10 Strength Tips From a Legend
Advice from Canadian Strongman Doug
Hepburn
by Mike Mahler


Long before steroid abuse became common in the
weight-training world, legendary strongman Doug Hepburn was proving
by example that the right combination of smart training, nutrition,
adequate recovery, and determination can dramatically increase your
strength, size, and power.
Hepburn was born in 1926 with a clubfoot and a severe
alternating squint. He certainly didn't appear destined to become
one of the strongest human beings around. However, he did grow up
to be the first man to bench press 500 pounds,
drug-free.

His exceptional power wasn't limited to the bench press, as
he set records in the one-arm military press with
an astonishing 200 pounds. He also push pressed 500 pounds,
military pressed 420 pounds, and performed deadlifts with 800
pounds
Hepburn's amazing strength wasn't limited to his younger
days, either. At the age of 54, he squatted 600 for eight reps, and
one-arm military pressed 170 pounds. So much for the excuse that
you can't be strong and powerful as you get
older.
People who want to make excuses will do so no matter how
much inspiration is available, but for those of us who do aspire to be better, let's take a look at Hepburn's
rules for maximum strength and power.



Hepburn's 10 Rules for Maximum Strength and
Power

Rule #1: Training frequency should be a minimum of twice per
week, and a maximum of six times per week.
Like most things in life, if you don't do enough work, you
won't get anything done. However, if you do too much work, you pass the tipping point of effectiveness, and enter
counter-productive territory. Hepburn found that two full body
workouts per week were the minimum a trainee
should execute.
Most people do better training three-to-four days per week.
Six days is possible for some trainees, provided a combination of
great genetics, top nutrition, and solid recovery programs. But
with the stress of day-to-day living, family, and work obligations,
few can consistently devote six days to training, and still
maximize recovery.
Training frequency will often be dictated by what's going on
in your life. If you're in a phase where stress is low-to-moderate,
your nutrition program is solid, and you're getting eight or nine
hours of sleep each night, then you can go for four to six workouts
per week.
Once life becomes more stressful, reduce the frequency to
two to three workouts per week. You could also cycle your training
frequency — for every three weeks of six workouts per week,
do one week of two workouts per week. The possibilities are
endless, just be sure to keep a detailed training journal to track
how you respond to various frequency protocols.

Rule #2: Never do more than three exercises per
workout.
Hepburn was a firm believer in doing a few things extremely
well. Once you add too many exercises to your program, you're all
over the place and you wind up doing several things poorly or, at
best, merely average.
Many trainees make the mistake of doing several exercises
per muscle group, for example, they'll have a chest day consisting
of the bench press, incline press, decline press, dumbbell fly,
cable crossover, and pullover. Come on... how many parts does your
chest have?
Pick one major compound exercise and forget all the
isolation work. For example, hit the incline press, put in 100%,
and move on to the next major muscle group. Focus on the majors for
massive results in the most efficient manner.


Rule #3: Never work the same muscle group more than three
times per week.
Once again, Hepburn believed that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and he found that
working the same muscle groups too often was counter-productive.
Hepburn understood the importance of rest and recuperation, and
wrote that most trainees enter the land of overtraining via too
many workouts with any single muscle group.
I agree, for the most part, but I also think that intensity
has a lot to do with determining adequate frequency. For rapid
strength gains, high frequency training programs are effective, as
long as one isn't training close to failure. Many trainees can hit
the same exercise five or six times per week and still experience
gains in strength and muscular endurance.
However, the intensity has to be moderate, and the focus has
to be on practicing the skill of the exercise,
not jacking up the intensity. This requires a lot of discipline, as
there will be a natural urge to increase
intensity.
Understanding that most trainees are stimulus addicts, and
believe more is better, I think Hepburn's rule of working the same
exercise or muscle groups three times per week is the way to go for
most trainees.

Rule #4: If training more than three times per week, never
include upper body and lower body exercises in the same
workout.
Hepburn wrote that three full body workouts were plenty, and
when you're training more often, it's time to apply split training
routines. Again, it goes back to the principle that you can only do
so much, so often. If you want to train more than three times per
week, half the days will be upper body workouts and the other half
do lower body workouts.
Your other option is to train just twice per week, and do
some pressing for the upper body, followed by some deadlifts for
the back and legs on day one. Then, on day two, do some weighted
pull-ups for the lats and squats for the legs. Just remember the
principle of doing a few things well, and organize your workouts
accordingly.


Rule #5: For a total body workout, two to three times per
week, choose three exercises to most effectively work the three
largest muscle groups.
Hepburn was a firm believer in focusing on exercises that
provide the most bang for the buck. Programs centered on compound
exercises are not only more efficient, but more
productive.
Not surprisingly, Hepburn believed that the barbell squat
was the best exercise for the legs, the deadlift was best for the
back and hamstrings, and the bench press was the best exercise for
the chest and triceps. If big pectoral development isn't your
thing, replace the bench press with the standing barbell military
press. But for legs, you can't do better than squats and
deadlifts.

