In our small group we should be thankful for one another as we cling to the
original purpose of what it was intended to be about. A healthy lifestyle and increased
strength through the disciplines of consistent hardwork with the use of weight training
equipment. It was and still is our objective. There's an existing respect & appreciation among
us who never crossed over. We're the ones who have stuck to the theme of health and are
satisfied with who we are. The old school purist never feels inferior or envious of what's
happening with the drug enhanced crowd. In the modern fitness & wellness culture most
people understand the difference and quietly feel sympathetic towards individuals who
made bad choices. After decades in the strength section of fitness, one can assume he's heard
and seen almost all of it...... except, a justified legitimate reason for chemical enhancement.
The Natural Strength enthusiast has to discard all methods contrary to what's already been
proven effective. One must believe in what works and having followed those instructions also
believe in theirself. It takes confidence to embrace the challenge of out doing what you did before.
Keep on believing and don't waste time. You're doing the right things, proper nutrition, enough
sleep, and a generally clean lifestyle and along with that, the common sense not to over train in
volume or frequency.
In pursuit of new strength levels a main issue is avoiding injuries & setbacks along the way.
One should be comfortable in knowing which compound exercises their body tolerates and the
particular technique required for them. Training forward comes easier when you're not working
around aggravated body parts. Consistency is key to achieving your goals, with that in mind, learn
how to minimize injury risk.
It's hard to imagine anything goofier than training hard without a lifestyle to support your
expected progress. Worse yet would be someone doing everything right and the only thing holding
them back is the workout itself. Over the years many times a misguided young bodybuilder would
ask me how its done. What he really wanted to know was, could he expect to be like me someday,
20 years from now when he's my age. Well, no help was given unless they promised to put everything
aside, forget the past, believe, and commit to my instructions.
20 years from now when he's my age. Well, no help was given unless they promised to put everything
aside, forget the past, believe, and commit to my instructions.
They were prescribed a 2-wk rest and provided with an abbreviated version of what they had
been doing. Without exception everyone who followed the plan got back to me with an amazing
testimony of new strength levels and muscular growth. Like me, they learned to appreciate quickly
what a difference it makes when a program is designed to ensure recovery and how the body responds.
Having experienced good progress with a split routine in the past, there were still concerns
about overlap when doing Squats or Dead Lifts later in the week. If you've already hit upper body real hard,
how can you do Squats or Dead Lifts(which are both whole body efforts) within 2 or 3 days the
how can you do Squats or Dead Lifts(which are both whole body efforts) within 2 or 3 days the
same week without interrupting recovery. Granted, these are concerns limited to those serious about
becoming stronger and they're the ones capable of training hard enough to overtrain.
This is an example routine to be tweaked for your personal use and performed in a High Intensity
Abbreviated style. Rest instinctively after each workout. You should be ready to train again in
Abbreviated style. Rest instinctively after each workout. You should be ready to train again in
less than a week without fear of overlap. If not, you'll know it, just take an extra days rest.
Great article Vince!
The 3-Routines to rotate are "A", "B", & "C" in order. Do "A" take 5 days or so to
rest and do "B" then rest again appropriately and do "C". If 5 days rest between isn't
enough you'll realize soon enough. Obviously more rest could be required based on
activities and other demands in life. Even at max intensity you should typically feel
ready to workout again within 5 or 6 days, for sure by the 7th day in most cases.
Clearly this program is designed for those with the cultivated ability to train
hard. The ones who really do something to the body, can't risk overlap, and are
totally reliant on recovery to be consistent.
Honestly though, this comes with a warranty and it will work for everyone. The
beginner, the one starting over, the veteran, and you too!!
"A" "B" "C"
overhead bar press chin up 30 degree Inc Bench press
trap bar dead lift dip rows
pull up chin up bar squat
overhead bar press dip 30 degree Inc Bench press
trap bar dead lift calf press rows
calf press Romanian dead lift bar squat
leg curl Leg press 45 degree back extension
seated DB curl bar curl calf press
arm curl: choice
Note: as mentioned before, tweak it a little for personal needs but leave
things structured the same.
* upper body heavy as possible in the 5 to 8 rep range in strict form
* Squats & dead lifts work it in the 12 to 16 range, keep the same load
and see what you can get on the 2nd set. If your trap bar has high
Handles have a heavy day and a heavier day on the high side next
Time and occasionally do a static hold at end of 2nd set
**for upper body go to positive failure most of the time, do some
beyond failure cheat reps or negatives every 3rd or 4th workout
**upper body: plan your micro load increases according to rep
accomplishment of a collective 10 in the two sets (or your
preference) & occasionally do a flush set with a reduced wt. after
the 2nd set.
the 2nd set.
Great article Vince!
