HSS-100 Routine (Original)

The HSS-100 Program Bodybuilding With an Edge by Christian Thibaudeau The Most Powerful Muscle Building Program Ever? When you observe the strength training community, you quickly notice how each coach has his own "pet program." For example, Coach Staley has EDT, Coach Poliquin has GVT and GBC, Chad Waterbury has several different programs, Westside guys have, well, Westside training, and the list goes on and on. My problem is that I love the iron game so much that I'm never able to design what I'd call my "ultimate program." Sure, when I first talked about Optimized Volume Training it made a lot of noise, and many people fell in love with the program and the results it brought on. But I have a deep-rooted, visceral need to experiment and find new ways to spark muscle growth. As such, I always hated to limit myself to the confines of one single training methodology. I personally need to be allowed some freedom when designing or using a program, and I'm sure that a lot of you are the same way. That having been said, it's also important to have a certain framework to work from. So I recently designed a training system specifically for bodybuilding purposes; one that has proven to be super effective for all those who've used it, and which still allows for a lot of variation. This system is called HSS-100. Quite frankly, I never used anything as powerful when it comes to building muscle mass. HSS-100: What Does That Mean? While it's a cool name for a program, it must mean something, right? It sure does: H = Heavy lift S = Superset (or triple set) S = Special technique or special exercise 100 = 100 rep set Let's break it down! Exercise 1: Heavy lift performed as a stand-alone Heavy lifting can stimulate muscle growth even though you're "technically" outside of the proper hypertrophy zones. It does so via three mechanisms: 1) Direct Action: Heavy lifting places an important growth stimulus on the fast twitch fibers. While the total volume might not be high enough to stimulate maximum muscle growth, it

can certainly increase FT fiber size. 2) Indirect Action: Gaining strength will allow you to use more weight during a subsequent accumulation phase and this will translate into much improved gains. 3) Potentiating Action: Heavy lifting improves the CNS's capacity to recruit the high threshold fast twitch muscles fibers. These have the highest growth potential but are very difficult to stimulate. Increasing neural efficiency is a very effective way to develop the capacity to stimulate them and thus drastically enhance growth potential. Plus, heavy lifting increases myogenic tone (tonus) which makes your muscles appear and feel "harder." For this first exercise in your workout, you should pick a compound movement, preferably with free weights. For example: Quads: Front or back squat Hamstrings: Romanian deadlift or good morning Back: Bentover barbell rowing or chest-supported dumbbell rowing Pectorals: Incline, flat, or decline press (barbell or dumbbells) Deltoids: Push press, military press, dumbbell shoulder press Biceps: Standing barbell curl (barbell or EZ-bar) Triceps: Close-grip press (incline, flat or decline) or JM press Traps: Power shrugs (barbell or dumbbells) You should train this first exercise mostly in the 4-6, 6-8, and 8-10 rep ranges, although it's possible to go down to 2-4 reps from time to time. Between 3 to 5 sets should be performed (3 sets if working in the 8-10 range; 4 sets if working in the 6-8 range; and 5 sets if working in the 4-6 range). Exercise 2: Superset (or triple set) A superset (basically alternating between two different exercises) can stimulate hypertrophy via several pathways. First of all, it drastically increases training density, which has been shown to favor the onset of an anabolic hormonal milieu mostly via an increase in growth hormone release. While I'll be the first to admit that transient hormonal changes won't turn you into the incredible hulk, when you want to attain that perfect physique every little bit helps. A superset can also allow you to thoroughly stimulate a certain muscle group. This is accomplished by coupling a compound exercise with an isolation exercise. While it's no secret that big multi-joint, complex exercises are the best growth stimulator, they do have their shortcomings, the most important being that your body will always strive to complete the exercise with the less energy expenditure/effort as possible. This means that it won't necessarily put the most training stress on the desired muscle group, but rather on the one

