New Routine/Program Suggestions

[Vector300]

Hey AM,

Just looking for some suggestions on a new lifting routine. Been training consistently (maybe "constantly" is a better word) for the last 5 years. I train out of my house.
-Power cage
-2 Oly barbells
-Axle bar
-EZ bar
-Over 500lbs in bumpers
-Another 200lbs plus in iron
-Pull-up bar and rings
-Couple bands
-Dip belt and neck harness
-Flat bench
-DIY lifting platform

For the last several months I've been using Jamie Lewis' Chaos and Pain methodology which I really enjoyed. Love lifting heavy and training often. At least five days a week. Preferably six. Just looking to for a change of pace.

My main goal is strength but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the pump too. I do well with both high frequency and high volume. Have experimented with more "rigid" programs like 5-3-1 and the Cube Method and got really bored really quick. Everything was way to specific. I like to push myself everyday regardless if it's fifteen sets of singles or just working da gunz. Maybe something more along the lines of Power-building...?

Anyway, what's everyone else using? Especially if you have similar goals?

 

[CJNator]

Look into DC Training, I believe its good for strength and growth.

 

[JudoJosh]

Have you tried WS4SB?

 

[Vector300]

Look into DC Training, I believe its good for strength and growth.

That's DoggCrap right? If so I've heard a good deal about it but I don't know the specifics. I'm going to have to look into it.

 

[Vector300]

Have you tried WS4SB?

No bro, I haven't. What's you're results been with it?

 

[CJNator]

That's DoggCrap right? If so I've heard a good deal about it but I don't know the specifics. I'm going to have to look into it.

Yea, the best place to read up on it is its own website.

 

[AaaPee]

Have you tried Jamie Lewis's Destroy the Opposition books routines? If you feel **** one day you do only required things and when you feel great you do more. Really basic movements and you just hit them hard. Works great.

 

[Vector300]

Have you tried Jamie Lewis's Destroy the Opposition books routines? If you feel **** one day you do only required things and when you feel great you do more. Really basic movements and you just hit them hard. Works great.

I have but it's been a while. If I remember correctly I really liked it. May have to go back and review it. It has more of a pseudo-powerlifting focus but it could maybe fit the mark since it's easily hackable. Idk.

Has anyone tried PHUL? I really like that it's a 4 day upper/lower split with both strength and hypertrophy. Personally I've always enjoyed training heavy four days a week and then filling in the rest of the week with "lighter" stuff like arms, core, and conditioning. Was thinking of modifying it somewhat as I train in my basement and alternating it so that instead of performing two heavy days followed by a rest day then two light days it would look something more like this...

1. Heavy Chest/Rows - Hyper Shoulders/Pull-ups

2. Heavy Quads - Hyper Hips/Hamstrings

3. Rest/Arms

4. Heavy Shoulders/Traps - Hyper Chest/Rows

5. Heavy Hips/Hamstrings - Hyper Quads

So I'm still hitting everything twice a week but staggering my heavy/light training. Remove arms and throw them on their own optional day. Sprinkle in smaller muscle groups like neck and calves where I can.

 

[imlee888]

Just do peaking cycles, you get to enjoy the pump and do bodybuilding assistance work at the beginning of the cycle and at the end you lift heavy, the best of both worlds

 

[Vector300]

Just do peaking cycles, you get to enjoy the pump and do bodybuilding assistance work at the beginning of the cycle and at the end you lift heavy, the best of both worlds

Do you have any specific peaking programs in mind or just customize one yourself?

 

[imlee888]

Do you have any specific peaking programs in mind or just customize one yourself?

I just try and customize them based on principles of peaking, next one tho I'm doing one from juggernaut training systems because when I do them myself i sometimes **** up

 

[Vector300]

I just try and customize them based on principles of peaking, next one tho I'm doing one from juggernaut training systems because when I do them myself i sometimes **** up

Haha - I like building my own on a occasion but it's always nice to not have to think about it and just go in having full confidence in a program.

I'm currently on week 2 of my modified PHUL program. I'll probably run it for at least 8 weeks them see where I'm at. Afterwards I think I'll check out Juggernauts peaking program. I loved the ideas behind the Cube Method just couldn't get into the practice of it.

 

[imlee888]

Yeah, I don't like how most programs either don't have auto regulation taken into account, or are too specific on accessories and such, which Is why I've been trying to do my own. But I'm so close to what a couple years ago I wanted to be lifetime PR goals that I'm going to have to get on an actual tested tried and true program.

