Ok, heres how it works.....
I only focus on the large muscle groups. So I want to find the biggest movement for each muscle group where I can use the most weight with and pound that one movement into the freaking ground for as long as I can.
Instead of hitting each bodypart one time a week, I have it split into 2 workouts where one is a Push Workout and the other one is a Pull Workout. So we are just rotating these two workouts with the same movements each time back and forth. I always want a day a rest in between each workout to help recover so we use a common split of Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday or Wednesday-Friday-Sunday........whatever fits your schedule the best, I just want to have a day of rest in between with the two days off at the end, this is very important.
Here is an example of what this would look like....
WORKOUT 1
BACK/ARMS- Netural or Reverse Grip Pulldown
BACK/ARMS- Netural or Reverse Grip Row Machine
BACK- Bent Row
BACK- Deads
WORKOUT 2
CHEST- Bench Press
TRICEPS- Close Grip Smith Bench
SHOULDER- Military Press
LEGS- Hack Squat
One thing you may have noticed, especially if you have seen this before is I have totally cut out any direct arm work. Im telling you right now.........if you want big arms, drop the arm work. I am completely phasing out any kind of curls, this is where the beauty of the reverse grip and netural grip pulldowns and rows come in. Even though the first two movements in WORKOUT 1 involve the back, by using a reverse and or a netural grip you are taxing the arm like no kind of curl ever could, from wrist to shoulder. These first two movements are actually there for your primary arm work, and trust me, you will know it as soon as you try it. I only want to use a standard double overhand grip {like a bench press grip} for the last one or two movements. This will be all back, as your arms are pretty much out of the equation at this point.
On all the movements we do except for legs and deads, I use 4 sets for a total of 30 reps. If we need to gear this towards a powerlifter, I just switch the 30 reps to a total of 20 reps. Heres what I mean by this, when I say a total of 30 reps, this includes all 4 sets using the same weight. So what I do is find a weight for each movement that allows me to get ''about'' 12 or so reps before I fail on the first set. Wait about a minute, then comes set number two using the same weight. I will usually get ''about'' 8 reps before I fail. I take every set to failure. Wait another minute then set 3 {using the same weight} I will usually get about 5 or 6 reps. The last set I might get 3 or 4 reps. This is a total of about 28 reps. The next time I do this workout I must hit 30 reps, then I up the weight. Rinse and repeat.
Like I said, I want someone resting ''about'' 1 minute in between each set, unless its squats or deads, then 3 to 5 minutes are in order. Now as far as the time goes between each bodypart, I want someone taking ''about'' 5 minutes. So after your Chest movement, take 5 minutes and just relax or start getting your Tricep movement ready to go. This is very important you take this time to regain as much energy as possible so you can give everything you have for that upcoming bodypart. Remember, your only doing 4 sets for each main bodypart, so I want absolute maximum intensity here. When your giving everything you have and each rep is life or death, then your going to be cheating yourself when it comes to the following bodypart if your not well rested. Forget all that business of jumping from one movement to the next at record pace. That whole idea of ''Well you got to keep your heart rate up...'' is bullcrap. You want your heartrate up then do your cardio, we are not talking cardio here.........we are talking about getting as massive as possible, and to do that we need as much energy as we can get.
I do not believe in pyramiding the weight for each set, all this does is confuse the ability to track progression. Find the weight you need for each movement, somewhere between 24 and 28 reps total for a 30 repper is fine, and progress on that weight with the same movement each workout until you hit 30. Next time add weight, then start all over again until you hit 30.
For the heavy leg movement and deads, I use just 2 sets. For all your big squats and squat type movements I usually have someone doing 2 sets for a total of 20 reps. Leg presses are a little different, I usually have someone doing 2 sets for a total of 40 reps. On a 20 repper squat movement you will need to find a weight where you completely fail at about 12 reps on your first set. At this point you will be on the verge of a heart attack, so take the next 3 to 5 minutes and rest in between your two sets. The last set your goal would be to hit 8 reps for a total of 20 reps. Hit 20 reps, then add weight next time.
For deads I usually have someone doing 2 sets for a total of 15 reps. So your first set your goal is to hit about 8 reps. Again, at this point you will be about to die, if your not........your screwing off. Give it 3 to 5 minutes, just like squats, in between your two sets. The last set your going to shoot for 7 reps to hit that 15 reps. Hit 15 reps, then add weight for next time.
Speaking of squats and deadlifts, there are several things I have to warn you about. You can see in the routine that I do not run squats and deads together, its too much. If your doing squats for your leg movement then I dont want someone running deads on back day. I would rather see you using T-bars rows or some other kind of big heavy row. And if your running deads on back day then for your leg movement I would rather see you doing leg presses, hack squats or some sort of squat machine. Doing squats and deads in the same rotation is just too much on the CNS and you WILL burn out with the quickness. Trust me, I have spent years putting this all together every which way you can think of to make it as effective as possible and deads and squats together = CRASH.
The way this is set up you are pushing the envelope of overtraining like nothing else. We are constantly on the verge of overdoing it even with the extreme food, water and sleep.........if any one of these is off just a little bit, your pretty much toast. What I have people do though to avoid burning out too quickly is to skip deads or the heavy leg movement every few weeks. When you start getting to the point of dreading squats or deads, overtraining is just around the corner. I want to ward off this inevitable burnout and keep making gains as fast as I can before I need to take a break. The best way to keep going forward is to skip these monster crusher movements every once in awhile. This will also help keep your focus and keep you looking forward to the next squat or deadlift day instead of dreading it. Its always about keeping that mental edge.
Just a few more things then Im going to wrap this up. I pretty much covered this earlier but as far as when to change up your movements go, do it after a break. 90% of trainers will be able to progress on each movement they choose every single workout for ''about'' 2 months before they start start to stall out. As soon as you can no longer get past a certain rep number with a certain weight, change that movement. Dont just sit there for weeks on end pounding your head into a brick wall going nowhere. Get a new movement. When you are stalling out all across the board {which will usually be somewhere around 2 months} take a good week or two off and when you come back to it, change up all your movements so when you come back everything is fresh. Even if you were still progressing on a movement, after a break is a good time to switch that out........again, I want to keep everything fresh, its that whole mental aspect.
You should be doing this anyway, but if your not using a log book, you will never be able to track your progress. Every workout write down your weight and reps so you will know what you have to do next time in order to progress.
