Training

No fabric? No problem

I've already written 2 articles about the best damn training plan for natural exercisers and even though users of these programs consistently reported good strength gains, the focus of these programs was on building muscle mass.

But what about maximum strength? That's what this plan is all about. I'll get into the details in a moment, but first I want to review some basics.

What all steroid-free exercisers should know

If you're a steroid-free exerciser, then you've probably tried many advanced training programs and found that they didn't do much for you. Here are a few reasons why this has been the case:

1. the biggest enemy of a steroid-free exerciser is cortisol

This is especially true when cortisol levels are chronically elevated. Cortisol can significantly limit muscle growth by increasing protein/muscle breakdown and reducing protein synthesis. It can also slow growth by increasing myostatin activation.

Myostatin is the gene that limits the amount of muscle you can build. The more it is activated, the less muscle your body will be able to carry around. This means that excessive cortisol levels can limit your muscle growth potential.

2. training volume is what stimulates cortisol release the most

The main function of cortisol during physical activity is to mobilize energy for the training session. The more energy you need, the more cortisol is released. And of course you need more energy if the training volume is higher. The moral of the story? Steroid-free exercisers can't do as much volume as chemically assisted exercisers and expect to grow optimally.

3. steroid-free exercisers cannot artificially increase protein synthesis

They do not benefit from the advantages of anabolic drugs, so their bodies must rely almost exclusively on training sessions (and diet) to stimulate protein synthesis. Under normal circumstances, protein synthesis in a trained muscle is increased for 24 hours after training. After this it drops back to normal.

If a steroid-free exerciser trains a muscle only once a week, muscle growth will be quite slow because the period during which protein synthesis is increased in a muscle is relatively short. A steroid-free exerciser will achieve more muscle growth if he can train a muscle twice or even three times a week.

4. volume and frequency are inversely proportional to each other

The more often you train, the lower the volume per training session should be if you want to build muscle or strength. The basic principles for steroid-free exercisers are therefore the following:

• Train each muscle group more frequently - ideally three times a week - to stimulate protein synthesis more often.
• Keep the volume low to maintain a higher training frequency
• As the number of work sets will be low, you should train harder
• Use different training methods to induce growth through several different mechanisms.

With all this information in mind, it's time to look at the plan.

Weekly breakdown

This plan consists of 6 workouts per week. Each of these workouts includes one heavy exercise:

• Squats
• Bench press
• deadlift
• Barbell shoulder press
• Rowing or pull-ups

Three of these workouts (the squat, bench press and shoulder press workouts) include a heavy assistance exercise, followed by three less strenuous exercises for hypertrophy (muscle growth).

The other three workouts (the deadlift, row or pull-up based workouts) do not include a heavy assistance exercise and instead include three or four less strenuous exercises.

The weekly plan is as follows:

Monday - Press/squats

• Heavy squats
• One squat assistance exercise (heavy)
• One less strenuous exercise for the chest muscles (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the triceps (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the shoulder muscles (hypertrophy)

Tuesday - Pulling

• Heavy rowing
• A less strenuous exercise for the leg flexors (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the latissimus (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the middle back/trapezius (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the biceps (hypertrophy)

Wednesday - Press/bench press

• Heavy bench press
• A heavy support exercise for the bench press
• A less strenuous exercise for the quadriceps (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the shoulder muscles (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the triceps (hypertrophy)

Thursday - Deadlift

• Heavy deadlift
• A less strenuous exercise for the latissimus (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the middle back/trapezius (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the biceps (hypertrophy)

Friday - Press/shoulder press

• Heavy barbell shoulder press
• A heavy support exercise for the shoulder press
• A less strenuous exercise for the chest muscles (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the quadriceps (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the triceps (hypertrophy)

Saturday - Pull-ups

• Heavy pull-ups
• A less strenuous exercise for the hamstrings (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the latissimus (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the middle back/trapezius (hypertrophy)
• A less strenuous exercise for the biceps (hypertrophy)

Sunday - no training

The exercise categories

This plan includes three exercise categories:

1. Exercises focused on heavy weights: Squats, rows, bench presses, deadlifts, barbell shoulder presses, pull-ups. These exercises are trained with heavier training methods.
2. The supporting exercises: Supporting exercises for squats, bench presses and shoulder presses. These exercises are trained using a fairly heavy method, but not as heavy as the exercises in the first category.
3. Hypertrophy training: This requires lighter methods that focus on stimulating muscle growth.

Each of these categories uses several methods, which are described below.

Methods focused on heavy training

This method is based on Jim Wendler. You use a given percentage of your 1RM weight while performing the exercise technically correct. After warming up, you perform a set with as many repetitions as possible.

However, you do not go to muscle failure, but end the set when you know that you will probably not be able to complete the next repetition. The program uses a 3 week wave where you increase the weight by 2.5% each week. Then you lower the weight again and start the next 3 week wave.