best suited to do the job. For example, you might perform the bench press to build up your pecs, but if your front delts and/or triceps are overpowering, chances are that your chest will be left sub-optimally stimulated from your bench pressing work. By adding an isolation exercise for the pectorals either after (post-fatigue), before (pre-fatigue), or before and after (pre and post-fatigue) you'll be able to fully fatigue the chest. As we just saw, there are three main types of supersets: 1. Pre-fatigue (isolation first, compound second): Advantageous if you have problems recruiting a muscle group during a compound movement. Pre-fatiguing the muscle group will make it fail first during the compound lift. Pre-fatiguing the muscle will also increase the mind-muscle connection as you'll "feel it" more because of the pre-existing fatigue/burn. So if you have problems "feeling" or recruiting a certain muscle group, pre-fatigue might be the solution. The downside is that you'll have to use less weight for the compound movement because of the pre-fatigued state of the muscle. 2. Post-fatigue (compound first, isolation second): The main advantage of this method is that it allows you to keep on using big weights in the compound lifts because you're finishing the muscle with the isolation exercise instead of fatiguing it first. In most cases, this will lead to better growth stimulation. However, if you have problems recruiting or feeling a certain muscle group during the compound lift, the post-fatigue method might not be as effective as the pre-fatigue method. 3. Pre and post-fatigue (isolation, compound, isolation): This method combines the preceding two methods into one giant set of three exercises. It's very effective as it'll ensure that you fully annihilate the targeted muscle group, plus it'll improve the mindmuscle connection by pre-fatiguing it. The downside is that this method is tremendously stressful on the body and nervous system. More than one such set is probably overkill for most natural trainees. However, if you decide to use this method and perform only one such giant set, it can prove to be quite effective. Exercise 3: Special exercise or technique The third exercise is used to really isolate the desired muscle group or portion of a muscle group. This is accomplished either by selecting a special exercise or a training technique favoring the development of the muscle group (e.g. iso-dynamic contractions are great to build the back, biceps, and hamstrings). Here are some exercise suggestions:

Chest Combo Press Combo Low Incline Press Multi-Angle Dumbbell Press

Start at a high incline, perform reps to failure, drop down to a low incline, perform reps to failure, drop down to a flat press, and once again rep out to failure. Keep the same weight for all angles and don't rest between positions. Close-to-Wide Dumbbell Press Press-to-Flies Dumbbells Simply execute the concentric (lifting) portion of the movement as a dumbbell press then the eccentric (lowering) portion as a dumbbell flye. Back Rope Lat Pulldown Eagle Pulldown Seated Rope Rowing (trunk bent forward) Spider Rowing Rack Pull Chest Supported Incline Shrug One-Arm Barbell Rowing Scapular Retraction Quads Sissy Hack Squat Pulley Hip-Belt Squat Isometric Bulgarian Squat (30-60 seconds per leg) Sissy Squat One-Leg Squat Hamstrings Pull-Through Loaded Back Extension One-Leg Back Extension Biceps Wide Grip/Elbows-In Preacher Curl Close Grip/Elbows-Out Barbell Concentration Curl Jettison Technique Barbell Curl The Jettison curl is a form of drop set. You begin with a dual source of resistance: a barbell plus a resistance band. You perform reps to failure with both implements. As you reach failure, you drop the resistance band and continue to rep out with only the bar. When you once again reach failure, you drop the bar, grab the band, and finish off with more reps to failure. Drag Curl 2/1 Curl As you can see by the pics, you lift the weight with two arms and lower it using only one. Triceps Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension Rotating Triceps Extension Bodyweight Triceps Extension Traps

