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Maximum Muscle Growth Supplemental Information and Exercise Guide

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Resistance and Effort Evaluation Since monitoring is so important to success, we must have a simple, yet effective method for rating effort. This allows you to determine the proper resistance to use when beginning the training program, and also to know at what point you need to increase the resistance for continued progress. True for both aerobic exercise and resistance training, this provides a framework for an exercise prescription. In the early 1960’s, Dr. Gunnar Borg from the University of Stockholm in Sweden, developed the idea of a scale for rating the trainee’s sense of how hard an exercise was to perform. He called this the “perceived exertion scale.” He designed the scale so that scientists, practitioners of the health sciences, and individuals could simply, yet accurately, and without the aid of sophisticated equipment check how hard an exercise was so that the proper level of effort for each person could be determined. Perceived exertion is a description (or rating) of your effort during exercise. It’s a measure of how hard you think the exercise is for you. Your brain can tell how hard you are breathing or how hard you are straining to lift a weight and it processes those feelings of effort that you have during your exercise. When you say that an exercise is hard, then you are verbally stating your perception of the effort you made. The good thing about this is that we can use a scale to measure exactly how hard you think the exercise is for you. This scale is then used to pick the correct resistance or weight to use to get good results.

Perceived Exertion Rating Scale The scale has numbers from 0 – 10, with 0 being the “no effort” level and 10 representing the “very, very hard” level. Most of the numbers have word labels that are easy to understand. The layout of the scale is as follows. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

No effort at all Very, very light (just noticeable) Very light Light Moderate Somewhat hard Hard (heavy)

7 8 9 10

Very hard Very, very hard (almost maximal)

When using the scale, you can rate effort by decimals, that is, 3.5 or 5.5. As you can see, 10 is listed as almost maximal. Therefore, you can rate a 10.5 or 11 if the effort you just made was the hardest you’ve ever done.

Exercise Programs It’s finally time to get into the exercise programs. You’re well-armed with the required background about the underlying principles of resistance training. Now, let’s lay out some exercises and programs. The key feature to the at-home program is its simplicity and the low cost of acquiring the necessary equipment. The basic barbell program includes 2 different groups of 10 exercises each: the basic and advanced programs. After using the basic program for a month or two, you can begin to use the exercises in the advanced program. Then intermingle exercises from both programs. If you purchase additional pieces of gym equipment, you can use many different exercises, particularly for the sake of adding variety to your program. But remember, this is neither necessary nor required to achieve excellent results. The use of the basic barbell exercises will completely meet your needs. This section will describe the two, ten-exercise workouts, and also provide different ways to use the same exercises by varying repetition number and rest periods. You choose the level of effort (RPE scale) that you want to work at. You’re always choosing so that you can meet your goals. Your body responds, it has specific patterns of adaptation, and since you now know them, you can push your body in whatever direction you want. The key is to ask it to respond in the only ways that it can. Don’t work at odds to it, but mold it as it wants to go. The limitations are its ultimate genetic limits and how much effort you are willing to invest.

Exercise Training Style Before defining some of the specific exercises, let’s review some of the different “ideas” that exist in the marketplace about exercise training styles. It’s 2

important to have a perspective about what people think about exercise styles because you’ll often hear that one exercise style is “better” than another, or another. You must understand, however, that many things “work.” If one applies the principles I’ve taught, he can use many tools and many styles of training to achieve his desired results. There are as many notions about what exercises to do, types of training patterns to use, and types of equipment to use as there are people who train. Each thinks his own method is the best, and will gladly tell you so. There are always new-day, popular ideas sprouting-up about the best types of exercise to do, and a dogma often arises that the “new” plans lead to better results than the old plans. The very nature of being involved in training is that something new and better than the old ways must always surface, trainees believe, because the best can’t already be here. Then the new beliefs, useless and false as they are, are always “grabbed-up” and “trumpeted” by some group and become the new mantra of training as if to say that following the new methods will lead to unparalleled improvements in training results, outstripping those results provided by the “old” plan. This is what happened to me many times over the years. My greatest blunder occurred when I adopted the High Intensity, single set, “training-tofailure” philosophy espoused by Arthur Jones, the inventor of the Nautilus machines. What a waste that was, and it took six or so years until I figured that it didn’t work very well. I, however, was very good at deluding myself, as are many today, about the efficacy of various training (and dietary) regimens. Amazingly, we’ve really known what is effective for improving strength and physique for more than 2,700 years, and nothing dramatically more effective has emerged during the millennia, despite what many say. Isolated movements, for example, some self-appointed experts say, are always a second choice to the use of integrated techniques involving larger muscle groups and multiple joints. Their statements notwithstanding, however, don’t invalidate the use of isolated movements. Many things work and one must decide what he wants to do to meet his goals. Trainers endlessly speculate about what’s the best thing to do as if there is such a thing. The speculating is pretty much a waste of time because so many things work well. We know, for example, that training one time every six weeks isn’t as productive as training three times a week, although, believe it or not, there’s a camp that says that very infrequent training is the ideal. But to knowledgeable trainers, some issues are resolved and we know what works well and what doesn’t work too well. Unfortunately, the myriads of ideas that

constantly pop-up cannot be resolved through the on-going, never-ending speculations spewing out of the mouths of trainers/trainees and printed on the pages of muscle and fitness magazines. Another popular training concept is Functional strength training, meaning training so that one can use his new-found strength in performing real-life tasks. This is a good notion too, except that Functional improvements are not limited to any one style of training as the proponents of that one style would have us believe. A large number of training methods will lead to Functional improvements. Guys who champion this type of training like to diss bodybuilders as having no Functional strength, claiming that they possess only showy muscles that cannot perform well. This is all so much nonsense and only serves to help one guy justify what he does as “better” than what the other guy does, a sort of insider “puffing-up” that suggests he knows more than the other guy, or is privy to special secrets not possessed by the other. It’s simply an effort to putdown the other guy while one tries to inflate his own ego that he’s the most knowledgeable and that he, and he alone, was bright enough to pick the “best” style of training. Again, it’s all a waste of time and I’m as guilty as any in my own life for having participated in these dialogues. An outgrowth of the Functional movement has been an interest in what is called “wiry strength.” This is increases in strength without increases in muscle size. The Functional guys seem to have some obsessive need to avoid getting bigger while getting stronger. They feel that they need to have a small body so they can jump over fences or perform other types of whole body movement activities, believing that any increased body mass will limit their “functional performance.” They also talk about weight to strength ratios, wanting the most strength with the least bodyweight. A consequence of this belief is the pursuit of bodyweight-only exercises. And naturally, these trainees begin to argue that bodyweight-only training is the most effective. Having no real background in training, they don’t know that weight training was the child of gymnastics. Early on, it became very clear to trainees in gymnastics that bodyweight training couldn’t match the results arising from the use of added-resistance training. This understanding is what led to the development of the barbell as a more effective tool for muscle building which, in turn, led to the development of the sophisticated machines in the marketplace today. What do they say, “History always repeats itself?” Often these types of people (believers in Functional strength, wiry strength, and bodyweight training) populate the martial arts, armed services, 4

