The author, squatting around 500
at a bodyweight of 170.
Increasing Work
Capacity
The Key for
Gaining Massive Strength and Size
Years ago, lifters – be they bodybuilders, powerlifters, or Olympic
lifters – knew how to train. Take Marvin Eder, for instance (still my
favorite of the “old timers”): Eder could squat close to 700 pounds, clean and
press 355 pounds, snatch 285 pounds, bench press 515 pounds, and do reps on
parallel bar dips with over 400 pounds strapped to his waist. He also had 19 inch arms at a bodyweight of
around 200 pounds. And just how did Eder
lift such prodigious poundages and attain one hell of a physique? He began training around the age of 16 by
using a 3-days-per-week, full-body workout plan (as everyone did at that
time, I might add). As he advanced – and
by “advanced” I mean that he increased his strength[2]
– he increased the number of exercises he used, the number of sets per
exercise, the overall length of his workout, and the number of days per week he
trained. By the time of his heyday – mid
‘50s – he was training with weights 6 days per week (upper body one day, lower
body the next) and would routinely spend the 7th day doing a lot of
bodyweight training – push-ups, along with whatever “gymnastic” training he
decided to do at the beach (where all the popular bodybuilders hung out).
When lifters nowadays read about Eder’s feats of strength,
and about his amount of training volume (all done before the era of steroids),
most will dismiss him outright as some sort of genetic freak – which he was, I
must admit – but he wasn’t the only guy training this way. The fact is that everyone who was
serious about physique development trained in such a manner.
It’s called increasing your work capacity. And – along with adding weight to the bar –
it’s the key for not just getting bigger or stronger, but for getting massively
big and strong.
What I would like to explore in this article is what a few
years of training should look like, as a lifter moves from beginner to
intermediate to advanced.
The beginning strength athlete should always start
with full-body workouts. The full body workout should be performed 3
days per week. I know that it is popular
to occasionally recommend twice-per-week full body workouts – I did so myself
years ago in several articles – but this will not increase work capacity. Let’s get something straight from the start –
a couple of somethings that I have already touched upon: you must increase
strength and increase work capacity. You
should be doing both of these from the very start. And this means full-body workouts three days
per week is the best fit. If you are
following a program that doesn’t increase strength and work capacity, then you
are dooming yourself to failure.
The best form of full-body, three-days-per-week training for the beginner, is the Heavy-Light-Medium program. I’m not going to go into all of the details here, as there are plenty of posts and/or articles on this blog where I highlight what a good full-body, H-L-M workout should look like. What I do want to touch upon, however, is how you increase workload using the H-L-M system. At first, the most obvious thing that needs to occur is you need to get stronger. Strength should readily increase using H-L-M when you are doing it properly. You should not add sets, add extra exercises, or increase the time of your workout in any other fashion if you have not increased your strength. However, once you have been on the program for several months – and are noticeably stronger – at this point you do want to increase sets and/or add extra exercises. Begin by adding sets. After that, you can add exercises. And then, finally, you can even add an extra day of training by adding another “light” day.
The best form of full-body, three-days-per-week training for the beginner, is the Heavy-Light-Medium program. I’m not going to go into all of the details here, as there are plenty of posts and/or articles on this blog where I highlight what a good full-body, H-L-M workout should look like. What I do want to touch upon, however, is how you increase workload using the H-L-M system. At first, the most obvious thing that needs to occur is you need to get stronger. Strength should readily increase using H-L-M when you are doing it properly. You should not add sets, add extra exercises, or increase the time of your workout in any other fashion if you have not increased your strength. However, once you have been on the program for several months – and are noticeably stronger – at this point you do want to increase sets and/or add extra exercises. Begin by adding sets. After that, you can add exercises. And then, finally, you can even add an extra day of training by adding another “light” day.
