SYSTEMS - The Fitness Experts Onlinethefitnessexpertsonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/... · 2018-03-31 · guru Vince Gironda. One of the major differences between GVT and

W O R K O U T S Y S T E M S

Book II: Muscle Mass

1 5 p r o v e n w e i g h t t r a i n i n g p r o t o c o l s t o d e v e l o p m a x i m u m m u s c l e b u l k

iiiTable of Contents »POLIQUIN GROUP™

Weightlifting Action Photos: Bruce Klemens

Cover Image: Doug Young

Copyright © 2017, Poliquin Performance Center 2, LLC. All rights reserved

First Edition, 2017

All materials, content and forms contained on or in this publication are the intellectual property of Poliquin Performance Center 2, LLC, and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or displayed without the expressed written permission of Poliquin Performance Center 2, LLC.

Poliquin Performance Center 2, LLC, does not warrant, either expressly or implied, the accuracy, timeliness, or appropriateness of the information contained in this publication. Poliquin Performance 2, LLC, disclaims any responsibility associated with relying on the information provided in this publication. Poliquin Performance Center 2, LLC, also disclaims all liability for any material contained in other publications.

Warning: Before beginning any exercise program, consult with your physician to ensure that you are in proper health. This book is not meant to provide medical advice; you should obtain medical advice from your private health care practitioner. No liability is assumed by the Poliquin Group for any of the information contained herein.

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Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t sI n t r o d u c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

W O R K O U T S Y S T E M S

1 . B o y e r C o e ’s Wo r k C a p a c i t y Wo r k o u t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 . G e r m a n Vo l u m e Tr a i n i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 . G e r m a n Vo l u m e Tr a i n i n g , A d v a n c e d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3

4 . L o u F e r r i g n o ’s “ I n c r e d i b l e H u l k ” Wo r k o u t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3

5 . M i k e M e n t z e r ’s H e a v y D u t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1

6 . N a u t i l u s Tr a i n i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7

7. N a u t i l u s L e g Wo r k o u t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3

8 . T h e 1 0 0 R e p s M e t h o d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7

9 . P o s t E x h a u s t i o n M e t h o d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 9

1 0 . P r e - E x h a u s t i o n Tr a i n i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3

1 1 . S u p e r s l o w . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7

1 2 . 1 0 / 8 / 6 Tr a i n i n g M e t h o d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1

1 3 . Tr a i n Tw i c e a D a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5

1 4 . 2 0 - R e p S q u a t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 9

1 5 . V i n c e G i r o n d a ’s 8 x 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3

G l o s s a r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 9

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I N T R O D U C T I O NThe workouts presented in this book are among the most effective for improving muscle mass. Some are more effective for improving strength, but they do so at the expense of developing maximal muscle mass.

As a general guideline, these are the loading parameters for developing muscle mass:

Intensity: 60-82%

Repetitions: 6-20 RM

Sets: 3-6

Rest Intervals: 2-4 minutes

Concentric Tempo: 1-10 seconds

Eccentric Tempo: 4-10 seconds

Total Set Duration: 20-70 seconds

From this starting point, creative sports scientists; strength coaches, personal trainers, and athletes have developed systems that apply these guidelines. This book represents a sampling of such programs, selected because they have stood the test of time by consistently pro-ducing success.

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Russia weightlifter David Rigert broke 68 world records and possessed tre-mendous upper body strength. He could military press 374 pounds, bench press 463 pounds (with legs raised), and standing Olympic press 436 pounds at a bodyweight of 198 pounds.

Boyer Coe’s Work Capacity WorkoutBoyer Coe won the Teen Mr. America, Mr. America and Mr. Universe; he also placed fourth on three occasions in the Mr. Olympia. In 1994, in his mid 40s, Coe returned to the stage after a 10-year hiatus and took third at the Masters Mr. Olympia. Coe designed a workout program called “work capacity training” for increasing both your hypertrophy levels and your strength endurance.

As a young teen, Boyer Coe knew he had what it would take to become a champion bodybuilder.

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Boyer Coe’s Work Capacity WorkoutCoe began lifting in 1960 at age 14, and by age 17 he could bench press 420 pounds – quite an accomplishment when you consider that he did it without the benefit of any of the special supportive gear used by today’s powerlifters.

Two years later Coe won the Mr. Louisiana title and then went on to win the Teen Mr. America, Mr. America and Mr. Universe; he also placed fourth on three occasions in the Mr. Olympia. In 1994, in his mid 40s, Coe returned to the stage after a 10-year hiatus – in amazing shape – and took third at the Masters Mr. Olympia, defeating former Mr. Olympia Chris Dickerson. And the secret to Coe’s success?

“At the most basic level, there are no real secrets, although it’s only human nature for young bodybuilders to think that there are,” says Coe. “You must work hard and apply 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time. Hard work is something that 99 percent of the people in the world shy away from. If something proves to be the least bit difficult to achieve, they immediately give up. The man or woman who doesn’t give up, who goes on despite something being difficult to achieve, always comes out on top.”

At 5’7” and a ripped 215 pounds, Coe was known for his amazing biceps, which seemed to be composed of several mounds of small bi-ceps stacked upon each other. He was always in shape – you only have to look at the history of his photos to see he was a master of peaking at the right time. And for any of you older readers seeking inspiration to keep in shape, check out the photos when Coe was at his prime and compare them to how he looked at the 1994 Masters Mr. Olympia. Coe knew exactly what it took to get in top shape and stay that way.

Although Coe says there are no secrets in bodybuilding, one of the rea-sons he was so successful is that he always had an open mind – he was known as a “thinking bodybuilder.” Coe was able to set aside his ego and experiment with new training methods to bring his conditioning to higher levels. Case in point: Coe’s work with Arthur Jones, founder of the Nautilus and MedX corporations.


In the ’70s and early ’80s Jones was known for surrounding himself with the best bodybuilders of his era. In 1982 Coe went to work for Jones and was personally trained by him. Although Casey Viator and the Mentzer brothers apparently thrived on this type of training, it wasn’t right for Coe. Coe found that after eight months of training under Jones’ supervision, he had made no gains in muscle size; what’s more, after that experiment Coe changed his workouts and quickly added 20 pounds of muscle.

Coe believed that he had less genetic potential than Casey Viator or Sergio Oliva, two other top bodybuilders whom Jones trained – Coe joked that Viator had only to look at weights to grow! As such, Coe felt that to compete at the highest levels he had to train smart and out-work his competition – he says that he could push himself to the limit and that he seldom missed a workout.

Coe designed the following workout program for increasing both your hypertrophy levels and your strength endurance. It’s called “work capacity training” and involves using descending loads in the following manner:

1. Warm up until you get to a weight at which you will struggle to complete a 12-repetition maximum.

2. Perform 12 strict reps with that weight.

3. Rest only 60 seconds, during which you decrease the weight by 2.5 to 10 pounds, depending on your strength level and the nature of the exercise.

4. Perform as many STRICT reps as possible with the new weight.

5. Rest only 60 seconds, during which you decrease the weight by 5 to 10 pounds, depending on your strength level.

6. Do as many STRICT reps as possible with the new weight.

7. Rest only 60 seconds and decrease the weight by 5 to 10 pounds, depending on your strength level.

8. Perform as many STRICT reps as possible with the new weight.


At this point, you will move on the next exercise using the same work-out protocol. A total of three exercises are performed per bodypart.

Here is a sample of a workout capacity training program for the shoulders:

A. Seated Barbell Military Press, 4 x 8-12, 3010, rest 60 seconds

B. Low-Pulley-Rope Upright Row, 4 x 8-12, 2010, rest 60 seconds

C. Seated Lateral Raise, 4 x 8-12, 3010, rest 60 seconds

Because the B and C exercises in this workout use many of the same muscles as the first exercise, you may only need one warm-up set for these exercises. Here is how the workout could progress, step by step. Note how after the first set of each exercise, the weights are adjusted according to strength level and fatigue.

A. Seated Barbell Military Press

1. Warm up

2. 145 x 12

3. Rest 60 seconds

4. 140 x 10

5. Rest 60 seconds

6. 135 x 11

7. Rest 60 seconds

8. 130 x 9

9. Rest 60 seconds

B. Low-Pulley-Rope Upright Row

1. Warm-up

2. 115 x 12


3. Rest 60 seconds

4. 110 x 9

5. Rest 60 seconds

6. 105 x 12

7. Rest 60 seconds

8. 100 x 10

9. Rest 60 seconds

C. Seated Lateral Raise

1. Warm-up

2. 35 x 12

3. Rest 60 seconds

4. 32.5 x 12

5. Rest 60 seconds

6. 30 x 11

7. Rest 60 seconds

8. 27.5 x 8

DONE!

Coe’s successful career spanning more than three decades will en-sure that he is remembered as one of the legends of bodybuilding. An ambassador for the sport, Coe speaks frequently to groups about its lifelong benefits. In fact, Boyer Coe is a role model for all that is right about bodybuilding.



In 1976 East Germany’s Gerd Bonk clean and jerked 556 pounds, making him the first to lift over 250 kilos (550 pounds). Bonk began as a track and field athlete, setting the East German youth record in the shot put with a result of 58.46 feet (17.82 meters).

German Volume TrainingGerman Volume Training (GVT) was introduced to the bodybuilding community over two decades ago. GVT is a variation of a high-volume method developed by US bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda. One of the major differences between GVT and Gironda’s method is that GVT contains more rest time between sets, which in turn enables you to use more weight and thus pack on more muscle mass.

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German Volume TrainingGerman Volume Training (GVT) was introduced to the bodybuilding community over two decades ago. The exact origin of GVT is a subject of extensive debate in the bodybuilding community, but its roots are believed to be in German powerlifting; women’s bodybuilding pioneer Bev Francis is said to have used such a workout. Others believe GVT is a variation of a high-volume method developed by US bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda. One of the major differences between GVT and Gironda’s method is that GVT contains more rest time between sets, which in turn enables you to use more weight and thus pack on more muscle mass.

Regardless of GVT’s origin, if you are willing to work hard and follow the training protocols exactly as prescribed, you’ll find that GVT is one of the fastest ways to pack on a lot of muscle in a short period of time.

Motor units are nerves that cause a specific group of muscle fibers to contract. GVT targets a group of motor units and subjects them to a high volume of repeated efforts, specifically 10 sets of 10 reps of one exercise. The body adapts by increasing the size of those targeted fibers.

With this training protocol, your goal for each exercise is to complete 10 sets of 10 reps with the same weight for each exercise. This means you cannot use a weight that allows you to complete only 10 reps for your first set, because fatigue will not allow you to perform 10 reps for the remaining sets. A good approach is to start with a weight that you could lift for 20 repetitions, or about 60 percent of your best single. Thus, if you can bench press 200 pounds for 1 rep, you would use 120 pounds for this exercise.

After your first workout, a good goal is to try to increase the weight by about 2.5 percent for each workout, as follows:

Workout 1: 120 x 10 x 10

Workout 2: 125 x 10 x 10

Workout 3: 130 x 10 x 10


Workout 4: 135 x 10 x 10

Workout 5: 140 x 10 x 10

Workout 6: 145 x 10 x 10

We all have our off days, and occasionally you may not be able to complete 10 repetitions in a workout – that’s to be expected. However, the weight should be light enough that on most days you will be able to complete 100 repetitions.