Lean Away One-Arm Shrugs Calf Machine Shrugs Haney Shrugs Supinated Cable Shrugs Deltoids Ahrens Press
Exercise 4: 100-Rep Set The final exercise of the workout is a "flushing" set of 100 repetitions. Ideally you'd complete the 100 reps without any rest, but at first, while you build up your work capacity, it's okay to take a few 3-5 second pauses during the set. The purpose of this set isn't to stimulate hypertrophy directly, but rather to enhance recovery from the previous workload. The very high rep/low intensity set will increase muscle flushing which will help bring blood and nutrients to the muscle group as well as the tendons. It'll also help get rid of the metabolic wastes accumulated during the workout. Plus, systematic use of very high rep sets can increase muscle capillary density (more blood vessels going to the muscles) which will further enhance recovery capacity as well as work capacity. There will still be a minimal hypertrophy effect from such sets, mostly in the slow-twitch muscle fibers. While athletes don't want that, bodybuilders who are only interested in size will accept any added hypertrophy they can get! Workout Breakdown How do you put all this together? I'll show you! A workout will look like this: Accumulation Phase (4 weeks) Heavy: 4-5 sets in the 6-8 rep range (with occasional foray into the 4-6 range) Superset (pre-fatigue) isolation movement: 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps Superset (pre-fatigue) compound movement: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps Special exercise: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps 100-reps exercise: 1 set of 100 reps Intensification Phase (4 weeks) Heavy: 4-5 sets in the 4-6 rep range (with occasional foray into the 1-3 range) Superset (post-fatigue) compound movement: 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps Superset (post-fatigue) isolation movement: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps

Special exercise: 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps 100-reps exercise: 1 set of 100 reps High Volume Phase (4 weeks) Heavy: 4-5 sets in the 8-10 rep range (with occasional foray into the 6-8 range) Superset (pre and post-fatigue) isolation movement: 1-2 sets of 10 to 12 reps Superset (pre and post fatigue) compound movement: 1-2 sets of 8 to 10 reps Superset (pre and post-fatigue) second isolation movement: 1-2 sets of 12 to 15 reps Special exercise: 3 sets of 12-15 reps 100-reps exercise: 1 set of 100 reps Max Strength Phase (4 weeks) Heavy: 5-6 sets in the 1-3 rep range Superset (post-fatigue) compound movement: 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps Superset (post-fatigue) isolation movement: 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps Special exercise: 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps 100-reps exercise: 1 set of 100 reps Training Split With HSS-100, I suggest training each muscle group once every 5-7 days to allow for maximum recovery. The following split is adequate: Monday: Quads Tuesday: Back/Traps Wednesday: OFF Thursday: Hamstrings Friday: Chest/Shoulders Saturday: OFF Sunday: Biceps/Triceps Conclusion

The HSS-100 system is probably the most powerful muscle-building program I've ever designed or tried. Understand that this program is designed to put a lot of beef on your frame and necessitates a large caloric intake with at least 1.25 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Proper post-workout nutrition is a must and so is during-workout nutrition. The latter will allow you to reap the most benefits of the 100-rep set: you'll have more nutrients floating in your bloodstream to carry in your muscles during the 100-rep set. The beauty of this program is that it can be adapted to your liking and needs. It allows for some variety while keeping its powerful effect. Most of all, it makes training fun again! SAMPLE ROUTINES: The routine: Monday - Quads (Post fatigue) A Front Squats 5 x 4-6 B1 Sissy Squats 1 x 6-8 B2 B1 Leg Press 1 x 6-8 B3 Sissy Squats 1 x 6-8 C Isometric Bulgarian Squat 4 x 6-8 D Leg Extensions 1 x 100 Tuesday ? Back (pre fatigue) / Traps A Bench Row 5 x 4-6 B1 Pull Overs 3 x 8-10 --B2 Lat Pulldown 3 x 8-10 --C Seated Rope Rowing (trunk bent forward) 3 x 8-10 D Straight arm pulldown 1 x 100 A Chest Supported Incline Shrug or Supinated Cable Shrugs 3 x 8-12 Wednesday - Off Thursday - Hams (pre fatigue)/ Calves A Romanian Deadlift 4 x 6-8 B1 Lying Leg Curl 3 x 8-10 B2 Stiff Leg Deadlift 3 x 8-10 C Pull-Through 3 x 8-10 D Seated Leg Curls 1 x 100 Friday ? Chest (pre fatigue) / Shoulders A Flat Barbell Press 4 x 6-8 B1 Cable Crossover 3 x 8-10 B2 Bench Machine Press 3 x 8-10 C Close-to-Wide Dumbbell Press 3 x 8-10 D Pec Deck Flys 1 x 100 A Rear Delt Flys 3x 8-12 Saturday - Off

