Mirror Time!
For the past two months of our Beast Building program, we've been focusing mostly on strengthening the nervous system and the muscles, at the expense of balanced muscle growth for aesthetic appeal. That's okay. Let's face it, heavy basic lifting will build a ton of overall mass, but it can lead to unbalanced development.
Why? Because by using mostly compound multi-joint movements, we tend to concentrate on our strengths more than on our weaknesses. And this, of course, is because your body is built for survival, not for looking good on the beach.
When you're doing a set of bench press, your body doesn't "know" that you want to build big pecs, it only knows that you've got a big-ass piece of iron poised precariously above your chest and if you don't lift it, it'll crush your ribcage and you'll die.
In the interest of survival, your body relies on the muscles best suited to do the job. If your triceps and deltoids are stronger than your pectoral muscles, then these will take on more of the workload and will be more stimulated to grow than your chest.
So Phase III of the Beast Building program will be the mirror phase in more ways than one. First, it'll be a mirror image of what we've been doing up until now: the training program we'll use will be the opposite of the other phases (less frequency, more volume per body part, higher reps, more intensive techniques, less rest). It'll also be the mirror phase because this is where we train to look good!


The Training Split
As I mentioned in the previous parts of this program, when you're training mostly for muscle growth, you hit each muscle group less frequently, but with a higher training volume and more oomph. Conversely, when you're training for neural improvements, it's best to increase the frequency of training each muscle group while lowering the daily volume.
Since this phase focuses only on maximizing muscle growth, each main muscle group will be hit once a week, but with more volume (around 12-16 sets per muscle group).
To make the most of this program, we'll use an antagonist split with alternating sets. This consists of training opposing muscle groups in the same workout, alternating one set of each of those antagonists. For example, if on Day 1 you're training chest and back, the first exercise pairing might be incline dumbbell press (A1) and weighed chin-ups (A2). In that case, you'd alternate one set of A1 (press) with one set of A2 (chin-up), kinda like this:

First set of A1
Rest 60 seconds

First set of A2
Rest 60 seconds

Second set of A1
Rest 60 seconds

Second set of A2
Rest 60 seconds

Third set of A1
Rest 60 seconds

Third set of A2
...and so on.
The weekly split then becomes:

Day 1: Torso (chest and back)

Day 2: Lower body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Arms (biceps and triceps)

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Shoulders (front/lateral deltoids and rear delt/traps)

Day 7: OFF
The advantages of this type of split are as follows:

• Ensures balanced development of opposing muscle groups. This reduces the risk of injury while maximizing aesthetic appeal.

• Allows for greater neural activation of the worked muscle group. Contracting a muscle after its antagonist has been contracted increases neural drive, thus maximizing muscle fiber recruitment. This leads to a greater force production potential, and more growth stimulation.

• Minimizes reciprocal inhibition. When you fatigue a muscle group, it won't "resist" as much when you're working its antagonist. For example, when doing a curl you're not only fighting against the resistance but also against the triceps' partial activation. If you fatigue the triceps, they will be more fatigued, and thus won't create as much opposition to the biceps.

• Increases training density (more total volume done in less time) without affecting the recovery time for each muscle group. This favors the onset of an anabolic state conducive to muscle growth.


The Methods Used
Each session will include 3 exercises for each of the targeted muscle groups. The first movement is the basic lift, which we'll do relatively heavy. After all, forceful contractions stimulate muscle growth, and we want to be strong, not just look strong. Not to mention that heavy lifting increases myogenic tone, which will make your muscles look much denser and harder, even at rest.
The first exercise pairing is fairly heavy, using a 7/5/3 wave loading pattern for 6 total sets (one set of 7, one set of 5, one set of 3, one set of 7, one set of 5, one set of 3).
Our second exercise pairing includes the main assistance movements, and it's still a major lift, not an isolation drill. For this one, we'll use a reverse pyramid for a total of 5 sets. Two sets of 10, two sets of 8, one set of 6.
The last pairing is the finishing touch, the isolation work aimed at making sure the targeted muscle groups are properly stimulated. For this pairing, we'll use a special training technique. Depending on the movement, it could be regular reps to failure plus added partial reps, double contraction reps, or iso-dynamic contrast reps. Three sets are performed for this pairing.


The Program
This is a program recommendation. You can make substitutions as long as theyÕre in line with the philosophy of the program (in other words, don't replace bench press with cable crossovers).

Day 1: Torso
A1) Low-incline dumbbell press
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
75 seconds of rest
A2) Weighted pull-ups with a close parallel grip
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
75 seconds of rest
B1) Bench press, wide grip
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
75 seconds of rest
B2) 1-arm dumbbell rowing
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
75 seconds of rest
C1) Pec deck machine: regular reps + partials
3 x 10-12 full reps, then partials for the last half of the movement to failure, then partials for the first half of the movement to failure.
60 seconds of rest
C2) Straight-bar pulldown: low double contraction
3 x 10-12. Pull the handle down to the low position, bring it back up halfway, pull it down again. This is one repetition.
60 seconds of rest

Day 2: Lower body
A1) Front squat
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
120 seconds of rest
A2) Romanian deadlift
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
120 seconds of rest
B1) Close-stance snatch-grip deadlift standing on a platform
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
90 seconds of rest
B2) Walking lunges, long steps
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
90 seconds of rest
C1) Leg press, full reps plus top partials
3 x 10-12 full reps, then partials for the last half of the movement to failure.
90 seconds of rest
C2) Lying leg curl, high double contraction
3 x 8-10. Lift all the way up, lower back down halfway, lift back up. This is one repetition.
90 seconds of rest

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Arms
A1) Close-grip preacher curl
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
75 seconds of rest
A2) Close-grip bench press
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
75 seconds of rest
B1) Incline dumbbell hammer curl
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
75 seconds of rest

B2) Decline EZ bar triceps extension
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
75 seconds of rest
C1) Wide-grip/elbows in preacher curl: regular reps + partials
3 x 10-12 full reps, then partials for the last half of the movement to failure, then partials for the first half of the movement to failure.
60 seconds of rest
C2) Rope cable pressdown: low double contraction
3 x 10-12. Pull the rope down to the low position, bring it back up halfway, pull it down again. This is one repetition.
60 seconds of rest

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Shoulders
A1) Push press
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
75 seconds of rest
A2) Barbell power shrugs
1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 7, 1 x 5, 1 x 3
75 seconds of rest
B1) Seated dumbbell press with a hammer grip
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
75 seconds of rest
B2) Upright rowing
2 x 10, 2 x 8, 1 x 6
75 seconds of rest
C1) Cable lateral raise: regular reps + partials
3 x 10-12 full reps, then partials for the last half of the movement to failure, then partials for the first half of the movement to failure.
60 seconds of rest
C2) Rear deltoid machine: peak double contraction
3 x 10-12. Lift the weight to the peak contraction, bring it back up halfway, lift it again. This is one repetition.
60 seconds of rest