WEEK 2
Workout 1
28 (7 x 4) x 240 pounds (300 x 80%) = 6720 pounds
Workout 2
32 (4 x x 225 pounds (300 x 75%) = 7200 pounds
Workout 3
40 (4 x 10) x 210 pounds (300 x 70%) = 8400 pounds

WEEK 3
Workout 1
32 (8 x 4) x 240 pounds (300 x 80%) = 7680 pounds
Workout 2
36 (4 x 9) x 225 pounds (300 x 75%) = 8100 pounds
Workout 3
40 (4 x 10) x 216 pounds (300 x 72%) = 8640 pounds

WEEK 4 (Unloading)
Workout 1
24 (6 x 4) x 240 pounds (300 x 80%) = 5760 pounds
Workout 2
27 (3 x 9) x 225 pounds (300 x 75%) = 6075 pounds
Workout 3
30 (3 x 10) x 216 pounds (300 x 72%) = 6480 pounds
(Week 5 resumes with a progression that must beat your
performances from week 3.)
You should really take some time to look over this
periodization example of weeks 1-4. You'll see how I typically arrange a
progression and unloading periodization plan with advanced trainees. Of course,
this isn't written in stone since there are many additional variables that must
be addressed, but it gives you a good starting point.
I use this example because it's a conglomerate of
progressions, just like my programs. Workout one is a set progression; workout
two is a rep progression; and workout three is a loading progression. The point
is to show that any progression can result in a higher volume.
And the key is to beat your volume performance with each
workout that uses the same parameters. It's not necessary to beat your volume
performance with every subsequent workout throughout the week. In other words,
if Monday is your 6 x 4 day, the following Monday you must beat your previous
performance by adding more sets, reps, or load in order to augment the volume
of that session.


Tip #3: Adhere to Total-body Training
I really thought I had this factor covered when I wrote Total-Body
Training a few years ago. But based on the conversations I have with readers, it's
evident that I haven't struck a loud enough chord when it comes to this
important topic.
Total-body workouts beat any split, any day of the week. If
you start training all of your major muscle groups every time you go to the
gym, you'll be on the fast track to bigger muscles and higher fitness levels.
You'll build bigger muscles because you'll be training with
a higher frequency, and you'll build your fitness levels because total-body
workouts are damn tough. In fact, you'll probably have to pace yourself during
the first few weeks of total-body training if you've been on a body part split.
Total-body workouts result in a higher work capacity,
fitness level, and endocrine response. How do total-body workouts do all those
things? Because when you cram compound movements such as squats, deadlifts,
pulls, and presses all into the same session, it's very taxing to your body.
If you've never combined four to eight compound movements
into one workout, you're in for a big surprise. You soon realize that a
properly designed total-body weight training session will not only develop the
ATP-PC energy system, but also anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic metabolism. And
that's why people can generally get away with doing less cardio when their
weight training consists of total-body workouts.
By simply switching from a body part split to total-body
workouts, I've seen people drop four pounds of pure fat within the first month
of undertaking total-body workouts without changing anything else. The reason
is because the energy system and androgen response from total-body workouts is
favorable for both fat-burning and muscle growth.
Another advantage of total-body workouts is that they tend
to eradicate most of those pussy isolation movements. Once I tell someone that
they need to train all of their major muscle groups in one session, they soon
become very efficient with their choices of movements.
Why perform pressdowns for triceps, flyes for pectorals, and
front raises for deltoids when you can develop all of those muscle groups with
the dip? With a compound movement like the dip comes a greater hormonal
response. And with a greater hormonal response come bigger muscles and less
body fat.
Enough with my sales pitch. If you haven't been performing
total-body workouts, you need to start. But ease into it. Start out with four
compound movements for each workout and perform three workouts each week.
Choose a squat, deadlift, press, and pull variation for each workout. One of
the four movements can consist of a variation of the snatch or clean.
Perform a different variation for each of the three workouts
each week. Don't forget about tips one and two! (Of course, if you don't want
to design your own workouts, you can find mine in the archives. Except for
"Anti-Bodybuilding Hypertrophy" and "Big Boy Basics," every
program of mine is total-body.)
And if you're one who believes that you can't train all of
your major muscle groups with four movements, I invite you to do the following
circuit for 8 sets of 3 reps with the heaviest load that you can handle for
each set:

