Thursday, February 7, 2008

Super heavy duty workout to develop lagging body-parts

One of my blog readers had asked me to write a blog on lagging body-part development. Before elaborating the technique, let me point out the common mistakes that people do.

Out of frustration, bodybuilders train their lagging body-parts with double volume compared to other body-parts. In spite of increasing their volume by 200% they add one more similar session to the week. They train the muscle two times a week. They will have a big guy in the gym who gives them the so called “magic advice”. At the end of the first double volume workout they will have a great pump. But they will have only negative progress. And I have seen many of my friends dropping out of bodybuilding just because of this fatal mistake.

The reality:
Let’s face the truth. Let’s think logically and rationally as a bodybuilder. We are not going to the gym to compete in an endurance contest. Most of us have the ambition of a beautiful physique.
A body-part is lagging in development because it is not able to grow at the speed of the other muscles. What does this imply?

The growth process is slow in this particular muscle.

It takes more time to recover in comparison to the other muscles of the body.(the recovery ability is less)

So what is the solution?

Train the muscle less frequently. I have explained the growth process earlier in my blogs but still I will explain in short here. When we workout we dig a hole into the reserves of the muscle cells. When we rest and provide proper nutrition to the muscle we cover up the hole. When we leave adequate time between the next workout we will overcompensate for the upcoming stress on the next workout. But if we train before the muscle fills its reserves and starts overcompensating, if we train the body-part again, we do not grow but we deplete the reserves again. So the reserves never come to full. When we are not able to fill in the complete reserve how will we gain muscle tissue?

For beginners and intermediate a mere set to failure or a pre-exhaust set to failure would do the trick to induce the growth mechanism. The technique that I am going to elaborate is only for advanced bodybuilders who have had 2 years of experience in the gym.( the assumption here is that these bodybuilders execute each rep with perfection and have a good nutrition plan)

Let us consider a muscle as a guideline for the technique. For most of the bodybuilders biceps are god like. So I am going to take bicep muscle as the guide for the technique. Before starting this kind of double heavy duty workouts take 2 complete weeks off from training.

The workout:
As I said earlier I am going to elaborate with the help of biceps. Load the barbell with weights with which you you can do no more than 6 complete reps. Keep it ready. Now do two sets of preacher curls with dumbbells. Do one very light and one moderate heavy set. The whole idea here is to bring some blood into the bicep with some isolation movement.

Now get your concentration fully into your bicep and lift the barbell. Curl the weight for full six reps. It should be really challenging to complete six reps. The reps should be performed in a slow manner. With each rep taking 6-10 seconds. Remember challenges make life more interesting. You have 12 seconds rest now before you continue your program. Immediately after completing 12 seconds of rest grab the barbell again and now complete 5 reps out of the same. I know that it will be more challenging but this ain't any ordinary set. Its gonna shock your muscle to growth. It is going to send a strong impulse to your muscle to grow. So imagine your bicep growing and visualize a 20 inch arm of yours. This should be enough motivation to complete the 5 reps. Now you have an option to rest for 10 seconds. Quickly massage your biceps and make them ready to continue the workout. Now lift the bar again and squeeze another 4 reps. I know that your biceps would have started screaming by now. But remember this is going to give your lagging part the potential to grow and grow more. So complete the 4 reps. Scream, shout , cry and do what so ever you can to withstand the pain and complete 4 reps but don’t cheat your movement. Now you have 8 seconds to rest. Quickly shake your arms to flush out some lactic acid and now grab the bar again and squeeze for another 3. Had bodybuilding been so easy everyone would have been Mr.Olympia. So you have to put your complete effort into the workout. Now you have 6 seconds to rest. I know that by this time lifting your own arm would be a pain, but you have completed 80 % of your workout. So just few more seconds of workout left With that positive attitude pump two more reps. Now you have 4 seconds to rest. Remember “no pain, no gain”, “no guts, no glory” So just Do one more rep and you are done for the day.

That’s all. Your workout is done. Don’t train your bi for the next 10-15 days. And don’t do any kind of weight training the next day.

