Maximum Muscle Growth

Supplemental Information and Exercise Guide

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Resistance and Effort Evaluation
Since monitoring is so important to success, we must have a simple, yet
effective method for rating effort. This allows you to determine the proper
resistance to use when beginning the training program, and also to know at
what point you need to increase the resistance for continued progress. True for
both aerobic exercise and resistance training, this provides a framework for an
exercise prescription.

In the early 1960’s, Dr. Gunnar Borg from the University of Stockholm in
Sweden, developed the idea of a scale for rating the trainee’s sense of how hard
an exercise was to perform. He called this the “perceived exertion scale.” He
designed the scale so that scientists, practitioners of the health sciences, and
individuals could simply, yet accurately, and without the aid of sophisticated
equipment check how hard an exercise was so that the proper level of effort for
each person could be determined.

Perceived exertion is a description (or rating) of your effort during

exercise. It’s a measure of how hard you think the exercise is for you. Your
brain can tell how hard you are breathing or how hard you are straining to lift a
weight and it processes those feelings of effort that you have during your
exercise.

When you say that an exercise is hard, then you are verbally stating your
perception of the effort you made. The good thing about this is that we can use
a scale to measure exactly how hard you think the exercise is for you. This
scale is then used to pick the correct resistance or weight to use to get good
results.

Perceived Exertion Rating Scale

The scale has numbers from 0 – 10, with 0 being the “no effort” level and
10 representing the “very, very hard” level. Most of the numbers have word
labels that are easy to understand. The layout of the scale is as follows.

0 No effort at all
1 Very, very light (just noticeable)
2 Very light
3 Light
4 Moderate
5 Somewhat hard
6 Hard (heavy)
 7
8 Very hard
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10 Very, very hard (almost maximal)

When using the scale, you can rate effort by decimals, that is, 3.5 or 5.5.
As you can see, 10 is listed as almost maximal. Therefore, you can rate a 10.5
or 11 if the effort you just made was the hardest you’ve ever done.

Exercise Programs

It’s finally time to get into the exercise programs. You’re well-armed with
the required background about the underlying principles of resistance training.
Now, let’s lay out some exercises and programs.

The key feature to the at-home program is its simplicity and the low cost
of acquiring the necessary equipment.

The basic barbell program includes 2 different groups of 10 exercises

each: the basic and advanced programs. After using the basic program for a
month or two, you can begin to use the exercises in the advanced program.
Then intermingle exercises from both programs.

If you purchase additional pieces of gym equipment, you can use many
different exercises, particularly for the sake of adding variety to your program.
But remember, this is neither necessary nor required to achieve excellent
results. The use of the basic barbell exercises will completely meet your needs.
This section will describe the two, ten-exercise workouts, and also provide
different ways to use the same exercises by varying repetition number and rest
periods. You choose the level of effort (RPE scale) that you want to work at.
You’re always choosing so that you can meet your goals. Your body responds, it
has specific patterns of adaptation, and since you now know them, you can
push your body in whatever direction you want. The key is to ask it to respond
in the only ways that it can. Don’t work at odds to it, but mold it as it wants to
go. The limitations are its ultimate genetic limits and how much effort you are
willing to invest.

Exercise Training Style

Before defining some of the specific exercises, let’s review some of the
different “ideas” that exist in the marketplace about exercise training styles. It’s

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important to have a perspective about what people think about exercise styles
because you’ll often hear that one exercise style is “better” than another, or
another. You must understand, however, that many things “work.” If one
applies the principles I’ve taught, he can use many tools and many styles of
training to achieve his desired results.

There are as many notions about what exercises to do, types of training
patterns to use, and types of equipment to use as there are people who train.
Each thinks his own method is the best, and will gladly tell you so. There are
always new-day, popular ideas sprouting-up about the best types of exercise
to do, and a dogma often arises that the “new” plans lead to better results than
the old plans.

The very nature of being involved in training is that something new and
better than the old ways must always surface, trainees believe, because the best
can’t already be here. Then the new beliefs, useless and false as they are, are
always “grabbed-up” and “trumpeted” by some group and become the new
mantra of training as if to say that following the new methods will lead to
unparalleled improvements in training results, outstripping those results
provided by the “old” plan.

This is what happened to me many times over the years. My greatest

blunder occurred when I adopted the High Intensity, single set, “training-to-
failure” philosophy espoused by Arthur Jones, the inventor of the Nautilus
machines. What a waste that was, and it took six or so years until I figured that
it didn’t work very well. I, however, was very good at deluding myself, as are
many today, about the efficacy of various training (and dietary) regimens.
Amazingly, we’ve really known what is effective for improving strength and
physique for more than 2,700 years, and nothing dramatically more effective
has emerged during the millennia, despite what many say.

Isolated movements, for example, some self-appointed experts say, are

always a second choice to the use of integrated techniques involving larger
muscle groups and multiple joints. Their statements notwithstanding, however,
don’t invalidate the use of isolated movements. Many things work and one must
decide what he wants to do to meet his goals.

Trainers endlessly speculate about what’s the best thing to do as if there

is such a thing. The speculating is pretty much a waste of time because so
many things work well. We know, for example, that training one time every six
weeks isn’t as productive as training three times a week, although, believe it or
not, there’s a camp that says that very infrequent training is the ideal. But to
knowledgeable trainers, some issues are resolved and we know what works well
and what doesn’t work too well. Unfortunately, the myriads of ideas that
constantly pop-up cannot be resolved through the on-going, never-ending
speculations spewing out of the mouths of trainers/trainees and printed on the
pages of muscle and fitness magazines.

Another popular training concept is Functional strength training, meaning

training so that one can use his new-found strength in performing real-life
tasks. This is a good notion too, except that Functional improvements are not
limited to any one style of training as the proponents of that one style would
have us believe. A large number of training methods will lead to Functional
improvements.

