuesday would be medium and Wednesday would be a rest day. Thursday would again be medium and Friday would be a heavy day, but for a different exercise movement. If I wanted to use this principle on the Bench Press and the Squat, then I would bench for singles on Monday Tuesday would be a medium squat day, and Wednesday would be a day off. Thursday would be medium bench day and Friday would be a heavy squat day. This way you are able to recuperate most efficiently. You could also do your heavy singles on both exercises in one workout and rest for two days or maybe th ree and hit t hem both again with m edium reps an d sets. T his way you would be training hard twice per week. It is really up to you just how many workouts you decide to undertake. The reasoning behind the training theory is sound, so whatever you choose will work. The need for single attempts as a training medium cannot be overlooked because th ey teach you, just as the power rack teaches you, to fight against heavy weight. And this is a requirement for continued success in any strength. Some may argue that all that is necessary is medium heavy resistance and the strength will come whether you perform singles or not, but I beg to differ. What happens in most of those cases is that the lifter becomes proficient at performing many sets of three and five reps with a medium heavy weight and he also gains in muscle size and density from the work but his limit single and double attemp ts do not come to par with h is repetition capab ilities. It is far easier to learn to do more repetitions with a given weight than it is to lift a heavier weight for the same number of repetitions. This is where we have so many guys falling by the wayside. They can squat maybe four hundred for fine repetitions and fail with four fifty for a single! This is almost assuredly caused by training with many sets of low repetitions but very little single repetition work being d one. We who seek higher levels of strength development must admit to ourselves that the man who can lift heavier weight is stronger than the man who can do more sets, but with a lighter weight. The second man has more muscular endurance, but the first man has more strength. If you can overcome this hurdle then you will be one more step on the road to where you want to go. And if you use the heavy single repetition approach in your training,
along with common sense and a correct combination if proper recuperation and diet, your strength level should come up quite fast. The Single Repetition P rinciple is one of the hardest and heaviest training meth ods available for you to use. It takes a freedom from fear of heavy weights and it takes guts and determination to achieve your aims while using this system. It also takes a great d eal of hark work. But we all know that you get nothing for nothing, so hard work is not a problem, is it . ..
I d o not feel that anyone can train a p erson as well as they could train th emselves. What m ay work for me may not work for you. I would advise anyone who is interested enough to follow these examples to substitute the various exercise movements which I have used with ones which work better for him in t he long run. Before I begin with the actual routines, there are a few things which I would like to discuss with you. First of all, you must realize that we all cannot be champions. All of us cannot break records or own a prize winning ph ysique. But th ese rather dep ressing facts shou ld not detain you from trying your best to succeed as much as you can. Can’t you see that the journey is more important than the journey’s end , in this case? Wouldn ’t it be rath er id iotic to decide not to train even though you like to, simply because you feel that will never be able to make it to the top? I m ean, once you get to the top th ere is no other place to go but down, right? So then, why do so many of you place such a great value on becoming world renowned in the field of either strength or bodybuilding. Enjoy yourself. Allow yourself to think. Live life as b est you can. Do n ot neglect the other aspects of your existent spectrum . There are too many lifters and bodybuilders today who have nothing to offer anyone but their ability to either lift up a heavy weight or flex a large arm muscle. These men are only half alive, they live only in a physical world. They have neglected the intellectual side of their lives. They have neglected to feed their spiritual appetites. They are a very sad breed of men. BULK AN D PO WER RO UTIN E N O. 1 – Monday, Wednesday and Friday:
Bench Press: 5 sets of 2-4 reps Bench Press: 2 sets of 10 reps Full Squat: 5 sets of 2-4 reps Full Squat: 2 sets of 10 reps Deadlift: 5 sets of 2-4 reps Deadlift: 2 sets of 10 reps In this routine you will be performing the three basic power lifts. In it you use both low and high repetitions. This will allow you to gain in both muscular power and muscular size.
BULK AN D POWER ROUTIN E N O.2 – Monday: Bench Press: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Incline Press: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Wednesday: Bent Over Row: 5 sets of 3-5 reps H ang Cleans: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Friday: Full Squat: 10 singles using 90% of your on e rep limit Dead lift: 10 singles u sing 90% of your one rep limit In this routine I have you working for bulk in th e upp er body while you are sp ecializing on the lower body for power. The sets and reps are well suited to gaining in both and I have
even b roken down the workouts th emselves into th ree distinct sections. I have you working the chest and shoulders on Monday and the back and arms on Wednesday (rowing and cleans work the arms quite hard!). Then on Friday I have you really work your thighs and hips and back.
BULK AN D POWER ROUTIN E N O. 3 – Monday: Full Squat: 1 set of 20 reps using a weight which is 50lbs. greater than bodyweight. Take 5 deep breaths bet ween each rep. Dead lift: 1 set of 20 reps u sing a weight which is 50 lbs. great er than bodyweight. Take 5 deep b reaths between each rep. H eavy Bent Arm Pu llover: 5 sets of 5-7 reps, maximum weight Wednesday: Full Squat: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Deadlift: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Bench Press: 10 singles with 90% of your 1 rep limit Friday: H alf Squat: 5 sets of 3-5 reps H igh Deadlift: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Seated Press: 10 singles with 90% of your 1 rep limit This routine has you training for power on the bench press and the seated press while your leg and back work aids in gaining size.
BULK AN D POWER ROUTIN E N O. 4 – Monday and Thursday: Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps Bent Row: 10 sets of 3 reps Full Squat: 10 sets of 3 reps Tuesday and Friday: Incline Press: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Deadlift: 5 sets of 5-7 reps H alf Squat: 5 sets of 5-7 reps
BULK AN D POWER ROUTIN E N O. 5 – Monday: Full Squat: 10 sets of 3 reps < Dip: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Weighted Chin: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Wednesday: Deadlift: 10 sets of 3 reps Bent Arm Flyes: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Curl: 5 sets of 5-7 reps
Friday: Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps H alf Squat: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Rack Dead lift: 5 sets of 5-7 reps
Some t ime ago I wrote an article entitled " The se T hree E xercises Will Give You F antastic Size and Power." Since I had received man y letters and reports from t rainees all over the world telling m e how much they enjoyed th e article and, more importan tly, how much t hey gained in size and strength after trying the routine, I ha ve decided to write up a few more such articles from time to time, so th at you hard gainers will have a selection of routines to u se whenever staleness or periods of no progress depress you into inactivity. Th e theory behind working extremely hard on on ly two or three movements in order to overcome training staleness or to stimulate faster bodyweight, size and power gains is not n ew, for Peary Rader has b een ad vising thin fellows and hard gainers to d o just that for man y, many years. But sometimes a younger fellow is hesitant to follow the advice of an older man when it c omes to weight training, whereas, if another younger fellow offers him the SAME advice, he will unhesitatingly agree to give it a try, and it is for this reason that I am writing this article. It wasn' t so long ago when my arms measured fifteen and a half inches and I had a chest which measu red all of forty-four! I was as weak as a kitten and as ma ssive as a h at rack a nd m any people who know me then would not recognize me if they saw me n ow! For one thing thing, m y chest is just un der fifty-six and my arms just u nd er twenty-one pum ped and, while I freely adm it I am carrying some lard as well as mu scle, I still favor my present a ppearance to my former one! One of the first things I had to learn before I really began to gain was how to properly use m y training energy without overtraining. Believe me, this can be very hard to finally come to grips with, because when you're young and ambitious an d have plenty of free time, it is easy to fall into the trap of training all too frequently and much too much . This has p robably happened to you and it m ost assuredly happened to me. One of the biggest mistakes an intermed iate or beginning trainee can make is to try to emulate the workouts of the " champ ions." Th is type of intensive, gut-busting training b ay be alright for Franco Columbu or Bill Kazmaier bit it is certain su icide for the fledging b odybuilder or size and power seeker. This kind of advanced work necessitates that you' re in tip-top muscular shape to b egin with from te n to fifteen years of agonizing hard work and sweat. T his kind of work is for perfecting the almost perfect ph ysique for competition with the world' s finest strength athletes. It is not for any one who is just starting out, it is not for the underweight trainee and it is not for fellows like you or me! I have been training for around n ine years and if I tried to follow a Mr. Universe's training routine for
any length of time I'd fall flat on my face. And believe it or not, so would you. You must minimize the am ount of training time an d effort into intensive, short workouts on two or three basic movements in order to ga in quickly in size and strength or you are going to shrink inst ead of grow. I train with a fellow who is really coming u p fast in size and strength. H is name is Steve and he' s been training with us at th e E lizabeth YMCA for about seven m onths now. Steve has an upp er body that is ou t of this world. H is deltoids and pectorals are ma ssive, thick and loaded with striations. H is back looks a yard wide an d lump y with muscle and his arms are finely shaped with high , thick biceps peak and m assive horseshoe triceps. With a few month s of thigh specialization he'd be good enough to enter in national competition. Th is is what I a m presen tly trying to talk him into doing. And when he feels ready, I' d like to do a st ory on him. Steve trains six da ys a week with workouts which last three to four hou rs. H e is one of the hardest workers I' ve ever seen in the gym and I' ve already told you about his great ph ysique, bu t even though he gained training the way he does, this doesn' t mean you or I could do the same thing. I h ave seen this fellow train his chest a nd sh oulders with such ferocity it is enough to awe and inspire you, but in all honesty, I would n ot advise his routine to a ny of you. T his is why I haven' t listed it here for you to see. I' d b e afraid some of you would try to copy it! I k now such ta les are stimulating an d encourage you to train h arder but as I said before, overtraining is suicide for the und erweight man and severe training is only for th fellows with years of hard work and experience. In order to follow a cham pion' s routine you must a lready be big, big enough so you can afford a few inches here or there in order to get into top m uscular shape. N ow do any of you fellows reading this feel you're big enough already??? Th e following workout is short, concise, an d very hard. It is not for those of you who are afraid of hard work nor is it for those of you who like to pu mp up with light weights. I t is a workout for a man and it will make Q UIT E a m an out of anyone who cares to try it. It will not only build a fine looking physique bu t it will also bring, with th e newly acquired m uscles, much power. Th is routine can be followed three times per week. H owever, if after being on it a week or two you feel that it is too strenuous, th en cu t it down t o twice weekly, but rememb er: Follow all movements as described and in the given order. Strive to handle the heaviest weights possible and finally, follow the ad vised diet. 1.) Full Squat: Begin with a weight comfortable for twelve repetitions. Now load the bar to a weight heavy enough for five, possibly six reps and perform th ree sets with this weight. F or the n ext set, load the b ar for a weight com fortable for eight reps an d perform this last set for as man y reps as possible. Rest as long as necessary between sets bu t try not to rest too long. About th ree minutes is right. 2.) Clean an d P ress: Power clean the weight for these presses and perform th e press slowly and strictly and N OT in the Olympic mann er. Begin with a warmup set of eight repetitions. Now jump the weight for six reps, then four reps, and finally two clean and presses with your heaviest weight. If you wish you can now drop down to a weight you can clean and press around ten times and this last
set will really work your muscles, heart, interna l organs and metabolism qu ite hard. Be sure to return the weight to th e floor after each press and then c lean it aga in for your next repetition. In t his way, for every clean you do, you also press, an d vice versa. Rest as long as n ecessary between ea ch set but do not d awdle. 3.) Bent Arm Pullovers: Th is is the last movement in your mini-routine. Th e squats and clean and presses have worked th e major muscles qu ite hard and tis last movement will the finishing touches on the routine. P rimarily the chest, shoulders and up per back a re worked hard with this movement and I am sure you fellows will enjoy the p ump and m uscle growth ache th is movement will give you. Begin with a set of twelve for a warmup a nd then jump to two sets of four to six reps u sing th e heaviest weight possible. For a final set, drop the weight so that at least eight reps a re granted without undu e effort. Be sure to breathe deeply between each repetition and be su re to perform each repetition slowly and strictly for best resu lts. Rest as long as n ecessary between each set. All in all you have performed only fourteen sets during this entire workout. Yet you have worked up to heavy weights in three of the m ost severe and result producing movements you can find. T his entire routine shouldn' t take more th an one and a half hour's work and this is really too long! It really shouldn't take more than an hour an d fifteen minu tes. Couple this routine with an one of the bulk gaining diets that are pu blished regularly and get enough rest and sleep throug hout the week and I' m positive you will gain g reatly.
The Power Look : What I t Is an d H ow To Get It by Anth ony Ditillo
N othing is as impressive to th e eye as the look of power. While many men com e to m ind immediately when discussing this p henomen a, there are many, many more who are winning physique contest today, on the physique platform particularly, who do not, and will never, possess this p hysical trait. The look of power begins with the size and t hickness of the neck and the d eltoids. Without huge, t hick, sloping trapezius mu scles, you will NE VER obtain this power look. H eavy trapezius development comes from very heavy shrug s and h igh pulls; you will not obtain t his kind of development using th irty pound dumbbells and doing sets of twenty repetitions – th ese muscles need both t ime and effort to start t o grow, but the results will be well worth the sweat, blood and p ain. T ake a look at AN Y top O lympic lifter in just about AN Y weight class and you will see what I am talking about.
