[fadi]

I'd be happy to offer some tips and look it over for you. If you want me to design one, PM me and I can discuss that with you as well.

My suggestions are to work in micro cycles of 3-4 weeks, each one followed by a slight unloading period. In traditional periodization, you would start off working to increase muscular endurance...which would translate into some sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. So 3 weeks of higher reps (12-15) with shorter rest periods with a focus on increasing volume via reps. Add 2 sets per workout on majors, and 1 set/wo on minor lifts. Take a week of reduced volume.

Then 3 weeks working on myofibril hypertrophy, with a focus on increasing volume via increases in strength. This would be sets in the 5-8 rep range. Add 1 set per workout on major lifts, and 1 the 2nd week on minor lifts. Take a week at reduced volume and intensity, then move to something new. perhaps a hybrid, in the area of 9-11 reps.

Br

this is very helpful, I will try and follow this approach. How often do you train each body part?

[ZiR RED]

this is very helpful, I will try and follow this approach. How often do you train each body part?

Anwhere from once to 3-4 times a week. For hypertrophy purposes usually twice a week.

Br

[VS91588]

Anwhere from once to 3-4 times a week. For hypertrophy purposes usually twice a week.

Br

I like training chest/bi and back/tri twice a week but I feel like if I do it more than 1 month I don't recover as quick and I'm extremely sore (even when I'm on my gear). I'm a high volume guy and I do cut my sets down when I do train twice a week. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong

[ZiR RED]

I like training chest/bi and back/tri twice a week but I feel like if I do it more than 1 month I don't recover as quick and I'm extremely sore (even when I'm on my gear). I'm a high volume guy and I do cut my sets down when I do train twice a week. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong

Are you doing more negatives/forced reps/failure sets, etc.? If you are training more frequently, then doing techniques that induce more muscle damage should be cut down upon drastically. That's why I suggested earlier doing high volume/frequency for 3-4 weeks, then doing a week of low volume and a lot of negatives/forced reps...then a week unloading and repeat.

Br

[VS91588]

Are you doing more negatives/forced reps/failure sets, etc.? If you are training more frequently, then doing techniques that induce more muscle damage should be cut down upon drastically. That's why I suggested earlier doing high volume/frequency for 3-4 weeks, then doing a week of low volume and a lot of negatives/forced reps...then a week unloading and repeat.

Br

Yeah I always go my heaviest on my last set and I will drop set and go for hypertrophy. And I always have a spoter so I'm always safely taking my body to muscular failure w/out a bar crushing my neck lol

[indysoccer16]

Are you doing more negatives/forced reps/failure sets, etc.? If you are training more frequently, then doing techniques that induce more muscle damage should be cut down upon drastically. That's why I suggested earlier doing high volume/frequency for 3-4 weeks, then doing a week of low volume and a lot of negatives/forced reps...then a week unloading and repeat.

Br

So on the high rep weeks you could train each part twice, and then on the low rep weeks hit them once a week hard?

[ZiR RED]

So on the high rep weeks you could train each part twice, and then on the low rep weeks hit them once a week hard?

You could do twice a week on either, as long as you are not taking too many sets to failure or using forced reps/negatives.

In fact, you could go for 3 weeks. The first two weeks stopping everything a rep shy of failure, then on the final workout of the final week take sets to failure and do some forced/negatives. Then take a week to unload/recover, and restart. This is just one example of planned over reaching, recovery, adaptation.

Br

[SuperMachoMan]

will one of you guys post up your workout schedule of a week like
Sunday: chest
Monday: back etc
and what you do for each day. I am trying to see how yall fit in hitting 3 body parts a week
id appreciate it
thanks

[ZiR RED]

Here's what I have the bodybuilding team do:

Mon: Deadlift, horizontal pulls
Tue: Bench press and triceps accessory
Wed: Pulls ups and shrugs
Thu: Over head press and biceps accessory
Fri: Lower body

Ideally I would have a day of rest in between wed/thur...but these are the only times we have available to get into the strength and conditioning complex for practice.

[Rodja]

Currently using 5/3/1 with DeFranco assistance work

Monday

Squats
Lower back
Unilateral quad work
Heavy abs
Heavy conditioning

Tuesday

Bench
Chest
Row of some kind ss mid-traps
Triceps
Upper traps
Light conditioning

Wednesday
Off

Thursday
Deads
Hams
Unilateral quad work
Heavy abs
Heavy conditioning

Friday

Standing overhead press
Lats ss mid-trap
Assistance delt work
Upper traps
Arm ss

Saturday
Light hamstring and lower back
Light conditioning

[SweetLou321]

Currently Conjugate system

Mon-ME Squat/Deadlift
GHR
ME Lift, 3 week waves (Squat vaiations, deadlift variations, GM variations)
Lower back/Hams
Row
Abs+Hips

Wed-ME Bench
Chins
ME Lift (Bench and Oh Press variations)
DB Work/Chest Work
Row
Tris+Mid traps/Rear Delts
Neck+Shoulder Prehab

Fri-DE Squat/Deadlift
GHR
DE Box Squats (Chains, Bands, Straight Weight)
Speed Pulls (Chains, Bands, Straight Weight)
Lower Back/Hams
Abs+Hips

Sat-DE Bench
Chins
DE Bench (Chains, Bands, Straight Weight)
Oh Press Work
Tricep Work
Row
Upper/Mid Traps+Neck+Shoulder Prehab

*GPP is done before all sessions unless doing conditioning after.

