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It's a 12-week Periodized program that focuses on mass and strength. The original routine had WAY too much volume for me since I do MA 4 days per week. To summarize the original routine:
- consists of 3 phases where each phase is 4 weeks
- each week in a phase specifies the trainee to follow a particular microcycle
- microcycles specify rep ranges that are either a 12-15 rep range, 9-11 rep range, 6-8 rep range, or 3-5 rep range
- a phase starts with the 12-15 rep microcycle, and ends with the 3-5 rep microcycle (i.e. each week the weights get heavier and the rep ranges decrease)
- each set is done to failure
- the last set of an exercise is followed by either a drop set (in microcycles 1 and 2), or a rest-pause set (in microcycles 3 and 4)
- each body part trained once per week
I followed his nutritional advice fairly closely by supplementing several Whey shakes throughout the day. Post workout whey shake, about 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. 2400-3000 calories per day depending how I felt that day.
My Modifications
For the large body parts (chest, back, legs), I did one compound exercise per body part @ 4 sets, with the 5th set either a drop set or a rest pause set (depending on what the microcyle called for). Legs got 2 additional exercises for a total of about 11 sets. I used dumbbells for all exercises except for legs. For smaller muscles, like triceps/biceps, I would do 3-4 sets followed by the either a drop set or a rest pause set. Warm-up sets were not counted.
For each exercise, I prefer slow movements... about 2 seconds for lowering, and 2 seconds for raising. Never been a fan of the explosive raise. No locking of knees/elbows.
My Exercises (for first month... I plan to switch them up every so often)
Day 1
Dumbbell Bench
Dumbbell lying triceps press
Day 2
Dumbbell rows
Dumbbell curls
Day 3
Dumbbell military press
Dumbbell lateral raise
Day 4
Barbell squats
Leg extension
Leg curl
Measurements after 1 month:
- Added 5.5 pounds of body weight
- Chest measurement: added 1/2 inch
- Arm measurement: added: 1/2 inch
- Neck measurement: added: 3/4 inch
- Thigh measurement: added: 1/4 inch
- Calf measurement: no change
- Waist measurement: no change
Compound Lift Improvement (work-in progress) after 1 month:
- Dumbbell bench: added 10 pounds per dumbbell
- Dumbbell rows: added 10 pounds per dumbbell
- Squat: <will know later this week>
In closing...
So there you have it. Sharing mainly because I had fairly good results after a month. It's definitely not a BB routine. It definitely is adding strength. I do no more than 40 sets for the whole week. That's manageable since I have to dedicate 4 days each week to MA. And... if I can get good results training a body part only once per week, then why train it 2-3 times per week?
Is this routine better at adding strength than Starting Strength, Strong Lifts, or 5/3/1? Are those routine better at adding mass than this routine? Dunno. I know there are horror stories of guys getting FAT on SS
But I am happy with the strength increases thus far, and my wife and I like how I am getting my "guns" back.
I will update this thread as time traveres onward.
-T
- consists of 3 phases where each phase is 4 weeks
- each week in a phase specifies the trainee to follow a particular microcycle
- microcycles specify rep ranges that are either a 12-15 rep range, 9-11 rep range, 6-8 rep range, or 3-5 rep range
- a phase starts with the 12-15 rep microcycle, and ends with the 3-5 rep microcycle (i.e. each week the weights get heavier and the rep ranges decrease)
- each set is done to failure
- the last set of an exercise is followed by either a drop set (in microcycles 1 and 2), or a rest-pause set (in microcycles 3 and 4)
- each body part trained once per week
I followed his nutritional advice fairly closely by supplementing several Whey shakes throughout the day. Post workout whey shake, about 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. 2400-3000 calories per day depending how I felt that day.
My Modifications
For the large body parts (chest, back, legs), I did one compound exercise per body part @ 4 sets, with the 5th set either a drop set or a rest pause set (depending on what the microcyle called for). Legs got 2 additional exercises for a total of about 11 sets. I used dumbbells for all exercises except for legs. For smaller muscles, like triceps/biceps, I would do 3-4 sets followed by the either a drop set or a rest pause set. Warm-up sets were not counted.
For each exercise, I prefer slow movements... about 2 seconds for lowering, and 2 seconds for raising. Never been a fan of the explosive raise. No locking of knees/elbows.
My Exercises (for first month... I plan to switch them up every so often)
Day 1
Dumbbell Bench
Dumbbell lying triceps press
Day 2
Dumbbell rows
Dumbbell curls
Day 3
Dumbbell military press
Dumbbell lateral raise
Day 4
Barbell squats
Leg extension
Leg curl
Measurements after 1 month:
- Added 5.5 pounds of body weight
- Chest measurement: added 1/2 inch
- Arm measurement: added: 1/2 inch
- Neck measurement: added: 3/4 inch
- Thigh measurement: added: 1/4 inch
- Calf measurement: no change
- Waist measurement: no change
Compound Lift Improvement (work-in progress) after 1 month:
- Dumbbell bench: added 10 pounds per dumbbell
- Dumbbell rows: added 10 pounds per dumbbell
- Squat: <will know later this week>
In closing...
So there you have it. Sharing mainly because I had fairly good results after a month. It's definitely not a BB routine. It definitely is adding strength. I do no more than 40 sets for the whole week. That's manageable since I have to dedicate 4 days each week to MA. And... if I can get good results training a body part only once per week, then why train it 2-3 times per week?
Is this routine better at adding strength than Starting Strength, Strong Lifts, or 5/3/1? Are those routine better at adding mass than this routine? Dunno. I know there are horror stories of guys getting FAT on SS
But I am happy with the strength increases thus far, and my wife and I like how I am getting my "guns" back.
I will update this thread as time traveres onward.
-T