Along with proper trapezius d evelopmen t, we mu st also include the middle and lower back muscles for they are the hinge mu scles connecting t he up per torso with th e hips and proper development of these up per, middle and lower back m uscles with ad equate muscle size in the buttocks will give the entire torso when viewed from the rear a compact, athletic, yet powerful appearance, not to ment ion quite a b it of strength t hroughout the entire body. H eavy bentover rowing movements will greatly aid you in developing the upper and middle back muscles. Another hint would be to use th e camb ered McDonald b ar for the bentover rows, so as to enable yourself to continue the m ovement without the b ar stopping where you would normally hit your torso on the upward pull. David Shaw, a personal friend and one of the most m assively muscular men , knows what he is talking abou t when it com es to pu lling power and p roper back development an d he has been doing h eavy bentover rows for years! Another favorite movement of his is the deadlift with feet on a block so as to incorporate the same principle of additional range of motion for added stimulation and the result is: world record deadlifts! When discussing th e look of power, we cannot ign ore the legs, simply because m ost trainees do not look forward to the am ount of work necessary for development an d strength , not t o mention th e length of time it takes to get up to the h eavy poundages some of the leaders are using today. Yet, we simply cannot ignore the lower body, for without adequate development of the th ighs you will N EVER g ive the appearance t o anyone with a trained eye of being a strong man. But I am g oing to give you one secret which m ay help you, should you care to take my advice. When it comes to development of the thighs, you CAN obtain adeq uate development without st raining to back squ at with six hundred pou nds. All you have to do is change your squatting style to the style used by Olympic lifters and the results will be forthcoming. Do N OT use a wide stance. Do N OT drop the bar low on your back. Do N OT wrap your knees and wear a thick belt. Do N OT stick your bu tt out as you lower yourself into the bottom squatting position, and finally: do N OT squat flatfooted, bu t use a raised heel. You will eventually find that you are squatting more upright, your buttocks will be somewhat tucked in UN DE R you at t he bottom position of the squ at and you will feel most of the stress of the movement in the THIGHS, not in the buttocks and hips.
If you are of average weight and body structure, it will take you quite a long time to do these with double your bodyweight, but you will enjoy much in the way of attractive muscular development while aiming at this strength goal. Also, the strictness of the movement will alleviate the need for such heavy poundages since these heavy weights will be impossible for you to h andle, in the beginning anyway. Fred H atfield has been advising his men to squat this way during th eir off season for powerlift competition since this style will develop great quadriceps strength which will enable them to power squat m uch more when they go back to their competitive style later in the year. His ad vice has recently been noted , but I and m y coach Dezso Ban h ave been advocating this style of squat for the average trainee, be he bodybuilder or powerlifter, for YEARS and your OLYMPIC lifters have been squatting this way for many decades. This is the only way to squat without using your hips at the expense of your thighs! Rememb er, to incorporate this squatting style, you MUST keep your buttocks und er the bar, for without th is proper bottom p osition, you will NO T b e doing an Olympic squ at. So far we have mentioned t he up per, middle and lower back m uscles, and we have also gone into proper squ atting for this power look. N ow we shall get into the movements most of you enjoy doing th e most. N ow we will get into the chest an d shou lders. All of us bench press. N inety percent of us really enjoy the m ovement and in most gyms this movement and how much weight you can lift in it will either give indication as to whether you are a strong man or a weak man. This in not fair by any stretch of the imagination; yet it does exist. “H ow much can you bench?” H ow many times I h ave heard this question. Do th ey ever ask, “H ow much can you press?” or “H ow much can you incline press?” N o. It’s always “H ow much can you bench?” To be sure, bench pressing is the most popular movement in the weight training world today. N ow, I am n ot going t o try to downgrade its importance for the development of the look of power, but I m ust add that m any of the finest, strongest Olympic lifters in the world do not do th ese bench presses to any degree, and yet th ey are quite strong and give an extraordinary appearance when on the lifting p latform. I think th e answer lies somewhere between proper exercise performance of the bench press and th e additional incorporation of the seated front press and/ or the press behind neck. By working on all three of the movements with equal time and effort applied to each one, you
will be assured of complete development throughou t the entire chest and shoulder areas with th e end result being a more complete, harmonious development and t he look of an allaround strong presser. Not someone who specializes on one m ovement at the exclusion of others. Would th is not sa tisfy the majority of you trainees? For th e powerlifter who is or who will be competing, it is a somewhat different story. H is success lies in performing the b ench press with as mu ch weight as p ossible, while keeping within the rules of the ga me. But even he will undoub tedly use these additional assistance m ovements while on a break from his competitive season. And it is during t his time in his training th at he will actually be developing m ost of the lifting st rength which will become app arent when h e drops h is assistance movements and gears down to his pre-competition cycling p eriod, getting ready for his n ext competition. Take a look at the chest and shoulder development of David Shaw or Roger E step. And what about “Cash” or “Kaz?” Do you think they got th is development with bench presses alone??? A few years ago I did two or three articles on Mel Hennessy, a past world record holder in the bench press and all around powerlifter, a massively developed man. Some of the pound ages he u sed in his assistance m ovements were astounding! And h e had the ph ysical appearance to show for it. And what about Pat Casey and Steve Merjanian? Casey’s upper body was as thick as it was wide, and b ig Steve was a regular tailor’s nigh tmare! Both of these men relied on ma ny different assistance m ovements for the bench press and both m en could bench with the best in world at tha t, and th is present time. For complete, massive and thick development of the chest and shoulders, do not boun ce or thrust t he ba r when performing repetitions. Do not lift your hips off the b ench. T ry to perform your repetitions smoothly and correctly for best results musclewise. For those of you who can use a wide grip on th e bench without run ning into sh oulder problems, by all means continue to do so. But for the m ajority of us, a closer, medium grip is best, not only for a more com plete development bu t also for minimizing traum a to th e joints of the shoulders. The McDonald camb ered bar is qu ite effective, not only for hitting th e deeper fibres of the pecs and delts, but also for aiding the lifter to develop an easier, more powerful initial push from the chest when attem pting m aximum weights.
Weighted p arallel bar dips are another good m ovement to incorporate along with heavy dumbbell bench p resses and/ or flyes. Th ese movements will adequately work the p ectorals as well as the triceps. While the competitive powerlifter must reserve adequate time and energy for the bench press itself, he could incorporate these movements as well as th e following deltoid movements into his routine, choosing judiciously, of course. For direct d eltoid stim ulation, we have been using a particular type of seated front p ress with very fine results. What we do is sit on a seated press behind neck bench , pulling it into the power rack, having the b ar resting on the p ins so that when you get into p osition the bar is at th e proper pressing p osition, just off the clavicles and is resting on th e pins just waiting for you to press it. By using this style, the b ar can b e pressed from a d ead stop for each an d every repetition and the steep angle of the bench used will cause this m ovement to be t he most effective shoulder movement you've ever tried, if you work hard and regular on it. We do the same for the press behind the neck, simp ly having th e bar o the p ins, resting on our trapezius muscles, with no bouncing possible for each and every repetition. While dumbbell side and front laterals are fine and th ey have the advantage of not necessitating the shou lder joints to additional stress along with the consta nt stress they go through with bench pressing, I, and to the b est of my knowledge, most other men will respond bett er to these two m entioned p ressing movements, for the du mbbell laterals are very easy to cheat with (unconsciously or otherwise) and this is what we are trying to avoid. I m ight also mention, and will go into greater length later, that it is not necessary to use ON LY doubles, triples, or singles with th ese movements since th ere will be ADDI TI ON AL muscle growth without the joint trauma using lighter weights and higher repetitions like eights or even tens. T hese are assistance movements an d should be treated as su ch. For both the press behind neck and the seated front press, I would recommen d a medium or even close grip as this seem s to hit the d eltoids m ore fully than a wide grip an d does not usually cause the shoulder strains regularly associated with pressing b ehind t he neck. H ow many times have you seen someon e hurt th emselves while doing presses beh ind the neck or wide grip bench presses? Believe me, bring your grip in and save your shoulders! Finally, we come to actual arm work. And while not meaning to let you down, I really don't have much to say in this regard. Th is is because most of you are already doing too mu ch
work for these small muscle groups anyway. From most of your letters, it seems that you will easily do as man y sets of arm work as of chest work or shoulder work,and MORE sets than you'd ever want to do for the legs and back!!! All I am going to say is this: Of all the m uscles we've mentioned, the arms are the least important when it comes to developing the look of power. First of all, if you work th e exercises mention ed h erein, you will necessarily be working the u pper arms q uite hard without even doing one set of curls. Believe me, triceps push downs and concentration curls will NOT make you a powerful or event p owerful LOOKIN G man . . . an yone with a trained eye knows what to look for. Don' t take m y word for it. Just look for photos of the following men and I will use three m en from each of the three fields of lifting endeavor so as to show you that the look of power is not owned by only one facet of our sport. For bodybuilding look at Tim Belknap, Bill Pearl and Bertil Fox; for powerlifting look at Bill Kazma ier, Roger E step and David Shaw; and for Olympic lifting look at Anatoly Pisarenko, David Rigert and Blagoi Blagoev. These men are among the strongest an d best built athletes the world over and it was not through arm work that th ey got where they are. It was, for the most p art, doing a LO T of work on basic movements, done strictly and correctly, for a LONG time. Any arm development which came along for the ride, so to speak, was O.K. But I don ' t think " Kaz" is losing any sleep over how to increase his biceps by another inch. Do you get what I m ean? Just do one movement for the biceps and one movement for the triceps and do th ese movements strictly and slowly without jerking an d ch eating an d you WILL increase your arm size! Training frequency and sets and repetitions are another set of topics which I feel too much is being made of. Simply put; if you are constantly sore, not improving in either bodyweight or pound age gains in your exercises and simply dread going to the gym each day, they you are overtrained. Take a few days off and when you begin, go on a three day routine. Work the en tire body with on e exercise per body part, picking one m ovement from t he list we've just discussed and perform eight to ten total sets for the movement. Warm up with two or so sets and then pick a weight you can use from five to eight repetitions and try for around five sets with this weight. Cool off with two lighter sets. This means you'll be doing around two to two and a half hour workouts, three days weekly.