• Week 1: 85%
• Week 2: 87.5%
• Week 3: 90%
• Week 4: 87.5%
• Week 5: 90%
• Week 6: 92.5%
• Week 7: 90%
• Week 8: 92.5%
• Week 9: 95%
• Week 10: 92.5%
• Week 11: 95
• Week 12: 97.5%

Note: If you decide to continue with this approach after 12 weeks, you should test your 1 RM weight again and start a new cycle with adjusted weights.

Strength technique training

With this training method, you perform a greater amount of non-maximal work. This is primarily to improve your neurological efficiency. The key here is to ensure that every repetition is perfect. You perform several sets of work with a fairly heavy weight (82.5 to 87.5% of your 1RM weight), finishing each set a few reps before reaching muscle failure. To make these sets effective you focus on technique and try to accelerate the weight as much as possible during the eccentric (lifting) phase of the repetition.

Again, we use a 3 week wave during which the weight is fixed but the volume is changed. After a wave you increase the weight and reduce the volume back to the starting value.

• Week 1: 82.5% 5 x 2
• Week 2: 82.5% 5 x 3
• Week 3: 82.5% 5 x 4
• Week 4: 85% 5 x 2
• Week 5: 85% 5 x 3
• Week 6: 85% 5 x 4
• Week 7: 87.5% 5 x 2
• Week 8: 87.5% 5 x 3
• Week 9: 87.5% 5 x 4
• Week 10: 90% 5 x 2
• Week 11: 90% 5 x 3
• Week 12: 90% 5 x 4

Note: If you decide to continue with this approach after 12 weeks, you should test your 1 RM weight again and start a new cycle with adjusted weights.

When calculating the weight for pull-ups, you must include your body weight in the calculation. If you weigh 90 kilos and your maximum additional weight is 20 kilos, then the weight moved is 110 kilos. If you should use 82.5% of your 1RM weight, then this is 90.75 kilos, which means that you should use a 1.25 kilo disc as additional weight.

If you did not calculate your body weight, then you would calculate 82.5% of 20 kilos, which is 16.5 kilos and would be far too heavy for the prescribed volume.

Supportive training using the rest/pause technique

You perform your work sets with a weight with which you can complete 4 to 6 repetitions. You perform as many technically correct repetitions as possible. Your goal is to perform twice as many repetitions with this weight. To achieve this, you use short rest intervals.

Let's say you do 5 reps on the first round. This means that you should perform 10 total repetitions in your set. After the first 5 reps, rest for 15 seconds. After that, you may be able to do 3 more repetitions. This means that you have to do 2 more repetitions. For this you pause for another 15 seconds, after which you should be able to complete the last two repetitions.

Hypertrophy methods

mTOR sets

The key here is how you perform each repetition. An emphasis on the eccentric (negative) portion of the movement and stretching under load are the types of contractions that will increase mTOR activation the most. In this method you will therefore proceed as follows:

• Lower the weight over a 5 second period while keeping the target muscle contracted as hard as possible the entire time.
• Hold the position of maximum extension/stretch for 2 seconds per repetition
• Perform 6 to 8 repetitions in this way, holding the maximum stretch for as long as possible on the last repetition.
• You will only perform one set using this technique.

Heavy myo repetitions

For maximum muscle fiber exhaustion, use the Myo reps method developed by Borge Fargerly. This is a form of rest/pause training. You perform a set to muscle failure (or almost to muscle failure), followed by as many 3-repetition microsets with 20 seconds rest between microsets as possible.

If you can only manage 2 repetitions in a microset, stop. You can perform between 6 and 20 repetitions in the initial set, but we will use a weight that allows you to perform 6 to 8 repetitions in this program.

Start by performing as many repetitions as you can with this weight, pause for 20 seconds and then perform 3 more repetitions. Continue in this way until you can only do 2 more repetitions. If you can do more than 5 microsets, then you probably didn't get close enough to the point of muscle failure on the initial set.

In the second part of this article we will look at the training split and the remaining aspects of this training program.

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

By Christian Thibaudeau

In Olympic weightlifting, the word "tonnage" is used to describe how much total weight was moved during the training session. We also refer to this as "work volume". Tonnage is important, but when it comes to hypertrophy in a natural bodybuilder, there is an optimal dose.

If a natural bodybuilder overdoes it with volume, he will overload his nervous system or cause his cortisol levels to skyrocket - both of which will stall his gains. However, I have used a system for natural bodybuilders that utilizes high volume.

Before we get to the details, let's take a look at what we're talking about and what our bodies do.

4 types of exercisers

Different people are stimulated by different types of training:

1 - The Volume Type

These are exercisers who naturally prefer to perform a larger number of sets in order to stimulate their muscles. They do not usually push their sets to their limits in order to be able to complete the planned volume. If you are familiar with the various experts, Dr. Mike Israetel, Pat Davidson and John Meadows fall into this category. For them, a gradual increase in volume over time is the primary driver of hypertrophy.