You will really be amazed with the results after just two workouts.

The nutshell:
Warm-up Preacher curl – 2x10
Barbell curl – 1x6
12 sec rest
1x5
10 sec rest
1x4
8 sec rest
1x3
6 sec rest
1x2
4 sec rest
1x1

The logic:
When you do your normal set, let us say 10 reps. The first rep is the easiest, the second rep is relatively tough and so on. Only the 10the rep is tough enough to stimulate growth. But in the super heavy duty rest pause method explained above, except the first 5 reps all the other reps are growth stimulant and a battle to complete.

Always the result of hard work would be great. So look forward to great muscular development. Don’t over do this training. Do not try to do more than one set of this training, you might end up in hospital. So train optimal.

Choose good compound movements for following the same technique for different muscle groups.

Break through your sticking points of growth and achieve your personal bodybuilding goals. May your dreams come true.

42 comments:

  1. Your workout given above makes lot of sense to me.....too good plan...! But I have started the gym just 3 months before...will that be a good idea to follow this workout...? If no, can you please suggest such good plans for the beginners to grow the muscle size.
    Keep it up the good work.

    -Amol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also please suggest some good workout for growing triceps...

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Amol

    bro i would not recommend this workout for you..

    You can choose two exercises for each body part..

    Will outline your triceps and biceps workout here

    each exercise - 2 warm up- preperation sets

    1- working set to failure

    triceps-
    Lying triceps extension
    parallel bar dips

    biceps-
    alternate dumbbell curls
    preacher curls

    all the best

    you can try this kind workouts after 3 months

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks bro....
    Also could you please tell me whether to do bicep and tricep on the same day? or on different days?
    Also do you have some good weekly plan for workout?
    Currently I am doing following plan and planning to change from this coming Monday, so if you can give me any good plan will follow the same for another 2-3 months.

    My current plan:
    Mon: Bi/tri
    Tue: Shoulder/Back
    Wed: Chest
    Thu: Legs/Abs
    Fri: Bi/Tri again.
    Sat & Sun rest.

    One more thing : I am having B-Protein with Milk right now. Is it sufficient for muscles. Or should I start with WHEY?

    Please suggest.

    THank You,

    Amol

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Amol,

    i would like to give you the following split - it works very well for me and for many of my friends too

    mon - shoulder
    tue - arms
    wed - legs
    thu - chest
    fri - back


    protein is your best weapon for building weapon.. So just try to add a lot of protein in your diet as first priority and drink plenty of water

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi , i m doin workout frm past 84 days and i m still an average guy with just 12" biceps and 38" chest (stretched)
    my schedule is

    day1:chest and tricep(bench press,inclined press,pacdac,dumbell fly,tricep ext,tricep push down , tricep dips)

    day2:lats and biceps(pull ups, lats pull down, ground row,pull over,bar curl,dumbell curl,preacher)

    day3:shoulder and legs(shoulder press ,dumbell press,side raise,upright row,shrugs,leg curl,leg extension,calf raise)

    and this repeats the next three days
    plz tell me if this is okay or i should follow some other schedule , if yes then tell me the schedule, some of my friends told me that single schedule gives more results.plz help
    plz. give me a detailed schedule

    ReplyDelete
  7. Simer,

    Actually you do not need single workout per day schedule but lets have a twist to your training and have more rest between training each part again

    day 1 - chest - triceps

    day 2 - lat - bi

    day 3 - rest

    day 4 - shoulders - abs

    day 5 - legs

    day 6 - rest

    day 7 - repeat cycle

    follow this for couple of weeks and you will really know the difference of having few extra days to recover


    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  8. i m pradeep from Gubarga, Karnataka. 2 months back i joined the gym. I m concentrating much on biceps but no results til now. I do following exercises for biceps.
    1. Barbbell curls 3-10
    2. Incline dumbbell curls 3-10.
    3. Standing alternate biceps curls 3-10
    4. Preacher curls 3-10
    5. concentrating curls 3-10
    trying with light weights but then to no results...... Shall i go for heavy weights n protein supplements???
    any exercises other than these, u would like to prefer???
    Please please help me.......

