Wednesday, December 24, 2014

An Alan Stephan Bulk Course









 -- Note the interesting set/rep/weight scheme used here.

Gaining bulk can be easy, but it takes a harder schedule than the ordinary bodybuilding routine. In this course I will outline three different routines that you will do for four months each. Gaining bulk can be a slow or fast process. This is up to you. How much time and effort you can put into the exercises will decide how long it will take you. In my studio I have seen fellows put on bulk so fast that it at first seems unbelievable, and then there are others who take a long time to get results. Of course, some of this is due to their own particular metabolic rate, but the majority of the difference is found in the individual output of each bodybuilder. The fellow who really buckles down and puts all he has into his exercises and does them as correctly as possible is the fellow who gets the most success the quickest.

There are a few things you have to pay attention to while you are on this course, and that is your sleep and rest, and the kind and amount of food that you eat. Above all you will have to get 8 to 10 hours sleep a night, especially the nights after a workout, or you can consider some of the effort is lost. If you feel tired before starting your workout, lie down for about 10 or 15 minutes and do some deep regular breathing and utterly relax your body. This will help rid your body of the fatigue acids and let energy flow through.

As far as your food is concerned, you have to get at least 15 to 18 ounces of meat a day, preferably beef, a quart-and-a-half of milk, and an eggnog sometime during the day with two eggs in it. Just take a quart bottle 1/2 filled with milk and put in the eggs, add a little honey or flavoring and shake.

There is a product on the market which can be found at most drug stores that is a real help to weight gaining and bulk building, and that is a product called Somagen. It is a concentrated food which is mainly (70%) protein, and also contains a multitude of other food necessities for the body, and especially for the bodybuilder. It comes in one and five pound jars; a pound jar costs about $4.50.

The way my members and I here at the gym take the food is 3 or 4 tablespoons the morning of each workout. The product comes in powdered or granular form. We use the granular because it is easier to handle.

Now you may not be able to do all these things for one reason or another, but the more you do of them the greater your chances at success will be as far as gaining bulk is concerned.

Another rather important thing is to try to maintain a tranquil mind. By this I mean try not to worry about anything as this can keep your weight down to a considerable degree.

I recommend working out just three times a week with as much rest in between as possible. It will take you anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours a workout each time depending on how much rest you take between exercises.

The first of these routines is composed of the following exercises performed in the following manner:

FIRST ROUTINE 

First take a weight that you can handle 10 reps with in the exercise and warm up with it.

 Next take a weight that you can ONLY do 5 reps with, then proceed to do sets with this weight until you have accomplished 25 total reps with it, NO MATTER HOW MANY SETS IT TAKES. 

You will find that this system not only increases you strength greatly, but will put you on the shortest road to gaining bulk. Use this same system for the three different routines, for four months each.

Remember to try and use more weight in the set where you can only do 5 reps. Also increase the weight of your warmup set. You will probably find that to reach 25 reps with this weight some sets will be of 1 or 2 reps, and this is the desired effect we're after.

Anywhere up to a minute should be enough resting time for any of the exercises.


1) Military Press:
Stand erect with a barbell at the shoulders which has been brought up from the floor. Then press it overhead to the elbows straight position. Do not bend the knees while pressing the weight. Lower the bar to the shoulders and press it overhead to lockout the number of times indicated. Feet are about a foot apart. Remember to always inhale on the easy part of the exercise (hold the breath during the hard part and then exhale immediately afterwards). This same breathing rule applies to all your exercises.

2) Floor Prone Press With Barbell:
On your back, lie on the floor or something softer if possible like a mat an have a barbell over the stomach, then bending the knees and placing the feet under you to help boost the bar into the air to arms' length with your stomach using a medium grip on the bar. Your feet, shoulders and head should be the only things touching the floor. Now, holding this arch, lower the bar until it touches your stomach then again help boost it into the air and  repeat the number of times indicated in the beginning of the course.  Anywhere up to a minute should be enough resting time for any of the exercises.

3) One Arm Rowing Exercise: 
On a bench or chair place one hand, while leaning over it, and in the other hand have a dumbbell. Then, starting from the elbow straight position pull it as high as you can until it touches your chest, then lower it and repeat as indicated. Alternate using one arm and then the other on succeeding sets. Keep the elbow well alongside the body when bringing up the weight.

