I’m back, and this time around I will share with you my current routine. Ever since my introduction to weight training, I have experimented with a multitude of rep ranges. In my experience, I have discovered that less is more in gaining strength and size. I know a lot of lifters who completely change their training when in contest prep. They opt for the higher reps while resting less. I don’t agree with this. When preparing for a Contest, I did cut my rest time back just a little bit, but I still trained in the 5-8 rep range for most of my exercises. I allowed my cardio and diet to take care of the rest. My training routine for preparing for the contest will go as follows:

day 1-back/traps
day 2-chest/abs/calves
day 3-rest
day 4-shoulders/calves
day 5-arms/abs
day 6-legs/calves
day 7-rest

After a warmup, perform 2 sets per exercise using a rep range of 5-8 reps unless otherwise instructed with good form. Please note that I did not say perfect textbook form. The complete form only gets you so far. We have to apply controlled cheating. It would be wise for you to have a spotter on hand for your chest, quad, and shoulder exercises. The key here is INTENSITY. I cannot stress this enough. INTENSITY is key! It is also important to change the order of the exercises everytime you train a particular bodypart. Keep your muscles confused. Make sure you explode during the concentric phase of the lift(the contracting phase) and fight and control the weight during the eccentric phase.

The Best Muscle Gain Routine

Here we go:

back-deadlifts, barbell rows alternating each week with an underhand and overhand grip, weighted pullups alternating each week with a wide grip and underhand close grip, and 1 arm dumbbell rows

traps-upright rows, dumbbell shrugs

chest-incline press, incline dumbbell press, bench press

shoulders-seated dumbbell press, standing side laterals, bent over rear delt laterals

biceps-standing e-z bar curl, alternating dumbbell curls, 1 arm cable preacher curls

triceps-weighted dips stressing the triceps, straight bar pressdowns, overhead cable extensions

forearms-reverse barbell wrist curls, behind back barbell wrist curls

quads-squats, leg press, leg extensions

hamstrings-lying leg curls, seated leg curls, stiff leg deadlifts

abs-hanging leg raises 2 x 12-20, weighted decline crunch 2 x 12-20

calves-weighted 1 leg standing calf raises, seated calf raises

That’s the program. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but if you do this with the correct intensity, that’s all you’ll need to destroy the target muscles. You want to go all out b/c; you will be in the gym no longer than 45 min. At a time now. It’ll be a nice change. You should also be able to attain an unbelievable pump when you train this heavy. Now for the diet part.

For the diet, you’re going to bump up your carbs up a lot, especially from low glycemic carbs such as wheat bread and pasta. You have to do this everyday, or it will amount to very little. In the end, we want the sum(you) to be greater than all of its parts(training and dieting). Consistency is key when it comes to dieting.

daily calorie recommendations:

bodyweight times 2 then add a Zero
example: 185 lbs x 2 = 370 now add a Zero to get 3700 calories per day
3700 calories broken into 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day
50% carbs
30% protein
20% fat

Don’t worry too much about getting fat. If you’re motivated enough to gain mass, then you will surely be motivated enough to get lean when the time calls. However, if you are extremely self-conscious about gaining extra fat, then you might not want to try this program. You can try to keep the fat mobilized by performing low-intensity cardio for 30-45 min. 2-3 times a week. The biggest mistake I see when talking to people about weight lifting is that they want to “get huge and lean” at the same time. It’s kind of counterproductive, wouldn’t you say? Pick one or the other and concentrate solely on that.

Take a multivitamin with your first meal, and 500 mg of vitamin C with every meal. That’s as simple as it gets. Remember that carbs and protein contain 4 calories per gram, and fat contains 9 calories per gram. Most of your fats should be from good fats such as essential fatty acids, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, CLA’s(conjugated linoleic acids), flaxseed oil. I personally recommend Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s cheap, and it’s readily available. Besides, it doesn’t taste that bad.

I want you to track your daily caloric intake also as close as you can. Track your bodyweight also by the week. DO NOT weigh yourself everyday. Weigh once a week in the morning using the same scale and wearing the same amount of clothes. If, after 2 weeks, you’re still not gaining weight, then I would up your calories by 250-500 calories for the next 2 weeks. If your inner self is perfect, then you should be in an anabolic state and you should gain a few pounds a week. Not to mention, your strength will be shooting through the roof.

Apply this program with my theory of using forced reps of gains in mass and strength and I can assure you that you will be buying new clothes very soon. Train hard, train smart, train naturally!