To gain maximal muscle, you need to stick to the basics. You only need one or two basic movements per bodypart. The less movements you can do to get the job done, the better.

Setting Up a Program

Choosing a Training Split

Choose a training schedule based upon your training schedule. A typical schedule involves training 3 days a week on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. A training schedule should also take into account how quickly you recover from a workout. If you are following a full-body split, then it may take you to two to three days to recover from your workout. However, if you are training half your body one day, and the other half on the next day, you can work out more frequently.

Choosing the Exercises:

Choose 4 to 6 exercises to focus on, then split them according to your training split.

Core Exercises:

Deadlift

BackSquat

BenchPress

Bent-overRow

Pull-ups

MilitaryPress

Full-body Routine

For full-body routines, you do not need to perform all 6 exercises in one routine. Split the workouts up amongst 2 workouts in this way:

Workout A:

Deadlift

BenchPress

Pull-ups

Workout B:

BackSquat

Bent-overRows

MilitaryPress

Push/Pull

Push exercises are all exercises that involve you to push a weight away from your body:

BackSquat

BenchPress

MilitaryPress

Pull exercises are all exercises that involve you to pull a weight towards your body:

Deadlift

Bent-overRow

Pull-ups

Push/Pull/Legs

For this split, you would simply take the two lower body exercises out and give them there own day.

Sets/ Reps

To build muscle, keep your set/rep volume between 36-50total reps. For example, performing 6 sets of 6 repetitions is a total of 36repetitions for that particular exercise.

Start off with lifting 70-80% of your one repetitionmaximum. Gradually increase the weight as the weeks go by.

Rest 60 –120 second between each set.

Supplementation

I personally do not like to take supplements. Supplements are “supplements” to your diet and training. Only take supplements when and if you have your diet and training in order.

Related:

• Three Steps to High Frequency Training
• Hindu Squats and Pushups
• Stick to the Basics
• Why I’m not a Bodybuilder
• Crossfit and Bodybuilding

Coming from a Martial Arts background, conditioning almost always overtook all of my other goals. Forget about fat loss if you can’t even go a few rounds without puking. Muscle mass and all that will come with the training you need to do to prepare your body in sport.

The true mark of an athlete is not one that gives his all, but one that keeps giving his all, again and again. We call this Work Capacity, or the amount of work you can do and how hard or fast you can do it. In martial arts, a higher work capacity is what gives you the fighting edge over your opponenet.

Think about it. If you can perform 30 punches with good form in 10 seconds as opposed to your opponenet being able to throw 20 punches in 10 seconds with good form, who has a greater chance of winning the match? It’s actually hard to tell. But what if I said your opponenet threw went all out for 10 seconds, then needed a minute to rest up while you were ready to throw your assault within 10 seconds of rest? Now who has a better chance of winning?

So in other words, work capacity in my book is how much work you can get done in a short amount of time, recover, and repeat the same performance over and over again.

How do we Increase Work Capacity?

My favorite method of increasing work capacity is something called Density training. There are two ways of doing a density workout: either do more work in the same amount of time, or the same amount of work in less time. I will show you examples of both variations:

Density Workout One: Do more work in the Same amount of time

Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:

10 Kettlebell Swings, each han

5 Pull-ups

Lets say you did a total of 120 swings, and 60 pull-ups. Your goal for the next work is to be able to do one more rep, or 121 swings and 61 pull-ups in the same time.

Density Workout Two: Do the same amount of work in less time.

For time:

25 Medicine Ball Haybalers

50 Clean & Press

75 Push-ups

75 135lb Deadlift

50 Burpees

25 Medicine Ball Woochops

Time the workout, then strive to complete the workout in less time.

Start implementing Work Capacity workouts in your training for increasing conditioning!

Related Posts:

• Differences in Training
• Train your Body as One Unit
• Stop Rationalizing and Lift
• Your Fitness Routine Away from Home
• Keep Changing Your Routine for Constant Progress

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Last semester, I had two big group papers to do, and in both the groups I was the editor. As editor and leader of a group, you have a lot of responsibilities including making sure everyone is meeting their deadlines, and breaking up bitch fights (I was the only guy in both groups). But the most important thing is to make sure that your final paper is concise, informative, and makes sense. Along the way many people have come to me to ask for advice on their papers. I’ve seen a few good ones, one or two really exceptional ones, and about a dozen or so bad ones. These bad papers have one major thing in common: they say a lot without saying anything.

Human beings seem to be very good at complicating things. We think that if something is not complex, then it is not effective. Simplicity seems to be lost in our world. Well, the main thing that I find myself doing in many of these papers is cutting. For example one of the papers that I was editing, the final copy given to me was about 23-24 pages, and I cut it down to approximately 17 to 18 pages. That’s five pages cut!

