By far the most popular way people have split their routines is with a so-called “A/B” split. The most common of these is a classic “upper-lower” split with the shoulder girdle and arms being hit one day and then the lower body the next session. Some of the biggest advantages of training like this are that you have to most balanced routine as far as training the legs as much as the upper body. Even with the fabulous push/pull/legs split, you still devote only 1/3 of your training to legs. Another thing is that you have the option of hitting each bodypart twice a week should you choose to train 4x a week. Two of the most popular upper-lower splits are Lyle McDonald’s ‘Generic Bulking Routine” and Dante Trudel’s ‘Doggcrapp training“.

Lyle McDonald’s “Generic Bulking Routine” is a classic approach that combines strength with hypertrophy, using compound movements with a moderate overall volume per session and reps that fall in the middle between training for strength and for size. According to McDonald, the routine is “trying to strike a volume between the issues of frequency (for gene expression and protein synthesis), recovery (failure training can burn people out) and progression (I want to see the poundages going up consistently over the cycle). ”

 

Lyle McDonald’s ‘Generic Bulking Routine

 

Thu/Fri the workouts are to be repeated with substitutions for some of the exercises. As far as volume, if you are an older trainer or do not have the recovery, he recommends to cut the volume back to 2-3X6-8 and 1-2X10-12, or consider making this a 3 day a week routine, M/W/F: week 1 (upper Mon+Fri, lower Wed) and week 2 (lower Mon+Fri, upper Wed), thus A-B-A, B-A-B etc. One thing that McDonald argues that makes this routine so effective for both gene expression and protein synthesis is that each muscle group is hit every 5th day, which is optimum. The big advantage that this routine over the one below is that it is a heck of a lot easier on the nervous system and also, the idea of training the biceps with upper body makes more sense than it does in DC training, where he has you do biceps with lower body. Problem with that is that when you add in all the rowing and chins/pulldowns on upper day, and then factor in hitting biceps on legs day, those little bicep muscles get pounded 4x a week. Not good for my epicondylitis!

 

DoggCrapp Training

Dante Trudel’s routine uses a similar split, with some differences, the key ones being extreme fascial stretching and using rest-pause. It is really a program for advanced trainers. Beginners and intermediates will do better on Lyle McDonald’s generic bulking routine. DC training hits each bodypart with more frequency than the average once a week bodypart split, but uses less volume, with only one max set per each exercise.

The key principles of DC training are

• Maximal weights
• Multiple set rest pausing, with 2-3 drop sets on the final, heavy set per bodypart
• Low volume higher frequency, hitting each bodypart every fifth day
• Extreme fascial stretching
• Carb restriction
• Low intensity cardio
• High protein diet with between 1.5 to 2.0 grams per pound of body weight
• Dual factor “blasting” and “cruising” phases

 

Dual factor cycling is also built into the routine with “blast” (intensification for 6-12 weeks) and “cruise” (accumulation for 7-14 days) phases. In the first phase you essentially go all out, which is very hard on the nervous system and then deload for two weeks to allow for recovery. Trudel has you pick three of your best compound exercises for each bodypart and cycle between them through each workout, doing a different one of each of the 3 exercises you’ve chosen per workout. Workout three times a week in A-B-A, B-A-B fashion. The structure of the split is:

 

 

Rest-Pause Training

“Rest-pause” training is a brutal method of training to failure popularized my the late Mike Mentzer 25 years or so ago (FWIW, Mentzer wasn’t the first to speak of rest-pause, Peary Rader talked about rest pause training in one of his Iron Man editorials in the late 40s). it is essentially a way of training beyond failure with weights about 85% 1RM like this

Set 1 x 6 reps
Rack the weight or lockout and rest 15-30 seconds, breathe deeply and slowly
Set 2 x 4 reps
Rack the weight or lockout and rest 15-30 seconds, breathe deeply and slowly
Set 3 x 3 reps

 

Extreme Stretching

After each rest pause set you perform a weighted stretch for each muscle group with resistance for a minute or so, ie, using a heavy dumbbell held behind the head in the bottom position of a dumbbell extension, after doing triceps – or holding a heavy pair of dumbbells in a flye position after hitting chest. It hurts and its brutally effective for recovery and stretching the thick fascia that surrounds the muscle, arguably allowing it more room to grow inside it.