Now, let’s look at what an H-L-M program should look like as
you increase your workload over a year or two of training. Here is what a typical beginning program
should look like:
Heavy Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
Bench presses – 5 sets of 5 reps
Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps
Barbell Curls – 3 sets of 8 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
Overhead Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps
Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab Work
Medium Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps
Power Cleans – 5 sets of 5 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 3 sets of 12 reps
Ab work
After a few months of training, and assuming significant
gains in strength have occurred, the program should look something like this:
Heavy Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Bench presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
Overhead Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab Work
Medium Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Power Cleans – 8 sets of 5 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 5 sets of 12 reps
Ab work
After a few more months of training, the template should
look something like this:
Heavy Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Walking lunges – 4 sets of 10 reps
Bench presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Dips – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Overhead Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab Work
Medium Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Front Squats – 4 sets of 10 reps
Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Power Cleans – 8 sets of 5 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 5 sets of 12 reps
Ab work
Once again, after a few more months of training,
the lifting template should look something like this:
Heavy Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Walking lunges – 4 sets of 10 reps
Bench presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Dips – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Chins – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of max reps
Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8 reps
Skullcrushers – 5 sets of 8 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Bulgarian “split” squats – 4 sets of 12 reps (each leg)
Overhead Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Seated behind-the-neck presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Power Snatches – 5 sets of 3 reps
Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab Work
Medium Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Front Squats – 4 sets of 10 reps
Incline Bench Presses – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deficit deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Power Cleans – 8 sets of 5 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 5 sets of 12 reps
Ab work
And, finally, after a few more months, you will once again
need to increase the amount of work you’re performing. At this point, your workout should look
something like this:
Heavy Day:
Squats – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Walking lunges – 4 sets of 10 reps
Bench presses – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Dips – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deadlifts – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Chins – 7 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of max reps
Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8 reps
Skullcrushers – 5 sets of 8 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Bulgarian “split” squats – 6 sets of 12 reps (each leg)
Overhead Presses – 8 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Seated behind-the-neck presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Power Snatches – 8 sets of 3 reps
Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab Work
Medium Day:
Squats – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Front Squats – 4 sets of 10 reps
Incline Bench Presses – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deficit deadlifts – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Power Cleans – 8 sets of 5 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 7 sets of 12 reps
Ab work
To be honest, at this point, you could train with this
amount of volume for a very long time.
Most lifters, however, will once again need to increase their work
capacity. The workout above could take
around 2 hours on heavy and medium days – maybe more, depending on rest time
between sets and exercises – and so it’s not practical for most lifters to add
even more sets or another exercise or two to the mix. At this point, it’s best to add another light
day in between the heavy day and the current light day. If you train Monday (heavy), Wednesday
(light), and Friday (medium), the next evolution in your training will have you
lifting Monday (heavy), Tuesday (light), Wednesday (light), and Friday (medium). Here is what the possible new H-L-L-M
template would look like:
Heavy Day:
Squats – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Walking lunges – 4 sets of 10 reps
Bench presses – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Dips – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deadlifts – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Chins – 7 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of max reps
Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 8 reps
Skullcrushers – 5 sets of 8 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Overhead squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
Clean and Jerks – 8 sets of 3 reps
Good Mornings – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab work
Light Day:
Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Bulgarian “split” squats – 6 sets of 12 reps (each leg)
Overhead Presses – 8 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps
Seated behind-the-neck presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Power Snatches – 8 sets of 3 reps
Good Morning squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
Ab Work
Medium Day:
Squats – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Front Squats – 4 sets of 10 reps
Incline Bench Presses – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
Deficit deadlifts – 8 sets of 5 reps, 4 sets of 8 reps
Power Cleans – 8 sets of 5 reps
Dumbbell Curls – 7 sets of 12 reps
Ab work
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you embark on this
quest for huge muscles and a great work capacity while using the H-L-M system:
·
These programs are just examples. You need to always increase your work
capacity, but there are lifters who thrive on far less work, and there
are also lifters – believe it or not – who will thrive on even more.
·
You should not stick with the same exercises
week in and week out. As you get more
advanced, you should rotate between different exercises more often. Just make sure you trade hard exercises for
hard exercises.
