Every time I walk into the weight room in
my school, I meet a lot of good friends from my rugby team. They like going to
the gym, they train together, don’t miss a workout, and are committed. They
want to get big, strong, and look good! And why not, if this also helps them in
the field, even better.
But, because of the way I am, I can’t help
but notice that they are doing some exercises that fuck their shoulders, like
bench pressing bodybuilding style with weights they can’t control and doing
forced reps. Then they tell me that their shoulder hurts, and it doesn’t
surprise me at all.
Other things they do is super wide pull ups, which apart of not being the best
thing you can do for your shoulders, especially when you play rugby and use them
to tackle day in and day out, don’t allow them to pass their chin over the bar,
or load themselves with any significant weight. When I ask them why they do it
this way, they’ll tell me it is because “it hits the back”. Doesn’t regular
pull ups hit the back, on top of having a much larger ROM (Range Of Motion)? I
can tell you that when I do heavy chin ups, the next day my lats are sore as
hell.
Of course, as any beginner, they’ll squat
bringing their knee forward and putting them at risk of injury, and doing
quarter reps. Actually, they do half reps in every exercise they do, because to
start, their hand placement or hip/knee break isn’t correct.
But because I love these guys, I want them
to succeed, and to avoid wasting years of training, effort, and getting injured
on the way. That’s the reason why I promised them to make a routine to help
them get big, strong, get a nice looking body, and avoid getting injured in the
process.
I recommend this routine to any beginner.
It is a classic A/B, training 3 times a week the whole body, with lots of basic
compound exercises, progressive overload being the focus, and also with
some curls at the end of the workouts, optional of course, just to make them
happy.
The Routine
Day A
1A) Squat 5 sets
1B) Overhead Press 5 sets
1C) Row 5 sets
2) Muscle Snatch 5 sets of 5
3) Direct Arm Work 5 minutes
Day B
1A) Deadlift 5 sets
1B) Horizontal Press 5 sets
1C) Pull Up 5 sets
2) Muscle Snatch 5 sets of 5
3) Direct Arm Work 5 minutes
Notes
Do exercises 1A 1B and 1C in a circuit fashion. This doesn’t mean that
you have to rush between exercises. Rest as much as you need between the first
sets, but no more.
Once you have completed all the sets from exercises 1, do 5 sets of
exercise 2. Then, if you want, you can do some arm work.
For exercises 1, try to improve your performance from your last
workout in your first set, be it in reps or weight. For the other 4 sets,
complete the same number of reps you did in your fist set from that exercise,
but taking a little pause when necessary. This is what I call Paused- Sets.
This way only your first set determines if you progress to more weight, or a
harder variation in your next workout, or you stay where you are. It is also easier to focus of tension and
technique this way, and it is easier mentally, even if they will be tough. I talk about this here.
When you progress, make small jumps. For example, 1kg per arm, 2 or
less per leg.
When you stall, reduce the weight in that exercise by 10%, and start over again.
Even if the exercise progression is 5 reps, if you can do more, do more!
Add weight once you can do the “Progression” number of reps in your first
set with perfect technique.
If your technique is not good, your rep does not count. If you do not
do the rep through the full ROM, the rep doesn’t count. You get it? You want
tension and strength through the full ROM without getting injured because of
shitty technique, which makes you stronger and bigger. We are not looking to
impress anyone, and neither to inflate our ego.
Exercises
You may have noticed that I haven’t defined exactly
which exercise you should do. That is because everyone is different, and I may
hate back squats and love front squats, but the opposite could happen to you.
So I
will give you some exercises to choose from, with its Progression number of
reps. I will also put in order, so you may have to start with bodyweight
squats, because if you can’t do these correctly, there’s no way you will do it
O.K. with a loaded bar on your back. The same way, if you can’t do 5 good pull
ups, start with pull downs, until you gain the strength to do good full pull
ups.
Anyway, do as you want, and choose the exercise that
suits you better, doesn’t hurt you, and you like doing. You can progress just
with the bodyweight version, of with weights. Notice that you can find most bodyweigth exercises on other entries from this blog.