2 - The intensity type

These are exercisers who prefer to do fewer work sets, but give their all on those sets and go to muscle failure (or very close to muscle failure) or beyond. Dr. Scott Stevenson, Dorian Yates and Mike Mentzer are good examples of this.

3 - The load type

These exercisers are mainly concerned with increasing the weight on the bar. We find this type more often among powerlifters or they refer to themselves as powerbuilders. There is a wide range of approaches in this category, ranging from linear progression / progressive overload to the conjugate model. However, these approaches have one thing in common: strength is the primary goal.

4 - The process type

This trainer is all about precision. Perfecting technique, keeping records of everything, analyzing data and a good program that delivers results are the things these people train for. They are all about the details, which doesn't often lead to them getting in their own way by constantly analyzing.

We don't have many of these exercisers among bodybuilders and strength athletes. Sure, many exercisers love to talk shop about technique and data, but it's not their top priority. Note: This type is common among the keyboard heroes on the internet who love to argue about everything and need studies to try something new.

When hypertrophy is the main goal

Among those who are primarily interested in muscle gains, we have primarily the volume and the intensity followers.

The intensity followers tend to literally kill themselves in the gym and they get worse results when they increase volume as they can't dial down their efforts. For them, it's all or nothing. And if they force themselves to go down a gear, they are not satisfied and it kills their motivation.

Volume followers often burn out during a high-intensity program due to the high levels of adrenaline and cortisol these programs produce. They are often unable to achieve the necessary level of intensity to make a low volume program work - and even when it does work, the low volume is unsatisfying and kills their motivation.

Cortisol - the number one enemy

Cortisol is the enemy of the natural bodybuilder trying to get muscular. It can limit muscle growth if its levels are chronically elevated.

• It can make protein breakdown more extensive than protein synthesis.
• It can increase myostatin levels (which inhibits muscle growth).
• It can inhibit the immune system (repair of muscle damage is driven by the immune system ).
• It reduces the transport of nutrients to the muscles

There is a strong link between training volume and cortisol production. One of the functions of cortisol during exercise is to mobilize stored energy so that you have enough fuel for your training session. The higher your training volume, the more energy you need, which means that more cortisol is released.

It's understandable that this is one of the reasons why results will decrease when you reach a certain amount of volume per training session.

But intensity (and load) can also increase cortisol levels. Cortisol is often referred to as the stress hormone, but "readiness hormone" would be more accurate. Basically, the purpose of cortisol is to get you physically and mentally in a state where you are able to fight or flee.

Cortisol mobilizes energy so you don't run out of energy in the middle of a fight, but it also increases mental alertness and focus, blood flow (to carry oxygen to the muscles) and contractile muscle strength. The latter three are directly based on an increase in adrenaline levels. Let's look at this in more detail.

How cortisol increases adrenaline levels

Cortisol increases adrenaline levels by increasing the amount of enzymes responsible for converting noradrenaline into adrenaline (phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase). The more attention and drive a situation requires, the more adrenaline your body will produce, which means that cortisol levels will rise.

In training, this means that the more threatening a set is or the closer you get to the point of muscle failure, the more adrenaline/cortisol will be released. A set to muscle failure will increase adrenaline levels more than a set that you finish 3 to 4 repetitions before reaching muscle failure. A maximal attempt will also result in a sharp increase in adrenaline/cortisol levels.

Volume, intensity (training to muscle failure and beyond) and maximum weights can all increase cortisol levels. Depending on how your brain is wired, one of these will have a stronger effect than the others.

I know people who burn out quickly on high-intensity, low-volume training a la Dorian Yates, but at the same time respond well to and feel comfortable with high-volume training. For many others, it's the other way around.

My "best training program for natural bodybuilders" works amazingly well for those who do well with volume. But what about those who can't handle intensity? Are they doomed?

Volume training for natural bodybuilders

Yes, the higher the volume, the higher the cortisol production. However, other factors are also involved. For example, the perceived exertion (PRE) of a set plays an important role in cortisol production. A set with a very high rate of perceived exertion - a set that feels close to the limit - will increase your cortisol levels more than a set that represents a 6 out of 10 on this scale - a set where you could still entertain yourself on the side.

For this reason, it is possible that 10 sets of 8 repetitions with a perceived exertion of 7 out of 10 will result in a weaker cortisol release than 5 sets of 8 repetitions with a perceived exertion of 9 out of 10. This is especially true when intensity causes a greater release of cortisol than volume.

Excessive volume will be a problem for most natural bodybuilders, but others need more volume to stimulate muscle growth as they release the same amount of cortisol when they push themselves to their limits - even if they perform a lower number of sets. The solution for these exercisers is to keep the perceived effort per set lower when using a higher volume approach.