In the following GVT workout you will perform each training session a total of six times – at least two days’ rest is needed between workouts. Although you may perform additional work, limit the number of GVT exercises to just two, as this method can easily result in overtraining.

Chest and Back

A1. Incline Dumbbell Press, 10 x 10, 4010, rest 75 seconds

A2. Chin-Up, Neutral Grip, 10 x 10, 4010, rest 75 seconds

B1. Flat Dumbbell Press, 3 x 12-15, 3010, rest 60 seconds

B2. Bent-Over Single-Arm Dumbbell Row, 3 x 12-15, 3010, rest 60 seconds

Legs

A1. Back Squat, Heels Elevated, 10 x 10, 4010, rest 75 seconds

A2. Lying Leg Curl, 10 x 10, 4010, rest 75 seconds

B1. Dumbbell Semi-Stiff-Leg Deadlift, 3 x 10-12, 3020, rest 60 seconds

B2. Standing Calf Raise, 3 x 10-12, 2012, rest 60 seconds

Arms

A1. EZ-bar Reverse Scott Curl, 10 x 10, 4010, rest 75 seconds

A2. Dips, 10 x 10, 4010, rest 75 seconds


B1. Incline Dumbbell Curl, 3 x 12-15, 3010, rest 60 seconds

B2. EZ Bar Lying Triceps Extension, 3 x 10-12, 3110, rest 60 seconds

Besides being a physically challenging workout, GVT requires such a high volume of work that it is mentally taxing. This is why you should take a long break after a GVT cycle – a sound approach would be to only perform it twice a year.

Although GVT does not produce a high level of growth hormone release, it is not as effective in the short term for reducing body fat compared to some other programs, such as the German Body Comp program. However because GVT is a superior method of increasing muscle mass, it will more effectively raise your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories). For every pound of lean tissue gained on GVT, there is often a loss of an equal amount of fat weight – this is especially true for women.


The 1984 Olympic champion in the 220-pound bodyweight class, West Germany’s Rol Milser broke the world record I the clean and jerk in the 181-pound bodyweight class with 457 pounds and in the 198-pound body-weight class with a best of 490 pounds.

German Volume Training, AdvancedThe most common question about German Volume Training is how it might be adapted for an advanced trainee–someone with a good 5-years training experience. This chapter will answer that question, presenting a variation where the goal is to complete 10 sets of 5 reps with the same weight for each exercise rather than 10 reps.

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German Volume Training, AdvancedWhen German Volume Training was introduced in Muscle Media 2000 magazine, it was the most popular article they had ever published. Since then, it has been reprinted, translated, copied, attacked, “mod-ified” or “improved,” pirated, you name it. Why? Because it works; because it works very well.

The most common question about German Volume Training is how it might be adapted for an advanced trainee–someone with a good 5-years training experience. Before getting into that, let’s recap the most important points regarding German Volume training:

1. You do ten sets of a single “most bang for your buck” exercise.

2. You strive to do a pre-determined number of reps on each set, i.e. ten sets of ten reps.

3. You preferably alternate with the antagonist “most bang for your buck” exercise.

4. You only increase the weight once all ten sets are completed with the pre-determined starting weight. The load used is submaximal, you do not try to reach failure on all sets, but only the last three should be hard. Basically you get the training effect from the law of repeated efforts.

A typical workout might look like this:

A. Bench press (the goal is to do 10 sets of 10 with 200 pounds):

Set 1: 10 reps

Set 2: 10 reps

Set 3: 10 reps

Set 4: 10 reps

Set 5: 9 reps


Set 6: 7 reps

Set 7: 7 reps

Set 8: 8 reps

Set 9: 7 reps

Set 10: 6 repsB. Barbell Row (the goal is to do 10 sets of 10 with 200 pounds):

Set 1: 10 reps

Set 2: 10 reps

Set 3: 10 reps

Set 4: 9 reps

Set 5: 8 reps

Set 6: 7 reps

Set 7: 7 reps

Set 8: 7 reps

Set 9: 6 reps

Set 10: 6 repsOnce you were able to do complete 10 sets of 10 reps, you would increase the weight by 2 1/2 to 5%.

A lot of people claim to have improved the German Volume Training, but failed miserably because they did not understand the physiology behind it. Let’s say that German Volume Training is the best apple pie recipe. One author might say you should use bananas instead of apples for an apple pie. And he would argue that the crust ruins it, and that it should instead be made into a loaf, or a mousse, or whatever. Unfortunately, it is not apple pie anymore.


For example, performing 5 sets of 2 exercises done to failure does not equal the training effect of 10 sets of a single exercise using a load that causes fatigue on the later sets. The volume-intensity equations are completely different for the two different training systems.

Goals and Guidelines for the Advanced Trainee

Training Frequency: Because this is such a demanding program, it will take you longer to recover. As such, work each body part every 5 days, but only performing the same exercise every 10 days. The routine out-lined at the end of this chapter will make things clearer.

The exercises done in the two different workouts for the same body part should be similar, yet different enough to tap into a different motor unit pool.

Reps: For the advanced trainee, doing more than 5 reps is a waste of time, as the average intensity will be too low. The reps should vary for each one of the six workouts (German Volume Training, like any other training, is only effective for so long). Reps are the loading parameter to which one adapts the quickest. Therefore, for an advanced trainee, one should apply a 6-9% increase in load with each successive rep reduction as outlined in the example below. In other words, each week, you’ll do fewer reps per set, but increase the weight.

Workout 1

The goal of the Advanced German Volume Training method is to complete 10 sets of 5 reps with the same weight for each exercise. You want to begin with a weight you could lift for 10 reps to failure (10RM), if you had to push it. For most people, on most exercises, that would represent 75% of their 1 R.M. load. Therefore, if you can bench press 300 pounds for one rep, you would use 225 pounds for this exercise.

So your workout may look like this:

Set 1: 225 x 5

Set 2: 225 x 5

Set 3: 225 x 5


Set 4: 225 x 5

Set 5: 225 x 5

Set 6: 225 x 5

Set 7: 225 x 4

Set 8: 225 x 4

Set 9: 225 x 3

Set 10: 225 x 3

When using this—or for that matter, any program—you should keep a detailed journal of the exact sets/reps, load, and rest intervals per-formed, and only count the repetitions completed in strict form. Addi-tional tips will follow after the description of the remaining workouts.

Workout 2

Increase the weight by 6-7% and strive to do 10 sets of 4 reps with that weight. So workout 2 would look like this:

Set 1: 235 x 4

Set 2: 235 x 4

Set 3: 235 x 4

Set 4: 235 x 4

Set 5: 235 x 4

Set 6: 235 x 4

Set 7: 235 x 4

Set 8: 235 x 4

Set 9: 235 x 4

Set 10: 235 x 4


NOTE: It is not uncommon on the second workout to be able to complete all sets of 4, as your work capacity will have improved from the first GVT work-out.

Workout 3

Increase weight of Workout 1 by 8-9% and strive to do 10 sets of 3 reps with that weight. Yes, you are reading it correctly—8-9%, not 6-7%.

So Workout 3 might look like this:

Set 1 255 x 3

Set 2 255 x 3

Set 3 255 x 3

Set 4 255 x 3

Set 5 255 x 3

Set 6 255 x 3

Set 7 255 x 3

Set 8 255 x 3

Set 9 255 x 3

Set 10 255 x 3

NOTE: During sets 6-7-8, you will think your spleen wants to come out of your right eye, but stick with it as sets 9 and 10 will be the easiest.

Workout 4

Use the weights you used in Workout 2 and go for 10 sets of 5, which you should do easily.

Workout 5

Use the weights in workout 3 and go for 10 sets of 4, which again you should do easily.


Workout 6

By now you should be able to do 10 sets of 3 at 275 pounds - no problem.

Rest Intervals: When trainees start with this method, they often question its value during the first several sets simply because the weight will not feel heavy. However, there is minimal rest between sets (about 90 seconds when performed in sequence and 90-120 seconds when performed as a superset), which gives you a process of accumulative fatigue. Because of the importance of the rest intervals, you should use a stopwatch or a watch equipped with one to keep the rest intervals constant. This is very import-ant, as it becomes tempting to lengthen the rest time as you fatigue.

Tempo: For long range movements such as squats, dips, and chins, use a 40X0 tempo; this means you would lower the weight in four seconds and immediately change direction and lift explosively for the concen-tric portion. For movements such as curls and triceps extensions, use a 30X0 tempo. Advanced trainees, because of their enhanced neurologi-cal efficiency, should only use explosive concentric tempos.

Number of Exercises: One, and only one, exercise per body part should be performed. Therefore, select exercises that recruit a lot of muscle mass. Triceps kickbacks and leg extensions are definitely out—squats and bench presses are definitely in. For supplementary work for individual body parts (such as triceps and biceps), you can do 3 sets of 6-8 reps.

Overload Mechanism: Once you are able to do 10 sets of x reps with constant rest intervals, increase the weight on the bar by the percent-age outlined in the article and repeat the process. Refrain from using forced reps, negatives, or burns, as the volume of the work will take care of the hypertrophy. Expect to have some deep muscle soreness without having to resort to set prolongation techniques.

Following are some sample routines:Day 1: Chest and Back

A1. Incline Barbell Press, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 secondsA2. Lean-away Chin-up, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 secondsB1. Parallel Bar Dips, 3 x 6-8, 40X0, rest 90 seconds


B2. One-Arm Arc Dumbbell Row3 sets of 6-8, 40X0, rest 90 seconds

Day 2: Legs

A1. Back Squat, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 seconds

A2. Lying Leg Curl, feet pointing away from the body, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 seconds

B1. Dumbbell Lunge, 3 x 6-8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

B2. Romanian Deadlift, 3 x 6-8, 40X0, rest 90 seconds

Day 3: OffDay 4: Arms

A1. Incline Off-Set Dumbbell Curl, 10 x 5, 30X0, rest 100 seconds

A2. Close Grip Bench Press, 10 x 5, 30X0, rest 100 seconds

B1. Thick Bar Reverse Curl, 3 x 6-8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

B2. Seated EZ Bar French Press, 3 x 6-8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

Day 5: OffDay 6: Chest and Back

A1. 30-degree Incline Barbell Press, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 seconds

A2. Close Parallel Grip Chin-up, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 seconds

B1. Flat Dumbbell Press, 3 x 6-8, 40X0, rest 90 seconds

B2. One-Arm Elbowing Rows (the elbow comes out to the side, as if you were elbowing someone in the chops), 3 x 6-8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

Day 7: Legs

A1. Heels Elevated Front Squat, 10 x 5, 40X0, rest 100 seconds

A2. Lying Leg Curl, Feet Inward, 10 x 5, 30X0, rest 100 seconds


B1. Farmer’s Walk, 3 x 50 yards, rest 90 seconds

B2. Glute-Ham Raise, 3 x 6-8 on a 40X0, rest 90 seconds

Day 8: Off

Day 9: Arms

A1. Seated Zottmann Curls, 10 x 5, 30X0, rest 100 seconds

A2. Low Decline, Close-Grip Bench Press, 10 x 5, 30X0, rest 100 seconds

B1. Scott Bench Close-Grip Reverse Curl, 3 x 6-8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

B2. Low Pulley French Press, 3 x 6-8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

Day 10: Off

Day 11: Do the Day 1 routine using Workout 2 pattern

Continue for 55 days, making the rep adjustments as outlined.

