I am 20 years old…I played two years of college football and recently quit. Now, I’ve decided to more seriously pursue bodybuilding. I am 5’11 187 11% bodyfat, having just finished an 8 week cutting phase (got down to 182 two weeks ago from 200 13% bf. My goals now are to add some good size (the majority to my upper body) while minimizing fat gain.
I will be consuming between 250-300 g protein, around 75 g fat, and between 200-250 g carbs. 95% of my carbs will be consumed before mid-day and 95% of my fat after mid-day. On non-training days, I will eat SLIGHTLY less. I just started a cycle of Gaspari Superpump 250 and Size-On, and Testosto-grow. I also take a multivitamin, 5-6 g. fish oil and 3-5 g. flax seed oil daily. I have read nearly every T-Nation article from the past 3 or 4 years, and after much debate, have decided to follow Christian Thibaudeau’s advice and follow a High Volume/Low Frequency Program.
Here is the info from his article “The Training Strategy Notebook” How Should You Train? followed by my new training split…
Please comment and give suggestions!
The Training Strategy Handbook
How Should You Train?
by Christian Thibaudeau
Strategy #4: High Volume/Low Frequency
This is where most “regular” bodybuilding programs fall. Each muscle group is trained with a relatively high volume of work (12-20 sets per muscle group) but only once a week.
Sets are normally performed either in the total hypertrophy zone (8-12 reps) or functional hypertrophy zone (6-8 reps). Around 3-4 sets of 2 to 5 exercises per muscle group are used with this form of training: larger, more complex muscle groups (chest, back, quads) being trained with more exercises (4-5) than smaller muscle groups (shoulders, triceps, biceps, hamstrings, calves) which are trained with 2-3 exercises.
At least one multi-joint movement per muscle group is used (up to two or three for larger muscle groups) and the isolation exercises should be selected to focus on a specific weak point within the muscle group.
�?� Antagonist superset (if training two opposing muscle groups in the same session): Superset one exercise for a muscle (e.g. chest) with one for its antagonist (e.g. back). Sets of 6-8 or 8-12 reps are performed.
Pros and cons of this approach:
�?� It allows you to use a wide variety of exercises for each muscle group, which minimizes the risk of developing a severe imbalance: PRO.
�?� You can create a lot of micro-trauma at each session which will represent an important training stimulus: PRO.
�?� There’s less neuromuscular improvements than with high frequency training because you’re not training each muscle group very often: CON.
�?� Some people won’t give a maximum effort on all sets because they unconsciously want to pace themselves to be able to finish the workout: CON.
�?� A higher volume of work allow for hypertrophy stimulation via the cumulative fatigue phenomenon as well as the stimulation of hGH release induced by the elevation of lactate levels: PRO.
�?� If you wimp out during a training session and your workout isn’t productive, then you have to wait a whole week before being able to stimulate that muscle again: CON.
�?� Training fewer muscle groups per session allows you (compared to whole-body training) to train each muscle group with an equally high quality of effort, whereas with whole-body training the muscles being trained last won’t be trained as hard: PRO.
Why or when should you use this approach?
This approach is better suited for individuals who already have built a decent muscular base through the use of basic training and decide to focus their efforts on maximizing their muscular development. If you’re training for bodybuilding-type or aesthetic-type gains, this is the best approach most of the time.
Monday (Chest, Tri)
Bench 3 x 6-8 (2 min rest)
Incline 3 x 6-10 (2 min rest)
Decline 2-3 x 8-12 (90 sec rest)
Cable Flies 2 x 10-12 (60 sec)
Pec Dec 2 x 10-12 (60 sec)
Weighted Dips 3-4 x 6-8 (2 min)
French Press 2-3 x 8-10 (90 sec)
Pushdowns 2 x 10-12 (60 sec)
(Make 8 sets for tri’s)
Tuesday (Back, Hams)
Deadlift 3 x 6-10 (2-3 min)
Weighted Pullups 5-6 x 6-8 (2 min)
Bent Over Rows 3-4 x 6-10 (2 min)
(Make 9 sets between the 2)
Low Rows 3 x 8-12 / RDL 3 x 8-12 (45 sec. bet. ant. lifts)
Behind Neck Pulldown 2-3 x 10-12 (60 sec)
Swiss Ball for hamstrings (Killer…just ask)
Thursday (Quads, biceps)
Squat 4 x 10-12 (2 min)
Leg Press or Front Squat3 x 12-15 (90 sec)
Lunge 2-3 x 15 (60 sec)
Blaster Curls 4 x 6-8 (2 min)
Incline Curls 3-4 x 6-10 (2 min)
Alt. sup. DB curls 3 x 8-12 (90 sec)
Alt DB preacher curl 2 x 10-12 (30 sec)
(Can be done all separately or superset (with 1/2 the normal rest time in between.)
Friday (Shoulders, Traps)
Clean and Press 3-4 x 4-6 (2-3 min)
Shrugs 4 x 6-10 (2 min)
Rev Shrugs 3 x 8-12 (90 sec)
Behind Neck or DB Press 3-4 x 6-10 (2 min)
Front/Side/Rear raise tri-set 2-3 x 8-12
(30 sec between each)
Rev. Peck dec 2 x 10-12 (60 sec)
I will do abs every day. 2-3 days w/weight in the gym…the rest a circuit at home. Calves and forearms are trained 2-3 times a week via a circuit on non-weighted ab days.