 

[Tomahawk88]

I have been reading a good bit of Lift run Bang. Havent took the plunge to buy a book but have enjoyed the principles. Added a few things here and there I have picked up. Think it would be a good place to look into. Got a bit of a powerlifting focus but says thats no reason to let yourself get fat.

 

[EMPIREMIND]

Look into DC Training, I believe its good for strength and growth.

I was going to say this same thing!

Another one is fortitude training. Nice way to change it up.

 

[christ83189]

Ive been using the RP-21 training method for the last 2 months or so and i love it. Steady solid gains and its a killer. High intensity heavy lifting.

 

[JohnWill]

I also enjoy heavy lifting and the lower rep range and have done 5x5 and 5 3 1 routines for a while and recently (last 3-4 weeks) have started a old school bb routine all sets of 5 rep range from 5-12 on everything except deads and sometimes bench if I want to go heavy. All the big lifts first take my time anywhere from 30 sec rest to 1:30. And after that superset everything. Will explain more if you want.
Mon-chest/back
Tue-shoulders/arms
Wed-legs/abs
Thur-chest/back
Fri-shoulders/arms
Sat-legs/abs

I am really liking this routine and do not feel like it is too much for me even tho it is tough I do feel my body is growing and I am losing some weight at same time. I also get bored with routines fairly easy but will run this one for maybe 12-16 weeks total depending

 

[Vector300]

Ive been using the RP-21 training method for the last 2 months or so and i love it. Steady solid gains and its a killer. High intensity heavy lifting.

I actually looked into that not too long ago! I saw an article on AM in fact. Not a bad looking system.

 

[Vector300]

I also enjoy heavy lifting and the lower rep range and have done 5x5 and 5 3 1 routines for a while and recently (last 3-4 weeks) have started a old school bb routine all sets of 5 rep range from 5-12 on everything except deads and sometimes bench if I want to go heavy. All the big lifts first take my time anywhere from 30 sec rest to 1:30. And after that superset everything. Will explain more if you want.
Mon-chest/back
Tue-shoulders/arms
Wed-legs/abs
Thur-chest/back
Fri-shoulders/arms
Sat-legs/abs

I am really liking this routine and do not feel like it is too much for me even tho it is tough I do feel my body is growing and I am losing some weight at same time. I also get bored with routines fairly easy but will run this one for maybe 12-16 weeks total depending

That's does look old school. Reminds me of the style of training Arnold and his crew did in the early 70's.

 

[JohnWill]

That's where I got it from. I'll look it up if your interested. I love it personally. Training one muscle group a week is too monotonous and boring I think. It has worked good for me

 

[rhoadx]

Ive been using the RP-21 training method for the last 2 months or so and i love it. Steady solid gains and its a killer. High intensity heavy lifting.

First time I've heard of this. Looks interesting I think I may have to try this. Thanks for posting

 

[christ83189]

Its definitely worth trying. Ive made more progress on it than i thought possible. With supplementation of course but still the strength gains have been retarded.

 

[Abe Lincoln]

Sheiko if you enjoy being in the gym for 2hrs
And lifting heavy, it is supposed to be for strength, but can be modified to work for size + strength

 

[Vector300]

Sheiko if you enjoy being in the gym for 2hrs
And lifting heavy, it is supposed to be for strength, but can be modified to work for size + strength

I hate sounding like a prickly bitch but after an hour training I get bored quick...

Love to train but my enthusiasm drops after about an hour. At that point I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. I'd rather train and hour a day for 7 days a week than 2 hours plus for 3 or 4 days.

 

[Abe Lincoln]

I hate sounding like a prickly bitch but after an hour training I get bored quick...

Love to train but my enthusiasm drops after about an hour. At that point I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. I'd rather train and hour a day for 7 days a week than 2 hours plus for 3 or 4 days.

No that is fine.
Some don't like being in the gym for long periods of time and that is fine.
It is a pretty intense program, so you are in the gym that long because of resting
Or you will be missing lifts

 

[Vector300]

I appreciate the input though - personally I don't think my lifts have advanced enough for a program like that. I weigh in at around 135# cold (no food/no water) and I'm only pushing 305# on my back squat (no belt/no wraps), 285# (no belt/no wraps) on my bench, and 415# on my dead (no belt). So I know there's still a lot of room there to grow.

 

[JohnWill]

There's always room to grow. But damn be proud of what you got first man. Those are good numbers for your weight. Good job bro

 

[Vector300]

There's always room to grow. But damn be proud of what you got first man. Those are good numbers for your weight. Good job bro

Thanks man!

