Have you been training like an animal?  Diet is dialed in perfectly?  Doing everything right and still not making those gains like you want?  Are you feeling like you hit a wall, a plateau?  Thinking about turning to the dark side and running a cycle of steroids to give you that  extra push?  I’m not here to tell you how to be a perfect bodybuilder.  I’m not here to tell you how to eat and maintain a perfect diet.  I’m not here to tell you what kind of cycle or steroids you should run to get big and strong.  All of these things are essential and you should know about them and have a plan that includes all aspects.  Thats right all aspects from diet to training, even the cycle down to the last drop of your steroid or steroids of choice.  Often times the missing link is the workout, training plan, whatever you want to call it.  It usually becomes stagnent and dull with the same movements or lack of essential movements for building a big strong body.

Strength training was something I was introduced to while playing football in my high school days.  I say introduced to because I never fully implemented it during my workouts to obtain the maximum benefits.  Recently I became interested in the benefits of a training program focused on strength using big movements such as Olympic style movements.  I was given a plan and what I am writing about here is based on the plan created and given to me by “BrotherIron” from another site that I won’t mention out of respect for this site.  “BrotherIron” deserves all the credit for creating this program.

It is a program that basically is broken down into four weeks,called a “wave”,  three weeks are heavy work and the fourth is what is called a “deload” week.  I will share with you this plan and some general information to get you on the way to being bigger, stronger and faster.

First, you must know or find out what your one rep max is in the “major movements”.  I will explain them later but it is essential to know your 1RM in order to implement the plan properly.  During the wave you will be doing specific movements targeting certain muscle groups every week and each week the same movements.  A basic example would be Monday legs, Wednesday shoulders, Friday back and Saturday or Sunday would be chest.

Lets break down the wave.  Your program will look something like this:

MONDAY
LEGS:
Back Squats (oly style) ~% MAJOR MOVEMENT
Front Squats (oly style) ~% MAJOR MOVEMENT
RDL Clean Grip ~Assisting Movement (7-5-5-3-3)
Overhead Squats ~Assisting Oly Movement (3-3-3-3-3)

WEDNESDAY
SHOULDERS:
Push Press ~% MAJOR MOVEMENT
Power Clean From Floor (work up to Daily Max Single) ~Olympic Assisting Movement 3-3-3-2-2-1 Start with triples and work up to a single.
Z – Press ~Assisting Movement (7-5-5-3-3)
BICEPS:
Bar Curl ~Assisting Movement (7-7-7-5-5)

FRIDAY
BACK:
Deadlift (conventional) ~% MAJOR MOVEMENT
Power Snatch From Floor (work up to Daily Max Single) ~Olympic Assisting Movement 3-3-3-2-2-1 Start with triples and work up to a single.
Seated Good Morning on Bench ~Assisting Movement (7-5-5-3-3)
Bent Over Rows (pronated grip) ~Assisting Movement (7-5-5-3-3)

SATURDAY OR SUNDAY
CHEST:
Flat Bench ~ % MAJOR MOVEMENT
TRICEPS:
Close Grip Bench ~% MAJOR MOVEMENT
Rolling DB Ext (lying) ~Assisting Movement (7-7-7-5-5)
1 – Arm DB OH Ext ~Assisting Movement (7-7-7-5-5)

The Percentages should be as follows:

Week 1: 65%-75%-85% 3 sets of 5 reps
Week 2: 70%-80%-90% 3 sets of 3 reps
Week 3: 75%-85%-95% 1 set of 5 reps, 1 set of 3 reps, 1 set of 1 rep
Week 4: DELOAD, everything at 50% 3 sets of 5 reps

The %’s are based of your REAL 1RM, meaning find out what your maxes are by having a training day and finding them out and then work the math.  If you notice you do the exact same movements for all four weeks of the wave changing only the weight and number of reps.  After each wave or every two waves it is good to change up your assisting movements still concentrating on the same muscle group.  This gives you some variety in the workout and keeps you from hitting another wall or plateau.  You should also notice that the movements used here are nothing fancy but are essential in building strength, mass, speed and explosion.  Squats, deadlifts, power cleans, flat bench and push press are oldies but the best in my opinion.  If you don’t do these types of movements you will never grow to your full potential.