and other fighting training styles. They often berate bodybuilders as having “showy,” “non-functional” muscles. All of this is so much hubris and an attempt to gain “moral superiority” and a sense of possessing an intellectual “know-itall-ism.” None of it has any basis in scientific fact and is nothing more than speculative street talk. Power lifters, Olympic lifters, and other power athletes also occupy this realm as they practice to lift the heaviest weights possible for one repetition, somehow equating this so-called one-lift strength as the best strength to have, Functional strength as they say. They defend their position by stating how much stronger they are than bodybuilders, who possess showy, functionless muscles. But are they? No, the bodybuilders are far more functional because their intense, volume-loaded exercise training programs have stimulated a far larger mass of their whole muscle because that type of training demands the use of a wider array of fiber types and, also, the development of the metabolic machinery to hold and deliver more fuel to the muscle to perform the greater volume of work. They are now able to use that functional muscle to help them perform the varied physical tasks that arise in daily life. The power lifters only have to develop contractile force to lift the most weight and need to develop only the contractile machinery of the fiber, with that type of training reducing the total demands made upon a muscle that are realized by bodybuilding-style training. As we’ve learned, in the early stages of training, most of the increase in strength arises because of improved nerve/muscle interaction. There’s no muscle growth. In the intermediate and advanced stages of training, there’s little further improvement in the neural component and, therefore, further increases in strength arise solely because of increases in muscle mass (hypertrophy). How is it then that our “wiry strength” performers become “stronger” without ever growing after the nerve/muscle phase of the strength increase ceases? That’s a simple answer. They constantly change their exercise programs, using different combinations of exercises, sets, repetitions, contraction/rest pauses, etc. Each new workout is like starting from scratch. Only slight changes in any of these parameters make the exercise “new.” Because of these changes in routines, the muscle/nerve firing pattern changes. So, at the end of the year, the trainee “perceives” that he has continued to increase in strength because he has gotten “stronger” on so many occasions when changing his program and he blurts out to all who will listen about his new mantra of “strength-without-getting-bigger” (his wiry strength). And, of

course, his new strength is Functional strength, ready to be applied to many of life’s activities, whereas, in his view, all other training modalities are useless in this regard. In some strange way, he believes that his ability to lift a lot of weight in an exercise, one time, is somehow Functional. If he went back and performed the same exercise in which he had been training for say three months at the beginning of the year, he would discover that he was, in fact, no stronger because he did not get any bigger, a requirement for continued increases in strength. And, anyway, how often in life do we have to lift as much weight as possible for two seconds? And the poor besieged bodybuilder, that the “wiry strength trainer” so disdains for some unknown reason, who can lift less weight more times, lasting longer before tiring, is considered to be non-Functional. All of these ideas, of course, are supported by his “scientific” interpretations because he couldn’t possibly hold this position if it wasn’t “scientifically explained.” He can’t just train the way he wants to train simply because that’s what he wants to do and let it go at that and let the other guy train as he wants. The way he trains MUST be the better way than the way someone else trains and MUST be justified as such. For me, bodybuilding type training is the most Functional because it involves more of the muscle’s total functionality, its Spectrum. It allows one to look good, feel good, and it’s a healthy form of training because it gets the blood flowing, and burns calories, and it’s the safest method. So remember, there are many training plans that are good and variation is still the number one factor to use in designing a training program. Personally, I avoid heavy, single repetition lifting and ballistic (accelerating the weight) lifting because of the increased potential for injury. The power lifters are always complaining about their injuries. This is also true for those who use ballistic (weight throwing or weight acceleration) training techniques. When I finally learned that many different styles of training “worked,” I was able to give up this nonsense about the so-called power of all these different training styles and just do whatever I wanted to do to achieve whatever result I wanted as long as my training methods adhered to the training guidelines I’ve outlined in my book. And, doing many different things or exercises can provide many wonderful results. One iron-clad rule is that muscle fiber function is specific to what the muscle does. So, if sports performance is what you want, then performing exercises that simulate the sport movement is ideal. So, conditioning oneself to run 5 miles is relatively useless for conditioning oneself to run 400 meters. Growing up, I, and I’m sure you too, always heard the expression that the long6

distance off-season running plan would create an “endurance base” for the running of a one-mile run, all out, during the competitive season. There’s some carry-over, but the running of a series of, say, 5-one-mile runs, at close to race pace, would have been far more productive because the specific adaptations that occur in the muscle fibers involved in running the mile are significantly different than the changes that occur in the muscles involved in running slower speeds over longer distances. One last style to mention is the idea of training the “stabilizer” muscles. These are said to be those smaller muscles that might surround a joint like the shoulder joint and support and maintain one’s arm position while he performs the bench press exercise. So now more exercises are added to one’s program that involve training these small muscles. Training the stabilizers is a ridiculous idea. Don’t waste any of your time investigating methods to acquire stronger stabilizer muscles. Machines are just as good as free weights.

Core (Basic, not as in training the Core) Exercises Following the program section, below, in another Chapter, is a glossary of each of the 20 different exercises I’ll describe with a word description and a picture of the beginning and ending positions. Each exercise works muscles in a specific part of your body. I don’t give you starting resistances. You’ll have to decide how much you need by the trial and error method. Remember to use the first week to select resistances and to learn the exercises. This is particularly important for beginning trainees. Do the routines easily. There’s no sense in getting sore muscles. On to the programs. There are Basic or Core exercises accepted as the most productive. In any program, for beginners or athletes, these Core exercises provide the most and quickest results. (Not Core as in “training the Core,” as discussed above, but Core as Basic and over-all good result producers.) For simplicity, we divide the body’s muscles into groups: 1) 2) 3) 4)

Shoulders Chest Back Legs (and hips)

5) Biceps 6) Triceps The first four groups contain the largest muscles in the body and one should concentrate his efforts on exercises for these groups. The large trunk muscles in the chest, shoulders, and back move the arm muscles (biceps and triceps) so the arm muscles are always involved in performing the exercises for the torso. Core exercises usually work large amounts of muscle at one time. They are the most productive because they work muscles acting over more than one joint. The barbell rowing exercise, for example, works the large back muscles and the biceps. In contrast, the barbell curl works only the biceps of the upper arm. The biceps is smaller than the muscles in your back. Therefore, exercises that work only the biceps are not as effective for providing aerobic conditioning. You also burn more calories when you involve more muscle mass in an exercise activity. I do agree that efforts to involve many muscles, over many joints, is a very good training strategy and I’m sure all the Functional proponents would like me saying this. The exercises making up the Basic Program include exercises that work the large muscles and the muscles in the arms. Even though the arm muscles are small, they require whole body effort and round out this program. Changes in intensity, causing higher RPE ratings, come from using high resistance, many sets, and short rest periods. These are the major changes you make to fit the Basic Program to your goals. The credit for the development of this system of exercises goes to Bob Hoffman, the owner and developer of the famed York Barbell Company in York, Pennsylvania. Any a young buck, coming of age in the 1950’s and 1960’s, was a follower of Bob Hoffman and his York Barbell Company. He aptly named this system of exercises Bob Hoffman’s Simplified System of Barbell Physical Training. This is the same System on which I cut my teeth when I began to hoist barbells in the late 1950’s. One of the first barbells developed by the York Barbell Company was sold in 1902. Later, the company released a more result producing set of equipment and training programs and surged to the front of the burgeoning weight training industry. There were other pieces of equipment and a wide range of exercises to perform. I’ll talk more about expanding your equipment and exercise variety later.

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The larger York system required more space and the investment of more time to complete the required exercises. As a result, Hoffman developed the Simplified System requiring only one piece of equipment -- the barbell. Another reason for the development of the Simplified System was that it was applicable to training large groups of men, such as soldiers, quickly and effectively. Hoffman realized that the Simplified program was effective but understood that the results accruing from its use would be less than those that resulted from following the more sophisticated program that used more equipment, and exercises, that required the investment of more training time. This, of course, is just as true today as it was in Hoffman’s time. There’s a limit, however, as to how much time is required to achieve maximum results: I’d say that 1-2 hours of weight training each day for about 4-5 days per week would provide the maximum stimulus for muscle growth. More than that would not produce much additional benefit and the cost/benefit ratio would begin to decline. In contrast, what is the minimum time to produce any results? We are all aware in 2012 of the claims by many that “just six minutes of exercise a day will produce maximum results.” Imagine, maximum results? Not only will the result be less than maximum it will barely even register on the result-producing scale if one performed this little exercise! Twenty minutes of training two times per week may give a small result, but 30 minutes three times is, I think, just at the threshold of providing a reasonable beginning stimulus for muscle growth and strength conditioning. As I describe in my writings on isometrics that very brief and infrequent workouts will provide great results. But the point is, as Hoffman proclaimed in 1941, “Progressive barbell training has long proven to be a superior form of physical training, not only the best way to build strength and muscle, but a means of building internal strength as well.” Amen. One of the key features of the Simplified System was its design that allowed for few weight changes. In other words, Hoffman designed the System so that several of the exercises performed, in the order listed, required the use of the same weight. I’ll note that when I list the exercises. So, once you’ve established the weight required for the very first exercise, you have established the weight required for several of the following exercises as well.

