Hello everyone! I just had a quick question. For the past year I have finally been back to a dedicated gym schedule after slacking towards the beginning of college. I used to do a lot of strength work for sport in highschool, so that is what I gravitated towards doing for the past year or so. Over the course of the year of have done some of Candito’s strength programs and some Westside for Skinny Bastards variations. My goal was to build up my strength and surpass my old numbers on the three big lifts. I have done that and have been very happy with my strength gains. Overall my goal in fitness is to hit bigger numbers consistently and always get stronger. However, I want to take some time to just focus on size gains exclusively. I have seen some hypertrophy gains with my work over the past year, but I want to solely focus on it for a while. My question is what is the best program for focusing a few months too? I know I’m not going to get huge overnight, but just want some input on what everyone out there has had some good (and relatively fast) progress on. I have researched HST a lot and it seems very sound, I am just a little skeptical because of other things I have read that say a little more volume is better. HST is physiologically sound and says that intermediate and advanced lifters can see gains however. So my question is: what’s the best from all of you? HST, GVT, PHAT, PHUL, or anything else out there!
(Also I want to point out that I understand my DIET is the most imprtant part. I am just looking for a program to compliment a bulking diet.)
i actually never followed a program written by another person but i created my own style by reading a lot and using trial and error method. i think taking advantage of different styles is the best. so i always start with a heavy compound exercise and build up to 4-5 reps. after that i do another basic exercise in the 10-12 rep range. lastly i do some isolation pump work using some intensity techniques. thats my strategy and it has been working really well.
Yeah, for meat and potatoes “powerbuilding” as it’s called nowadays, you can’t really get much better than this.
Hit a main lift for low reps (what low is to you is going to depend on a lot of things, but most of the time I’d say 3-8). Hit a secondary lift for slightly higher reps. Finish up with smaller stuff, specifically-tailored to what you need, preferably higher rep, preferably not with a barbell.
Tinker to see what volumes hit the sweet spot for you and how long you can push before needing to backoff and reload, and then just run with it. Hard to go too far wrong with this model.
If you’re hell bent on adding the most mass possible, why not train like those who have the most mass: bodybuilders?
See the original post of this thread and the suggested articles and writers in it: Bodybuilding Training, Can We Make This Clear?