Higher intensity and lower volume is fine.

Higher volume and lower intensity (lower perceived exertion) is fine.

It is the combination of higher volume and higher intensity that is problematic for natural bodybuilders.

Evaluate the perceived exertion

The key for a natural bodybuilder who is a volume guy is to maintain the right level of perceived exertion. Here's what you should expect from each level:

Rate of perceived exertion in training activities:

• PRE 10: Maximum effort - you couldn't have done more
• PRE 9.5 Near max effort - you couldn't have done more reps, but could have used a little more weight
• PRE 9 Extremely heavy - You could have done one more repetition
• PRE 8 Heavy - You could have done 2 more repetitions
• PRE 7.5 Quite heavy - You could have done 2 or maybe 3 more repetitions
• PRE 7 Challenging - You would have done 3 more repetitions
• PRE 5-6 Comfortable - You would have done 4 to 6 more repetitions
• PRE 1-4 Very easy - It feels like a warm-up

Few exercisers can train at a level of 9.5 to 10 every session - even if they think they can. Most people are fooling themselves if they think they are training to muscle failure. In reality, most only reach a level of 9 when they supposedly reach the point of muscle failure.

Those who can really reach a level of 9.5 to 10 are the ones who respond best to high-intensity, low-volume training - and they are also the ones who burn themselves out even with high-volume training. Why? Even when they shift down a gear, they still train at a level of 8.5 to 9.

How far should you go with your sets if you are a natural bodybuilder and opt for a volume approach? Use a level of 7 to 8 on the perceived exertion scale most of the time, although you can sometimes go as high as 8.5.

I usually use an undulating approach like this:

• Week 1: Level 7 (3 reps in reserve)
• Week 2: Level 7.5 (2 or maybe 3 reps in reserve)
• Week 3: Level 8 (2 reps in reserve)
• Week 4: Level 8.5 (1 or maybe 2 reps in reserve)

This could be followed by an unload week with a perceived exertion of 6 before starting a new cycle. Or you could go straight into a new cycle as this one starts with a perceived exertion of 7. This will reduce the stress response to your work sets and balance out the high volume of work.

How can this work? After all, we don't push ourselves to our limits most of the time. The key is the progression of tonnage.

During each week in the four-week block, you increase the tonnage by performing more reps while using the same weight. In the next block, you increase the weight and reduce the starting reps and work your way up again.

By using the same weight for four weeks, you can significantly reduce mental stress, which helps prevent excessive cortisol production.

Let's take a look at what a three block program might look like;

Example using a percentage of your 1RM:

Note: the percentages are for illustrative purposes only. While they are a useful starting point, the level of perceived exertion is more important than the actual percentage.

Block 1 - 65% of the 1RM

• Week 1: 4 sets of 8, RPE 7
• Week 2: 4 sets of 10, RPE 7.5
• Week 3: 4 sets of 11, RPE 8
• Week 4: 4 sets of 12, RPE 8.5-9

Block 2 - 70-72.5% of the 1RM

• Week 1: 5 sets of 6, RPE 7
• Week 2: 5 sets of 8, RPE 7.5
• Week 3: 5 sets of 9, RPE 8
• Week 4: 5 sets of 10, RPE 8.5-9

Block 3 - 75-77.5% of the 1RM

• Week 1: 7 sets of 4, RPE 7
• Week 2: 7 sets of 6, RPE 7.5
• Week 3: 7 sets of 7, RPE 8
• Week 4: 7 sets of 8, RPE 8.5-9

Unloading week

Example using a specific weight:

Let's look at what tonnage might look like on an exercise. Imagine an exerciser with a 300 pound max weight on the bench press. The progression could look like this:

Block 1 - 195 pounds

• Week 1: 4 sets of 8 (6240 pounds)
• Week 2: 4 sets of 10 (7800 pounds)
• Week 3: 4 sets of 11 (8580 pounds)
• Week 4: 4 sets of 12 (9360 pounds)

Block 2 - 215 pounds

• Week 1: 5 sets of 6 (6450 pounds)
• Week 2: 5 sets of 8 (8600 pounds)
• Week 3: 5 sets of 9 (9675 pounds)
• Week 4: 5 sets of 10 (10750 pounds)

Block 3 - 235 pounds

• Week 1: 7 sets of 4 (6580 pounds)
• Week 2: 7 sets of 6 (9870 pounds)
• Week 3: 7 sets of 7 (11515 pounds)
• Week 4: 7 sets of 8 (13160 pounds)

This was followed by one or 2 unloading weeks with 3 sets of 8-10 reps with a perceived exertion of 6-6.5.

As you can see, there is an increase in tonnage from week to week and from block to block. Even if the sets are not maximal, this will lead to significant adaptation (muscle and strength gains).

How often should you train when using this approach?

