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The Large Professor
What I Wish I Knew Then - Confessions of a Former Skinny Guy - Part II

By Austin Blood
First published at www.johnberardi.com, Oct 20 2003.

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Welcome again my good JB.com brethren to the Lair of the Large Professor. Since you have come back for a second installment of scientifically fact-based ranting, I must therefore deduce that you are one brave and dedicated soul indeed! (Editor’s note: we did give you about a month off from “The B-man’s” ranting – for your sanity’s sake).

As I mentioned in last month’s article, the purpose of this two-part series is to share with you the training and nutritional fundamentals I learned from JB that enabled me to add over twenty pounds of androgen-free lean mass while simultaneously reducing my bodyfat into the single digits in a little over one years’ time. I also stated at the close of the article that I am neither a nutrition expert nor a strength coach. I am simply a resolute guy who wasted too many years looking for the “secrets” to wearing a lean and muscular physique. It would please me to no end to know that I could help you steer clear of the quagmire of pitfalls and misinformation that plagued me during the early years of my training. Hence this article series. This month’s installment is dedicated to the other crucial component involved in the creation of your leanest and meanest physique………the really fun part…Moving the Iron!!

And so, without further ado…on to Part Two. (No rhyme intended)

Building the House

As a weight training neophyte, finding and implementing an effective workout regimen was an endless source of frustration for me. Bombarded from every angle with a seemingly endless array of articles and training theories, I was more confused than Britney Spears at a Mensa Convention. Then someone wise said to me:

“You’ve got to build the house before you can paint it.”

At the time, the statement didn’t make much sense to me, as I thought I was doing everything necessary to “build” the house. I was squatting, benching; even occasionally belching, but never really seemed to get significantly stronger. And as for getting bigger… As any self-respecting Mafioso would say; “Fuggeddabowwwditt!” But as my training progressed, the wisdom of such a simple statement became clear. Like many bodybuilders, I was training almost exclusively in the 8-12 rep range and simply had not yet developed the foundation of raw strength necessary to produce a significant amount of muscular hypertrophy. Years of working only in the aforementioned rep range was yielding little progress in terms of both strength and lean mass gains. Sound familiar?

One universal problem with many trainees is the tendency to focus on higher rep isolation and machine exercises at the expense of pure low-rep power and strength movements. This is a colossal error, because if you want to build a head-turning physique, it is imperative that you make low-rep strength training an integral part of your training regimen. Here’s why: low-rep training is tremendously taxing on the body’s central nervous system. When you increase your central nervous system’s efficiency through the incorporation of a strength training program involving heavy and/or explosive compound movements; you directly increase the ability of your muscular system to produce increased levels of strength. As your strength levels increase, your ability to handle heavier loads in the higher rep ranges will dramatically increase, thereby leading to some serious muscular hypertrophy. This is the “secret” I searched for years to find. Only after incorporating low-rep strength training into my program, did my physique begin to make a dramatic transformation. Lesson: Whether you are a beginning, intermediate, or advanced trainee, if you are having trouble gaining strength or muscle mass, and assuming you have your nutritional house in order as detailed in Part I, a focus shift towards low-rep strength training is likely all you need to break your plateau and get back on the road to muscular hypertrophy.

The Power and Strength Program

Now before I am burned in effigy by members of any number of fanatically devoted weight-training sects, it is important to emphasize that that there are many training programs and protocols that yield effective results. There is, however, no substitute for multi-joint power and strength exercises performed either heavy and/or explosively when it comes to building strength and neural efficiency. These compound exercises are key because they heavily tax the larger primary muscle groups and countless groups of surrounding stabilizing muscles. In your quest to maximize your strength and muscular development, it is imperative you incorporate the following exercises into your repertoire or risk selling yourself short:

1. Barbell Bench Press (not the Smith machine)
2. Barbell Squats (not the Smith machine)
3. Deadlifts
4. Cleans
5. Bent-Over Barbell or T-Bar Rows

Certainly there are others, but these are the core movements around which your program should revolve to maximize your gains and “build your house”. Lastly, be forewarned that these lifts are highly technical and require constant repetition (not high reps) to be performed correctly. If you are unfamiliar with how to correctly perform any of the above exercises, I strongly advise that you solicit the supervision of someone knowledgeable in the mechanics of these lifts to work with you on the proper form, preferably a certified strength coach.

THE B-MAN’S GET READY TO ADD COPIOUS SLABS OF SINEWY BRAWN
TO YO’ ASS (AND OTHER BODY PARTS) WORKOUT PROGRAM:

The program I am about to share with you is the exact same program I used to gain 14 pounds of lean mass in eight weeks. No androgens. No fancy supplements. Just the nutritional principles outlined in my previous article and an unrelenting adherence to the following program. This program truly involves the best of both worlds. You get the strength and neural benefits mentioned earlier from the low-rep training and the muscular endurance and hypertrophy benefits from the higher rep training.

Day 1: Monday: Low Rep Training + 15 minutes of post-workout cardio.

Day 2: Tuesday: High Rep Training + 15 minutes of post-workout cardio.

