Strength and Physique

"Hey James, I recently tried your bulking for ectomorph program and managed to put size on everywhere except for my arms which failed to grow. Do you suggest I include more direct arm work or cut back on the amount I’m doing already: 4 sets biceps + 4 sets triceps, 3x a week?”

Thanks,
Dan

My Answer: You can still do the pyramid program, but for the arms, substitute the Direct Assault arm specialization program. Done properly this will give you some big guns. Your workouts for the week will look like this:

Monday:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 3 minutes rest.

*The next 2 exercises are an “antagonistic superset.” Perform a bench press, then rest 90 seconds. Perform pulldowns, then rest 90 seconds before going back to bench presses. Repeat for desired repetitions.

B1) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
B2) Pulldowns- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

C)Laterals- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.

D1) Preacher Curls (6 sets) 6 reps, 90 seconds rest
You can use any variation of the preacher curl. Variations include the straight barbell preacher curl, one arm dumbbell preacher curls or reverse grip EZ-bar preacher curls

D2) Lying flat bench triceps extensions with an EZ curl bar (6 sets) 6 reps, 90 seconds rest

Wednesday:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 3 minutes rest.

*The next 2 exercises are an “antagonistic superset.” Perform a bench press, then rest 90 seconds. Perform pulldowns, then rest 90 seconds before going back to bench presses. Repeat for desired repetitions.

B1) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
B2) Pulldowns- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

C)Laterals- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.

D1) Lying to seated dumbbell curls (3 sets) 13-15 reps, no rest
-Perform 6-8 reps of lying flat bench dumbbell curls, then sit up and perform alternating seated dumbbell curls

D2) Feet Elevated Pushups (3 sets) 13-15 reps, 60 seconds rest

Friday:

A) Squats- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 3 minutes rest.

*The next 2 exercises are an “antagonistic superset.” Perform a bench press, then rest 90 seconds. Perform pulldowns, then rest 90 seconds before going back to bench presses. Repeat for desired repetitions.

B1) Bench press- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.
B2) Pulldowns- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 90 seconds rest.

C)Laterals- 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 15 reps; 2 minutes rest.

Saturday:

A) Hammer curls (10 sets) 4 reps, 60 seconds rest
B) Seated overhead half press in power rack (10 sets) 4 reps, 60 seconds rest

“Hi, I have a few questions to ask you: I was trying to figure out what to do to become a cop. I am also trying to figure out what kinda workout I need, so I can get in to good shape.”

-Freddie Ricci

My Answer: I have no idea what your background is physically or lifestyle-wise. Obviously, you should have your life in order before you apply as a peace officer. No outstanding debts, no criminal history, no character flaws.

Now with regards to workouts, I have no idea what to tell you, because you haven’t provided me with your physical background. Everybody starts from a different baseline, so prescibing a universal workout for cops is not something that I do. Nevertheless, check out my article on Strength Training for Cops and my blog posts on the topic. These will give you some direction where you can start asking more specific questions on how to be a cop.

"Hey James, I love your blog. I’m a 33 year old ectomorph whose been lifting off and on for 15 years or so. I’ve found that the normal two bodyparts a workout doesn’t seem to work for me. I make progress slowly. However, I recently purchased a powerbar for pull-ups, pushups and dips, along with a mini bench and 50 lb. dumbells. I’ve been on a Pull-up, Pushup, dip, press (with dumbells) 3 sets each for a month now, and I see good progress.

"I was wondering what you thought about going to the gym and doing an entire body workout: one set each exercise? For example: 10 reps squats, 10 reps bench press, 10 reps lat pulldowns, 10 reps curls, 10 reps close grip presses, 10 reps back rows, 10 deadlifts, etc. Is this overkill 3 days a week? Sorry for the long question, I wanted to give details."

Thanks!
Tay

My Answer: Doing 1 set per exercise three times per week is much better than 3 sets done once a week. You will gain strength quickly the more frequently you train, so what you propose is perfectly fine. This was the way bodybuilders used to train in the very beginning. I go over this history lesson in my book Tactics and Strategies.

In the first quarter of the 20th century, there was no such thing as multiple sets. The training concept of the “set system” hadn’t been invented yet. Everybody did one set per exercise and that was it. A typical bodybuilder’s routine would have consisted of 12 exercises covering the entire body, with only one set per exercise. This full body workout would be performed 3 days a week, every other day.

Despite the limitations of a single set, a wide variety of single set training routines flourished for 40 years prior to the advent of the set system. In my book Tactics and Strategies there’s a chapter that goes over these various single set routines. Single set routines are great for bodybuilders looking to minimize overtraining and yet still develop strength and muscle tone.

Q: "Hey James, how are you doing? I was wondering what would the 10-8-6-15 program look like for a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule? I see that there are 4 different muscle categories of exercises:

A) Squats
B1) Bench Press
B2) Pulldowns
C) Laterals
D1) Incline Dumbell Curls
D2) Close Grip Bench Press

-Musai

My Answer: It’s pretty clear in the article, Musai. The above series of exercises is the workout you perform every time: Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Q: "I just read your article on Pyramid training and the ectomorph. I am a dad that is ‘monitoring’ my son’s workout program. He would probably be what you would call an ectomorph. 5′8", 120lbs, 16yrs old. He is currently working out twice a week with this routine (Monday and Thursday). Doing 8-6-4-10 (70%, 80%, 90%, 60% of his max):

Smith Machine Bench
Tricep "push down" machine
Machine rows
Lat pulldown machine
Curl machine
Shoulder press machine
Squats (seated with free weights)
Leg extension machine
Leg curl machine
Calf raises on the same squat machine
Situps

"Is there anything he is doing wrong or he needs to change? I appreciate your help."

-Dwayne

MyAnswer- Looks fine, but there is one glaring problem with your list of exercises: You have too many of them. 4 sets per exercise with 11 exercises would put you at 44 total sets. Your son would be working out at least 90 minutes to 2 hours. Anything over an hour and 26 sets is overtraining.

Cut some of the exercises out and avoid training redundancy. You’ve chosen all machine exercises, but if your son started out with free weights, then you’d be able to eliminate this redundancy in training. Cut out the leg extensions and leg curls. If your son performs barbell squats, then his thighs should get enough stimulus.

Get rid of the sit-ups for now, as ab work is pretty traumatic for ectomorphs trying to gain muscle and size. Take out the triceps pushdowns and machine curls, since your son’s arms will get enough work from the presses, rows and pulldowns. Your son’s program should look like this:

Smith Machine Bench
Machine rows
Lat pulldown machine
Shoulder press machine
Squats (with free weights)
Calf raises on the same squat machine