Guys who champion this type of training like to diss bodybuilders as

having no Functional strength, claiming that they possess only showy muscles
that cannot perform well. This is all so much nonsense and only serves to help
one guy justify what he does as “better” than what the other guy does, a sort of
insider “puffing-up” that suggests he knows more than the other guy, or is
privy to special secrets not possessed by the other. It’s simply an effort to put-
down the other guy while one tries to inflate his own ego that he’s the most
knowledgeable and that he, and he alone, was bright enough to pick the “best”
style of training. Again, it’s all a waste of time and I’m as guilty as any in my
own life for having participated in these dialogues.

An outgrowth of the Functional movement has been an interest in what is

called “wiry strength.” This is increases in strength without increases in muscle
size. The Functional guys seem to have some obsessive need to avoid getting
bigger while getting stronger. They feel that they need to have a small body so
they can jump over fences or perform other types of whole body movement
activities, believing that any increased body mass will limit their “functional
performance.”

They also talk about weight to strength ratios, wanting the most strength
with the least bodyweight. A consequence of this belief is the pursuit of
bodyweight-only exercises. And naturally, these trainees begin to argue that
bodyweight-only training is the most effective. Having no real background in
training, they don’t know that weight training was the child of gymnastics. Early
on, it became very clear to trainees in gymnastics that bodyweight training
couldn’t match the results arising from the use of added-resistance training.
This understanding is what led to the development of the barbell as a more
effective tool for muscle building which, in turn, led to the development of the
sophisticated machines in the marketplace today. What do they say, “History
always repeats itself?”

Often these types of people (believers in Functional strength, wiry

strength, and bodyweight training) populate the martial arts, armed services,

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and other fighting training styles. They often berate bodybuilders as having
“showy,” “non-functional” muscles. All of this is so much hubris and an attempt
to gain “moral superiority” and a sense of possessing an intellectual “know-it-
all-ism.” None of it has any basis in scientific fact and is nothing more than
speculative street talk.

Power lifters, Olympic lifters, and other power athletes also occupy this
realm as they practice to lift the heaviest weights possible for one repetition,
somehow equating this so-called one-lift strength as the best strength to have,
Functional strength as they say. They defend their position by stating how
much stronger they are than bodybuilders, who possess showy, functionless
muscles.

But are they? No, the bodybuilders are far more functional because their
intense, volume-loaded exercise training programs have stimulated a far larger
mass of their whole muscle because that type of training demands the use of a
wider array of fiber types and, also, the development of the metabolic
machinery to hold and deliver more fuel to the muscle to perform the greater
volume of work. They are now able to use that functional muscle to help them
perform the varied physical tasks that arise in daily life.

The power lifters only have to develop contractile force to lift the most
weight and need to develop only the contractile machinery of the fiber, with
that type of training reducing the total demands made upon a muscle that are
realized by bodybuilding-style training.

As we’ve learned, in the early stages of training, most of the increase in

strength arises because of improved nerve/muscle interaction. There’s no
muscle growth. In the intermediate and advanced stages of training, there’s
little further improvement in the neural component and, therefore, further
increases in strength arise solely because of increases in muscle mass
(hypertrophy).

How is it then that our “wiry strength” performers become “stronger”

without ever growing after the nerve/muscle phase of the strength increase
ceases? That’s a simple answer. They constantly change their exercise
programs, using different combinations of exercises, sets, repetitions,
contraction/rest pauses, etc. Each new workout is like starting from scratch.
Only slight changes in any of these parameters make the exercise “new.”
Because of these changes in routines, the muscle/nerve firing pattern changes.
So, at the end of the year, the trainee “perceives” that he has continued to
increase in strength because he has gotten “stronger” on so many occasions
when changing his program and he blurts out to all who will listen about his
new mantra of “strength-without-getting-bigger” (his wiry strength). And, of
course, his new strength is Functional strength, ready to be applied to many of
life’s activities, whereas, in his view, all other training modalities are useless in
this regard. In some strange way, he believes that his ability to lift a lot of
weight in an exercise, one time, is somehow Functional. If he went back and
performed the same exercise in which he had been training for say three
months at the beginning of the year, he would discover that he was, in fact, no
stronger because he did not get any bigger, a requirement for continued
increases in strength.

And, anyway, how often in life do we have to lift as much weight as

possible for two seconds? And the poor besieged bodybuilder, that the “wiry
strength trainer” so disdains for some unknown reason, who can lift less weight
more times, lasting longer before tiring, is considered to be non-Functional. All
of these ideas, of course, are supported by his “scientific” interpretations
because he couldn’t possibly hold this position if it wasn’t “scientifically
explained.” He can’t just train the way he wants to train simply because that’s
what he wants to do and let it go at that and let the other guy train as he wants.
The way he trains MUST be the better way than the way someone else trains and
MUST be justified as such.

For me, bodybuilding type training is the most Functional because it

involves more of the muscle’s total functionality, its Spectrum. It allows one to
look good, feel good, and it’s a healthy form of training because it gets the
blood flowing, and burns calories, and it’s the safest method.

So remember, there are many training plans that are good and variation
is still the number one factor to use in designing a training program.
Personally, I avoid heavy, single repetition lifting and ballistic (accelerating the
weight) lifting because of the increased potential for injury. The power lifters
are always complaining about their injuries. This is also true for those who use
ballistic (weight throwing or weight acceleration) training techniques.

When I finally learned that many different styles of training “worked,” I

was able to give up this nonsense about the so-called power of all these
different training styles and just do whatever I wanted to do to achieve whatever
result I wanted as long as my training methods adhered to the training
guidelines I’ve outlined in my book. And, doing many different things or
exercises can provide many wonderful results.