Sunday ? Triceps (pre fatigue) / Biceps (post fatigue) A Close Grip Bench Press 3 x 8-10 B1 Overhead Extension (cable/DB) 3 x 6-8 B2 Dips 3 x 6-8 C Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extension 3 x 8-10 D Cable Pulldowns 1 x 100 A Standing Barbell Curl 3 x 8-10 B1 Preacher Curls 3 x 8-10 B2 Elbows-Out, Close-Grip Barbell Curl 3 x 8-10 C Drag Curls 3 x 8-10 D Cable Curls 1 x 100 OR

Quads H - Back Squat 4-5 x 6-8 90s S - Front Squat 3 x 8-10 90s Sissy Hack Squat 3 x 10-12 S - Isometric Bulgarian Squat 3-4 x 10-12 60 s 100 - Legt Extensions 1 x 100 Back/Traps H - Power Barbell Rowing 4-5 x 6-8 90s S - Lat Pulldown 3 x 8-10 90s Straight Arm Pulldown S - Rope Lat Pulldown 3-4 x 10-12 60 s 100 - Straight-Arm Arc DB Row 1 x 100 Hamstrings H - Deadlift 4-5 x 6-8 90s S - Good Morning 3 x 8-10 90s Seated Leg Curl 3 x 10-12 S - Pull Through 3-4 x 10-12 60s 100 - Gironda Leg Curl 1 x 100 Chest/Shoulders H - Neutral Grip DB Press 4-5 x 6-8 90s S - Decline DB Press 3 x 8-10 90s Half DB Flyes 3 x 10-12 S - Press To Flyes 3-4 x 10-12 100 - Machine Incle Press

Biceps/Triceps Alternate Set A1 Dip 4-5 x 6-8 A2 BB Curl 4-5 x 6- 8 Tri-Set 1 B1 Close Grip BB Press 1 x 10-12 B2 BB Curl Lying on an incline 1 x 8-10 B3 Decline BB Extension 1 x 6-8 Tri-Set 2 C1 Standing Bicep Curl 1 x 10-12 C2 Decline EZ Tricep Extension 1 x 8-10 C3 Close Grip EZ Bar Curl 1 x 6-8 Alternate Set 2 Both 3-4 x 10-12 60 s D1 Wide Grip Elbows in Preacher Curl D2 Rotating Tricep Extension 1 x 100 E1 Low Pulley Cable Curl E2 Low Pulley Tricep Extension 25 rep alternate set until 100 reps on each exercise OR

I plan on doing 5x5 for each heavy lift, 3x10 for B and C, and 1x100 for D. Quads A Front Squat B1 Leg Press B2 Sissy Squats C Iso Bulgarian Squat D Leg Extensions Back/Traps A Rows B1 Cable Pull Over

B2 Lat Pull Down C One Arm Barbell Row D Stiff Arm Pulldown Hamstrings A Romanian Deadlift B1 Lying Leg Curls B2 Sumo Deadlift C One Leg Back Extension D Seated Leg Curls Chest/Shoulders A Flat Bench B1 Smith Bench B2 Cable Crossovers C Press to Fly D Cable Press Arms A Barbell Curl B1 Hammer Curl B2 Elbows Out, Close Grip Barbell Curls C Drag Curl D Cable Curl A Close Grip Bench Press B1 Overhead Extension B2 Dips C Decline Dumbbell Extensions D Cable Pulldowns

Upper Body Specialization Routine

Perform each workout once per week, taking at least one day off between sessions. You can also add your lower body workouts to the same workout session or do them on an entirely different day as well. Workout A