 

For What its Worth

I have made the best gains on these sorts of upper-lower splits, going back and forth between them 4x a week and push-pull-legs 3-4x a week. The routine below is the one that has always worked best for me:

The parameters I use which suit my recovery best at the moment are (not counting warmup sets, which total about 3 progressive ones on each exercise): 2-3X6-8/3′

 

 

Recommended

 

One of the reasons the name Vince Gironda is as popular as ever in bodybuilding articles is that the man had ideas that were truly revolutionary and way ahead of their time. 50 years before Charles Poliquin wrote about “German volume training” and new workout templates such as “FST-7″ appeared on the scene, Vince was advocating the benefits of volume training for maximum hypertrophy.

Vince was known for his unusual training methods. Some of his unique exercises included the bench press to the neck, the sternum chin up (touching the chest to the bar), “drag” curls and sissy squats with what he called a “Burlesque Bump.” His training systems included 15 sets of 4, 3 sets of 12, 6 sets of 6, 10 sets of 10 and 4 exercises in a giant set – one for each “side” of the muscle.  Of all Vince’s techniques, the 8 sets of 8 program was his favorite for the advanced bodybuilder. “I have a definite preference for the 8 X 8 system of sets and reps,” wrote Vince. “I come back to this high intensity “honest workout” more often than any other for maximizing muscle fiber growth in the quickest possible time for the advanced bodybuilder.”

8 sets of 8 might be the most effective set and rep combination ever developed for rapidly building muscle fiber size while simultaneously shedding body fat. Vince called it the “honest workout ” because of the pure muscle fiber size that can be achieved on it. “Keep to 8 X 8 and your muscle fiber will plump out, giving you a solid mass of muscle density as a result,” promised Vince.  8 sets of 8 is so effective that as a 20 year old novice competitive bodybuilder, I was able to gain 17 pounds of muscle drug-free (contest weight from one show to the next) in under nine months using this system. To this day, I still use the 8 sets of 8 system whenever I need a “shock program” to bring up a lagging body part. Vince warned that this set and rep combination is not for beginners: “You have to build up to the stage where you can benefit from this extremely advanced form of training. I doubt if anyone with less than two years of training experience could benefit from this method.”

How it Works

8 sets of 8 is a high volume, fast tempo, size building workout. It is not designed for strength development – it’s purely for bodybuilding or “cosmetic” improvements. 8 sets of 8 will also help you get leaner. The short rest intervals stress the cardiovascular system to the point where calories are burned, the metabolism is stimulated, hormones are stirred up and fat is melted away.  Here’s how it works: You will select three or four exercises per muscle group and perform 8 sets of 8 on each exercise. Yes – that’s 24 to 32 sets per body part! You will work two or three muscle groups per session and rest only 15 to 30 seconds between sets. Each workout will be completed in approximately 45 minutes and never more than 60 minutes.

Although this apparently excessive volume might seem reminiscent of the Steve Michalik and John Defendis “Intensity or Insanity” style of training – it’s NOT the same thing. These are not two or three hour marathon workouts. You are completing this routine in under an hour. The reason this doesn’t constitute overtraining is because you’re not exceeding the workout duration that begins having a negative effect on recovery and anabolic hormones. You are simply overloading the muscles by condensing more training into less time.  Why it works: More work in less time = higher intensity and bigger muscles

Many people are under the impression that the only way to make a muscle larger is to increase the amount of weight you use. This is not true. Overload is an absolute requirement to build muscle, but the overload can come in more ways than one. Progressively adding weight may be one of the best ways to provide an overload, but it’s not the only way. Vince was all in favor of adding weight to the bar, (provided good form was maintained), but he believed that performing more work in less time was a better method of overload. The Iron Guru’s advice: “To acquire larger muscles you must increase the intensity of work done within a given time. This means minimum rest between sets.  Push yourself. I feel workouts should be timed and you should constantly strive to shorten the time it takes to get through your routine. This is another form of progressive resistance, and is more important than raising your weights. This principle of overload explains why sprinters have bigger muscles than distance runners. Although it’s more work to run a mile than it is to run 100 yards, the sprinter is doing more work per second. Consequently, his muscles will become larger.”