One iron-clad rule is that muscle fiber function is specific to what the
muscle does. So, if sports performance is what you want, then performing
exercises that simulate the sport movement is ideal. So, conditioning oneself to
run 5 miles is relatively useless for conditioning oneself to run 400 meters.
Growing up, I, and I’m sure you too, always heard the expression that the long-

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distance off-season running plan would create an “endurance base” for the
running of a one-mile run, all out, during the competitive season. There’s some
carry-over, but the running of a series of, say, 5-one-mile runs, at close to race
pace, would have been far more productive because the specific adaptations
that occur in the muscle fibers involved in running the mile are significantly
different than the changes that occur in the muscles involved in running slower
speeds over longer distances.

One last style to mention is the idea of training the “stabilizer” muscles.
These are said to be those smaller muscles that might surround a joint like the
shoulder joint and support and maintain one’s arm position while he performs
the bench press exercise. So now more exercises are added to one’s program
that involve training these small muscles. Training the stabilizers is a ridiculous
idea. Don’t waste any of your time investigating methods to acquire stronger
stabilizer muscles. Machines are just as good as free weights.

Core (Basic, not as in training the Core) Exercises

Following the program section, below, in another Chapter, is a glossary of
each of the 20 different exercises I’ll describe with a word description and a
picture of the beginning and ending positions. Each exercise works muscles in
a specific part of your body.

I don’t give you starting resistances. You’ll have to decide how much you
need by the trial and error method.

Remember to use the first week to select resistances and to learn the
exercises. This is particularly important for beginning trainees. Do the routines
easily. There’s no sense in getting sore muscles.

On to the programs.

There are Basic or Core exercises accepted as the most productive. In any
program, for beginners or athletes, these Core exercises provide the most and
quickest results. (Not Core as in “training the Core,” as discussed above, but
Core as Basic and over-all good result producers.)

For simplicity, we divide the body’s muscles into groups:

1) Shoulders
2) Chest
3) Back
4) Legs (and hips)
 5) Biceps
6) Triceps

The first four groups contain the largest muscles in the body and one
should concentrate his efforts on exercises for these groups. The large trunk
muscles in the chest, shoulders, and back move the arm muscles (biceps and
triceps) so the arm muscles are always involved in performing the exercises for
the torso.

Core exercises usually work large amounts of muscle at one time. They
are the most productive because they work muscles acting over more than one
joint. The barbell rowing exercise, for example, works the large back muscles
and the biceps.

In contrast, the barbell curl works only the biceps of the upper arm. The
biceps is smaller than the muscles in your back. Therefore, exercises that work
only the biceps are not as effective for providing aerobic conditioning. You also
burn more calories when you involve more muscle mass in an exercise activity. I
do agree that efforts to involve many muscles, over many joints, is a very good
training strategy and I’m sure all the Functional proponents would like me
saying this.

The exercises making up the Basic Program include exercises that work
the large muscles and the muscles in the arms. Even though the arm muscles
are small, they require whole body effort and round out this program. Changes
in intensity, causing higher RPE ratings, come from using high resistance, many
sets, and short rest periods. These are the major changes you make to fit the
Basic Program to your goals.

The credit for the development of this system of exercises goes to Bob
Hoffman, the owner and developer of the famed York Barbell Company in York,
Pennsylvania. Any a young buck, coming of age in the 1950’s and 1960’s, was a
follower of Bob Hoffman and his York Barbell Company. He aptly named this
system of exercises Bob Hoffman’s Simplified System of Barbell Physical
Training. This is the same System on which I cut my teeth when I began to hoist
barbells in the late 1950’s.

One of the first barbells developed by the York Barbell Company was sold
in 1902. Later, the company released a more result producing set of equipment
and training programs and surged to the front of the burgeoning weight
training industry. There were other pieces of equipment and a wide range of
exercises to perform. I’ll talk more about expanding your equipment and
exercise variety later.

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 The larger York system required more space and the investment of more
time to complete the required exercises. As a result, Hoffman developed the
Simplified System requiring only one piece of equipment -- the barbell.
Another reason for the development of the Simplified System was that it was
applicable to training large groups of men, such as soldiers, quickly and
effectively. Hoffman realized that the Simplified program was effective but
understood that the results accruing from its use would be less than those that
resulted from following the more sophisticated program that used more
equipment, and exercises, that required the investment of more training time.
This, of course, is just as true today as it was in Hoffman’s time. There’s a limit,
however, as to how much time is required to achieve maximum results: I’d say
that 1-2 hours of weight training each day for about 4-5 days per week would
provide the maximum stimulus for muscle growth. More than that would not
produce much additional benefit and the cost/benefit ratio would begin to
decline.

In contrast, what is the minimum time to produce any results? We are all
aware in 2012 of the claims by many that “just six minutes of exercise a day
will produce maximum results.” Imagine, maximum results? Not only will the
result be less than maximum it will barely even register on the result-producing
scale if one performed this little exercise! Twenty minutes of training two times
per week may give a small result, but 30 minutes three times is, I think, just at
the threshold of providing a reasonable beginning stimulus for muscle growth
and strength conditioning.

As I describe in my writings on isometrics that very brief and infrequent

workouts will provide great results.

But the point is, as Hoffman proclaimed in 1941, “Progressive barbell

training has long proven to be a superior form of physical training, not only the
best way to build strength and muscle, but a means of building internal
strength as well.” Amen.

One of the key features of the Simplified System was its design that
allowed for few weight changes. In other words, Hoffman designed the System
so that several of the exercises performed, in the order listed, required the use
of the same weight. I’ll note that when I list the exercises. So, once you’ve
established the weight required for the very first exercise, you have established
the weight required for several of the following exercises as well.

