The best damn strength-building plan for natural trainers The training sessions

The training sessions

Now that we know the training split and the training methods, it's time to put this together into a weekly plan:

Monday - Presses/Squats

• Squats
• 2-4 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• 1 1RM set with the given percentage
• (see above for progression)
• Zercher squats
• 2-3 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• 1 rest/pause set with a starting weight of 4-6 reps.
• Dumbbell bench press
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 6-8 reps.
• 1 mTOR set
• Tricep presses on the cable with a rope grip
• 1-2 warm-up sets (6-8 reps)
• 1 myo repetition set starting with a weight with which you can do 6-8 reps - side raises
• 1-2 warm-up sets (6-8 reps)
• 1 Myo reps set

Tuesday - Pulling

• Pendlay rowing
• 2-3 warm-up sets (3 reps)
• Strength technique training: 5 work sets with the load and number of repetitions according to the progression described above
• Romanian deadlift
• 1-3 warm-up sets (5 reps)
• 1 mTOR set
• Pulldown with outstretched arms
• 1-2 warm-up sets (6-8 reps)
• 1 myo repetition set
• Side raise bent forward
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 4-8 reps
• 1 Myo repetition set
• Dumbbell incline bench curls
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set

Wednesday - Press/bench press

• Bench press
• 2-4 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• 1 1RM set with the given percentage
• Floor presses with close grip
• 2-3 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• 1 rest/pause set with a starting weight of 4-6 reps.
• Hackenschmidt squats on the machine (or goblet squats with elevated heels)
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set
• Dumbbell shoulder presses
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set
• French presses (overhead tricep presses with a SZ bar)
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set

Thursday - Pulling/cross lifting

• Deadlift
• 2-3 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• Strength technique training: 5 work sets
• T-bar rowing with supported chest
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 myo repetition set
• Face pulls
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set
• Barbell curls
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 myo reps set

Friday - Press/barbell shoulder press standing

• Barbell shoulder press standing
• 2-4 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• 1 1RM set with the given percentage
• Incline bench press (60 degrees)
• 2-3 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• 1 rest/pause set with a starting weight of 4-6 reps
• Butterflys (or crossover cable pull-ups or flying movements)
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 6-8 reps.
• 1 myo repetition set
• Leg presses
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 6-8 reps.
• 1 Myo repetitions set
• M Presses
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set

Saturday - Pull-ups/clinches

• Pull-ups
• 2-3 warm-up sets of 3 reps.
• Strength technique training: 5 work sets
• Leg curls
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 6-8 reps.
• 1 myo repetition set
• Lat pulldown with underhand grip
• 1-2 warm-up sets of 6-8 reps.
• 1 Myo repetitions set
• Dumbbell shoulder lift
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 5 reps
• 1 mTOR set
• Incline bench hammer curls
• 1-3 warm-up sets of 5 reps.
• 1 mTOR set

Sunday - no training

Level of effort

The best program performed at 80% effort will give you less results than a basic program performed at 100% effort. This is the most important thing to remember. So to get great results you need to use the right level of intensity.

Apart from the strength-technique part of the workouts, the work volume is low: you only do one work set per exercise. Since you can't use volume to stimulate gains, you need to get everything you can out of each set. If you don't manage to perform the work sets to the necessary point, then you won't grow and increase your strength at the pace you could.

The principle here is to do short and brutally hard training sessions. If your workouts are short but not brutal, then you can't expect much in the way of gains.

Here is a description of how far you need to take each of your sets:

Max strength sets (squats, bench press, barbell shoulder press).

The work set for these exercises should be performed at a level of around 9 out of 10 on the perceived exertion scale. This means that you should perform as many technically correct repetitions as you can. If you finish the set, then you must be damn sure that you would have either failed or used poor technique on the next repetition. However, as long as you are relatively sure that you can do one more repetition, then you should do it.

Strength technique sets (rows, deadlifts, pull-ups)

These are the only exercises where you don't push yourself to your limits. You perform more sets to do the work. Think of these sets more as technique training rather than maximum effort training. To make these sets effective in terms of increasing strength and muscle mass, you need to control the eccentric part of the movement by lowering the weight over a period of 2 to 3 seconds. Try to accelerate the weight as much as possible during the concentric (lifting) phase of the movement.

