A SIMPLE Power Based Routine

[iron addict]

Here is a routine a LARGE percentage of the lifters here could make great gains doing.

Monday
Squat or box squat 2-3 x 5
Glute/Ham Raises or pullthroughs 3 x 10
Bent Row or Chest Supported row 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Wednesday
Bench Press or low board press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Skull Crushers 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10

Friday
Deadlift or rack deadlift 2-3 x 5
Leg press 2 x 10
Chin or lat pull-down 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

Monday
Incline bench press or Incline Dumbbell Press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Tricep pushdowns 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10 Monday

FOR THOSE THAT ARE READING COMPREHENSION CHALLENGED THE SCHEDULE GOES LIKE THIS:

1st workout
Monday
Squat or box squat 2-3 x 5
Glute/Ham Raises or pullthroughs 3 x 10
Bent Row or Chest Supported row 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

2nd workout 1 day later
Wednesday
Bench Press or low board press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Skull Crushers 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10

3rd workout 1 day later
Friday
Deadlift or rack deadlift 2-3 x 5
Leg press 2 x 10
Chin or lat pull-down 4 x 6
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8
Calf Raises 3 x 15

4th workout After TWO DAYS OFF
Monday
Incline bench press or Incline Dumbbell Press 3 x 5, or 3 x 3
Dumbbell Bench Press 4 x 8
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8
Tricep pushdowns 3 x 10
Ab work 3 x 10 Monday

next workout sequence repeat 1st through 4th workouts

Sets are NOT taken to failure, at least 1 rep short, or to the point RIGHT before form starts to break down. If you do not recover well, reduce 1 set from each of the lifts.

Rep cadence is explosive on the positive, controlled on the negative, no need to count cadence.

After warm-ups use the same weight for all sets. If you cannot get all the sets with the same weight, the weight is too heavy.

If you want to substitute something like dumbbell skull crushers for pushdowns, or hammer curls for barbell curls go ahead. DO NOT SUB OUT BIG COMPOUND MOVEMENTS FOR ISOLATION LIFTS. IF YOU CAN SQUAT AND DEADLIFT, DO THEM. THEY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFTS IN THE ROUTINE.

Rotate the lifts to something else every 4-8 weeks or whenever a lift stalls.

DELAOD BY DOING 1/2 THE SETS, OR 85% OF THE WEIGHT EVERY 4-8 WEEKS (4-5 WEEKS WORKS BEST FOR MOST PEOPLE.

Suitable substitute lifts:

Squat or box squat, you can front squat, or smith squat (smith ONLY if that is all you can do) You can leg press ONLY IF YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT DO REAGULAR SQUATS AND THE RESULTS WILL NOT BE AS GOOD.
Glute/Ham Raises or pullthroughs
Bent Row or Chest Supported row, you can dumbbell row or machine row
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl, you can do any curl variation
Calf Raises, you can do leg press calfs, standing barbell calf raises, or 1 arm, 1 leg dumbbell calf raises if you don't have a machine

Bench Press or low board press, you can do dumbbell presses or dips
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Dumbbell inclines, or smith inclines (use the SMITH ONLY IF THAT IS THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press, NO SUBS
Skull Crushers, you can do dumbbell skull crushers, overhead tricep extensions with a bar or dumbbells, or tricep push-downs if any of these movements bother your elbows.
Ab work, you can do a weighted sit-up, hanging leg raises, ab-wheel, or an ab machine

Deadlift or rack deadlift, you can do romanian deadlifts, or good-mornings
Leg press, you can front squat
Chin or lat pull-down, NO SUBS
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl, any curl variation
Calf Raises, you can do leg press calfs, standing barbell calf raises, or 1 arm, 1 leg dumbbell calf raises if you don't have a machine

Incline bench press or Incline Dumbbell Press, NO SUBS
Dumbbell Bench Press, You can do dips
Military or Dumbbell Shoulder Press, you can do upright rows
Tricep pushdowns, you can do a skull crusher, or overhead tricep extension with a barbell or dumbbells
Ab work 3 x 10, You can do a weighted sit-up, hanging leg raises, ab-wheel, or an ab machine

If you can't sub any of these lifts figure it out yourself and quit asking endless questions about what you can sub. The sub list just posted was created after over 100 questions have been asked about "can I do lift B instead of lift A.

