Dear
Friend,
I
have a theory.
And
it makes a lot of sense.
It
has been proven conclusively that compound exercises that work
major muscle groups and smaller muscle groups at the same time
stimulate the most release in anabolic hormones like testosterone
and Human Growth Hormone.
These
are exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, chins, dips
and rows. They cause a release of a lot more anabolic hormones
than isolation exercises like concentration curls, cable crossovers,
leg extensions, etc. Consequently, they cause a lot more muscular
growth.
I
was pondering this the other day and realized that every single
time I made the greatest gains of my training career, it was with
full-body workouts using the big compound exercises.
It
just makes sense.
Since
it has been proven that a compound exercise like deadlifts stimulates
a much greater release of anabolic hormones than an isolation
exercise... wouldn't an entire workout of compound exercises stimulate
and even greater increase in those anabolic hormones?
It
has been proven true numerous times throughout my training career...
and for hundreds of others who have also used this formula.
So
what's the formula?
Simple.
A full-body workout done two to three times a week, using compound
exercises.
Think
you're too advanced for such a routine? That's fine. Then obviously,
your 5-day-a-week double Bulgarian triple split is giving you
all the gains you want, right?
Probably
not.
I
love these guys who e-mail me pissed off that a supplement product
didn't help them gain. And when I inquire about their training
and diet, this is the response I usually get...
"I
train 5 days a week, working every body part twice per week, 20
sets per body part. I also do aerobics for 30 to 45 minutes a
day 4 times a week. On the weekends I take martial arts classes
and ride my bike."
Judas
H. Priest! It's no wonder you're not gaining! There is no supplement
in the world that can help you gain with that program!
And
usually their diet is all wrong, too.
Look,
there are very few genetically superior individuals who can gain
muscle from those kinds of routines. But for 90% of us, that is
going to cause overtraining.
Weight
training is a very intense and stressful activity. Too much and
you cause all kinds of nasty metabolic side effects and very non-anabolic
hormonal changes.
If
the body does not recover fully from each weight training session
you simply won't gain anything. If you continue to over-stress
your body and not allow recovery, you can actually lose
muscle mass and strength.
And
you'll feel pretty crappy, too. You'll feel tired, nervous, depressed,
have aches and pains, headaches, loss of appetite and a host of
other side effects.
So
the obvious choice for building muscle mass and strength for 90%
of us is full body training with compound exercises.
It's
the best training routine for building muscle mass as quickly
as possible.
See,
before anabolic steroids really took hold in bodybuilding, almost
all of the famous physique stars of the past (Steve Reeves, Reg
Park, George Eiferman, etc.) recommended and performed whole body
training for building muscle mass.
Many
of the old timers never did anything but full body routines their
entire training careers! And many had physiques that would still
be the envy of most bodybuilders today.
A
full body routine is usually performed three days a week with
at least one day of rest in between. For example... Monday, Wednesday
and Friday. That allows enough time for recuperation, one of the
most important factors in muscle growth.
But
in the case of some hard gainers, training only twice a week on
a full body routine produces faster muscle gains due to the increased
recuperation time.
Arthur
Jones (the genius inventor of Nautilus machines) used to recommend
a full body routine done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Several
years later, after much trial and error on thousands of test subjects,
he said that one can gain muscle faster training on a full body
routine only twice per week.
Think
I'm full of crap to recommend such a simple, no-frills routine
for gaining muscle? Well I'm not the only one who recommends it.
Mick
Hart is a well known bodybuilding/steroid guru from England. (God
bless the British. They are extraordinary people... and probably
the most polite people on the planet.)
Mick
coaches people on how to make maximum muscle mass gains while
using anabolic steroids.
Do
you want to know what he says is the absolute BEST routine for
gaining muscle mass... whether taking steroids or not? A full
body training routine done three times per week using compound
exercises.