The same thing applies to your training programs. Try to make them short, sweet, and simple. Some of my friends come to me with their training programs, and the first thing I do is cut the exercises in half. Just stick to the basics. For example, if your goal is to put on a lot of mass, there is no reason on the planet you need to hit the chest muscle with every imaginable angle. Just do one pressing movement and one flye, and you’re done. Go home and get some rest.

Often times all we need is to do the simple things. Stick to the basics and results will follow.

Related Posts:

• Increase your Metabolism
• Three Steps to High Frequency Training
• Hindu Squats and Pushups
• Train your Body as One Unit
• Your Fitness Routine Away from Home

Every sport needs to be supplemented with resistance training. If you’re on this site, you know this to be a fact. However training for sport is much different than bodybuilding training.

Training for Sport:

• Use large, compound lifts
• Train fast, resting little between each set
• Train every muscle group in each session
• Generate power, not strength

Compound lifts include lifts that stress more than one muscle group. For example, a Dumbbell Swing is a great compound exercises since it works the lower back, hamstrings, shoulders, and glutes. However, an exercise like the dumbbell front raise has no use being in a sports-specific program since it isolates the shoulder muscles.

When training for sport, one must realize that the body works as one unit. Your power is generated from the ground up when you throw a punch in boxing. You use more than just your arms when you tackle an opponent or throw a ball in football. If you can start to see your training as “movements” as opposed to “body parts,” you can start to create workouts centered around your specific sport.

One of the most important things about sports-specific training is to be able to develop explosive strength. For maximum explosiveness, you need maximum power. Power is an element of strength and speed. Simple physics tells use that power is equal to force times velocity. Hence, the faster you can move a heavier weight, the more powerful and explosive you will become.

Top compound exercises for power:

• Power Cleans
• Power Snatched
• Dumbbell Swings
• Burpees
• Power Clean & Press
• Deadlift
• Push Press
• Squat Jump

In order to generate power, you need to choose the right exercises. Compound exercises should be the first aspect of choosing the proper movements. The next step is to think in terms of carry over. Which movements mimics movements that you would perform on the field? In martial arts, every time you throw a punch or kick,, you are using your legs and hips to generate power. Hence, all movements should have me standing up and using my hips. Power cleans and snatches should be the fundamentals of my training program.

When developing your own specific program keep in mind that you are training for a sport, and that everything that you do in terms of training should have carry over to your sport.

Need some help with your training? Let me analyze your training.

I trained a few guys over the winter break. Not one of them came back after the workout I gave them. They made great promises, and I even agreed on a price with one of them, but still they never came back. I’m not the type of person to hunt people down. If you don’t want to train, then don’t train. It’s not my problem you’re having health problems or are going to have health problems when you get older.

For some reason I’ve always been one to improve upon mistakes and address weaknesses. Recently I realized that I needed to improve upon my diet. So I took the plunge, started talking to people and did some of my own research to improve this aspect of my life.

Many people realize that they need to change certain aspects of their life, but when they realize just how difficult it is, they rationalize their way out of it. In fact, this happens to me all the time. Just this morning, I wrote myself a workout that I realized I wasn’t able to complete because of the fact that I would not be able to perform all the reps that I had sought out to on a particular exercise.

I thought about sitting down and coming up with a new training program and “revamping” everything. I’ve been through this millions of times. It goes back to the whole idea of there not being a perfect training program. If I would have sat down and came up with a new program, I would have ended up wasting at least an hour trying to find the new “perfect” technique, then figuring out how to apply it to my new routine, etc., etc.

Instead, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and thought about why I was working out in the first place. My goal is to get cut. As cut as possible so that I can get that six-pack. Despite your training style, a six-pack is like a trophy that you want. In reality, it means nothing, but you still want it because it shows people that “hey, this guy actually achieved something.” Maybe my motivation is all wrong, but that’s my goal. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with myself if at some point in my life I did not hold the type of aesthetic conditioning which allowed me to see a six pack.

This is what I thought about, and instantly I picked up my kettlebell and started just working out. I just winged the rest of the workout and ended up having one of the most intense training sessions ever.

Moral of the story: sometimes you just have to workout. From the moment you wake up to the moment you pick up that weight, your brain and body will give you every reason in the book not to train. Just ignore it and train. You’ll be satisfied later.

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I have always been limited to the training equipment available to me. As such, I have learned to train with very limited equipment, which I find to be an asset to me when I am traveling. You may know what time to go to your gym to beat the crowd, but what if you are stuck in a hotel room or hotel gym with limited equipment, or at a crowded gym in the city where you have an important meeting?

As such, I always have a few staple bodyweight and dumbbell exercises that I know I can do anywhere.

