By Ronnie Rowland “Author of the Slingshot Training System”
Introduction
Steroids are pervasive in bodybuilding, and they’re here to stay. Just about any male over 5’8” can take enough drugs to reach a very lean body weight of 200 pounds or more eventually—if he eats a well balanced diet and sticks with basic training concepts. The problem with this scene is many successful bodybuilders’ who have taken drugs try to use their stats to bolster arguments in favor of some idiosyncratic approach to training and dieting. It’s the flavor-of-the-month approach to bodybuilding. The truth is, many drug- enhanced bodybuilders make impressive initial gains by training only 3 days per week, but are not making continued gains because they do not know what constitutes proper diet and training.
I realize it’s no secret that the two biggest problems for bodybuilders are stagnant training and eating patterns. Many of you reading this are very frustrated with your progress. You’re not building the muscle the way you want, you lack muscle shape, and you’re carrying way too much bodyfat. Even worse, some of you refer to yourself as a hard-gainer and have been guilty of jumping from program to program and it’s not really made any noticeable differences in your appearance. Let’s change that by getting you on the right path!
The Single-Shot is the definite guide to getting as big-strong as humanly possible while training each body part twice a week on a 3 day per week routine. It’s one of several routines derived from the Slingshot Training System. I do not want to try and force people to adhere to my 3 day per week training system because that would be my EGO talking. I have been teaching bodybuilders and power-lifters how to train for over 20 years. My biggest success story in bodybuilding is IFBB Pro-Bodybuilder ”Tricky Jackson” who is often referred to as being the greatest light weight bodybuilder off all times. It’s up to you to decide if my way of training is superior. Base your progress on performance, not hype!
**As a bodybuilder you will be going up against giants. In biblical times David used a “slingshot” to destroy his largest opponent of all, Goliath. **
The “Single-Shot” Slingshot Training System consists of a PRIME/BLAST/CRUISE. The anabolic prime is about intentionally creating a controlled catabolic state over a two-week time span in order to down-regulate anabolic hormones and receptor sites for androgens. After a two-week anabolic prime, muscle mass and strength gains are maximized by proceeding into a four-week blasting phase where androgen receptor sites are up-regulated and every anabolic hormone in the body is at its peak. Adaptation begins to set in after a four-week blasting phase and a 2 week cruising phase is taken to allow the muscle-strength gains to be fully manifested.
Even with all the information available to the bodybuilding community, many still do not understand how to use periodization to their benefit. We’ve all seen people who were naturally strong and had rather small muscles for their strength capabilities. But, I am not making reference to those kinds of people. I want to direct your attention to a beginning bodybuilder who is only capable of squatting 145 lbs for 2 sets. Over a period of time, someone who is genetically capable of gaining strength and muscle mass at a fast rate will be capable of squatting 300 lbs plus. Even if they do not increase over-all volume past 2 sets, these individuals will still enhance muscular development due to strength increases. However, by increasing the total volume to 4 sets after strength gains have been made using less volume, the muscle growth seen in their quad development will be nothing short of miraculous. (CHECKMATE)!!!
Some trainees stay the same size after completing their first initial 3-6 months of training because they do not have a game plan to cause the body to change. So what is the secret? I’ll tell you the secret! There are only 3 phases needed to succeed in bodybuilding. I coined the phrase Slingshot Periodization to define these 3 phases. 1) ANABOLIC PRIME (in order to make further progress in muscle size/strength one must use strategic de-conditioning for 2 weeks so that when the muscles are exposed to a higher volume phase they will experience a very rapid training effect. 2) ANABOLIC BLAST (one must move to a highly specialized training phase for 4 weeks and train each muscle group with higher volume to fully traumatize the muscle tissue. 3) ANABOLIC CRUISE (involves a 2 week phase where you train each muscle group with less volume so heavier weights can be lifted and gains can become fully realized).