As long as you're recuperating and gaining slowly but regularly in size and power, leave yourself alone. When you begin to go stale, yet are N OT overtrained, I ' d then jump to a four day week. This would allow you more time for each area, thereby allowing for additional work for each area while allowing you to still recuperate on your off days. Perhap s two or even three m ovements p reviously listed for each a rea will suffice. On e movement for around ten or so sets and the other one or two for five sets each. Once ag ain, I would recommend medium repetitions for the most p art. You also could include two or three heavier sets of triples or doubles periodically, for the one movement per area which would be your main lifting m ovement. F or the most p art, the important thing to remember is to make su re your performance is correct and your recuperation between each workout is adequ ate. Th e actual amoun t of sets, reps and nu mber of exercise movements will have to be u ltimately left up to you. Proper diet sh ould guarant ee proper recuperation. Proper dieting, whether you are trying to g ain weight or not, is of the utm ost importance when on such a grueling schedule. H ere again, most of you should know by now what to eat and what not to eat. It 's only common sense - if you overeat with the wrong foods, you are going to g et fat, and if you don 't take in enough calories you are not going to grow larger. I have gained and lost one hund red and seventy-five poun ds, so b elieve me, I KN OW what I am talking about. Simply let your diet revolve around fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, eggs, cheeses and fish, fowl, yogurt and low fat cottage cheese and you will be going in the right direction. If you want to gain weight check your daily caloric intake and simply add 1,000 calories to t his am ount daily while keeping your choice of foods from the aforementioned list of choices. This will insure regular weight increase with minimum bodyfat increases. If you don't wish to gain any more weight, gradually decrease your caloric intake u ntil you are a t an amount which will maintain your desired weight. Once again, keep to the aforementioned foods for best results. I don' t think you need much in the way of vitamins or sup plements while on such a diet. It is most com plete, natural and well balanced. What I have tried to do with this article is outline for you the types of exercise movements and the p erformance st yle which will give you th is well-knit, well-balanced, rugged look. The men I have mentioned have to be among the m ost massive yet muscu lar in the world men who not only look strong bu t ARE strong! This h as not been simp ly an article listing
for you a sa mple routine of five sets of this and ten rep s of that; for by now, most of you should be able to figure these points out to your greatest benefit. Until next time, train wisely and train well. Adaptability – A Possible Training Aid by Anth ony Ditillo
Scientists tell us – given enough time and bringing in the law of survival, man will adapt to his outside environmental conditions in an attem pt to accept th e circumstantial changes of his environment, his aim being survival. I am positive this same law of adaptability can be incorporated into the lifter’s or bodybuilder’s routine with great gains in muscle size, strength, condition and an increase in the t rainee’s workload cap abilities, plus an ability to handle heavy weights without a ny waste of nervous en ergy. You will also be am azed a t how easy it is to recu perate overnight from ea ch d ay’s workout. After a while you will start watching other fellows train in the u sual accepted mann er and you’ll begin to notice all the wasted energy, the psyching, the pum ping, cheating, etc., and it b egins to dawn on you how advanced and scientific your training is becoming compared t o theirs. But perhap s I’m getting ahead of the story. Perhaps I should start at the b eginning. Last July (74) I began training with a good friend of mine who at one time was quite an accomplished Olympic lifter. “Dezi” an d I began an inten sive six days a week training routine which lasted all summ er long. It was during th is time that he bega n sharing his training ph ilosophies, experiences, etc., with me an d to say he helped me tremendously is putting it mildly. “Dezi” has lifted over 20 years and when you realize what knowledge such a lifetime of work creates, you learn to listen and watch such a man carefully. It was during this particular time, through various conversations I learned “D ezi” had u sed this law of adapta bility without ever consciously being aware of it. At least he didn ’t ma ke too much ou t of it and seemed to use it as though EVERYON E knew of its existence! H e told me that when he was a competitive lifter he pressed EVERY DAY. Various pulls, squats, lunges, etc. were done every day, day after day, until unrecuperable fatigue set in and then, an d only then, three d ays or so were taken off and the result was you were stronger AFTER the sh ort rest than b efore, and this enab led you to continue with th e everyday
training once again u ntil nature would once again step in an d literally FORCE you tot rest once more. For the past n ine month s I have trained using m y coach’s advice, for the most p art five days a week on t he following m ovements: Bench Presses, H igh P ulls, Shrugs, and possibly sometimes Power Snatches. I also include whenever I feel like it, full, bar high on the neck, back comp letely straight, O lympic Squats. Most of these m ovements are done in sets of three or five repetitions working up to a maximum pound age for the day. It seems that after two weeks work, the limit set is able to be increased and progress is slow but steady and you are psychologically secure as to where you are strength-wise and the need to psych up for a workout or limit lift is no longer necessary. This is because your body is slowly adapting to the workload you are putting on it and it get s to the p oint where you can recup erate overnight. It seems far more rational to me to cond ition the body to accept workouts on a DAILY basis than to use th e two or three times a week meth od of operation. Let me try to break this p oint down some, for easier understanding: m ost trainees will hit a mu scle group most severely once or twice a week. In oth er words, each m uscle group is sub jected to many sets and repetitions, using medium heavy and heavy weights twice weekly. The severity of such exercise requires 72 hours rest for recup eration, removal of lactic acid , and finally, growth. N aturally, if you tried to work the same m uscle group every day you would lose strength an d un dergo great physical and em otional trauma (by way of soreness and tiredness) at least through t he first three weeks. But I gu arantee, if your diet is adequ ate and you fully supplement your diet with additional nutrients and if you discover CORRECT TRAINI N G LOAD for each movement each day, you will OVERCO ME the traum a and your body will recuperate more rapidly. For m e, the correct training load is as follows: one pressing movement and either one pulling an d one squatting movement; or two pulling movements daily. I use five sets per pulling or squatting movement and usually five repetitions for the first three warmup sets (jumping weight each set) and then on e med ium-heavy set of three repetitions and finally one heavy set of three repetitions. For example, in the Shrug Pull I usually follow the foregoing schedu le: 245 x 5, 335 x 5, 425 x 5, 515 x 3, and finally 605 or 655 x 3 (dep end ing on streng th level for tha t da y). My H igh P ull workout goes something like this: 205 x 5, 255 x 3, 295 x 3, an d finally 315 or 325 x 3 (depend ing on my stren gth level for that day). T o pu t it simply: if I’m tired I reduce intensity but maintain tonnage as closely as possible and if I’m
energetic I go for broke on the heavy set for that day. Usually on the third or fourth training day stress comes into play and that workout would consist of relatively light weights with a low repetition scheme so the n ext day I am right b ack on course, however, I N EVER omit a prescribed movement for any reason on any day. As Jim Williams said, “Most guys do more sets and reps, but how many can h it a m ax weight every workout?” Using this training theory of every day performing the same movements but with different intensity had really helped m e in both muscle growth an d strength . I h ave grown a pair of trapezius m uscles the size of a m ale gorilla, my entire back m usculature has dramatically improved, my competition-style bench press has reached an all time high and my pulling style and strength h ave also improved. I am more energetic and en thusiastic about my training, and I also never feel dragged out or overtrained and I know I am progressing just about as fast as I can. I am recuperating overnight an d mu scle soreness is almost a th ing of the past. For me, the benefits are well worth the sacrifice of such hard daily training. Are You Ego-Training? by Anth ony Ditillo Come with me as we enter into an average gym, in an average city. Usually, in one corner of the gym there will be placed a sturdy power rack and loads of Olympic plates, along with the bar. T oday there is a very big man standing inside the power rack and he is performing repetition squats with very heavy weights. H e begins by warming up with a weight which he can perform ten repetitions with. H e then rests for a few minutes and continues with a weight increase of fifty pounds and one set of five repetitions. This goes on for about four or five sets, each one performed for five repetitions per set and each one increased by fifty pounds. On the other side of town we have entered into another gym. H ere we see a man with hu ge chest and shoulders performing bench presses. H e begins with one set of ten reps for a warmup . Then he jumps the bar ab out fifty pounds an d performs one set of about five reps. N ow he jumps the weight to his ultimate limit for a single repetition and he begins t o perform many, many sets of single repetitions. All the gym members, especially the smaller men, com ment on his p ower and his great size. E veryone stand s there q uietly and reverently
as he mechanically performs his many sets of single repetitions. E veryone is imp ressed. Th e moment of his last single repetition verges on “holy.” Finally we are in MY hometown at th e E lizabeth YMCA. My training p artner, Artie Petridis is about to go into h is deadlifts. H e was recently in one of the local meets and placed third in h is weight class. At a bod yweight of 165 he h as d eadlifted 505 in training, 495 in competition. Not only is Artie powerful, but he is well developed also. His thighs have a clean sweep from th e knees right into th e hip attach ments a nd h is entire torso is well developed an d shapely. H e begins with 275. He performs as m any repetitions as hum anly possible with this weight. As he is going th rough this initial set you can see b lood coursing th roughout h is body as the areas where the most strain is felt are becoming swollen and red. When he is finally finished he drops into a nearby chair for a few minutes rest until he is fully recuperated for the next set. To make a long story short, Artie will perform close to eight sets with continuously increasing loads for AS MAN Y REP ETI TI ON S AS POSSIBLE FOR E ACH SET. H is eighth set usually finds him close to his limit of 500. Even though he has performed seven previous sets he still manages to get in t he last set with maximum work and vigor. H e claims that the many, many sets of forced repetitions enables him to fully warm up for his last two or three really heavy sets. Contrary to many opinions, he does not perform heavy singles nor does he perform five sets of five repetitions using a given weight increase for each set with the repetitions staying the same in number. Th e results of this one type of training are varied an d m any. Physically speaking, he ha s the cut u p m uscular physique of a bodybuilder. With six m onths training in bodybuilding, I feel confident h e could win the local contest without u nduly extending himself. Strengthwise, he ha s squ atted to below parallel with 450, benched 320 with a three second pause and as I said before, he has deadlifted 505. N ow what I have been trying to show you by the three short little tales is the most comm on mistake fledging trainees fall into. Most beginners will try to copy some advanced man’s routine in hopes that they too will someday resemble the same fellow they are presently adm iring. Little d o they realize th at for every fellow who can become extremely powerful and m uscular there are literally hundreds of thousands of us normal human beings who could never by any stretch of the imagination compare to these ‘natural gainers’ who are
causing all the trouble in the present game, however innocently they are involved. This is because of the present t rend in our various ph ysical training mag azines of only publishing information and routines of the already accepted stars. When you pick up the average muscle mag azine you will see the same faces m onth after month after month. T hey will tell you how this p articular man developed h is calves this m onth an d next month they will speak of his favorite arm routine. This may go on for almost a year in succession. And what do you think hap pens to t he average trainee when he tries to incorporate the same training principles and exercise techniqu es into his own training p rograms? Do you th ink he can possibly gain t he sam e way? Do you think h e well gain for any length of time a t all before he finally comes to a dead h alt? Do you thin k Mr. Average will benefit from t he various set progressions which these natural gainers and super advanced men employ? Will five sets of five reps performed with the same weight for weeks on end even come close to completely working this t ype of fellow as compared to, let us say, Bill Pearl? And what ab out ou r power enthusiasts? Do you believe that working continuously with heavy weights with single repetitions will grant them gains for any length of time? Well, my dear friends, the answer to all these questions is ‘NO!’ What I am trying to g et you guys to do in t his article is to th ink about what it is you are trying to do when you lift weights. Your main aims will be muscular size and muscular strength. No matter whether you are primarily a bodybuilder, powerlifter or weightlifter, both of these attributes – size and strength – will almost certainly be uppermost in your mind . And how do you think you will ever develop either of these a ttribu tes if not by placing continuously heavier and greater d emand s upon your mu scular system? In short, how will you develop into anything at all if you fail to realize the most important aspect of any successful training routine? H ow will you gain prop erly without H ARD WORK? N ow let us return t o the first routine once again. What sense does it m ake to continuously use the sa me nu mber of repetitions per set as you increase the weight each set. Let us suppose you can sq uat with four hundred p ounds for one rep. Using this training p rinciple you would be doing 200, 250, 300, 350 for sets of five repetitions each. Now if you are able to do five repetitions with 350 after all those previous sets, then without all that much previous work you could probably do seven or eight reps with this weight. Such a set for this number of reps would really work you hard and in time you would progress on and on. But how would you ever get into such a condition of finally using 350 for eight reps if you limit the
repetitions to five for each and every set you perform? The answer is you can’t gain this way unless you are an easy gainer and it is these imp ressive easy gainers who are using this type of routine in the various gyms th roughout th e country and in th e muscle building books. And it is these sam e impressive men who are the idols of so many and who are responsible for many, many new recruits and also many, many failures. And who is to blame for these many disillusioned trainees, who sooner or later find out, much to their dismay, that Mr. Universe’s arm routine will not give them 19 inch arm s in six weeks? And what ab out the powerlifters an d O lympic lifters? Do they really think that Pat Casey’s squatting routine is going to have them squ atting with the same 800 pounds in a few years time? Do they feel that just because D oug H epburn performed for a certain time sets of single repetitions and just because h e claimed that this type of routine greatly aided him in his quest for power, do they feel that if they went on this same routine they would gain for any given time, n o matt er what, just because it worked for him? If you answer ‘yes’ to either of these questions then you are indeed wrong, for although single repetitions are fantastic for building power, they cannot and will not work for everybody, everywhere, all the tim e. And even if they do work for you for quite a while, if you continually used this type of workout, in time you would most assuredly go stale. Your body needs periodic rests and chan ges in its performances for proper mental and physical growth, weight training b eing no exception to the rule. I, myself, have always preferred single repetitions with limit poundages in my training and nobody but nobody could tell me oth erwise. For almost one year I used this same type of routine: One set of ten repetitions for a warmup, five single repetitions with 90 percent of my one rep limit and finishing off with one or two sets of five to seven repetitions using a lighter weight. I n the beg inning I g ained quite regularly and q uite fast. But in time I found t hat this type of routine was beginning to get very boring and internally I did not feel satisfied after such a workout. What I mean to say is that th ere is a feeling of accomplishment after you complete one ‘burn out’ set with a heavy weight for all the repetitions possible that no single lift can compare with. Th is is what I felt was lacking in a con tinuous p rogram of primarily single repetitions even though these singles would have to be performed q uite slowly and hard due to the heaviness of the weight used. I slowly but surely came to a halt in my increasing of the weights an d I also became qu ite indifferent to m y training. It was
about t his time that I joined the E lizabeth YMCA. Th ere I met quite a few power trainees and none of them would perform their workouts th e way I d id. E ither they would jump the weight each set an d perform as m any repetitions as possible with each set, or they would perform sets of ‘assistance’ reps, doing as many reps per set by themselves as they could, and then forcing out a few more reps with the aid of a training p artner who would slightly nudge the bar to h elp the fellow finish th e rep. I t wasn’t long before I also tried this m ethod, and to say I was astoun ded with the results and th e feeling of ‘intestinal’ strength such a training routine can give you is putting it mildly. Forced repetition training, u sed at the right point in your training, will help you to gain like nothing else, to my knowledge, if what you’re after is strength , size and endurance. T he m anner in which you train, by trying to get out as many reps as p ossible for each set, will teach you how to work and work hard! And it is just this tha t you need th e most! You m ust train h ard or you will not gain! Forget about the fellow squatting for five sets of five reps each of the fellow bench pressing for man y sets of single reps with a heavy weight. This type of training may help you if you are a natural gainer of high qu alities or if you are very, very, VERY advanced, and even then, such programs can help you but for a limited time only. And do you know why? Because they do not WORK you hard enough, that’s why. When you have brought a set to its climax you should KN OW you are finished. T here should be n o question in your mind t hat you could have done more th at last time. T H IS is the type of training which will help you to g row and improve. TH IS type of training is not EGO-TRAIN IN G. Ego-training is an y kind of training which enab les you to u se your heaviest pound ages although you do not really work yourself at all throughout the workout. It is the quickest and easiest way to impress u ninitiated onlookers and it is also the easiest t ype of training to perform and I have already explained two types of this kind of training, “the heavy weight, single rep” system an d the “same rep b ut heavier weight” system. N either of these types of routines will continue you gaining for any lengt h of time an d neither will help you get very, very large or very, very strong . T hey WILL make you look very impressive to your train ing buddies and I guess this is why they are used so m uch b y our everyday average trainees, as well as out lifting and physique champ ions. H owever, I am sure that n either a physique champ ion nor a ch ampion lifter would even consider working out in this man ner for any given length of time, particularly if there was an upcoming event just around the corner.