 

[sparks2012]

I appreciate the input though - personally I don't think my lifts have advanced enough for a program like that. I weigh in at around 135# cold (no food/no water) and I'm only pushing 305# on my back squat (no belt/no wraps), 285# (no belt/no wraps) on my bench, and 415# on my dead (no belt). So I know there's still a lot of room there to grow.

Those are really good numbers for your BW. If you're hitting those consistently, Dorian Yates "Blood & Guts" might be good for you, I tried it and loved the "get in, get out, give it your all" style but I got bored with the program after 2 weeks.

 

[Vector300]

Those are really good numbers for your BW. If you're hitting those consistently, Dorian Yates "Blood & Guts" might be good for you, I tried it and loved the "get in, get out, give it your all" style but I got bored with the program after 2 weeks.

Dorian Yates is a BEAST! Though before you posted this I was looking into some of the methods of the old, old school lifter and bodybuilders. Guys like Reeves, Grimek, Pearl, and Park.

Those guys are my iron heroes - strong, athletic, and jacked! The whole pre-roids era debate aside, most were able to build highly respectable physiques at a time when PEDs weren't as wide spread in the west (they were still present though and there's evidence of use back in the 50's in Soviet Russia's athletics programs and even before that in nazi Germany during the 40's).

Anyone have any experience with a routine from the golden years?

 

[sparks2012]

Dorian Yates is a BEAST! Though before you posted this I was looking into some of the methods of the old, old school lifter and bodybuilders. Guys like Reeves, Grimek, Pearl, and Park.

Those guys are my iron heroes - strong, athletic, and jacked! The whole pre-roids era debate aside, most were able to build highly respectable physiques at a time when PEDs weren't as wide spread in the west (they were still present though and there's evidence of use back in the 50's in Soviet Russia's athletics programs and even before that in nazi Germany during the 40's).

Anyone have any experience with a routine from the golden years?

Absolutely, Yates was one of the "forefathers", if you will, when it came to building the freaky physiques that the sport is known for today. He still managed to keep proportion and symmetry very tight when he was competing.

Anyway, to answer your question, if you have a copy of Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding laying around, there's a lot of info when it comes to training styles used by Arnold and his crew, as well as methods from Sandow and the likes.

 

[EMPIREMIND]

I think it was already mentioned before but i wanna bring it up again. Definitely consider dc training. Ive been reading through it and that dude knows what hes doing. The internal motiviation to progress is unreal. Its been kinda blowing my mind lately.

 

[Scottfalcon]

I second this.. been running rp21 since I read the article on the main page and love it.. quick workouts, lots of sweat, little rest and the strength and size gains are great. Definitely dont skip the 4th week deload though, I skipped it my first time through and ended up feeling like **** by the 6th straight week.

 

[christ83189]

Yeah it works good. My strength gains have been crazy on that one.

 

[Vector300]

I think it was already mentioned before but i wanna bring it up again. Definitely consider dc training. Ive been reading through it and that dude knows what hes doing. The internal motiviation to progress is unreal. Its been kinda blowing my mind lately.

Ok ok - so I took the plunge...kinda.

I couldn't find any (free) DC programming online but I did come across the "Greyskull Methods for Powerbuilding". Right in the intro Johnny Pain gives credit to the ebook's two big influences: Dorian Yates and Dante Trudel.

It's basically a little of both HIT and DC with some of his Greyskull LP thrown in. Three days/week (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) setup performing rotating lifts in an A1/B1/A2/B2 fashion.

A1 = Chest/Shoulders/Squat
B1 = Biceps/Back 1/Back 2
A2 = Chest (Tri Focus)/Shoulders/Squat
B2 = Biceps/Back 1/Back 2

Most moves are performed for 1-2 sets of 6-8 reps with some obvious exceptions like squats. Rest Pause technique a'la DC is highly recommended and should be applied to at least one lift per session from what I understand, excluding squats and back 2 movements.

What really sold me on this was two things:

1. It's designed with the the home/garage gym trainer in mind.

2. Johnny Pain comes from Philly. So there's some local love in there.

If anyone has any questions feel free to post em. If anyone has any straight DC programming that would be appreciated too. Through from what I'm reading it's more of a methodology than actual program.

Oh and I'm probably gonna run this as a four day/week setup. Because I'm an ******* who needs to be in the gym more than I should, haha.

 

[smike]

Intensemuscle.com will have all the answers about DC training.