Basic Program 1) 2-Hands High Pull

2) Side-to-Side Bend 3) Barbell Curl Increase the weight by 50% 4) Stifflegged Deadlift 5) Press 6) Shrug 7) Bent-Over Rowing Increase the weight by 50% 8) Raise on Toes 9) Straddle Lift 10) Deep Knee Squats

Exercise Prescription Intensity: Sets: Reps: Rest: Frequency:

Choose RPE level to meet your goals. 2-3

12-1st set, 10-2nd set, 8-3rd set

90” between sets, 2’ between body parts 3 times per week (Mon/Wed/Fri) or (Tues/Thurs/Sat)

Notes: 1) ” symbol = seconds; ’ = minutes. Follow the program for 3 weeks then decrease rest to 60” between sets and 1.5’ between exercises. Two weeks after that you can drop to 60” rest periods, increase resistance for each of the three sets by about 3-5% or more if you can. Increase the weight when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, a rating of 5 becomes a 3. This is the Basic Program. If you want, you could follow it continuously. Just increase the resistance as you become stronger. The bodybuilding champions of the 1930’s and 1940’s followed a similar program for years. I used a program like this through high school and college football. The Basic Program will take about 45 minutes to complete after you become used to it. Many people will need to do it in a shorter time and can do fewer sets. And, you can add or drop exercises from this program as needed. Naturally, athletes will most likely add to it. Others will shorten it. The following is an example of a short program that still provides a good, overall workout to people with time constraints.

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Basic Program: Alternatives Let’s review the changes that you can make to your program to change the way it affects your muscles and body. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Choice of and total number (volume) of exercises Order of exercises Number of sets (volume) Number of repetitions in a set (volume) Rest periods between sets and different body parts Frequency of workouts per week (volume)

Intensity is determined by many of the above items but is mostly affected by choice of resistance, total volume, and rest periods. I encourage you to use the RPE guidelines to meet your goals. Now, I’m going to make some of these changes for you, and using the same Basic Program, change the exercise prescription. I’m going to define what these changes do to your conditioning. I’ll list three separate programs which develop you from one end of the spectrum to the other. They are: 1) Cardiovascular or Aerobic 2) Lactic Acid Tolerance (I’ll explain what this is) 3) Strength

Cardiovascular or Aerobic Program Bodybuilding style workouts reduce risk factors for heart disease. The reductions are as good as, or better, than those provided by pure aerobic programs including running, biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing. The success of resistance exercise to make these changes is from the short rest periods used by bodybuilders. The one-minute rest periods are short enough to cause changes. Often though, bodybuilders use even shorter rest periods. They also do sets of an exercise one right after the other.

Exercise Prescription Intensity:

Choose RPE level to meet your goals. Sets: 3

Reps:

10-1st set, 10-2nd set, 10-3rd set Rest:

10” between sets, 30” between body parts Frequency: 3 times per week (Mon/Wed/Fri) or (Tues/Thurs/Sat) You will need to use less weight in this cycle because of the very short rest periods so test that out first. Follow the program for 2–3 months maximum. Then change it. If this type of conditioning is your main goal then return to it after short, one or two week rest periods. You can also use it 2 times per week instead of three. On the third workout of the week, follow the Basic Program with the longer rest periods and higher resistance. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, rating of 5 becomes a 3. This workout can be very hard if you use high resistance. Check your pulse rate to make sure it’s in the training zone. RPE in 3–5 range will confirm this. Remember, one key to success is variety. You don’t want to get bored with a routine. Two to three months is about maximum before you should make changes.

Lactic Acid Tolerance Program Most American sports are high intensity and short duration. Wrestling, football, tennis, basketball, and even baseball are examples. These sports require forceful muscle contractions, a type of exercise called anaerobic (without oxygen). This contrasts with aerobic exercise which means with oxygen. Your muscles use oxygen and mix it with food to power muscle contraction. When oxygen is in short supply, the muscle can still contract because it can burn fuel for a while without oxygen. Muscles use supplies of fat and carbohydrate located within the different muscle fibers during these high intensity contractions. When muscle burns carbohydrate without enough oxygen, it produces a waste product called lactic acid. Too much lactic acid slows muscle contraction and sends a signal (muscle pain) to slow down.

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Your body can use lactic acid for fuel. This is one way of getting rid of it. You can condition yourself to burn more lactic acid. Better yet, you can condition yourself to tolerate higher levels of lactic acid in your blood. To do this, however, you must workout hard enough to produce lactic acid levels similar to those that occur from your sport. I don’t recommend this style of training for general fitness conditioning. This workout is just the Basic Program with a shift in RPE rating to very high numbers. You must use short rest periods to attain high lactic acid values. The main difference between this routine and the one I just outlined, above, is the upward shift in the training RPE.

Exercise Prescription Intensity: Sets: Reps: Rest: Frequency:

RPE level of 8–10+ 3

10-1st set, 10-2nd set, 10-3rd set

10” between sets, 30” between body parts 3 times per week (Mon/Wed/Fri) or (Tues/Thurs/Sat)

Follow the program for 2–4 weeks at a time. Use it before your sport season. One to two sessions per week will serve as a maintenance program. You may do it only 2 times per week and follow the Basic Program 1 day per week. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, rating of 10 becomes an 8. This workout can be very hard if you use high resistance. It will give a high total body RPE as well as high muscle RPE (local muscle pain).

Strength Training Program Strength training routines increase your ability to do a 1 RM; lifting the heaviest weight possible for one repetition. Most research for strength training has shown that sets of about 3–6 repetitions will improve strength the most. You must also do occasional 1 RM efforts (once every week or two) as well. The only athletes that need to do 1 RM’s are competitive weightlifters. Strength for sports performance can easily develop by doing higher rep sets. Also, 1 RM sets increase the risk of injury.

Most sports training programs for strength use sets of 8–12 repetitions. I think that athletes competing in power sports would benefit from some 4–6 rep sets. Make sure that you do 1 or 2 sets of a good warm-up before doing any training with heavier weights. I don’t recommend doing sets of less than about 8 reps for general fitness and sports conditioning. You can get very strong doing sets of this number. You won’t acquire as much ability to do a 1 RM by performing sets of 8-12 reps as you would if you practiced low rep sets. This is part of the specificity of training idea I’ve discussed which states that to do the best at an activity you must practice that activity. You only need 1 RM ability if you do 1 RM’s in your sport. Most athletes use resistance training to help sports performance. Then they practice their sport to develop sport-specific skills. Using resistance training for general conditioning does not require the use of 1 RM’s.

Exercise Prescription Intensity:

Choose RPE level of 8-10+. Sets: 3 Reps:

Choice 1: 10-1st set, 8-2nd set, 6-3rd set. Choice 2: 8-1st set, 6-2nd set, 4-3rd set. Rest:

2’–3’ between sets, 2’-3’ between body parts Frequency: 3 times per week

(Mon/Wed/Fri) or

(Tues/Thurs/Sat) Follow program during off-season. Alternate the two repetition sequences between workouts. One to two sessions per week will serve as a maintenance program during sports season. You may do it only 2 times per week and follow the Basic Program 1 day per week. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, a rating of 10 becomes an 8. RPE rating will be high for muscles only. This routine will not increase breathing or aerobic capacity much because of the longer rest periods.