For natural bodybuilders, training frequency is more important than for chemically assisted bodybuilders. For naturals, the training session is responsible for 80 to 90% of the increase in protein synthesis that leads to muscle growth. Steroid users have drugs that support them around the clock.

This increase in protein synthesis continues for about 24 to 36 hours after training. So to maximize growth, it's best to train each muscle more often. Natural bodybuilders should aim for three times a week, and twice a week is better than once.

In my original "best training plan for natural bodybuilders" there are 6 training sessions per week and the body is divided into pulling and pushing muscles. So each muscle is trained three times a week.

This works quite well due to the low volume of the training sessions (4 work sets per muscle and a total of 10 to 12 total work sets per training session). However, with a higher volume approach, you will not be able to recover from 6 training sessions per week.

Volume and frequency are inversely proportional to each other, so 3 to 4 days per week is best for this system.

Here are 2 possible splits:

Option A

• Monday: Full body workout
• Tuesday: No training
• Wednesday: Full body training
• Thursday: No training
• Friday: Full body workout
• Saturday: Abdominal muscles / Loaded Carries
• Sunday: No training

Option B

• Monday: Full body workout
• Tuesday: Free workout
• Wednesday: Full body workout
• Thursday: No training
• Friday: Lower body
• Saturday: Upper body
• Sunday: No training

This is a high-frequency approach, as each muscle group is trained three times a week, but the overall frequency is lower. If you still find it difficult to recover, you can reduce the total to 3 training sessions per week and omit the Saturday training session in option A.

The exercises

If you use this approach, the choice of exercises can be a little tricky. On the one hand, we want exercises with a greater range of motion and the capacity to use more weight to achieve a higher tonnage/workload. On the other hand, we don't want too many exercises with excessively high neurological demands.

The best way to achieve this is to perform a neurologically harder session on Monday, a less hard one on Wednesday and a moderate one on Friday (and Saturday if you have chosen option B).

A template could look like this:

Training session 1

• One squat variation
• One hip hinge exercise (NO deadlifts from the floor)
• C1. horizontal press
• C2. horizontal pull
• D1. vertical push
• D2. vertical pull

Training session 2

• A1. Isolation/machine exercise for quadriceps or gluteus
• A2. Isolation/machine exercise for the leg flexors
• B1. Isolation exercise for the chest muscles
• B2. Isolation exercise for the back
• C1. Isolation exercise for the triceps
• C2. Isolation exercise for the biceps

Training session 3

• Quadriceps dominant machine exercise (leg presses, Hackenschidt squats, pendulum squats, etc.)
• Gluteus or leg flexor multi-joint exercise (hip thrust, reverse hyper, glute ham raise, etc.)
• C1. Horizontal press on the machine (bench press on the machine, bench press on the multi press, incline bench press on the multi press, etc.)
• C2. Horizontal rowing on the machine or cable pulley
• D1. Vertical press on the machine
• D2. Vertical pull on the machine or cable pulley

Can I change these exercises from block to block?

A lot of exercisers need variety in their training. And since variety in this approach can't come from the load pattern or the training methods, it has to come from the exercise selection. So can we change the exercises from block to block?

Honestly, the program should work better if you keep using the same exercises (at least on day 1 and ideally on day 3). But this is mainly theoretically true. If you lose motivation after 5 weeks because you're bored, then your training focus will wane and your results will suffer. If you need more variety, then you could indeed achieve better results by making a few changes.

How could I change the exercises?

Need more variety? Here's a quick guide from "theoretically best" to "theoretically worst".

Best

Keep the same exercises for all workouts throughout the 12 weeks of the program.

Good

Keep the same exercises for all workouts except day 2 (easier day) for the entire 12 weeks of the program. Changing the exercises on this day will not make a big difference.

Useful

Keep the same exercises on day 1. You can make any changes you want from block to block on day 2. On day 3 (and 4 if you chose the 4 training day option) you can change the exercises provided you choose an exercise where the range of motion is similar and the load is similar or greater than the previous block.

Not ideal, but it can work if you need a lot of variety

Change the exercises from block to block every day. However, respect the same rules for multi-joint exercises as above: similar range of motion and the same or higher load. Switching from front squats to classic squats, for example, is acceptable.

Bad

Randomly changing exercises from block to block simply because you feel like it. However, regardless of the option you choose (even if you change exercises from session to session) you should ensure that you keep some exercises for the duration of the block.

Volume requires the right training nutrition

The three main reasons for cortisol release during exercise are:

• The need for energy mobilization
• Pushing to the limit on one or more sets
• The use of weights that cause psychological stress or a 'fear response'

Basically, every time you release adrenaline, you need to release cortisol first.

With this volume approach, you rarely reach a point where point 2 and point 3 come into play. The primary driver for cortisol release will be the need to mobilize stored energy to provide sufficient energy for exercise and maintain stable blood glucose levels.