And
Mick Hart recommends that routine as the very BEST for gaining
muscle mass... for beginners, intermediates... and even advanced
trainers!
Any
time I'm in a slump I always think back to when I made my best
gains over my twenty-plus years of pumping iron. Each and every
time I have dedicated myself to working hard on a three-times-a-week
full body training routine I have made extraordinary gains. The
most notable was a 18 lb. gain of muscle mass in a little more
than eight weeks.
Look,
the muscles of the human body work as a unit. What kind of work
in the real world is similar to leg extensions? Nothing that I
know of! But squatting with a heavy weight is a movement you would
do when brute strength is needed to move or lift something.
And
another thing... doing heavy basic movements like squats, deadlifts
and bench presses works ALL muscles of the body and triggers full
body anabolism.
Your
body won't produce much of a metabolic response from leg extensions
and concentration curls. Sure, you'll get a pump, but it's highly
unlikely you'll get much growth stimulation.
But
a workout with a couple heavy sets of squats, bench presses, dips,
and chins will stimulate muscle growth like crazy. And not just
localized growth in a few muscles. Your body will respond metabolically
with overall muscle growth.
When
I see these 120 lb. teenagers doing concentration curls and rear
delt laterals with 10 lb. dumbbells I just shake my head. They're
never going to pack on any mass that way.
Look,
I don't want to explain any more details or try to justify why
this works. It's proven. Just have a little faith in me and try
it, OK?
Here's
a sample workout done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You should
be able to get this done in an hour or less.
- Overhead
Dumbbell or Barbell Press: 2 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Squats:
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
- Barbell
or Dumbbell Flat Bench Press: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Chins
or Bent Over Barbell Rows: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
- Dips
or Close Grip Bench Press: 1 to 2 sets of 8 reps
- Barbell
or Dumbbell Curls: 1 to 2 sets of 8 reps
- Standing
or Donkey Calf Raises: 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps
You
should do a couple lighter warm up sets prior to your work sets.
All work sets should be worked very hard. In other words, the
very last rep should be the last one you are capable of doing.
Increase the weight used in small increments as often as possible.
If
you find you are not making gains on this routine, try cutting
back to only two times per week... say Monday and Friday, or Tuesday
and Saturday.
Now
for the anal retentive types, please don't ask me... "What about
my serratus and rear delts? There's no direct exercises for those
muscles."
Look,
I HIGHLY doubt you are at the level where you have all the muscle
mass you want... so don't worry about your serratus, rear delts,
intercostals or whatever. This routine works EVERYTHING and causes
growth and strength in ALL your muscle groups.
These
exercises work many groups of muscles at the same time. This is
how the body is designed to perform.
The
program causes massive release of testosterone and growth hormone
in response to the demands placed on the nervous and metabolic
systems.
Leg
extensions and triceps kickbacks will NEVER cause that kind of
anabolic response.
Reg
Park, one of the most massively muscled bodybuilders of the B.S.
(before steroids) era, always specialized on heavy leg and back
work with basic exercises when he wanted to increase muscle mass.
Many times Reg wouldn't even do any direct arm exercises. The
stimulation from bench presses and back work was enough to cause
muscle growth in his arms. And this guy had a massive pair of
arms!
NO
routine works for everybody all the time. But for 95% of bodybuilders,
this is the very best routine you can do to build muscle mass
quickly.
If
you work really hard on this routine for eight weeks... and eat
a lot of the right foods to support muscle growth... you're going
to make some really kick ass muscle size and strength gains.
Give
it a try and let me know how it goes for you.
Sincerely,
Rick
Gray
President, A.S. Research
P.S.
Training alone won't ensure you make muscular gains. You have
to be fueling your body with specific nutrients to make sure you
can make maximum gains from your training. I'll talk about that
in the next issue.
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This information
presented is intended to be used for educational purposes only.
The statements made have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug
Administration (U.S.). These products are not intended to diagnose,
treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease. Please consult
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