I,Bodybuilder in 4 Day Split or Mechanical Drop Set in 4 Day Split?

Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice

Coach-

Wow! Thank you again for all your time and expertise!

I will get to work on Monday!

Unimog416

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Coach,

Are you using this for maximum hypertrophy? Or are your goals in this phase different?

[quote]ADvanced TS wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Coach,

Are you using this for maximum hypertrophy? Or are your goals in this phase different?[/quote]

To give you an idea. I am using a similar approach with IFBB pro Darryl Gee (but he is training twice a day, and we are using the prowler in the workouts) and in 13 days he developped stretch marks on his chest. No bad considering that he had not gotten a stretch mark in 8 years, is already IFBB pro size and has started in pre-contest diet (he still has a lot of carbs in though).

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ADvanced TS wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Coach,

Are you using this for maximum hypertrophy? Or are your goals in this phase different?[/quote]

To give you an idea. I am using a similar approach with IFBB pro Darryl Gee (but he is training twice a day, and we are using the prowler in the workouts) and in 13 days he developped stretch marks on his chest. No bad considering that he had not gotten a stretch mark in 8 years, is already IFBB pro size and has started in pre-contest diet (he still has a lot of carbs in though).[/quote]

I would certainly file that under “maximum hypertrophy”. His physique is extremely impressive to begin with, so the intensity in these sessions must be off the charts.

Thanks Coach.

Coach, that looks great, especially for someone like myself with a home gym, my question is though, if someone were doing a 3 on 1 off as i believe you prefer, how would things change set-up wise?

On the second cycle through what would you change, the order of the lifts?

i am guessing for the main ramping exercises, you would start at around 60% and just slowly work your way till the max force point (with the prescribed reps). im guessing an average of anywhere from 5-8 sets for those exercises then? also, would it hurt to do the circuit part twice instead of just once if you feel performance can be kept?

This looks like a nice alternative or addition to the I,BB program if one trains in a busy gym. This program has less tying up of equipment than the I,BB. I have completed 2, 10week rounds of the I,BB and might just start this program for 4-6 weeks.

Program looks great, might give it a go!
Just a question though, whats the reasoning behind the circuits, I’m just curious, by no way am I doubting the methods lol.
Thanks.

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Hi Christian,

On Day 2 above, is that just a typo or are there only the four “D” exercises? Also, what modifications did you make for Darryl’s twice-a-day’s?

Thanks, Christian…

[quote]natefisher wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Hi Christian,

On Day 2 above, is that just a typo or are there only the four “D” exercises? Also, what modifications did you make for Darryl’s twice-a-day’s?

Thanks, Christian…

[/quote]

Darryl’s program is too complex to write down… well not really, but it’s a chore!!!

  • In the PM he has an eccentric-less workout for the muscle trained in the morning.

  • He is specializing on back right now, and I started to group the spec workouts in the first half of the week to create a more powerful training effect (concentrated loading) so Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are essentially back days… width, thickness and traps-lower back

  • He is using sled exercises (e.g. sled row, sled curl, sled rear delts, etc.) at the end of every circuit and is also using blast straps exercises in the circuit.

  • I added one manual accentuated eccentric exercise per muscle.

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]natefisher wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Hi Christian,

On Day 2 above, is that just a typo or are there only the four “D” exercises? Also, what modifications did you make for Darryl’s twice-a-day’s?

Thanks, Christian…

[/quote]

Darryl’s program is too complex to write down… well not really, but it’s a chore!!!

  • In the PM he has an eccentric-less workout for the muscle trained in the morning.

  • He is specializing on back right now, and I started to group the spec workouts in the first half of the week to create a more powerful training effect (concentrated loading) so Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are essentially back days… width, thickness and traps-lower back

  • He is using sled exercises (e.g. sled row, sled curl, sled rear delts, etc.) at the end of every circuit and is also using blast straps exercises in the circuit.

  • I added one manual accentuated eccentric exercise per muscle.[/quote]

Thanks, CT. Now to read everything you’ve had to say about eccentric-less workouts and concentrated loading!!!

[quote]natefisher wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]natefisher wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]unimog416 wrote:
Coach -

Due to work and family I can only work out M,T,TH,F in the gym. I can do cardio other days.

Would I be better to modify I Bodybuilder by dropping out Wednesday or to Modify Mechanical Drop?

I think I would do that modification by dropping the off day on day 5 and moving day 6 to day 5.

Going to start new program on Monday, your thoughts and time are greatly appreciated.

Unimog416[/quote]

I’d recommend a variation of the method I’m using now.

DAY 1 - PUSH

A. Top half bench press from pins
Ramping sets of 3 reps

B. Push press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

C Incline bench or DB press
Ramping sets of 5 reps

D1. Push press using 70% of the top reached on B.
Max reps

D2. Dips bodyweight only
Max reps

D3. DB lateral raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. DB shoulder press
Max reps with the same weight as in D3.