·
After three weeks of hard training, it’s a good
idea to take a “down” week, and reduce your volume before resuming the next
week.
If you wanted, you could train with full-body workouts as
above for your entire lifting career. I
realize, however, that most lifters will want to follow a “split” routine at
some point, if for no reason other than for the sake of variety. You could also introduce split training
earlier than in the above scenarios. My
advice is that if you enjoy full-body workouts, then you simply add the extra
light day once you reach that point. If
you want to implement split routines into your schedule, then you can begin to
split your sessions instead of adding the extra “light” training day.
I recommend two primary forms of split training. (You can, of course, train with more than
these two, but I think it’s best to start with one of these at first before
proceeding to other forms of split training, especially if the other forms you
plan on using are more “bodybuilder” friendly than “lifter” friendly.)
They are as follows:
They are as follows:
·
Full-body “split” training: Here you split your
body so that you train half one workout and the other half the next, but you
still essentially perform a full-body workout.
One workout may focus on bench press and squats as primary exercises,
while the following workout may focus on deadlifts and overhead presses.
·
Upper/lower body split training: This form of
split training is simple enough. You
train your upper body on one day, and your lower body on the next. This may be the most popular form of split
training, and I personally like it because of its versatility.
What follows are some examples of weekly training templates
using each of the two forms above. The
first thing you will probably notice is the amount of volume – to many I
realize that it will seem a “bit much”, so to speak, but keep in mind that
these workouts should only be performed once high degrees of strength and work
capacity have been achieved.
Full-Body Split Training:
Day One:
Deadlifts: 8 sets of 2 reps, 5 sets of 5 reps (using
Hepburn’s method of progressive sets of low reps)
Rack Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 7 sets of 5 reps
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Weighted Chins: 7 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Rows: 5 sets of 5 reps
Farmer’s Walks: 4 sets for distance
Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Curls: 5 sets of 10 reps (each arm)
Day Two:
Squats: 8 sets of 2 reps, 5 sets of 5 reps (using Hepburn’s
method of progressive sets of low reps)
Bench Presses: 8 sets of 2 reps, 5 sets of 5 reps (using
Hepburn’s method of progressive sets of low reps)
Walking Lunges: 6 sets of 12 reps (each leg)
Weighted Dips: 8 sets of 8 reps
Sled Drags (forward or backward): 4 sets for distance
Skullcrushers: 5 sets of 10 reps
Incline Sit Ups: 5 sets of 25 to 50 reps
Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets of max reps
Upper/Lower Split Training:
Upper Body:
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5/4/3/2/1
Weighted Close-Grip Chins: 5 sets of 5 reps
Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Rows: 5 sets of 8 reps (each arm)
One Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps (each
arm)
Wide-Grip Chins: 4 sets of max reps
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 7 reps
Dips: 4 sets of max reps
Barbell Curls: 5 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Curls: 5 sets of max reps
Lower Body:
Squats: 5 sets of 5/4/3/2/1, 5 sets of 7 reps
Deadlifts: 8 sets of 3 reps
Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps
Deficit Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps
Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps
Farmer’s Walks: 3 sets for distance
Tire Flips: 3 sets for distance
Incline Sit Ups: 5 sets of 25 to 50 reps
Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets of max reps
Once again, keep in mind that these are just examples. There are many more ways that you can
train using a split system. In fact, I’m
not even opposed to 3, 4, or possibly even 5-way splits, as long as multiple
muscles are used each training day. For
instance, a great way to train is with one-lift-per-day training where you pick
a certain lift (overhead presses, deadlifts, squats, power cleans, etc.) to train
each day, followed by assistance exercises to aid with the lift. Train 4 or 5 days in a row before taking an
off day. But this is just one example –
there are many others to choose from.
The primary thing to not diverge from is that your program
must steadily increase work capacity while always making you
stronger. If it doesn’t include these
two dictums, you are simply dooming yourself to failure.
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