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The Mechanical Advantage

By Marc McDougal
First published at www.johnberardi.com, Apr 11 2003.

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“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Buy the ticket…take the ride.”
- Hunter S. Thompson

The best way to get big

At any given moment thousands of people are discussing the optimal way to achieve the elusive goal of muscular acquisition. At any given moment, most of them are in total disagreement with each other. Since most of them have methods that are quite different yet consistently produce results, it should be apparent that many different methods will cause hypertrophy. In my opinion, trying to lay down a definitive, absolute governing body of rules and guidelines is self-limiting and presumptuous.

With that stated, I am about to outline a new program entitled the Mechanical Advantage program. Again, I don’t believe that this program is the only way to get bigger. But I do believe it’s one of the best strategies I’ve employed in a long time. If followed correctly along with a proper nutrition plan (can you say "Massive Eating"...), you WILL make tremendous progress in strength and size, and have a damn good time doing it. This program is perfect for the veterans, those that have tried it all, and may be at a bit of a plateau.

Who should use this program?

• Trainees with optimal recovery abilities: proper sleep, nutrition (including supplementation, see recommendations below) and moderate to low stress
• Trainees on androgenic support
• Masochistic creatures that think getting kicked in the goodies is “surprisingly exhilarating."

Who should not use this program?

• College party animals that just want to look good for those sorority girls with moral inferiority
• 45 year old C.E.O’s with enough stress to fuel the Mr. Coffee on the Delorian from “Back to the Future”
• Trainees with less than 2 years training experience
• Trainees who have “hit their genetic ceiling” at 6’0, 150lbs. (Just use a bigger spoon please.)

What’s this workout all about?

The premise is simple: start each set at your weakest leverage point and work towards your strongest grip/joint angle, etc., allowing for full exhaustion of the targeted muscle fibers. Those of you familiar with Jerry Telle's innovative system of "Tellekinetics" will notice some similarities, but this is not the same. At a given rep number or fatigue point in each set, you will adjust your position and continue. This point should be 1-2 reps before failure at that specific position. Choose your weight based only on the first portion of the set, don't use a lighter weight to compensate for your presumed fatigue, let biomechanics do the work for you!

The Swiss Ball?

You will notice the inclusion of some swiss ball movements in this program. Swiss balls have evolved to a disgraceful state over the last few years due strongly to overweight aerobics instructors “discovering” them and using them for 3cm ROM sit-ups. Those in the know are now in the under-reaction phase, disgusted by anything requiring inflation. Those who think they are in the know are wondering how to get rid of all that cumbersome gym equipment to make way for more big blue balls. So I ask you to set your tainted emotions aside and realize that although it may not be a very big one, swiss balls do have their place.

A Good Ass Kickin’

Consider yourself warned. While the following program provides an amazing hypertrophy stimulus, it should only be used for about 4 weeks before switching to a new program. Even though you will probably be hooked on this workout and the results that have ensued, just tuck it away in your special place and save it for another month or two down the road.

Why only 4 weeks at a time? Well, the Mechanical Advantage Drop Sets are extremely demanding, and should be treated as such. You MUST focus on recovery while on this program, that means sleeping 7-9 hours per night, dialing in nutrition (especially at the during and post-workout periods), and keeping stress levels in check. I am aware that the current trend in the weight-training world is to prevent over training, and I'm sure some folks from the "Anti-Over trainers" camp will crap out a kidney after giving this program a once-over, but fear not my friends. Take precautions and you will prevail. This program has been tested and re-tested, and I must say, the results so far have exceeded my expectations.

Plasticity?

I would like to remind you of the wonders of individuality. If a certain exercise hurts, well don't f'n do it. In the interm, figure out why it hurts, fix it, and come back for more. Some adjustments may need to be made to fit your predetermined neural capacities, and/or injuries; if you feel you have the knowledge to do so, then please do. If not, see an expert.

Credit Where Credit’s Due

While I always try to assign credit where credit is due, if some amateur mastermind in Snohomish is sure he came up with one of these exercises in his basement during transcendental creativity spurt, I extend my apologies in advance.

The Split

Day 1: Chest/Lats/Abs
Day 2: Quads/Calves
Day 3: Off (stretch, eat, call JB in the middle of the night asking the fatty acid profile of chestnuts)
Day 4: Arms/Shoulders/Abs
Day 5: Hamstrings & Hip Extensors/Calves
Day 6: Off (stretch, eat, email me and thank me for changing your life)
Day 7: Repeat

The Lingo

(WG) = wide grip
(MG) = medium grip
(NG) = narrow grip
(WS) = wide stance
(MS) = medium stance
(NS) = narrow stance
(S/G) = supinated grip
(P/G) = pronated grip
(N/G) = neutral grip
AMRP = as many reps as possible

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