Day 3: Wednesday: 30 min cardio. (whenever you want to do it)

Day 4: Thursday: Low Rep Training + 15 minutes of post-workout cardio.

Day 5: Friday: High Rep Training + 15 minutes of post-workout cardio.

Day 6 and 7: Watch football, sleep, eat, and grow. Repeat until Monday.

Day 1: Monday: (28 total sets – rest between sets is about 3 minutes)

Bench Press (6 sets of 4),
Cleans from the floor (6 sets of 4),
Overhead Push Press (6 sets of 4),
Bent Over Rows (6 sets of 4),
4 sets of weighted ab work

Day 2: Tuesday: (19 total sets – rest between sets is about 2 minutes)

Wide Grip Chins (3 sets of 10-12)
Incline Press Machine (3 sets of 10-12)
Close/Reverse Grip Chins (3 sets of 10-12)
Pec Deck (3sets of 10-12)
Side Deltoid Raises (3 sets of 10-12)
4 sets of Standing Calves

Day 3: Thursday: (28 total sets – rest between sets is about 3 minutes)

Squats (6 sets of 4),
Deadlifts (6 sets of 4),
Close Grip Bench (6 sets of 4),
Barbell Curls (6 sets of 4)
4 sets of weighted ab work

Day 4: Friday: (19 total sets – rest between sets is about 2 minutes)

Leg Curls (3 sets of 10-12),
Leg Press (3 sets of 10-12),
Preacher Curls (3 sets of 10-12),
Weighted Dips (3 sets of 10-12),
Dumbbell Shrugs (3 sets of 10-12)
4 sets of Seated Calves

Program Guidelines

All “moderate” 10-12-rep exercises should be taken to failure. Perform all the “heavy” 4 rep sets nearly to failure. Do not exceed four reps. The weight should remain the same throughout the workout, and while 4 reps is a suggestion, if you fatigue and can only get 2 or 3 reps, don’t sweat it. Shoot for a minimum increase of 2.5-5.0 pounds each week in the “heavy” lifts. It is important that these exercises be performed explosively with fast concentric contractions, using as much weight as possible while maintaining good form. Don’t concern yourself with time under tension or you won’t be using all of your cognitive/neural resources to get the weight up. Speaking to the last comment, JB says that that most people who are not where they would expect to be strength wise probably don’t realize the ability of their body to produce astounding strength. They are simply lifting below their threshold. Upon the commencement of this program, many of JB’s clients have 10-15% strength increases in the first workout due to his assertions that they can go heavier. Once they transcend the mental barriers, their physique responds quite nicely. So don’t be afraid to take the weight up. There were many times on this program where I could only get one or two reps per set. Who cares? My strength still went through the roof. If you perform this program correctly in conjunction with a solid nutrition plan, there is no question that you will be noticeably stronger and bigger with each consecutive week. Lastly, the great thing about the low-rep strength training protocol is that it can be used successfully in a variety of ways anytime you wish to increase your strength levels within the framework of your existing program. Within the framework of other programs, the incorporation of a weekly “heavy” day or the maximal exertion of a certain lift on a “lighter” day will enable you to continually push your strength levels to new heights. Best of all, as the amount of weight you can handle skyrockets, so will your confidence and mental commitment to your training.

A FEW PARTING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSEVERANCE….

Remember that few tasks we undertake in life are more formidable than making a dramatic transformation to our physiques. If someone tells you otherwise, they’re likely trying to sell you the latest ab gadget or Bee-Hind Blaster apparatus. When I first commenced training, I was a shining example of devotion and commitment - seventy percent of the time. The other thirty percent was comparable to a fitness train wreck of epic proportions. I skipped workouts, skipped meals, and partied late into the evening with my trusty comrades, K. Kreme and P. Hut. I was the poster-child for the one-step-forward, two-steps-back rationalization brigade; convinced that the Fates had colluded with my parents in a diabolical conspiracy to hand me the equivalent of a genetic bum rush. If there is a lesson to be shared from the fallacies of my yesteryear, it is the realization of the extraordinary level of consistency required to produce significant changes in body composition.

Most people in the gym are content to maintain a general level of fitness, and while that is to be commended, as a regular reader of this column, it is highly likely that you are of another persuasion: the type of individual who is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to realize their greatest potential, be it athletic or aesthetic in nature. Many of us have learned through experience, that only after making a consistently focused effort driven by the need for continuous improvement, will our physiques and athletic performance levels become the reality of our dreams. As anyone who has done so will attest, it is indeed a rare breed of individual who possesses both the discipline and mental fortitude required to perform the physiological equivalent of a complete overhaul. We all agree that nothing worth having comes easily, but few people realize the level of consistency and commitment required to achieve uncommon results. And though they jealously yearn for the prize, fewer still will ever do what it takes to turn heads. This pursuit we have chosen can be fraught with obstacles and outside distractions, but those who persevere, driven by a vision of subsequent rewards, emerge with a strength and resilience of character that is the envy of those who will not accept the challenge. The lesson of perseverance is an important one; because in the game of iron, as in the game of life, the race goes not always to the most swift, but to those who keep running.