Basic Program: Variations 14

Fewer Sets If you want to do all of the exercises in the Basic Program, but have time limits, you can reduce the number of sets per exercise to two or even one. This is similar to the Nautilus method of training. My experience and research shows that one set is not as good as two for producing results, and two are not as good as three. Increases in both strength and muscle size arise from performing multiple sets. It’s important to balance your program to your needs. Needs are not defined only by the physical changes you want but by restrictions of time, family, sports training, and interest.

Rest Periods You now know the effect of changing the rest time between sets. And, as you decrease rest time, you must decrease resistance (weight). Try different rest times. I outlined 10 seconds, 1 minute, 90 seconds, and 2 minutes. Experiment with any combination: 15”, 20”, 30”, 45”, whatever you want. Anything equal to or below one minute will reduce heart disease risk factors. As you approach 2–3 minute rest periods, resistance training will not be as effective for that type of conditioning.

Frequency Most general-purpose resistance workouts are done three times per week. And most people accept this as gospel. It doesn’t have to be. Bodybuilders do large volumes of work. This makes muscles grow as I’ve explained to you. Sometimes they do twenty to thirty sets (using different exercises) per body part. To complete this much work requires 1–3 hours per day, 4–7 days per week. They also split their body parts, working chest and arms one day, and back, shoulders, and legs the next. I’ll show you a sample bodybuilder workout later. We’ve learned that hard/easy is the most effective type of training primarily because of the low monotony index. Steve Reeves, the former Mr. America in the late 1940’s, argued for whole body training three days per week at a high intensity level and he allowed for adequate rest by interspersing training days with rest days. So his ideas adhere to what science has discovered only recently. But, we also saw from the studies conducted by Dr. Hickson that high increases in aerobic power could occur by training every day. The catch, of

course, was that he alternated muscle groups. This type of training is the one used by many bodybuilders who train six days a week but alternate between muscle groups while training hard every day. The success of this style of training may indicate that the central factors of blood flow and oxygen consumption are less important in determining training responses than factors at the level of the individual muscles. So, the jury is still out on what is most effective. You can split the Basic Program into body parts. If you’ve got the time, you could do it every day if you need to burn calories to lose weight. Just decrease the resistance a little and don’t over-train. Any combination of training days is good. Sometimes I do three days on then one day off and then repeat. Sometimes I do my whole body in a workout and do three sets of three different exercises per body part. I do this three times in a week. Other times I train every day using 3 sets per body part. And sometimes I do 15–20 sets per body part doing two to three body parts in a workout. This depends on the rest period time. Up until (1999) I rarely exercised for more than 75 minutes per session. In 1999 I tried an old time bodybuilding program (Steve Reeves) working out 3 times per week and performing 60 sets per session. These workouts take 2 hours. Use the Basic Program to start. This way you don’t have to think -- you just exercise. Try the variations when you begin to get bored and when results slow. Remember, consistency and regularity are the keys to long-term results. Anything you do that helps to keep you exercising regularly is good.

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The Advanced Program We’ve now covered the basic ten barbell exercises, developed a training regimen and then enhanced that by varying the exercise prescription. Here are the next ten exercises that comprise the Advanced program: 1)Clean & Press 2)Reverse Curl 3)Barbell Teetotum Increase the weight by 50% 4)Behind the Neck Press 5)Snatch 6)Good Morning (barbell bendover) 7)Upright Rowing Increase the weight by 50% 8)Deep Knee Bend 9)Barbell Straddle Hop 10)Clean to Upright Every variation that we made to the Basic Program can be applied to the exercises in the Advanced Program. The only alteration that you make is a substitution of one exercise for another.

Additional Equipment and Exercises My goal to this point was to use the least amount of equipment at the lowest cost and still provide the trainee with excellent results. That goal was accomplished with the introduction of the exercises of the Simplified System that uses one piece of equipment -- the barbell. Oh, one piece of advice: One of the exercises in the Basic Program, the Straddle Lift (a great exercise) requires straddling the bar and then grasping it with one hand/arm in front of the body and the other hand/arm behind the body. For my money, this will place a little twist in the torso and I think it will increase the risk of injuring one’s back. What I have done to make adjustments is the use of the Hip Belt. This product can be purchased from Iron Mind in Nevada City, California (530-265-6725) www.ironmind.com.

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Chapter 13 The Advanced Program

The cost is $89.95. You’ll also need some holders to rest your barbell on while you hook up to the barbell to do the exercise. Now, let’s look at how quickly and inexpensively you can expand your home gym workouts. The barbell that you started to train with would most likely come as a set: that’s the bar itself, a set of collars (that you must have) and the weights (barbell plates) totaling 110 pounds. The other day I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to get some idea of the cost of this equipment. I’ll tell you what, the pricing and equipment availability is a tremendous value with a great variety of equipment available. Things change, of course, if you decide to purchase multi-gyms that come with weight stacks. But, if you stick with buying bare-bones equipment onto which you place plates, you’re in for some great equipment at bargain costs.

Equipment 110 lb. barbell Dumbbells (DB) Adjustable DB Hip Squat Belts Door Jam Chin Bar Adj. Bench Bench and Rack Squat Racks (actually attached to the benches) Steps (up to 10 inches)

Exercises

Cost

Many Many Many Squats Chins

As low as $60 $0.49/lb. $40 for 40 lbs. $90 $30

Many chest Loads (great value)

$60 $199 $69-199

Step-ups

$49

There’s some great equipment at great prices. All you need is the space. My recommendations: 1) The barbell, 2) dumbbells, 3) the squat belt, 4) the step, 5) a bench (and the more attachments it has, the better. Make sure you get the adjustable bench that lies flat or inclines.) With these pieces of equipment and enough plates, you can have a tremendous variety of equipment. Two very good leg exercises are leg extensions and leg curls. Many of these gym pieces, listed above, include a leg extension and leg curl bar attached at the end of the bench. A word of caution: try the movement to see

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how it feels and to see if you get a full range of motion, some of these machines are poorly designed. There are, today, wonderful pieces of equipment. Ten years ago you couldn’t find equipment like this except at commercial gym prices! One body part where the Simplified Basic System is weak in is the chest. The best chest exercise, and a great overall body exercise, is the bench press and its variations such as the incline bench press. The excellent thing about these new, inexpensive benches is that the support poles that hold the barbell also adjust so that you can vary the height and place your bar at different positions for accessing it in different exercises such as squats. This is also an important convenience and safety feature. If you don’t want to buy a bench, you can use two chairs to do your “bench press.” For those who cannot do a regular push up, because they are not strong enough, just keep your feet on the floor so that your body is angled upward. This position makes the exercise easier to do. As you become stronger, you can begin to elevate your feet by placing the step you bought, or the one you made (see below), under your feet as a means of increasing your resistance. You see, with a little innovation, you can get a great workout with the minimum amount of equipment expense. I’ll tell you: I was amazed at all the great equipment at Dick’s. I haven’t checked into this stuff for many years as I have a complete gym basement occupying 800 square feet. I have 3-300 pound Olympic barbell sets, many homemade pieces of equipment and many commercial pieces of high grade gym pieces. One of my business partners manufactures gym equipment. So, I haven’t needed to look. Dumbbells really increase your variety. Some of the very best exercises are those involving the muscles in your legs and hips. There are quite a few great hip/leg exercises. Step-ups onto the stepping bench while holding dumbbells in your hands is fabulous for dramatically developing your thighs and buttocks muscles. Also, one leg lunges are great too. In fact, if you don’t want to buy the hip belt, then these are very good substitutes. Squats are part of the two routines and the bench that has racks for holding a barbell is very good to have around. You see, to do a proper squat, you must place the bar across your shoulders and behind your neck. Since the leg muscles are so strong, you can develop very quickly in this exercise and soon may need to use more weight than you can easily lift from the floor and place behind your head. I use 275 pounds for my squats, yet I could never pick that amount of weight from the floor and place it behind my head and across my shoulders. A squat rack is, therefore, essential to my leg/hip training program. 19