4) Heavy Cleans:
Take a medium grip on the barbell and then bring it from the floor to your shoulders in one movement, letting the weight sit on your chest for a moment, and then lowering it to the floor and repeating. It is permissible to bend the legs when cleaning the weight but be sure to straighten out the knees fully when you have the weight up, then you can bend the knees again when you lower the barbell.

5) Dumbbell Prone Press On Bench:
Lie on a bench, about 10 inches wide, holding a pair of dumbbells, then push them to arms' length, holding them there for a second before lowering to the shoulders and repeating. Keep the elbows close to the body as you come down. Keep the hips down and do not let yourself arch.

6) Squat:
Starting with a barbell across the back of the shoulders squat down as far as you can, keeping your heels down, then return to the standing position.

7) Dead Lift From Blocks:
Place a barbell on something so the plates rest on two objects and that when you stand alongside the bar it is just above the knees. Then, taking the bar using an alternate shoulder width grip and using the legs, straighten up with the bar, keeping the elbows straight so that the bar is lifted off the supports. Repeat as indicated. Bouncing the weight off the supports is permissable.




SECOND ROUTINE

1) Arched Barbell Prones On Bench:
Lie on a bench and start from an overhead position with the bar and lower the weight to the chest using a shoulder width grip. Then, as you push the weight up arch the body. The feet are on the floor and the shoulders and head are on the bench when arching the back. Then lower the weight and the  lower back again touches the bench.

2) Shoulder Shrugs:
Hold a barbell while in the standing position. Use a medium grip. Keep the elbows straight and raise the shoulders as high as you can. Try to touch your ears with your shoulders. Do not let the shoulders drop when you let them down but resist the weight all the way.

3) Rowing Motion:
Start from the leaning over position and stay bent over so that your upper body is parallel with the floor. Keep the knees straight and using an inside (knuckles facing back) grip bring the bar up to the chest, hitting it just below the chest muscles. Straighten the arms out completely after each movement.

4) Heavy Cheating Curl:
Start with a medium grip on the bar while in a standing position. Then, with the palms turned up bring the bar from the thighs to the chest with a slight swing of the body. It is permissible to bend the knees a little as you swing the bar up. Let the bar down as slowly as possible.

5) Clean And Jerk:
Bring the bar to the shoulders from the floor using a medium grip and bending the knees a little. Then, holding the bar on the chest a moment, jerk the weight overhead by bending the legs and straightening them suddenly, and push with the arms as the weight is thrown off the chest. Hold it overhead at arms' length for a moment, then return it to the chest and then to the floor and repeat. Your feet are about a foot apart and remain so throughout the exercise.

6) Bench Squat:
This is performed like the regular squat only you are standing in front of a bench or box and you only go down until your buttocks touch the bench or box.

7) Bent Legged Dead Lift:
Start from the floor and bring the bar up to a standing position using the leg and back muscles. The arms are kept straight and the feet about a foot apart. When in the erect position arch the back and pull the shoulders back.


THIRD ROUTINE

1) Barbell Prone Press With No Arch:
This is the same as your previous prone press only you do it military with no back arch and keeping the hips on the bench throughout. Use a wide grip and bounce the weight off the chest.

2) one Arm Dumbbell Curls:
Standing holding a dumbbell in one hand swing the weight to the shoulder with a slight movement of the body. The thumb should be kept up throughout the exercise. Bring the weight to the shoulder then lower slowly to the starting position, repeat and alternate arms each set.

3) Heavy Rowing Motion:
This is done like the other rowing motion only you do not keep your back parallel to the floor, but stand slightly up on each repetition as you bring the bar forcefully to the chest.

4) One Arm Side Press:
In the standing position and having a dumbbell at the shoulder in one had push it overhead with a slight side motion of the body. Do not bend the legs and keep the other hand out for balance. Then lower the weight slowly and repeat. Alternate arms each set.

6) Flying Exercise:
While lying on a bench and having two dumbbells overhead with elbows slightly bent lower the dumbbells sideways until they are even with the bench and then bring them overhead again.

6) Parallel Squat:
This is like the other squats only you do not use a bench but go down in the bent knee position so that your thighs are parallel to the floor and no lower. It is possible to use a great amount of weight in this exercise.

7) Dead Lift Stiff Legged:
it is like the other dead lift you have done only your do not bend your knees in this one.

By following these exercises and this repetition, set, and weight scheme you will find yourself much stronger and at the same time put on a great deal of bulk.

 








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