Exercise Bench Press Bent Over Row Incline Dumbbell Chest Fly supersetted with Reverse Fly

Reps 6 6 10

Sets 5 5 3

Rest 90 seconds 90 seconds 60 seconds

Workout B

Exercise Push-Ups Pull-Ups Lat Pull-Down supersetted with Cable Chest Fly

Reps 12 12 15

Sets 3 3 2

Rest 60 seconds 60 seconds 30 seconds

Stripped Down Hypertrophy

The Ultimate Program for Putting on Size by Joel Marion, CISSN, NSCA-CPT The Stripped-Down Workout

For each workout, you'll be choosing one exercise from each of the following lists. Whatever exercises you choose, you'll continue to use those same exercises for three weeks.
Upper body horizontal push Flat, incline, or decline barbell or dumbbell bench press, close-grip

bench press, iso-ballistic push-up

Upper body horizontal pull Bent-over row (supinated or pronated grip), one-arm dumbbell row,

seated row (triangle handle, straight bar, double-D bar handle)

Upper body vertical push Standing military press, push press, push jerk, dip, wide-grip dip,

close-grip triceps push press

Upper body vertical pull Pull-up (pronated, supinated, or semi-supinated grip), pulldown

(pronated, supinated, semi-supinated grip, wide pronated grip, double-D bar handle)
Quad-dominant lower body Back squat, front squat, hack squat, lunge, leg press, duck deadlift Hip-dominant lower body Deadlift (sumo or conventional), Romanian deadlift, sumo squat,

good morning, one-leg back extension, glute-ham raise, dumbbell swing, one-arm dumbbell snatch

Note: If you choose a squat for the quad-dominant exercise, choose somethingother than the deadlift as the hip-dominant exercise (like dumbbell swings). Likewise, if choosing the deadlift as the hip-dominant exercise, choose something other than a squat for the quad-dominant lift (like lunges). Each workout consists of two groups of movements. Alternate between the A movements of Group 1, then perform the B movement via straight sets. Repeat for Group 2.
Group 1

A1) Upper body horizontal push A2) Upper body horizontal pull B) Quad-dominant lower body
Group 2

A1) Upper body vertical push A2) Upper body vertical pull B) Hip-dominant lower body

Sample Workout Group 1

A1) Dumbbell bench press A2) Seated row B) Back squat

Group 2

A1) Dip A2) Pull-up B) One-arm dumbbell snatch

Sets and Reps

For each workout, you'll train one group with a 4x10 set/rep scheme and the other with a 5x5 set/rep scheme, switching the two schemes each workout. So if you train Group 1 with 4x10 and Group 2 using 5x5 one day, the next time you hit the gym you will train each group with the opposite pattern. Here's a more visual example:

Monday

Group 1 5x5 Group 2 4x10

Tuesday

Group 1 4x10 Group 2 5x5

Thursday

Group 1 5x5 Group 2 4x10

Friday

Group 1 4x10 Group 2 5x5 And so on...

Frequency and Variations

Perform five workouts per week. I don't care how you set that up, although something like Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday is better than working out five days in a row. Also, the setup doesn't need to stay the same from week to week; just be sure to get in five sessions. Although I'm not big on variation, it's somewhat necessary when performing workouts this frequently and it also helps to keep things interesting. That said, I'd recommend selecting a new group of exercises from the above lists every three weeks. If you choose to continue with the program beyond six weeks, switch the set and rep schemes to 6x3 and 5x8.
A Stripped Down Summary One daily workout, five days a week. Maximal stimulation, maximal results. Extremely simple, extremely effective. How's that for stripped down? NOTE: IT COULD ALSO BE DONE VIA RAMPING SET TO PREVENT CNS OVERLOAD