Basic Program
1) 2-Hands High Pull
 2) Side-to-Side Bend
3) Barbell Curl
Increase the weight by 50%
4) Stifflegged Deadlift
5) Press
6) Shrug
7) Bent-Over Rowing
Increase the weight by 50%
8) Raise on Toes
9) Straddle Lift
10) Deep Knee Squats

Exercise Prescription
Intensity: Choose RPE level to meet your goals.
Sets: 2-3
Reps: 12-1st set, 10-2nd set, 8-3rd set
Rest: 90” between sets, 2’ between body parts
Frequency: 3 times per week
(Mon/Wed/Fri) or (Tues/Thurs/Sat)
Notes:
1) ” symbol = seconds; ’ = minutes.

Follow the program for 3 weeks then decrease rest to 60” between sets
and 1.5’ between exercises.

Two weeks after that you can drop to 60” rest periods, increase
resistance for each of the three sets by about 3-5% or more if you can. Increase
the weight when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, a rating of 5 becomes a 3.

This is the Basic Program. If you want, you could follow it continuously.
Just increase the resistance as you become stronger. The bodybuilding
champions of the 1930’s and 1940’s followed a similar program for years. I
used a program like this through high school and college football.

The Basic Program will take about 45 minutes to complete after you
become used to it. Many people will need to do it in a shorter time and can do
fewer sets. And, you can add or drop exercises from this program as needed.

Naturally, athletes will most likely add to it. Others will shorten it. The
following is an example of a short program that still provides a good, overall
workout to people with time constraints.

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Basic Program: Alternatives
Let’s review the changes that you can make to your program to change
the way it affects your muscles and body.

1) Choice of and total number (volume) of exercises

2) Order of exercises
3) Number of sets (volume)
4) Number of repetitions in a set (volume)
5) Rest periods between sets and different body parts
6) Frequency of workouts per week (volume)

Intensity is determined by many of the above items but is mostly affected

by choice of resistance, total volume, and rest periods. I encourage you to use
the RPE guidelines to meet your goals.

Now, I’m going to make some of these changes for you, and using the
same Basic Program, change the exercise prescription. I’m going to define
what these changes do to your conditioning.

I’ll list three separate programs which develop you from one end of the
spectrum to the other. They are:

1) Cardiovascular or Aerobic
2) Lactic Acid Tolerance (I’ll explain what this is)
3) Strength

Cardiovascular or Aerobic Program

Bodybuilding style workouts reduce risk factors for heart disease. The
reductions are as good as, or better, than those provided by pure aerobic
programs including running, biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing. The
success of resistance exercise to make these changes is from the short rest
periods used by bodybuilders.

The one-minute rest periods are short enough to cause changes. Often
though, bodybuilders use even shorter rest periods. They also do sets of an
exercise one right after the other.

Exercise Prescription
Intensity: Choose RPE level to meet your goals.
Sets: 3
 Reps: 10-1st set, 10-2nd set, 10-3rd set
Rest: 10” between sets, 30” between body parts
Frequency: 3 times per week
(Mon/Wed/Fri) or (Tues/Thurs/Sat)

You will need to use less weight in this cycle because of the very short
rest periods so test that out first. Follow the program for 2–3 months
maximum. Then change it. If this type of conditioning is your main goal then
return to it after short, one or two week rest periods.

You can also use it 2 times per week instead of three. On the third
workout of the week, follow the Basic Program with the longer rest periods and
higher resistance. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units; for example,
rating of 5 becomes a 3.

This workout can be very hard if you use high resistance. Check your
pulse rate to make sure it’s in the training zone. RPE in 3–5 range will confirm
this.

Remember, one key to success is variety. You don’t want to get bored
with a routine. Two to three months is about maximum before you should make
changes.

Lactic Acid Tolerance Program

Most American sports are high intensity and short duration. Wrestling,
football, tennis, basketball, and even baseball are examples. These sports
require forceful muscle contractions, a type of exercise called anaerobic
(without oxygen). This contrasts with aerobic exercise which means with
oxygen.

Your muscles use oxygen and mix it with food to power muscle
contraction. When oxygen is in short supply, the muscle can still contract
because it can burn fuel for a while without oxygen. Muscles use supplies of fat
and carbohydrate located within the different muscle fibers during these high
intensity contractions.

When muscle burns carbohydrate without enough oxygen, it produces a

waste product called lactic acid. Too much lactic acid slows muscle contraction
and sends a signal (muscle pain) to slow down.

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 Your body can use lactic acid for fuel. This is one way of getting rid of it.
You can condition yourself to burn more lactic acid. Better yet, you can
condition yourself to tolerate higher levels of lactic acid in your blood. To do
this, however, you must workout hard enough to produce lactic acid levels
similar to those that occur from your sport.

I don’t recommend this style of training for general fitness conditioning.

This workout is just the Basic Program with a shift in RPE rating to very high
numbers. You must use short rest periods to attain high lactic acid values. The
main difference between this routine and the one I just outlined, above, is the
upward shift in the training RPE.

Exercise Prescription
Intensity: RPE level of 8–10+
Sets: 3
Reps: 10-1st set, 10-2nd set, 10-3rd set
Rest: 10” between sets, 30” between body parts
Frequency: 3 times per week
(Mon/Wed/Fri) or (Tues/Thurs/Sat)

Follow the program for 2–4 weeks at a time. Use it before your sport
season. One to two sessions per week will serve as a maintenance program.

You may do it only 2 times per week and follow the Basic Program 1 day
per week. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, rating of 10
becomes an 8.

This workout can be very hard if you use high resistance. It will give a
high total body RPE as well as high muscle RPE (local muscle pain).

Strength Training Program

Strength training routines increase your ability to do a 1 RM; lifting the
heaviest weight possible for one repetition. Most research for strength training
has shown that sets of about 3–6 repetitions will improve strength the most.
You must also do occasional 1 RM efforts (once every week or two) as well.

