Hypertrophy Program

[StealthPower]

I've had some great feed back from this program. Lots of people have tried it out and seen great results, even got a couple of competitive bodybuilders trying it out.

Basically in a nut shell its based on progressive loading over a 12 week plan and fatigue. I've modified it a some from the orginal plan to make it a bit more friendly with the intense short rest periods and fatigue accumlation. You all here respect MadCow, he's seen some of this program on alot of other sites and can pretty much back up its effectivness!

Week 1: 3x12
Week 2: 3x10
Week 3: 3x8
Week 4: 4x6
Week 5: 5x5
Week 6: 6x4

* Will do these reps on all lifts.
* Will repeat the cycle after you finish the 6th week.

Lower
Upper
off
Lower
Upper
off
off


Upper Day 1:
- Bench Press
- Close Grip Bench
- Military Press (standing)
- Pendlay Row

Lower Day 1:
- Deadlift
- Front Squat Squat
- Goodmorning
- Barbell Shrugs

Upper Day 2:
- DB Bench
- Incline Bench
- Plate Raise
- Pull-Up w/ weight

Lower Day 2:
- Squats
- SLDL
- Reverse Hyper/or Dimel Deadlifts
- Dumbell Shrugs

Rest Periods- 45-120seconds between sets.


** This is the program, DO NOT SUBTRACT any of the exercises! If you dont know how to do them, learn how to do them! The only reason you should ever pull out any of these during the whole 6 week cycle is if you feel pain doing them. If you dont know the lift I'd suggest doing an alternate pattern with the movement. Basicly rather than progressing with the given rep/set pattern I've showed continue to do:

3x12
3x10
3x8
3x8
3x8

Once you start the cycle over again after the 6th week, you can then continue the same rep/set pattern as the first outline (with the regular lifts) and progress in the lower reps. This will 1. Keep you from getting hurt, 2. Teach your form, and 3. Break the learning chain/curve. Its key that if you dont know anything about the movements that you spend as much time working with them and do as many reps as possible with the given movement. This is where motor skills develop and intra-inter neuromuscular coordination develop w/ the movement.

** Biceps/Abs, Upper day's throw in a bicep exercise if you want. On lower days throw in some Ab work. This is an accesory work, so its not that important. Keep the reps around 3x8-4x6 if you want.


** Once you get a whole meso cycle Wave (12 total weeks) you'll take some low volume work to help recovery. Its key that you dont take ANY time away from the gym.

** During the first few 4 weeks you can add in failure work. Dont do it on all lifts and dont do it on squats, squat variations or deadlifts. Rows, Shrugs, db benching are all ok. Another thing to keep note on is during the WHOLE cycle you want SHORT rest periods. Im talking 45-120 seconds between sets, this comes key when you get to the intensity portion (6x4).
----------

I'd be more than happy to explain why some of the things are like they are. For example short rest periods etc I've spent a great deal research hypertrophy and got lots of cool studies

Here is the Original Program

Kc

 

[psychedout]

Looks somewhat well thought out. I'd keep the number of sets constant the whole way through though @ 3 sets.

The original program calls for 8x3? I dunno, but that seems a little off to me. I know its only for one week though so maybe its alrigh.

Anywho the program looks somewhat similar to HST.

 

[Madcow2]

I'm not an expert on this program but the idea behind increasing the sets is to keep workload up (at least that's my assumption and I'd be pretty stunned if I was way off base). I'm sure the stealthy one will return to clarify though.

If you hold sets constant and lower reps you wind up with much lower workloads. Thinking of HST and 1 set 3x per week you are doing 45 reps with your 15RM during a week and then only 15 reps with your 5RM. For a 500lbs squatter let's throw out 450 for a 5RM and 300 for a 15RM. You wind up with 6750lbs vs. 13500lbs. When knowledgable people look at HST, this is their biggest problem with it in that load really tails down when you keep the sets constant. Granted, this enables a long period of progressive overload (and ensures you don't overly fatigue a novice lifter) but do you really want so much more work at high rep ranges than low. Like I've said before, HST is a good program (in contrast to so much else in BBing and there are a lot of things it does right) but the constant number of sets really stands out and for experienced lifters I don't think many are convinced that this is optimal (but then again, if you burn out the novices your program "sucks" so a cookie cutter has to make concessions somewhere and this is a well thought out placing). I kind of sidestep all of this by telling the novices to take a hike to the base program and gearing the periodized 5x5 for intermediate, telling them to be conservative and not change anything, and putting enough knobs and wheels to allow for heavier loads to satisfy some pretty hefty workloads as an athlete progresses.