Why Use 8 Sets Of 8 Instead Of “Conventional” Training?

The most popular method of training for advanced bodybuilders is to choose between two and four exercises per muscle group and perform three or four sets of 6-12 reps on each exercise. The rest intervals range from 60 seconds to four minutes, depending on the goal. So why bother with such an “outrageous” program as 8 sets of 8?

The answer is because this type of “honest,” high volume, fast tempo training will be a complete shock to your body, especially in the beginning when you are unaccustomed to it. An advanced bodybuilder will adapt to any training program within a matter of months and often within just weeks. Once adaptation occurs, you must seek out new types of stress to coax your muscles into continued growth.  Although Vince did not advocate over-training in any way, shape or form, he did advocate using “muscle confusion” for stimulating gains, even if this meant, “temporarily overtraining.” 8 sets of 8 is simply an unusual and effective method of overload and muscle confusion. Obviously, this program is not intended for constant use. It’s a “shock routine” you can use for brief periods to kick-start a new growth spurt when you need it most. After completing a cycle of 8 sets of 8, you can go back to more conventional methods.

How long should you use 8 sets of 8? As long as it keeps working.  Another advantage of 8 sets of 8 is that it can be used to work around an injury. Heavy training with 5-6 rep maxes is impossible when you’re babying a strain, pull or soft tissue injury. But you can do 8 sets of 8 because you get such an “honest” workout with a fraction of your usual weight.  8 sets of 8 is a fantastic method for pre-contest definition training because 50-60 sets in under an hour is decidedly aerobic. You can easily count each
weight training session as a cardio workout. Fast-metabolism types may not even need any other aerobic work while using 8 sets of 8.

How much rest between sets?

Vince advocated “a very businesslike approach towards tempo.” He said that using the 8 sets of 8 format is not enough to ensure muscle gains. What’s more important is the speed with which you get through the program. “Minimum rest between sets is a must,” said the master. When Vince was training Mohammed Makkawy for the Olympia, he had Mohammed conditioned to the point of doing 8 sets in as little as 5 minutes or less.  Your goal is to reduce your rest intervals to 30 seconds or less, ultimately cutting them down to just 15-20 seconds between each set. Once your conditioning has adjusted to the demands, you’ll need just five to ten deep breaths between each set, then it’s on to the next set. If your tempo on each exercise is 2-0-2-0 (2 second eccentric, no pauses and two second concentric), then each rep will take you four seconds. Eight reps per set means that each set will take you 32 seconds. With a 15-20 second rest interval, 24 sets will take only 18 to 21 minutes to complete and 32 sets will take 25 to 28 minutes to complete.

Tempo tips

The proper tempo combined with the correct resistance is the key to the success of this program. Vince defined optimal tempo as “the evenly spaced sets (time-wise) without any distractions and complete concentration on when to pick up the next weight and do the next set.”  This means no magazine reading, no walking around the gym, no gossiping, no changing the CD in your Walkman, and no – not even going to the bathroom. This program requires 100% total concentration. If you get interrupted or distracted, you might as well pack up your gym bag and go home.  Do not put the dumbbells down between sets. Rest them on your knees, but don’t put them down or re-rack them. Also, don’t release the bar between sets; rack it, but keep your hands on it. If you’re using straps, don’t unwrap them. Stay on the bench or machine until all 8 sets of 8 are completed. Take no rest between body parts. When you finish the last exercise for the first muscle group, move directly into the first exercise for the next muscle group.  By the way, to follow these tempo guidelines means you’ll have to ditch your training partner. This program must be done alone.

How much weight?