This is the reason why training nutrition is crucial. Even without addressing amino acid transport and uptake by the muscles, carbohydrates before and during exercise are of paramount importance in high-volume training sessions as they reduce the need for mobilization of stored energy.

Theory vs. real life

When it comes to making gains, training hard with razor-sharp focus is most important. And to do this for weeks and months at a time, you need to keep your motivation high. And if your program isn't what you want, then even if it's the absolute best way to train, you'll only get sub-optimal results.

If you are a volume guy, then the theoretically best approach (lower volume, higher intensity, higher frequency) will give you worse results in the long run. But that doesn't make traditional high volume training any better.

This plan is for those who prefer a higher volume of training. It presents a way to do this while minimizing the potential problems. Of course, there is always more than one way to solve a problem. It's always a question of finding out what works best for you.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/the-best-damn-high-volume-workout-plan-for-natties

By Christian Thibaudeau

Improving your body is full of dilemmas:

• To build muscle you need to eat a lot, but that also means you're likely to gain some fat.
• To lose a lot of fat you need to maintain a calorie deficit, which often interferes with your training and can even lead to a loss of strength and muscle.
• Heavy training will make you stronger and more muscular, but it can also (over)strain your joints and tendons.
• You can build muscle by doing lighter workouts that are easier on your nervous system and joints, but you may lose strength in the process.

It's hard to combine the different ways of exercising that you like. And it's even harder to try to eat for the type of workout you're doing or have done.

All of this has led to the development of a nutrition and training approach known as "Primer 52". This approach is similar to the 5/2 fat loss diet for strength athletes, which combines two days of aggressive calorie restriction with 5 days of eating at maintenance calorie levels or with a calorie surplus.

However, Primer 52 goes one step further and focuses on advanced biochemistry principles and a specific combination of training and nutrition. The program is revolutionary in that it allows you to do whatever you want when it comes to reshaping your body - be it gaining muscle mass, losing body fat or both. You eliminate all the dilemmas mentioned above.

Before I get into the specifics of Primer 52, I need to first list the three muscle growth factors that are essential for muscle growth and also explain the value of a calorie deficit and how we can manipulate mTOR and AMPK with ease.

Muscle Growth Factor 1 - You don't need a calorie surplus to build muscle

Yes, you read that right. The "evidence-based" trainers will tell you otherwise, but I have scientific research to back up my statement when I say that you don't need extra calories to build muscle. In fact, a caloric surplus is not one of the main variables when it comes to building muscle. It is only indirectly involved.

A few years ago, Dr. Stuart Phillips and a group of scientists at McMaster University recruited two groups of 20 men. Both groups were put on a diet that prescribed a 40% calorie deficit over a 4 week period. (All meals were provided to closely monitor this deficit).

One group had a daily protein intake of 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight and the other group received approximately double that at 2.4 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Both groups trained with weights 4 days per week and performed sprint training 2 days per week. After 4 weeks, both groups had lost a significant amount of fat (about 3.5 kilograms). The group with the lower protein intake had lost a small amount of muscle, while the group with the high protein intake had actually gained muscle (1).

This clearly shows that protein is the nutritional key to muscle growth and not a calorie surplus.

Muscle growth factor 2 - You need sufficient energy to build muscle

This factor may at first glance sound like it contradicts what I just wrote about not needing a calorie surplus to build muscle, but this is not the case as I will show you in a moment.

To build muscle you need energy. You need 3 kcal to synthesize 1 gram of protein, to be exact. One kilo of muscle contains 220 grams of protein, which means you need at least 660 kcal to produce enough protein for one kilo of muscle.

In reality, this value is much higher due to the daily protein turnover (you are continuously breaking down and building muscle tissue). And the more you train, the higher this turnover will be. Even if the exact figure is not important, it is safe to say that you need at least 1000 kcal to provide energy to build up one kilo of muscle mass.

Again, that sounds like I'm saying you need a calorie surplus to build muscle, but that's not the case. If you need more energy than you have consumed, your body will simply draw on its reserves (stored fat or glycogen). The same applies to muscle building. If you need energy for this process but are in a calorie deficit, your body will use stored energy to accomplish this task.

This is also the reason why the leaner you are, the harder it is to build muscle during a calorie deficit. Fatter people have a lot more reserves and it is not a threat to their survival if this stored energy is used to build muscle.

Muscle growth factor 3 - you need to stimulate protein synthesis

It is sufficient to have enough protein available to build muscle and to have enough energy for this process. If you don't stimulate an increase in the rate of protein synthesis, you won't build muscle.

And this is where the calorie surplus plays a role - even if only indirectly through an increase in insulin levels (which happens when you eat more carbohydrates and protein) and IGF-1 levels (the liver needs insulin and growth hormone to release IGF-1). Increasing insulin levels is important because it both reduces protein breakdown and stimulates protein synthesis by increasing mTOR.

