Shugart's New Program

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
21

[quote]Atreides wrote:
Hitting the PR zone for 25 reps or more with at true 80% 1RM would be tough enough.
[/quote]

Very true. Then again, since this would be in EDT format, 25 reps would be a goal, and it may take 2-3 workouts to get there. I don’t know. I wish I could go to Staley’s EDT seminar in Chicago so I could ask him. His EDT for strength has you work up to 15 total reps in 15 minutes with 80-90% 1RM, the EDT hypertrophy uses 50 total reps with 70-75%, but there’s no real EDT version in between these two.

Another option would be to do a very abbreviated version of CT’s Power Circuit using just these two exercises.

22

[quote]MikeTheBear wrote:
I wish I could go to Staley’s EDT seminar in Chicago so I could ask him. His EDT for strength has you work up to 15 total reps in 15 minutes with 80-90% 1RM, the EDT hypertrophy uses 50 total reps with 70-75%, but there’s no real EDT version in between these two.

Another option would be to do a very abbreviated version of CT’s Power Circuit using just these two exercises.[/quote]

That’s two of us. I only found out about it recently and I already have plans to be out of town that day.

23

I used to use this system exclusively, but in recent years I have used it for short periods before going back to a split routine. One of the benefits–for me, at least–is that all soreness subsides after the first week.

24

It’s funny this has come up because I just started a new program that I came up with after reading Ian Kings last T-mag article,“Top 10 Mass Makers” that might be considered full body workouts three times a week…

I superset two exercises in the beginning and then finish with heavy work on an asskicker exercise.
Monday: superset Bent row/Bench, then do powerclean&press.

Wednesday: superset Pullups/Standing Military Press, then do Squats.

Friday: superset Bar curl/Dips, then do Deadlifts.

I use a different rep scheme for the supersets and individual exercises. I shoot for 4 sets of 6 reps for the superset exercises, and 4 sets of 5-3 with individual exercises depending on how heavy I feel like going with that w/o, but you can alter the set and rep scheme fairly easily to accomodate your specific goals .

I am more concerned with strength than with mass right now so I upped the volume after the first week by doing these workouts twice a day on the workout days. It keeps the workouts short and intense but still provides plenty of volume. I don’t feel like I am dipping into overtraining yet, but if I do I will back off to one a days again.

I plan on using this program for 6 weeks and then switching it up again, so far I have upped my poundages on each lift by approximately 10% and I am only in the middle of week three. However, I have to admit that I also took my very first cycle of Mag-10 in the first 2 weeks and am now on Tribex/M so those could be contributing factors with the strength increases.

I just finished a bulking phase and am trying to lean out and learning to apply the newfound muscle so I am on a slightly hypo-caloric diet right now. I used the mag-10 in hopes that it would prevent any muscle loss during this cutting cycle and so far no weight has been lost but body comp appears to have improved.

Just thought I’d post this idea to stimulate more thought on this subject and I welcome any comments or questions.

25

I recently read Bompa Tudor’s Modern Trends in Strength Training and he advocates full body workouts, 3 times a week.

He shares Chad Waterbury’s belief that the most important component of strength training is frequency.

He states that for a professional athlete who can train 6 days a week could get away with doing split routines but your average recreational bodybuilder with a full time job, three full body workouts a week are ideal.

26

Chris, would you mind posting your choice of exercises with reps/sets?

I would like to set up a full body routine and I was thinking of this breakdown:
5 exercises per day

Upper body-pull/push
Lower body-quad dominant/hip dominant
calves

27

I think the author’s name ia actually Tudor Bompa.

28

If using Ian King’s Top Ten exercises, you could do this:

Day 1:
Squat
Bench
Chins

Day 2:
Power clean
Shoulder presses
Biceps curls
Calf raises

Day 3:
Deadlift
Dips
Rows

Then, just do as CW recommends and use different set/rep shemes throughout the week.

29

Nate Dogg is right on, different set/reps/plane through the week is what it takes for constant and optimal gains.
This is my current program (it might gives you an idea)

Monday - 3x5 @7RM - Rest 60 s
A1-FRONT SQUATS
A2-CHIN-UPS
B1-DUMBBELL ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS
B2-WEIGHTED DIPS

Wednesday
A-POWER CLEAN - 3x3 @5 RM - 60 s
B-POWER SNATCH - 3x3 @5 RM - 60 s
C1-STANDING MILITARY PRESSES - 3x12 @14RM - 90 s
C2-BARBELL HACK SQUATS - 3x12 @14RM - 90 s

Friday - 3x8 @10RM - Rest 60 s
A1-DEADLIFTS
A2-DUMBBELL BENCH PRESSES
B1-OVERHEAD SQUATS
B2-BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWS

If you want to train frequently follow CW advises (different exercises,don’t train to failure, different set/reps/plane…)

Hope it helps.

30

The program I posted above, even though it uses the same set and rep scheme, I think was meant to be the 3 days-a-week/medium-light-heavy routine. It looks like the bulk of the “money” exercises are on Day 3, just before 2 rest days; Day 1 is slightly lighter without deads, and Day 2 would be the light day.

31

[quote]Tom_H wrote:
Chris, would you mind posting your choice of exercises with reps/sets?
[/quote]

Sure, but keep in mind this all a big experiment for me right now, plus some of my program is designed around my needs and may not work for everyone. For example, I’m really taking care of recovery with Surge, foam roller work, The Stick, etc. Will soon add 4-AD-EC too. If someone else isn’t doing all this, then they may not progress as well as I hope to.

