But anyway, I'm going to start a program thats called Ripped, Rugged, and Dense. Its basically a 5x5 style program but low-volume, high-intensity, and high-frequency. I'm going to copy and paste the program here:
Quote:
Ripped, Rugged, and Dense 2.0
By Joel Marion
A year and a half ago I made my writers debut with a totally sweet article entitled "Ripped, Rugged, and Dense" touting the benefits of strength training while dieting. Over the course of the last 18 months, I have developed as an author and strength coach and thus my views and philosophies have evolved. While the program I outlined in the original article was effective, the updated routine I'm going to present you with today will leave the former in an obsolete state. See how awesome I am? I made myself obsolete. Anyway, before we get into the program, I want to review a couple of the benefits that can be attributed to the conducting of low rep training while hypocaloric.
Numero Uno: Low rep strength training improves myogenic and neurogenic muscle tone!
Most would agree that the goal of a diet phase is to yield a final product that is not only lean, but also striated and dense. The latter is only obtainable by making positive alterations in muscle tone. There are two major types of muscle tone- myogenic tone or muscle density (2,3,4) and neurogenic tone or simply the tone expressed when movements or muscular contractions occur. Both myogenic and neurogenic muscle tone can be improved upon through the utilization of lower repetition strength training protocols. You see, only heavy training (i.e. less than 6 repetitions) will substantially alter your muscle density through the growth of the contractile proteins myosin and actin (6,7). Since these proteins are by far the densest components of skeletal muscle, causing them to hypertrophy will translate to a denser, harder look, even at rest. Secondly, by repeatedly exposing the body to heavy loads, it is possible to improve your neurogenic muscle tone through the sensitizing of alpha and gamma motor neurons (5).
Numero Dos: Low rep strength training brings about increases in strength (duh!)
It's amazing how many people fail to realize the importance of this seemingly obvious concept. If you come off a diet phase moving more weight than you were previously, you will undoubtedly make more progress when you return to your hypertrophy oriented training.
More weight = more microtrauma = more growth
Many individuals who choose to conduct a high rep, lactic acid training protocol while restricting calories end up losing strength; consequently, when they return to their hypertrophy routines, they are moving less iron than they were before the start of the diet phase.
Less weight = less microtrauma = less growth
Essentially, these individuals end up playing "catch up" for the initial few weeks of their mass gain phase before once again sparking any real progress.
Numero Tres: Low rep strength training is not overly exhausting and taxing to the CNS!
Regardless of how wonderful a given training program is, if you aren't motivated to conduct it, then it's not worth a dime. Performing higher rep, demanding protocols while restricting calories leaves many a trainee feeling tired, run down, and unmotivated. Low volume, low rep training in and of itself is not overly taxing and the program provided later in the article will be even less taxing than the average strength training routine.
Editor's Note: The Spanish words uno, dos, and tres are translated into English as one, two, and three. Oh yeah, and numero means number.
Get with the Program!
The major difference between the below program and the program outlined in the original article is the duration and frequency of the training sessions. That is, with this program, you will decrease the duration of each workout (less than 30 mins) and at the same time increase the frequency of the same (up to six weekly). The reasoning is simple; decreasing the duration of each workout greatly reduces the stress caused to the central nervous system (CNS). Overly long and tiring workouts slam the CNS and even when working out only 3 times weekly, you'll lose motivation and will start to loathe the thought of having to train. When this happens, you lose. You are wasting your time in the gym if you are running on a drained CNS (for more information on the central nervous system and how it relates to your training, see my article Center Your Training). Since the stress resulting from each workout in this program is minimal, you can train more frequently without the symptoms of overtraining arising. More volume and increased motivation- what more could you ask for? So, without further adieu, peep dis ish right heauh, fool!
Day 1 (Chest and Biceps)
A1) 30-degree incline DB Bench Press
A2) Incline Bicep Curl
Day 2 (Quad Dom Legs and Calves)
A1) Narrow Stance Squat
A2) Calve Press in a Leg Press Machine
Day 3 (Back and Triceps)
A1) Pullups
A2) Dips
Day 4 (Hip Dom Legs and Shoulders)
A1) Deadlift
A2) Standing DB Military Press
Day 5 Off
The set/rep scheme for all exercises is 5x5; if you are unfamilar with this type of set up, here is how to perform it:
Your starting weight should be your 5RM. Due to neuromuscular fatigue, you will most likely NOT be able to get 5 reps on your 4th or 5th set. For example, your first bench press workout may look like this:
200 x 5
200 x 5
200 x 5
200 x 4
200 x 3
Stick with the 200lbs and try to improve the total number of reps performed with each workout. Eventually, you will be able to do all 5 sets with 5 reps. Once you can, bump the weight up to 205 and start over (if it were a heavier exercise like the dead or squat, bump the weight up 10lbs as opposed to 5).
Also, never attempt a rep that you can't complete by yourself. A spotter is recommended, but he or she is there for emergency situations only, not to aid in the performing of reps you can't do.
Repeat the 5 day cycle back to back for the duration of the training phase. Also, perform abdominal training outside of the gym once to twice weekly whenever you have some spare time to "destress."
If you are motivated, skip day 5. One time, I hit the gym 21 days in a row using this approach. Strength was up, motivation was up, and that muscle I had before starting my diet phase; yep, it was all still there. I'm telling you, you are going to feel so fresh that you're just going to want to train. You'll look forward to your training sessions-- everytime. Bottom line; you get to train more frequently, make more progress, and feel better than ever while doing it. Now if that aint the bomb ass shite program, then I don't know what is.
The split that I'm going to use is actually exactly the same as the one that Baby Got Back uses, which is:
1- Horizontal Push/Pull (chest and back)
2- Quad Dominant Legs (quads and biceps)
3- Vertical Push/Pull (shoulders and lats)
4- Hamstring Dominant Legs (hamstrings and triceps)
Stats!
23 years old, 5'11.5", 206 lbs., ~8% bodyfat
08-18-2006, 01:40 PM
Ripped, Rugged, and Dense
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