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The Creation Continues
Part II - Phase 2

By Dr. John M Berardi, Ph.D.
First published at www.t-mag.com, Nov 7 2003.

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If you haven't done so already, go back and read Part I here.

Phase 2 — Training — 12 weeks

This next phase is the big adaptation phase of the program. This program has done more to increase my overall strength than any other program I’ve done in a long time. You’ll notice that the program contains a combination of power movements, strength movements, and bodybuilding movements. Because of the fact that it covers the gambit of training methodology, you should notice increases in speed, power, and body mass. The strength increases, though, blew me away.

Day 1: Monday:

Snatch: 5 sets x 5 reps (145, 155, 165, 175, 185 lbs)
Bench Press: 4 sets x 3 reps (335, 345, 355, 365 lbs)
1 Arm Punch Press*: 3 sets x 10 reps (90 lb dumbbell x 3 sets)
Dumbbell Lateral Side Raise: 3 drop sets 6, 6, 6 (50, 40, 30 lb dumbbell x 3 sets)
Pec Deck: 3 drop sets 6, 6, 6 (150, 130, 110 lbs x 3 sets)

Day 2: Tuesday:

Push Press: 5 sets x 5 reps (205, 225, 235, 245, 255 lbs)
Box Squats: 4 sets x 3 reps (405, 415, 425, 445 lbs)
(note: my left knee was hurting during this phase so I squatted lighter than normal)
Bulgarian Squat: 3 sets x 10 reps (60lb dumbbell x 3 sets)
Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets x 10 reps (150 lbs x 3 sets)
Leg Press: 3 sets x 20 reps (450 lbs x 3 sets)

Day 3: Wednesday:

Biceps Curls: 5 sets x 5 reps (155 lbs x 3 sets)
Interval Work (Cycling) 30 seconds on 90 seconds off—using an intensity that allows for a cadence of 150 RPM for a full 30 seconds and a lower intensity that allows for a cadence of 80 RPM for 90 seconds of recovery. Do a full 30 minutes of sprint work.

Day 4: Thursday:

Clean: 5 sets x 5 reps (185, 205, 205, 225, 225 lbs)
T-Bar Row: 4 sets x 3 reps (300 lbs x 4 sets)
1 Arm Cable Row: 3 sets 10 reps (120 lbs x 3 sets)
Standing Barbell Press: 3 drop sets 6,6,6 (105, 85, 65)
Chins: 3 sets to failure (15, 12, 10)

Day 5: Friday:

**The Exercise: 5 sets x 5 reps (135, 135, 145, 145, 145)
Deadlift: 4 sets 3 reps (405, 465, 485, 505)
Glute Ham Raise: 3 sets 10 reps
Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets 15 reps (400 lbs x 3 sets)
Leg Curls: 3 sets 20 reps (130 lbs x 3 sets)

Day 6: Saturday:

Close Grip Bench Press: 5 sets 5 reps (275, 295, 295, 305, 315)
Running Intervals: 10 x 100m sprints with 100m walk in between sprints (2-3 minutes rest)

*A 1 Arm Punch Press is 1 arm bench press with palms facing inwards; done explosively

**This exercise is similar to "The Bear." Clean the weight to the shoulders, push press it overhead, drop it behind the neck, do a full squat, explode up from the full squat and push the barbell overhead, then drop back down to floor.

Intensity Scheduling

This program is very demanding! Because of this, lifting as hard as you can for the full 12 weeks is a big mistake. You’ll only get about 4 weeks into the program before getting injured or over trained. In order to prevent this type of burnout, you need to gradually ramp up and down in terms of intensity. You have to listen to your body and make changes as necessary. Here’s how I did it:

Week 1 — Moderate load/intensity relative to my maximum. Although this is subjective, I try to work about 80% as hard as I know I can.

Week 2 — Increase load/intensity by about 10%. I could have worked harder, but saved it for week 3.

*A key point to note is that since you should be getting stronger from one week to the next, you can't simply add 10% of the load each week. You have to really develop a sense of "how hard you can work" and then train as close to it or as far from it as prescribed.

Week 3 — Increase load/intensity by about 10% and work as hard as I can.

Week 4 — Same as week 3. During this week I begin to feel over trained so I plan an intensity drop for the next week.

