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Good strength/size program routine-vhard

2006/01/28, 04:10 PM
from
http://www.ruggedmag.com/index.php?type=Article&i=3&a=5

-refer to the site for more complete explanations/information.

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The Quest for Size and Strength
By Mike Robertson, M.S., C.S.C.S., U.S.A.W.
Director, Athletic Performance Center


Day 1 - Primary Low Body Day

Squats, 5x5, 3-5 minutes rest
The king of all exercises, in my opinion. When I first started squatting I was 5'11" and weighed about 173 dripping wet; now I'm up to 195 with strength and functional mass to back it up. I'm in no way, shape or form the biggest or strongest guy in the gym, but if squats can do that for my long-limbed and small-boned body, they can do it for you as well. Set up with a hip width stance, toes pointed slightly out, and the chest inflated. Sit back and force the knees out. Lower to the appropriate depth (you know what I mean!), and then explode back up to the top. The first two sets should use moderate weights to help get you prepared for the heavier ones, and the last three sets should all be hard.

You need to push yourself to see growth, but pushing yourself doesn't mean failing! Many a great program was developed around heavy squats, and this one is no exception. 99% of the time, if your squat weights are going up, so are your weights on everything else.

Barbell Lunges, 3x6, 2 minutes rest
Alternate legs as you are performing the reps. Your back knee should come very close to (but not touch) the ground. Land and drive off the heels for added stability. Not only are barbell lunges a great exercise for your quad development, but they also develop the hamstrings and glutes, as well as helping to promote unilateral balance between legs. For those with a true love of pain, try doing these onto a 6" box for an even greater ROM.

Good Mornings, 3x5-6, 2 minutes rest
Place the bar approximately the same place on your back as where you squat. Inflate the chest and push the butt back as far as possible, and return to the top when you feel you are going to lose your arch. Good mornings are an excellent exercise to develop the glutes, hamstrings and erectors; not to mention the fact that they will also improve your strength and technique when it comes to squatting!

Louie Simmons stated that a good morning that is approximately 60% of your best squat is the bare minimum if you are interested in squatting heavy weights. So, if your good mornings aren't up to snuff, work them hard and watch the backside of your body blow up!

Glute-Ham Raise, 4x6-8, 90 seconds rest
Drive the toes into the plate, and squeeze the glutes and hamstrings. Lower under control. If you are currently using a leg curl machine, you could use it instead as a target for your Sledgehammer GPP, or even donate it to your rival school or competitor. Hopefully, they will make it a main-stay in their program.

Strong glutes and hamstrings are key to developing a balanced lower body, so don't neglect these areas when it comes to your training. If you don't have a dedicated machine, the manual leg curl (or natural GHR as described by John Davies) is another viable option.

Back Extensions, 3x8-10, 60-90 seconds rest
Start off on a GHR or back extension bench with your upper body folded over the arc and roughly perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze the erectors and raise yourself up until you make a straight line with your body or just a little beyond. Squeeze and hold at the top, then lower yourself under control to the starting position.

The back extension has been a forgotten exercise for many years, but I'm hoping it will make a comeback. While everyone is interested in promoting core stability, they never seem to examine the important role of the trunk extensors when it comes to stabilizing the spine! Strong erectors are another vital component when it comes to heavy squatting and deadlifting, so make the back extension a mainstay in your program.

Day 2 - Primary Upper Body Day

Bench Press, 5x5, 3-4 minutes rest
Ah yes, another 5x5 set-up. Again, the first two sets should be moderate weight, while the last 3 should all be tough. Lower the bar with speed but under control. We aren't doing negatives here, so get in a groove and move that weight with confidence. Keep the elbows tucked and the scapulae pulled back and down. This is your base to press from.

Too often bench presses are the only compound, free-weight exercise used in a training program. Bench presses are great, but don't put too much value on them. Remember that if all your lower body compound lifts are going up (e.g. squats and deads), chance are your bench press is going up as well.

V-Bar Rows, 4x8, 2 minutes rest
Refer to my Back like a Front Article for a description of how to perform these. Key points to focus on include keeping the head and chest up with a nice arch in your back, pulling through your elbows, and stretching at the bottom and squeezing at the top.

With regards to the order of performance on this day, I would have no qualms with the trainee performing the rows first, and then performing the bench second. Rarely do people put as much time or effort into their back training, and therefore the anterior portion of the trunk is very well developed while the posterior portion lags behind. If you are one of these people, consider putting your dogma aside and trying some back work first in your program.

Standing Behind Neck Press, 3x6, 2 minutes rest
An exercise that has been raked over the coals by personal trainers and physical therapists alike, the standing behind neck press is one of the first progressions for teaching the jerk to Olympic weightlifters. Lower the bar to the bottoms of the ears, then drive it back up to the starting position. Keep the abs and glutes tight throughout for increased stability.