Chapter 13 The Advanced Program

If you want to purchase even more advanced and sophisticated pieces of equipment, but keep the costs down, there are many companies that manufacture great stuff. You can reach them online and they’ll let you type in your zip code and then provide a list of their dealers in your area. Two companies that I know about and who make great equipment are the York Barbell Company and TuffStuff. www.yorkbarbell.com and www.tuffstuff.net. And, to keep it even cheaper, you can build your own steps using 4X4 and 2X12 boards. Just buy the wood and make 1-3 platforms by cutting the 4X4 to a 12 inch length and nailing a 15 inch long piece of the 2X12 onto it. The way they cut wood these days the 4X4 actually measures 3¼ inches and the 2 inch side of the 2X12 is 1½ inches, so your step will be about 5 inches high. If you make three steps, you can use a routine where you step 15 inches high. I guarantee you that this is some kinda’ workout. Now, lat pulldowns, which work your large back muscles, are another great exercise, but you need a lat pulldown machine to do them. More cost. But, you can buy a door jam bar that you can do chins on. So instead of lifting metal weights, you lift your bodyweight. The only downside is that many people are not strong enough to lift their own bodyweight. One way around this, however, is to do what we call a negative exercise. Pulling yourself up is called the positive part of the exercise and letting yourself back down again is called the negative part. You are stronger in negative work than in positive. So, you place a chair close to your chin bar so that you can get your chin close to the bar then you try to hold yourself there and then begin to gradually lower yourself and then climb back up again to do another repetition. This is a good exercise. You can buy the Bollinger Doorway Multi-Gym for $36.95 from www. nefitco.com.

Abdominal Exercise At this point I want to tell you about stomach exercises. Most people do stomach routines to get rid of fat. This is a mistake because it doesn’t work. During the last several years, we have seen an explosion of abdominal exercise machines sold by lying, cheating, scamming hucksters. Getting abs requires the removal of most of the body fat. It is not fun, easy, or fast and is very difficult to do. The biggest liar of them all is the Abdoer. These clowns tell you that the special rotational movement not only builds muscle but removes fat too. There’s not one shred of truth to these statements. In addition, the machine is no better at building muscle than the no-cost sit up. Exercise builds muscle. For fuel the body uses fat. The best exercises to reduce fat are large muscle exercises that burn many calories and use lots of 20

fat as fuel. Do a lot of them. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose. As long as you under-eat (eat less than you need), you’ll lose fat. Stomach exercises build the stomach muscles. There’s no such thing as spot reduction of fat tissue. Heavy back and leg exercises and under-eating will cut far more fat from your stomach than stomach exercise. If you are overweight, then stomach exercise is the worst thing you can do because it will build your muscles and make your waist even larger. This is also true for people who have big thighs. Leg exercises will just make your thighs bigger. Now, you need a certain amount of strength and fitness in these muscles, so you can do a few sets of one exercise if you like, but you work these muscles well enough following the Basic Program. You don’t need additional work unless you really want to build these muscles. And that’s required only if you feel a muscle is under-developed.

Other Exercises If You Have More Equipment Let’s look first at the exercises you can use if you add just one more piece of equipment to your basic barbell/dumbbell equipment. Using more pieces of equipment will provide variety and keep workouts interesting. With Dumbbells: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

Step Ups Shoulder Side Raises Shoulder Presses Bent Over Laterals Bent Over Rows Pullover on Bench Lunges

That’s just a brief list. With some imagination you can substitute dumbbells for any exercise in which you would use a barbell. And, dumbbells are often easier to handle than a barbell. For example, it’s much easier to perform lunges with a dumbbell than with a barbell. Exercises for the thighs are most often some form of squatting, except for leg extensions and leg curls. But the squatting motion is probably the most effective bodybuilding exercise in all of resistance training. And it’s great for cardiovascular conditioning, particularly in high reps (20+) and with brief rest periods in between. The most grueling workout I ever did was 10 sets of 25 rep 21

Chapter 13 The Advanced Program

squats with one minute rest in between sets. It was so hard that I had to give it up. Squatting is a great exercise. It’s one of the single most important movements you can do. Persons training for general fitness should condition their leg muscles with leg extensions and leg curls first then move into squats if they have that equipment. Persons who haven’t exercised recently should do a few sets of 10 rep squats without weight to see if they get sore muscles. I once had an unconditioned female subject perform one set of twenty-five rep squats with no weight while holding onto a door jam for balance. She became so sore that she was crippled for the next five days. Be careful, take it easy with squats and condition yourself gradually. Recent research has shown that squats do not decrease knee joint stability. This had been a fear that athletes have talked about for years. Don’t worry. Do them with the correct weight and don’t bounce. Full squats (big bend in the knee joint) are fine. Deadlifts, a lower back exercise, are similar to squats. They’re very good for you. Get you muscles in shape first then use it freely, but with caution. In summary, you can spend about $300, up to $500, and develop a very good home gym. Close to $500 will get you a great bench and rack including a lat pulldown bar, squat rack, leg extension/leg curl machine that will increase the number of exercises available to you and the ability to attack a wider range of muscles thereby increasing your training results. There’s no need to buy any equipment that comes with its own weight stack as that increases your costs exponentially with no additional return in result. Save your money and buy more barbell plates @ $0.49 per pound to use as you get stronger.

Supplemental Exercises The final groups of exercises are the Supplemental groups. These include exercises for the stomach muscles, forearms, neck, and calf muscles. Frankly, I never do any of these because they exercise too little muscle. And since situps, or other abdominal exercises do nothing to reduce fat and are not very demanding for calorie burning, then why waste the time. Use of the term Supplemental does not mean these muscles aren’t important. However, these motions limit total body results compared to the other groups I’ve defined.

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Exercising the smaller body parts doesn’t give increases in cardiovascular condition or in overall body muscle strength. Others would argue this statement about body strength, particularly about the stomach, lower back, and calves. And they have reason. However, most of us only have so much time to exercise each day. We just can’t do every muscle in our body in the available time. If you have the need or desire, please add any of the exercises from the supplemental muscle groups to your routine.

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Special Programs There are as many exercise programs as there are exercisers. Bodybuilders have designed more programs than you can imagine. Just go into any bookstore and you’ll find at least twenty exercise books and magazines all providing what the author calls the best program. You can look at them if you like. You may get some ideas. However, you have all the principles you could ever need in this book. I’m going to list programs that have been developed over the years for resistance training. I don’t expect you to know what they are but I want to show you how many different ideas there are: 1) Single set system 2) Multiple set system 3) Bulk system 4) Pyramid system 5) Heavy to light system 6) Light to heavy system 7) Super set system (Tri set & Quad set also) 8) Circuit system 9) Peripheral Heart Action system (PHA) 10) Multi-poundage system 11) Total tonnage system 12) Bomb & blitz system 13) Half hour on/half hour off per body part for 8 hours 14) One body part per day for seven days 15) Forced rep system 16) Eccentric system I can’t go on anymore, but the systems do. Regardless of the system, the basic principles remain unchanged. I won’t repeat them here. Variety is at the heart of the Maximum Muscle Growth. This program is designed to attack specifically functioning muscle fiber bundles, each with a specific job to do, that make up the whole muscle. You need to recognize this idea to develop and design a program that will produce results. Follow the basic principles to get the results you want. And eat right. Bodybuilders have always said diet is worth 60-90% of success. I don’t know if they’re right, but I do know diet has a lot to do with the final result, particularly protein intake.

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Chapter 14 Special Programs

Now, in the spirit of adventure, I’m going to lay out some different programs for specific applications. You might enjoy doing them. Anyone can try these routines. Just work at your own RPE level to meet your goals.

