Having a bit of a mental block in deciding where to go next with my training. I just finished 4 months of Brian Alsruhe’s Mass Builder that was the single most challenging program I’ve followed both mentally and physically. Fortunately, it reignited my love for the gym, and there’s just too many things I wanna try next, so hopefully you guys can help me narrow it down.
There were 4 days (press, squat, bench, deadlift) and each was laid out like:
Strength giant set: 4 exercises
Technique giant set (focusing on other movement, i.e. overhead on bench day or pulls on squat day): 3 exercises
Assistance work: usually done in a brutal EMOM or other crossfit style format
Bodyweight and/or light KB/DB conditioning work
My work capacity and conditioning improved drastically as did my core, thanks to the core movements incorporated everyday into the giant sets. Aesthetically, I ended up looking more like a ripped MMA fighter and less bodybuilder though.
From here I’m looking to shift a bit back into bodybuilding focus, especially since I will soon be starting the new Omega Man supplement plus a CJC-1295/Ipamorelin stack. At the same time though, I wouldn’t want to waste all the conditioning gains I made and just do a bro split with nothing but straight sets. Something that continues to challenge my work capacity with slightly more emphasis on building muscle in the sexy spots to get me back to more of an X-frame would be ideal. I’m down to train anywhere from 4-6 days a week. Any suggestions?
TBJP Push/Pull Off, Push/Pull Off, Push/Pull Off
Phil Hernon:
3-5 failure sets per exercise
First set 6-9 reps, second set lower weight 10%,third set take off 10%, 4th and 5th set lower 10%
You can also change what body part you start with on each day.
Put the bodypart first you want to bring up.
Each rep pumping up and down like a controlled piston, when the weight stops moving like this the set is over. Do not force reps. Don’t add shit like an extra movement or intensifiers.
Keep a log book for reference as where to start.
You can alernate heavy, medium, light days
Heavy is the 6-9 reps. Medium is where you start with the weight of the second set. Light is where you start with the weight of the 3rd set.
Only take enough time to get your breathing back to normal between working sets and exercises.
Chest-decline press, db floor press, dips
Shoulders-db lat raise
Triceps-db close grip floor press, dips
Lat width-pull ups, pull down
Thickness-bent db rows(wide), deadlift
Biceps-db curl, chin-ups, db hammer curl
Hamstring-db rdl, leg curl, db leg curl
Quads- squats (first set parallel, second set lower, third set ass to grass)
Train everyday until you need a day off
Don’t be an idiot and don’t be a pussy.
Day1)
Chest
Back thickness and width
Delts
Abs
Day 2)
Bis
Tris
Adductors
Hamstrings
Quads
Calves
10minutes cardio post workout to start.
DC (various splits)
Or, I’d love to see someone run FST-7 alongside a log.
@jskrabac are you hoping to keep more of a circuit format in your weight workouts or could you do something like a 4-day bodybuilding program with conditioning work after the sessions/ on off days?
Actually I’ve now read it again and you might enjoy HIBB100 from Ryan Fisher.
Haven’t done it in ages but it’s kinda like GVT meets CrossFit.
5 days per week and each session hits 100 reps (minimum) of a push, pull, lunge or deadlift in a superset or circuit with assault bike, burpees, rowing etc. super fun and challenging if you push the weights
I’m not married to circuits. I’ve actually been using an approach from CTs jacked athlete for awhile. Whenever I run a tough barbell program that’s more performance focused, in between 3 week waves I’ll do a 4 day BBing split for a week that uses mostly DBs, cables and machines. IDK if I could manage without at least some supersets though lol. Maybe I could invert that? 3 weeks bro split and every 4th week some performance work.
I’m obviously absolutely married to the old John Meadows’ stuff, and think you might enjoy it too. He actually tended to stick with a pattern/ technique in 3-week blocks, so it would match up perfectly. I felt like it was a good blend of bodybuilding work and core bodybuilding work.
If that sounds interesting at all, he had a free one on here that I found pretty enjoyable:
Then maybe every 4th week you do some MetCon-style workouts. CT had a zombie workout that looked to fit that bill, you just wouldn’t be sticking with the progressions (but I think that’s ok for what you’re doing) or his fire ready program:
I like where this is headed. I wouldn’t even have to plan that 4th week and could mix it up, then just focus on logging the 3 main weeks. Another plus, with a more conditioning focused 4th week, I won’t feel “guilty” for doing too many beach muscle exercises during the other 3 weeks lol. Do you know if Meadows has any splits that hit legs more than once?
Free to start. If I’m committed, I’m happy to contribute money to his family.
I also came across this program today, which looks gnarly. I get bored easily FWIW, so I like to implement a lot of planned variety if that makes sense. And instead of undulating intensities, this one actually cycles muscle groups you target.
So
I would just replace the secondary chest/ delts day with a secondary leg day.
John’s rules for a secondary day:
Minimize joint insult: basically, stay away from barbell work
Maximize pump: keep those rest breaks to a minute, and feel free to use giant sets and the like
Reasonable volume: these days should help, not hurt, your recovery, so you should be doing something reasonable (like 6-8 sets for hams, 8-12 for quads)
Feel the muscle: basically all moves with which you connect well
Maximize recovery: minimize the high-intensity stuff
His rules for legs:
Start with a leg curl
Quad compound is second or third
Hit some high rep ranges
Finish with stretch exercises (both quads and hams if you can)
So, for a pump leg day, you could do something like:
Seated Leg curls
Work up to a tough 12, then do 3 sets near failure with it
Leg Press
Find a weight you could do about 25 with, then do 25, 20, 15, AMRAP with it
Superset: Leg Extensions and Walking Lunges for 3 rounds of 12-15 each
30 second stretch on each quad after every set
Dumbbell RDL
3 x 15
Your imagination can run wild. If you want this day to be more metabolic, do things like backwards sled drags superset with the RDLs.
I haven’t checked out the one you linked, but I am now!
Oh that is sick! I will bookmark this and look into it in the future for sure. For right now, it feels to similar to how I’ve been training and I’m ready to mix it up.