This is a very basic and general idea on the training method designed by “BrotherIron”.  It is enough to get you started and I will follow up this article with more in depth and ddetailed articles on theis training methol in the weeks to come.  With the proper diet, a well planned steroid cycle, plenty of rest and this style of training you are sure to achieve your goals.  This combination is almost scary when you see the results.  I know first hand and would recommend this to anyone who needs or wants to get big or even just change up the routine.  Give it a try and after a month or two you should see results… Yes! That fast!

As bodybuilders we are constantly on the lookout for new and effective ways to gain muscle. The latest supplement, a sophisticated training routine, a new diet. Granted, all of these things are crucially important but what is possibly most important of all is sleep.

The best training routine, diet and supplement program will not compensate for insufficient rest, and sleep is the best, and only (in some instances), way of getting this rest. Professor Michael Colgan went as far as to say: €œeven if your training and nutrition program can straight for the mouth of God almighty, without adequate rest your body will fail to adapt.€?

During sleep, growth hormone is produced and protein synthesis (provided protein is consumed prior to sleep) occurs. These are only two beneficial aspects of sleep. Energy consumption reduction and brain cell restoration are two other aspects equally important for bodybuilders.
Throughout this article I will explain the various stages of sleep and their implications for bodybuilders. Outlined also will be the benefits sleep has in terms of muscle recovery and growth.

As bodybuilders we are constantly on the lookout for new and effective ways to gain muscle. The latest supplement, a sophisticated training routine, a new diet. Granted, all of these things are crucially important but what is possibly most important of all is sleep.

The best training routine, diet and supplement program will not compensate for insufficient rest, and sleep is the best, and only (in some instances), way of getting this rest. Professor Michael Colgan went as far as to say: €œeven if your training and nutrition program can straight for the mouth of God almighty, without adequate rest your body will fail to adapt.€?

During sleep, growth hormone is produced and protein synthesis (provided protein is consumed prior to sleep) occurs. These are only two beneficial aspects of sleep. Energy consumption reduction and brain cell restoration are two other aspects equally important for bodybuilders.

Throughout this article I will explain the various stages of sleep and their implications for bodybuilders. Outlined also will be the benefits sleep has in terms of muscle recovery and growth.

Why Do We Sleep?

Sleep serves many vital functions. For bodybuilders the main functions are growth and mental alertness. Sleep provides these effects directly. Without adequate sleep, time in the gym could be, to a large degree, wasted. The following are important functions of sleep.

The repairing of muscle and other tissues, and replace aging or dead cells:

*
1. Never Oversleep: Oversleeping may set the bodies clock to a different cycle. This will make trying to fall asleep much harder.
2. Take A Warm Bath: A warm bath will sooth and relax. However, a shower will have the opposite effect so these should be avoided.
Lowered energy consumption is a biological mechanism for resource conservation. We would need many meals per day (rather than the normal 4-6 for bodybuilders) if we did not get enough sleep.With bodybuilders, the name of the game is increased size, so energy conservation out of the gym is paramount. Several meals throughout the day also assists growth, and sleep helps to ensure that food is used to replace energy and rebuild muscle (pre-sleep meals and nocturnal eating help to intensify this effect).
Adenosine (a neurotransmitter that produces ATP, the energy-storage molecule that powers most of the biochemical reactions inside cells) is used as a signal to tell the brain that it needs to rest. Rising and declining concentrations of adenosine suggest that the brain is actually resting during sleep given that adenosine secretion reflects brain activity.During sleep, levels of adenosine decline. Blocking adenosine in the brain has been shown to increase alertness, so this suggests that during sleep the brain is recharging. During the day heightened levels of adenosine, particularly toward the end of the day, suggest that the brain is getting tired.Resting the brain has obvious implications for bodybuilders given that mental alertness is desired during the day, especially during training. Motivation levels are highest when mental alertness is highest. Studies suggest that it is during REM sleep that proper functioning of the brain and alertness is assisted.
Stage One:
Considered the transition stage between sleepfulness and wakefulness, stage one non-REM sleep is the shortest period (2-5%) of sleep in the sleep/wake cycle.Stage Two:
Considered the baseline of sleep, non-REM sleep stage two accounts for 45-60% of sleep.Stages Three & Four:
Termed delta sleep, non-REM sleep stages three and four account for up to 40% of sleep time. These are the deepest stages of sleep and the most restorative for the brain.REM Sleep:
The most active stage of sleep REM accounts for 20-25% of a normal nights sleep. Breathing, heart rate and brain activity quicken during this stage.