Anyway, if you look at Prilepin's table (http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4776937&postcount=387) you can better see that with rising intensity (weight or %1RM) even though the total number of reps is fewer (optimal # reps in 3rd column) and reps per set are down, the number of sets still trends upward (i.e. extrapolate the number of sets you'd have to do to reach the optimal total in the 3rd column from the number of reps per set in the first column). Prilepin isn't the final word on this stuff (although WSB is pretty sold on him) but at a minimum it's a good illustration of the interplay between the factors.

Percent............Reps/Set............Optimal Total............Range
55-65.................3 - 6......................24..................18 - 30
70-75.................3 - 6......................18..................12 - 24
80-85.................2 - 4......................15..................10 - 20
> 90...................1 - 2.......................7...................4 - 10

 

[Guinness5.0]

Looks somewhat well thought out. I'd keep the number of sets constant the whole way through though @ 3 sets.

3 sets of 5 or 3 of 4 would be almost no volume. Gotta keep the volume decent.

EDIT- guess I was a day late and a buck short on this one

 

[StealthPower]

Looks somewhat well thought out. I'd keep the number of sets constant the whole way through though @ 3 sets.

The original program calls for 8x3? I dunno, but that seems a little off to me. I know its only for one week though so maybe its alrigh.

Anywho the program looks somewhat similar to HST.

The sets and reps change to keep the volume stable, there is a slight drop off from the first couple of weeks. Those days are primarly to get the lifts conditioning up.

8x3=3x8, the only difference is the load is heavier with sets of 3 than 8.

Heavy Weight=Tension=Microtrauma= Growth

The problem with this is, you expense the metabolic distress from this. (better known as latic acid training, and some other metabolic things) You get the hormonal and the tension response, but you are left with a very limited metabolic response from it. Here comes the best part with the short rest periods, this helps elevate that part with the fatigue.

So if you ever wonder or question 8-12 reps for hypertrophy, you now have the answer.

Another great thing is, It tricks the lifter to add weight to the bar while still maintaining some of the volume. So for those that are "Strength doesnt matter for hypertrophy training" couldnt be any more wrong.

I changed out the 8x3 for 5x3 or 6x4 for the fact that its a bit more lifter friendly with the short rest periods. Still lots more research to go on the topic however.


Info on short rest periods and metabolic aspects:

The role of metabolites in strength training. II. Short versus long isometric contractions.

Schott J, McCully K, Rutherford OM.

Department of Physiology, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.

The role of intramuscular metabolite changes in the adaptations following isometric strength training was examined by comparing the effect of short, intermittent contractions (IC) and longer, continuous (CC) contractions. In a parallel study, the changes in phosphate metabolites and pH were examined during the two protocols using whole-body nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMRS). Seven subjects trained three time per week for 14 weeks. The right leg was trained using four sets of ten contractions, each lasting 3 s with a 2-s rest period between each contraction and 2 min between each set. The left leg was trained using four 30-s contractions with a 1-min rest period between each. Both protocols involved isometric contractions at 70% of a maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVC). The MVC, length:tension and force:velocity relationships and cross-sectional area (CSA) of each leg were measured before and after training. The increase in isometric strength was significantly greater (P = 0.041) for the CC leg (median 54.7%; P = 0.022) than for IC (31.5%; P = 0.022). There were no significant differences between the two protocols for changes in the length:tension or force:velocity relationships. There were significant increases in muscle CSA for the CC leg only. NMRS demonstrated that the changes in phosphate metabolites and pH were greater for the CC protocol. These findings suggest that factors related to the greater metabolite changes during CC training results in greater increases in isometric strength and muscle CSA.
The role of metabolites in strength training. I. A comparison of eccentric and concentric contractions.