I truly believe that the major reason why so many fellows do not gain the way they say they would like to is becau se they just d on’t know what it is t o work and work H ARD! I also feel that it would indeed be absurd if I went through all this verbal rigmarole without giving you fellows workable examples of just what kind of routines to use in order to be sure that you are indeed working and working hard. And hard you’re gonna work, Joe Buck. Well, the following three rou tines will fully enab le you to utilize our premention ed ‘hard work’ principle and I can assu re you, none of these routines could ever be considered ‘Ego Training.’ Our first routine consists of using one exercise movement per body part. We begin with one light warmup set for about eight or t en repetitions. From h ere we make consecutive jumps with t he weight an d we perform one set each with th ese weight increased sets. We perform as man y reps as possible for each of these sets an d we should wind up with a weight which we cannot possibly perform for more than t hree times in su ccession. Do not b e concerned with how much weight is on t he bar. Just keep forcing out all the reps possible and keep the weight increasing set for set. I am sure you will not n eed more th an th ree or four sets for each exercise movement. If you m ake the weight increases correctly spaced pou ndage-wise, by the end of any exercise movement you should be up to heavy weights. The second m ethod of hard work consists of warming u p for one or two sets with light weights an d then jumping u p to a weight which is about twenty pounds b elow your one rep limit. Do on e set with this weight, forcing out as man y reps as hum anly possible. N ow drop the b ar by twenty or thirty pounds an d do another set of as many reps as possible. Keep decreasing the weight on th e bar and keep striving to do m ore and m ore repetitions. By the time you are d own to a light poun dage, non e of them will feel really light! You have more than adequat ely worked for power and m uscle size and shape u sing this particular method of training. Our third example of really hard training is th e ‘forced’ or ‘cheat ed’ reps type of routine. In this type of routine h e weight on the bar stays the sam e, but, in time, you try to perform more an d m ore work with this sam e weight. For instance, you press overhead 200 for five reps, then you continue on cheating or push -pressing as you go along in reps, but continuously trying to d o more and more reps no m atter how you get th em up . Another way
is to have a training partner help you finish off each set by aiding you slightly in forcing out as man y reps in addition to the ones you can perform yourself in the correct manner. All three of the routines I h ave outlined for you require very hard work for proper performance. T hey will aid you in developing b oth m uscular power and muscu lar strength. In short, these types of approaches require both H ARD WORK for their performance an d H ARD WORK is what you need of you are ever going to b ecome t he m an you have always wanted to be. Olympic Assistance Movement s For Size and/ or Strength Th ere is a very large segme nt of our lifting an d training population which neg lects a very important facet of athletic training which, for want of a better name, we will entitle Olympic Assistance Movement s. Why these muscle bu ilding and power building m ovement s have become ignored b y so man y otherwise interested trainees is beyond me, un less the reason lies somewhere within the confines of basic ignorance and a repulsion of hard work. To be sure, the b asic movements u sed by Olympic lifters in their quest for Olympic lift proficiency will cause an almost immediate increase within the mu sculature and the p ower potential of just about any interested trainee. All that is necessary is a basic understand ing of the principles at work and a desire to make u se of these facts in order to improve. To sa ve time an d a b it of your patience, I will endeavor to outline th e basic movements an d how to perform them for the p roper training results. But before we get into th e actua l training m ovements and the routines used to u tilize these movements to great est advantage, I would like to digress for a moment if I may, on just why this type methodology will work for you in ways impossible for any other. First of all, it is the intensity of the movements involved which results in such dramatic development and strength increases. You see, in order to p erform movements to aid a lifter in O lympic lifting, the movements themselves must be of the dynamic type for best results. This mean s that n ot only must the weights be heavy enough to require adequ ate exertion for correct style of performance, but t he movements must be performed dynamically and explosively or the lifting value of such movements is completely lost. Th is means th at the muscles are developed not solely through the m uscular overload of the training itself, bu t also through the intensity of the physical exertions required to move the weights fast, dynamically and explosively with speed and technique being of param ount importance. Th is is basically why so many other t rainees will not incorporate the se movements into their routines: they fear the intensity and hard work required. Th ere is a world of difference between training on basic slow movements in which the trainee “grinds” through ea ch repetition of each set with very little speed or techn iques involved, an d in the type of speed of movement nece ssary when utilizing these Olympic movements in your training regime. Th ere is just no way can “grind” u p a Power Clean or a H igh Pu ll or a Power Snatch. T hese movements m ust be p erformed with the u tmost speed and explosiveness or the entire effect is lost. It is for this reason tha t they are so effective as a training medium when combined with b asic power movements; they compliment one an other and they enable the trainee to develop speed, coordination and a sense of timing and balance p ossible through no other way. Also, somewhere
along the line, they also develop quite a b it of muscle and quite a b it of strength. For years we have put up with “old wives tales” concerning the incorporating of Olympic lift training within a ba sic power format. We have heard from one “ authority” after another that th ese movements will not develop any real strength, tha t they are “all technique” a nd th is has cau sed many a trainee to overlook these otherwise very effective training mediums. Yet, if one uses sheer objectivity in assessing th e value or worthiness of these previously discussed movements and the technical aspect s concerning correct performances of the involved lifts and assistance m ovement s, in general, we cannot overlook the app arent fact that such training must h elp us in acquiring greater muscle, greater m uscle density and size, and quicker reflexes and athletic ability. In order to incorporate these u seful movements into your present training routine it is of the utm ost importance to outline for you just what is req uired as far as t raining meth odology is concerned, in order to solidify your understanding of just what you will be doing and how you will be doing it, and for what ultimate goal or purp ose such hard intensity work will be don e. For an y Olympic a ssistant movement to be u sed correctly, it is necessary to realize tha t with these movements style plays an important p art in the u ltimate outcome of the training m otive. To try and force up the weights when using these movements will not give you the effect you are looking for. In order for these m ovements to develop you correctly, you must pay paramoun t attent ion to exercise style! When an O lympic lifter performs a Backsqu at, he is not solely interested in h ow much weight h e can “shift” up , he is interested in working primarily his frontal thigh muscles without utilizing t he muscles of his lower back an d hips. What he t ries to do is perform the Backsquat in such a way as to localize his exercise so tha t th e developmental value of the movement is intensified within the muscles of the thigh. By placing the ba r high on the trap s and using the kn ees as the axis of the movement, by way of rotating the bod y around the knee an d not rotating th e body around the hip, he is a ble to utilize the isolation principle of training and the end effect is a pair of very muscular, impressive legs! Also, he is not ap t to b ecome p oundag e hap py in his leg training since his leg work is a mean s to an end (increased lifting performance) an d not an en d in itself. Th is will enable him to train quite com fortably within his present ph ysical capabilities without th e constan t urge to see how much he ca n lift for one repetition. Th is also will alleviate most training injuries, since the bru nt of the work don e will be done with weights n ot too difficult to han dle. What all this means for the average trainee is t hat b y utilizing these m ovements we “free” ourselves from overtraining and overstraining which usu ally happen s with powerlifts as a ru le of thumb , followed for any length of time and with any regularity. By using the assistance movements to supp lement our training, we are given an emotional break so to speak, with the en d result being a rekindling of training d esire, after a sweet respite incorporating t hese m ovements. We mu st also mention that these movements will strengthen us for practicing the powerlifts, since th ey basically take th e different powerlifts and m ake you perform a close “cousin” of a sort, with sp eed, tech nique, and explosion. T hen, when we revert back to the usual lax method of performance, the lifts improve since they gave been strength ened th rough th e full range of motion with a style which usually borders on the ridiculously strict side! What the en d result of this situation usu ally is, is a change in the ability of the trainee to u tilize explosiveness when he is called upon to lift his ma ximum in a powerlift and also, his musculature usually is greatly changed and developed. By now, you are probably wondering just what kind and how large a variety of movements we have to choose from when deciding to utilize this training m edium. T here are usu ally a few movement s
for each b odypart and also, there are usually quite a few deviations of the basic p owerlifts, don e in specific ways, with the results being a m uch h arder workout for the affected mu scles due to th e strictness of the style of the movements employed. Th ere is no way you will be a ble to learn good operational tech nique in these m ovements without having an experienced Olympic lift trainee coaching you for quite some time, watching your performances an d ke eping track of your style imp rovement and your over-all progress. For from it being h elpful, such coaching is nece ssary if you are to reap m uch muscle-stimulating value from these types of exercises. H owever, since most of you are not th at interested in having yourselves be coached t o any great extent, and since the aim s of most of you are not to becom e proficient at the Olympic lift competition, it will not be necessary to go to such extremes in your training in order to obtain m uch in the way of benefits such training will bring out in you. By studying t he b asic explanations as to h ow to best em ploy the various movements, you will develop a certain amount of training style and technique, en ough t o utilize these m ovements with great su ccess in your muscu lature and in your basic lift training proficiency. By remembering t hat the training ideology of these m ovements lies not within the am ount of pounds lifted for each set , but within th e qu ickness, explosiveness an d d exterity of each exertion, you are already part way home, so to speak. By continually trying to improve your lifting ability through proper tec hnique, without the constant forcing and forcing hea vier and heavier exertions, you will learn th at th ese movements m ust be p erformed correctly for the best of results to take p lace and when you have learned this, you have learned practically all you have to know! When a ttemp ting to utilize the proponent theories of such Olympic lift assistance m ovement training you must keep u ppermost in your mind tha t this system of exercise movements a re primarily athletic in natu re and their chief value for you as an all-around trainee lies in th eir mode of performance and their strictness and intensity. While discussing these assistance m ovement s we should at this time list most of them for you, along with the p articular powerlift they have the most e ffect of strengthening. F or the squat we have the Olympic Back Squat and the F ront Squat . Th ese two leg movements when u tilized in th e way I will outline for you later on in this section of Chapt er 5, will literally revamp your en tire lower body muscu lature while at th e same time increase your overall squatting proficiency when the laxer power style of squatting is once ag ain emp loyed. For th e dea dlift, we have the various H igh P ulls, with close and wide grip. Shrug P ulls with both style grips also, and finally we have the Stiff Legged Deadlift from the floor, from the knees, and from th e stand ing block. making the bar closer to the floor. We should also mention th e Prone H yperextension, which will thoroughly congest th e lower back as well as develop for you a strong tie-in between the lower body and the u pper bod y, which is necessary to be successful at heavy squatt ing and deadlifting in the con ventional manner. We have not even begun to m ention the various kinds of cleaning movements from the floor, from the hang, off of blocks, etc., and by now you should be able to see th at it is the pull which is of primary importance in Olympic lifting. For increasing the b ench p ress, there is also quite a list of assistance movements which can be utilized for good training effects. Th e Seated In cline P ress at 45 degrees, the Steep Seated Press a t around a n 80 degree angle, the P ush P ress from a Rack, an d the Jerk From th e Shoulders all make up a prett y good selection of exercise movements to choose from. What these m ovements d o is work the m uscles of the shoulder girdle and the triceps mu scles quite hard and quite comp letely, and when coupled with heavy bench work, success is almost gu aranteed. T he strictness of performing the Steep Seated P resses will strengthen your shoulder girdle m uscles like nothing else under the
sun, an d it will take a very strong ma n to hand le over three hun dred pou nds in this m ovement, utilizing a pau se at the chest and n o bouncing an d heaving and keeping the b ody solid and rigid und er the weight with the back flush against th e back supp ort of the bench . This movement is param ount in developing frontal deltoid power and we all should know by now that benc h pressing success relies upon ha ving strong deltoids! Th e ph ysical results of utilizing th ese assistance movements , borrowed from the O lympic lifters, are varied and many. By incorporating these movements into your routine you are sure to see a difference in your musculature, given enough energy and training time. I would say that the lower thighs a nd th e entire lower and upp er back mu sculature will be the first areas to develop a difference, both in ap pearance and in den sity and power. This is quite simple to explain, as it is due to the complexity and inten sity of the d ifferent exercise movements and how they develop the involved muscle masses. By properly using the various pulling exercises, your up per an d mid back will grow and b ecome more den se by leaps and bou nds. T he trapezius m uscles will begin to fill out and th e overall appea rance of your upp er body musculature will take on a new, rugged look which will amaze and impress b oth you and your friends. This will give mute testimony as to th e effectiveness of the n ew movements in your workouts and this should instill in you a d esire to continue this type of training for yet more time and energy with a look to the future as to further physical gains. By incorporating Olympic back squ atting into your present sq uat routine, th e lower thigh will take on a new, exciting shape a nd fullness which will allow you further ad vances in strength due to the greater m usculature developed as well as the stronger frontal thigh mu scles which th is strict style of squatt ing will develop. T here is n o Olympic lifter on t he p latform today with weak, un derdeveloped legs. for strong legs and back are prime requisites for successful lifting. By copying their exercise choices an d style of performance, you too will be a ssured of continued progress as well as increased muscu lar development. Finally, we come to the shoulder girdle mu scles. By far, the most severe type of pressing is the Seated Press on a Steep I ncline, set at around 85 degrees. It is almost to c heat in this position and the brun t of the work is performed by the frontal deltoid m uscles with seconda ry consideration being given to the muscles of the upper arms. T here can be n o cheating, shifting, or bouncing the way it can be d one on the flat bench when ben ch pressing, so the am ount of weight will be limited somewhat, but the overall results will speak wonders. By utilizing these upper body movements within your present pressing routine, you will be developing such an imm ense am ount of size and strengt h in th e shoulder girdle that it will literally shock you! I know. I h ave experienced th is myself. Of particular importance as an assistance movement to increase overall pressing stren gth is p artial pressing on th e power rack, with th e bar positioned in front as well as behind the n eck. T his will develop all-around m uscular size an d power and when the regular routines are instilled once again, the carrying over of these overload movements will bring up your bench pressing power like nothing else will ever do. Finally, by combining these h eavy partial overload movements along with th e steep seat ed inline presses, your entire shoulder musculature an d power potential will be redeveloped at such a q uickened pa ce that it will be useless for you to purchase any new shirts, etc., for in no time at all you will most assuredly be outgrowing them! By isolating the lower back while doing Stiff Legged Deadlifts, the legs are not brough t into p lay and the back ca n be worked quite adequately without the legs combining into the movement thereby taking a way somewhat of the d evelopmental value towards th e lower back with th e thigh s taking much of the mu scle effectiveness. Also, by standing on blocks so that the ba r is at th e level of the