Sleeping for 8-10 hours per night is similar to fasting and this is catabolic to muscle growth. However, eating just prior to sleeping, can help to reverse this process and increase protein synthesis. Protein synthesis does occur under conditions of sleep but it occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, not the muscles.Muscle is actually broken down under these conditions to provide our stomach with amino acids during this time of €œstarvation€?. Eating before bed is crucial in offsetting this. Some reports suggest waking up in the middle of the night to eat (nocturnal eating).

Human growth hormone is also released under conditions of sleep. In men, 60% to 70% of daily human growth hormone secretion occurs during early sleep which is typically when the deepest sleep cycles occur. Poor quality sleep can negatively impact human growth hormone levels.Research suggests that it€™s during REM (Rapid Eye Movement: explained later) sleep that the body is able to: restore organs, bones, and tissue; replenish immune cells; and circulate human growth hormone. Sleep has a profound effect on muscle growth and physical well being.

During sleep energy consumption is lowered:

Sleep to recharge the brain:

The Stages Of Sleep & The Sleep/Wake Cycle

The brain follows cycles during sleep, which last between 90 and 100 minutes each. The two different types of sleep are REM and non-REM sleep. A sleep cycle begins with 4 stages of non-REM sleep before they reverse and REM sleep commences. Most people experience around 5 of these cycles per night.

Knowing about sleeps stages are important for bodybuilders as the stages typically follow a set pattern and to adequately recover (get a good night of sleep, and grow) ones brain must experience all of these stages.

A lack of REM and stage three and four sleep is particularly problematic because it is during these periods that the body and brain are complete rest (stages three and four) and memory consolidation occurs (REM). During stages three and four the body and brain are completely at rest due to the slowing of brain activity that occurs.

Due to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine€™s activation in the pons, which in turn activates the medulla, during REM sleep, the body becomes paralysed. This is because the medulla inhibits motor neurons and gives rise to atonia (complete immobility). Newborn babies undergo about 50% of REM sleep per night.

This level decreases as one ages, until, by adulthood, REM will account for 20-25% of sleep per night. The phenomenal growth that occurs as the baby makes the transition to childhood, then to adulthood, suggests that REM is beneficial for growth. Sleep research is not conclusive on this point but many bodybuilders will attest to the benefits of a complete night of uninterrupted sleep (8-10 hours).

The Stages

Getting Adequate Sleep

Often it is hard to get a good night of sleep. Even when we do fall asleep the quality of the sleep may not be sufficient. The following ways can assist in getting that good night sleep and subsequently the benefits thereof.
* Exercise: Exercising, particularly aerobic, during the day will sufficiently tire one out and sleep will come faster at night. Intense training sessions during the late evening will have the opposite effect.
* Avoid Alcohol, Caffeine & Tyrosine-Rich Foods At Night: Caffeine causes hyperactivity and wakefulness. Tyrosine- rich foods are brain stimulating and may keep one awake. Alcohol significantly disrupts sleep by interfering with the stages of sleep.
* Avoid Sleeping Pills: These may work temporarily but in the long term will cause disturbed sleep patterns.
* Correct Sleeping Environment: Keep your room reasonably cool (about 60 degrees). Humidity may cause disrupted sleep. A fan running or soft background music may help to relax and encourage sleep.
* Make evenings relaxed, not stressful affairs.
* Do not watch television in bed. This may also increase alertness. The brain may also decide that bedtime is for television watching and refuse to sleep.

Conclusion

As research has shown, sleep is important for any reasons. For bodybuilders, sleep is particularly important as it restores brain function and alertness in preparation for intense training sessions.

Sleep also enhances muscular recovery through protein synthesis and human growth hormone release. Getting eight to ten hours of quality sleep every night will promote these factors as well as general well being. Recovery will take a backward step if one does not prioritize sleep, so get to sleep if you want to grow.

Arnold is probably the most famous bodybuilder of all time, he won Mr. Olympia
seven times (1970-1975, 1980) and brought bodybuilding into the national spotlight
in the movie “Pumpin Iron”. 

Arnold’s Top Form Measurements

Arms 22 inches
Chest 57 inches
Waist 34 inches
Thighes 28.5 inches
Calves 20 inches
Weight 235 pounds
Height 6’2″

Arnold was from the old “No Pain No Gain” school of bodybuilding and his
routines consisted of high sets and reps, mostly not to failure. He trained
each muscle group three times each week (except calves, forearms & abs
which he trained every day), using a six day split routine.