D5. Push ups
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 2 - PULL

A. Bent over barbell row
Ramping sets of 5

B. Lat pulldown
Ramping sets of 5

C. Power shrugs
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Power upright row
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D2. Bent over row 70% of what you used on A.
Max reps

D3. Lat pulldown 70% of what you used on B
Max reps

D4. Chest supported rear delts raises
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 3 - LEGS

A. Jump squat with 20% of your max squat
3-5 sets of 5 jumps

B. Leg press or front squat
Ramping sets of 5

C. Romanian deadlift
Ramping sets of 5

D1. Leg press or front squat with 70% of the weight used in A
Max reps

D2. Romanian deadlift with 70%
Max reps

D3. Leg extension
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D4. Lying leg curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

D5. Bodyweight squat
Max reps

D1 to D5 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed only once

DAY 4 - ARMS

A. Incline close-grip bench press
Ramping sets of 5

B. Preacher curl
Ramping sets of 5

C1. Incline close-grip bench with 70%
Max reps

C2. Preacher curl with 70%
Max reps

C3. Nosebreaker
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C4. Standing reverse curl
Max reps with a weight you can do 8-12 times

C1 to C4 are performed as a circuit with as little rest as possible between stations

The circuit is performed twice[/quote]

Hi Christian,

On Day 2 above, is that just a typo or are there only the four “D” exercises? Also, what modifications did you make for Darryl’s twice-a-day’s?

Thanks, Christian…

[/quote]

Darryl’s program is too complex to write down… well not really, but it’s a chore!!!

  • In the PM he has an eccentric-less workout for the muscle trained in the morning.

  • He is specializing on back right now, and I started to group the spec workouts in the first half of the week to create a more powerful training effect (concentrated loading) so Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are essentially back days… width, thickness and traps-lower back

  • He is using sled exercises (e.g. sled row, sled curl, sled rear delts, etc.) at the end of every circuit and is also using blast straps exercises in the circuit.

  • I added one manual accentuated eccentric exercise per muscle.[/quote]

Thanks, CT. Now to read everything you’ve had to say about eccentric-less workouts and concentrated loading!!!

[/quote]

I haven’t said much yet. I’ve got an article on eccentric-less training coming up soon. And I haven’t written anything about concentrated loading to correct a weak point yet.

Here’s a little something about eccentric-less training…

It is well established that the eccentric portion of a repetition is where most of the micro-trauma to the muscle occurs. Equally well understood is the fact that the eccentric portion of the movement requires a different motor pattern, or motor unit recruitment strategy than the concentric portion.

It’s for those reasons that the eccentric portion of a lift is effective at stimulating growth, but by the same token it explains why it is highly stressful on the nervous system and muscles.

Exercises devoid of eccentric loading are much less stressful on both those systems (nervous and musculoskeletal). Yes they are somewhat less effective in stimulating size gains. But they are not ineffective in that regard. Concentric-only lifting can stimulate both strength and size gains, albeit to lesser extent than movements including both types of contractions.

However the main benefit of concentric-only is the drastically lowered stress level of such a training approach. As such, you can still get some gains while giving the body a brief period of relative rest by using concentric-only exercises as your sole mode of training for a 5-10 days microcycle.

This type of deloading is interesting in that it allows you to deload without having to decrease training volume or intensity (although you can still do that too). This makes it possible to further stimulate strength and size gains as well as neural improvements as you recover and reload your system.

Good concentric-only exercises include sled and prowler work. As you may already know, I’m a big believer in using the sled to perform many upper body movements, not only the classical runs, walks and sprints. This type of training completely removes the eccentric portion of the exercise and allows you to do a form of heavy or high volume lifting while deloading.

You can also use these two concentric-emphasis techniques:

1-2 technique: This is the opposite of the ‘‘classic’’ 2-1 technique (which has you doing the lifting portion with two limbs and the lowering portion with one limb). In the 1-2 technique you perform the concentric (lifting) portion with two limbs (e.g. leg extension, leg press or leg curl with one leg, machine curl with one arm, etc.) and then the eccentric (lowering) portion with two limbs (two legs or two arms). This way, while you do not completely remove the eccentric stress you severely reduce it, to non-stressful levels.

Manual accentuated concentric: Use a bar weight that is fairly easy to lift and lower (40-50% of your maximum should do) and have your partner applies additional resistance to the bar during the concentric (lifting) portion of the lift. During the eccentric (lowering) your partner either removes his hands from the bar and let you lower it by yourself (which is easy because of the light load) or even help you lower it (further reducing eccentric loading).

Finally, if you have access to bumper plates (Olympic lifting plates made of rubber that you can drop on the floor) you can perform such lifts as the various deadlifts and Olympic lifts almost devoid of eccentric loading by dropping the bar on the floor after each rep.

Above I describe a way to use eccentric-less training as a deloading tool. But it can also be used as a way to boost training volume without affective recovery needs too much.

Example no.1 eccentric-less curl with a prowler or sled.


Example no.2 Eccentric-less face pull

Much appreciated, Christian. Thanks. As always, you go above and beyond.

Example no.3 Eccentric-less rear delts and rhomboids