    ReplyDelete
  9. Also please give some tips n list of triceps exercises....... Which protien supplement u would like to suggest me and of which company?????
    my height is 5ft 10 inch, 64 kgs...
    biceps 13inch.......
    please reply bro.......

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Pradeep,
    Go for compound exercises like close grip bench press, skull crushers kickbacks etc

    check out the how to do of these exercised here - http://workouttube.blogspot.com/2008/06/triceps-exercises.html

    And i suggest you to take all the whey isolate
    checkout the product details here - http://biglee-murali.blogspot.com/2008/07/all-whey-100-whey-protein-isolate.html

    if you mention my code there you will get an extra 5% discount on the product.. And this is the place where you get excellent whey isolate at the cheapest price in india..IT works great for me bro...

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  11. pradeep,
    And regarding biceps exercises
    Go for heavy weights and reduce volume bro

    you wont need more than three exercises of 3-4 sets to work the biceps to growth

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  12. i like this idea but can you suggest me complete full body plan explaining day to day regime, so that i can include it in my workout. currently i am using 2 body parts a day 5 days a week
    wed. -- chest, back
    wed. -- arms
    thurs. -- shoulders
    fri., sat., sunday -- repeat
    i am not doing legs as i had an knee injury other wise i take legs with shoulders. and i am struggling to pack some mass on my arms. please also suggest some good mass gainer
    thank you

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi gur,

    i feel that you are over exerting your body

    train one bodypart per day and train it hard to see great results bro

    - day 1 0 shoulders
    2-arms
    3- legs or rest
    4- chest
    5-back
    6- off
    repeat cycle

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Murali

    I followed your plan on Saturday. It was very tough to complete. (I did with two10kg plates with EZ bar.) At many reps I could not lift the weight, so I used momentum to bounce it up but controlled the negative part. I thought I would give me serious pain afterwards, but it didn’t! Neither am I feeling that tension as not to train my arms for the next 10-15 days. Was there something wrong? I did the bicep routine followed with a similar triceps routine (triceps dips + cable push downs).
    In most cases e.g with chest and especially with legs it happens that I do not get any serious pain on the training day, but the pain intensifies by the second day and becomes maximum at the third day, fading down slowly afterwards. I expected this to happen to my arms this time but it didn’t happen. Did I do anything wrong or is my thinking wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  15. each person is different and responds differently.. But in your case i feel that your poundage was way too less to induce proper damage to the muscles

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  16. and one more thing suraj,

    HIT workouts benefits those who are able to bring in the mind muscle connection to the maximum.. If you miss it - the workout wont give you results.. Thats the reason why most of the people go after th volume stuffs..

    if you can bring in that much intensity and concentration - do it the HIT way - else do the traditional one..

    I myself do not train with HIT for more than 6 weeks in a row.. Cos i am human and my mood swings and i just read my body and change my approach often

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  17. What should be the correct weight to do bicep curls?

    ReplyDelete
  18. @suraj,

    bro if you are training in the high intensity way then

    for eg., lets consider you are gonna curl 8 reps in barbell - take up a weight in which you can complete only 6 with good form
    do your 6 reps slowly and try to sqeese out two extra rep - what ever needs to be done to keep the form correct must be done

    each rep should take a minimum of 2 seconds for positive and 4 secs for negative....


    Try to curl the bars this way and in the next workut you will feel the difference bro

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  19. hi, i joined gym 4 months back, schedule:
    sun: abs + cardio
    mon: chest + tri
    tues: lat + bicep
    wed: shoulder + tri
    thurs: legs
    fri: circuit
    sat: rest
    ma age is 21 and weight is 75 (should i reduce) i have seen improvements in my body but not satisfied, i want to make it more rigrous, painful so i can enjoy it. right nw my gym sessions are around 2 hours in which effectively i'll workout for 50 mnts. can u suggest me alternative schedule and time. also i want to expand my chest and biceps, ny suggestions on that.

