Quattro Dynamo Training
The "secret weapon" program
It's time to move on to other sites. This ride is going to be hard and fast. To hell with any preconceived notions of training frequency and recovery. And to hell with all the weight trainers who don't want to reveal their best training programs. I'm going to give you one of my most effective secret weapons: the "Quattro Dynamo" program. This is one of the most intense hypertrophy inducing workout routines I've ever developed. I waited too long before sharing this information with the rest of the world, but it was worth the wait! Here's the mission: induce the most dramatic muscle building stimulus in the shortest time possible. It won't be easy and there are a lot of different parameters that need to be followed, but please read on anyway and I will reward you with the best mass building program you've ever tried. I'm not going to bother writing a concise introduction and I'm not going to link this program to any other story to make it more interesting. That kind of thing is unnecessary. This program is unique and you will quickly see why. We will train each muscle group four times a week for three weeks in a row. You will be sore, sweaty, cursing and possibly bleeding. If that doesn't sound appealing to you, then you should choose a different program where you can sit comfortably on a leg extension machine.
The method behind the madness
The only way to get through a program that involves training each muscle group four times a week is to continually rotate your strength training methods. I've put this program together with an effective progression plan that I've developed over years of trial and error. Be glad you weren't one of my guinea pigs! Instead, enjoy the optimized program described below:
Day 1
The first training session of the week is dedicated to maximum strength training. The reps will be low and the weights will be heavy. Our goal is to recruit the rapidly exhausting, high threshold motor units that have the greatest potential for mass and strength gains.
Day 2
This training session is entirely dedicated to developing endurance strength. Only 24 hours have passed since the last training session, so this method must be as different as possible from the method used the day before. This endurance training session serves two purposes. Firstly, the slow oxidative fibers are recruited as they are still relatively fresh. Secondly, this training session acts as a recovery enhancing training session as blood flow (i.e. nutrient transfer) will be high. This will dramatically speed up recovery.
Day 3
This day should not include any training with weights, just a 15 minute low intensity cardio session. The reason for this is to increase blood flow to all your muscle groups, which will aid the recovery process.
Day 4
This training session is dedicated to hypertrophy/strength training. Here the fast, fatigue-resistant motor units are recruited. As the previous two training sessions have not challenged these motor units, we need to load them in this session for complete muscle growth.
Day 5
This is a rest day where no training with weights is performed. Another 15 minutes of low intensity cardio is recommended.
Day 6
Here comes the explosive strength training! The weights are very light and the speed of movement is lightning fast. This training session will once again recruit the rapidly exhausting motor units. Since the stimulus is drastically different from Day 1, the possibility of overtraining is minimized.
Day 7
Rest, rest and more rest. No training with weights and no cardio. If you want to get physical, find a nice girl to take control and stay tied to the bedposts.
Day 8
Repeat the program starting with day 1.
Parameters
Now let's move on to the parameters. Each training session involves a relatively low volume and the intensity must be kept under control. If you overdo it with the intensity, your overtraining will keep you awake (literally).
Day 1 (maximum strength)
- Sets: 5
- Repetitions: 3
- Rest: 60 seconds between antagonistic supersets
- Weight: 5 RM (keep the extra two reps in reserve so you don't go to muscle failure)
- Tempo: Perform the concentric (lifting) movement quickly; perform the concentric (lowering) movement in a controlled manner.
Day 2 (endurance strength)
- Sets: 2
- Repetitions: 25
- Rest: 90 seconds between antagonistic supersets
- Weight: 27RM
- Pace: Same as day 1
Day 3
- Rest/Cardio
Day 4 (Hypertrophy Strength)
- Sets: 3
- Repetitions: 8
- Rest: 75 seconds between antagonistic supersets
- Weight: 10RM
- Pace: Same as day 1
Day 5
- Rest/Cardio
Day 6 (Explosive Strength)
- Sets: 6
- Repetitions: 3
- Rest: 60 seconds between consecutive sets
- Weight: 18RM
- Pace: As fast as humanly possible while maintaining proper form of exercise execution.
Day 7
- Rest
Exercises
Most of the recommended exercises consist of multi-joint exercises. The reason for this is based on the efficiency of these exercises. You will get the most value for your efforts with multi-joint exercises as multiple muscle groups are worked with a single exercise. If you choose isolation exercises, each training session would last up to 2 hours, which would not be good.
A note of caution before I go into the exercise details: it is not necessarily obvious that all muscle groups are trained four times a week, even if this is the case. For example, the program only includes direct abdominal muscle training in two training sessions per week. This is due to the fact that the other two days work the abdominal muscles indirectly. You should keep this in mind. Let's move on to the order of exercises for each training session:
Day 1
- A1) Squats: Use a high position of the bar on your trapezius. The feet are shoulder-width apart and the toes are pointing straight ahead. The movement is performed over the full range of motion.