Using 15-20 second rest intervals will limit the amount of weight you can use, but that’s ok. Initially, there will be a large drop in your normal training poundages. Most people will need to reduce their normal 8 rep max by about 40% to successfully complete 8 sets with such brief rest intervals. For example, if you normally perform dumbbell flyes with 55 pounds for 8 reps with a 60 – 90 second rest interval, you’re going to have to reduce your weight to about 35 pounds to successfully complete 8 sets of 8 with 15-30 second rest intervals.  You become more conditioned, it will amaze you how much weight you will be able to build back up to while maintaining the short rest interval. Amazingly, you may even get close to your original poundage. At this point, some serious growth will begin to occur.  Proper weight selection is critical. The first workout should be made intentionally easy. If you attempt too much weight too quickly, you won’t be able to complete 8 reps on the last several sets nor will you be allowing room for progression over a period of weeks. Vince cautioned that the same weight for all eight sets is imperative. If you fail on the sixth or seventh rep on the last set or two, that’s fine, but if your reps drop below 8 by your 4th or 5th set, the weight you selected is too heavy.

Intensity: “Training Over your head”

Most of your sets will not be taken to failure, and none of them will be taken beyond failure. On your last set or two of each exercise, it’s normal to fail at the 6th or 7th rep. When you can easily complete a full 8 sets of 8 reps, then increase the weight on the next workout. Although you won’t be reaching failure on most of your sets, make no mistake – this is some of the most difficult training you will ever undertake. Training large muscle groups and doing multi-joint free weight exercises are especially difficult. You will face the burn of local muscle fatigue, the challenge of oxygen debt and the difficulty of maintaining mental concentration.  8 sets of 8 is a test of strength, endurance and mental toughness. Gironda called this “training over your head.” At times, you won’t be sure if you can go on, but once you start, you cannot stop.

How Many Sets & Exercises

As a general rule, Vince suggested limiting your total sets to no more than 12-15 per body part. He said that if you can’t get a workout in 12 sets, you’re not concentrating properly. However, he also said there are certain occasions where this rule could be broken. The 8 sets of 8 program for the advanced bodybuilder is one of them. As far as how many exercises, Vince recommend anywhere from one to four exercises per muscle group, depending on the circumstances. For this particular variation of the program, you will perform 8 sets of 8 reps on two to four exercises per body part.  Generally, you will aim for three or four exercises for large muscle groups and two or three exercises for small muscle groups. This is the way Vince had Makkawy do it when he was training for the Olympia. Vince was quick to point out that Mohammed was a “genetic superior,” and that not everyone can handle this kind volume. The optimal number of exercises and total sets per muscle group will depend on your level of training experience, your tolerance to stress, and your recuperative abilities. The number of exercises per body part will also depend on what type of split routine you choose. The most important factor is to do only as many exercises as you can fit into the 45 minute time limit.

What Type of Split Routine?

Vince advocated different types of split routines for various purposes. Sometimes he had his pupils train as often as six days in a row with each muscle group being worked three times per week! More often, Vince was partial to routines split two or three ways so that each muscle group was trained twice per week.  He advised advanced bodybuilders to use a three-day split with 72 hours of recuperation between maximum-intensity workouts. These days it’s more popular to split a routine four or even five ways. With a four or five day split, each muscle group is worked once every five to seven days.  If Vince were around today, he would surely give me a verbal beating for saying this, but I’ve discovered that 8 sets of 8 works with nearly any split routine whether you work each muscle group once a week or twice a week. The important thing is to adjust your volume so you can observe the tempo and time limit rules. If you have a split routine that works well for you, by all means stay with it.  For example, if you’re on the popular four-day split where you train two days on, one day off, you’ll get great results on 8 sets of 8. With this type of split, you can perform seven or eight exercises for 8 sets of 8 reps and fit it all inside of forty-five minutes.  If you are on a two or three day split as Vince often recommended, you may have time for only one or two exercises per muscle group, each performed for 8 sets of 8. The sample routine I’ve outlined is based on a four day split.