As noted by others in this thread, there are many options here. For one you can keep the same exercises and switch around the reps and sets: light day, heavy day, medium day etc. Or you can keep the same sets and reps and vary the exercises. Or you can do both.

Right now I’m shooting for a pretty wide target in reps (8-12) as this in the experimental first week of the program. I chose 8-12 because, very generally speaking, the less sets the more reps you should do. Example: 3 x 10. And the more sets the less reps: 10 x 3. I’m doing 2 sets per exercise, not counting a warm-up when needed, so I’m going for a higher number of reps.

Right I’m using 9 to 11 exercises per training session, 2 sets each. Yep, that’s a little high, although that number does include abs and calves which don’t take too much out of you as compared to squats and deadlifts. I’m also doing some direct arm work which probably isn’t even necessary give the rest of the compound movements.

I switch exercises each session for 3 sessions (one week) then plan to repeat them. Example of a week of chest training:

Monday: Flat BB bench

Wed: Flyes and dips (a mistake, as mentioned above, should’ve picked one or the other, not both)

Friday: Incline DB press

Other exercises are mostly standard B & B’s (Big & Basics): deadlift, front squat, stiff leg deadlift, pull-up, overhead press, etc.

32

I’ve been using an HST type program for the last few weeks with good success so far (would be better if I didn’t have to miss a few workouts due to shift changes at work and having all four of my wisdom teeth taken out). It’s funny, cause all the lean and muscular people I knew when I was younger did full body routines 3x a week and ran 3x a week while eating healthy and simple (Beans, lean meats, fruits and veggies, whole grains, etc). I also noticed that when I was younger I used to do a 3x a week full body routine that I got from a martial arts magazine and played basketball a lot, so I was pretty lean and muscular. I’ve decided to return to that basic premise (3 full body workouts a week, run 3x a week, eat healthy) and it’s working pretty well.

33

I do it like this for sprint training.

Day 1: Lower Body Emphasis High Intensity

Day 3: Upper Body Emphasis High Intensity

Day 5: No Emphasis High Volume

34

Spoke to Tim again about this. My number of sets is way too high as I figured. I’ll be dropping some of the direct arm work as part of the fix.

There’s also a highly “instinctual” aspect to a program like this, especially for those experienced trainers with a high level of body awareness. Lots of room to play around and adapt things to individual goals and needs.

35

How does this routine sound? The whole body workout sounds like a good change up from MAX - OT. Please let me know if this is on the right track and if I should change any of this. I can’t do deadlifts due to lower back problems. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

	Monday	

Exercise	Sets	Reps

Warm UP Weighted Pull Ups 2 4-6
Barbell Shrugs 2 4-6
Warm UP Military BB Press 2 4-6
Calf Raises on Leg Press 2 4-6
Warm UP Squats 2 4-6
Warm UP Flat BB Bench 2 4-6
Cable Crunches 2 4-6

	Wednesday	

Exercise	  Sets	 Reps

Warm UP Seated Cable Row 2 4-6
Dumbell Shrugs 2 4-6
Warm UP Side Lateral Raises 2 4-6
Standing Calf Raise 2 4-6
Warm UP Stiff Leg Deads 2 4-6
Warm UP Incline Dumbell Press 2 4-6
Weighted Crunches 2 4-6

	Friday

Warm UP V - Bar Pulldown 2 4-6
Barbell Shrugs 2 4-6
Warm UP Dumbell Press 2 4-6
Seated Calf Raises 2 4-6
Warm UP Leg Press 2 4-6
Warm UP Weighted Dips 2 4-6
Cable Crunches 2 4-6

36

Also - 120 second rest intervals.
Change the calf reps to 6-8
Change the Abdominal reps to 8-12

37

I started doing full-body routines at home because I was spending too much time in the basement. Here’s my plan:

full clean 3-5X5-10
1-leg Ham curl 2xfailure
1-leg calf raise 2Xfail
Ahren/W press 1xfail
dumbell upright row 1Xfail
incline bench 1xfail
weighted pull-up 1xfail
abs as desired.

Some explanations:
I do this three times a week. I don’t do any multi-joint leg work because, first off, I hurt my knee hiking two weeks ago, and second, because all I have is a standard bench/leg curl/ext. combo; I can only squat what I can clean. The thing will flip if you sneeze. I think that working 4 multi-joint pushing or pulling sets, then doing two isolation sets, when you only did two sets for the legs, is going to lead to upper-body overtraining. So will my failure routine, but I’ll get more mileage.

When I get access to a power rack and some olympic equipment, I’ll start each day with a squat, deadlift, or goodmorning, and alternate between vertical and horizontal planes of motion.

I’ve seen some decent growth with this, better than anything else I’ve tried on my marginal equipment.

38

This is scary, we’re all starting to sound like Mike Mentzer disciples.

39

We must be chronic overtrainers.

40

[quote]Tom_H wrote:
This is scary, we’re all starting to sound like Mike Mentzer disciples.[/quote]

No shit. I mean, I like what I’m doing and it seems like it works, but man, it feels like I joined a Scientologist support group by accident. I’ve been thinking about this all week–it makes me wonder. I’m shaken to the core.

Did you know it may take up to a month to recover from a single training session? Or that I found this full-body training routine on two gold tablets buried in my back yard?