As you can see, there is no direct work for many of the smaller muscle groups -- just straight, hard, rewarding work.

For those of you, who have access to bands or bungie cords, please feel free to add them to the squatting and pressing exercises for in-creased overload. They are not a must, so don’t think you are missing out if do not have access to them. The program will still have impres-sive anabolic properties without them.

It will take you 60 days to go through the cycle, but you should gain 8-10 lbs. of lean tissue by the end of those two months. It is not a pro-gram for the faint of heart, but it is a very rewarding program (in size and strength) if one has the guts to complete it.



One of closest humans to match the muscle mass of the Incredible Hulk was Belgium’s Serge Reding, the first to snatch 400 pounds. He reportedly could front squat 880 pounds for five reps and perform repeated jumps a foot off the ground while holding 286 pounds! Reding carried over 300 pounds of muscle on his 5’8” frame, and reported possed 26” calves.

Lou Ferrigno’s “Incredible Hulk” WorkoutLou Ferrigno won two Mr. Universe titles and was considered Arnold’s greatest challenge in bodybuilding. He was a 6’5” mountain of muscle

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who reportedly weighed 325 pounds in the off-season and sported 22.5-inch arms. One of the characteristics of Ferrigno’s training was high volume – as many as 80 sets in a single workout! -- and as such is not appropriate for those with little training experience.

Lou Ferrigno won two Mr. Universe titles and was considered Arnold’s greatest challenge in bodybuilding. He was a 6’5” mountain of muscle who reportedly weighed 325 pounds in the off-season and sported 22.5-inch arms. Although he couldn’t dethrone the Austrian Oak, Ferrigno was able to use his physique as a gateway to many movie and television roles, including his long-running portrayal of “The Incredible Hulk.”

Lou Ferrigno’s “Incredible Hulk” WorkoutFerrigno was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1951. A series of ear infec-tions caused him to lose the majority of his hearing; his hearing prob-lem affected his speech and resulted in him becoming introverted and bullied. There is a flip side to this coin, as the bullying motivated him to succeed as an athlete and as an entertainer. “I got picked on,” says Ferrigno. “I was fascinated with power, and then I decided to take that direction because I knew that would make me feel good about myself.”

Considered a genetic marvel, Ferrigno won his first bodybuilding com-petition in 1971. He quickly got the attention of bodybuilding entrepre-neur Joe Weider and frequently appeared in his magazines, along with many other publications. He faced Arnold twice in the 1974 and 1975 Mr. Olympia competitions, earning the runner up spot to Arnold in the heavyweight division in 1974. The 1975 event, where Ferrigno placed third in the heavyweight division (behind Arnold and Serge Nubret of France), was featured as part of the documentary “Pumping Iron,” where Ferrigno placed a disappointing third.

In “Pumping Iron” it was portrayed that Ferrigno’s father was extreme-ly supportive of his son’s career and helped guide his training – not quite. Ferrigno said the documentary was scripted. “I wouldn’t have competed at all but for the fact that, for the time being, I still had to live at home, and Dad viewed both the contest and particularly the film as tremendous publicity vehicles for himself. He saw Pumping


Iron as his opportunity to be a ‘movie star’ and saw me as his vehicle to accomplish this. We were shown together in the film, whereas in real life we never trained together at all. He was depicted in the film as being compassionate and caring about my career, whereas in real life he never gave it a second thought.”

Ferrigno returned to the Olympia stage in 1992 and 1993, placing 10th in the second event and coming in at what many consider the best shape of his life. His last competition was the 1994 Masters Mr. Olym-pia, where he placed second. Now past 60 years of age, Lou still packs on a lot of muscle and is frequently seen at pop culture conventions to meet and share his stories with fans.

As for how Ferrigno trained to become the Hulk, consider that many of the workouts of champion bodybuilders were a product of the creative minds of ghostwriters -- so often some of the workouts programs attributed to these champions were never performed. However, the following workout has been reprinted in numerous muscle magazines over the years, and it follows the training principles he has spoken about in many interviews.

One of the characteristics of Ferrigno’s training was high volume – as many as 80 sets in a single workout! -- and as such is not appropriate for those with little training experience. He says he didn’t use many su-persets, although he often alternated between agonist and antagonist muscle groups, and took at least two minutes between sets – thus, his workouts often lasted as long as three hours! He would work each ma-jor muscle group twice a week; here is an outline of a weekly schedule:

Monday: Chest and Back

Tuesday: Shoulders and Arms

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Chest and Back

Friday: Shoulders and Arms

Saturday: Legs

Sunday: Rest


Ferrigno would perform 2-3 sets as a warm-up, then finish the remain-ing sets with the same weight. If he did not complete the lower end of his training goal for reps during the working sets (such as 6 reps of a set of 6-8 reps), he would reduce the weight by up to 10 percent in his next workout. He performed a lot of exercises in his workout, and for variety he would slightly reduce the volume of work on the second workout for a specific body part or change the order of the exercises. Here are the details:

Monday (Day 1) - Chest and Back:

5 sets of 6-8 reps in the following exercises:

Flat Barbell Bench Press

Incline Barbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Pullover

Chest Flye

T-Bar Row

Dips

Deadlift

Bent Row

Chin-ups (weighted)

Pull-ups (weighted)

Tuesday (Day 2) - Shoulders and Arms

4-5 sets of 8-10 reps in the following exercises:

Military Press

Dumbbell Overhead Press

Bench Press

Front Dumbbell Raise


Side Dumbbell Raise

Barbell Curl

Scott Press

Dumbbell Curl

Concentration Curl

Cable Pulldown

Cable Pushdown

Incline Dumbbell Curl

Standing French Press

Skull Crushers

Wednesday (Day 3) - Legs

5 sets of 10 reps in the following exercises:

Leg Curl

Leg Extension

Leg Press

Squat

Hack Squat

Thursday (Day 4) - Chest and Back

5 sets of 6-8 reps in the following exercises:

Chest Flys

T-Bar Row

Dips

Deadlift


Chin-ups

Pull-ups

Friday (Day 5) - Shoulders and Arms

4-5 sets of 8-10 reps in the following exercises:

Barbell Curl

Scott Press

Dumbbell Curl

Cable Pushdown

Cable Pulldown

Standing French Press

Incline Dumbbell Curl

Concentration Curl

Saturday (Day 6) - Legs

5 sets of 10 reps in the following exercises:

Leg Curl

Squat

Leg Extension

Hack Squat

Leg Press


Sunday (Day 7) - Rest Day

Hard training has taken its toll on Ferrigno as he had both hips and knees surgically replaced. He admitted to using steroids “under a doctor’s care,” but says he is now against their use and believes they should be banned from competitive bodybuilding. Ferrigno looks good for his age and still trains hard, but his workouts only last for one hour and his rest intervals are shorter. And thanks to advances in medicine, in 2012 Ferrigno underwent a surgical procedure that successfully restored his hearing.

Although the workout presented here is impractical for most people, and the volume of training can only be handled by the most advanced athletes, it shows how hard Ferrigno was willing to work to become a champion. This work ethic, combined with superior genetics, enabled Lou Ferrigno to succeed in his careers as an athlete and as an enter-tainer.

REFERENCES

“Lou Ferrigno’s Guide to Personal Power, Bodybuilding, and Fitness.” Contemporary Books, November 1996.

https://louferrigno.com/pages/awards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g05jEYwmq8E



As a child, Marv Phillips fell from a tree and reportedly tore his right arm completely from his body. Surgeons used 287 internal stitches and 167 ex-ternal stitches to sew his arm back. A 1974 national champion in powerlift-ing and broke the world record in the squat seven times, with a best of 848 pounds in the 242-pound bodyweight class.

Mike Mentzer’s Heavy DutyIFBB pro Mike Mentzer was one of the most successful bodybuilders of his time (1951-2001). The legacy he left to those in the Iron Game is his con-troversial workout program, Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty™. Mentzer be-lieved that working to failure is essential to get the greatest muscle-build-ing results from training. Another point Mentzer stressed was that only one set for each major muscle group is needed to achieve maximal results. He believed that additional work is counterproductive.

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Mike Mentzer’s Heavy DutyIFBB pro Mike Mentzer was one of the most successful bodybuilders of his time (1951-2001). The legacy he left to those in the Iron Game is his controversial workout program, Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty™.

Mentzer starting pumping iron at the age of 12 at a bodyweight of 95 pounds. By age 15 he weighed 165 pounds and could bench press 370 pounds. At the age of 18 he started competing in bodybuilding, and two years later in 1969 he competed in his first physique competition.

In 1976 Mentzer won the Mr. America contest, and in 1978 he won the Mr. Universe contest, becoming the only competitor to earn a perfect score of 300. In 1979 at the Mr. Olympia Mentzer earned another perfect score of 300 in winning the heavyweight division, but was defeated in the overall competition by lightweight winner Frank Zane. Mentzer retired from competition the following year after placing fifth in the Mr. Olympia, claiming the event was rigged.

In 1971, while competing in the Mr. America competition, Mentzer met the winner of that competition, 19-year-old phenom Casey Viator. “Not only was Casey the youngest man, at 19 years of age, to win the coveted title, he was also being favorably compared to Arnold (who was in York that day to check out the upstart). What made Casey even more interesting was the type of training he was doing. While Arnold, Franco, Dave Draper et al. were training up to five hours a day, Casey was training less than three hours a week!” said Mentzer in his book Heavy Duty.

Through Viator, Mentzer met Nautilus founder Arthur Jones, who was training Viator at the time. Jones impressed upon Mentzer that, for op-timal results, workouts must be brutally hard and brief and infrequent. Said Mentzer of his first conversation with Jones, “So awe-inspiring was his fiery oratory that the leaden fumes of my somnambulistic stu-por evaporated in short order. For well over an hour, I listened in rapt attention as Jones explained to me, in the most scrupulously objec-tive language imaginable, the cause-and-effect relationship between intense exercise and muscular growth; and why, in light of the fact that the body’s ability to tolerate such demanding exercise is limited, high-intensity training had to be brief and infrequent.”


In the 1980s Jones changed his focus from bodybuilding and gener-al fitness training to developing special machines, called MedX, he marketed to the health care industry to train the neck and lower back. Mentzer stayed with physique/figure transformation, and tried to improve upon Jones’ ideas. Mentzer soon became a popular writer for many publications, eventually became the editor of his own magazine, and wrote several books.

Mentzer believed that working to failure is essential to get the great-est muscle-building results from training. In High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way, Mentzer wrote, “Carrying a set to a point where you are forced to utilize 100 percent of your momentary ability is the single most important factor in increasing size and strength.” As such, he used several methods, such as forced reps, to achieve maximum muscular failure.