SAMPLE ROUTINES
Group 1: Incline Dumbbell Bench press Bent-over Row or Seated Straight Bar Row Squat or Lunges Group 2: Military Press Lat Pulldown Deadlifts Monday: Group 1- 5x5 Group 2- 4x10 Tuesday: Group 1- 4x10 Group 2- 5x5 Wednesday: Group 1- 5x5 Group 2- 4x10 Thursday: Group 1- 4x10 Group 2- 5x5 Friday: Group 1- 5x5 Group 2- 4x10 or The exercises i chose were; Group 1 A1) BB Bench A2) Dumbell Row B) Back Squat Group 2 A1) Push Jerk A2) Pull Up B) Dumbell Swing Or

Group 1: 5x5 Bench press - 90,90,95,95,100kg BOR - 70,70,75,75,75kg Squat - 110kg Group 2: 4x10 Standing Barbell Military press - 55,55,55,60kg (failed at 6 reps with 60) Pull ups - 4 x10 bodyweight un-assisted 25kg Plate swing - 4x 10 - really into these at the minute, feel great at the lower back and abs. When Group 1: 4x10 BP - 90kg BOR - 70kg Squat - 100kg Group 2: 5x5 SBMP - 55kg PU - with 10kg dumbell between feet 25kg Plate swings Or

A Front Squat 5x5 (5x155, 5x165,5x175,5x185, 5x185) B1 dumbell bench press 5x5 B2 BB bent over row 5x5 A DB Snatch 4x10 B1 lat pull down 4x10 B2 Push Press 4x10 Or

Notes: There are two groups in each training sessions consisting of A1, A2, and B A1 & A2 are super-sets with no rest in between. I then move on to the B exercise which is performed via straight sets. Therefore, I perform the movements, A1, A2, rest. Repeat until all sets completed, then B movement, rest, repeat until all sets completed. Then move on to group 2 and repeat. 5x5 A movements will have 75s rest in between sets 5x5 B movements will have 120s rest in between sets. 4x10 A movements will have 45-60s rest. 4x10 B movements will have 60sec rest. Group 1 A1: Standing Military Press (strict)-4x10 115lbs A2: Pronated Grip Pull-ups (my weak spot for high reps. 4x10 Bodyweight, struggled to finish last 2 sets. B: Deadlift-4x10 225lbs felt too light, need to increase weight. Also need to perform some grip work as

my grip starts to give between 8-10th reps provided I'm sweating. Group 2: A1: BB Bench press-5x5 205lbs A2: 1 arm DB row-5x5 65lb DB B: Lying leg press w/ bi angular foot plate-5x5 500lbs +sled, knees touching chest, slight pause at bottom to let the force absorb into the machine (there are small safety springs at the bottom and I want to let the force absorb so as not to use bounce..unless need obviously)

Power/Hypertrophy Training
On days 1 and 2, you will be following a power style training with multiple sets of 5 reps. We want you to choose an exercise for your power exercise from this list, and that is the exercise you will be focusing on for 6 weeks. On your power days, you will not train to failure on any auxiliary exercise; you will stop 12 reps shy of failure.

Chest: Incline or Flat Dumbbell or Barbell Presses Back: Barbell Bent-Over Rows, T-Bar Rows, Rack Chins, or Weighted Pull-Ups Shoulders: Dumbbell or Barbell Military Presses Quads: Squats, Front Squats, Hack Squats, or Deep Deadlifts Hams: Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Glute/Ham Raises, or Good Mornings

On your hypertrophy days, use failure sparingly maybe 1 set for each muscle group at most, then stop 12 reps shy on the others. You will do 3 sets of 10 of your power exercise on hypertrophy days to start that particular muscle group, but only use 65 percent of your normal 10-rep max weight. Focus on form and speed, and then drive the positive up quickly with authority. UPPER POWER Back Power Exercise

Auxiliary Back exercise: Incline-Braced Dumbbell Rows, Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows, Machine Rows or Lat Pull-Downs 3 sets of 810 reps