The only athletes that need to do 1 RM’s are competitive weightlifters.

Strength for sports performance can easily develop by doing higher rep sets.
Also, 1 RM sets increase the risk of injury.
 Most sports training programs for strength use sets of 8–12 repetitions. I
think that athletes competing in power sports would benefit from some 4–6 rep
sets. Make sure that you do 1 or 2 sets of a good warm-up before doing any
training with heavier weights.

I don’t recommend doing sets of less than about 8 reps for general
fitness and sports conditioning. You can get very strong doing sets of this
number.

You won’t acquire as much ability to do a 1 RM by performing sets of

8-12 reps as you would if you practiced low rep sets. This is part of the
specificity of training idea I’ve discussed which states that to do the best at an
activity you must practice that activity. You only need 1 RM ability if you do 1
RM’s in your sport.

Most athletes use resistance training to help sports performance. Then

they practice their sport to develop sport-specific skills. Using resistance
training for general conditioning does not require the use of 1 RM’s.

Exercise Prescription
Intensity: Choose RPE level of 8-10+.
Sets: 3
Reps: Choice 1: 10-1st set, 8-2nd set, 6-3rd set.
Choice 2: 8-1st set, 6-2nd set, 4-3rd set.
Rest: 2’–3’ between sets, 2’-3’ between body parts
Frequency: 3 times per week
(Mon/Wed/Fri) or
(Tues/Thurs/Sat)

Follow program during off-season. Alternate the two repetition

sequences between workouts. One to two sessions per week will serve as a
maintenance program during sports season.

You may do it only 2 times per week and follow the Basic Program 1 day
per week. Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units; for example, a rating of
10 becomes an 8.

RPE rating will be high for muscles only. This routine will not increase
breathing or aerobic capacity much because of the longer rest periods.

Basic Program: Variations

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Fewer Sets
If you want to do all of the exercises in the Basic Program, but have time
limits, you can reduce the number of sets per exercise to two or even one. This
is similar to the Nautilus method of training.

My experience and research shows that one set is not as good as two for
producing results, and two are not as good as three. Increases in both strength
and muscle size arise from performing multiple sets.

It’s important to balance your program to your needs. Needs are not
defined only by the physical changes you want but by restrictions of time,
family, sports training, and interest.

Rest Periods
You now know the effect of changing the rest time between sets. And, as
you decrease rest time, you must decrease resistance (weight).

Try different rest times. I outlined 10 seconds, 1 minute, 90 seconds, and

2 minutes. Experiment with any combination: 15”, 20”, 30”, 45”, whatever you
want. Anything equal to or below one minute will reduce heart disease risk
factors. As you approach 2–3 minute rest periods, resistance training will not be
as effective for that type of conditioning.

Frequency
Most general-purpose resistance workouts are done three times per
week. And most people accept this as gospel. It doesn’t have to be.

Bodybuilders do large volumes of work. This makes muscles grow as I’ve

explained to you. Sometimes they do twenty to thirty sets (using different
exercises) per body part. To complete this much work requires 1–3 hours per
day, 4–7 days per week. They also split their body parts, working chest and
arms one day, and back, shoulders, and legs the next. I’ll show you a sample
bodybuilder workout later.

We’ve learned that hard/easy is the most effective type of training

primarily because of the low monotony index. Steve Reeves, the former Mr.
America in the late 1940’s, argued for whole body training three days per week
at a high intensity level and he allowed for adequate rest by interspersing
training days with rest days. So his ideas adhere to what science has discovered
only recently. But, we also saw from the studies conducted by Dr. Hickson that
high increases in aerobic power could occur by training every day. The catch, of
course, was that he alternated muscle groups. This type of training is the one
used by many bodybuilders who train six days a week but alternate between
muscle groups while training hard every day. The success of this style of
training may indicate that the central factors of blood flow and oxygen
consumption are less important in determining training responses than factors
at the level of the individual muscles. So, the jury is still out on what is most
effective.

You can split the Basic Program into body parts. If you’ve got the time,
you could do it every day if you need to burn calories to lose weight. Just
decrease the resistance a little and don’t over-train.

Any combination of training days is good. Sometimes I do three days on

then one day off and then repeat. Sometimes I do my whole body in a workout
and do three sets of three different exercises per body part. I do this three
times in a week.

Other times I train every day using 3 sets per body part. And sometimes I
do 15–20 sets per body part doing two to three body parts in a workout. This
depends on the rest period time. Up until (1999) I rarely exercised for more
than 75 minutes per session. In 1999 I tried an old time bodybuilding program
(Steve Reeves) working out 3 times per week and performing 60 sets per
session. These workouts take 2 hours.

Use the Basic Program to start. This way you don’t have to think -- you
just exercise. Try the variations when you begin to get bored and when results
slow. Remember, consistency and regularity are the keys to long-term results.
Anything you do that helps to keep you exercising regularly is good.

16
The Advanced Program

We’ve now covered the basic ten barbell exercises, developed a training
regimen and then enhanced that by varying the exercise prescription. Here are
the next ten exercises that comprise the Advanced program:

1)Clean & Press

2)Reverse Curl
3)Barbell Teetotum
Increase the weight by 50%
4)Behind the Neck Press
5)Snatch
6)Good Morning (barbell bendover)
7)Upright Rowing
Increase the weight by 50%
8)Deep Knee Bend
9)Barbell Straddle Hop
10)Clean to Upright

Every variation that we made to the Basic Program can be applied to the
exercises in the Advanced Program. The only alteration that you make is a
substitution of one exercise for another.

Additional Equipment and Exercises

My goal to this point was to use the least amount of equipment at the
lowest cost and still provide the trainee with excellent results. That goal was
accomplished with the introduction of the exercises of the Simplified System
that uses one piece of equipment -- the barbell.