toes. thereby making it much harder to begin the pull, and also performing this m ovement with somewhat stiff legs, the muscular effect is twofold, both in its severity and in its effectiveness. Then, when we begin to use the d eadlift with the legs bent in the u sual performan ce style, this pre-worked area of the lower back will make itself felt and the increase of the amount of weight capa ble of being hand led will surely show an increase. With the t rapezius muscles further strengthe ned throu gh th e heavy shrugs, and the hea vy high pu lls, it will help you in finishing th e top p art of the dea dlift in the competition style and in the com petitive situation. Many times we will see a comp etitor make th e deadlift through th e hardest p ositions (or so it seems) on ly to lose the lift at a point when the only thing n ecessary would be a standing erect with a pulling b ack of the shoulders, and for the life of him, th e fellow cannot loch his sh oulders back! This is due primarily to a weak trap ezius muscle an d a lack of power throughout th e shoulder girdle. This painful situation can be rem edied through the correct application of the described exercise movements of this cha pter. With the shou lder girdle further strengthen ed, th e lifter will never fail to get the shoulder back in the finished position of the competitive deadlift and with utilization of the various lower back pulling exercises, you can see how the en tire pulling structu res of the lower back will be retained , so to speak, to use in a m ore proficient man ner, with th e end result being a h igh lifting tota l. This then, is the t rue value of such training. At this time, it will be necessary and helpful for me to outline for you a series of training schedules utilizing these important assistance m ovements in order for you to reap th e utm ost results from your training ende avors and the sweat and strain contained th erein. It is my hope that by the utilization of these training aids and principles you will be able to see a d ifference in your training pound ages an d in the m usculature of the use areas of the body with the en d result being a new and improved you! What we shall do first of all, is to develop for you a routine based around the three power lifts, with each of these lifts being trained on one da y per week and on the other training da y we will be utilizing the pertinent O lympic assistance movement. Th is means we will be training four days per week. We will be working the upper body on two days and the lower body on two training days with the em phasis be ing placed on registering high er totals in th e three power lifts. Whether or not any additional weight is going to be gained at this time will depen d chiefly upon the d iet you choose to follow while on this routine. Therefore, the end result of weight gained or not gained will be left primarily up to you. By following th e dietary suggestions of the last cha pter, I am su re, for the most part, b odyweight can be ga ined q uite easily with a little bit of experiment ation on your part as to what to use for best results. With th is routine the re will be listed for you a few basic m uscle-shaping m ovements which can also be ut ilized with this routine along with the assistance m ovements already discussed within the section of this chapter, since there will have to be more to the program than four of five lifts, for best all-around results. H ere then is your first listed, four day per week training routine: Monday and Thursday Upper Body Work – Bench P ress: utilizing a m edium g rip for all-around muscle stimulation, perform one set of ten reps for a warm-up an d th en jump to a set of five, a set of three, and finally three sing le attempts with around 90% of your one rep limit. Steep Seated I nclines: after two warmup sets, with conservative weight jumps. work up to three reps using all the weight possible. Shoulder Shrug: take fifty or one hu ndred pound jumps a nd p erform sets of five reps with ea ch
weight until you hit a heavy weight for five reps and you should stay with this weight for between five and seven sets of these five repetitions. Barbell Curls: this movement is used solely to bring some work into the upper arms. Perform five to seven sets of five to seven reps with a fairly heavy weight. Lying Triceps Extension: once again, five to seven sets of five to seven reps with a heavy weight. Tuesday and Friday Lower Body Work – Power Squat: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, and finally, three sets of three reps using around 85% of your one rep maximum pound age. Olympic Squat: five to seven sets of three to five reps after a warm-up set of ten reps. O n th is movement you should concentrate on proper exercise form, not weight. Stiff Legged Deadlift: three to five sets of three to five repetitions u sing a fairly heavy weight and concentrating on p roper exercise form a nd n ot weight lifted. P rone H yperextensions: five sets of eight to ten rep s using light weight an d p erforming the movemen t correctly, fluidly, and slowly. Another way of handling this a mount of work is to perform the Bench P ress by itself on Monda y and on T hursday to work the Steep Seated In cline, on ce again working it by itself. Also, on the lower body training days, you can do the P ower Squat by itself on T uesday and t he O lympic Back Squat by itself on Friday. This would be useful for you if you have a limited supply of training energy and a limited am ount of time to train. For th ose souls who are not afraid to work like two men to g et the g oals they have formed for themselves in their mind, I sh all now outlined a six day per week training routine. H owever, we shall limit the amount of work therein in order for most men t o gain on it. On this training p rogram we will be working six days per week and in this way we can incorporate adequ ate work for the entire mu scular system without fear of overtraining or und ertraining an y particular body part, with the developing of a lopsided lifting proficiency or with the muscular development of a lopsided nature, also. For the lower back we will be utilizing two weekly workouts with the emph asis upon cond itioning as well as complete muscu lar development. Monday and Friday Upper Body – Bench Press: one set of ten for a warm-up and then take regulated jumps to a weight you will be handling for three sets of three repetitions. Steep Seated Press: two sets for a warm-up and then jump to a weight you can han dle for five sets of three t o five repetitions. Press on Rack: five sets of three to five repetitions using an adequ ate amou nt of weight. Tuesday and Friday Th ighs and H ips – Power Squat: five sets of three to five reps working up from a warm-up to the heaviest weight possible for three reps. Olympic Back Squat: five sets of three to five reps using an adequ ate am ount of weight. Front Squat: after one set of ten for a warm-up, jump to all the weight possible for rive repetitions and work for three sets of five reps with this weight. Wednesd ay and Saturday
Lower Back – Stiff Legged Deadlift: one set of ten for a warm-u p th en work for rive sets of five to seven reps using a medium amount of weight for resistance. Shoulder Shrug: five sets of five to seven repetitions using heavy weight and good st yle. P rone H yperextensions: five to seven sets of eight to ten rep etitions using ad equate resistance. Arm Work: six of seven sets for the b iceps and six or seven sets for the triceps. You can ch oose whatever barbell movement s which may strike your fancy at a ny particular time. Th is choice is solely up to you. Th e final routine in this section of Chapter 5 will be a th ree day per week routine, in which we will attemp t to utilize the Olympic assistance movements, solely throughout th e training week, with th e complete lack of other training exercises. In other words, we will be working solely with the Olympic assistance m ovements for a period of three or so month s. In this way, this type of routine could b e utilized for a sh ort period of specialization within the n on-competitive season of the year. This chang e of pace would be sure to give you a well-rounded look at t hese training e xercises and training m ethods an d in this way you will gain firsthand knowledge as to how these te chniques will work for you. Since you will only be u sing th e O lympic a ssistance movements t hroughout these p eriods of intense specialization, you will be sure to h ave more than enough time to incorporate the wide variety of movements which would have had to be red uced somewhat when attempting to couple this work with the basic training exercise movements. T his means th at the mu scles used will be further developed since they will be m ore than adequ ately worked from all the possible angles of exercise application. This should increase both t he size of these mu scles and their density and shape, because you will be u sing d ynamic movements which will completely develop and fatigue the muscle fibers. The density aspect of this exercise methodology will be caused by the comp lete contraction and extension of the exercise movements an d in the m anner in which they are performed. H ere then is your final, three da y routine: Monday Partial Press in Power Rack: take fifty pound weight jumps and work up to all the weight you can move from the chin to the height of the eyes, for five reps. Power Clean From H ang: these shou ld be done in sets of fives. Take regu lar jump s in weight until you are at the m aximum weight you can rack for five reps. Olympic Back Squat: you should be taking fifty pound weight jumps until you reach a maximum of weight for three sets of three to five reps. Stiff Legged Deadlift: perform five sets of three to five reps u sing a medium heavy weight, concentrating on style and not solely on weight used. Wednesday Steep Seated Incline Press: after a few light sets for a thorough warm-up, take th irty pound weight jumps un til you are at a weight you can h andle for th ree reps. Work with this weigh t for five sets of three to five repetitions. Jerk Press From Rack: take fifty pound jumps an d d o sets of threes. Work up to all the weight possible for one heavy triple. Be sure to use correct style. H igh P ull: take a grip between the Clean an d th e Snatch grip and perform sets of threes. Taking conservative weight
jumps, work u p to a poun dage heavy enough for three sets of three reps using g ood style and explosiveness. Front Squat: after a set or two for a warm-up take conservative weight jumps until you are at the a ppropriate weight for five sets of five reps using good upright style. Prone H yperextensions: five to seven sets using reps of between eigh t and twelve. Friday Seated Press: after one or two sets for a warm-up, take thirty pound jumps an d u se a five repetition scheme. Work up to a m aximum weight for five sets of three repetitions. Shoulder Shrug: take the bar from crotch h eight in the p ower rack. Ta ke fifty pound jump s until you reach a maximum weight for five set of five to seven rep s. Snatch Grip Deadlift: five to seven sets of three re petition s. T ake fifty pound jumps and work up to a ma ximum set of three repetitions. Pa rtial Front Squat: take the bar from the three qu arter position in the power rack. Take fifty pound jum ps and work up to a maximum set of five reps. Th ree-Day Training sp lit u sing O lympic Lift Variations Monday Partial military press (from chin to eyes) - 5 reps, taking large jumps to top set H ang Cleans - pyramid to top set of 5 SLDL - 5x3-5 (focus on form, no t weight) Wednesday H igh I ncline - 5x3-5 Jerks - Work up to h eavy triple Clean P ulls – Work up to he avy triple Front sq uat - 5x5 H yperextensions - 5-7x8-12 Friday Seated Military Press - 5x3 Snatch-grip Deadlift - 5-7x3 Partial Front Squats (starting at 3/ 4 position & going up) - work to top set of 5 As can plainly be seen, while this routine d oes not c ontain the actual compe titive lifts which the Olympic lifter uses in competition, the am ount of assistance movements are m ost complete with the exception of the two lifts themselves. In other words, although the competitive two lifts are not included, the workouts are most complete from a developmen tal standpoint, with emph asis being placed on th e muscles which are usually neglected in th e usual training schedu le. Whether you h ave particular asp irations for the lifting platform or whether you are a “dyed in th e wool” h ome t rainee, you should really give these Olympic lift movements a d ecent ch ance in your schedu le to see what chang es they can mak e both in your lifting proficiency and in your muscular developmen t. I a m sure, given enough time and training energy, you will be amaz ed at your rate of progress. Your muscles will be developed from different angles than you are customarily used to experiencing. This may at first seem qu ite a bit hard and un usual but with patience and pract ice,
you should be able to persevere to a level of capability otherwise unavailable to you, with the customa ry training routine you have become accu stomed t o following. Th ese Olympic assistance movements shou ld not be overlooked by you, thoug h your goals may be somewhat d ifferent th an t he O lympic lifter. For th e powerman, the new ways of working the th ighs and the lower back will open u p n ew developmental vistas. F or the all-around trainee, additional muscle growth is most assu redly guaranteed , with the muscles taking on a new, capa ble look which will add to your overall physical ruggedness. Do n ot sell these movements sh ort by limiting th eir supposed usefulness to the O lympic lift specialist for nothing could b e further from the truth. I am su re, with the a ddition of all the heavy pulls, shrugs, and squats, your entire physical conditioning and menta l outlook towards the value of this kind of training will be greatly changed, for the better I might a dd.
An I ntermediate Mass P rogram by Anth ony Ditillo
During t he past eight or nine years of writing for Iron Man magazine I have received m any letters from aspiring trainees, all seeking physical improvement in one form or another. By far, the most popular subject on the minds of most young men is the increase of muscle size and all over body mass an d power. The routine I am g oing to outline presently is in d irect response to th ese letters. This routine is NOT for the advanced man. H e would never respond to the am ount of work I’m going to advise herein. Being advanced necessitates diversity in performance and volume of work as well as tight ening u p the d ietary schedule, since continu ed weight ga in would NOT be desirable for the truly advanced man who has already gained sufficiently in basic bodyweight. For the majority of beginners and intermediates, three total body workouts p er week seems to be just about right. You will have two heavy days and one medium day, for variety and recuperation. On you two heavy days the m ovements are heavy and basic. Th e repetitions are kept low to enable you to u se truly heavy weights to ensu re mass g ains. Th e first and second sets should be warmup sets. Sets three, four and five are to be performed with all the weight possible for the required reps. Rest no longer than one minu te between sets. When
sets three, four and five can be don e fairly easily, add ten p ounds to your upper bod y movements and t wenty pound s to the lower body movements. T he entire schedule consists of between twenty-five and thirty sets. Surely this much work can be finished within ninety minutes. Wednesday’s workout consists of two strenuous freehand movements which will give the joints, ligam ents and tendon s tim e to fully stretch during performan ce an d also greatly add to your conditioning and shape. The two sets of Full Squats will enable aerobic conditioning, as well as metabolic stimulation, which in turn will greatly intensify your ability and desire to assimilate protein and nutrients. Use half your twenty-rep limit for set num ber one an d go for broke on set number two. Do these (as well as th e ben ches) u sing som e type of safety rack or device. Stiff-legged deadlifts should be done lightly and performed fluently for a flushing throughout the entire lower back. It will also give you the lower back development of a gorilla, if you p erfect its performance. Wednesday’s workout consists of approximately twenty sets and could be done in one hour, should you care to push it. You could superset the chins an d dips to further flush the tissues and also, weight can be ad ded t o your own bodyweight as st rength permits. These routines are for the goal of adding muscle size, strength and power for the beginner and intermediate trainee. T hey are short because rest is n ecessary for the would-be strongman in order for complete recovery. Believe me, as you progress from intermediate to advanced you’ll have more than enough problems trying to find enough time and training energy to continue to gain. So why jump into this situation prematurely! Better to rest and grow. As far as nutrition is concerned, I feel a well-rounded diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts an d whole grain cereals, eggs, fish, poultry and meats, ad ding on milk and milk products should do nicely for the average fellow. A basic p rotein powder mixed with skim m ilk, a few soft-boiled egg s, peanu t butter, ban anas a nd a choice of flavoring should work if one is desperate to p ut on a few pound s.
