The Anti-Bodybuilding Hypertrophy Program Part 1
Here's what you need to know...
- Rethink your idea of bodybuilding. The muscle growth methods used by the strongmen of old were what revolutionized bodybuilding. Not the tan and posing briefs.
- Train for strength and grow at the same time. Your muscle size is determined by your calorie intake.
- Throw the rules out the window that have inundated bodybuilding. Train more often, forget about time under tension and train through muscle soreness.
Use the following program for both gains in muscle mass and gains in strength. No posing briefs are required.
Hypertrophy like you've never heard of it before
There has never been a topic where more misinformation has circulated. Common sense and science often step aside when it comes to muscle building advice.
This probably has to do with knowing more about the nervous system than muscle soreness, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that most writers on hypertrophy training are morons who can't even build muscle themselves. But judge for yourself.
I never liked bodybuilding until I started writing for T Nation. Only then did I realize that there are some damn intelligent people out there who like it. I'm not talking about the kind of bodybuilding that consists of "shaved guys posing in thong briefs", but the good old hypertrophy inducing strength training of yesteryear.
The strongmen of old were people who truly revolutionized bodybuilding. Unfortunately, their methods have long since been forgotten. In exchange for irregular, machine-based, ineffective bodybuilding methods, many excellent training principles have been lost.
The secret of bodybuilding has been kept from you
Here it is: Hypertrophy and strength don't have to be two separate worlds.
I've never developed a program based solely on hypertrophy training and yet my clients have built a ton of muscle over the years.
Muscle growth is primarily controlled by caloric intake. Assuming everything is normal with your physiology, even the best hypertrophy program will not build relevant amounts of muscle if nutrient intake is inadequate. Did you understand that?
Let's look at some real hypertrophy methods you can use in your current training program to develop more functional muscles.
A warning for bodybuilders: the following could barbecue some of your sacred cows.
Five principles of hypertrophy
1 - Train more often
Forget the idea that a muscle group can only be trained once a week. Strongmen of the past didn't train this way and neither should you. The more often you can perform a growth-stimulating training session, the better.
2 - Forget the time under tension
Don't invest so much in the assumption that hypertrophy-inducing sets must last between 40 and 70 seconds (or is it 20 to 90 seconds? Or 43.5 to 68.7 seconds?).
This would mean that the classic 5 x 5 method does not build muscle, as these sets are not 40 seconds long. Or maybe everyone who uses the 5 x 5 method uses a tempo where each repetition is eight seconds long? No, sorry.
3 -There is a daily limit for muscle stimulation
I would like to quote a slogan from the eighties of the 20th century: "Stimulate, don't annihilate!" (stimulate instead of annihilate). There is an absolute limit to the amount of hypertrophy-inducing stimuli you can set in a given day.
4 -Don't train to muscle failure
You need to prevent your nervous system from becoming overly fatigued if you want to train more frequently. Leave the grunting and yelling to the guys who have 35-inch upper arms and spend your day doing concentration curls and wasting daddy's money.
5 -Train through the soreness
In the beginning, you'll probably have continuous muscle soreness with this program. That's okay! The soreness will go away once your recovery improves and the proper adaptations have taken place. Muscle soreness is your body's way of saying "I need more carbohydrates and protein." So feed your muscles continuously!
The training sessions
If you're comfortable with actually breaking every "hypertrophy rule," you can build muscle fast with this program. And this program is similar to the principles followed by the strongmen of old.
So let's get to the program that will build serious amounts of muscle mass and increase your strength! Keep in mind that you can choose your own exercises. The exercises used below are just examples.
Day 1
- Sets per muscle group: Chest 10, Back 10
- Plane of movement: Horizontal
- Example exercises: Flat bench press, barbell row, seated cable row (both back exercises use an underhand grip with exactly the same grip width as the bench press)
- Repetitions: 3
- Weight: 80% of the 1RM
- Rest: 60 seconds between supersets (i.e. perform a chest set, pause for 60 seconds, perform a back set, pause for 60 seconds, perform a chest set, pause for 60 seconds, etc.)
Day 2 - No training
Day 3
- Sets per muscle group: thighs 5, abs 5, calves 5
- Example exercises: Barbell front squats, hanging leg raises, standing calf raises
- Repetitions: 10
- Weight: 60% of the 1RM
- Rest: 60 seconds between mega sets (i.e. perform a thigh set, pause for 60 seconds, perform an abdominal set, pause for 60 seconds, perform a calf set, pause for 60 seconds, perform a thigh set, pause for 60 seconds, etc.)
Day 4 - No training
Day 5
- Sets per muscle group: chest 5, back 5
- Plane of movement: Vertical
- Example exercises: Dips, pull-ups
- Repetitions: 10
- Weight: 60% of the 1RM
Breaks: 60 seconds between supersets
Day 6 - No training
Day 7
- Sets per muscle group: thighs 10, abs 10, calves 10
- Example exercises: Deadlifts, sit-ups, seated calf raises (note that different exercises are used than on day 3
- Repetitions: 3
- Weight: 80% of 1RM
Rest: 60 seconds between mega sets
Day 8 - No training
Day 9 & 17 *
Same training program as day 1 with the difference that 4 & 5 repetitions per set are performed (in other words, you will perform four repetitions per set on day 9 and five repetitions per set on day 17).
Day 11 & 19
Same training program as day 3, using 65% and 70% of the 1 RM weight respectively.
Day 13 & 21
Same training program as day 5, using 65% and 70% of the 1 RM weight respectively.
Days 15 & 23
Same training program as day 7, with the difference that 4 & 5 repetitions per set are performed.
* The days that are not listed are of course non-training days.
* The days not listed are of course non-training days.
Optional arm training
You will probably have noticed that this training program does not include direct arm training. This is because the best gains in upper arm hypertrophy are achieved through multi-joint exercises such as dips, pull-ups, bench presses and rowing.
It's a strange phenomenon. Any exerciser who has been on the iron for more than a year knows that big arms are built through multi-joint exercises, yet people are still convinced that they need direct arm training!
The decision is ultimately up to you. I don't recommend a direct upper arm training option, but some people will add direct arm training to this program either way. Just do what you want.
Follow the same parameters of the plan, but cut the number of sets in half. For example, on the 10 x 3 day with 80% of the 1RM weight (i.e. day 1), do the following:
- Scott curls, lying tricep press with dumbbells on reverse incline bench
- Supersets: 5
- Repetitions: 3
- Weight: 80% of the 1RM weight
- Breaks: 60 seconds
On the other upper body day, do the following with 50% of the 1RM weight:
- Hammer curls on incline bench, tricep press on cable
- Supersets: 2 to 3
- Repetitions: 10
- Weight: 60% of the 1RM weight
- Breaks: 60 seconds
Feed your muscles.
If maximum hypertrophy is your goal, you should eat a lot and use an advanced diet around your training. Follow the details of this program and you'll be rewarded with enviable muscle mass and a better understanding of "real" muscle-building methods.
By Chad Waterbury | 01/17/03