Activity Phase Time Period
(in sequence)
Muscle Definition and de-conditioning (the anabolic prime”) 2 weeks
Mass and Strength (the “anabolic blast”) 4 weeks
Strength and Mass (the “anabolic cruise”) 2 weeks
* * The lesson to learn from “Slingshot Periodization” is that “hurling” more volume towards the muscles will dramatically change your physique in a short amount of time if done right, trust me on this one.* *
Power-lifters and other competitive strong men (and women) obtain their massiveness by utilizing safe and effective straight sets. They avoid beyond failure techniques because it creates too much of stress to the tendons, joints, ligaments, and Central Nervous System. I use this concept as the springboard for the “Single-Shot” Slingshot Training System: You get stronger and bigger by using more sets for each key exercise because you build up the neural paths along with the muscle. In brief, this is accomplished by using only straight sets while stopping one rep shy of absolute gut bursting failure, training a body part twice every 8 days on a 2 way split, and using only 2 exercises for each muscle group. A key movement is used during the first weekly workout to fatigue the strongest regions within each major muscle group; you finish off the muscle group later in the week by targeting the weaker region of the muscle from a different using a secondary movement consisting of a completely different compound movement or an isolation exercise. It’s the same training principles I have my powerlifters follow by using a key movement at the start of the week and then changing over to a secondary movement later in the week. This allows specific adaptations to occur without causing over-use injuries.
Exercise Selection
With this training system you get to use only a “single- shot” (one exercise) each time you train a bodypart. As a result, you’ll break down more muscle tissue and get stronger because you’ve used the most productive exercises over and over. During the first part of the week the “single“most productive exercise will consist of an anchor exercise (for example, decline presses for chest). You’ll need to find 1 exercise (anchor exercise) that out-performs all the rest. By finding that one key exercise you are biomechanically good at, you can perform the exercise with low reps and heavier weights during the second work set in a smooth, rhythmic fashion on a long term basis without damaging the joints and tendons. In return, you’ll reach your ultimate strength limit with that exercise and serious muscle growth will be manifested. A secondary exercise (considered a more un-natural movement for your body type such as the incline press for chest) is too be used the next time the same body part is due to be worked. With this movement you will wait and do your heavy-low rep set last to prevent injury. To recap: You’ll be performing your favorite exercise (key exercise) for chest on day one. You’ll be performing your second favorite exercise (secondary exercise) for chest on the next chest workout. Then, you’ll start all over by going back to the key exercise on the 3rd chest training day and so forth.
* * The more complex you try and make your workouts, the less progress you can expect in return. The body becomes more proficient at doing an exercise, not more resistant in becoming more efficient! Why? Because you will have a better mind to muscle link function and the neuromuscular will adapt by repeating specific exercises over and over again.* *
Straight Sets
I am of the belief that all beyond failure training techniques are just an egotistical way to promote a radically different training method. Power-lifters and those who compete in the world’s strongest man competitions are some of the largest men to ever walk on the face of this planet. They obtain their massiveness by utilizing nothing other than “straight sets”. Every training method other than straight sets has fallen short of what I consider optimal for fast, safe, and efficient results. There has never been any evidence to show that any training method regardless of how many bells and whistles it comes equipped with can increase your muscle mass and strength as efficiently as straight sets. Trust me on this one! Who do you think would make the most gains; a guy who does 4 sets of 10 reps using 400 lbs on the vertical leg press machine or the guy who does 1 triple drop set using 400 lbs, 350 lbs, 300 lbs and finally 270 lbs? The obvious answer is the guy who used more weight on all 4 sets. Why? Because straight sets allows you the power to lift a greater weight-load range. With beyond failure techniques such as drop sets, you’re basically breaking down less muscle tissue yet annihilating the nervous system and joints. The same rule applies to rest-pause training as well because with each subsequent set you are using fewer reps with the same amount of weight. A rest-paused set done in the 8-12 rep range will not create the same kind of strength gains that are obtained by using a straight set for 4-6 reps simply because you cannot lift heavy when training near the point of non-stop. Straight sets give you the best of both worlds because it allows you to stay within the bodies recovery limits while building maximum size and strength. Using beyond failure training methods will force you to train with less volume-hence you won’t be able to keep the training volume high enough to experience maximum muscular growth with a 3 day per week training system.
* * There’s a lot to be said for being logically consistent* *
First, not everything that works is good. You can be sincere in what you believe and still be wrong. So far, so good, doesn’t mean you’re not going to have some serious issues with joint and tendon pain later on down the road. All too often a hero on this months muscle magazine turns into a zero a few months down the road because they become injured and can no longer train. Listen carefully, opinions and trends come and go. I get a head ache just thinking about all the high-intensity training techniques such as pre-exhaustion, forced reps, negative reps, partial reps, down the rack, rest-pause, super sets, burns, drop sets, and the list goes on, and on!