Another point Mentzer stressed was that only one set for each major muscle group is needed to achieve maximal results. He believed that additional work is counterproductive. For example, in his book, Heavy Duty II: Mind and Body, Mentzer wrote, “It only takes one set to failure to trigger the growth mechanism into motion. Any exercise carried on beyond what is required to stimulate growth is over-training, your worst enemy.” Although his early writings suggest training three times a week, Mentzer later said that some individuals may need more rest time between workouts, perhaps by training only once every five to seven days.

Here is one of Mentzer’s earlier workouts (one set to failure for each exercise, about 6-9 reps):

Day 1 (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)

A1. Dumbbell Flyes

A2. Incline Press

B1. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

B2. Bent-Over Lateral Raise


C1. Lying Triceps Extension

C2. Dips

Day 2 (Lats, Traps, Lower Back, Biceps)

A1. Pullovers

A2. Close-Grip, Palms-Up Pulldowns

B. Bent-Over Barbell Row

Day 3 (Legs, Abs)

A1. Leg Extension

A2. Leg Press

B. Leg Curl

C. Standing Calf Raise

D. Sit-Ups

Heavy-duty workouts such as this one by Mentzer can yield impressive results for some individuals, but such training continues to be highly debated. As for taking five to seven days of rest between workouts, as Mentzer advocated later in his career, the benefits are less clear. Accord-ing to Ellington Darden, former director of research at Nautilus and author of many books about Arthur Jones’ training, Mentzer’s method of training is performed too infrequently for maximum results. On the other hand, such a program might be a good break for those who are using especially high volume in their training. It’s been said that “fatigue masks fitness,” which may explain why many individuals experience impressive results when they first try Heavy Duty workouts.

Mike Mentzer was a colorful personality who influenced the way many bodybuilders and general fitness individuals trained. Many have claimed exceptional results using Mentzer’s Heavy Duty system, while others have complained of poor results. Whether you agree with his point of view or not, Mentzer’s training methods are still discussed and practiced within the Iron Game community.


References:Mentzer M. Heavy Duty (revised). Redondo Beach, California: Mentzer-Sharkey Enterprises, 1993.

Mentzer M. Heavy Duty II: Mind and Body. Redondo Beach, California: Mentzer-Sharkey Enterprises, 1996.

Mentzer M. Muscles in Minutes. Redondo Beach, California: Mentzer-Sharkey Enterprises, 2002.

Mentzer M, Little J. High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2003.



Olympic lifters often have tremendous development of the back muscles, especially in the trapezius and erector spinae. Shown are Derrik Crass (insert), an Olympian from the US; and Antonio Pisarenko, a world champion and world record holder from Russia.

Nautilus TrainingArthur Jones developed two of the most successful lines of resistance training equipment in the world, Nautilus and MedX, which enjoyed such success that at one time Jones earned a place on the Forbes list of the 400 richest people in the world. His son, Gary Jones, inherited some of his father’s brilliance by creating Hammer Strength Systems, the most successful plate-loaded equipment line in the world. Jones was also known for his Nautilus Training Principles.

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Nautilus TrainingOne of the key tenants of Arthur Jones’ training philosophy was that developing the highest levels of strength and muscular size did not require a large investment in time. Famous bodybuilders who benefited from Jones’s training concepts include Mike and Ray Mentzer, Casey Viator, and Mr. Olympias Dorian Yates and Sergio Oliva. The Mentzer brothers, Viator, Oliva, and Jones are deceased, but Jones’s training system still lives on through his extensive writings on the subject.

Before getting into the details of how Jones designed workouts, con-sider that he recommend a two-week break-in period before beginning his training system. He believed that with a beginner, muscle soreness can get progressively worst after training, even up to the fourth day after training. To get around this, the first week would involve training every day for five consecutive days using the following program:

A. Back Squat, 1 x 20

B. One-Leg Calf Raise (1 set for each leg), 1 x 20

C. Standing Barbell Press, 1 x 10

D. Chin-up, 1 x 10

E. Parallel Bar Dips, 1 x 10

F. Standing Barbell Curl, 1 x 10

G. Stiff-Leg Barbell Deadlift, 1 x 15

All these exercises are performed before reaching a state of muscular failure. As for the tempo of each exercise, Jones emphasized con-trolling the eccentric portion of an exercise – in fact, he wrote exten-sively about “negative-only” training and developed a line of exercise machines that would make such training more practical.

During the second week, the trainee works out only three days a week with at least one day of rest between training sessions. The workout looks like this:


A. Back Squat, 1 x 20

B. One-Leg Calf Raise (1 set for each leg), 1 x 20

C1. Standing Barbell Press, 2 x 10

C2. Chin-up, 2 x 10

D1. Parallel Bar Dips, 2 x 10

D2. Standing Barbell Curl, 2 x 10

G. Stiff-Leg Barbell Deadlift, 1 x 15

The exercises are also performed just short of muscular failure. How-ever, for exercises C and D, the second set should use approximately 10 percent more weight than the first set.

After the second week, the trainee is ready for a regular workout in which you would take each set to failure. He says you should seldom perform more than two sets of an exercise, and never more than three. That being said, he also believed that the shell-shaped cam pulley sys-tem on his Nautilus machines provided a resistance curve that better matched the strength curve of a muscle. With the muscles working harder as a result, many of the workouts he wrote about using his ma-chines often only used one set of each exercise.

Here are some of Jones’s original guidelines about program design:

1. Only train three times a week.

2. Always attempt to make progress on every set of every exercise.

3. Pay attention to the form of exercises.

4. Perform the hardest exercise first and perform them in the hardest way possible.

5. Continue a set until additional movements are not possible.

6. If you complete you guide number of reps, or more, increase the weight for your next workout.


Regarding the differences in how a beginner and advanced trainer should workout, Jones believed that advanced trainees didn’t need to work longer than a beginner, but harder. One way he said advanced trainees could do this was by the use of pre-exhaustion, a training method created in 1968 by Robert Kennedy.

With pre-exhaustion, a muscle is first fatigued by a single-joint exer-cise, and then further exhausted by performing a multi-joint exercise involving the same muscle group and additional muscle groups. You could perform leg extensions followed by squats, biceps curls followed by chin-ups, or lateral raises followed by behind-the-neck presses.

Another way Jones would increase the difficulty of a workout was by including negative-only exercises. One bodybuilder who Jones trained who included a lot of negative-only exercise in his workouts was Casey Viator. Under Jones’s guidance, Viator won the 1971 AAU Mr. America contest as a teenager, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. Here is one of the workouts Jones’s had Viator perform in 1973 in a strength training study he called, “The Colorado Experiment.”

A. Bent-Arm Pullover with EZ Curl Bar, 1 x 7-10

B. Bent-Over Barbell Row, 1 x 7-10

C. Overhead Press with Barbell, 1 x 7-10

D. Chin-Up, 1 x 7-10

E. Bench Press with Barbell, Negative Only, 1 x 6-8

F. Dips, 1 x 7-10

G. Biceps Curl with Barbell, Negative Only, 1 x 6-8

H. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell, 1 x 7-10

I. Behind-Neck Pull-up, Negative Only, 1 x 6-8

J. Overhead Triceps Extension with Dumbbell, 1 x 7-10


K. Back Squat, 1 x 7-10

L. Leg Extension, Negative Only, 1 x 6-8

The preponderance of research suggests that Jones’s training pro-tocols do not have sufficient volume to achieve the greatest levels of strength and muscular develop. However, often individuals who are overtrained can make excellent progress using Jones’s training methods as the volume of training is extremely low while the muscu-lar effort involved is very high. And because of their limited ability to recover from resistance training sessions, beginners can often make excellent progress using the Nautilus Training System.

Almost all of Jones’s work is available online for free for those who wish to know more about the Nautilus Training System. Jones was a brilliant storyteller, and his articles and books are filled with many of his entertaining stories, along with many valuable ideas that may en-hance the effectiveness of your workouts.



Yurik Vardanyan was the 1980 Olympic Champion in the 181-pound body-weight class, a 7-time world champion, and broke a total of 41 world records in three bodyweight classes. Weighing less that 200 pounds, his best lifts include a 418-pound snatch and a 502-pound clean and jerk. His son Norik competed in the 2008 Olympics and broke American records in the snatch several times.

Nautilus Leg WorkoutOne of the most famous leg workouts for muscle building was the one developed by Nautilus Founder Arthur Jones that used a training method called pre-exhaustion. With this method of training you fa-tigue a muscle with a single-joint exercise and then work it even harder by immediately performing a multi-joint exercise involving the same muscle group and additional muscle groups. This training method enabled bodybuilder Casey Viator to gain 20 pounds of solid muscle in 10 months, a remarkable accomplishment for an already heavily-mus-cled athlete.

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Nautilus Leg WorkoutOne of the most famous leg workouts for muscle building was the one developed by Nautilus Founder Arthur Jones that used a training method called pre-exhaustion. It’s a brutal workout and remarkably effective, but with a few modern twists, it can be made even better.

As with many popular workout systems, there is often an elite athlete promoting it. This workout was associated with bodybuilder Casey Vi-ator, considered one of the most genetically-gifted physique compet-itors of his era. Viator shocked the bodybuilding world by winning the 1971 AAU Mr. America contest as a teenager, becoming the youngest person ever to do so.

Viator won the Mr. America title weighing 218 pounds with an upper arm that stretched the tape at 19 15/16 inches. He was also as strong as he looked -- he could squat with over 500 pounds, for reps, and perform standing barbell curls with 225 pounds, for reps. Viator took an extended absence from physique competition after his Mr. America victory but came back in 1982 to place third in the Mr. Olympia com-petition, defeating Samir Bannout, who would win the title the follow-ing year, and the popular Tom Platz.

Jones, who trained Viator for the 1971 competition, often used pre-ex-haustion. With this method of training, developed in 1968 by Robert Kennedy, you fatigue a muscle with a single-joint exercise and then work it even harder by immediately performing a multi-joint exercise involving the same muscle group and additional muscle groups. For your arms, you could perform a rope pressdowns followed by dips to trash the triceps, and perform preacher curls followed by a lat pull-down to trash the biceps.

For leg training, Jones took the pre-exhaustion method a step further by having Viator performing a single isolation exercise between two multi-joint exercises. Such methods enabled Viator to gain 20 pounds of solid muscle in 10 months, a remarkable accomplishment for an already heavily-muscled athlete. Such improvement helped spark in-terest in Jones’s other training methods and his revolutionary exercise machines.


After a warm-up, Jones would have trainees pre-exhaust their quads with a set of leg presses for 20-30 reps and leg extensions for about 20 reps, before performing squats for about 10-15 reps – with no rest between each set! (Casey said in one interview that he would also perform this series by adding a set of leg curls for 14-20 reps after the squat.) The result of such fatigue was that when it came time to squat, often the weight would be half of what that individual could normally use.

One bodybuilder who took on Jones’s challenge was Sergio Oliva, a three-time Mr. Olympia winner who had clean and jerked 360 pounds (and who Jones said had flexed upper arms that exceeded the height of his head!). In his first workout, Oliva did 17 reps with 460 pounds on the leg press, 16 reps with 200 pounds in the leg extension, but couldn’t manage a single rep in the squat with 400 pounds. In his second workout, however, after pre-exhausting his legs in the same manner, he was able to squat 400 pounds for four reps.