Oh, one piece of advice: One of the exercises in the Basic Program, the
Straddle Lift (a great exercise) requires straddling the bar and then grasping it
with one hand/arm in front of the body and the other hand/arm behind the
body. For my money, this will place a little twist in the torso and I think it will
increase the risk of injuring one’s back.

What I have done to make adjustments is the use of the Hip Belt. This
product can be purchased from Iron Mind in Nevada City, California
(530-265-6725) www.ironmind.com.

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 Chapter 13 The Advanced Program

The cost is $89.95. You’ll also need some holders to rest your barbell on
while you hook up to the barbell to do the exercise.

Now, let’s look at how quickly and inexpensively you can expand your
home gym workouts. The barbell that you started to train with would most
likely come as a set: that’s the bar itself, a set of collars (that you must have)
and the weights (barbell plates) totaling 110 pounds. The other day I went to
Dick’s Sporting Goods to get some idea of the cost of this equipment. I’ll tell
you what, the pricing and equipment availability is a tremendous value with a
great variety of equipment available. Things change, of course, if you decide to
purchase multi-gyms that come with weight stacks. But, if you stick with buying
bare-bones equipment onto which you place plates, you’re in for some great
equipment at bargain costs.

Equipment Exercises Cost

110 lb. barbell Many As low as $60
Dumbbells (DB) Many $0.49/lb.
Adjustable DB Many $40 for 40 lbs.
Hip Squat Belts Squats $90
Door Jam Chin Chins $30
Bar
Adj. Bench Many chest $60
Bench and Rack Loads (great value) $199
Squat Racks $69-199
(actually
attached to the
benches)
Steps (up to 10 Step-ups $49
inches)

There’s some great equipment at great prices. All you need is the space.
My recommendations: 1) The barbell, 2) dumbbells, 3) the squat belt, 4) the
step, 5) a bench (and the more attachments it has, the better. Make sure you
get the adjustable bench that lies flat or inclines.) With these pieces of
equipment and enough plates, you can have a tremendous variety of
equipment.

Two very good leg exercises are leg extensions and leg curls. Many of
these gym pieces, listed above, include a leg extension and leg curl bar
attached at the end of the bench. A word of caution: try the movement to see

18
how it feels and to see if you get a full range of motion, some of these
machines are poorly designed.

There are, today, wonderful pieces of equipment. Ten years ago you
couldn’t find equipment like this except at commercial gym prices!

One body part where the Simplified Basic System is weak in is the chest.
The best chest exercise, and a great overall body exercise, is the bench press
and its variations such as the incline bench press. The excellent thing about
these new, inexpensive benches is that the support poles that hold the barbell
also adjust so that you can vary the height and place your bar at different
positions for accessing it in different exercises such as squats. This is also an
important convenience and safety feature.

If you don’t want to buy a bench, you can use two chairs to do your
“bench press.” For those who cannot do a regular push up, because they are not
strong enough, just keep your feet on the floor so that your body is angled
upward. This position makes the exercise easier to do. As you become
stronger, you can begin to elevate your feet by placing the step you bought, or
the one you made (see below), under your feet as a means of increasing your
resistance. You see, with a little innovation, you can get a great workout with
the minimum amount of equipment expense.

I’ll tell you: I was amazed at all the great equipment at Dick’s. I haven’t
checked into this stuff for many years as I have a complete gym basement
occupying 800 square feet. I have 3-300 pound Olympic barbell sets, many
homemade pieces of equipment and many commercial pieces of high grade
gym pieces. One of my business partners manufactures gym equipment. So, I
haven’t needed to look.

Dumbbells really increase your variety. Some of the very best exercises
are those involving the muscles in your legs and hips. There are quite a few
great hip/leg exercises. Step-ups onto the stepping bench while holding
dumbbells in your hands is fabulous for dramatically developing your thighs
and buttocks muscles. Also, one leg lunges are great too. In fact, if you don’t
want to buy the hip belt, then these are very good substitutes. Squats are part
of the two routines and the bench that has racks for holding a barbell is very
good to have around. You see, to do a proper squat, you must place the bar
across your shoulders and behind your neck. Since the leg muscles are so
strong, you can develop very quickly in this exercise and soon may need to use
more weight than you can easily lift from the floor and place behind your head.
I use 275 pounds for my squats, yet I could never pick that amount of weight
from the floor and place it behind my head and across my shoulders. A squat
rack is, therefore, essential to my leg/hip training program.

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 Chapter 13 The Advanced Program

If you want to purchase even more advanced and sophisticated pieces of

equipment, but keep the costs down, there are many companies that
manufacture great stuff. You can reach them online and they’ll let you type in
your zip code and then provide a list of their dealers in your area. Two
companies that I know about and who make great equipment are the York
Barbell Company and TuffStuff. www.yorkbarbell.com and www.tuffstuff.net.

And, to keep it even cheaper, you can build your own steps using 4X4
and 2X12 boards. Just buy the wood and make 1-3 platforms by cutting the
4X4 to a 12 inch length and nailing a 15 inch long piece of the 2X12 onto it.
The way they cut wood these days the 4X4 actually measures 3¼ inches and the
2 inch side of the 2X12 is 1½ inches, so your step will be about 5 inches high. If
you make three steps, you can use a routine where you step 15 inches high. I
guarantee you that this is some kinda’ workout.

Now, lat pulldowns, which work your large back muscles, are another
great exercise, but you need a lat pulldown machine to do them. More cost.
But, you can buy a door jam bar that you can do chins on. So instead of lifting
metal weights, you lift your bodyweight. The only downside is that many people
are not strong enough to lift their own bodyweight. One way around this,
however, is to do what we call a negative exercise. Pulling yourself up is called
the positive part of the exercise and letting yourself back down again is called
the negative part. You are stronger in negative work than in positive. So, you
place a chair close to your chin bar so that you can get your chin close to the
bar then you try to hold yourself there and then begin to gradually lower
yourself and then climb back up again to do another repetition. This is a good
exercise. You can buy the Bollinger Doorway Multi-Gym for $36.95 from www.
nefitco.com.