DB = Dumbbell BB
= Barbell
Squat
|
|
Exercise
|
Progression Reps
|
Bodyweight Squat
|
20
|
Pistol Squat
|
10
|
Goblet Squat
|
8
|
Front Squat
|
6
|
Back Squat
|
6
|
Deadlift
|
|
Exercise
|
Progression Reps
|
One Dumbbell Deadlift
|
10
|
Deadlift from blocks/benches/…
|
6
|
Deadlift from floor
|
5
|
Overhead Press
|
|
Exercise
|
Progression Reps
|
Handstand
|
1 minute
|
Bodyweight Handstand Half Push Ups
|
10
|
Handstand Push Up
|
6
|
DB Overhead Press
|
6
|
BB Overhead Press
|
6
|
Horizontal Press
|
|
Exercise
|
Progression Reps
|
Push Up
|
20
|
Close Push Up
|
20
|
One arm Push Up Progression
|
20
|
Weighted Push Up
|
10
|
Weighted Dips
|
8
|
DB Bench Press (or incline)
|
8
|
BB Bench Press (or incline)
|
6
|
Row
|
|
Exercise
|
Progression Reps
|
Australian Pull Up
|
20
|
One arm Australian Pull Up Progression
|
10
|
Weighted Australian Pull Up
|
10
|
Cable Row (neutral grip)
|
8
|
One Arm Cable Row
|
8
|
DB Row
|
8
|
Pull Up
|
|
Exercise
|
Progression Reps
|
Cable Pull Down
|
5
|
Weighted Pull Up
|
5
|
When Rowing or doing Pull Ups, use a neutral grip,
or something that allows you to move your hands freely (separate handles,
rings, towels…)
Muscle Snatch
Don’t’ you know what a Muscle Snatch is? But you
still think it sounds awesome right? Your damn right!
Read this article from T-Nation to learn about it.
And remember that you have to do 5 sets of 5, in a straight sets fashion, before adding
weight, no paused sets here.
Arm Work
This is optional. With this routine, even if you do
not do direct arm work, you’re still hitting them hard with presses, rows, pull
ups, and deadlifts. Maybe you can start the routine without doing direct arm
work, and start doing it once you get used to it. Your arms will grow even if
you do not do this, so don’t worry.
BUT!! We’re all men here, and despite what anyone
says, we love training arms. And if you’re a woman, I don’t know how you
feel about training arms, but maybe you want to do some isolation work for your
glutes, right?
So how does this work?
You pick one exercise for biceps, and another one for triceps. Don’t choose those that fuck your elbows, wrist or shoulder. It is stupid to get injured training in the weight room, especially training arms.
You have 5 minutes to do as many reps as you can of each exercise. Superset them of course.
Every workout try to improve the number of reps you do on each exercise during those 5 minutes.
Sometimes you'll feel that you will gain if you do more reps at the next workout. Other times you’ll feel like you need to increase the load. Go as you feel.
Focus on tension and time under tension. Don’t do shitty reps, and try to get a huge pump on your arms!
You pick one exercise for biceps, and another one for triceps. Don’t choose those that fuck your elbows, wrist or shoulder. It is stupid to get injured training in the weight room, especially training arms.
You have 5 minutes to do as many reps as you can of each exercise. Superset them of course.
Every workout try to improve the number of reps you do on each exercise during those 5 minutes.
Sometimes you'll feel that you will gain if you do more reps at the next workout. Other times you’ll feel like you need to increase the load. Go as you feel.
Focus on tension and time under tension. Don’t do shitty reps, and try to get a huge pump on your arms!
Training log
It is vitally important to keep a training log. What
you have to do in one workout depends on what you did on you last workout.
So, since I am so generous and kind, I will prepare
your training log so you just have to print it and use it, OK?
Day A:
Day B:
Which weight and variation should you start with
Start with a weight or variation that allows you to
do more or less the double of reps required by the progression reps. This way, you
can focus on technique the first few weeks, and get used to the volume and
frequency. And, if you start too hard, you’ll stall soon and won’t progress, so
take my advice.
Do you have any question, doubt, or just want to tell me
how much you love this routine? Then I’ll see you on the comments.
Please share with your friends, and don’t forget to
check my Facebook page!
Train hard, and get super huge and strong!
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