Upper or Lower Body Fat Concentrations Recent research shows that people store body fat differently. Women store fat in the lower body and males in the upper body. Women usually end up with big hips and thighs and men acquire pot bellies. Resistance training and diet are the only ways to get to look the way you want. Diet alone will fail. You can determine where you store your fat by looking in the mirror. Better yet, measure yourself. Take a tape measure and measure the Abdomen I site which is slightly above the level of your navel. This is at a point above your navel and below your last rib. It’s the smallest waist measure. Your waist goes in at this point on your sides unless you’ve become very fat. Then measure your hips. Divide the waist value by the hip value. Females: If the ratio is .72 or less you have a lower body fat storage pattern and if it is .80 or above you have upper body fat storage. Males: If the ratio is .81 or less you have a lower body fat storage pattern and if it is .94 or above you have upper body fat storage. With lower body fat storage, you should do few leg exercises because why build the muscle too much and add additional size to the already too big body part? If you lose enough fat, then you can concentrate on increasing muscle size. If your calf muscles are small, then exercise them, but avoid thigh and hip work. Concentrate on chest, shoulders, and back. If you’re following either the Basic or Advanced Programs, just do one or two sets of the thigh exercises and possibly 3-5 sets of the upper body exercises. This is a great way to create a visual effect change without even decreasing body fat. This is truer for women rather than men because of a woman’s tendency to store fat from the navel down.

Bodybuilder Routine I’ve already pointed out that bodybuilders do many sets. Here is a sample program with a split four days per week workout.

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Exercise Prescription Intensity:

Choose RPE level of 6-10+ Sets: As listed below Reps:

As listed below Rest:

60” between sets (sometimes less), 2’ between body parts Frequency:

4-6 times per week as shown Follow program and correct diet until body is at desired shape. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units. The optional exercises may be done on the rest day or combined with the rest of the routine. As you’ll see, this is a long and grueling workout. You can’t have too much else to do in a day if you want to seriously do bodybuilding. Some athletes split their sessions into a morning and evening workout, doing only one or two body parts per session. Others actually do this workout six days per week, doing the program three times and not just two times per week. To be truly successful at bodybuilding, there’s no way around it -- you must perform a variety of exercises and to do that, you need equipment -either at home or in a gym. The exercise routine below is based on the availability of an extensive array of gym equipment. No scientific research has compared these workouts to ones of less volume. My extensive experience shows, however, that they do work. How much more than workouts of lower volume isn’t known. You need to answer how much time and effort you are willing to give. And what results you want. Not many people want to look like bodybuilders anyway. Monday/Thursday Back Bent Over Rowing Lat Pulldowns Curl Grip Pulldowns Single Arm Rowing

Sets 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4

Reps 6-8 10-15 6-8 6-8

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Chapter 14 Special Programs

Chest Barbell Bench Presses Dumbbell Flys Incline Bench Presses Cable Crossovers Biceps Barbell Curls Alternate Curls Bench Conc. Curls Triceps Barbell French Press Lying Tricep Press Rear Extension Tuesday/Friday Shoulders Standing Barbell Press Upright Rows Dumbbell Lateral Raise Barbell Shrugs Thighs Leg Extensions Leg Curls Barbell Squats Hack Squats Calves Barbell Calf Raise Seated Calf Raise Lower Back Deadlifts Roller Hyperextensions Good Mornings

4 4 4 3

8-12 10 6-8 12, 10, 8

4 3 3

8-10 8 10

4 3 4

6-8 10 8

4 4 4 4

8-10 8-10 8 12

4 4 4 3

10-12 8-12 10-20 12

4 3

20 15

3 3 2

12 15 20

Body Part Specialization By this time I think you can figure this one out for yourself: more volume of exercise, to a point, increases muscle size the most. How much more is anyone’s guess. I believe that for good results you need at least 3 total sets per body part as a minimum. Six to ten sets may be better. And, maybe even 12– 20. Experiment.

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Here’s a good chest, back, and leg routine for two times per week each body part. Chest Barbell Bench Presses Dumbbell Flys Incline Bench Press Back Lat Pulldowns Straight Arm Pullovers Horizontal Rowing Legs Barbell Squats Leg Extensions

Sets 5 5 4

Reps 10 10 10

5 5 5

10 10 10

7 7

10 10

Exercise Prescription (Chest and Back) Set resistance to the same amount for all sets. Alternate workouts for 30” rest during one workout and 1’ in the next. Use more weight with longer rest periods.

Exercise Prescription (Legs) Set resistance to the same for all sets. Do squats then move bench in and do leg extensions. Rest 60” and repeat cycle. The last rep of the fifth set should be very hard. As soon as it gets a little easy, increase resistance for all sets. Two times per week is plenty. Good luck on this one. Anyone can use these programs. Just adjust RPE levels. Obviously, results are most often greater and faster at higher RPE levels. High RPE’s are tough and not required for results. This type of specialization adds fun (well, maybe) and results to specific body parts.

Sports Programs for Athletes 28

Chapter 14 Special Programs

I’m not going to lay out any specific routine. The Basic Program will be good for any athlete. Just determine how much time you have to exercise and the specific muscle groups you need to work for your sport. Look through the exercise lists and pick the ones you need to exercise and the muscles you use for your sport. Do 6-10 sets of two or three exercises for any primary body parts. Substitute them in the Basic Program. If you need both strength and muscle endurance then combine short 10-15” rest periods using lower weights with longer 1’-2’ rest periods using heavier weights. Use the principles outlined and the Basic Program as a base and then design your program for your needs.

Review of Principles -- Summary Key Principles for Results from Resistance Exercise 1) Intensity 2) Duration 3) Frequency Program Variation 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

Choice of and total number (volume) of exercises Order of and exercise selection (see below, specificity of training) Number of sets (volume) Number of repetitions in a set (volume) Rest periods between sets and different body parts Frequency of workouts per week (volume) Intensity (Intensity is determined by many of the above items but is mostly affected by choice of resistance. I encourage you to use RPE guidelines) 8) Overload principle is part of Intensity

Order of Exercises If variety is important to results, then changing the order of exercises is a variable to give variety. The only limitations are these: 1) If you need to stand to do some exercises, such as shoulders or arms, then you may want to do legs last. It’s difficult to stand on tired legs. They sometimes shake and quiver.

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2) Most upper body exercises use the arm muscles. If you do them first, it will mean you must use less weight for back, chest, and shoulder movements. As a result, these larger muscles may not get worked as hard as they should for best results.

Cycling I want to close this section with a brief discussion about cycling. The basis for the development of this theory is the General Adaptation Syndrome originally described by Dr. Hans Selye. The theory states that three phases of stress adaptation occur. 1)Phase 1 is shock 2)Phase 2 is adaptation 3)Phase 3 is staleness This theory supports many of the ideas in this book. This is why I encourage changing programs and why I’ve provided so many different workouts. Develop your own cycles that fit your body. For athletes, this could mean a program that lasts for a three-month period in the off-season. The program should progress right up to the season and stimulate change. Don’t over-train and avoid staleness. A middle-aged woman may use a winter cycle to get ready for the summer swimsuit season. Use dates and occasions to serve as deadlines for cycles, goals, and programs. Remember -- do anything to keep consistent and regular.

Closing Comment You have the equipment, the programs, and the knowledge to get the best possible results. If you do the workouts, then I guarantee results. I’ve said this repeatedly: If you don’t do it, then nothing will happen. Keep your body fat percent down and train. You’ll soon look the way you want.

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Plastic Tubes

You can substitute plastic tubes for all of the following exercises.

Glossary of Exercises The Glossary of Exercises has photographs of the start and finishing position for each the many exercises I’ve described above. Descriptions for each exercise list the proper method of performance. Follow the directions closely.