Abdominal Exercise
At this point I want to tell you about stomach exercises. Most people do
stomach routines to get rid of fat. This is a mistake because it doesn’t work.
During the last several years, we have seen an explosion of abdominal exercise
machines sold by lying, cheating, scamming hucksters. Getting abs requires the
removal of most of the body fat. It is not fun, easy, or fast and is very difficult
to do. The biggest liar of them all is the Abdoer. These clowns tell you that the
special rotational movement not only builds muscle but removes fat too.
There’s not one shred of truth to these statements. In addition, the machine is
no better at building muscle than the no-cost sit up.

Exercise builds muscle. For fuel the body uses fat. The best exercises to
reduce fat are large muscle exercises that burn many calories and use lots of

20
fat as fuel. Do a lot of them. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose.
As long as you under-eat (eat less than you need), you’ll lose fat.

Stomach exercises build the stomach muscles. There’s no such thing as

spot reduction of fat tissue. Heavy back and leg exercises and under-eating will
cut far more fat from your stomach than stomach exercise.

If you are overweight, then stomach exercise is the worst thing you can
do because it will build your muscles and make your waist even larger. This is
also true for people who have big thighs. Leg exercises will just make your
thighs bigger.

Now, you need a certain amount of strength and fitness in these muscles,
so you can do a few sets of one exercise if you like, but you work these muscles
well enough following the Basic Program. You don’t need additional work
unless you really want to build these muscles. And that’s required only if you
feel a muscle is under-developed.

Other Exercises If You Have More Equipment

Let’s look first at the exercises you can use if you add just one more
piece of equipment to your basic barbell/dumbbell equipment. Using more
pieces of equipment will provide variety and keep workouts interesting.

With Dumbbells:

1) Step Ups
2) Shoulder Side Raises
3) Shoulder Presses
4) Bent Over Laterals
5) Bent Over Rows
6) Pullover on Bench
7) Lunges

That’s just a brief list. With some imagination you can substitute
dumbbells for any exercise in which you would use a barbell. And, dumbbells
are often easier to handle than a barbell. For example, it’s much easier to
perform lunges with a dumbbell than with a barbell.

Exercises for the thighs are most often some form of squatting, except
for leg extensions and leg curls. But the squatting motion is probably the most
effective bodybuilding exercise in all of resistance training. And it’s great for
cardiovascular conditioning, particularly in high reps (20+) and with brief rest
periods in between. The most grueling workout I ever did was 10 sets of 25 rep

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 Chapter 13 The Advanced Program

squats with one minute rest in between sets. It was so hard that I had to give it
up. Squatting is a great exercise. It’s one of the single most important
movements you can do.

Persons training for general fitness should condition their leg muscles
with leg extensions and leg curls first then move into squats if they have that
equipment.

Persons who haven’t exercised recently should do a few sets of 10 rep

squats without weight to see if they get sore muscles. I once had an
unconditioned female subject perform one set of twenty-five rep squats with no
weight while holding onto a door jam for balance. She became so sore that she
was crippled for the next five days. Be careful, take it easy with squats and
condition yourself gradually.

Recent research has shown that squats do not decrease knee joint
stability. This had been a fear that athletes have talked about for years. Don’t
worry. Do them with the correct weight and don’t bounce. Full squats (big bend
in the knee joint) are fine.

Deadlifts, a lower back exercise, are similar to squats. They’re very good
for you. Get you muscles in shape first then use it freely, but with caution.

In summary, you can spend about $300, up to $500, and develop a very
good home gym. Close to $500 will get you a great bench and rack including a
lat pulldown bar, squat rack, leg extension/leg curl machine that will increase
the number of exercises available to you and the ability to attack a wider range
of muscles thereby increasing your training results. There’s no need to buy any
equipment that comes with its own weight stack as that increases your costs
exponentially with no additional return in result. Save your money and buy
more barbell plates @ $0.49 per pound to use as you get stronger.

Supplemental Exercises
The final groups of exercises are the Supplemental groups. These include
exercises for the stomach muscles, forearms, neck, and calf muscles. Frankly, I
never do any of these because they exercise too little muscle. And since situps,
or other abdominal exercises do nothing to reduce fat and are not very
demanding for calorie burning, then why waste the time.

Use of the term Supplemental does not mean these muscles aren’t
important. However, these motions limit total body results compared to the
other groups I’ve defined.

22
 Exercising the smaller body parts doesn’t give increases in cardiovascular
condition or in overall body muscle strength.

Others would argue this statement about body strength, particularly

about the stomach, lower back, and calves. And they have reason. However,
most of us only have so much time to exercise each day. We just can’t do every
muscle in our body in the available time. If you have the need or desire, please
add any of the exercises from the supplemental muscle groups to your routine.

23
Special Programs

There are as many exercise programs as there are exercisers.

Bodybuilders have designed more programs than you can imagine. Just go into
any bookstore and you’ll find at least twenty exercise books and magazines all
providing what the author calls the best program.

You can look at them if you like. You may get some ideas. However, you
have all the principles you could ever need in this book.

I’m going to list programs that have been developed over the years for
resistance training. I don’t expect you to know what they are but I want to show
you how many different ideas there are:

1) Single set system

2) Multiple set system
3) Bulk system
4) Pyramid system
5) Heavy to light system
6) Light to heavy system
7) Super set system (Tri set & Quad set also)
8) Circuit system
9) Peripheral Heart Action system (PHA)
10) Multi-poundage system
11) Total tonnage system
12) Bomb & blitz system
13) Half hour on/half hour off per body part for 8 hours
14) One body part per day for seven days
15) Forced rep system
16) Eccentric system

I can’t go on anymore, but the systems do. Regardless of the system, the
basic principles remain unchanged. I won’t repeat them here.

