As a recap, the original Serious Growth workout requires you to workout 6 days a week doing Chest/Back/Bis/Calves on Day 1 (A day) and Shldrs/Tris/Thighs/Abs on Day 2 (B day): A-B-A-B-A-B = 6 days. 5 sets per exercise per bodypart/alternating exercises throughout the week (so three different exercises per bodypart per week) with changing rest periods also (varying from 90 seconds to 3 minutes over the course of the program). Eventually, you are doing some bodyparts 6 days a week/5 sets a session. Also, everything is supposed to be to failure. Workouts are limited to 45 minutes. The next program in the series, Big Beyond Belief, used the same basic theory but the number of sets were reduced to 3 per exercise to begin with and the volume was generally reduced across the board in later weeks.
It may seem like a large volume of work, but it worked for me at the time, especially transitioning from a traditional bodybuilding split where I was doing 12 - 15 sets per bodypart already. The workouts were actually easier to do than this split.
After my bodyweight and strength went up dramatically from this program over a period of 6 months or so, I had to cut down the volume since my recovery ability did not increase proportionately with the strength increases I made (a phenomenon Arthur Jones pointed out).
These are the tweaks I made to that program that I use today and that continue to work extremely well:
(1) I train the following “major” bodyparts up to five - six days a week(Chest/Back,posterior chain/Legs - quad dominant).
(2) Other bodyparts are trained on alternating days, resulting in them being trained up to three days a week. (Shoulders/Tris/Bis on one day - Abs/Calves/Hams the next day)
(3) I usually don’t do more than 3 sets per major bodyparts, and usually 2 sets for other bodyparts.
(4) I perform direct hamstring work. The original program did not provide for this and I felt this was a mistake even given the indirect effects from performing various squats and posterior chain exercises.
(5) I don’t go to absolute failure on each set. Depending on the rep sequence for a particular day (major/minor muscle groups): (3x3/2x3, 3x6-8/2x6-8, 3x10-12) I make sure to pick a weight that allows me to complete all the sets/reps in that range where only the last set is close or to failure. I use lower reps than the original program because I agree with Ian King’s assessment that the more mature lifter should be using heavier weights, in general.
(6) Rest periods still vary as prescribed in the original program although in a slightly different manner: I need more rest after a set of 10-12 versus sets of three. Thus, Chad’s conclusion of taking shorter rests (say 60 seconds) for the heavier weights works fine. I generally rest 2 to 2.5 minutes for the higher rep ranges
(7) Another unique twist I added was to use different rep ranges in a particular workout for each muscle group trained. For example, chest: 3x3, back:3x6-8, legs:3x10-12, shoulders:2x10-12, triceps:2x3,
biceps:2x6-8.
(8) I still change parameters every three weeks but only in subtle ways with the performance of the excercise: grip change, 10 degree elevation change on bench excercises, etc.
I welcome any comments or other observations (including from the man himself: CHAD). The program and the parameters have worked fantastically well for me. At 36 years old and 230 pounds, I’m still squatting and deadlifting for 10-12 reps with 405. Louie Simmons won’t be prostrating himself in front of me with those numbers, but hey, we aren’t all Westside material:)