According to Jones, in one workout Viator performed 20 reps on the leg press with 750 pounds, followed immediately by 20 reps with 225 pounds in the leg extension, followed immediately by 13 full squats with 502 pounds! Bodybuilding journalist John Balik said he witnessed one of Viator’s workouts where after the heavy leg extensions and leg presses, Viator did 505 pounds in the squat with 20 reps!

Jones believed that using such pre-exhaustion methods enabled the trainee to target the quads harder than they could otherwise. However, research suggests otherwise. In a study published in the May 2003 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers found that when supersetting leg presses with leg extensions, activa-tion of the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis quadriceps muscles (as measured by EMG analysis) was significantly greater when the leg presses were performed first. They also found that less weight was used in the leg press exercise with pre-exhaustion, suggesting that it would be an inferior method to develop strength. “Our findings do not support the popular belief of weight trainers that performing pre-ex-haustion exercise is more effective to enhance muscle activity com-pared with regular weight training,” concluded the researchers.


It’s true that Jones did have Viator perform a compound exercise (leg press) before an isolation exercise (leg extension), but the leg exten-sion was followed by a squat. While Jones’s method certainly will pro-duce results, and Viator’s results were certainly remarkable, a modern twist on this method would be to perform these three exercises using the following sequence: squat, leg press, leg extension. Although Via-tor claimed to use Jones’s leg workout as often as three times a week, with the heavier weights used in the squat and considering the recov-ery ability of the average trainee, it would probably be best to limit this type of workout to twice a week, or even once every five days.

Casey Viator died in 2013 at age 62, and Arthur Jones died in 2007 at age 80. But their pioneering efforts to challenge conventional thinking on resistance training have made a lasting impact on millions of people who wanted to transform their physiques. Something to consider on your next leg day!

References:

http://muscleandbrawn.com/casey-viators-training-routine/

http://www.arthurjonesexercise.com/Bulletin1/Bulletin1.html


Innocent Upkon is a weightlifter from the United States who earned a pro card for bodybuilding. Lifting in the 187-pound bodyweight class, Upkon snatched 341 pounds, clean and jerked 451 pounds, and represented the US in international competitions.

The 100 Reps MethodThe 100 Reps method increases work capacity by training the lac-tic-capacity energy system. In terms of physiological adaptations, you will experience much-improved vascularization and enormous increas-es in glycogen stores. It’s a great system to perform every three weeks or so for only one workout.

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The 100 Reps MethodIn this method, trainees are paired in a competitive setting and are in-structed to perform 100 cumulative repetitions with a specific weight in as few sets as possible. Select a resistance that you can perform for 20RM.

For example, bodybuilders Al and Bernie will do curls, Al with 100 pounds and Bernie with 90 pounds. Al performs a 20-rep set with 100 pounds. Immediately, Bernie performs as many repetitions as he can with 90 pounds. As soon as Bernie is finished, Al performs a set of maximum repetitions with his weight – let’s say 17 repetitions. Now Bernie must match or surpass the number of repetitions that Al did with his weight. Bernie, having watched all the Rocky movies, performs 18 repetitions for a total of 38 (20+18) repetitions.

Al is trailing at 37 cumulative reps and performs another set of maximum repetitions right after Bernie completes his 18RM set. The bodybuilder should rest only during the completion of their training partner’s set. Once the two partners perform a total of 100 cumulative repetitions, they are finished with that exercise for that workout. At first, as many as 10 sets may be required to complete the 100 repetitions.

Once they can each perform 100 repetitions within 4 sets, they will upgrade the resistance by 5-7 percent. If you try this method, rather than waiting until a training partner completes their reps, you could also alternate the curls with a triceps exercise to provide a form of active rest.

Here is a sample workout using the 100 Reps method. This gives you a total of 400 reps of work in a single workout!

A. Standing Curl, EZ Bar, Wide-Grip

B. Incline Dumbbell Triceps Extension

C. Dumbbell Curl, 30-Degree Incline

D. Rope Pressdown

The 100-Rep Method is a great type of workout in which your body intelligence warns you that going heavy would be a waste of time.


Paul Woods was the 1974 world powerlifting champion in the 198-pound bodyweight class. Note the thick weight plates used. Now, narrower plates are usually used to handle the tremendous weights hoisted by today’s lift-ers.

Post Exhaustion MethodA post-exhaustion workout is a great plateau buster. As the name sug-gests, this is a type of superset in which you first perform a compound exercise followed by an isolation movement. With the post-exhaus-tion method, you get the maximum strength training effect from the compound movement and can further fatigue a single muscle with an isolation movement.

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Post Exhaustion MethodA post-exhaustion workout is a great plateau buster. As the name suggests, this is a type of superset in which you first perform a com-pound exercise followed by an isolation exercise that targets a muscle you want to emphasize. In fact, research suggests that this method of training may be superior to Robert Kennedy’s popular pre-exhaustion method.

With pre-exhaustion, a muscle is first fatigued by a single-joint exer-cise, and then further exhausted by performing a multijoint exercise involving the same muscle group and additional muscle groups. Exam-ples include performing a biceps curl followed by a chin-up, or a dumb-bell lateral raise followed by a military press.

The goal of pre-exhaustion was to produce a higher level of fatigue in the targeted muscles, but research has revealed its limitations. In a study published in the May 2003 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers looked at the effects of performing a knee extension exercise (isolation exercise) followed immediately by a leg press exercise (compound movement). Seventeen heavy male subjects were used in the study, which involved having the subjects perform a pre-exhaustion superset and the leg press exercise by itself. Ten repetitions were performed for each exercise.

Using EMG analysis, the researchers found that the activation of two quadriceps muscles, the rectus femoris and the vastus lateralis, was significantly less when the subjects used the pre-exhausted method. They also found that when using the pre-exhaustion method, the sub-jects performed fewer repetitions with the leg press, suggesting that this is an inferior method for developing strength. The authors con-cluded, “Our findings do not support the popular belief of weight train-ers that performing pre-exhaustion exercise is more effective in order to enhance muscle activity compared with regular weight training.”

The key is that you have to select an exercise that recruits a lot of mo-tor units, such as a chin-up or a squat, followed by a superior isolation exercise, such as a Scott curl or a split squat lunge. You would not have as much success with this workout with easier movements such as a


triceps kickback or a cable fly. Here is an example of how a post-ex-haustion protocol can be applied to arm training:

A1. Close-Grip Chin-up, 4 x 4-6, 4010, rest 10 seconds

A2. Low Incline Dumbbell Curl, 4 x 6-8, 5010, rest 180 seconds

B1. Parallel Bar Dips, 4 x 4-6, 3210, rest 10 seconds

B2. Overhead Rope Extension, 4 x 8-10, 3110, rest 180 seconds

On the first workout of this routine, it’s normal to experience a signifi-cant strength loss every successive superset. For example, during the first set you may be able to complete 6 chins with an additional 50 pounds and curl 8 reps with 45-pound dumbbells. By the fourth set, however, you may only squeeze out 4 reps with your bodyweight in the chin-up and curl a pair of 35-pound dumbbells. As you go through this routine, your strength-endurance should skyrocket and you will be able to handle heavy weights for every set. You will also see your arm size increase appreciably. Here is a sample post-exhaustion routine for the brachialis:

A1. Narrow-Grip Pronated Pull-up, 4 x 4-6, 4010, rest 10 seconds

A2. Standing Reverse Curl, 4 x 6-8, 3210, rest 180 seconds

B1. Close Semisupinated Pull-up, 4 x 4-6, 4010, rest 10 seconds

B2. Seated Zottmann Dumbbell Curl: 4 x 6-8, 3210, rest 180 seconds

If your results from training have slowed or stagnated, or if you’re looking for ways to shock specific muscles into greater growth, give post-exhaustion method a try.



Sultan Rakhamanov, 1980 Olympic champion in the superheavy class, was one of the most physically-impressive lifters of his time. He broke the world record in the snatch twice, with a best result of 443 pounds in 1981. He was also known for his tremendous grip strength and his ability in arm wres-tling.

Pre-Exhaustion TrainingPre-exhaustion is a training method that was introduced to the body-building world in 1968 by Robert Kennedy in Iron Man magazine. With pre-exhaustion, a muscle is first fatigued by a single-joint exercise, and then further exhausted by performing a multi-joint exercise involv-ing the same muscle group and additional muscle groups. You could perform biceps curls followed by chin-ups, or lateral raises followed by behind-the-neck presses.

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Pre-Exhaustion TrainingPre-exhaustion is a training method that was introduced to the body-building world in 1968 by Robert Kennedy in Iron Man magazine. To this day, it stands as one of the most popular ways to pump your mus-cles into new growth.

With pre-exhaustion, a muscle is first fatigued by a single-joint exer-cise, and then further exhausted by performing a multi-joint exercise involving the same muscle group and additional muscle groups. You could perform biceps curls followed by chin-ups, or lateral raises fol-lowed by behind-the-neck presses.

Although Kennedy created this training method, it was Arthur Jones who popularized it. Jones says that when he began working with bodybuilder Casey Viator in 1970, Viator weighed 198 pounds and had an upper-arm measurement of 18 1/6 inches. After 10 months under Jones’ guidance, using pre-exhaustion as one of their primary training methods, Viator weighed 218 pounds and had an upper arm that mea-sured 19 15/16 inches. His gains enabled him to win the 1971 AAU Mr. America contest as a teenager, becoming the youngest person ever to do so.

Jones liked the pre-exhaustion method so much that he even designed several machines that combined two exercises into one to minimize the amount of rest time between sets. For example, he built a leg extension machine that was combined with a leg press machine, and a lateral raise machine that was combined with an overhead press machine. Possibly because these machines were much more expensive than single-station units and because fewer gym members could use them at one time, these units are no longer being produced.

For Jones took pre-exhaustion to the extreme, such as by perform-ing two isolation exercises before the compound exercise, it’s best to start with just one pre-exhaustion exercise. For example, you could pre-exhaust the long head of the triceps with the lying triceps EZ bar extension, and immediately follow it with a multijoint exercise that involves all the heads of the triceps, such as parallel bar dips or close-grip bench presses with chains. For the brachialis, you could perform


a pre-exhaustion superset by combining standing EZ bar reverse curls with incline hammer dumbbell curls.

For improving strength in multi-joint exercises post-exhaustion, re-search published in the May 2003 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research suggests that post exhaustion is superior to pre-exhaustion. With post exhaustion, you perform a compound exercise followed by an isolation exercise for a muscle group you want to emphasize. So if maximal strength is your primary goal, then you should use pre-exhaustion training sparingly.

You probably won’t achieve the superhuman results of Mr. America Casey Viator, but pre-exhaustion training can provide a shock to your system that will help you achieve your goals faster.



Yanko Rusev is a Bulgarian weightlifter who won five world championships and the 1980 Olympics. He broke 25 world records, five in the snatch and 13 in the clean and jerk. Rusev was best known for his ability in the clean and jerk, where he had a best of 429 pounds at a bodyweight of 148 pounds and 460 pounds at a bodyweight of 165 pounds.