 

Sample Routine:

 

In Conclusion

8 sets of 8 is a little known and very misunderstood program. This is partly because Vince never explained it clearly in great detail- not even in his famous mail order courses.  Even when fully understood, most people will never even attempt this type of training because it seems like too much volume and the weights seem too light to get anything out of it. Too bad for them! The real reason most people never finish a full cycle of 8 sets of 8 is because it’s too damn hard! 8 sets of 8 reps performed in five minutes for a large muscle group can test the grit of the toughest bodybuilder.  You don’t have to agree with all of Vince’s teachings to use this program. It’s natural to resist concepts that are so radical. Vince was quite used to it.  Nearly all of Vince’s ideas met with a certain degree of skepticism initially, yet eventually – sometimes two or three decades later – many of his methods became accepted as standard bodybuilding truths.  When questioned, Vince advised, “If in doubt, try these concepts and try others. Results count. Examine. Test. Then make up your own mind. The secret to success is to believe that the course I give will work and it will.  If you have doubts, you will find it won’t work.”  Regardless of whether you think Vince was the greatest trainer of all time or just a crusty old curmudgeon, I urge you to give this “honest workout” an “honest” try.”

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One of the most enduring types of split routines is the so-called “Push Pull Legs” splits for many good reasons. Functionally, it is a logical way to split one’s muscle groups and physiologically, it might well be the routine that allows for the best recovery as well. When looking at designing any workout routine, one has to keep in mind several things, including consistent overall volume between days, balance between amount of time spent on each bodypart and also the synergy and overlap that the sessions contribute to overall training volume. The push-pull-legs routine is perhaps the most balanced routine out there, as the body is split in terms of type of movement pushing, pulling and leg work – and the muscle groups get an overall benefit from the overlap. For example, when I am pounding out heavy sets of bench presses for five sets, I have been stressing the heck out of my anterior delts and triceps too, so that when it is time to do a both a shoulder and tricep exercise after bench presses, they are lending the overall stress to each other in terms of overlap. It is the most efficient split, in my opinion.

Your body is essentially split into three parts, in terms of “movement”:

1. a) upper body movements that move resistance away from the center of your body
2. b) upper body movements that move resistance towards the center of your body
3. c) movements which target the muscles of the legs

The reasoning behind this is that there is so much overlap in these natural muscle groupings that one can deploy relatively few overall exercises and maintain maximal growth stimulation. And since the legs comprise 1/2 of the body’s musculature, they require at least one day of dedicated training. This overlap creates a “spillover effect” between the muscles involved in the heavy compound movements. After hitting chin and rows, your biceps will already be warmed up and will benefit from the extra stimulation. I have also found that this is the routine that tends to cause the least training injuries.

Training the chest, shoulders and triceps together gives the tendons in your elbows, and the front delts more recovery time than would say splitting them into separate days of the week, where you may find yourself doing triceps or shoulders just 48 hours after a heavy chest workout. Again, same goes for the bicep tendons after all the pulling on back day. Training 3 days a week on this sort of split will achieve better gains than those who split their body into 5 separate parts because of the extra recovery. This version of Push Pull Legs has a twist – it includes “Rest Pause” training as well!

 

The Push Pull Legs Routine:

 

Exercise Selection: Use only the compound, multi-joint movements described above. Heavy bench presses and weighted pullups are in and cable crossovers and concentration curls are out! A simple way to remember this routine: its three days a week, three exercises a day (not counting a touch of accessory movements you want to throw in, one or two after each workout, ie., neck work, rotator cuff, grip work etc.)

The Parameters: As far as sets and reps, a classic “5×5″ protocol ( five “working” sets of five reps, not counting warmups) which has, over the years, proved to be the best middle of the road compromise between hypertrophy and strength is used. The most famous of the 5×5 implementations is the classic Bill Starr 3-day full body routine from 40 years ago. Since then programs like Mark Rippetoe’s, Madcow’s and Stronglifts have also popularized 5×5 routines to pack insane amounts of muscle on trainees in a relatively short period of time. For most people, the Push Pull Legs split should be done 3-4 days a week, and at best on a one on, one off perpetual cycle, thus hitting each muscle group once every five days.