Training has to do with adaptation. Both volume and intensity have its limitations. For e.g.; If you perform 1 intense set of heavy barbell curls twice a week, the neural pathways will eventually adjust themselves by getting stronger so they can handle an even heavier weight load next time you train. Yes, the biceps will get stronger, but not necessarily a lot bigger. Stay with me here! When you take advantage of the added strength gains made by using less volume and then co-mingling those added strength gains with additional training volume, you can be assured you will grow bigger muscles! That is how you create a “true progressive overload”! You can use all the fancy beyond failure training methods such as quadruple drop sets and rest-pause for hours on end and never create a true progressive overload because limitless adaptation equals a heavier workload in conjunction with additional volume to breakdown down more muscle tissue, while never going past the point of diminishing returns. Unfortunately, many training programs are based upon creating a progressive over-load while skipping past the most important aspect- producing a true progressive over-load! This is the primary reason periodization techniques don’t work well with most training programs!
Take note that a progressive over-load and a true progressive over-load are not one in the same. Creating a progressive over-load is brought forth by being able to lift more weight using the same form, amount of work sets, and rest periods between sets. A true progressive over-load (a phrase I coined) is also brought forth when you can lift more weight using the same form, and rest periods between sets, but the amount of work sets performed must be greater than what’s required to produce a progressive over-load!
Let me be clear, various training techniques have nothing to do with genetic capablitlies. There is not one single variable that is the total downfall of not being able to gain more muscle size. Forced reps, rest pause, drop sets, etc will all depict some form of muscular hypertrophy. However, a major problem (other than these techniques being less effective at stimulating muscular size-strength and putting more strain on the joints, tendons, and CNS,) is that they take in a very selected group of principles and apply them. The theory of combining all different training techniques to increase muscle hypertrophy is shortsighting the way the human body repsonds. If genetics dictated the needs for a different training style, then some could use rest-pause or drop-sets and get bigger/stronger than what they could obtain with straight sets, and we know this is not the case! Time has proven that the gentically superior will respond better to all forms of training methods when compared to the genetic inferior. Simply changing the way you create damage by employing various beyond failure training methods does not alter the fact that over¬training of the CNS and joints/tendons will out pace muscular damage. So, it all boils down to finding that one training method that’s not only the most effective for all genetic types, but the safest. It just so happens that straight sets is that one training method. In final, straight sets is the superior training style that out does all the rest when periodized properly!
* * Just because something has been shown to work doesn't mean it’s the best way*
Avoiding absolute failure
Powerlifter’s and those who compete in the strongest man/woman competitions have learned the value of preventing injuries and nervous system destruction by not training to all out failure and not using multiple exercises for each body part. Taking less away from the body allows it to recuperate faster, meaning the overcompensation process (where strength and growth occurs) can conclude sooner and with consistency. Using excessive body english to reach absolute muscular failure (the point you can no longer budge a weight), especially with heavy work loads, creates great demand on the tendons, joints, and nervous system.
Your goal as a bodybuilder should be to increase the weight on the bar through Progressive Overload and train with great intensity, not training to the point where someone has to pull the barbell off your chest on the last rep. To achieve such you must have a specific intent of stopping 1 repetition shy of total 100% intensity with each work set! Every now and then you might to slip up and hit absolute gut busting failure (defined as bad failure) but your goal is to push until you can’t get another high quality rep (defined as good failure). Stopping 1 rep shy of absolute gut bursting failure is still considered brutal training.
Your goal as a bodybuilder is not to avoid training to failure; it’s to avoid training to the wrong kind of failure. The ideal situation is to reach as close to muscular failure as possible, but in a way that will induce maximum stimulus to the muscle fibers without causing injury or impairing the Central Nervous System. I call this good failure because it is the absolute best way to train for maximum size.
