New Hypertrophy Program

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
21

[quote]PhilD wrote:
Im just putting together a new program aimed at hypertrophy. For some background knowledge iv previously done TBT twice, and Bill Stars 5x5.

Anyway heres the program

Monday - Legs/shoulder

Backsquats - 3x10, 1x5-8
Frontsquats - 3x10
Seated barbell shoulder press - 3x10
Military press - 3x10
Shrugs - 3x12

Tuesday - Chest/triceps

Bench press - 3x10, 1x5-8
Incline bench press - 3x10
Dips - 3x10
Incline barbell tricep extensions - 3x10

Thursday - Back/biceps

Pullups - 3x to failure
Power cleans - 1x10, 2x5-8
Deadlifts - 3x10, 1x5-8
Barbell rows - 3x10
Barbell curls - 3x10
Shrugs - 3x10

Saturday - Full body

Back squats 3x10, 1x5-8
Pullups - 3x to failure
Close grip bench press - 3x10
Handing leg raises - 3x15
Crunches

Yeh so any critisism/input welcome![/quote]

Your nervous system is going to get CRUSHED!! Lets start with the good: when desigining a program the reps are king and you have chosen an appropriate range for your goal (hypertrophy). 9-12 is appropriate (although depending on your training age you can experience hypertrophy from a number of rep ranges). Based on the number of reps you can then fill in the percentage of maximal weight used (for the number of reps you have listed I would use a load of appx 70%). The next variable is sets, to achieve hypertrophy there has to be sufficient exposure and the reps will dictate the number of sets. The optimal number of sets is going to be dependant on training age also bear in mind the more reps you do the less sets you should do. For general purposes the 8-10 range is usually well paired with 4-8 sets (the varience depends on number of excercises). You should also factor in the rest intervals, for hypertrophy and to keep it simple for hypertrophy you want partial to full recovery between sets and 90-120sec is where you should aim for. I am not going to elaborate to much on time under tension per rep (not to discount it’s importance) instead I will just say your set should last 20-40seconds. The complexity of the movements chosen (deadlifts, powercleans) should place them in front of pullups. There is NO WAY you can expect to be able to safely and effectively do 3 sets of deads AFTER completing pullups to failure and power cleans. Finally before making a suggestion for a better program for your goals I just need to correct something eeu743 said about SHRINKING your biceps by training them…THIS IS WRONG!!! That could not be further from the truth!!! I can assure you there is NO study out there that would coorelate to his claim. No offense intended eeu but, that statement is just WRONG!!
Now, in terms of a great program for gaining muscle mass, try Charles Poliquin’s 10x10program. If hypertrophy is your goal this simple program has stood the test of time and is EXTREMLY effective!! For more info on loading parameters either Charles Poliquin, Ian King, or CT have written some great stuff. I like that you want to tackle the compound movements but, the short of it is your program is overkill and there are much better programs out there to accomplish the goal of hypertrophy!

22

[quote]PhilD wrote:
Im just putting together a new program aimed at hypertrophy. For some background knowledge iv previously done TBT twice, and Bill Stars 5x5.

Anyway heres the program

Monday - Legs/shoulder

Backsquats - 3x10, 1x5-8
Frontsquats - 3x10
Seated barbell shoulder press - 3x10
Military press - 3x10
Shrugs - 3x12

Tuesday - Chest/triceps

Bench press - 3x10, 1x5-8
Incline bench press - 3x10
Dips - 3x10
Incline barbell tricep extensions - 3x10

Thursday - Back/biceps

Pullups - 3x to failure
Power cleans - 1x10, 2x5-8
Deadlifts - 3x10, 1x5-8
Barbell rows - 3x10
Barbell curls - 3x10
Shrugs - 3x10

Saturday - Full body

Back squats 3x10, 1x5-8
Pullups - 3x to failure
Close grip bench press - 3x10
Handing leg raises - 3x15
Crunches

Yeh so any critisism/input welcome![/quote]

It would have been good to see your stats first (e.g. body weight/height/experience etc) but anyway, here it goes:

The loads would have to be pretty low to support that much volume. You can gain size via high volume, but its far more effective to gain it via moderate volume and decent loads. Obviously, if the loads are high, you need to cut down volume if you want a program that will last and not drive you into overtraining within weeks (e.g. 2 sets plus your warmups). Or, you could do this high volume phase for 3 weeks and cycle it with a low volume phase for 3 weeks.

Also, Id say that theres not enough frequency per body part. Unless you are already advanced (i.e. big) and mainly want to “refine” and “fill in the gaps”, doing a muscle just once a week won’t add much overall size. For the genetically gifted or advanced or “juicing” individual, a body part split makes good progress because they are able to maintain gains easily. Aim to workout each muscle group twice a week.

Heres a good starting place (or rough guide):

Upper / Lower split, 4 workouts/week

Mon & Thu (6 to 20 reps, 2 max sets)

-Squats
-Deadlifts
-Lunges
-Calf Raise

Tue & Fri (8 to 10 reps, 2 max sets)

-Incline press
-Decline Press or Flat Press or Dips
-Rows
-Pullup
-Triceps (direct work)
-Biceps (direct work)

The best workout time most of the time is ALWAYS under 45min (as long as you dont rest too much)

Never do more than 6 exercises per workout. 2 to 4 core lifts per workout always seems to be the sweet spot for long term gains.

If you really want your legs to grow, higher reps (e.g. 8+) are great!

This may not seem like enough sets but as you progress in loads, this more than compensates.

Also, on the lower body days, you can alternate the squat and deadlift so that you are doing the big lifts fresh. You may want to only do the deadlift and squat once a week instead of twice. Or you may want to do deadlift first and then squat and cycle it. It’s up to you and your recovery/energy.