Finally, I encourage you to believe in yourself and in your actions. For your actions make you what you are and your dreams and plans are possible future actions. Remake yourself continuously. Monday & Friday (heavy days) Press Behind Neck – 5 sets of 5-7 reps. Bentover Barbell Row – 5 sets of 8-10 reps. Barbell Curl – 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Lying Triceps P ress – 3 sets of 8-10 reps. H alf Squat – 5 sets of 8-10 reps. On your off days, do four or five sets of calf raises an d light a bdominal work. Wednesday (med ium d ay) Dips – 4-5 bodyweight sets doing all the reps you can. Chins – the same as dips. Full Squats – 2 sets of 20 reps as described. Stiff-Legged Dead lift – 2 sets of 10-15 reps using light to medium weight. Training Proficiency Simplified by Anth ony Ditillo
A few days ago the two owners of my gym and I had a very interesting discussion concerning th e fellows training there and the seem ing lack of gains th ey made recently, though all of them were training regularly for quite some time. We came to the conclusion that th e men who looked pretty good, when com pared to th e average guy, looked that way for the m ost part t wo years ago when m y two friends t ook over manag ement of this gym. I n other words, these guys looked th e same as they did two years ago. And they had b een coming in six days a week and training for close to two hours each day for all this while.
N ow something must be wrong. But what could that someth ing be? All these guys ate pretty good, most of the time, and m any of them were taking protein su pplements to supposed ly aid th em in their gains. Yet they were not g rowing in size or strength nor were they becoming leaner or more mu scular. A few of the other g uys did gain muscular bodyweight b ut t hey were no strong er at th e heavier bodyweight. So, in reality did these m en gain anything either? And if the truth was that they did not, then that meant that t he m ajority of the men training at m y gym for the last two years were simple maintaining what they already had. Ad this mere m aintenance was taking twelve to sixteen hours per week training time, n ot to men tion the ad ditional time to and from the gym and the ad ded expense of food and supplements. Something was definitely wrong and something h ad to be d one to help whichever of these men had th e ears to hear and the m ind to decipher what had to be learned. After much debating on the su bject we came to som e pertinent conclusions which I shall pass on to you in th is article, for these mistakes a re the very same mistakes t he m ajority of you are making in your training, and that is likely why you are not progressing as far and as fast as you would like to. I am su re if you take the time to read an d reread what I have outlined here for you and apply it, the results will be pleasing. First and foremost, the major mistake you men are making is incorrect exercise style. You simply will not perform the movements correctly. In the beginning, when your body is not used to much in the way of physical exertion, any lifting, no matter how incorrectly performed, will increase the muscles to a certain degree. But this will not continue forever. There comes a time when all such progress will come to a h alt, unless you cut back on th e excessive cheating and heaving, lighten th e poun dages som ewhat and begin to actually feel the movements. Muscles do not just grow overnight and they do not g row in response to vague stimulation. In order for the muscles to g reatly increase in size, you have to place direct, intense demands upon them. Intensity can either be obtained through performing as many repetitions per set as you hu manly can, using h eavy weights, or you can increase this intensity by decreasing the rest time between sets thereby performing m ore work in a shorter period of time, or you can greatly increase your training volume and neither decrease
your training rest p eriods or perform any set to m aximum b urnout and still increase your intensity due to the great increase in volume. All three will work. As my coach used to say, “Th ere is more than one way to Rome.” You men with heavy bone structures will undoubtedly enjoy using rather heavy poundages and forcing the reps to the max, burnout for each set. Your heavier constitution will allow you to do this and still recuperate, while the lighter-boned man will probably enjoy further success by greatly increasing his workload for each m uscle group an d p erforming each exercise slowly and strictly with great con centration. Both will work for either type. And no matter which style you decide upon you m ust remem ber to p erform the exercise movement with correct, slow, grinding repetitions in order for the muscle fibers to receive the growth stimulation they need to further respond. Every time you boun ce a b ar when doing an y kind of press you are robbing the p ressing muscles of the very thing they need to further respond. You cann ot increase muscle size by working the joints using excessively heavy weights with heaving, thrusting movements, since such exercise style will totally neglect the muscles and favor the tendons and the joints and this th rowing an d swinging aroun d h eavy barbells will not increase m uscle size to any degree. Your repetitions, whether high or low, should be performed with great control for best results. I mean g reat control on both t he raising and the lowering in these kinds of movements done for this pu rpose. The lowering is just as important as the lifting, for they both work hand in hand in increasing your muscu lar development. I would also suggest that you attem pt to m ake any movement a full range movement. What sense does it ma ke to use an exaggerated wide grip on your pressing movements when t his wide grip will actually decrease the length of the movement and the am ount of contraction that can take place? If all you wish to do is to show how much weight you can lift, such techniques m ight be excusable, but if you desire to build mu scle size such an tics are a complete waste of time. I would advise all of you who seek to increase m uscle size to use a m edium stance when squatting , with no wraps of any sort un til you can perform six to ten repetitions with dou ble your bod yweight in this style, and only then begin to use knee wraps, belts, suits etc. By this time the muscles will already be large and strong and the lifting aids will enable you to
quickly increase your limit poundage for a single rep, should you care to see just how you compare to lifters in your weight class. But for increasing your muscle size, use a medium stance and do not use wraps. Anoth er movemen t which many of you fellows are p erforming incorrectly for the results you seek is the b ench p ress. In fact, I would venture to say that for the m ost part a ll of your pressing m ovements are done with t he sam e silly mistakes. First, you try to use weights far too hea vy to be used correctly and your style is actu ally an eyesore to b ehold. Why would you want to use a collar-to-collar grip on the bar when this wide a grip will undoubtedly sooner or later injure your shoulder joints due to the u nnatu ral stretch an d strain such a grip implies. The wideness of the grip will also cut down on th e length of the m ovement to such an extent that it will only be half-performed. And half movements done with a bounce and kick will get you nowhere fast in th e m uscle size departmen t. Wouldn’t it m ake more sense to simply use a med ium grip an d weights light enough for you to PRE SS and n ot PUSH or TH RUST t o completion? Do you think that the top powerlifters of today got th eir strength an d development from continu ously cheating in their competition movements? Well, if you do think that, then you’re wrong. For the most part, especially during the off-season, these men are doing lots and lots of heavy bodybuilding/ assistance movements and this mean s relatively lighter weights, higher reps and strict, slow, correct exercise form. This, combined with the heavier power movements, is where they get their size from. It works for them an d it can work for you if you have the sense to try it. In ALL your pressing movements use a medium shoulder width g rip on the b ar. Your muscle size will increase and th e development will go han d in hand with greater usable strength. Use a repetition scheme that goes somewhere between six and ten for the most part. Use as many sets as are necessary to thoroughly congest th e mu scles before going on to the next exercise or bodypart. Th ese repetitions should be done slow and stead y with continuous ten sion on the m uscles being worked for best results. I n otice a lot of you performing your pulling exercises en tirely wrong for what you desire. What sense does it make to do a bentover row with weights so heavy it looks more like an exaggerated deadlift th an a row? You are su pposed t o feel the m ovement in the lats an d
somewhat in th e biceps, bu t most of you comp lain of feeling th is movement mainly in th e lower back. T his is because you are ashamed to use 135 and slowly work up to a heavier weight, so you load the bar up and away you go, jerking and pulling th e bar aroun d like you’re engaged in a wrestling m atch with it. You’re N OT supposed to fight with th e bar, you’re supposed to exercise with it. Another movement almost always done incorrectly is the seated cable row. Why do you use so heavy a weight that you have to use every muscle in the body just to get the movement started, and in reality the arms are bent to such a small degree that the lats are barely utilized, it at all. For the most part, th e lower back and the hips g et the b runt of the work when done in this style and is it any wonder th at your gains in lat size don’t come around with such a foolish way of performing the thing? Why not lighten the weight and keep the torso inclined to th e front, kept stiff and t ight as a su pport, pull with the arm s and upper back an d perform enoug h reps t o fully work and congest th ese areas? Doesn’t this seem to make more sense? Who cares how much weight you can’t use properly? Are you actually interested in developing mu scle size? Your dumbbell work also gets adulterated somewhere along the line. You perform lying flyes as if they were dumbbell bench presses and fail to see your purpose in doing the exercise. There is no sense in doing flyes with a weight you can barely press. And the dumbbell bench presses are no better. Most of you do them with such a shortened range of movement, quickly work up to the 100’s and are confused when no development results. When performing dumbbell laterals for the shoulders, why do you use such heavy weights that th e movements are noth ing more than rap idly swinging up and d own with no hope of or attempt to control them on your part. Do you th ink that if you can swing 50 lb. du mbbells you are going to increase your shoulder de velopmen t? How can you, when you would have a hard time using 30’s, don e slowly and correctly. You have got to reach a point in your exercise where the muscles are taxed to the limit. This is inten sity. You can get to t his point with light weights and higher reps or you can g et to th is point with mu ch heavier weights and lower reps. It’s up to you. But you must reach this point! What most of you do is try to stay away from this point b y cheating through th e movement and the discomfort. This is your basic mistake and you are avoiding the very event which will give you what you want.
You are trying to avoid m uscle fatigue, and you cann ot obtain m uch in the way of continued progress without this fatigue. You can’t have one without the other. Some of you try to cheat your way to continu ed improvement. Some of you fatten yourselves up as a way of getting heavier and thereby obtaining larger size and, inadvertently, heavier pound ages. Some of you do absolutely nothing and remain absolutely same, year in and year out. And what I have tried to do is to show you some simple examples of your precious self-deceit. You guys who are trying to ‘bulk up’ had better take a long range look at what you are trying to do, for the m ajority of you will end u p on ly fattening up and in five or so years will be trying to lose this now-precious, then-excess weight. You can get much heavier and less muscu lar – at the sam e time. You can overeat and look bigger an d m ore massive to th e eye, but with your shirt off the truth comes out. You are smoother and filled for most part with fat and water. I would advise the majority of you to follow a high-protein, high-carbohydrate, moderate-fat diet for most of the training year. Eat sm all meals throughout the day so as not to t ax the digestive system to any great deg ree. Figure out your ideal training weight a nd simply determine the amoun t of food you consume to m aintain this weight without too much difficulty. If you add m ore to this am ount, d o it in sm all increments a nd wait for the results to show, and here I am t alking not to u nderweight beginners, but to intermediate trainees. Work your muscles with your training until they are thoroughly fatigued and train each bodypart as frequently as you can and still recuperate from th e exertion. T rain as long as you can a nd as often as you can, keeping recup eration in mind. P ick a repetition scheme that your men tal attitude an d body can tolerate. Perform each an d every movement with proper form, with no exaggeration in the performance an d let the training p oundages take care of themselves, and they WILL increase in time, providing you d o not bounce, or cheat, or heave . . . you have nothing to lose but your mediocrity. Size Increases With T he Power Rack, Parts One and T wo by Anth ony Ditillo
Part One
When mentioning power rack training an d its relationship to th e increasing of muscular bodyweight and muscular size, we must m ention the discretionary habits necessary for success in this type of training venture. Since power rack training uses the d eepest lying fibers in its functioning training scope, it stands to reason that it will be very easy to overtrain while using the rack. To avoid this is not as easy as at first it may seem. There is something contagious ab out power rack work which invades your soul and you are apt to go overboard while working on th e rack with th e end result being a decrease of performance potential and a lack of bodyweight and muscular size increase. You simply cannot overtrain on th e power rack and expect to continue to make g ains. You will have to learn to m eter out your training ent husiasm when working on the rack if additional muscle size is what you are going after. Also, the generally accepted theory of working the sticking point, the hardest position of any exercise you do. does N OT apply in this case, since we are not particularly interested in the sole acquisition of power, but m ore into gaining than much desired powerful, bulky physique with bod y size and massiveness being paramoun t in our considerations. One m ethod used in the rack for the acquisition of size and strength is the T heory of Maximum Fatigue. F or lifters, it aids them quite q uickly to increase their lifting performances. For th e bulk fanatic, such a training meth od will aid you in gaining additional size throughout the entire body. You would have to go a long way to find a more effective method for gaining useful muscle size. This Theory of Maximum Fatigue will enable you to utilize and develop the size of the deepest set muscle fibers, which would otherwise lay dormant with th e sole training met hodology used being basically accepted exercise performances. Since you will be training to gain in muscle size, the set and repetition scheme will have to be up dated for the use of a size seeker, not merely a power seeker. This means that th e repetitions will be somewhat higher t han previously accepted. Let us u se a repetition scheme of between six and eight repetitions. The number of sets for each section of each movement will depend upon many factors. Take into consideration the t otal workload an d evaluate the am ount of rack training from that point. N aturally, if you are going to depen d
solely on the rack work, then you will be able to stand more volume of work done in the rack. If, however, you wish to combine rack work with regular movements, then the overall amount of the rack work will have to be reduced in order not to overtrain yourself to a point of nervous exhaustion. Th is can, and has h appen ed to man y an overenthu siastic trainee. It is very easy to overdo this kind of training due to th e likeability of the performance of basic movements with extremely heavy weights. Finally, we must take into consideration the previous experience of the trainee before assuming this training method ology. N aturally, the m ore experienced the trainee, the more he will be able to handle without becoming completely exhausted . What I would advise you to do is surmise just how much work you will be able to realistically handle and formulate your training routine around this fact. As time goes by, you will be able to add a set here and a set there, and as long as the ga ins are coming your way you will know you are on the right path. With a little patience and some thinking on your part you will find the right amou nt of work which will work for you person ally. In this and my next article I will outline for you various schemes u tilizing the p ower rack for size increases. The first rack routine I am going to outline for you will be a basic, three-day-per-week training plan with emp hasis on t he power rack. This fundam ental routine will allow the majority of you fellows to begin to get used to rack work and will allow you to a lso begin to grow from its app lication. Further on down the line, as it becom es harder an d harder for you to continue to g ain in both size and strength , I will outline more advanced met hods of using the power rack which will require greater effort and training time, but which will aid you in continuing your aims and goals of increasing size and strength . With this first routine we will have to be interested in the amount of work as well and the intensity of this work, since we do not want the intermediate trainee t o become overtrained for this is a real consideration in the beginning of any intense weight training p rogram. Later on, after the trainee has become u sed to su ch workloads, he will be bett er able to adjust his volume suitable to his training energy and level of recuperative ability, which is as it should be for continued progress. Up un til this point, however, do not deviate from the foregoing introductory routine. Try to be regular in your training habits and in your living habits, for these play a major part in achieving your goal of adding muscular bodyweight.