Basic Program 1)2-Hands High Pull

Warming up exercise. Stand close to the barbell, feet 12 to 18 inches apart... grasp the barbell with both hands a bit more than shoulder width apart. Straighten up, pulling the barbell to a point a few inches above your head and then lower the weight until the plates touch down on the floor. Continue to perform the required number of repetitions according to the training program that you are following. This exercise is not a strength feat but merely a warming up exercise. The movement should be done slowly enough that exertion can be felt every inch of the way.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

2)Side-to-Side Bend Develops the muscles on the sides of the body. Stand close to the barbell with feet 12 to 18 inches apart. Grasp barbell with both hands at slightly wider than shoulder width and then lift the barbell to a position above the chest, close to the neck. From this position, push the barbell up and over your head, then let it move backwards and lower it to a position behind your head, resting on the thick upper back muscles (not against your neck vertebrae). Bend slowly and steadily as far to the left as possible pausing for two seconds. Return to the starting position then bend sideways in the opposite direction. Again, pause for two seconds before beginning the return to the starting position. Repeat by bending to the opposite side. Keep legs straight at all times. Bend only to the side, do not allow your body to bend forward. Make sure you’ve secured your barbell plates with their collars.

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3)Barbell Curl The two hands regular barbell curl develops the muscles on the front part of the arm. Use the same weight on the barbell as in the previous two exercises. Stand close to the barbell and grasp it with both hands with your palms facing out. Stand erect and, slowly, without moving your elbows, curl the weight toward the shoulders and then lower the barbell to the starting position. Use the strength of your arms only and avoid swinging the barbell or bending the torso forward or backward. Repeat the repetitions according to the exercise prescription.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

4)Stiff Legged Deadlift

Stiff legged dead lifts (develops the powerful muscles of the lower back). Increase the weight of the barbell 50% above that used in the previous three exercises. Stand close to the barbell with your feet about 12 to 18 inches apart. Grasp the barbell with both hands at shoulder width and then stand erect allowing the barbell to rest against your thighs. While keeping your knees locked, lower the barbell until it nearly touches the floor and then come back to the erect position and continue the movement for the specified number of repetitions. Don’t bend your knees and keep the legs straight at all times although a very slight bend in the knees is OK too. This exercise will dramatically increase your flexibility. For the first few repetitions, do not allow the barbell to go all the way to the floor and gradually increase how far you lower it thereby gradually "warming-up." You will avoid injury to the lower back by performing the exercise in this way.

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5)Press Two hands military press (develops the shoulder muscles and the triceps muscles on the back of the arms). Use the same weight as in the dead lift. Stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp the barbell with both hands at shoulder width. The bending motion to grasp the barbell should involve bending both at the torso and at the knees. Pull against the barbell, lifting it upward until it rests on the tops of your shoulders. Keep your knees locked and bend backwards just a little bit at the waist and push the bar upward, past your chin, and over your head until your arms are locked at the elbows. Lower the bar again to the starting position on the top of your shoulders and repeat the repetitions.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

6)Shrug Shoulder shrug (develops the trapezius muscles). Stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and bend downward both at the low back and at the knees and grasp the barbell as you have in the previous exercises. By straightening your knees and lower back, stand erect and place the barbell at the starting position with it resting against your thighs. Without bending your arms at the elbow joint, pull the bar by lifting from your shoulder, moving them upwards towards your ears. Keep your arms straight at all times and force your shoulders to go as high as you can. Pause briefly at the highest position before lowering the weight.

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7)Bent-Over Rowing Rowing Motion (develops the muscles of the upper back and all of the upper arm) Use the same weight as in the previous exercises. Again, standing close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart, grasp it with both hands at a width slightly more than shoulder width apart. Keep your knees slightly bent and bend your torso at a 90 degree angle to your legs. With both arms pull the barbell upward until it contacts your chest. Lift the barbell without raising the upper body. Allow your elbows to be out and away from your body -- don’t have them touching your sides. Lower the barbell to the starting position and repeat the repetitions. A variation for this movement is to pull the barbell upward to a point slightly above your navel instead of to your chest.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

8)Raise on Toes Raise on toes (develops calves and strengthens feet and arch). Increase the weight 50% over that used in the previous exercises. In this exercise, you’ll take the same position as in many of the previous exercises, grasping the barbell and lifting it upward into a position on top of your shoulders. From here, you’ll push it upward as you did in the two hands military press but only to a point slightly above the top of your head. Then, allow the barbell to go backward behind your head and lower it until it’s resting on your upper back muscles. Now, raise up as high as you can on your toes, then lower yourself, repeating the exercise until you have performed the required number of repetitions. Do not allow your knees to bend. This is a very good exercise to have the availability of a rack. You could place the barbell onto one of the higher rack barbell holder settings and then simply position yourself underneath the bar to place it in the proper position. Since you are using a heavier weight at this point, it’s sometimes difficult to lift the heavier weight into the position behind your head. Here’s another tip: place a towel or some form of padding around the bar so that it rests more comfortably on your upper back muscles.

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9)Straddle Lift Straddle lift (develops most muscles of the upper leg and increases flexibility). Use the same weight as in the previous exercise. My only difficulty with this exercise as pictured is that the grasping of the barbell with one hand in front and one hand in back places a little twist in your hips and back increasing the possibility of pulling a muscle. This is why I recommend the use of the Hip Belt as pictured in the two bottom photos. You’ll also need some sort of stand that is safe to rest the barbell on while hooking yourself in and out of using the Hip Belt as described in the text. Obviously, if you perform the exercise as pictured, you will not need a rack of any kind. I support the substitution of other leg exercises for this one including step-ups onto your purchased or homeconstructed stepping apparatus while holding dumbbells or also lunges while holding dumbbells. To complete the straddle lift as pictured, spread your feet apart about 18 inches and squat down and grasp the barbell, one hand in front of you and one hand behind. To make the initial lift into the proper position you may need to bend both at the knees and at the lower back. When performing the exercise, bend forward at the lower back no more than needed to maintain your balance. It’s often a good idea to place a one or two inch block under your the heel of each foot to help maintain balance.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

10)Deep Knee Squats

Deep knee bend on toes (develops all of the muscles of the body, particularly the thighs and hips). Use the same weight as in the previous two exercises. This is another exercise which would be performed more easily by having the availability of a rack. Squats are recognized world-wide as one of the very best exercises for body development. In fact, if you could only do one exercise this would be it. If you do not have a rack, grasp the barbell as in many of the previous exercises, lifting it up into a shoulder position and then pushing it slightly up over your head and let it downward onto the upper back muscles. This exercise is best performed with a one to two inch block under your heels. Lower your body into a full squat position and then come to the erect position again and repeat. The most difficult part of this exercise is balancing yourself on your toes. You may want to begin using only the weight of the bar until you adapt to the motion. When that occurs, you can gradually begin to add weight.

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Advanced Program 1)Clean & Press

Two hands press complete (warming up exercise). Select your starting weight based on the techniques that I have previously described. Stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp it with both hands shoulder width apart. First, lift the barbell to a position atop your shoulders and from here press it to arms length overhead. Then lower it to your shoulder position again and then lower it from your chest to the floor. Although this exercise is suggested as a warm-up exercise, it’s one of the very best exercises that you can do. In fact, one of the hardest exercises in all of weight training is the first movement of this exercise which is called a clean and involves the lifting of the bar from the floor to the top position on your shoulders. Repeated repetitions with an appropriate weight can really maximize your breathing rate, heart rate, and overall conditioning. If you had very little time to perform exercise, I would recommend combining this exercise with the squat and performing 10 sets of each 2-3 times per week. You would develop some serious muscles and fitness conditioning.