[asooneyeonig]

i am currently on a 4 day split working out 3 times a week.

-ME lower
glute activation work
ankle mobility work
RE work for lower body

-ME upper
thoracic mobility work
RE upper
facepulls

-DE lower
glute activation work
ankle mobility work
20+ rep lower body work

-DE upper
thoracic mobility work
20+ rep upper body work
facepulls

i do ab work nearly every workout. i rotate the focus of each one.
1)anti-rotation
2)anti-extension
3)anti-lateral flexion

i also have 2 phases, accumulation and intensification phase. they break apart this way:

-accumulation
ME - 3-5 rep max work, 3 attempts at new max. do variation on deads, squats, overhead and bench
DE - 15-30 sets of 2-3 reps. done for time, try and beat that time. do the big 4 mentioned above. only variation is box squats. done at 40-60% of 1RM.
RE - 3+ sets of 8-12 reps. general work. just trying to get bigger, stronger, and build work capacity

-intensification
ME - 1-2 rep max work, 3 attempts at max. attach anything i can to the bar, chains, ropes, bands, kettlebells, baby skulls (LOL), etc.
DE - 10-15 sets of 2-3 reps. done for time, try and beat the time. do the big 4 mentioned above. done at 50-750% of 1RM.
RE - 3-5 sets of 5-8, working weaknesses more than anything.

i workout tuesday, thursday, and sunday. i do swap out sundays workout every other week with what i call an event day workout. i go to a private gym to train most days and on event day most of us show up to have fun and do strongman & highland games lifts.

[ISU152]

You could do twice a week on either, as long as you are not taking too many sets to failure or using forced reps/negatives.

In fact, you could go for 3 weeks. The first two weeks stopping everything a rep shy of failure, then on the final workout of the final week take sets to failure and do some forced/negatives. Then take a week to unload/recover, and restart. This is just one example of planned over reaching, recovery, adaptation.

Br

So just to use bench as an example it would look like...

Week 1
12 reps-1 rep less than failure
12 reps-1 rep less than failure
12 reps-1 rep less than failure

Week 2
12 reps-1 rep less than failure
12 reps-1 rep less than failure
12 reps-1 rep less than failure

Week 3
10-12 reps-all the way to failure
10-12 reps-all the way to failure
10-12 reps-all the way to failure

Week 4
????

[ZiR RED]

ISU, yes, thats the gist of it. Week 4 might be two sets of 10 reps with your 12 rep max weight as a recovery week.
Br

[ISU152]

ISU, yes, thats the gist of it. Week 4 might be two sets of 10 reps with your 12 rep max weight as a recovery week.
Br

awesome. thank you sir

[ZiR RED]

By the way, my personal training goes something like this:

Sunday: Intensive speed work (20 to 60m sprints...about 10-15 total)
Monday: Dead lift, mid traps/rhomboids, glutes, hams
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Acceleration training (10-30m sprints...about 10-5 total) followed by a vertical pull workout with the bodybuilding team
Thursday: Over head press training, extensive speed work (4 x 200m @ 93-95% speed)
Friday: Squat workout
Saturday: Bench press workout


Br

[justinmonty]

zir red your posts are super interesting and I'm trying to get a grip on everything you said to add to my program... on your bench day for example how many different exercises n sets do you do?!? and are their certain exercises for the chest,back,arms,delts that you would call superior to the rest in terms of muscular hypertrophy?

Thank you!

[ZiR RED]

My bench press days depend on what block of training I'm in. Right now its strength, so its usually something like this:

Workup to a soft 1 rep max, then 6 sets of 2: week 1 - 90%, week 2 - 93%, week 3 - 6x1 @ 96%

The rest of the work is on increasing the weaker spots...such as tight elbow DB presses from the floor, skull crushers, etc.

For hypertrophy, the sets/reps would be something like 4-6 x 4-12 (depending on the phase) with varying rest periods.

Exercises are important...but technique, limb placement, etc. are even more important to ensuring the exercise you do works the desired body part.

Br

[Torobestia]

Exercises are important...but technique, limb placement, etc. are even more important to ensuring the exercise you do works the desired body part.

Br

So true.