In this approach, you use six basic exercises and do them for a 10 set pyramid (increasing the poundage up or down from one set to the next).
The exercises are the Oly squat, Conventional deadlift, Barbell bentover row, Bench press, Barbell clean & press, and Barbell curl. These 6 exercises have been selected because of their pronounced anabolic effect on the major muscle groups of the body.
The methods to follow are very intensive and power-bodybuilders who use them have found it best to do only 2 or 3 of the six mentioned exercises in any one workout. Here are a couple of examples of hos you might structure these six exercises into any of the three workout methods:
To increase the gain factors in muscle mass and strength it is a good idea to schedule one to two days of rest and recovery between workouts.
METHOD ONE
Begin each exercise with a warmup set with approximately 60% of the maximum poundage that you will be using on the initial two to three "barometer" hard-work sets. Do 8 continuous reps with this relatively light poundage.
REST 3.5 TO 4 MINUTES.
Now begin you first barometer set with a poundage that will allow you to do 6 continuous reps and absolutely no more.
REST ONE MINUTE.
Now do your second set with the same poundage and perform another 6 reps if you can.
REST ONE MINUTE.
Perform your third set with the same poundage for an all out effort. You may only get 5 reps but that is fine. Your only concern should be when you bottom out at 4 reps or less per set. When this happens (and most generally you will first notice on the 3rd or 4th set) reduce your poundage by 10 pounds for the next set, but only when you bottom out at 4 reps in a particular set.
Continue on in the manner described. Do a set, rest one minute, etc., until you have completed 10 SETS. After giving this program a run through you will probably notice that the 8th, 9th, and 10th sets will be working your muscles to their absolute capacity, so here it would be a good idea to take two or three deep breaths between each rep for little rest pauses.
METHOD TWO
10 sets are done in the following manner:
Warm up with 60% of your maximum for the amount of reps you plan to perform. On this, let's assume that you want to acquire some power in your bench press. Use 7 reps for your sets. Let's say your top bench press for 6 reps is 300 pounds.
Begin your first set after the warmup with 80% of that 300. You are looking at 240 pounds for the first set. Now, while you rest one minute between each set, add 5% to each additional set until you are using 100% of maximum for one and two sets. Then you will begin dropping off 5% each set for the final three sets of the 10-set maximum.
To give you a better idea of how this works, I will outline in detail how your 10 sets will look using the above percentage/poundage figures.
Base: 300 pounds, 6 reps.
Instructions: 10 sets maximum. Rest one minute between sets (including weight change), add 5% each set until 100% is reached. Perform two sets with 100% Drop off 5% for each of the final three sets.
Note: On the 5th and 6th sets, you may not be able to do the recommended 7 reps per set. Do whatever you can and when you finally are performing 7 reps on all sets (and especially the 5th and 6th sets) upgrade your percentage-poundage scale a begin a new 10-set system.
You will find that a pattern of 6 reps to a maximum of 9 reps will build the most muscle mass and strength.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
No comments:
Post a Comment