    ReplyDelete
  20. hi Vinay,
    i fear that you are not giving enough rest for you triceps to recover

    and 2 hours is not a good timing bro

    it is not the quantity but the quality of the workout that really counts

    so try to make your workouts brief and challenging to see results

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  21. hi murlee,
    is it possible to bulk n cut at same time ?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Saurabh,

    You can not cut and gain at the same time, but you can gain without adding any fat which would give you the feeling of getting cut and gaining at the same time

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  23. hi biglee..
    first of all i would like to appreciate your quick and informative responses to each and everyone and the proper attention delivered by you.
    i would like to share some problems which i had been facing during my training..
    i had been going gym for 6 months. initially my body was growing very well
    my daily diet at tht time was
    12-15 bananas
    2-3 egg mixed with milk
    one or two boiled potatoes
    and my regular lunch and dinner
    but during the last 2 mnths m not getting any weight initially i was 49 i gained 56 in 3 mnths n it has stuck to 58 now after 6 mnths..
    my regular diet now is
    4-5 egg daily
    half liter milk
    2 - 3 boiled potatoes
    what shud i do in this regard?
    one thing more the biggest problem which i had been facing is that my chest is not growing at all. it is as same as it was 5 mnths before only the lower chest is built upto some extent but no improvement in upper chest.
    i had asks several ppl every1 gives me different ideas. i think u r the best person who can suggest me and guide me...plz tell me my chest routine and how many times a week should i do chest?...
    last thing can i nw do the heavy duty set of biceps?..is it ok for me?

    waiting for ur kind and informative reply soon
    hope u wont mind that
    THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE
    CHEERS.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi Auni,

    First of all your body responds like a jet in first three months and growing muscle after it is the real challenge as your body gets used to the stress

    From your words i can fine one thing - your protein intake is not enough... You need at least a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.. So i would recomment you to take about 10-12 egg whites a day with 2-3 yolks split across meals.
    And have a liter of milk and other nuts to provide you adequate protein.

    For continuous growth you have to take a weeks lay off after 8 weeks. So its high time you stop gymming for a week and restart it after a week so that you will start gaining back. (rest = better recovery and more motivation and wrath)

    Regarding chest - train your chest every 5th day. Remember you can kill you chest with 8-10 sets of heavy workouts and dont go after volume but go after intensity....

    Regarding the workou - yeah you can give it a try

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  25. hello
    thnx alot for ur quick response
    so the summary is
    i should take rest for a week and then rejoin..
    secondly i should increase my protein intake..what do u think which one is better ?? boiled eggs aur raw eggs mixed with milk??..and is boiled potatoes good for gaining weight??...
    and regarding my chest plz do me a favor just tell me my chest workout keeping in my mind tht my lower chest has grown up to sum extent bt my upper chest has no improvement..
    my current workout for chest.
    this workout has been suggested by my instructor after having a view of my chest.
    half bench 3 set-10-12 reps 22-26 lbs
    dumble flies inclined 5 set 15 reps 8lbs
    inclined bench 3 set 10-15 reps 26 lbs
    butterfly 3 set 15 reps
    dips(pushups)(after whole workout) 3 set 8-12 reps....
    is my workout okay?? or plz suggest me a workout which wud b very helpful in my chest growth..
    waiting for ur kind reply.
    take carez

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi auni,
    Boiled eggs are safe and hence better.

    REg. chest workout

    5 exercises is too much

    inclined bench press - 4 x 12,10,8,6
    Flat bench dumbbell press - 3 x 10,8,8
    bar dips - 3 x 12

    That is all you need
    keep the weights challenging and you will start growing

    ReplyDelete
  27. hey bro u know that i m rohit and i m asking u for giving a chart for my triceps and biceps

    ReplyDelete
  28. But sir you dint mention the weight?barbel curl:I take 20 kgs...10 kgs each and do 10 rep.....3 sets....10 rep......

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hello,

    How many eggs whites should one consume before and after workout?how many hours before workout and how many hours after workout?pls let us know?

