Big Weight for Big Results

What is up everybody? Today on Training Thursdays I am going to talk about a routine I added to my weight training at the gym. For the last 4 months I have been using the Push/Pull method and it has worked very well, but I decided to try something different that would give me bigger results. So far, it is working.

A couple weeks ago I read some posts by Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was on Reddit. Some guy was mentioning doing a workout that consisted of mostly bar workouts. Arnold said it was great but to add some isolation exercises on different days. This got me thinking and experimenting. I decided to go with this plan of attack:

Day 1 - Monday - Bar/Heavy Weight Day 
On this day, I focus on going as heavy as I can doing the appropriate amount of reps and sets.

• Bar Bench Press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - use about 70% of what your max bench press is
• Lat Pull Down, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - remember to pull down to your chest, not your back.
• Incline Bar Bench Press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - I would go 20-30 lbs lighter than what you benched normally.
• Seated Row, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - try for same weight as lat pulldown
• Decline Bar Bench Press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - use same weight as incline
• Bar Bicep Curls, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - use half the weight of seated row
• Tricep Dips, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - use either the machine or a bench 

Day 2 - Wednesday - Isolation Day 
On this day, I focus on making my body symmetrical. If I feel like my left arm is getting more of a workout using the bars, then I will add a few more reps to my right arm during isolation day. Eventually your body will learn to distribute power evenly and extra reps won't be necessary.

• Dumbbell Bench Press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - try to do same weight as bar bench press
• Dumbbell Bicep Curls, 3 sets of 8-10 reps -you can also opt to do 3 sets of 21's (I described this in an earlier post)
• Tricep Pull Down, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - it doesn't really matter what extension you use, I like to change it up every time.
• Cable Crossover, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - use around the same weight you curl each arm with.
• One Arm Lat Pull Down, 3 sets of 8-10 reps - do one arm at a time to isolate
• One Arm Row - 3 sets of 8-10 reps - same weight as pull down
• One Arm Dumbbell Tricep Extension - same weight as curls

On Friday I would do leg day, which I added bar squats to, and days in between I do most of my cardio. So far I have done this for 2 weeks and I can already see a huge difference in my muscle formation in my upper body. Each time Bar/Heavy Weight day comes I try to add 10-15 lbs on each exercise.

I think this works better because I am using heavier weight with the bars then I was when I did a lot of dumbbell and machine work only. Dumbbells are still perfect for isolation day. If you are trying to beef up like I am, go ahead and try this out next week. Let me know if you see an improvement in your strength.