Smith RC, Rutherford OM.

Department of Physiology, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.

This study examined the role of high forces versus metabolic cost in the adaptations following strength training. Ten young, healthy male and female subjects trained one leg using concentric (CL) and the other using eccentric (EL) contractions of the quadriceps muscle for 20 weeks. EL used weights which were 35% higher than those used for CL. Isometric strength, and the length:tension and force:velocity relationship of the muscle were measured before and after training. Muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) was measured near the knee and hip using computed tomography. Increases in isometric strength were greater for CL compared to EL, the difference being significant with the knee at 1.57 rad (90 degrees) [mean (SD), 43.7 (19.6)% vs 22.9 (9.8)%, respectively; P = 0.01]. Increases in isokinetic strength tended to be larger for EL, although the differences were not significant. Significant increases in CSA occurred near the hip for both EL and CL. These results suggest that metabolic cost, and not high forces alone, are involved in the stimuli for muscle hypertrophy and strength gains following high-resistance training.
Effects of low-intensity resistance exercise with short interset rest period on muscular function in middle-aged women.

Takarada Y, Ishii N.

Department of Life Science, College of Arts and Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan. [email protected].

We investigated the effect of low-intensity resistance exercise training on muscular size and strength where the interset rest period was shortened so as to reduce the metabolite clearance. Female subjects (aged 45.4 +/- 9.5 years, n = 10) performed bilateral knee extension exercises in a seated position on an isotonic leg extension machine. The exercise sessions consisted of 3 sets of exercise at a mean intensity of approximately 50% 1RM with an interset rest period of 30 seconds and was performed twice a week for a period of 12 weeks. The strength and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the knee extensors and flexors were examined with an isokinetic dynamometer and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), respectively. The CSAs of the knee extensors and flexors increased by 7.1 +/- 1.6% (p < 0.01, Wilcoxon signed rank test) and 2.5 +/- 1.4% (not significant), respectively. Isometric and isokinetic strengths increased significantly (p < 0.01) at all velocities examined, whereas no significant change was observed in those of knee flexors. These results indicate that a low-intensity resistance exercise with a short interset rest period is substantially effective in inducing muscular hypertrophy and concomitant increase in strength.
Muscular adaptations in response to three different resistance-training regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones.

Campos GE, Luecke TJ, Wendeln HK, Toma K, Hagerman FC, Murray TF, Ragg KE, Ratamess NA, Kraemer WJ, Staron RS.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Irvine Hall, rm 430, Athens, OH 45701, USA.

Thirty-two untrained men [mean (SD) age 22.5 (5.8) years, height 178.3 (7.2) cm, body mass 77.8 (11.9) kg] participated in an 8-week progressive resistance-training program to investigate the "strength-endurance continuum". Subjects were divided into four groups: a low repetition group (Low Rep, n = 9) performing 3-5 repetitions maximum (RM) for four sets of each exercise with 3 min rest between sets and exercises, an intermediate repetition group (Int Rep, n = 11) performing 9-11 RM for three sets with 2 min rest, a high repetition group (High Rep, n = 7) performing 20-28 RM for two sets with 1 min rest, and a non-exercising control group (Con, n = 5). Three exercises (leg press, squat, and knee extension) were performed 2 days/week for the first 4 weeks and 3 days/week for the final 4 weeks. Maximal strength [one repetition maximum, 1RM), local muscular endurance (maximal number of repetitions performed with 60% of 1RM), and various cardiorespiratory parameters (e.g., maximum oxygen consumption, pulmonary ventilation, maximal aerobic power, time to exhaustion) were assessed at the beginning and end of the study. In addition, pre- and post-training muscle biopsy samples were analyzed for fiber-type composition, cross-sectional area, myosin heavy chain (MHC) content, and capillarization. Maximal strength improved significantly more for the Low Rep group compared to the other training groups, and the maximal number of repetitions at 60% 1RM improved the most for the High Rep group. In addition, maximal aerobic power and time to exhaustion significantly increased at the end of the study for only the High Rep group. All three major fiber types (types I, IIA, and IIB) hypertrophied for the Low Rep and Int Rep groups, whereas no significant increases were demonstrated for either the High Rep or Con groups. However, the percentage of type IIB fibers decreased, with a concomitant increase in IIAB fibers for all three resistance-trained groups. These fiber-type conversions were supported by a significant decrease in MHCIIb accompanied by a significant increase in MHCIIa. No significant changes in fiber-type composition were found in the control samples. Although all three training regimens resulted in similar fiber-type transformations (IIB to IIA), the low to intermediate repetition resistance-training programs induced a greater hypertrophic effect compared to the high repetition regimen. The High Rep group, however, appeared better adapted for submaximal, prolonged contractions, with significant increases after training in aerobic power and time to exhaustion. Thus, low and intermediate RM training appears to induce similar muscular adaptations, at least after short-term training in previously untrained subjects. Overall, however, these data demonstrate that both physical performance and the associated physiological adaptations are linked to the intensity and number of repetitions performed, and thus lend support to the "strength-endurance continuum".
Muscular adaptations to combinations of high- and low-intensity resistance exercises.