Also, do not add anything to this routine, save some calf or abdominal work done for a few sets at th e end of each workout, bu t not to a ny great extent. H ere then is your primary three-day power rack routine:
Monday Full Movements – Bench Press: One set of ten repetitions for a warmup, then a set of seven with heavier weights, th en a set of three and finally three to five single attempts with a round 90% of your one repetition limit. Finish up with four sets of four to six repetitions using all weight possible. Bentover Row: One set of ten for a warmup, then jump to five of so sets of four to six repetitions with a heavy weight. Parallel Squat: One set of ten for a warmup, one set of seven, then work with a weight hard for five sets of five repetitions. Wednesday Power Rack – Bench Press: Use three p ositions. From the ch est, midway, and lockout. Perform three sets of between six and eight reps for each of these positions. On th e last rep of each set, old and push against the top pin for around six seconds. T his will activate the deeper mu scle fibers, and th e higher rep schem e will cause greater muscle pum p. Power Squat: Use three positions. Form th e bottom, m idway, and from a qu arter squat p osition. Perform two sets of between six and eight reps from each position and be sure to p ush ag ainst the top p ins on t he last rep s of each of these sets. Your parallel squat will surely improve from going this route! Deadlift From Below The Knees: Go for six or seven sets and work up to a maximum set of three with all the weight you can
properly handle. This movement will greatly strengthen your lower back as well as building great d eadlifting p ower and confidence. Friday Power Rack Work Combined With Full Movements Incline Press: Five sets of between five and seven repetitions using a fairly heavy weight. Bench Press: Press from the sticking p oint in a p ower rack using five sets of threes and working up to a maximum set of three repetitions. T his m ovement will immed iately increase your ben ch pressing ability. Leg Presses or Front Squats: Four sets of six to eight repetitions. Use a heavy weight, one which makes you work, and work h ard! Power Rack Squat: Place the bar at your sticking point and stand u p with the weight from a d eadstop for each and every repetition . Go for five sets of threes, working to a m aximum triple. Shoulder Shrug: Five sets of eight to twelve reps, using a very heavy weight, pulling the bar as high and as fast as you possibly can. The weight should be so heavy that you MUST use st raps. With this first routine we have been interested in coupling full movements with partial movements in order to maintain a necessary maintenance of lifting ability as well as wellroundedness of muscle structure and flexibility. While the brunt of the work will be done in the rack, th ere are also corresponding m ovements used in which standard barbell exercises have been utilized to bring ab out the desired results. The combinat ion of these two types of training procedures should enab le you to gain in an all-around way without losing an y basic muscular qualities which were originally developed through standard exercise methodology. As you can see, if you look over this routine most carefully, it is quite com plete in its training volume and intensity, yet it is not as severe as some of the other rack p rograms which I will be outlining for you in m y next article, which you will be ab le to incorporat e with time and persistence. I h ave coupled th e full movements with th e rack work so as to
incorporate the good points of both systems of exercise, and to utilize the b est that b oth have to offer. This is a most comp lete way to fulfill your aim s. Upon further consideration you will discover that the smaller muscle groups have been given ad equate work to carry them through this intensive training p eriod, yet the brunt of the work has been p laced on the large muscles of the shoulder girdle, legs and hips. T his is so that th e amoun t of size gained will be put in t he right places with the bodyweight going all over the entire body, giving it a well-rounded look with symmetrical development being the end product. T his workload is also suited for increasing b ody power and this is anoth er basic requirement of any weight gaining routine – for it makes no sense to g ain add itional size if this size is not accompanied by additional power. By working the major muscle structures of the body qu ite hard you are guaran teed to b uild usable power along with your increased physical size. The arms and calves will grow somewhat, from the intensity and volume of work placed on the larger muscle structures. As long as we work the basic mu scle group exercises the h ardest with the m ost consideration, the sma ller groups will coast along and go for the ride, so to speak. In my next installment I will endeavor to outline for you a few of these more complicated, more deman ding power rack routines. Until then – work, and work hard!
Part Two Of all the types of training available to th e trainee today, to me, n one is more imp ortant an d beneficial than work done in a power rack. If the same trainee is trying to g ain mu scular bodyweight while working in the rack, gains will come to him all the faster. This is due to a multifaceted situation which encompasses rack work in general. First of all, the use of the rack for heavy partial repetitions is just about the most severe form of overload possible. Also, this severe overload training will force the trainee to gain useful bodyweight, due to the stimu lation of the d eeper muscle fibres and the overall stimulation to the m uscular system a nd the m etabolic system su ch heavy workloads bring with them.
I h ave never met a m an who trained on the power rack for any length of time who has not gained greatly in size and strength an d since this article deals with just this same goal and situation, you can be sure power rack training will aid you greatly in your quest for additional size and strength. T his goes along with th e theory that the proper d iet will be followed d uring th is training schem e. Without the p roper diet, size will just not be p ossible to develop. You need the p roper diet to m aintain a p ositive nitrogen b alance to stimulate bodyweight gain. Just as there are a m ultitude of movements you can p erform on the rack, so too there are quite a few different meth ods of using the rack for best results in g aining bodyweight. I t would seem at first that the basic training theories which powermen follow for gaining power would also help you in gaining size, but this is not always the case. If it were, we would have no smaller men in the lighter classes, since they all would have outgrown themselves before they were through competition. Gaining b odyweight an d size with a power rack will require somewhat of a different repetition and set scheme than what is customarily used for gaining power in the b ody. For one thing, t he set sch eme is decreased somewhat and the repetitions are increased to stimulate more m uscle fibers into growth contraction. We should also mention a t th is time th e ability to couple various movements together for he pumping effect, and the g rowth effect such a coup ling will produce. F or regular power rack work, this would be ou t of the question, since the m ain idea would be t o gain in strength , not b odyweight. H owever, in this situation, you will be trying to cause th e mu scle groups to respond with add itional growth and so the inclusion of two or more movements for the same bodypart, both full and partial, will be of utmost helpfulness and availability. It is possible to combine various partial movements in a rack with full movements done in the st andard way, with the end result being a thoroughly congested, fully worked and pumped up m uscle. Another way of combining these two distinct types of training is t o work in the rack once or twice weekly and for the other workout do full movements. This way both types of work will be adequately used with enough training time and volume of workload to produ ce most favorable results, given enough time an d sweat.
The following routine is advanced and will be performed in four days per week training. It will require a sou nd nutritional basis for complete success. You are going to be expand ing immense am ounts of nervous and p hysical energy and th e end produ ct is meant to be increased bodyweight as well as increased power, so be sure to maintain a sound diet. If at all possible, try to find the time each day for a half-hour nap, or a few fifteen minute breaks throughou t the day. Also, try to maintain a tranq uil mind, a p ositive ment al attitude toward the am ount of work you are going to have to do, becau se there is going to be p lenty of it to get used to. We are going to couple the m ovements so as to maintain a fine balance between partial movement proficiency and actual lifting finesse, but in this routine the rack work will be of optimum importance. T he free movements will be only for mu scle stimulation and not for the a cquisition of strength. F or this, we will depend on the p ower rack. I would also advise additional stomach work on th e off days when you are not training on th e rack, so as to strengthen the abd omen an d maint ain a trim waistline while gaining in size and power. I would not advise any additional barbell work beyond the amount of work I advise here in this routine. If given a chan ce, it will prove to be most complete within itself. H ere then, is your four day routine:
Monday and T hursday Partial Standing Press: from below the chin to the top of the head. Perform 8 sets of 5 to 7 repetitions, working up to a maximum of 5 repetitions. On th e final rep of each set, pu sh against the top p in for 6 to 8 seconds. Bench Press Lockouts: from three-quarters off the chest to lockout. Perform 6 to 8 sets of 4 to 6 repetitions with the last set being the heaviest weight you can handle for 6 reps. On the last repetition of every set push against the top p in for an additional six to eight seconds. Deadlift: from b elow the kn ees. Perform six to eight sets of three repetitions working up to a maximum set of three repetitions on th e last set. H yperextension:
five to seven sets of eight to twelve repetitions using bodyweight as resistance and later adding weight behind the neck. As you can see, this first half of our four day routine is quite complete in the amount of work performed for the ch est and shoulders with additional work being included for the lower back region.
Tuesday and Friday Partial Squat: position the b ar at your sticking point an d work up t o eight sets of three to five repetitions, using all the weight possib le for the final set of five. Front Squat: perform between five and seven sets of three to five repetitions with the final set being the heaviest weight you can properly handle in strict Olympic style. Bentover Row: perform five to seven sets of six to eight repetitions using all the weight you can properly handle. Cheat Barbell Curl: five to seven sets of six to eight repetitions using all the weight possible, slowly lowering th e bar on the lowering part of each repetition. Close Grip Bench Press: perform five to seven sets of five to seven repet itions using all the weight possible for each and every set after warming up for the first set or two with a somewhat lighter weight. What we have tried to do within this routine is to activate the deepest fibers with an overbalance of rack work, while at the same time adequate amounts of work are included for the adjacent mu scle groups so that m uscle shape is maintained. We have made su re that this p ower work in the rack would be sure to carry itself over to the regularly performed movements, so we have even included the close-grip bench p ress to mainta in a certain amoun t of bench pressing familiarity. Coupling this with the h eavy partial bench p resses in the rack should cause not only size gains but a carrying over power effect as well. For the squat, while we have not included the actual full squat, we have concentrated on the
sticking point of the movement in the rack, and it would take a very short time to acqu aint our mu scles back to the competitive man ner of squatting with the back log of work which we have performed here in th is routine. Let us n ot forget th at the front sq uat is q uite a leg developer, and I am sure by including t his movement along with th e sticking point squ at the effect on th e power squat sh ould more than make itself felt. Since the st icking point in the d eadlift for most p eople is just below the knee, we have concentrated on th is position for our rack work on the deadlift. To be sure, your deadlift will increase with enough training time and patience. If you check out t he routine m ore closely, you will see that th e num ber of sets have been increased in comparison to t he first routine I listed for you earlier, and it is just this increase in workload which will make you m ore ad vanced and better con ditioned by the time you have fully adapted to this routine. Upon graduation of this routine you will be ready for an advanced power rack routine. When this conversion time comes around I want you to first and foremost get yourself set for the most demanding and severe type of work you have ever asked your body to perform. Be sure that the dietary end of your lifestyle is most complete, for you will need all possible energy at your disposal to enable you to further yourself along the goals and aims of this article. The kind of work you will be doing will be the hardest an d m ost tiring of all. This routine will require five training days per week. Before undertaking this routine, reread my past articles concerning rack work and the th eory of maximum fatigue. Most m en will shy away from this routine saying it is too intense and voluminous for the average man to make gains on. T H EY ARE RI GH T! This routine is not for the mediocre lifter, but un til you allow yourself an hon est attempt at such a routine you will never know just how far your particular potential will take you. Besides, you will be trying to gain weight and eating in quantity with this routine, so it will not be as hard as it may seem at first. Just give it a solid try and see how your progress comes along after the first six weeks or so.
Monday Partial Press in Rack: press from he clavicle to eye level. Perform ten sets of three to six repetitions, using the heaviest weights p ossible and pressing against th e top pin for six seconds on the last rep of
every set. Eye-Level Press in Rack: press from eye-level to completion. F ive sets of five to seven rep etition Steep Seated Press: place a deeply inclined ben ch in t he rack an d press from pins set at clavicle height. P erform five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions Seated Press Behind Neck Perform five to seven sets of between five and seven rep s. Tuesday H alf Squats in th e Rack: perform eight sets of three to five repetitions from halfway to completion. Do each rep from a dead stop off the p ins. Work up to very heavy weight. Quarter Squats in the Rack perform five or so set s of three t o five repetitions with extremely heavy weight. Many years ago I handled over 1.000 pound s in th ese for a few repetitions while weighing around 230. N o wraps. Place the bar at the m idpoint between parallel and upright. T his is the quarter squat position Olympic Back Squat: perform five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions working u p to a max set of five each workout. T hese are done out side the rack wearing n o belt and n o knee wraps. Front Squat: five to seven sets of five to seven reps just as in the b ack squat above. Wednesday Upright Row: five sets of five to eight repetitions done outside the rack. Shrug Pulls: perform these in a rack and p lace the bar just above the knees. Use a shoulder width grip and use lifting straps. Work for eight to ten sets of six to eight repetitions using very heavy weights. Dead lift Below Knee: once again you are in the rack. Perform five of so sets of three to five repetitions working up in weight.