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2)Reverse Curl Two hands reverse curl (develops muscles of the forearms and biceps). Use the same weight as in the previous exercise. Note: the large muscles of the body used in the previous exercise are far stronger than the small muscles used in this exercise. But, we want to use the two hands press complete exercise as a warm-up. You could shift the two hands press complete to a later position in the workout and use heavier weight to make it a more effective muscle building and conditioning movement. In respect to the two hands reverse curl, if I were to drop one exercise from this routine it would be this one because it involves the use of so little muscle. Stand with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp the barbell with an over hand grip. Stand erect bringing the barbell to a position resting against your thighs. From this position, curl the barbell upward toward your shoulders. It’s important that the elbows be held at the sides and that you do not swing your body in an attempt to assist in performing the movement.

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3)Barbell Teetotum Barbell teetotum (develops muscles of the side and also of the back). Use the same weight as in the previous two exercises. Face the barbell with your feet 18 to 24 inches apart (note the wider foot spread). Grasp the barbell with a grip where the hands are in a position slightly wider than shoulder width. Stand erect bringing the barbell to a position against your thighs. Turn and bend to one side allowing the barbell to go downward toward your foot. You can bend at the knee on the side toward which you are moving. Lift up and return to the starting position, then repeat the movement to the opposite side. Count a bend to the right side and to the left side as one complete repetition. Move slowly allowing your muscles to do the work so that you do not jerk or pull the weight unnecessarily fast. A slow, deliberate movement will help avoid any injuries that might occur because of both the bending and twisting motion. If you have any lower back problems, you may choose to skip this exercise altogether.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

4)Behind the Neck Press Press from behind neck (develops the shoulders and arms). Increase the weight of barbell 50% over the first three exercises. Take a position close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp it with both hands slightly more than shoulder width apart. Lift the barbell to a position on top of your shoulders and then push it up over your head allowing it, then, to come down and rest on your upper back muscles. From this position push the barbell up over your head until your elbows are locked. Until you condition the muscles and joints for this exercise (the shoulder muscles and shoulder joints have to be somewhat flexible to get into this position), begin using only a lightweight in this exercise, even just the bar, and then gradually increase the weight as both your flexibility and strength increase.

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5)Snatch Two hands repetition snatch (develops all muscles in the body and builds stamina) Use the same weight as in the previous exercise. Note: to perform this exercise efficiently involves a reasonable level of coordination. Again, therefore, as in several of the other exercises, you may wish to practice this exercise for quite a few sessions beginning with just the bar and then, gradually, increase the weight as you become more skilled in its performance. This is a terrific whole body exercise. Stand close to the bar with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart grasping it with a very wide grip. With one long and continuous pull, lift the barbell from the floor to arms length overhead while at the same time moving one foot forward and the other foot backwards. Then bring both feet together so that you are standing in an erect position with the bar at arms length overhead. Lower the bar, first to your shoulder position, and then downward to the floor again. Make sure that when you’re lifting the bar from the floor position to the overhead position that it rises upward very close to your body. The legs should be in the split position by the time the bar is passing in front of your chin. You will have to make a little hop to get into this position. The forward leg, therefore, will be bent at the knee while the opposite leg that you thrust rearward will be almost straight with a slight bend in the knee. Decide for yourself which leg is easier to move forward or backward. Again, this exercise is a hard one to perform because of the coordination involved. Don’t feel foolish if you choose to eliminate it from your routine, substituting another one for it.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

6)Good Morning (barbell bendover) Barbell bend over, also known as the Good Morning exercise (develops the muscles of the lower back). Use the same weight as in the previous exercise. Similar to many of the other motions, spread your feet 12 to 18 inches apart, grasp the barbell with an over-hand grip and lift it up to the front shoulder position. Press it up to a position slightly above your head and then allow it to go backward so that you can lower it on to your upper back muscles. Without bending your knees, lean forward as far as possible. Return to an erect position and then repeat for the specified number of repetitions. It’s important to keep the legs straight. As you practice this exercise, you will be able to bend much farther forward. Besides strengthening the lower back muscles, this exercise is very effective for increasing the strength and flexibility in the buttocks and hamstring muscles on the back of the legs. Start very carefully with this exercise, gradually conditioning your muscles over several weeks to avoid injury.

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7)Upright Rowing Upright rowing motion (develops upper arms, trapezius, and shoulders). Use the same weight as in the previous three exercises. Stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp it with an over-hand grip, hands at 1/2 shoulder width position. Straighten your body, lifting the bar upward until it is resting against your thighs. Lifting your elbows up and outward (out to the side) away from your body and pulling your hands and shoulders, bring the barbell up to a height almost touching your chin. It’s important to keep the elbows higher than the barbell plates (or, actually, higher than the level of the barbell). Move your upper body as little as possible. This is a great exercise for developing the shoulders and biceps muscles.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

8)Deep Knee Bend Deep knee bend on toes (develops all of the muscles of the body, particularly the thighs and hips). We’ve seen this one before in the Basic routine. Why? Because it’s one of the most effective barbell training exercises ever invented. Use the same weight as in the previous two exercises. This is another exercise which would be performed more easily by having the availability of a rack. Squats are recognized world-wide as one of the very best exercises for body development. In fact, if you could only do one exercise this would be it. If you do not have a rack, grasp the barbell as in many of the previous exercises, lifting it up into a shoulder position and then pushing its slightly over your head and let it downward on to the upper back muscles. This exercise is best performed with a one to two inch block under your heels. Lower your body into a full squat position and then come to the erect position again and repeat. The most difficult part of this exercise is balancing yourself on your toes. You may want to begin using only the weight of the bar until you adapt to the motion. When that occurs you can gradually begin to add weight.

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9)Barbell Straddle Hop

Barbell straddle hop (develops thighs, calves, and strengthens the feet while conditioning the jumping ability of the lower body). Use the same weight as in the Deep knee bend exercise. Grasp the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width and lift the weight into the shoulder position, then press overhead and position it behind your neck, resting it on your upper back muscles. Again, this is a very good exercise to do if you have a barbell holding rack and padding around the bar. Remember, many of these exercises were developed in the 1930’s before the advent of the equipment that we have available to us today. So, for a very small expenditure of cash, one can have the perfect equipment to make the performance of these exercises very easy. I’ve already outlined that a fairly sophisticated rack and bench system can be purchased for about $199. To perform the exercise, jump up slightly and spread the legs apart sideways at the same time. As your body comes downward from the jump position and the feet touch the floor, push upward again bringing the feet back together. You can lower the bar down onto your trapezius muscles so that it’s not coming in contact with any of the vertebrae in your spinal column. The thicker trapezius muscles act as a form of padding. I would encourage you to go to your local home repair center and buy some of the foam pad that homeowners use to insulate their pipes. This foam pad serves as a very good form of protection against bruising the muscle from the performance of this exercise. You may have to pull with your hands, downward, against the bar, holding it snugly so that it doesn’t bounce against the muscle and bruise it.

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

10)Clean to Upright Rapid high dead lift (develops all upper body muscles). Use the same weight as in the last two exercises. Again, stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp it, over hand, with a shoulder width grip. With one quick continuous movement lift the barbell from the floor to a point even with your chest muscles. Then, without pausing, lower the barbell to within a few inches of the floor and, again, repeat this motion until completing the specified number of repetitions in your exercise prescription. This exercise, most often called the cleaning exercise, builds terrific strength in the upper body. It specifically develops the total back musculature along with the shoulder muscles. Keep your elbows high and away from your body while performing this exercise. This exercise is a tremendous cardiovascular conditioner and I challenge anyone to perform between 50-100 repetitions using a weight that is tough to make that number of repetitions and not come out of that experience screaming. You could also perform this movement with a narrower grip and pull the bar as high as your chin.

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Other Exercises

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

Leg Extensions Start: Left Photo End: Right Photo

Chin Ups Start: Left Photo End: Right Photo

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Lat Pulldowns Start: Left Photo End: Right Photo

Parallel Dips Start and Finish: Left Photo Midpoint: Right Photo

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