Iron Addict

[Joe]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

if a persons working out at home could he replace leg presses with hack squats? and perhaps pushdowns with close grip bench?

also what is a gluteham raise/pullthrough and are there any substitutions if it cant be done at home?

If you have cables OR bands you can do pull thru's.

I reccommend you get bands so you can do pushdowns too

Spend 200 bucks on a gnhr machine, you won't regret it, you can do them manullaly if you have a lat pull down machine though..... Also, I think there is other ways of doing them but I forget how.

I rather see you do a tri exercise like tate presses , DB skulls, or another tri exercise that is gonna get the bottom part of your tri then using CGBP

[iron addict]

Originally Posted by wh0died

IA, why would you recommend leg press instead of something a little more free in front squats? Great core work and a lot of time away from regular squats to worry about recovery.

Because it is written for the masses, not an individual trainee. LOTS of people cannot or will not do front squats. If I had my druthers it would be safety bar squats actually, but most gyms don't have one. And the reality is, the trainee could just do deads that day and be done with it and do fine, but.......most lifters want to do more lifts and the low number will already scare many people of that would otherwise benefit by it

IA

[iron addict]

Originally Posted by Doc D

Looks like an excellent programme. Just wondering: in terms of weights used for each exercise (after warm-ups), would you envisage sticking with the same weight for each set (in other words, so that the 'not quite failure' point is only reached on the last scheduled set), or dropping the weight for each set?

That is how I prefer most lifters to do multiple sets on this type of program.

IA

[Joe]

The key here is regulating intensity. On your supplementary lifts don't go to failure. Go to one rep short. On the big lifts (Squat, bench deads and their variations ) missing a lit or going to failure every now and again is fine.

The "Hitting the wall" question. I assume you mean you'll have to deload faster? IME, probably not if you regulate intensity right. That doesnt mean lit like a grandma just dont bust a nut every set.

This routine will build mass and strength for MOST liters.

[iron addict]

Originally Posted by padge

This routine looks really good, although it's quite a bit more volume and frequency than your two-day split IA... if intensity is controlled and the sets are reduced (only one for the main lifts?) should recovery not be an issue if I can do the 2-day with most sets to failure?

If you are a TRUE hardgainer, the 2 day will likely work better. But......if you don't take any of the lifts to failure, you might be very surprised that you can handle the increased frequency routine very well.

IA

[iron addict]

Originally Posted by meyouheshe

Program looks interesting but the volume is alot higher than what you usually prescribe IA.

No it's not. The majority of my trainees are on something with at least similar volume and frequency.

IA

[Doc D]

Originally Posted by iron addict

If you are a TRUE hardgainer, the 2 day will likely work better. But......if you don't take any of the lifts to failure, you might be very surprised that you can handle the increased frequency routine very well.

IA

This would seem the key to me. The first exercise would be approached as the 'lift that counted' for the day; in other words, a high level of perceived effort for squats/deads/bench, but without going to failure (which I tend to find advisable for squats and deads anyway, where a breakdown of form might allow another last rep or so, but with great potential loss and little real gain). The other lifts would then be approached with a more workman-like attitude of completing scheduled sets and reps: certainly with concentration and effort, but without the same level of focus and engagement as devoted to the first exercise. It is this 'workman-like' perspective which differs from the approach adopted in HIT; and one can, via HIT methodologies, grow so accustomed to making work sets into a do-or-die exercise to failure that one can ignore that dropping perceived effort by, say, 10% allows completion of multiple sets with less fatigue (both physical and emotional).

[iron addict]

No sets are taken to failure. ONLY the last set of multiple set lifts are done one rep short of failure. Yes, add weight or reps to all lifts whenever possible, but if adding reps, ONLY add reps to the LAST set of multiple set lifts.

IA

[iron addict]

Lifts should be rotated every 3-4 weeks or so.

IA