Rest/pause sets (Zecher squats, floor presses with close grip, incline bench press on a steep incline bench)

The same rules apply here as with the maximum strength sets - perform each set to the point where you know you can't do another full repetition. Then pause for 20 seconds before resuming the set to perform more reps.

For everything else (mTOR sets and myo reps) you need to reach the point of muscle failure where you can no longer manage to complete a repetition.

FAQ:

Here are a few questions that are likely to come up:

I can't train 6 days a week. Can I still do this program?

If you can train 4 or 5 days a week, then you can use this program. In this case, you simply rotate the 6 training days in the given order. In this case, it will simply take longer than a week to complete a training week of this program.

If you can only train 3 days a week, then this program is not the best for you as it is based on high frequency training.

Can I do this program during a definition phase?

If we mean the same thing and by definition phase we mean a calorie deficit to lose body fat, then my answer would be "Yes, but..."

To get the most out of a strength or mass plan, you should ideally maintain at least a small calorie surplus. This is especially important if you are natural. You can still build mass and strength if you only eat as many calories as you consume, but your gains will be smaller.

But what if you maintain a calorie deficit? Isn't that ideal for building muscle mass? In the right circumstances, you can build some muscle while maintaining a slight calorie deficit, but even in the best-case scenario, your ability to build muscle will be compromised if you don't consume enough nutrients.

But what about strength? Since strength is built through an increase in muscle mass and an increase in neurological efficiency, it is somewhat easier to build strength than muscle mass in a calorie deficit. However, during a calorie deficit, your strength gains will be less than during a calorie surplus.

Why? Firstly, you won't be able to build as much muscle mass. And if you build less muscle, your strength potential will not increase as much.

Secondly, if you reduce your carbohydrate intake (which is normal in a calorie deficit), you will store less water in the muscle, which reduces leverage. Dehydration or a reduction in water retention can significantly reduce your strength even with the same muscle mass. This is the reason why powerlifters intentionally store water before a competition.

Lastly, reducing your carbohydrate intake can reduce the efficiency of your CNS, as glucose is the primary energy source for your nervous system.

So I would highly recommend using this program if you are maintaining a small calorie surplus if you want to maximize your gains.

Of course, if you want to reduce your body fat, you still need to keep training. And since your recovery ability and your ability to adapt to your training will decrease as you define, no program will produce maximum results if you are trying to get lean. In this respect, this program is just as good as any other training program during a definition phase.

Because of the low volume, you even reduce your potential for overtraining/underrecovery, which usually increases with a reduction in food intake. So you can do this program if you're trying to get lean, but you shouldn't expect your gains to be the same as during a calorie surplus.

Can I add cardio training to this program?

The answer to this question, just like the question about using this program during a definition phase, is "Yes, but...".

Adding a moderate round of cardio (steady intensity or short intervals) should not make the program less efficient. The key word here is "moderate". If you are jogging 60 to 90 minutes a day, there is a good chance that you will not make as much progress as if you only use this program.

30 minutes of cardio training at a consistent intensity or 12 to 15 minutes of interval training 2 to 3 days a week is perfectly fine. However, you should be aware that just like a calorie deficit, this could slow down your gains slightly.

Can I add abdominal or calf workouts to this program?

You can. I personally train my abs with a short but intense approach that fits well with the structure of this program.

Train your abs every day for three weeks and then not at all for 3 weeks. Then train your abs every day again for three weeks and then not at all for three weeks. I usually recommend doing 3 sets of a superset, which includes one ab exercise with added weight and one ab exercise without added weight.

Here is an example:

	Exercise	Sets		Rest
A1	Seated cable crunches	3	8-12
B	Swiss ball crunches	3	8-12	1 min.

Calf training can be performed up to 3 days a week at the end of the day with pressing exercises. The best method is the mTOR repetition method. Perform 2 warm-up sets followed by a set where you give it your all. You can use seated or standing calf raises or donkey calf raises.

Can I repeat the program after completing a 12 week cycle?

Yes, but you should re-test your maximum weight for the 6 heavy exercises so that you can plan the weights for the next cycle. If you decide to start a new cycle, you should also change the hypertrophy exercises and also the heavy support exercises while keeping the main exercises.

A foolproof plan

This style of training will guarantee you significant gains in strength and muscle mass if you apply the necessary intensity. It's foolproof and could change your training paradigm forever. If you're tired of treading water with traditional plans, this could be the answer you've been looking for.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/the-best-damn-strength-plan-for-natural-lifters

By Christian Thibaudeau