SuperslowIn the 80s, a workout system called SuperSlow™ was introduced to the mainstream fitness community by Ken Hutchins. The core of the program was to perform each rep of every exercise in about 20 sec-onds, lifting the weight in 10 seconds and lowering it in 10 seconds. Proponents claimed that such slow tempo training was not only safer than conventional training but superior for increasing strength and muscle mass.

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SuperslowIn the 80s, a workout system called SuperSlow™ was introduced to the mainstream fitness community by Ken Hutchins. The core of the program was to perform each rep of every exercise in about 20 seconds, lifting the weight in 10 seconds and lowering it in 10 seconds. Proponents claimed that such slow tempo training was not only safer than conventional train-ing but superior for increasing strength and muscle mass. Let’s look at the history of this type of training so you can decide.

The benefits of performing an exercise with a slow tempo was dis-cussed in Strength and Health magazine in 1962 in an article written by its publisher Bob Hoffman. The article was called, “MC-MM…Muscle Contraction with Measured Movement.” Hoffman said slow tempo movements had been used by the weightlifters of the York Barbell Club, a weightlifting team that had many of its athletes win interna-tional competitions and break world records. Hoffman also said Jim Councilman, a world-class swimming coach, endorsed this type of training for swimmers.

In the 70s, Nautilus founder Arthur Jones began promoting the bene-fits of slow tempo training in his many writings, and went so far as to say that if someone tells you to move fast during the performance of an exercise you should “…smile and walk away because you are talking to a fool.” In his early articles and books Jones would recommend a lifting speed that would translate into two seconds lifting and four sec-onds lowering. Here is how Jones addressed the tempo of an exercise in his book, Nautilus Bulletin #2:

“The first three or four repetitions in each set of every exercise should be performed at a speed well below the maximum speed that would be pos-sible at that point -- but starting with the fourth or fifth repetition, the speed of movement should be as fast as possible without jerking or body swing; the remainder of the repetitions in each set should be performed at maximum-possible speed -- but the “actual speed” will be quite slow if the weight is as heavy as it should be, and the speed during the last one or two repetitions in each set will be extremely slow.”

In this book, and especially in future publications, Jones stressed that the eccentric portion was the most important part of training for de-


veloping strength and muscle mass. In one style of training which he called “negative accentuated” that primarily required the use of exer-cise machines, Jones would have you lower the resistance in 8 seconds with a weight heavier than you could lift by concentric contraction alone. For someone who could lift 200 pounds for 10 reps on a bench press machine, he would have you perform a negative accentuated set using 140 pounds (70 percent). Said Jones:

“Lift the weight in a normal fashion, but a bit more slowly than is probably done now... using both arms during the lifting (positive) part of the exercise. Then lower it slowly back down while using only one arm. Do not remove the nonworking hand from its grip, leave it in place but do not use it... permit one arm to do all the negative work by itself. Lower it slowly, taking approximately 8 seconds for the negative part of the exercise. Then lift it back to the top position with both arms again, using both arms equally for the lifting part of the movement. The lifting movement should be done considerably faster than the low-er part... it should only take about two seconds for the lifting part.”

Hutchins was a follower of Jones’ training methods, and in fact at one time was employed by Nautilus and involved in their seminars on exercise. In the 80s Hutchins supervised a slow-training exercise program used in a Nautilus-sponsored Osteoporosis study performed at the University of Florida Medical School. Encouraged by the results, Hutchins authored many articles on the subject and wrote SuperSlow: the Ultimate Exercise Protocol, which was the textbook used in the Su-perSlow Zone personal training franchise. Other authors have written books on the subject of slow tempo training under the titles of “Slow Burn” and “Power of 10.”

Wayne Westcott, a sports scientist who worked for the YMCA, con-ducted two well-known studies on slow tempo training on untrained individuals involving a total of 65 men and 82 women. The studies lasted 10 weeks and were divided into two training groups. The tra-ditional training group used a 2-second concentric contraction and a 4-second eccentric contraction, and the slow tempo group used a 4-second eccentric and a 10-second concentric contraction. Westcott reported that the slow tempo group had a 50 percent greater increase


in strength than the traditional training group. Later studies by other researchers, however, had difference results.

In a 10-week study published in 2001 in the Journal of Strength and Con-ditioning Research, subjects used either a traditional tempo prescrip-tion or a slow tempo one using a 10-second concentric contraction and a 5-second eccentric contraction. The traditional training group increased their average strength by 39 percent and the slow tempo group by only 15 percent. The researchers concluded that the resis-tance used to perform the slow tempo training was too light to stress the muscle significantly. That said, a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2006 that looked at three different tempo pre-scriptions concluded that slow tempo training could be an effective workout protocol for beginners. They also said that because slow tempo training did not generate large forces, it could be valuable in the rehabilitation from orthopedic injuries.

The bottom line is that slow tempo training, such as SuperSlow, has value, especially for beginners and those with certain orthopedic issues. It may also simply serve as a nice break from conventional training. In any case, slow tempo training methods may be a potential-ly important tool in your exercise toolbox.

References:Hoffman, B. MC-MM…Muscle Contraction with Measured Movement. Strength and Health, March 1962

Hutchins, K. SuperSlow: The Ultimate Exercise Protocol, 2nd Edition. 1992

Jones A. Nautilus bulletin #2. DeLand, FL: Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries, 1971.

Keeler, L. K., Finkelstein, L. H., Miller, W., & Fernhall, B. (2001). Early-phase adaptations of traditional-speed vs. superslow resistance training on strength and aerobic capacity in sedentary individuals. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 15(3), 309-314.

Smith, D, Bruce-Low, S. Strength Training Methods and the Work of Arthur Jones. Journal of Exercise Physiology, 2004 Dec: 7(6)

Westcott WL, Winett RA, Anderson ES, Wojcik JR, Loud RL, Cleggett E, Glover S. Effects of regular and slow speed resistance training on muscle strength. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2001 Jun: 41(2):154-8


Don Reinhoudt is the only powerlifting to win the International Powerlifting Federation superheavy division four times in a row, and held all four world records (squat, bench press, deadlift, and total) at the same time. Reinhoudt is the only lifter to squat 900 pounds, bench press 600 pounds, and deadlift 900 pounds raw (i.e., without gear such as a supersuit). In 1979 he won the World’s Strongest Man competition, having placed second the previous year to US weightlifter Bruce Wilhelm.

10/8/6 Training MethodThe 10/8/6 Method involves performing three sets of progressively heavier weights and lower reps. The 10/8/6 Training Method is espe-cially motivating for beginners because the fewer reps on the second

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and third sets enable much heavier weights to be used – in effect, it gives the user the illusion of getting stronger throughout the workout. This is a training protocol designed for a beginner, and as such three sets are enough to make excellent progress in increasing both strength and muscle mass.

10/8/6 Training MethodIt’s often difficult to determine the origins of a weight training system, and the 10/8/6 Training Method is no exception.

In 1982, Vince Gironda published a book about a similar system called 10/8/6/15. The program involves performing three sets of progres-sively heavier weights and lower reps (10/8/6), followed by a lighter “pump” set with 15 reps. The major difference between Gironda’s program and the 10-8-6 Training Method is that a fourth set is not performed.

One proponent of the 10/8/6 program was Bob Perata, owner of Bob’s Athletic Club in Fremont, California. Bob’s Athletic Club was one of those basic, primarily free-weight gyms of the past where bodybuild-ers, weightlifters, and the general population trained together. The most notable member of the gym was Ed Corney, who challenged Franco Columbu for the 1975 Mr. Olympic lightweight title. Corney appeared on the cover of Charles Gains’ book Pumping Iron as well as on the poster for the movie.

The 10/8/6 Training Method, which Perata used as early as 1972, is based on your best result in an exercise for 6 reps (6RM). It consists of performing a light set (about 50 percent of your 6RM) for 10 reps, fol-lowed by a medium set (about 75 percent of your 6RM), followed by a many reps as possible with a maximum weight (100 percent of 6RM). If you complete all six reps on that third set, or more, you increase the weight for the next workout. If you only do 5 reps or less, use the same weights for the next workout.

The 10/8/6 Training Method is especially motivating for beginners be-cause the fewer reps on the second and third sets enable much heavier weights to be used – in effect, it gives the user the illusion of getting


stronger throughout the workout. This is a training protocol designed for a beginner, and as such three sets are enough to make excellent progress in increasing both strength and muscle mass.

Often, a trainee at Bob’s club would use this program for a month and then would move on to another program for variety – sometimes the client would simply add another set, doing permutations such as 12/10/8/6 if they wanted more muscle mass, and 10/8/6/4 if they wanted more strength. This rep/set scheme is not appropriate for all exercises, especially the Olympic lifts (snatch and clean and jerk) and most of their assistance exercises due to the technical nature of these exercises.

The 10/8/6 Training Method is extremely flexibility as it can be used with station training (i.e., performing all the sets of one exercise before moving on to another), supersets, and even tri-sets. Here is a sample workout for a beginner using the 10/8/6 Training Method that uses both station training and supersets:

A. Back Squat, (10,8,6), 4011, rest 240 seconds

B1. Barbell Military Press, (10,8,6), 4010, rest 120 seconds

B2. Bent-Over Dumbbell Row, (10,8,6), 3010, rest 120 seconds

C1. Dumbbell Bench Press, Incline, (10,8,6), 3010, rest 120 seconds

C2. Lat Pulldown, (10,8,6), 3010, rest 120 seconds

D1. Triceps Pressdown, Rope, (10,8,6), 3010, rest 120 seconds

D2. Standing Barbell Curl, 3010, (10,8,6), rest 120 seconds

The 10/8/6 Training Method is not the single best workout program because such a program doesn’t exist. But most individuals, especially beginners, will enjoy this simple approach to training and can make progress on it for quite some time. Sure, there are many other ways to train, but the 10/8/6 system is a good place to start.



Sporting 22-inch arms, Phil Grippaldi competed in three Olympic Games (1968, 1972, and 1976). His best lifts include a 386-pound Olympic press, 341-pound snatch, and a 451-pound clean and jerk in the 198-pound body-weight class. The Olympic press was dropped from competition in 1972, so Grippaldi’s best is the all-time record.

Train Twice a DayMost elite Olympic medalists train in multiple sessions a day. Al-though twice-a-day training offers many benefits, you need to be patient with it, as it can take up to six months to fully adapt to this type of training.

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Train Twice a DayOne workout plan that works well with twice-a-day training is to organize the training into three 5-day cycles. In the first two cycles you train twice a day, and on the third cycle you unload with a cycle of cutting back to once-a-day training – because it’s normal to lose some lean muscle mass as you begin this type of training.

Most elite Olympic medalists train in multiple sessions a day. Al-though twice-a-day training offers many benefits, you need to be patient with it, as it can take up to six months to fully adapt to this type of training – although especially motivated athletes may be able to do it in three months. Increase your training volume gradually, such as starting with two 20-minute workouts a day.

One workout plan that works well with twice-a-day training is to organize the training into three 5-day cycles. In the first two cycles you train twice a day, and on the third cycle you unload with a cycle of cutting back to once-a-day training – because it’s normal to lose some lean muscle mass as you begin this type of training.