There was very little rest between sets, and he usually increased weight each
and every set. Although he experimented with high reps at times, he usually
preferred a rep range of about 6 to 10.

The following is a typical Arnold routine, but be aware that Arnold’s routine
changed constantly. At times he trained twice a day, while at other times
once a day was enough. There were periods when he did lots supersets
and giant sets. Arnold tried every thing, and picked what worked best for
him at that particular time. By mixing things up he challenged his strength
and endurance and the training variety helped keep him fresh and motivated!

Remember this is a very advanced bodybuilding routine and should not be used
by beginners or intermediates, and even advanced bodybuilder’s should only
take what they think will work best for them and adapt it to their own
bodybuilding philosophy.

Arnold’s Routine

Mon, Wed, Fri

Chest:
Bench press 5 x 6-10
Flat bench flyes 5 x 6-10
Incline bench press 6 x 6-10
Cable crossovers 6 x 10-12
Dips (body weight) 5 x failure
Dumbell pullovers 5 x 10-12. 

Back:
Wide-grip chins (to front) 6 x failure
T-bar rows 5 x 6-10
Seated pulley rows 6 x 6-10
One-arm dumbell rows 5 x 6-10
Straight-leg deadlifts 6 x 15

Legs:
Squats 6 x 8-12
Leg press 6 x 8-12
Leg extensions 6 x 12-15
Leg curls 6 x 10-12
Barbell lunges 5 x 15

Calves:
Standing calf raises 10 x 10
Seated calf raises 8 x 15
Oneplegged calf raises (holding dumbells) 6×12

Forearms:
Wrist curls (forearms on knees) – 4 sets, 10 reps
Reverse barbell curls – 4 sets, 8 reps
Wright roller machine – to failure

Abs:
½ hour of a variety of nonspecific abdominal exercises, done virtually nonstop.

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Biceps:
Barbell curls 6 x 6-10
Seated dumbell curls 6 x 6-10
Dumbell concentration curls 6 x 6-10 

Triceps:
Close-grip bench presses 6 x 6-10
Pushdowns 6 x 6-10
French press (barbell) 6 x 6-10
One-arm triceps extensions (dumbell) 6 x 6-10

Shoulders:
Seated barbell presses 6 x 6-10
Lateral raises (standing) 6 x 6-10
Rear-delt lateral raises 5 x 6-10
Cable lateral raises 5 x 10-12

Calves , Forearms & Abs:
Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout

Mike Tyson is kind of an legend to a lot of bodybuilders. Many have expressed the desire to know about “Iron Mike’s” daily routine. According to what we found out, you’ll have to be an early bird if you want to follow in his footsteps!

This routine was listed on several websites and while I’m not 100% sure of its validity, it appears to be what is considered to be his daily schedule.

o 5am: Wake up and go for a 3 mile jog
o 6am: Back home for a shower and then back to bed (great workout for those huge legs of his)
o 10am: Wake up and eat oatmeal
o 12pm: Do ring work (10 rounds of sparring)
o 2pm: Eat another meal (steak and pasta with fruit juice drink)
o 4pm: More ring work and 60 mins on the exercise bike (again working those legs for endurance and

power)
o 5pm: Floor exercises: 2000 sit ups; 500-800 ‘dips’; 500 press ups and 500 shrugs with a 30kg barbell

and 10 mins of neck exercises (working the biceps, triceps, chest, abs and shoulders)
o 7pm: Eat steak and pasta meal again with fruit juice (probably orange juice)
o 8pm: Another 30 minutes on the exercise bike
o 9:30 Watch TV and then go to bed

Mike Tyson’s training program may or may not be for you. In fact, some bodybuilders don’t like to run since it uses up nutrients and energy they want to save for building muscle. If you do both without a long rest in between you may end up losing muscle when you burn through the nutrients. There are body builders who do run, don’t get me wrong. Running builds up muscle fiber in the legs, it just best to get a rest after your workout before you run.

