A couple months ago, I wrote an article about abbreviated training in which I reviewed an article in an old issue of Ironman magazine, which was originally written by Bradley Steiner. Over the years, there have been many articles devoted to the concept of abbreviated training, and one thing that I have discovered during that time, is that the authors of these articles read like a “Who’s who” of Iron Game writers.
Back in the Summer of 1987, I was in what can best be described as the “off season” of powerlifting. My most recent contest had been two months earlier, and the next meet which I had my sights on wasn’t until November. So, with a couple months of “down time,” it was a perfect opportunity to try different things other than just Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift.
The July 1987 issue of Muscular Development was an exceptional edition, considering the fact that York’s glory days were past. Bob Hoffman had died two years earlier, Strength and Health magazine had folded the following Spring. But Muscular Development was still going strong, and even though there were new names listed on the staff of the magazine, the quality was still, in fact, quite good and very interesting.
The editor at that time was Jan Dellinger, and anyone with even a remote knowledge of lifting and physical culture would recognize Mr. Dellinger as one of the most knowledgeable figures and gifted authors in the sport. He had been working for York since the 1970s, but I did not have the pleasure of meeting Jan until I competed in the Bob Hoffman Strength Challenges from 1999- 2001. Suffice to say that, after having met him, I came to the conclusion that everyone else has: Mr. Dellinger is, in addition to being one of the great figures in Iron Game history, he is also a true gentleman.
Anyway, back to the article. In addition to his editorial, which accurately described the problem with steroids and testing in the sport, he penned a great article devoted to abbreviated training. The title of the article was “Obtaining The Maximum From The Minimum.”
In it, he relates his own experience with abbreviated training, which came about as a matter of necessity, due to his busy schedule as editor of MD, and the inherent tasks that come with putting out a magazine. Early in the article, he is gracious enough to acknowledge some of the great Iron Game writers who had espoused that sort of training. Brad Steiner, Dr. Ken Leistner, and Stuart McRobert are all names that should resonate with serious lifters.
All though the writers mentioned all have their own theories of abbreviated training, the basic fundamentals were, are, and always will be the same: Limiting the number of training days, exercises, and number of sets, while at the same time allowing for adequate rest time between workouts.
A salient point that he makes is that abbreviated training is “very basic and unglamorous, which makes it tough to get the attention it deserves in a sport that runs on hype and panache.” Truer words were never spoken. If you think about it, advising someone to deadlift to failure is definitely NOT glamorous or fancy. On the other hand, telling someone to bomb and blitz his lats with endless sets which will build “barn-door lats” is the sort of eye-catching advice that has been hyped in the muscle magazines for decades.
Speaking of the muscle magazines, the idea of isolation exercises over compound heavy movements has been a mainstay of the “muscle comics” are one of the worst concepts that have been endorsed by the drug-bloated bodybuilders featured in many a magazine. It’s easy to see how one can mistakenly be steered toward “serious volume abuse.” Eventually, overtraining, lack of progress, frustration, possible injury will eventually happen if one remains on such a misguided program. Long time readers of www.naturalstrength.com will recognize that most trainees, especially those who are considered to be hard-gainers, simply would be better off if they would commit themselves to two ( or at the very most three) full body workouts per week.
Like many strength writers, Mr. Dellinger advocates the three powerlifts as the core movements of any weight-training program. These wonderful exercises should be the staples of any quality program. For a beginner, they are the sine qua non. They are indispensable for building strength and size. Naturally, as one becomes more experienced and advanced, he/she can substitute other movements or even add exercises provided that recuperation between workouts is adequate.
To put it in basic terms, according to Jan, your workouts should be constructed as follows:
Upper Body Push, Upper Body Pull, Major Lower Back Movement, Major Thigh Movement, and an Abdominal Movement.
You can alternate upper body push and pull movements one day, then devote the second training day to your thigh and lower back movements. And as far as the abdominal training is concerned, one or two sets of sit-ups or leg raises is sufficient. No need to try and emulate advanced bodybuilders with hundreds of reps.
One specific movement that Jan recommends is the bent-arm pullover for upper-body development. It hits just about every upper-body muscle: chest, lats, front and rear deltoids. It used to be a very popular exercise “back in the day,” and Jan relates how some members of the old “York Gang” made fantastic gains doing pullovers. I remember when I first joined Bruno’s, there were some members there who did pullovers on a regular basis. They used a barbell, instead of a dumbbell as recommended by Mr. Dellinger, but the basics of the exercise remained the same.
I would like to go further and state that if you have access to a pullover machine ( Nautilus, Hammer Strength) then one or two sets a week will build great strength in your upper body. I first started using a pullover machine at Iron Island. It was- and is- a great movement provided that you do it in a strict, controlled fashion. No cheating or momentum!
I touched on training frequency before, and it’s a good idea to mention it again. “Working each muscle group too often can lead to a downward spiral even though you are on a condensed routine.” This is all contingent on how many days of rest you are allowing yourself between workouts. For most people, it is a matter of personal preference which can only be determined through trial and error and experience. I’ve mentioned this many times, and it bears repeating: You know yourself better than anyone else does. But at the same time, you must be honest with yourself in appraising your recuperative abilities. Don’t blindly follow the routine of another person, especially if the person in question uses steroids or other PEDs.
As I mentioned earlier, Jan Dellinger is one of the most knowledgeable and respected figures in the Iron Game. Any trainee would benefit greatly from his articles. As I look back at this nearly 40 year old magazine ( where does the time go?), I recognize how lucky I was to be exposed to such great training ideas.