* * I’ve experimented with absolute failure training and was very un-satisfied with the results. After making the switch to stopping a rep shy of absolute gut bursting failure on every work set, everyone’s results, including my own, have been nothing short of miraculous in comparison.* *
Anabolic Cycles
It’s very common for fast acting anabolic/androgenic steroids to be used by the drug enhanced bodybuilder for 6 weeks at a time. After gaining mass-strength for 6 weeks they take 2 weeks off (prime the body for future growth) and begin another 6 week mass cycle of different steroids or more of the same. Top level bodybuilders do not run long steroid cycles and then go off the drugs for lengthy periods of time. Doing so would keep them in a viscous cycle of making gains then losing most of the gains they worked so hard to obtain. This is very important to understand because the same rule applies to natural bodybuilders using legal anabolic agents like creatine and amino acids in various forms.
Top level competitive bodybuilders who are chemically enhanced make much better gains and keep more of their gains by doing long drawn out cycles. In fact, most never go off all the drugs. Their base drugs usually consist of a slow acting testosterone and/or a slow acting anabolic. These top level competitors run these drugs as their base throughout the whole duration of the off-season. In order to free more testosterone during a 6 week mass phase they generally add a fast acting oral steroid and/or a fast acting ester of the injectable version and run it along with the base at a high dose. Some even opt to throw in a different slow acting ester than what’s used for the base. Upon completion of a 6 week mass cycle, they drop all the drugs for a 2 week period in exception to the base. This is done in order to prime the body so they can make additional gains by going back to the same drugs or changing over to different drugs altogether for another 6 weeks. They also drastically reduce training volume during the 2 week period when fewer drugs are used. You might ask "Why would they reduce their dosages for two weeks as opposed to continuing"? It’s because at that point their body will become desensitized to the powerful drugs and their receptors will be fully saturated. If you steroid users stay on fast acting drugs past the 6 week point and continued with the same protocol, you begin doing more harm than good because SHGB levels will begin elevating and cortisol levels will increase-hence gains come to a screeching halt. Drugs like insulin are often added during a 6 week mass phase while growth hormone is usually run as a base throughout most of the year. A positive nitrogen balance is a primary anabolic indicator of an anabolic agent and this will dissipate if the dosages are not continually increased or cycled properly.
The same dosage of synthetic testosterone starts losing it’s effectiveness after having been active in the body for only 6 weeks. The same rule applies to anabolic agent like creatine that can be purchased over-the–counter by natural bodybuilders. People who administer a slow acting testosterone begin having an increase in libido during their 3rd week of administering the drug. The majority of their gains are made during week 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. A decrease in libido occurs after 8 weeks into the cycle. What this means is they have already begun to enter a catabolic state after having the drug peaking in their system for 6 weeks. Your goal should be to use enough legal anabolics and/or anabolic/androgenic steroids to stimulate your receptors so muscle and strength gains can be achieved while avoiding over-saturated receptors. Receptor down regulation, which is a decrease in the amount of a steroid being utilized by a cell, will begin to occur in about 6 weeks whether a person is natural or drug enhanced.
Slingshot Pyramiding
I have found Slingshot Pyramiding to be the best way to increase both strength and muscular size. Warming up the right way and starting out with a medium rep set 1 rep shy of absolute failure before performing a heavy low rep set with key movements allows you to take a much bigger jump in weight during a low rep set without becoming injured. For example: Decline bench press- 1st warm up set 135lbs-12 reps, 2nd warm up set 175lbs-6 reps, 3rd warm up set 175 lbs-6 reps, 1st work set 250 lbs for 8 reps (“PREP SET” stopping 1 rep shy of good failure). 2nd work set/heavy-set 350 lbs-4 reps to good failure)-“wait an extra minute before performing this 2 work set”, 3rd work set 275 for 8 to good failure, 4th work set for 12 reps to good failure.
More weight can be used during the low rep set (4 to 6 reps) when utilizing the Slingshot Pyramiding Scheme. I’ve had multitudes of trainees obtain a new personal record on key movements the first time using this pyramiding scheme and they continue doing so because they are doing it right for the first time in their life! If you tried doing the heaviest set during the first work set, the muscles would not be pumped sufficiently to contract at full force-hence the chance of being injured would be greater. On the other hand, if you wait until the third or last work set to go heavy, it will decreases performance due to excess fatigue-hence increase your chance for injury. You’ve got to do the heaviest work set when the muscle is at its strongest! The advantage is catching the body off guard! I call this Slingshot Pyramiding because it “hurls” a burst of intensity to the muscles during the “heaviest work-set” on the key movements for each bodypart. The best way to surprise the muscles on the final work set when using key movements during the “anabolic blast” is with an intense burn out set composed of higher reps (12-15). These will completely fatigue the stronger regions of the muscle and in return activate some of the more stubborn dormant muscle fibers.