Studies conducted on American and Finnish weightlifters who trained twice a day for short periods found that testosterone production can be temporarily depressed when they start this type of training. Howev-er, the testosterone will shoot right back up during an unloading cycle such as the one suggested. Here’s a tip: Start twice-a-day training on a Saturday so you can nap during the first two days of the cycle, which will help you adapt to the training.

Here is a sample periodized program for the torso muscles that uses varied frequency:

Sample Program, Torso

Weeks 1-2 (twice a week, twice a day):

Monday-Thursday AM

A1. Close-Parallel-Grip Chin-Up, 5 x 6-8, 3010, rest 120 seconds

A2. Incline Dumbbell Press, 5 x 6-8, 3010, rest 120 seconds


B1. Seated Cable Rowing to Neck, 3 x 8-10, 2012, rest 100 seconds

B2. Unrolling Incline Flye, 3 x 8-10, 2110, rest 100 seconds

Monday-Thursday PM

A1. Cambered Bar Press, 4 x 8-10, 3110, 90 seconds

A2. One-Arm Cable Row, 4 x 8-10, 3011, 90 seconds

B1. Incline Cable Flye, 3 x 10-12, 3010, 75 seconds

B2. Hammer Lat Pulldown, 3 x 6-8, 3013, 75 seconds

Week 3 (twice a week, once a day):

Monday-Thursday AM

A1. Close-Parallel-Grip Chin-up, 3 x 6-8, 3010, rest 120 seconds

A2. Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 x 6-8, 3010, rest 120 seconds

B1. Seated Cable Rowing to Neck, 2 x 8-10, 2012, rest 100 seconds

B2. Unrolling Incline Flye, 2 x 8-10, 2110, rest 100 seconds

One final piece of advice with training twice a day is to be patient. Yes, you will get very tired, but you will get stronger. Most individuals will quit this type of training because they don’t have what it takes to men-tally overcome the initial fatigue bouts – but stick with it! If you quit prematurely, you are missing a great opportunity to achieve new levels of mass and strength..



Jon Cole was one of the most versatile athletes in the Iron Game. In power-lifting he set world records in the squat, deadlift, and total – he was the first to squat 900 pounds and total 2200 pounds (raw, with only knee wraps). He competed in the Olympic Trials in weightlifting, the World’s Strongest Man competition (placing 6th), set a national high school record in the discus, and broke Arizona state records in the shot put and discus.

20-Rep SquatsWhat if there was a workout that involved only performing one set of one exercise, but promised incredible gains in strength and muscle mass? This is the premise of the 20-Rep Squat Workout. Although

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there are several variations of the 20-Rep Squat Workout, the most popular variations focused on performing one set of squats, three times a week on non-consecutive days, for six weeks. The kicker is that the squats are performed for 20 reps, all out.

20-Rep SquatsWhat if there was a workout that involved only performing one set of one exercise, but promised incredible gains in strength and muscle mass? This is the premise of the 20-Rep Squat Workout.

The origins of this workout date back to the 1930’s in the writings of Mark H. Berry, editor of Strength magazine. Berry was a weightlifter who believed that the fastest way to add strength and muscle mass was to per-form heavy squats and consume a high-calorie diet that included drinking a gallon of milk a day. A few years later Joseph Curtis Hise wrote to Berry about the progress he was making performing squats for 20 reps, claiming to have gained 29 pounds of muscle in just one month.

Among the most popular writers in the Iron Game who helped pop-ularized this type of training system were Ironman magazine founder Peary Rader and Strength and Health magazine writer John McCallum. In 1989 Milo magazine publisher Randall J. Strossen wrote a book called Super Squats that detailed the history of high-rep squats.

Although there are several variations of the 20-Rep Squat Workout, the most popular variations focused on performing one set of squats, three times a week on non-consecutive days, for six weeks. The kick-er is that the squats are performed for 20 reps, all out. Here is how McCallum described that set: “You’re gonna do one set of twenty reps. And it’s gotta be the hardest work you’ve ever done. You gotta be absolutely annihilated when you’re finished. If you can even think of a second set, then you’re loafing. All the muscle you’ll ever build de-pends on how hard you work this one set of squats.”

McCallum’s version, which he wrote about in 1968, was set up like this:

Behind-the-Neck Press, 3x12

Squat, 1x20


Pullover, 1x20

Bench Press, 3x12

Bent-over Row, 3x15

Stiff-Leg Deadlift, 1x15

Pullover, 1x20

In many of these workouts it was recommended that during each squat you take three deep breaths between each rep. The proponents of this system claim that the deep breathing helps expand the ribcage, but the proven benefit is that the additional time between reps pro-vides more rest time between reps, enabling you to use more weight in the exercise and thus recruit more higher-threshold motor units. In fact, you can often perform this exercise with a weight you could use for a 10-repetition maximum (1RM).

Another unique aspect of the 20-rep squat workouts was the use of a light set of straight-arm pullovers performed immediately after the squats. The belief is that the heavy breathing from the squats com-bined with the stretching effect of the pullovers would lengthen the cartilage that connects the long ribs to the sternum (costal cartilage), thus expanding the rib cage. Although this chest expansion theory has not been proven in scientific studies, proponents of using pullovers in this manner included Arnold Schwarzenegger and popular bodybuild-ing writers Don Ross and Ellington Darden.

One issue with the 20-Rep Squat Workout is that it is not as effective for building absolute strength because the intensity level (i.e., how much weight lifted in relationship to your 1RM) is relatively low. This compromise was dramatically demonstrated when Tom Platz and Fred “Dr. Squat” Hatfield faced off in a squat competition in 1993 at a fitness expo in Germany.

Platz finished third in the 1981 Mr. Olympia and Hatfield had squatted 1,014 pounds, which when he did it was the highest result in com-petition in any weight class. The competition started with each man attempting a 1-rep max; Platz did 775 pounds and Hatfield did 865.


However, when the weight was reduced to 505 pounds, Platz com-pleted 23 reps to Hatfield’s best of 12 reps. Yes, a 775-pound squat is a remarkable lift for a bodybuilder, but this example does show that the ability to perform high reps may not translate into low reps as well as you might believe.

Another drawback of the 20-Rep Squat program is that, although brief, it is hard to stay motivated to do it for six weeks. One reason is every time you train you are supposed to try to use more weight or perform more reps (if you could not complete all 20 reps in a workout). Critics of the system believe that training only twice a week may be more productive for long-term gains, and others believe that you will reach a point of diminishing returns long before the six weeks are over, espe-cially if you are an advanced trainee.

If your goal is to pack on a lot of muscle mass quickly and you’re inter-ested in challenging yourself with a legendary Iron Game workout, give a 20-Rep Squat Workout a try.


James Williams was the first to bench press 661 pounds (300 kilos) in competition and attempted 700 pounds. He placed 2nd in the AAU World Powerlifting Championships twice (1971-72), and when he weighed 340 pounds could dunk a basketball. His best official lifts included a 865-pound squat, a 675-pound bench press, a 725-pound deadlift, and a 2240-pound total. In training he had squatted 900 and bench pressed 720.

Vince Gironda’s 8x8Vince “The Iron Guru” Gironda was a pioneer in bodybuilding and personal training, and one of his most popular workouts was the 8 x 8 Training System. Referred to as an “honest” workout, the 8x8 Training System was an especially challenging system that promised to melt fat fast and add slabs of muscle.

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Vince Gironda’s 8x8Vince Gironda was a pioneer in bodybuilding and personal training, and one of his most popular workouts was the 8 x 8 Training System. Referred to as an “honest” workout, the 8x8 Training System was an especially challenging system that promised to melt fat fast and add slabs of muscle.

Gironda was a bodybuilding coach whose success stories included Lar-ry Scott, who in 1965 won the first Mr. Olympia and defended his title the following year, and Mohamed Makkawy, who placed second twice in the Olympia. Gironda also garnered a reputation as being a “Trainer to the Stars” because of his work with Hollywood celebrities, including Clint Eastwood, Cher, Denzel Washington, Kurt Russell, Burt Reynolds, Carl Weathers, Michael Landon, James Garner and Erik Estrada. Gi-ronda’s gym, Vince’s Gym located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, was a popular gym that attracted many of the top bodybuilders of the ’60s and ’70s, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.

In what he referred to as an “honest workout,” Gironda believed in the value of periods of high-volume training to achieve maximum muscle growth quickly, especially in lagging body parts, and to reduce bodyfat. One of his favorite workouts in this regard was what he referred to as the “8x8 system.”

This type of workout is similar to the German Volume Training in that it involves focusing on a low number of exercises, with a high number of sets and reps, so that an entire workout could be finished in an hour or less – in fact, most of his workouts were designed to be performed in one hour or less. To work all the major muscle groups and enable them to recover from these difficult training sessions, you would work each bodypart only twice a week and allow at least 72 hours’ rest between workouts. A typical split for this workout might look like this:

Monday and Thursday: Chest, Back, Shoulders

Tuesday and Friday: Biceps, Triceps, Forearms

Wednesday and Saturday: Legs, Calves

Each exercise is performed for 8 sets of 8 reps of each exercise (with


the exception of calves, which are performed for sets of 20). When first performing this workout, take 60 seconds rest between each exer-cise, the gradually reduce the rest time to 15-30 seconds between sets. When this can be accomplished, increase the weight of the exercise.

A general guideline is to start with about 50-60 percent of what you can lift for one repetition (1RM) in each exercise. The following is one of Gironda’s published workouts using the 8x8 system:

Day 1 - Chest

Decline Low Cable Crossover (touch hands at waistline) 8 x 8

Bench Press to Neck 8 x 8

Incline Dumbbell Press (palms facing each other) 8 x 8

Wide Grip V-Bar Dips 8 x 8

Biceps

Drag Curl 8 x 8

Preacher Curl (top of bench at low pec line) 8 x 8

Incline Dumbbell Curl 8 x 8

Forearms

Zottman Curl 8 x 8

Barbell Wrist Curl 8 x 8

Day 2 - Shoulders

Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise Seated 8 x 8

Wide Grip Upright Row 8 x 8

Front-to-Back Barbell Shoulder Press 8 x 8


Dumbbell Bent-over Rear Deltoid Lateral Raise 8 x 8

Triceps

Kneeling Rope Extension 8 x 8

Lying Triceps Extension 8 x 8

2 Dumbbell Triceps Kickback 8 x 8

Day 3 = Back

Sternum Chin-up 8 x 8

High Bench Two Dumbbell Row 8 x 8

Low Cable Row 18” High Pulley 8 x 8

Medium-Grip Lat Pulldown to Chest 8 x 8

Abs

Double Crunch (pull in knees and elbows together) 8 x 8

Weighted Crunch 8 x 8

Lying Bent-knee Leg Raise 8 x 8

Day 4 - Quads

Front Squat 8 x 8

Hack Machine Squat 8 x 8

Sissy Squat 8 x 8

Leg Extension 8 x 8

Hamstrings

Supine Leg Curl 8 x 8

Seated leg Curl Machine 8 x 8


Calves Standing Calf Raise 8 x 20

Seated Calf Raise 8 x 20

To make progress in weight training, Gironda advocated avoiding what he called physical and mental “energy leaks.” “Physical leaks” included smoking, drinking, skipping meals, missing sleep, and refined sugar. “Mental leaks” included displaying emotional qualities that upset tran-quility, such as hate, anxiety and ego.