A1 Snatch
A2 Dip
A3 Woodchop
A4 Chin-up

Once you're accustomed to four compound movements for three
workouts per week, you can start increasing the number of movements. I suggest
you add one or two more movements and stick with it for three to four weeks
before adding more. I generally recommend no more than eight movements per
total-body session, but there's really no limit. Once you start building your
work capacity and fitness levels, you can do as many movements as your
available time allows.
Speaking of time, that brings me to my last point.


Tip #4: Consume Peri-workout Nutrition
One of the biggest fallacies that I keep hearing is this:
resistance-training workouts must last less than one hour. Bullshit!
The putative notion that workouts should last less than an
hour is based on old research that demonstrated a shift of anabolic and catabolic
hormones in the negative direction after 45 minutes of resistance training. But
now that we know how important it is to ingest carbs and protein at the onset
and/or during a workout, that research becomes much less relevant.
If you drink Surge or some sort of
whey/maltodextrin drink at the onset of your workouts, you can easily train for
90-120 minutes without worrying about cortisol's detrimental influence on your
physique.
How important is peri-workout nutrition? I now consider a
carb/protein drink at the onset of resistance training workouts to be more
important than a post-workout drink. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that
anyone should stop consuming a post-workout drink, but between the two,
peri-workout nutrition is the clear winner in my book.
So if you want to get bigger, leaner, and stronger, strive
for longer and more demanding total-body workouts. And be sure to consume
liquid carbs and protein at the onset, or during your workouts.
But this issue of peri-workout nutrition stretches beyond
controlling catabolism during your workouts; it can also be beneficial during
periods of fat loss. You probably know from Drs. Lowery and Berardi that your
carb sensitivity is elevated in the morning and after your workouts. So you
might be surprised to learn that there are some people who I had drop all
morning and post-workout carbs in order to get them shredded. But I had these
same people still consume carbs during their workouts.
I believe it's the best time to ingest the majority of your
daily carbs if you're on a low-carb diet. You'll keep losing fat because the
carbs will be soaked up by the heightened sensitivity of your muscles, and
you'll be able to maintain your workout intensity. As a bonus, you'll recover
much quicker between workouts.
Many of my clients need to get absolutely shredded for one
reason or another, and as I said in the beginning, my clients' results
determine my success. If peri-workout carbs slowed their fat loss or didn't
improve their recovery, I'd drop them quicker than Anna Nicole Smith drops a
blind date once she finds out he's not a billionaire.
To support my position that peri-workout carbs won't stall
your fat loss, let me mention a T-Nation reader who hired me this year to
prepare her for a figure competition. I had her consume Surge during all six of
her workouts each week. And I continued with the peri-workout Surge until the last
week before her competition (at that point, I had to drop her water). She got
ripped, and she won the competition. Here she is:
If you have a high tolerance to carbs, consume one full
serving of Surge at the onset, or during, your workouts. If you have a medium
tolerance to carbs, consume half a serving. If the mere thought of bread
expands your waistline, consume 20-30 grams of pure whey.
I must mention, however, that in eleven years of
transforming bodies, I can count on one hand the number of people whose fat
loss stalled when they ingested liquid carbs and protein during their workouts.
In fact, when I manipulate my clients' carb intake, the peri-workout carbs are
the last carbs to get eliminated from their diets.
So try a full or half serving of Surge (or some
whey/maltodextrin drink) before going with only whey protein. If you do, you'll
continue to burn fat while enhancing your training intensity and recovery.


Summary

1) Rotate your sets, reps, and load throughout the week.

2) Calculate the volume of each training session.

3) Perform total-body workouts.

4) Consume Surge or a whey/maltodextrin drink at the onset
of each workout (afterwards, too).

If you incorporate these four steps into your program,
you'll be way ahead of the competition. I guarantee it!


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LLC. All Rights Reserved.