At this point it should be noted that resistance training itself also increases mTOR and can also increase local IGF-1 levels if muscle fatigue/lactate release is high enough, which is why frequency of training can be important if you are trying to build muscle.

If you can release IGF-1 and increase mTOR at the right times, and you have enough protein available, then you can build muscle even when you are not in a calorie surplus. Primer 52 uses mTOR maximization days to stimulate muscle growth, while there are also days when mTOR is kept low in favor of health, fat loss and anti-aging.

The role of calorie deficit in fat loss

There is one thing about fat loss that is 100% correct: you need to be in a state of calorie deficit. This isn't the only thing that matters, but if you're not in a deficit, the other things won't matter.

Yes, insulin sensitivity does matter. The lower your insulin sensitivity, the less likely you are to reduce stored energy (fat) in the hours after a meal.

To lose a kilo of fat you will need a deficit of just over 7000 kcal (2). The typical way to do this is to generate a small/moderate calorie deficit - perhaps 500 to 750 kcal per day - for 7 days.

However, if you generate the same total deficit over fewer days - e.g. two days - then the fat loss will be the same. In the long run, this method could even result in greater fat loss as you will be less likely to reduce the body weight regulating hormone leptin as you are not in a continuous calorie deficit.

This is what Primer 52 does: you generate a high calorie deficit two days per week, you have two days per week where you are in a state of calorie surplus, you have two days where you eat your maintenance calories or where you are in a slight deficit (depending on your goal) and you have one day with a moderate/low deficit. You plan your training accordingly so that it fits in with the way you eat that day.

This is much more elegant than simply reducing your calorie intake. Rather, we manipulate two of the body's key enzymes.

mTOR and AMPK

Both mTOR and AMPK are enzymes that play key physiological roles. They are normally considered antagonists, as AMPK can inhibit the actions of mTOR.

Even though mTOR is normally seen as a positive enzyme when it comes to building muscle, it's not all sunshine and roses. Accelerating cellular growth is great for muscle mass, but excessive mTOR activity can also have negative effects such as accelerated cancer cell growth and premature aging.

AMPK, on the other hand, increases glucose and fatty acid uptake and oxidation when you're in a calorie deficit (and can help you lose fat). It reduces the formation of new fat cells and increases fat loss.

Even more interesting is that a lot of recent research has established a strong link between AMPK and aging. As we get older, we become less responsive to AMPK, which results in the following:

1. Less orderly cell recycling (autophagy)
2. Increased oxidative stress
3. Increased subliminal inflammation
4. Increased fat storage
5. Higher blood sugar levels
6. More frequent occurrence of metabolic syndrome (3)

So we need to manipulate these two enzymes carefully. As for mTOR, we favor its expression when:

• Caloric intake is higher (caloric surplus)
• Carbohydrate intake/insulin levels are higher
• Protein/amino acid intake (especially leucine, valine, isoleucine and glycine) is high - We perform resistance training

In turn, we favor AMPK expression when the circumstances under which we favor mTOR expression are more or less reversed:

• Calorie intake is lower (calorie deficit)
• Energy expenditure is higher
• Carbohydrate/insulin levels are kept lower
• Amino acid intake is kept lower
• You complete a cardio workout

This is very simplified, but precise enough for our purposes. But how do you reconcile muscle building (favoring the mTOR system) with extending lifespan and improving health (favoring the AMPK system)? That's where the Primer 52 system comes in.

Primer 52 Overview

The Primer 52 system includes 3 (or 4) different types of days, each using a different strategy to utilize the enzyme system to your advantage. The type of training you choose is entirely up to you and the same goes for food choices, but there are a few recommendations.

1 - AMPK/fasting days

On these days, the goal is to achieve the highest possible AMPK activity. This will help slow down aging, increase fat oxidation, reduce systemic inflammation and maintain insulin sensitivity.

Diet: This part is quite simple. You fast for at least 24 hours on these days.

For example, you can stop eating at 6pm the day before and have a small protein/fat meal at 8pm on the fasting day itself. While some prefer a 24-hour fast, I prefer to fast until the next morning, which corresponds to a fast of 34 to 36 hours.

On these days, avoid any liquids that contain calories (black coffee is fine). And don't take any protein or amino acid supplements. You can fast until the next morning or have a small protein/fat meal (something like 120 to 180 grams of beef and some green vegetables) in the evening.

Training: No training with weights on these days.

There is no point in exercising if you don't have the amino acids to repair the damage. However, you can do cardio, HIIT, sprints, walking, yoga, flexibility training, etc. Any low intensity activity is fine.

2 - Hypertrophy/mTOR days

On these days, the goal is to maximize hypertrophy and protein synthesis via an increase in mTOR - especially around your training sessions.

Nutrition: These are days with a calorie surplus with high carbohydrate and protein intake (but low fat)

You should maintain a calorie surplus of 15 to 20% on these days (a good starting point would be 40 to 42 kcal per kilogram of body weight), with your protein intake at 2.7 to 3.2 grams per kilogram of body weight and you should consume 80% of your non-protein calories in the form of carbohydrates and 20% in the form of fat.