As far as Mike’s diet goes, the oatmeal is a good choice. The steak, if it is lean, is also good. The pasta? Well, there’s mixed opinions about eating pasta, but you should definitely avoid pasta made from white flour. Whole wheat is a good carb for a body builder. According to the list provided he is missing essential fats. He should be consuming healthy, unsaturated fats like fatty fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil and flax seed oils. It’s also been proven that eating 5 – 7 small meals throughout the day is a much better plan than just having three meals.

2. To avoid many health problems.

3. To get disciplined.

4. To live longer.

5. To build self-esteem.

6. To sleep better.

7. To help prevent heart diseases.

THE PROBLEM:
How many of us know guys who are training hard every part of their body but not the legs? Those guys have huge arms, shoulders but their legs are skinny.

And this is not beautiful at all. It does not matter where you are, on the beach on the gym or in other part.
That is not a look a real man should have.

However many guys are lazy and moreover they do not understand the importance of leg training. They say “my legs are huge enough and training them once per month is enough. In 2 years of such attitude you will see how they look and every year will bring more dissonance to their look. And this is not the only reason for training legs.  Did you know that leg training will make your body release more testosteron? And more testosterone means more muscles? Yes, more muscles to any body part.

Let’s read what some researchers from the University of Connecticut did.

SOLUTION:

Research by scientists from the University of Connecticut examined the hormonal responses and adaptation to resistance exercise and training. They noted that high-volume, moderate-to-high-intensity weight training, using short rest intervals and stressing a large muscle mass, multiple joint exercises (legs, Chest, Back, shoulders) tended to produce the greatest acute hormonal elevations (notably testosterone and GH). In comparison low-volume, high-intensity resistance training methods using long rest intervals did not induce a similarly high hormonal response. Sports Med 2005; 35(4):339-61

Since an higher volume lead to more testosterone but longer training time lead to less there must be a time factor somewhere that will enable us to conciliate the two. Of course it’s the time of rest between your sets. To cut a long story short, many studies researched that variable, the most significant being by Kraemer et al. This research consisted of two groups, one performing an hypertrophy workout made of sets of 10 RM with a minute of rest between each sets. The other one was a strength training consisting of multiple sets of 5 RM with 3 minutes between each sets. Both groups shown significant increase in serum testosterone, the earlier showing a slightly higher increase.
That indicated that hypertrophy workout do increase testosterone level more than strength training. Also shorter rest periods seem to have the same effect. If 1 minute seem to lead to bigger increase in testosterone level than 3 minutes, then going below 1 minute in hope to increase the testosterone level even more, would greatly impair your short-term recovery.

Tom Platz is considered to have biggest quadriceps.CONCLUSION:

So if you want to get bigger train your legs and start NOW!

Leg Routine:

Warm up with 2 sets for 15-20 reps

Squats: 4x 20/20/15/15 reps

Seated leg curls 4x 20/20/15/12/

Lying Leg Curls 3x 15/12/12

VIDEO:

Source: www.musclesprod.com

Recent findings unveil that muscle failure may either contribute to your success or put you at a risk of a serious injury. Much depends on the principles that are followed while performing such training strategy, which is mainly focused on by bodybuilders.

The most inappropriate way to fatigue muscles like that is performing reps until an athlete fails to lift the weight and is trapped under several dozens of pounds of load. Therefore he requests his partner spotter to complete the last rep for him, instead of attempting to complete it with good form himself. This increases injury risks and infuriates your spotter who has to pump it up.

Athletes who work out solo have to be even more cautious in this case as there is no a close-by fellow to drag off the heavy load of you.

Proper muscle failure that never puts you or your spotter at risk for injury or makes your routine chaotic and ineffective is the sort of failure when the point is reached at which you realize you will most likely fail to complete another rep with proper form. So give a hint to the spotter that you are almost finished and have him follow and control the way you yourself complete last rep. Stop as soon as you are completed.

In solo workouts the muscle failure is considered as achieved as soon as an athlete is aware he is exhausted enough to complete the next rep with proper form. If you ignore and go on with barbells and dumbbells, this may result in a drastic injury that will at least switch you off from the gym for several weeks or even for good. So do not try your luck and stop the set before as soon as you feel you have had it for today’s workout.

Surprisingly enough most powerlifters, who are focused on muscle growth and strength – much like bodybuilders – do not usually include muscle failure routine to their regular training. They are disciplined to perform a certain number of reps per set and never exceed the day’s maximum. Even if capable to lift more weight, the athletes put off till tomorrow what they can handle today, the strategy that is avidly criticized by experienced instructors.