Staple Bodyweight Exercises:

1. Push-ups
2. Squats
3. Sit-ups
4. Hindu Pushups
5. Lunges
6. Leg Raises
7. Incline Pushups
8. Lateral Lunges
9. V-ups
10. Plyometric Pushups

Staple Dumbbell Exercises:

1. One-am Dumbbell Swing
2. One-arm Dumbbell Snatches

Just using these 12 exercises alone, you can create an effective program that you can perform if you are away from your normal gym for an extended period of time. You can categorize the workouts into upper body, lower body, core, and full body exercises. Hence a good grouping of exercises would look like this:

Day One
Push-ups
Plyometric Pushups
Lateral Lunges
V-ups

Day Two
Hindu Pushups
Squats
Sit-ups
One-arm Dumbbell Swing

Day Three
Incline Pushups
Lunges
Leg Raises
One-arm Dumbbell Snatch

Your sets and reps will be based on your fitness level and goal. It is assumed that you have at least some gym time under your belt. I suggest sticking to high-rep sets. I find that this is the best type of training when on vacation since it may be difficult to stick to a strict diet. High rep calisthenics training with very short rest periods is a very effective fat burning and weight maintenance protocol.

You can go heavy on the Dumbbell Swings and Dumbbell Snatches. However, sometimes this is not possible, as I was at a hotel once where the heaviest dumbbell was 35lbs. The idea is to be creative and use what is available to you.

Related Posts:

• Why I’m not a Bodybuilder
  
• Three Steps to High Frequency Training
• Interval Training at Its Best
• The 2008 Training Program
• Complex Training

Want to learn how to train away from home? Let me analyze your training.

There is no such thing as the perfect training program. The day you realize this, you will make the most improvements in your training goals.

Reasons why there is no perfect routine:

• The body adapts after staying with the same routine
• In order to prevent adaptation, you need to constantly switch up your routine.

Most world-class athletes train at a high frequency, but they change their training programs on a daily basis. There are a number of ways you can do this:

1. Use different exercises everyday
2. Use different rep/set schemes daily
3. Have a different training goal for each day
4. Use a different training method for each week

The goal of training is to make progress. Without progress you are not achieving your goals. Many trainees simply move through the motions of going to the gym or sticking to one particular program and complaining of a lack of progress. Then you fall into the idea that you need a perfect program to make good progress.

Even though I stick by the idea of High Frequency Training, HFT is not a training method. It is an idea. The idea is that you train as often as possible to make progress, but you use different methods to achieve this progress. Anyone that says that they have the perfect program to reach all your goals is lying to you. The perfect program is one that is customized for your needs and gradually tweaked over time.

The best way of preventing both adaptation and boredom is to do as much research as possible. I like to refer to it as having a “tool box” of training ideas. Simply make a list of training methods that you like and move through training protocols on a week-by week basis, or as often as you adapt. Adaptation will occur at different times for different people.

Here are a few training programs from my toolbox:

• 5X5
• 10X10
• Cluster Training
• Circuit Training
• 300 Workout

Some of these programs you may be familiar with, however others you may need to research. The main idea is for you to work smarter, not harder. Constantly switch up your training for constant progress.

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Need some help in developing your own program? I can help you.

When I first began training, it’s safe to say that I had no clue what I was doing. Like most trainees, I picked up a bodybuilding magazine and copied the routines as best as I could. But a lack of knowledge is what made me knowledgeable. I spent hours on various websites, taking notes as if I were in school, and implementing said techniques into my daily routine. My first chance at real advice giving was when I began posting on a forum known as Jubei’s Martial Arts Zone, which is now defunct.

Jubei’s helped me realize that I can write and share my thoughts with people. Some would agree, others would not, but it did not matter. I could teach those that were willing to keep an open mind. The mainstream thought back then, which is still the mainstream thought, was that you trained like a bodybuilder despite the sport you played. There was some sport-specific training out there, but it wasn’t really that much different than what a bodybuilder would do.

Let me first define what I believe to be a bodybuilder routine. For a routine to be a bodybuilder routine it must have the following attributes:

1. Split-training schedule
2. Majority isolation movements

Let me clear up the fact that I have nothing against bodybuilders. Bodybuilding is
what inspired many athletes to pick up the weights in an attempt to get stronger and faster. Hence, in the beginning, people just picked up a magazine and copied the routines.

As I stated earlier, I did the exact same thing. At that time I was around fourteen or fifteen years old and had been practicing martial arts for a good two to three years. The mainstream advice was all the same, however when I really looked at what I was doing in the dojo compared to what I was doing in the gym, I realized what worked and what did not.