Chest Power Exercise

Auxiliary Chest Exercise: Dumbbell Flyes or Machine Flyes 3 sets 810 reps

Shoulder Power Exercise

Bicep Auxiliary Exercise: EZ-Bar Curls or Dumbbell Curls 2 sets of 68 reps

Triceps Auxiliary Exercise: Skullcrushers or Cable Press-Downs 2 sets of 68 reps

LOWER POWER Quad Power Exercise

Leg Extensions 2 sets of 810

Ham Power Exercise

Leg Curls or Single-Leg Curls 2 sets of 810 reps

Standing Calf Raises or Donkey Calf Raises 3 sets of 68 reps

Seated Calf Raises 2 sets of 68 reps

CHEST/BACK HYPERTROPHY
Chest

Chest Power Exercise 3 sets: 10 reps

Chest Auxiliary Exercise: Dumbbell Incline or Flat Press, Hammer Strength Press (Incline/Flat/Decline) 3 sets: 812 reps

Chest Auxiliary Exercise: Dumbbell Incline or Flat Flyes, Cable Flyes, Cable Crossovers

3 sets: 12-15 reps Back

Back Power Exercise 3 sets: 10 reps

Back Auxiliary Exercise: Barbell Bent-Over Rows, T-Bar Rows, Close-Grip Cable Rows, or Dumbbell Rows 3 sets: 812 reps

Back Auxiliary Exercise: Rack Chins, Weighted Pull-Ups, Lat Pull-Downs, or Close-Grip Cable PullDowns 3 sets: 812 reps

SHOULDERS/ARMS HYPERTROPHY
Shoulders

Shoulder Power Exercise 2 sets: 10 reps

Shoulder Auxiliary Exercise: Dumbbell or Cable Lateral Raises, Dumbbell or Cable Rear Raises 3 sets: 812 reps

Arms

Bicep Auxiliary Exercise: EZ Standing Curls or Dumbbell Standing Curls 3 sets: 610 reps

Bicep Auxiliary Exercise: Cable Curls, Preacher Curls, or Dumbbell Concentration Curls 2 sets: 10-15reps

Triceps Auxiliary Exercise: Skullcrushers or Overhead Cable Rope Extensions 3 sets: 610 reps

Triceps Auxiliary Exercise: Cable Press-Downs or Reverse Grip Cable Press-Downs

2 sets: 10-15 reps

You can superset bicep exercises with triceps exercises to cut down on time. LEGS HYPERTROPHY
Quads

Quad Power Exercise 3 sets: 10 reps

Ham Power Exercise 3 sets: 10 reps

Quad Auxiliary Exercise: Leg Extensions 2 sets: 810 reps

Ham Auxiliary Exercise: Leg Curls 2 sets: 810 reps

Calves

Standing Calf Raises or Donkey Calf Raises 3 sets: 812 reps

Seated Calf Raises 2 sets: 6-15 reps

High Rep Workouts

FUSION does calves and abs every training day. Our calf exercises are donkey calf raises, seated calf extensions, or leg press calf raises at 3 sets of 25 reps. We do abs most days at 3 sets of 15 20 reps. Choose a weight that allows you to get 1225 reps. As soon as 15 reps comes easy, its time to raise the weight for set number two! After a couple of weeks on this program, youll find that youre lifting the same weight for 15 reps as you were for 8 reps. Its an unreal feeling!

With this style of training, we utilize a lot of machines. This is more of an advanced training program because as a beginner, you want to focus on the bread-and-butter exercises such as squats. But as youll see, we incorporate these core lifts into this program regularly. Here is a sample routine. Try the following for the complex exercises unless otherwise noted:

Week 1: 2 sets of 620 reps Week 2: 3 sets of 620 reps Week 3: 4 sets of 620 reps Week 4: Repeat Week 1

After an eight-week run, please take a deload/off week, This type of training is very taxing on the central nervous system and can really lead individuals to feel run down after some time. If your body isnt accustomed to training with volume, youre going to be in for the shock of your life. This will be a great program to utilize while coming off a Max-OT or low-volume program. Back