The next time you train that muscle you would switch over to an isolation exercise (or another compound movement. No prep set is needed because the heaviest work set is performed last. Work set # 1 would be a high rep set to good failure. Work set # 2 would be a medium rep set to good failure. Work set # 3 is medium rep set to good failure. Work set # 4 is a low rep set to good failure to break down the muscle group in its entirety. Secondary exercises are considered a more un-natural movement and this is the reason for doing the lowest rep set last when not as much weight can be lifted. This will help preserve the joints and tendons.
Every advanced power-lifter I have worked with soon realizes they must hit their heaviest set on key movements before the neural muscular pathways weaken yet while they have some pump in the muscle. This is important because when a muscle is fresh, ATP (the chemical responsible for energy and contraction) and stored glycogen in the muscle are at their highest. That's when you can really lift some heavy weight loads. Stopping 1 rep shy of good failure on the first work set will keep the CNS strong and will awaken and optimize the firing of neural pathways for the heaviest work set to follow. I call this the “prep set” and it’s far more fatiguing than a warm up set. You must never train to good failure during the prep set or it will exhaust the CNS before the heaviest set. One prep set must be done prior to the heaviest set in order to optimize the firing of the neuro-pathways so more weight can be lifted. And you’ll need to wait an additional minute or so before going to your heaviest work set (set # 2). Power-lifters are known for doing a prep set and then waiting around 5 minutes or more before doing their heaviest set to increase weight load range and workload capacity. You’ll be required to wait around 4 minutes as a bodybuilder before doing your heaviest set on compound movements and 3 minutes for main isolation exercises for body parts such as the arms. Then go back to 3 minutes between sets for the rest of the compound lifts and 2 minutes for isolation movements.
Using more than 3 warm-up sets for any cold body part (for i.e. chest and quads) will hurt your performance. If you need more than 3 warm up sets your doing something wrong (for i.e.; ego lifting). If a muscle group is completely cold, you should always start using 1 high rep warm-up set of 12-15 reps followed by 1 to 2 heavier warm-up sets using only 6 reps. If you fail to warm up properly you won’t be able to bring enough blood flow (pump) into the muscles before performing the heaviest set even though you’ve done a PREP SET and this will increase the risk of getting injured. In addition, a muscle that is not warmed up sufficiently will contract and stretch with less efficiency and this means less muscle fiber stimulation.
On the other hand, if you over exert yourself during the warm up sets by using more than one high rep set or using too much weight, you will become to fatigued to produce the desired training effect during the work sets. Warm ups are designed to bring blood flow into the muscle not break down muscle tissue or exert yourself. Using too much weight during warm-ups sets or pushing too much intensity is a huge mistake being made by many bodybuilders and it’s really hurting their ability to increase weight load range and workload capacity. A moderately pumped muscle responds better to heavier workloads and it takes a non-fatiguing high rep set followed by one or two moderate low rep sets to make this happen if the muscle is completely cold. Anytime you do not feel adequately warmed following a high and a low rep warm up set, you’ll need to add an additional low rep warm up set using the same amount of weight used in the second set. Adding more weight to the third set would produce too much fatigue and would do nothing to further prepare the joints for the heavy workload to come.
One low rep set is usually sufficient for the deltoids because they are to be trained directly after chest. When training bicep after lats, a warm up set is generally not needed before proceeding to the work sets. If you feel the need to use more warm-ups set for the delts or biceps because it’s an area that’s been injured in the past, you can use a total of 2 low rep sets of 6 repetitions. In these particular cases, you would need to shun high reps during the warm up because of the fatigue already present from training the chest and lats. This rule applies to every body part. Performing countless warm-up sets for a body part that’s already filled with blood is counter productive and only wasting valuable gym time. It’s not mandatory to work your way up the ladder within each rep-scheme. Stay in the designated rep-range the best you can and add weight when applicable. If for some reason you are not able to use a particular rep-range due to joint pain, simply work in a rep-range where no pain is experienced.
The Slingshot Training System
Originally Posted by moush