Rule #6: If you train four to six times a week, choose six
exercises to work the entire body.
Rather then doing the same exercises more often, schedule
more exercises for balanced development. When training four to six
times per week, Hepburn recommended the bench press, squat,
deadlift, plus three more exercises to work antagonistic muscles,
such as barbell curls, leg curls, and high
pulls.
It's a great start, but I'd change a few things. The bench
press is a great exercise for upper body development, but I'd
balance it with the standing barbell military press. Work the bench
press in one workout, and the military press in
another.
I'd keep the squat as a main leg exercise one day, and use
the deadlift as the main exercise on another day. For hamstrings,
instead of leg curls, choose dumbbell or kettlebell swings,
glute-ham raises, Romanian deadlifts, or one-legged
deadlifts.

Instead of barbell curls, include weighted pull-ups and
bent-over rows, to balance all the pressing work. Finally, the high
pull is a great exercise and I don't see any reason to remove it,
but for variety, the trainee can do double kettlebell or dumbbell
swings, or heavy one-arm snatches.

Rule #7: Give equal attention to opposing muscle groups to
avoid injuries.
Hepburn's dead-on with this one. Far too many training
injuries are due to unbalanced training programs. Trainees have a
tendency to prefer pressing to pulling, and that's sure-fire way to
an injury.
We all have our pet lifts, and likewise, there are exercises
that we don't enjoy, no matter how beneficial they are. We need to
accept the fact that there are things that need to be done, whether
we like it or not. Design training programs which focus on balanced
development. Always balance quad work with hamstring work, and
pressing work with pulling work.

Rule #8: Never expend your full lifting capacity while
working out — slowly but surely is the only way to
go.
The goal of a productive workout shouldn't be to wipe you
out or produce excessive soreness, yet these are often the flawed
measuring tools used to gauge a workout's
effectiveness.


"Dude, I was sore for a week after that leg
workout!"
While I think it's great to have a solid work ethic, it can
also create a focus on what's unessential. Regardless of your
particular goal, a training program should increase your strength,
energy, confidence, and well-being.
If your training program leaves you wiped out to the point
where it's reducing enjoyment in other areas of your life, you're
on the wrong program. Effective workouts are like an
energy-producing tonic; they clear the cobwebs from your head and
leave you energized and confident.
Get over the notion that unless you're wiped out, you're not
doing anything productive. The focus should be on the results of
your workout and enjoying the process, not using
fatigue as a measure of success.

Rule #9: You need a mental relaxation program. The main
reason lifters fail is overtraining.
Just as a proper training program is needed to get stronger,
you need a specific restoration program to recover from your
workouts and derive the greatest benefits from training. Your body
doesn't grow and get stronger while you train, these occur after you train. Having a post-workout shake is only
the start of the recovery process.
Take a 30-minute nap after each workout, and you'll be
amazed with the results. Make a point of getting eight, deep, hours of sleep each night. Not only will your
workouts be better, but you'll feel better
overall.


Eight good hours of sleep, with no
interruptions.
Get a sports massage every other week to manipulate the scar
tissue you've built up. Don't wait until you're feeling drained and
overtrained, get the massages while you still feel great. We often
wait for things to break down and become problems before doing
anything about them. Instead, for optimal progress, take your
restoration program as seriously as your training
program.

Rule #10: You must have a proper, balanced, diet that's rich
in vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, and
protein.
Like any successful athlete, Hepburn understood and
emphasized the importance of a solid nutrition plan, especially for
developing massive strength, power, and size.
At nearly 300 pounds, he consumed over 10,000 calories per
day, and was a big fan of liquid nutrition to jack up his calories.
He made shakes loaded with milk, juice, eggs, protein powder, and
honey, and often drank them during his workouts to keep his energy
high.


Hepburn with a pair of mid-workout refreshments.
While following a high-calorie diet is a beneficial
component of progress, it also has pitfalls. When the goal is rapid
gains in size and strength, eating goes from being a pleasurable
experience to a 24/7 job, and constant nausea is
common.
Finding a happy medium is possible only by gradually
increasing calories, rather than doubling your calories overnight.
Just as you gradually condition your body for intense training, you
must condition your body for increased caloric
consumption.
If you're eating 2,500 calories to maintain your weight, go
up to 3,000 calories for a few weeks. Once you get comfortable with
that, go up to 3,500 calories. Increasing calories over time will
also allow you to determine how the increased consumption is
affecting body-fat levels.
While many trainees want to get bigger and stronger, I doubt
that too many want to be fatter and stronger. You
can avoid the "fat n' strong" look by increasing calories gradually
and keeping the quality of calories high. Don't have four bowls of
ice cream to increase your calories, but focus on consuming more
nutritious food all day long.


Summary
Those are some tips straight from the mind of one of North
America's legendary strongmen. But exactly how did Doug Hepburn train to get so strong and powerful? Well,
you're going to have to figure that one out on your own. Just apply
these 10 rules and let me know how it works out for you... just
kidding. My next article will take a look at Hepburn's favorite
training programs and explain how to apply them
today.
For more information on Doug Hepburn's life and training
philosophy, check out the exceptional book Strongman: The Doug
Hepburn Story by Tom Thurston.


About the Author


Mike Mahler is the author of "The Aggressive Strength
Solution For Size And Strength." For more information on Mike, sign
up for his free magazine at www.mikemahler.com.

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