I recommend that you eat about 50% of your daily carbohydrates around your training sessions, 25% in the evening and the rest spread over the other 2 to 3 meals.

Training: These are typical bodybuilding days

Your repetitions should be between 8 and 15 per set and the number of exercises per training session should be 6 to 8 with 3 to 5 sets per exercise. You can use typical hypertrophy methods such as supersets, descending sets, mechanical descending sets, rest/pause, myo reps, etc.

3 - Strength days

These are the days when we focus on neurological training - i.e. heavier weights. We don't need to activate as much mTOR on these days as we do on hypertrophy days.

Nutrition: Depending on your primary goal, your calorie intake can be somewhere between a small deficit and a small calorie surplus

A good starting point is 33 to 35 kcal per kilogram of body weight with 2.2 to 2.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight and 80% of your non-protein calories in the form of carbohydrates and 20% in the form of fat. The carbohydrates should be consumed in the time window around your workout.

Training: Your training should resemble a powerlifting workout - perhaps 5/3/1 or a conjugate/westside max strength setup

The key is fewer exercises (3 to 5), heavy multi-joint exercises, heavier weights (sets of 1 to 6 reps) and longer rest intervals.

You can use supramaximal methods such as heavy partial repetitions or isometric training. You can also perform heavy loaded carries (farmers walk, zercher carries, weight sled training).

4 - Customizable days

This is not really a fourth type but more like a day where you can choose the type of workout and diet based on your goal:

• If fat loss is your primary goal, then eat a low-carb, high-protein diet with moderate fat intake and perform sprint training.
• If muscle growth is your primary goal, make this day a third mTOR day with hypertrophy training for your weaker muscle groups.
• If strength building is your primary goal, make this a third strength day with low carbohydrate, moderate fat and high protein intake.
• If longevity/health is your primary goal, then perform an energy system combo (sprints, strongman training, cardio, HIIT, etc.) at a calorie deficit with low carbohydrate intake and low to moderate protein intake.

In terms of calories, 27 to 30 kcal per kilogram of body weight with 2 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight and 80% of your remaining calorie intake in the form of fat and 20% in the form of carbohydrates is a good starting point. (The carbohydrates should be consumed during the window around your training). You can adjust your calorie intake depending on your goals.

However, if you make this customizable day a third hypertrophy day, then your diet should be the same as the other hypertrophy days.

Note: You do not have to treat this day as either another strength day or hypertrophy day. Alternatively, you can dedicate this day to what I would call "athletic training", i.e. things like sprints, jumps, throws, Olympic weightlifting drills, etc.

Primer 52: The weekly setup

The days are structured so that each day prepares the body for the next day. For example, the fasting day increases the anabolic response to the high protein, high carbohydrate day that follows the next day. The high-carbohydrate days recharge you and make you stronger for the strength days. And the low-carb/high-fat days make the fasting days more effective in terms of AMPK activation.

A typical week looks like this:

• Sunday: Fasting/cardio (AMPK activation day)
• Monday: Upper body hypertrophy day with high carbohydrate and protein intake and low fat intake (mTOR activation day)
• Tuesday: Lower body strength day with low carbohydrate intake, high protein intake and moderate fat intake
• Wednesday: Fasting/cardio (AMPK activation day)
• Thursday: Lower body hypertrophy day with high carbohydrate and protein intake and low fat intake (mTOR activation day)
• Friday: Upper body strength day with low carbohydrate intake, high protein intake and moderate fat intake
• Saturday: Sprint or Strongman training with low carbohydrate intake and moderate protein and fat intake.

Note: You can also fast on other days (e.g. Tuesday and Saturday), but you should always schedule the hypertrophy days on the following days.

What Primer 52 will do for you

Primer 52 is the easiest way to simultaneously build muscle and lose fat while improving various health markers. What's more, this system also easily forgives you the occasional cheat day (which hopefully falls on a hypertrophy day). Once you get into the rhythm, you'll see that this is the easiest way to get everything you want in terms of body development.

References

1. Thomas M Longland, Sara Y Oikawa, Cameron J Mitchell, Michaela C Devries, and Stuart M Phillips. "Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss: a randomized trial." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2016.
2. Kevin D. Hall, Steven B. Heymsfield, Joseph W. Kemnitz, Samuel Klein, Dale A. Schoeller, and John R. Speakman, "Energy balance and its components: implications for body weight regulation," Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Apr; 95(4): 989-994.
3. Antero Salminen Kai Kaarniranta. "AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) controls the aging process via an integrated signaling network. Ageing Research Reviews Volume 11, Issue 2, April 2012, Pages 230-241.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/primer-52-the-program

by Christian Thibaudeau