Gironda did not believe in using aerobic exercise for getting lean, unlike many bodybuilders who have endorsed it as necessary to get lean, and didn’t consider aerobic training mandatory for women. He believed, and rightly so, that weight training was superior for losing bodyfat and that aerobic training could compromise muscle mass gains. And as for his special approach for training women, Gironda thought that nothing was better or faster for shaping the female figure than weight training.

There are many other good ideas Gironda promoted, including not working the abs every day, frequently changing your workout, special-izing on areas that lagged behind others, the value of supplements, and the importance of concentration during training and the willingness to experiment with new ideas.

Regarding nutrition, which he wrote about frequently, Gironda empha-sized the importance of breakfast and was one of the first to promote lower-carbohydrate diets. He also had no problem about including fat in diets, which ran contrary to what the aerobic industry was promot-ing. Instead of three small meals, he would recommend six small meals to stimulate metabolism. Also, while the nation’s medical experts were leaning towards low-fat/high-carbohydrate diets, Gironda was pro-moting low-carb diets and wasn’t concerned with eliminating fat.

Vince Gironda was an innovative trainer, and if you track down his books and original articles, you’ll find numerous training pearls that will help you (and your athletes, if you are a coach or trainer) achieve your goals.



Glossary

Bonk, Gerd: first weightlifter to clean and jerk 556 pounds, making him the first to lift over 250 kilos (550 pounds). Bonk began as a track and field athlete, setting the East German youth record in the shot put with a best of 58.46 feet (17.82 meters).

Coe, Boyer: bodybuilder who won the Teen Mr. America, Mr. America, and Mr. Universe; he also placed fourth on three occasions in the Mr. Olympia. Known for his longevity in the sport.

Cole, Jon: one of the most versatile athletes in the Iron Game. In powerlift-ing he set world records in the squat, deadlift, and total – he was the first to squat 900 pounds and total 2200 pounds (raw, with only knee wraps). He competed in the Olympic Trials in weightlifting, the World’s Strongest Man competition (placing 6th), set a national high school record in the discus, and broke Arizona state records in the shot put and discus.

Crass, Derrick: a weightlifter and Olympian from the US.

Darden, Ellington: a former director of research for Nautilus and author of many books about Nautilus founder Arthur Jones’ training.

Ferrigno, Lou: bodybuilder won two Mr. Universe titles and was considered Arnold’s greatest challenge in bodybuilding. Ferrigno was able to use his physique as a gateway to many movie and television roles, including his long-running portrayal of “The Incredible Hulk.”

German Volume Training: a variation of a high-volume training developed by US bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda. One of the major differences between GVT and Gironda’s method is that GVT contains more rest time between sets.

Gironda, Vince: a bodybuilding coach whose success stories included Larry Scott, who in 1965 won the first Mr. Olympia and defended his title the follow-ing year, and Mohamed Makkawy, who placed second twice in the Olympia. Gi-ronda also garnered a reputation as being a “Trainer to the Stars” because of his work with Hollywood celebrities, including Clint Eastwood, Cher, Denzel Wash-ington, Kurt Russell, Burt Reynolds, Carl Weathers, Michael Landon, James Gar-ner and Erik Estrada. Gironda’s gym, Vince’s Gym located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, was a popular gym that attracted many of the top bodybuilders of the ’60s and ’70s, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.


Grippaldi, Phil: sporting 22-inch arms, Phil Grippaldi competed in three Olympic Games (1968, 1972, and 1976). His best lifts include a 386-pound Olympic press, 341-pound snatch, and a 451-pound clean and jerk in the 198-pound bodyweight class.

Hoffman, Bob: the publisher of Strength and Health magazine and president of the York Barbell Club, which was the premier weightlifting team in the US for many decades.

Jones, Arthur: founder of the Nautilus, Inc. and Medx, Inc. exercise equip-ment companies. One of the key tenants of Arthur Jones’ training philosophy was that developing the highest levels of strength and muscular size did not require a large investment in time, especially when using his machines. Famous bodybuilders who benefited from Jones’s training concepts include Mike and Ray Mentzer, Casey Viator, and Mr. Olympias Dorian Yates and Sergio Oliva.

Jones, Gary: a resistance training equipment designer who inherited some of his father’s brilliance by creating Hammer Strength Systems, the most successful plate-loaded equipment line in the world.

Kennedy, Robert: publisher of MuscleMag magazine who created the pre-exhaustion principle of training.

Mentzer, Mike: an IFBB pro was one of the most successful bodybuilders of his time (1951-2001). The legacy he left to those in the Iron Game is his con-troversial workout program, Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty™. Mentzer believed that working to failure is essential to get the greatest muscle-building results from training. Another point Mentzer stressed was that only one set for each major muscle group was needed to achieve maximal results.

Milser, Rolf: weightlifter from West Germany who won the 1984 Olympic champion in the 220-pound bodyweight class. He broke the world record in the clean and jerk in the 181-pound bodyweight class with a best of 457 pounds and in the 198-pound bodyweight class with a best of 490 pounds.

Olivia, Sergio: a three-time Mr. Olympia winner who had clean and jerked 360 pounds and had flexed upper arms that exceeded the height of his head.

One-Hundred Reps Method: a training method that increases work capacity by training the lactic-capacity energy system. The method involves perform-ing 100 cumulative repetitions with a specific weight in as few sets as possible.


Phillips, Marv: as a child, Phillips fell from a tree and reportedly tore his right arm completely from his body. Surgeons used 287 internal stitches and 167 external stitches to reattach his arm. Phillips was a 1974 national champion in powerlifting and broke the world record in the squat seven times, with a best of 848 pounds in the 242-pound bodyweight class.

Pisarenko, Antonio: a world champion weightlifter and world record holder from Russia. He broke the absolute world record in the clean and jerk and, unlike many super heavyweight lifters of his time, had a relatively small waist and low bodyfat.

Platz, Tom: finished third in the 1981 Mr. Olympia and Hatfield had squatted 1,014 pounds, which when he did it was the highest result in competition in any weight class.

Post-Exhaustion: a type of superset in which you first perform a compound exercise followed by an isolation movement. With the post-exhaustion method, the trainee gets the maximum strength training effect from the com-pound movement and can further fatigue a single muscle with an isolation movement.

Pre-Exhaustion: a training method in which a muscle is first fatigued by a single-joint exercise, and then further exhausted by performing a multi-joint exercise involving the same muscle group and additional muscle groups.

Rader, Peary: the founder of Ironman magazine, one of the most popular bodybuilding magazines for over a half-century.

Rakhamanov, Sultan: 1980 Olympic weightlifting champion in the super heavyweight bodyweight class, was one of the most physically-impressive lifters of his time. He broke the world record in the snatch twice, with a best result of 443 pounds in 1981. He was also known for his tremendous grip strength and his ability in arm wrestling.

Reding, Serge: a Belgium weightlifter who was the first to snatch 400 pounds. Sports scientist Dr. Mel Siff said Reding could front squat 880 pounds for five reps and perform repeated jumps a foot off the ground while holding 286 pounds! Reding carried over 300 pounds of solid muscle on his 5’8” frame, and reportedly possessed 26” calves.


Reinhoudt, Don: the only powerlifting to win the super heavyweight division in the International Powerlifting Federation four times in a row; held all four world records (squat, bench press, deadlift, and total) at the same time. Reinhoudt is the only lifter to squat 900 pounds, bench press 600 pounds, and deadlift 900 pounds raw (i.e., without gear such as a supersuit). In 1979 he won the World’s Strongest Man competition, having placed second the previous year to US weightlifter Bruce Wilhelm.

Rigert, David: weightlifter with a bodybuilder’s physique who won the Olym-pic Games in 1976 and broke 68 world records. One of the most popular weightlifters of his time.

Rusev, Yanko: a Bulgarian weightlifter who won five world championships and won the 1980 Olympics in the 67.5-kilo class. He broke 25 world records, five in the snatch, and 13 in the clean and jerk. Rusev was best known for his ability in the clean and jerk, where he had best of 429 pounds at a body-weight of 148 pounds and 460 pounds at a bodyweight of 165 pounds.

SuperSlow™: a workout system was introduced to the mainstream fitness community by Ken Hutchins. The core of the program was to perform each rep of every exercise in about 20 seconds, lifting the weight in 10 seconds and lowering it in 10 seconds.

Ten/Eight/Six (10/8/6) Method: involves performing three sets of progres-sively heavier weights and lower reps. The 10/8/6 Training Method is es-pecially motivating for beginners because the fewer reps on the second and third sets enable much heavier weights to be used – in effect, it gives the user the illusion of getting stronger throughout the workout.

Ten/Eight/Six/Fifteen (10/8/6/15): a workout program developed by Vince Gironda that involves performing three sets of progressively heavier weights and lower reps (10/8/6), followed by a lighter “pump” set with 15 reps.

Twenty-Rep (20-rep) Squat Workout: a bodybuilding/strength workout that emphasizes high-repetition squats. Although there are several variations of the 20-Rep Squat Workout, the most popular variations focused on perform-ing one set of squats, three times a week on non-consecutive days, for six weeks. The key is that the squats are performed for 20 reps, all out.


Upkon, Innocent: a weightlifter from the United States who earned a pro card for bodybuilding. Lifting in the 187-pound bodyweight class, Upkon snatched 341 pounds, clean and jerked 451 pounds, and represented the US in international competitions.

Vardanyan, Yurik: the 1980 Olympic weightlifting champion in the 181-pound bodyweight class. He was a 7-time world champion, and broke a total of 41 world records in three bodyweight classes. Weighing less that 200 pounds, his best lifts include a 418-pound snatch and a 502-pound clean and jerk. His son Norik competed in the 2008 Olympics and broke American records in the snatch several times.

Viator, Casey: won 1971 AAU Mr. America contest as a teenager, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. He was considered one of the most genet-ically-gifted physique competitors of his era. Author Junes trained Viator for the Mr. America and worked for him.

Westcott, Wayne: a sports scientist who worked for the YMCA and conduct-ed two well-known studies on slow tempo training on untrained individuals involving a total of 65 men and 82 women. Westcott reported that the slow tempo group had a 50 percent greater increase in strength than the tradi-tional training group. Later studies by other researchers, however, reported difference results.

Williams, James: the first to bench press 661 pounds (300 kilos) in com-petition and attempt 700 pounds. He placed 2nd in the AAU World Power-lifting Championships twice (1971-72), and when he weighed 340 pounds could dunk a basketball. His best official lifts included an 865-pound squat, a 675-pound bench press, a 725-pound deadlift, and a 2240-pound total. In training he had squatted 900 and bench pressed 720.

Woods, Paul: 1974 world powerlifting champion in the 198-pound body-weight class.


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SYSTEMS - The Fitness Experts Onlinethefitnessexpertsonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/... · 2018-03-31 · guru Vince Gironda. One of the major differences between GVT and