my new workout routine that's been working very well!

[ward065]

i posted here months back about someone i knew at the gym (really nasty big) who follows a rather unusual lifting routine, in which each bodypart is trained every 9-10 days only, but with very high volume, intensity and duration per workout

about 5 weeks ago i started doing it and so far i have seen very nice results. I am training usually for 3 hours at a time, 4 days a week. It causes my body incredible soreness though- primarily because i am doing such high volume. Anyways, here is a typical routine that i have been repeating every 9 days.

day 1 - chest, biceps, abs

flat bench press 5 sets 6-10 reps
incline db/bb press 4 sets 6-10 reps
decline fly/ cable crossovers 5 sets 8-15 reps
weighted dips 5 sets 6-14 reps
dumbell/barbell preacher curl 4 sets 6-12 reps
standing cambered/ flat bar curl 4-5 sets 5-12 reps
run the rack curls (start with 65 lb dumbells, 55, 45, 35, and then 25 In one giant set) all to failure
high pulley cable curls or hammer curls- 4 sets 6-16 reps
Dumbell crunches 3 sets 14-18 reps


day 2- off

day 3-shoulders, traps, forearms and calves.

dumbell hammer grip front raise- 4 sets 6-12 reps
barbell front raise - 3 sets 6-12 reps *or seated dumbell presses
cable lateral raise or dumbell lateral raise- 4 sets, 6-12 reps. With two sets, hold the weights as long as you can at the side.
Bent over lateral raise- 4 sets, 6-14 reps
seated military press 4 sets, 6-10 reps

behind the back barbell shrugs- 3 sets 8-14 reps
front barbell shrugs- 4 sets 6-14
dumbell shrugs- 4 sets 12-25

dumbell wrist curl/ barbell reverse preacher curl 3 sets, 6-15 reps

standing calf raises on calf machine - 10 sets, 14-25 reps
seated calf raises- 3 sets, 8-20 reps

day 4- off

day 5- Triceps, neck, upright rows

laying barbell extension- 4 sets, 8-12 reps
seated dumbell extension- 3 sets, 8-12 reps
close grip bench press- 4 sets. 6-11 reps
cable pressdown- 4 sets 8-15 reps

seated neck extension- 2 sets 40-80 reps
laying neck extension- 3 sets 20-30 reps

dumbell/ barbell upright rows 4 sets 8-15 reps

day 6-off

day 7- legs

squats- smith or free weight 5 sets, 8-16 reps
hack squat or lunges- 3 sets, 8-14 reps
leg presses- 3 sets, 10-14 reps
laying leg curl- 5 sets, 8-12 reps
seated leg curl- 3 sets, 8-14 reps
leg extension- 4 sets, 10-14

day 8- back,abs

bent over rows 5 sets 8-12 reps
seated rows 4 sets 8-12
chin ups or pulldowns 4 sets 6-10
single arm dumbell row on bench- 4 sets 8-12
deadlifts 5 sets 6-10
romanian deadlifts 3 sets 10-12 or smith machine calf raises 3 sets 20-30
hanging leg raise or cable crunch 4 sets 10-30

day 9 - off

day 10- repeat

Except for day 7 and 8, i am in the gym for quite an extended period of time- day 7 and 8 typically take me 2 hours or so to complete. I also like being fully recouprated before my next set, so this is also why i take longer

but anyway, this routine has worked exceptionally well for me lately. And it gave my friend at the gym 19 inch or so arms...

i don't think everything has to be trained once a week, if and only if you are doing high volume, and taking each working set to complete failure.

[Flexor]

I'll admit I didn't read all of it because it was too long. But still the volume seems high...

At least you are giving 9 days, and hopefully have a fantastic diet. If this works for you, sweet.

Maybe I'll try something like this sometime except without the hundreds of damaging neck extensions you've got in there

[ward065]

neck extensions have really helped to blow up my neck nicely...

my traps/ neck really sticks out more than anything else- probably a bit too much actually.

[AnabolicBoy1981]

interesting concept. almost like Mentzer's Heavy Duty only with high volume but same frequency. I believe it might be possible to totally toast a bodypart with intensity and volume if the frequency is 10-14 days.

With the neck stuff though, you sure do alot of reps. I have a 4 way neck machine, and i been doin like 6-10 reps. My progress hasnt been to great. Could i be goin to heavy? Is there a reason you use such high reps on the neck?

[ward065]

i take 2 -45 pound plates on top of my head, and move my neck up and down in a full extension/ range of motion

it really, really helps to strengthen your neck. Most people do not train their neck directly.

i think the high reps really help to strengthen it- and my neck/ traps are quite thick

[Flexor]

i take 2 -45 pound plates on top of my head, and move my neck up and down in a full extension/ range of motion

it really, really helps to strengthen your neck. Most people do not train their neck directly.

i think the high reps really help to strengthen it- and my neck/ traps are quite thick

high reps would indeed make the neck muscles grow. They are slow twitch fibres IMO.

I'd suggest a midrange of about 20 reps though because any higher and the sheer number of reps can cause damage and any lower and its the strain and force that can cause damage.

[ward065]

high reps have worked well- i generally do up to 80- i've built up to this over a long time, so my body is pretty used to it by now. Many people perceive neck exercises to be dangerous- and this is true- you could easily break your neck if you never trained your neck, then tried to do extensions with 90lbs on your head.

but i don't do many sets, that's the tradeoff for the high reps.