Deadlifts* T-Bar Rows Low Rows Seated Pulldowns to Chest Straight-Bar Cable Pullovers Dumbbell Pullovers Calves of choice3 sets of 15 reps Abs of choice3 sets of 15 reps

Chest

Incline Smith Press* Machine Chest Press Dumbbell Flyes Machine Flyes Cable Crossovers Calves of choice3 sets of 15 reps Abs of choice3 sets of 15 reps

Legs

Leg Extensions (2 warm-up sets) Squats (we use this as a warm-up only, with 2 sets of 15 light reps) Leg-Press Pyramid We start at 4 plates each side for 15 reps and work up to 8 plates each side for 15 reps V-Squats or Hack Squats Leg Curls Lunges (4 sets of 6 reps each leg) Tip-Toe Smith Squat

Calves of choice3 sets of 15 reps Abs of choice3 sets of 15 reps

Shoulders / Traps

Smith Shoulder Press* Smith Behind-Back Shrugs Seated Lateral Raises Alternate Front Raises Machine Shrugs Rear Delt Machine Calves of choice3 sets 15 reps Abs of choice3 sets 15 reps

Arms

EZ-Bar Curls we work up in 10-pound increments from 40 pounds to 80 pounds for 15 reps slow and focused Preacher Curls Skullcrushers Machine Dips Rope Pulley Hammer Curls Reverse-Grip Pressdowns Calves of Choice3 sets of 15 reps Abs of choice3 sets of 15 reps

Day of Dropsets
Every now and then its critical to change up your lifting routine to stimulate new muscle growth and keep your muscle fibers growing. Drastically changing your routine forces your muscles to grow and keeps them from adapting to training. These workouts are designed to force your muscles to recruit every last fiber and test the limits of your nervous system. We all know that the nervous system is responsible for activating muscle fiber contraction and its important to force it to adapt just like our muscles do. Using drop sets, these workouts require you to perform a high volume of repetitions with little rest time. The purpose is to confuse the muscle and force it to adapt to a new style of training. Do not use these workouts on an extended basis. Use them occasionally to change up a particular muscle group, otherwise you run the risk of overtraining. Progress the weight so that you fail on the last rep of each set. Take 90 seconds between sets. After the final set, immediately decrease your final weight by 40 percent and knock out as many repetitions as possible. Concentrate on proper technique and squeezing the muscle as much as possible.

Chest and Triceps

Incline Barbell Press: 3 sets of 68 reps. Flat Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 810 reps. Standing Cable Flyes: 3 sets of 1012 reps. Barbell Cable Pushdowns: 3 sets of 810 reps. Lying Dumbbell Skullcrushers: 2 sets of 1012 reps. Reverse-Grip Cable Extensions: 2 sets of 810 reps. Dumbbell Kickbacks: 2 sets of 10 reps.

Back and Calves

Wide Pull-Ups, weighted if possible: 3 sets of 1012 reps. Barbell Seated Cable Row: 3 sets of 810 reps. Close-Grip Pulldowns: 2 sets of 810 reps. One-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 2 sets of 1012 reps. Seated Calf Raises: 3 sets of 1215 reps. Standing Calf Raises: 3 sets of 810 reps.

Shoulders and Biceps

Side Dumbbell Raises: 3 sets of 1012 reps. Seated Barbell Military Press: 2 sets of 68 reps. Reverse Pec Deck / Rear Delt: 2 sets of 1012 reps. Seated Dumbbell Hammer Raises: 2 sets of 810 reps. Barbell Curl: 2 sets of 810 reps. One-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls: 2 sets of 1012 reps. Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 2 sets of 810 reps.

Legs

Single-Leg Extensions: 2 sets of 1215 reps. Single-Leg Hamstring Curls: 2 sets of 1215 reps. Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 610 reps. Straight Leg Deadlifts: 3 sets of 1012 reps. Barbell Lunges: 2 sets of 1012 reps.