Training a bodypart or muscle group every 5-7 days is the best balance between volume and frequency. (Volume and frequency have an inverse relationship. What I mean by this is that as the overall volume in a given training session goes up, the frequency of the sessions have to be adjusted (lowered) to accommodate for the extra inroad into your recovery ability the increased volume has made. The opposite is true for increasing frequency, as this happens, the volume has to be decreased)

For example, the Push Pull Legs can be done every 3 (to train every bodypart once every 7 days) or by juggling them around by doubling them up on a 4 day rotation (training them once every 5 days) :

 

More thoughts on parameters: If you are an older trainer or have a fair recovery ability, then you could try to adjust the volume of the routine down to 3×5 and work up from there. This might also me something you may have to do from time to time given the amount of external stress factors in your life at a given time, ie., job stress, periods of insomnia, etc.. The main point I am trying to make here is that there are no set-in-stone 100% “right” parameters as far as volume or frequency go, as they are not only individual specific, but also very greatly in the individual over time. There are only generalizations and guidelines when dealing with setting optimum frequency and volume. You could also use the 8×8 parameters of German Volume Training with the Push-Pull-Legs split as well. By using a weight that is around 70-75% of your one rep max for 8 sets of 8 reps. So, if you can bench press 300 pounds for one rep, you would use 225 pounds for that exercise for a full 8×8. This is a killer way to pack on size and give your nervous system time to get a break after a stretch of heavy training. Alternating between 5×5 using 85% 1RM and GVT 8×8 with 70% 1RM for stretches of 6 weeks at a time might be a great idea to keep gains coming year round.

 

Customizing Things: As with frequency, there are no set-in-stone rules about exercise selection other than using compound exercises. if you cannot squat, there is no rule that says you cant use leg press, hack squat or Hammer V-Squats. There have been times where I have been injured and couldn’t do bench press with the bar, so my push day was comprised of either dumbbell bench press or Hammer Strength iso-lateral chest press. The vital thing here is not to add any extra exercises to the template – keep it one compound movement per bodypart. For a trainer with some issues in multiple bodyparts, you could either use all dumbbells or machines if you feel that best suits your situation. Remember – this is not an athletic program or powerlifting routine – the Push-Pull-Legs split is aimed at hypertrophy. The exercise selection used as an example above is a purist, barbell-only approach which might appeal to some folks, but is not for everybody, but that’s ok as the Push-Pull-Legs split is a template, and not a “routine”.

 

Make it even more brutal! – Rest Pause Training: To make this routine extra effective, we are going to employ another old school technique, popularized by Mike Mentzer: “Rest Pause Training” on the last set of every exercise. What rest pause is, in a nutshell is going to near failure on the last rep, then either locking out the weight or racking it, and then taking 3-5 breaths and then cranking out another rep, racking or locking out again for another rest of 3-5 breaths and hitting another rep. This is done 3-4 times after the end of the last straight set on every exercise! Rest pause is what makes another great routine “DC Training” so effective as well.

 

Caveats:

• There is plenty of work per muscle group, do not add anything. I know, you are thinking “why can’t I add incline bench presses or tricep pushdowns”?  Trust me, there is more than enough with the rest pause set at the end of every bodypart. Done right, this is brutal and efficient.
• You also need to add some accessories to the workouts to cover small parts, specifically grip work, neck work, rotator cuff work and core work. 15 minutes of this at the end of the three sessions will suffice.
• After about 6-10 weeks you will plateau if you do not schedule one “deloading” week. Deloading, sometimes called “strategic deconditioning” involves reducing the intensity via reducing load by 25% and not doing the rest pause. The key here is not so much about giving the muscles a break as it is about preventing saturation of the adrenals.
• Change exercises regularly. After the week of deloading, it is a good idea to change the exercises; change from flat to decline bench presses, from barbell to dumbbell shoulder presses, etc.

 

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