Also there is an old thread on here titled cycle structure for the natural... After a couple of pages it has all the info you need for DC

 

[EMPIREMIND]

The idea behind dc where you need to progress every work out or your excersizes change is so appealing and motivating to me. I can see why his trainees put on consistent muscle. Its always pushing and driving you to get bigger and stronger. As far as the programming i didnt get that far, but he had me at the overview. Also really like the idea of every other day. I think this would be a great program for me when i have a calorie surplus...

 

[sparks2012]

I agree, I think adequate rest is paramount in a caloric surplus. Every other day will keep you fresh and motivated too.

 

[Vector300]

Thanks guys - yeah Ima gonna give this a whirl. Just trying to nail down the little details. I understand the programming basics along with the "cardio" (which is to be done on non-lifting days) and I think I have the diet down too (high protein intake, carb tapering, fasted cardio etc.). For the actual lifts themselves - Dante recommends choosing at least three big money lifts that you can make progress with. For example let's say for chest my top 3 (with limited equipment) is:
- Bench Press (I know he doesn't like flat but it's what I got)
-Incline Bench Press
-Dips

Would I simply stick to one move per chest session and switch it out when I stop adding weight/reps or rotate through the 3 constantly? I read through the old thread on here and it was very helpful but I'm still a little foggy.

And for the straight sets (SS) it's 2 sets for back thickness moves (like rows and rack pulls), 1 set for forearms and calves and 1 set for quads followed by a high rep death set of 20 afterwards.

 

[sparks2012]

Interesting progression...is this every workout? I personally would suggest cycling main movements, unless you're doing sport-specific training for powerlifting or something. If so, then stick to your competition lifts and add accessory work around them based on your weaknesses. It can be hard to figure those out, especially in the posterior chain. If you're going for a hypertrophy approach then I see no problem in cycling the lifts. That's what I typically do and it's worked out fairly well.

 

[Vector300]

Interesting progression...is this every workout? I personally would suggest cycling main movements, unless you're doing sport-specific training for powerlifting or something. If so, then stick to your competition lifts and add accessory work around them based on your weaknesses. It can be hard to figure those out, especially in the posterior chain. If you're going for a hypertrophy approach then I see no problem in cycling the lifts. That's what I typically do and it's worked out fairly well.

I'm still somewhat focusing on strength with hypertrophy as a (very) close second, beach-seasons coming... That whole "powerbuilding" thing. So I'm not rotating lifts that often. In fact I'll probably only rotate once I've maxed out on a specific lifts progression for a variant there of - like flat bench for incline for example.

I'll be updating my training log on a weekly basis and link it here if you're curious but I've already run a couple sessions as primers and its definitely different.

Btw - widowmaker front squats sucks a buffet of dicks...

 

[sparks2012]

I'm still somewhat focusing on strength with hypertrophy as a (very) close second, beach-seasons coming... That whole "powerbuilding" thing. So I'm not rotating lifts that often. In fact I'll probably only rotate once I've maxed out on a specific lifts progression for a variant there of - like flat bench for incline for example.

I'll be updating my training log on a weekly basis and link it here if you're curious but I've already run a couple sessions as primers and its definitely different.

Btw - widowmaker front squats sucks a buffet of dicks...

Yeah buddy, post that link so I can follow along. Sounds like you've got the foundation down, maybe a few tweaks for movements that aren't compounds. As for the widowmaker sets...those are doing rep ranges you'd normally do in a drop set but keeping the weight constant? If so, that sounds exactly like sucking a dick buffet, haha. I'll do that on leg press every now and then, but squats are a different story. Good stuff.

 

[JohnWill]

I'm still somewhat focusing on strength with hypertrophy as a (very) close second, beach-seasons coming... That whole "powerbuilding" thing. So I'm not rotating lifts that often. In fact I'll probably only rotate once I've maxed out on a specific lifts progression for a variant there of - like flat bench for incline for example.

I'll be updating my training log on a weekly basis and link it here if you're curious but I've already run a couple sessions as primers and its definitely different.

Btw - widowmaker front squats sucks a buffet of dicks...

Yea definitely let us know how it goes.
And widow makers do suck a big bowl of dicks so I'm sure front squat widowmakers clean a buffet of them. But they pack it on you man.

 

[Vector300]

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/workout-logs/273695-vectors-ludus-log.html

^ here's the link, gents.
I haven't updated it yet. Will get to it tonight/tomorrow morning. I'll be running this for at least 3 months if everything gels. FYI I have an upcoming cycle starting mid-May too (Sparta Nutrition Spartan Hard).

As for those widow makers...yeah by rep 17 I was begging for the sweet releases of death. After rep 20 and finally racking the bar I crumpled and the thought of having to repeat this next week sent a shiver down my spine.