Goto K, Nagasawa M, Yanagisawa O, Kizuka T, Ishii N, Takamatsu K.

Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

Acute and long-term effects of resistance-training regimens with varied combinations of high- and low-intensity exercises were studied. Acute changes in the serum growth hormone (GH) concentration were initially measured after 3 types of regimens for knee extension exercise: a medium intensity (approximately 10 repetition maximum [RM]) short interset rest period (30 s) with progressively decreasing load ("hypertrophy type"); 5 sets of a high-intensity (90% of 1RM) and low-repetition exercise ("strength type"); and a single set of low-intensity and high-repetition exercise added immediately after the strength-type regimen ("combi-type"). Postexercise increases in serum GH concentration showed a significant regimen dependence: hypertrophy-type > combi-type > strength-type (p < 0.05, n = 8). Next, the long-term effects of periodized training protocols with the above regimens on muscular function were investigated. Male subjects (n = 16) were assigned to either hypertrophy/combi (HC) or hypertrophy/ strength (HS) groups and performed leg press and extension exercises twice a week for 10 weeks. During the first 6 weeks, both groups used the hypertrophy-type regimen to gain muscular size. During the subsequent 4 weeks, HC and HS groups performed combi-type and strength-type regimens, respectively. Muscular strength, endurance, and cross sectional area (CSA) were examined after 2, 6, and 10 weeks. After the initial 6 weeks, no significant difference was seen in the percentage changes of all variables between the groups. After the subsequent 4 weeks, however, 1RM of leg press, maximal isokinetic strength, and muscular endurance of leg extension showed significantly (p < 0.05) larger increases in the HC group than in the HS group. In addition, increases in CSA after this period also tended to be larger in the HC group than in the HS group (p = 0.08). The results suggest that a combination of high- and low-intensity regimens is effective for optimizing the strength adaptation of muscle in a periodized training program.



Kc

 

[Silvertide]

Madcow - A lot of experienced lifters who use HST modify the number of sets in order to keep the absolute load increasing week after week. For example:

Weeks 1-2: 1x15
Weeks 3-4: 2x10
Weeks 5-6: 3x5

This is how I ran HST, and it worked well.

 

[psychedout]

Actually, the more I look at that program, the more I want to do it. When i'm finished my HST cycle this time I might do it.

 

[StealthPower]

Its a must to keep the working load up.

Kc

 

[StealthPower]

Actually, the more I look at that program, the more I want to do it. When i'm finished my HST cycle this time I might do it.

Very cool.. shoot me a pm with a journal if you keep it of this program.

Kc

 

[psychedout]

The one part I disagree with is that taking time completely off from the gym is a waste.

I think one week off after the two 6 week cycles would be a good idea to try and avoid RBE (repeated bout effect).

Pardon my noob question, but what is a pendlay row? Same as dynamic rowing in madcows 5x5?