Week 5 — During this week I do the exact same workout as week 3 but I decrease the actual load used to 80% of my week 3 loads. Therefore, if I was benching 300 for 3 reps during week 4, I would use 240 for 3 reps during week 5. This scaling back is important once you start to feel overworked. After this week, I still felt a bit sluggish.

Week 6 — Did the same workout as week 5 including the same weights but eliminated the Wednesday and Saturday workouts. Started feeling good again.

Week 7 — Came back with a vengeance, performing the same workout— including the same weights—as week 4. The workout felt easy.

Week 8 — Increased load/intensity to work as hard as I could. Was stronger than week 7.

Week 9 — Increased load/intensity again to work as hard as I could. Was stronger than week 8. Began to get tired again.

Week 10 — Backed off as I did in week 5, using 80% of my week 9 loads. Felt good but still not 100%.

Week 11 — Same workout as week 10. Began to feel great.

Week 12 — Came back to perform the same workout with the same loads as week 9.

At this point, I began to do some heavy traveling and took a full week of recovery and then began a maintenance program while on the road. However, my weights had skyrocketed, I was explosive and powerful, I had gained lean mass, and my body fat was lower than it had been in a while.

Phase 2 - Nutrition and Supplement Plan — 12 weeks

During this phase, nutrition intake was the same on all training days. On Sunday (off), the workout drinks were eliminated.

Meal 1 — Breakfast 8:00 AM

1.5 cups egg whites
2 cups spinach
1 tablespoon pesto
0.25 cup mixed beans
1 piece fat free cheese
1/2 to 1 cup (weighed uncooked) oats
1 cup pineapple
1 green tea with lemon
5g creatine
3 fish oil capsules
*While cooking breakfast, drink 1 serving Power Drive in 1L water

Meal 2 — Snack 11:00 AM

1 scoop Low Carb Grow!
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1L water
1 tablespoon flax oil
2 tablespoons mixed nuts
5g creatine

Meal 3 — Lunch 2:00 PM

8 oz extra lean beef
8 oz sweet potato
3 whole-wheat tortillas
1 cup spinach
1 -cup carrots
1/4 cups mixed beans
3 fish oil capsules

Meal 4 — Snack 5:00 PM

1 scoop Low Carb Grow!
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1L water
1 tablespoon flax oil
2 tablespoon mixed nuts
5g creatine

Workout — 6:00 PM

1 serving Surge
1L water

Post-Workout — 7:30 PM

1 serving Surge
5g creatine
1L water

Dinner — 9:00 PM

8 oz extra lean beef
8 oz sweet potato
3 whole-wheat tortillas
1 cup spinach
1 cup carrots
1/4 cup mixed beans
3 fish oil capsules
*While cooking dinner, drink 1 serving Power Drive in 1L water
This nutritional plan provides about 4800 kcal with 350g protein, 500g carbs, and 150g fat. And while the meal structure doesn’t adhere rigidly to the Massive Eating plan, it’s really close.

Who’s The Next Contestant?

If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably got some interest in the program and may give it a shot in the near future. To reiterate, I’ve gained about 5-6 lbs of lean body mass with a loss of an equivalent amount of fat mass in the time between the publication of the original T-man article and this one.

Furthermore, in looking over the prior article and comparing some of the numbers to those outlined in this article, you’ll notice a significant improvement in strength as well. While the numbers aren’t startling, readers should realize that I’m approaching my genetic limits of natural size and strength and therefore gains are slow. Apply a program to an individual with lots of room for improvement and you’ve got a real winner.

Following the program blindly, however, is a big mistake. If your recovery is better than mine, you’ll be under worked. If your recovery is worse, you’ll be overworked. It never ceases to amaze me when people print out a program, try to follow it exactly, and then bitch and moan when "that stupid program over trained me." Well what did they expect? Who led these people to believe that some generic program would be perfect for their individual needs?

Rather than taking this approach, when examining an interesting program, it’s important to adapt the program to your personal recovery needs by constantly monitoring recovery (on a weekly basis) by adding some volume and/or intensity or taking some away as needed. No program is perfect for you—but every program can be adapted to work for you.

This particular program evolved for my needs. If you're an intermediate to advanced trainee who gets 8 hours of sleep per night, pays close attention to your overall nutritional program, and closely monitors recovery in an attempt to stave off over training, this program is a great starting point for you. Until next time, the creation continues with me. Hopefully it does for you, too.