Beyond building big shoulders, standing up will help integrate the muscles of the core and lower body into the movement. The best thing about the behind neck press (and why many prefer to teach it first!) is that you don't have to worry about your chin, nose or any other part of your face getting in the way.

Throatcrushers (flat or decline), 4x8, 90-120 seconds rest
Refer to my Old-School Triceps article for an explanation on throatcrushers. In essence, you are performing a skull-crusher or nose-breaker to your throat instead of the aforementioned areas. Decrease the weight slightly to make sure you don't crush your windpipe in the process!

In my triceps article, I talked about starting the movement to the throat and then progressively moving it back as you get tired. For this program, decrease the weight a little more and make sure to take all the reps to the throat. Anytime I have included these in my program, my bench press has gone up because they really seem to hit the entire length of the triceps from origin-to-insertion.

Biceps, (you choose) 2xfailure, 90 seconds rest
I can almost hear the moaning and groaning about only getting to do two sets of beach muscles, but the goal of this program is to promote total body growth and develop a base. You are already taxing your body to the fullest with the preceding exercises and workouts, so why cut into your body's recovery capacity by shamelessly pumping up your arms at this point of the workout? If you've made it this far, I will let you pick your own punishment with regards to the biceps work you perform, but keep it to two sets!

Shoulder Horn or any external rotation work, 3x12, 60 seconds rest
If you don't have a shoulder horn, you can use any exercise that develops your external rotators; I simply prefer the shoulder horn because it locks you in and doesn't allow much momentum or body English to move the weight. Keep in mind that the strength of the external rotators needs to be in-line with what your internal rotators and pressing muscles can do. I once read an article by Poliquin where he put 60 pounds on a guy's close grip bench simply by getting his external rotator strength up. Remember, muscle balance is key so don't neglect it.

Day 3 - Upper/Low Body Assistance

Deadlifts (preferably sumo), 4x5, 3-5 minutes rest
Instead of 5x5 like I recommend on squats and bench, take a set off and really focus on what you are doing with the pulls. Typically, the last set of heavy deadlifts can get really ugly and anything less than flawless technique is unacceptable. Focus on keeping your head and chest up, which will set a nice arch in the low back and greatly reduce the possibility of any back injury. From this point, drive your heels through the floor and focus on pushing the chest and hips through.

Like squats, you've got to increase the weights because the basics are what will make your entire body grow. Deadlifts are the most total body exercise in the program, because they affect almost every muscle group in some form or fashion. I prefer using the sumo style for two reasons: 1) it's generally easier for most people to learn and perform correctly, and 2) I feel it leads to more balanced development of the posterior chain when compared to conventional pulls.

Close-grip bench, 5x5, 2 minutes rest
This is a key exercise to building a big bench, because the last 1/2 or 1/3 of the bench press movement is almost exclusively triceps. Don't go extremely narrow; usually 12-14 inches between your pointer fingers is enough. Again, lower the bar with speed but under control. Keep the elbows tucked as best as possible, but also strive to increase the weight from week-to-week.

One note on close-grips (or any triceps exercise, for that matter): It's been my experience that you usually have 2 reps to bail out on a set. What I mean by that is you can perform your first four reps perfectly, then your 5th rep is ok but slower, your 6th one is a grinder, and the next one ain't coming back up! If you have a solid spotter then this shouldn't be a big deal, but if you are training on your own it's better to come out safe than sorry.

RDL's, 3x6, 2 minutes rest
Good mornings are the perfect complement to squats because they hit the same muscle groups, as well as teaching you some evasive maneuvers in case a squat ever gets away from you. RDLs are the same way for deadlifts. Inflate your chest and set your arch, then focus solely on pushing your butt as far back as possible. If you feel any semblance of rounding in your low back, return to the top and reset your position. RDLs really blow up the muscles of the posterior chain, and they also reinforce the concept of keeping an arch when the bar gets out in front of you when pulling.

Sternum chin-ups, 3x5
Refer to my back article or Poliquin's regarding performance of the sternum chin. The truth is, if you want to bench press some serious weight, you need to have a stable base. Newtons' third law of motion states that for every action or force there is an equal and opposite reaction or force. Therefore, the better you can stabilize and press your back into the bench, the more weight you should be able to move away from it. Many elite level bench pressers use the visualization of pushing away from the bar versus just pushing it up. Sternum chins are very tough, but if this is the price to pay for a bigger bench, so be it.

Reverse Hypers, 3x10-15, 60-90 seconds rest
The Louie Simmons special. I, personally, like to use body weight only on these days, because my primary goal is to promote recovery and blood flow in the low back. However, if you have a dedicated machine or are in need of increased lower back, glute and hamstring strength, adding some weights certainly isn't going to hurt.
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