Stiff-Legged Dead lift: do these outside the rack. Five or so sets of three to five repetitions working up in weight. Thursday Bench Press: outside the rack, work up to eight to ten sets of four to ten reps working to h eavy weight with repetitions don e slowly and strictly. Close-Grip Benches: outside the rack, place two fingers inside the knurling and perform five or so sets of four to six repetitions. Dum bell Bench Press: work for five sets of five to seven rep s with th e heaviest weight you can p ossibly hand le. Bench Lockouts: these are done in the rack, using a rep scheme of three to five and working for five sets with a heavy weight. The bar is placed on pins just above the halfway point and pressed from here to comp letion. Friday Dips: eight to ten sets between eight a nd twelve repetitions, adding weight whenever possible. Chins: the same as t he dips above. Full Squats: no wraps and no belt, five sets of eight to twelve repetitions. Deadlift: five sets of three to five reps working up to a heavy triple. As I mentioned earlier, this is quite a routine! Do not b e afraid of it, nor become too complacent in your attitude towards it. It WILL work if it is coupled with intensive dietary consideration, rest, proper mental attitude and TRAINING BELLIGERENCE. Work your way into it very gradually and see what you can do with it.
Specialization Programs by
Anthony
Ditillo
With these routines we are going to get into the utmost effective specialization programs of which there have been many records kept. For the most part, these methods of acute specialization will work the muscles and the lifting movements to a peak of development and proficiency which beforehand would have been felt were completely impossible or out of the question of being attained by the average trainee. What we are going to be doing in this section of Chapter 5, is outline for you in the most intense situation of physical endeavors. Th is means that you will be narrowing in on your training goals and aspirations in order to “milk” from your body all the utmost potential as far as development and physical lifting abilities you are capable of. These techniques are by no means completely new or untried by other men b efore you; on the cont rary, most m en who are the ch ampions of today and yesterday have tried these training methods at some prior time of their lifting life. These routines must cause an increase in size and strength, due to their severity and their specificity of nature. When you work only one or two movements per workout and those workouts are both voluminous and intense, with the brunt of the work strictly and thoroughly performed, you must gain in one way or another, due to the very nature of such an u ndertaking and the way in which the average person’s body will adjust to an overload of stress. This is especially true for the man with a very low energy level, who has trouble in formulating a routine which he can recuperate from, through out the many years of his lifting career. For the man who is constantly complaining of being overtrained, these types of routines will do wonders for both his physical development an d h is all-over lifting poten tial. This d oes not m ean th at these routines will not also benefit us m ore toughened-up trainees, for we all can reap great amounts of benefit from this type of workout if we have the self-belief and the self-control to give these short, intense routines a chance to show us exactly what they can do. Therefore, it would be to all or our benefit to look over these suggested routines, no matter haw short and simple they may seem to us at first, for in the long run they will work only if we will work.
This first specialized routine will be for the man who wishes to experiment with training for only one hour per day and using one exercise movement per training session. This will mean that each movement will have to be an all-around muscle group movement to stimulate the most available fibers of the largest muscle groups of the body. In this way, such short training will be most complete and result producing and in the long run, will develop the most m uscle for the amoun t of work and t ime put into the training p eriod of any type of training that I know of. By training five days per week and using only one movement per day, we must make sure that su ch choices will not cause m uscle overlap and therefore become physically redunda nt, thereby leaving out certain muscle groups which would p roduce a lopsided physique and d decrease in all-around lifting power. Therefore, before undertaking this type of routine, be sure to know how to set up your schedule beforehand as to what to do and what not to include so that the entire body becomes stimulated to greater developmental heights during the course of a lifting week. This will allow not adequate recuperation although you will be training almost daily and also, it will develop for you an increase in all-around listing power. This will develop the capability of going just about as far as your particular potential will take you in the way of lifting proficiency. To stimulate additional muscle growth, it will be necessary to include in the future additional work for the aforementioned muscles in order to fully work them and reshape them, as it were, to greater development and shapeliness. But for the fellow who is primarily interested in all-around lifting proficiency and a well-developed rugged physique, this is the routine to follow. H ere then is your five day per week training routine: Monday–Bench Presses Tuesday – Squats Wednesday –Deadlift or Bentover Rowing Thursday – Power Clean and Pu sh Press Friday – Jerk From Rack With the choice of these movements we have given the entire body quite a workout by the end of the week. For each of these movements I would suggest you choose one of the
following set and repetition schedules. Th e reason I am g iving you somewhat of a choice as to the number of sets and repetitions you will be using, is due to the complexity of the choices of exercise movements and the importance of your being able to choose the right schedule which will work best for your personal preferences as to how many sets and how many repetitions will work best for you. With such a short, daily exercise program to work with, it is imp ortant to ch oose the right balance of work. I would advise either that you perform each exercise for around ten sets of five to seven repetitions, with the first three or so sets as progressive warm-ups and the brun t of the work taking place from set four to set nine, and the final set or two being flushing sets with somewhat lighter weights. Another suggestion would be the following tried and proved effective repetition and set scheme: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, and five sets of three reps using all weight possible. Finish up with two or three sets of five or so reps with somewhat lighter weight for complete flush. Finally, when feeling particularly energetic and strong, you could take a set or two for a warm-up and then progressively add to the weight of the bar until you are at close to 90% of your limit and try for three to five single attempts with this heavy weight, finishing up with a few sets of lighter p oundag es with higher reps. All three of these suggestions will work for you on such an intense, short routine. In fact, one week you could use one schedu le and th e following week the other, and so on. I t really is up to you in the final estimation as to how many sets and how many reps you choose to follow when working on such a course. They all have merit, if followed using intelligence and patience. You fellows who are always complaining about how little time you have to spend on your training will find th at these schedu les take very little time as compared to oth er routines that the majority of us trainees follow in our attempts at getting bigger and stronger. With such short workouts you should be able to recuperate quite easily and the result will be an increase in your training enthusiasm, less missed workouts, and a general increase in both lifting proficiency and in muscular development. The next type of specialization routine will be somewhat more complicated than the first example I us ed to dem onstrate such training and the effects of such types of work. With this
following routine, we will be training four or five days per week, with the average routine consisting of two movements per day. This way, you will be able to perform a more diversified amount of work each workout and in the long run, the all-around effects will be more predominant in muscle building and strength level increases. This is because of the coupling of two such movements each day. By coupling two movements daily, or almost daily, it is not necessary to train each and every day; in fact, it will be possible to cut down the number of training days each week to four. Also, with the coupling of two movements daily, you will be training a bit longer each day, but the total amount of work done weekly will remain approximately the same. This may mean the difference between success or failure depending upon the rate of recovery your body can acclimate itself to. Some men will find that two movements per day is just about right for best results. Others will prefer less training days per week bu t will prefer maybe three movements done on each of these days. Others, in the extreme other end of training en ergy levels, may find th at one movement per day is just right to insure continued gains. So you see, in this section of this chapter, we will be discussing each of these types of personalized specialization routines, so as to give all of you a chance to try whatever kind of routine you may feel will be right for you. There is only one way to find out: you must experiment and see what will work and what will not work. This following routine is for the man who wishes to specialize on the pressing muscles of the up per body, but at the sam e time, wants to b e sure that he is including enough work for the ad ditional parts of the body so as to not lose anything p reviously developed in the past. In order to insure this not happening, you will have included on an almost daily basis, enough work for the additional muscle groups which will keep th em in proper state of tone as the brunt of your workouts will be geared to developing additional size and strength in the pressing m uscles of the bod y. What I would advise you to do in th is case, is to work one pressing m ovement ea ch training session, with one squat ting movement on one day and on e pulling or arm m ovement on the following training day. This way, the rest of the body is adequately stimulated. H ere then is your two movement per day training routine: Monday – Bench Press and Power Squat Tuesday – Incline Press an d Bentover Rowing
Wednesday – Press Behind N eck and Arm Work Thursday – Take the d ay off Friday – Close Grip Bench Press and Front Squat Saturday – Standing Press and Bent Legged Deadlift Sunday – Take the day off With this routine I would advise you to perform the following set and repetition schedule: for the majority of movements except the Bent Legged Deadlift, warm up for two or so sets and then move up to weight which you can handle for between three and five sets of four to six repetitions. After this, cool down with two or so sets of eight or so repetitions, with a somewhat lighter weight. For the deadlift, I recommend sets of three repetitions, working up to a maximum triple. This should develop more than enough power for the limit deadlifting. For th e rest of the body, there is more tha n enou gh work to stimulate increases in muscle size and power. With continued application of this kind of training, you will realize a great increase in your pressing power from all angles and the rest of the body will not suffer in development or power because of the inclusion of additional work for these areas. This type of training can become most meaningful and enjoyable for you and many men enjoy this kind of training so much that they stay on these kinds of programs for the entire training year. For the m an who has a greater ability to recuperate after strenuous training th ere are further methods of training which will stimulate even further rates of growth and development, due to the extent of their severity and complicated nature. With these types of workouts you would do all your pressing on one day, the whole amount of squatting on the following day, and finally, on the third training day you would follow a most complete routine to fully work the pulling muscles of the body. In this way, although you would be training six days per week, you will only be working each muscle group twice weekly, so that the entire workload would be evenly distributed throughout the entire body, with adequate rest between workouts. The severity of this routine will make it necessary that you do not try to stay on this routine for more than a month or so, unless you are one of those rare individuals who can thrive, or seem to do so, on such a great quantity of hard work. If such is the case, then by all means stay on this type of routine as long as you wish to. But for the majority of the rest of us, a
month and a half of so would be long enough to stimulate correct training responses. As soon as one begins to feel somewhat drug out and less proficient at one’s workouts, it is then time to switch to a less severe amount of work until full recuperation is realized. H ere then is your six day per week specialization routine: If you cannot train on Sunday, then train from Monday through Saturday and take Sunday off. With this type of routine, there is a t remendous am ount of stress placed on th e physical and emotional parts of the mind and body, so be sure to realize this and take steps to deter physiological staleness, which may step in and force an unwanted layoff. A good idea would be to take a few extra naps throughout the day so as to make this excessive work more acceptable to the body and more easily recuperated from. Just as we must learn to creep before we can walk, so must we find our way through this kind of workout, slowly and with great hesitancy to overwork, since this would work against us, not for us. Rest assured, if enough care is taken to see to it that the correct kind of diet is followed throughout this entire training affair, the result we are seeking will make itself felt. All that is necessary is to barter our energy and see to it tha t we are properly fed an d ad equately rested. Another avenue of experimentation which has been proven m ost successful to the few men who have proved to be innovative enough to attem pt su ch a unique incorporation of training schedules and exercise frequency would be where you will be working the entire body each and every workout. Then, after working extremely hard on the entire body, you rest until you feel that you have completed the amount of rest and then, and only then, do you take another workout. This means that some weeks you may be training three times per week and other weeks you will be training only two times per week. But in both cases, you will be sure to work more than enough to stimulate sufficient gains without the chance of underrecuperation or overtraining becoming a problem. This way, there are very little wasted training programs when on this type of routine. By limiting the amount of training periods each week, you can greatly magnify the amount of work done on each chosen exercise period. Also, you will be able to rest assured that sufficient rest takes between each workout bout. F or the man with limited training time an d limited training energy, this type of routine may be just what the doctor ordered.
In this situation, we would naturally place the most important movements first in our routine, in order that most of the energy can be sp ent on th e movements which are the most important to us, with our particular training goals and endeavors. This does not mean that there will not be enough work for the rest of the body, for this is the beauty of such a scheduling of exercise periods. When you know that you will be training the entire body only two or three times per week, it is only natural that you wish to work very hard and completely an each and every exercise chosen for each and every exercise period. When you know that the workout of the day will be the only chance you will have to get to work the body for a few days, you will really try to get psyched up for the workout and this will help you t o get the most out of each an d every training routine. Some m en cann ot seem to keep up this amou nt of psyche for any length of time. For th ese men it would be wiser to work out more frequently but less intensely. But for the man who can gear up this extra emotionalism two or so times per week, this is the way to go. On the days you are not training, be sure to rest adequately and as completely as possible for this how you will be able to gear u p for the n ext workout. Try to get in an occasional nap every so often to enable you to save necessary training energy. For let no one tell you differently: with this program you will have to work! This then, would be your whole body, twice per week specialization routine. Monday Bench Press, Press Behind Neck, Bentover Barbell Rowing, Scott Curls Lying Triceps Extension, and Power Squat. With this workout you should perform the following set and repetition schedule for the majority of movements, except perhaps with your arm work, in which higher repetitions should be included. For the rest of the body, try to warm-up sufficiently with two of three sets of medium repetitions and then jump to a poundage you can handle for between six and ten repetitions and work with this weight for three to five sets. Cool down with two or so sets of somewhat lighter weights and somewhat higher repetitions. For the upper arms, I would recommend that the set scheme be somewhat reduced while the repetition scheme be increased so that you are h andling weights for each set for between eight and twelve repetitions.
After a two or three day rest, try to get in the following routine. This will be somewhat different from the first routine since you will be trying to work the muscles from a somewhat different an gle. H owever, both rou tines will work the mu scles most fully, completely, and adequately. Friday Standing Press, Parallel Bar Dips, Lat Machine Pulldowns, Shoulder Shrugs, Cheating Barbell Curls, and Olympic Back Squat. For this workout, I would recommend a similar set and repetition schedule. Warm-up for the first two or so sets an then work into a weight you can handle for five to seven repetitions. Use this for four sets an d th en cool down with t wo sets of eight reps. Th e secret of properly working the body through these periods of super specialization lies within the mind and the integrity of the trainee. H e must see to it that his diet is adequate an d complete for the increase of workloads he will be undertaking. Also, in order for him to stimulate additional muscle growth, it will be necessary for him to face the fact that only through a great deal of self confidence and a strict adherence to the dietary principles discussed b eforehand, will he su cceed to t he limit of his potential and physical capabilities. What I have tried to do in th is chapter is to give you a selection of the m ost potent tools or weapons you will ever have at your disposal in the hopes that through the proper utilization of these techniques, you too will move one step closer to the goals of which your dreams are made . . .