What worked:

1. Lots of bodyweight squats
2. Circuit Training
3. Punching the heavy bag
4. Dead lift

What did not work:

1. Bicep Curls
2. Triceps Extensions
3. Lateral Raises
4. Distance running

Enter the Dragon

I believe it was after I read a book on Bruce Lee by John Little called “The Art of Expressing the Human Body,” that I really began to change my routine. Bruce lee used predominantly full-body workouts to build up his body. His exceptional strength and feats of power really made me realize a few things:

1. In order to be the best, you need to train at a high frequency
2. In order to be the best, you need to train smart and practical
3. In order to continue being the best, you need to keep reinventing yourself
4. There are only a few simple rules you need to follow, and your goal is to find those simple rules
5. Constantly try new things, but only use those things that are useful
6. Eat healthy

The Nutritional Aspect

My journey took a swing when I decided I wanted to get ripped. I had always been very athletic, but I never looked like I was athletic. I wanted to change that, and so junior year of High School I began getting up early to run, cutting down on my caloric intake, and went to the weight room after school. The journey was intense and at my lowest weight ever of 143lbs, I was anything but ripped. What I learned was that I did not have enough muscle mass to be ripped. In order to be really ripped I needed to start lifting heavy and eating more.

By the time I graduated High School, I was 157lbs, however a good amount of that was fat. I was around 20% body fat but much stronger and muscular. That entire summer went by without much weight training or dieting. College began and the campus, the girls, and the lack of work mesmerized me.

A short 3-minute drive away stood a Taco Bell. At that Taco Bell was delicious food for you to enjoy. It soon became a ritual. Go to the rec center, workout for a half hour, then go to Taco Bell and grab some quick lunch before class started. I was doing a 5×5 routine with the Push Press and Dead lift. The extra protein helped me put on some size, however along with that size came fat.

To make a long story short, by the end of my junior year of college I was 170lbs and depressed as a bug. I won’t get into the depression, but I want to say that in January 2007 I was 163 lbs, and by May 2007, I was 170lbs. How did I gain 7 lbs so fast? I went on a bodybuilder diet. I was eating up to 7 times a day trying to get in enough protein. However, my workouts were probably not as intense as they should be.

That summer I decided to lose all the weight I’d gained, and some more. Three months later, I was 15lbs lighter with about 17% body fat. The purpose behind this story is to shed some light on a sport made for and developed by those that compete in bodybuilding shows. The techniques that they use may or may not be specific to a regular Joe. Looking back, I did not need to eat as much as I did because I was not putting in the effort in the gym. But now, since my workouts are more intense, I need to eat more, and so now a bodybuilder type 6-time a day schedule would make sense.

What’s your goal?

My entire goal of starting this website was to get regular, recreational athletes and fitness enthusiasts together and get them to take a good look at their goals. Are they similar to that of a bodybuilder? Are they similar to that of a powerlifter? Are you just someone who wants to stay healthy? Do you have time to get to the gym 4 days a week, an hour at a time? Base your training around your goals, not around what some world-class bodybuilder does.

My goals don’t match bodybuilders. I don’t compete, and never plan to. I care about practical fitness, not how much I can bench. That’s why I’m not a bodybuilder.

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• My Take on the Warrior Diet
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• Vegetarianism and Bodybuilding

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Time interval training works really well if you have one exercise that you are performing, followed by a rest interval. Hence, something like Taku’s Interval training would work just fine.

Taku’s Interval Training is basically a 12-week training program taking advantage of time and rest intervals and modifying them progressively over time. Here is the training schedule:

Phase 1:

Weeks 1 & 2: 4 X 90 seconds work + 90 seconds recovery.

Weeks 3 & 4: 5 X 60 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery.

Phase 2:

Weeks 5 & 6: 6 X 45 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery.

Weeks 7 & 8: 7 X 30 Seconds work + 20 seconds recovery.

Phase 3:

Weeks 9 & 10: 8 X 20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery.

Weeks 11 & 12: 10 X 20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery.

Another great training program that uses time intervals is Ross Enamait’s Burpee conditiniong. The idea is to do 30 seconds of burpees followed by 30 seconds of shadowboxing for a certain amount of time. However, you can replace the burpees with Swings, Snatches, Cleans, or any other ballistic exercise. You can also perform short sprints or jumproping instead of shadowboxing. If you have access to one, you can even punch a heavy bag. Here is the progression from his website:

Beginner Program

4 x 2-minute rounds with 1 minute of rest between rounds

Intermediate Program(s)

6 x 2-minute rounds with 1 minute of rest between rounds

4 x 3-minute rounds with 1 minute of rest between rounds

Advanced Program

6 x 3-minute rounds with 1 minute of rest between rounds

Master’s Program

6 x 3-minute rounds with 30 seconds of rest between rounds

Taku’s interval and Ross Enamait’s Burpee conditioning methods will intensify your workout. One of the best ways to help you with your intervals is to use the GymBoss Interval Timer. It costs just $19.95, and you can program it to help you keep track of any sort of intervals you may use. Click here to grab yours today.