    ReplyDelete
  30. But the exercise are for experienced body builders?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Sunil,

    in your early comments you posted that you like to research and do things, but from your questions i dont see much of research work going on bro.

    Each individual lifts different weights based on their capacity, so reps are indicative,,,,,

    go through the diet related articles and you will know the exact amount of protein you need pre and post workout and via eggs

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hello,

    I have done enough research on whey proteins...but can't able to find about egg whites.....it would be grate if u let us know....plsssss.......amir khan says that he consume 15 eggs.....per day....is it true sir?

    ReplyDelete
  33. 15 is less

    bodybuilders need between 35-60g of protein per meal based on their weight split across 6 -8 meals..

    And one egg white has 3.5 g of protein

    so you can guess how much you need

    ReplyDelete
  34. Sir mine question is .....how many hrs before workout one should consume egg whites and after workouts how many hrs.....let me know about hrs....before and after....plsss

    ReplyDelete
  35. Sunil,

    if you make the effort of reading few blogs in this place before posting the question you might find the answers without even posting a question.. The reason why i publish all that i know on my blog is to help people.. But it hurts when you dont try to read even one of them and want me to answer your question...

    just make effort of reading few posts under article section and you have the answer for your question there


    but still
    pre workout - 1/2 hour before
    post workout - immediate
    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  36. hi bro...
    i came 2 know u thru raygun..one of your many fans...m frm andhra and currently working as a chef for a 5 star hotel in chennai...i am a fitness freak..i love to workout..gimee the gym kes and u will find me working out all the time..i have been working since years but with man intervals..i didnt grow considerable muscle till now..plz suggest me a workout plzn for a week and a supplement.i have neva used a supplement.i have access to all the foods at the hotel.can i jus rely on natural foods..earlier i used to workout for 2 hrs and do cardio..i lost weight and i happy for dat..but i lost my muscle too..i have becum very thin..i have very weak arms now...help me bro.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi chandu,

    you will find a wokrout program called 5 x 5 in my blog and that will absolutely suite you brother...

    and regarding supplement - just go for a basic whey protien supplement and that should work

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  38. Murali,

    Really make sense man. I have a question though. SO what you are saying is just do one set of this and I will be done with my bicep workout for the day or also do 2 or 3 bicep workout along with this.

    2. In 5*5 workout what should be the rest time. between sets. And I noticed we are mainly training legs,chest and back and only 2-3 set of biceps or triceps. does that mean one exercise of 2-3 or can we include 2-3 exercise of 2-3 sets?

    Thank you buddy,

    Harish

    ReplyDelete
  39. Harish,

    Yes bro just one set after 3-4 sets of complete warm up will be it.. IF you make the mind muscle connection to crack the barriers and give it all that you have got... then this one set maximum is all that you need for the muscle...

    5x5
    If you do chest workout - analyze - you lift with the major mover as chest but your shoulders and triceps are secondary movers

    similarly in leg workout - your lower back is secondary mover

    in your back workout your biceps and traps are secondary movers...

    In 5x5 you lift very heavy load and hence 2-3 sets for small muscle groups will make sure that you carry forward a balanced physique and you will pack on slabs of muscle for sure

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thanks bro. I thought so too.
    Really appreciate it. Your blogs are really interesting and I learn something or the other from your blog everyday. Thank a ton for this kind of information.

    Harish

    ReplyDelete
  41. hi murali,
    i am doing workouts from 3 yrs .all my bodyparts are showing good result except arms and legs especially arms ...can u provide me a arm priority workout to increase size..and to increase leg size bodybuilding squat is good or powerlifting squat??

    ReplyDelete
  42. ihtans,

    try this split

    mon - back/biceps(high rep biceps workout)
    tue - chest/triceps (high rep triceps workout)
    wed - off
    thu - shoulder/abs
    fri - triceps/biceps (3 exercise each heavy workout)
    sat - legs
    sun off


    forleg size bb squats is better and to increase lift powerlifting squat is better
    cheers

    ReplyDelete

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