- A2) Lying leg curls: The toes point downwards throughout the exercise. Be careful not to lift your hips off the bench.
- B1) Barbell bench press: Use a grip width of around 65 centimetres (65 centimetres between the two index fingers).
- B2) Rowing seated on the cable: Use an overhand grip with a grip width of 65 centimetres.
- C1) Standing barbell curls: Use a grip width of around 45 centimetres (45 centimetres between the two little fingers).
- C2) Tricep presses with an underhand grip: Use an underhand grip with a grip width of 45 centimeters.
If you see pairings of the type A1, A2, this means that you perform a set of exercise A1, pause and then perform a set of exercise A2. Keep alternating between A1 and A2 exercises until you have completed the specified number of sets and then move on to the "B" exercises.
The "Parameters" section above indicates that on day 1 you should perform five sets of three repetitions (5 x 3). So you will perform one set of squats, pause and then do one set of leg curls, after which you pause again. You then repeat the whole thing four more times. Then do the same for the "B" and "C" exercises. Remember that the parameters change every day!
Day 2
- A1) Barbell neck press seated: Use a 65 centimeter wide grip
- A2) Lat pulldown with shoulder-wide grip: Use an approximately 65 centimeter wide underhand grip (65 centimeters between the two little fingers)
- B1) Barbell squats: Use the same position as on day 1, but with raised heels
- B2) Lying leg curls: Use the same technique as day 1.
Don't forget to read the "Parameters" section above. Day 2 is an endurance strength day, so you will perform two sets of 25 repetitions of the exercises above
Day 3
- Training free. Perform 15 minutes of low intensity cardio such as jogging or walking uphill.
Day 4
- A1) Barbell Good Mornings: Keep your back tensed and slightly bent. Bend the torso forward at the hips as far as you can while keeping the back flexed (this will depend on the flexibility of your hamstrings). Do not bend the torso further forward than parallel to the floor.
- A2) Hanging leg raises: Raise your legs while hanging from a bar until they are parallel to the floor.
- B1) 45° dumbbell incline bench press: Use a traditional grip with your palms facing away from your body.
- B2) Rowing upright with dumbbells: Keep your elbows high and lift the dumbbells no higher than your lower chest.
- C1) Reverse barbell curls standing: Use a 45 centimeter wide overhand grip (45 centimeters between the index fingers).
- C2) Lying tricep presses (skull crusher): use a 45 centimeter wide grip. Day 4 is a hypertrophy strength day, which is why you will perform three sets of 8 repetitions.
Day 5
- Training free. Perform 15 minutes of low-intensity cardio training such as jogging or walking uphill.
Day 6
- Explosive lunges: Keep your upper body as vertical as possible. Take a wide step forward and perform alternating repetitions with your right and left leg.
- Explosive sit-ups: Hook your feet and use a traditional sit-up technique.
- Explosive barbell bench press: Use a grip width of 45 centimetres between the index fingers. Do not overstretch your elbows for any repetitions.
- Explosive lat pulldown with underhand grip: Use an underhand grip with a grip width of 45 centimeters (between the little fingers). Let the weight stack rest briefly after each repetition before pulling the bar down explosively.
According to the parameters, day 6 is an explosive strength day, which is why you perform six sets of three explosive repetitions per exercise.
Day 7
- Rest, recovery, recovery! And when you're done, recover some more!
Day 8
- Repeat the program
Program duration
I want you to do this program for 3 weeks in a row. After the third week, rest a full 5 days before moving on to another program. This rest period will allow for more compensation (muscle growth). By the time you start the next program, your recovery ability will have increased significantly.
Sleep
You need to get ten hours of sleep every day - preferably 8 hours during the night and a two-hour nap. The nap can be at any time of the day, but I prefer to start within the first four hours after training to improve recovery.
Calories
Eat everything in sight during these 3 weeks. This is not a fat loss program, so you should go high on the calories. Make sure you consume at least 3.5 grams of protein and 6.5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of lean body mass. Fat intake should be 1.5 grams per kilo of lean body mass.
Water
You must consume at least 60 ml of water per kilogram of lean body mass per day. Adequate water consumption will speed up your recovery, so don't overlook this often neglected nutrient.
Summary
If I'm honest, I could have easily described this program in a three-part article series as there are so many different variables you need to consider. But instead of doing that, I've eliminated the boredom factor and opted to give you only the minimum necessary information. Read this article at least three times before using this program. Even though I have done my best to keep the article short, there are still a number of important aspects that you need to fully understand before you start using this program.
By Chad Waterbury | 01/01/04
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/quattro-dynamo