Variety is at the heart of the Maximum Muscle Growth. This program is

designed to attack specifically functioning muscle fiber bundles, each with a
specific job to do, that make up the whole muscle. You need to recognize this
idea to develop and design a program that will produce results.

Follow the basic principles to get the results you want. And eat right.
Bodybuilders have always said diet is worth 60-90% of success. I don’t know if
they’re right, but I do know diet has a lot to do with the final result, particularly
protein intake.

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 Chapter 14 Special Programs

Now, in the spirit of adventure, I’m going to lay out some different
programs for specific applications. You might enjoy doing them. Anyone can try
these routines. Just work at your own RPE level to meet your goals.

Upper or Lower Body Fat Concentrations

Recent research shows that people store body fat differently. Women
store fat in the lower body and males in the upper body. Women usually end up
with big hips and thighs and men acquire pot bellies.

Resistance training and diet are the only ways to get to look the way you
want. Diet alone will fail.

You can determine where you store your fat by looking in the mirror.
Better yet, measure yourself. Take a tape measure and measure the Abdomen I
site which is slightly above the level of your navel. This is at a point above your
navel and below your last rib. It’s the smallest waist measure. Your waist goes
in at this point on your sides unless you’ve become very fat.

Then measure your hips. Divide the waist value by the hip value.

Females: If the ratio is .72 or less you have a lower body fat storage
pattern and if it is .80 or above you have upper body fat storage.

Males: If the ratio is .81 or less you have a lower body fat storage pattern
and if it is .94 or above you have upper body fat storage.

With lower body fat storage, you should do few leg exercises because
why build the muscle too much and add additional size to the already too big
body part? If you lose enough fat, then you can concentrate on increasing
muscle size. If your calf muscles are small, then exercise them, but avoid thigh
and hip work. Concentrate on chest, shoulders, and back. If you’re following
either the Basic or Advanced Programs, just do one or two sets of the thigh
exercises and possibly 3-5 sets of the upper body exercises. This is a great way
to create a visual effect change without even decreasing body fat. This is truer
for women rather than men because of a woman’s tendency to store fat from
the navel down.

Bodybuilder Routine
I’ve already pointed out that bodybuilders do many sets. Here is a sample
program with a split four days per week workout.

25
Exercise Prescription
Intensity: Choose RPE level of 6-10+
Sets: As listed below
Reps: As listed below
Rest: 60” between sets (sometimes less), 2’ between body
parts
Frequency: 4-6 times per week as shown

Follow program and correct diet until body is at desired shape.

Add resistance when RPE decreases 2 units.

The optional exercises may be done on the rest day or combined with the
rest of the routine.

As you’ll see, this is a long and grueling workout. You can’t have too
much else to do in a day if you want to seriously do bodybuilding.

Some athletes split their sessions into a morning and evening workout,
doing only one or two body parts per session. Others actually do this workout
six days per week, doing the program three times and not just two times per
week. To be truly successful at bodybuilding, there’s no way around it -- you
must perform a variety of exercises and to do that, you need equipment --
either at home or in a gym. The exercise routine below is based on the
availability of an extensive array of gym equipment.

No scientific research has compared these workouts to ones of less

volume. My extensive experience shows, however, that they do work. How
much more than workouts of lower volume isn’t known. You need to answer
how much time and effort you are willing to give. And what results you want.
Not many people want to look like bodybuilders anyway.

Monday/Thursday
Back Sets Reps
Bent Over Rowing 3-4 6-8
Lat Pulldowns 3-4 10-15
Curl Grip Pulldowns 3-4 6-8
Single Arm Rowing 3-4 6-8

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 Chapter 14 Special Programs

Chest
Barbell Bench Presses 4 8-12
Dumbbell Flys 4 10
Incline Bench Presses 4 6-8
Cable Crossovers 3 12, 10, 8
Biceps
Barbell Curls 4 8-10
Alternate Curls 3 8
Bench Conc. Curls 3 10
Triceps
Barbell French Press 4 6-8
Lying Tricep Press 3 10
Rear Extension 4 8

Tuesday/Friday
Shoulders
Standing Barbell Press 4 8-10
Upright Rows 4 8-10
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 4 8
Barbell Shrugs 4 12
Thighs
Leg Extensions 4 10-12
Leg Curls 4 8-12
Barbell Squats 4 10-20
Hack Squats 3 12
Calves
Barbell Calf Raise 4 20
Seated Calf Raise 3 15
Lower Back
Deadlifts 3 12
Roller Hyperextensions 3 15
Good Mornings 2 20

Body Part Specialization

By this time I think you can figure this one out for yourself: more volume
of exercise, to a point, increases muscle size the most. How much more is
anyone’s guess. I believe that for good results you need at least 3 total sets per
body part as a minimum. Six to ten sets may be better. And, maybe even 12–
20. Experiment.

27
 Here’s a good chest, back, and leg routine for two times per week each
body part.

Chest Sets Reps

Barbell Bench Presses 5 10
Dumbbell Flys 5 10
Incline Bench Press 4 10
Back
Lat Pulldowns 5 10
Straight Arm Pullovers 5 10
Horizontal Rowing 5 10
Legs
Barbell Squats 7 10
Leg Extensions 7 10

Exercise Prescription
(Chest and Back)
Set resistance to the same amount for all sets. Alternate workouts for 30”
rest during one workout and 1’ in the next. Use more weight with longer rest
periods.

Exercise Prescription
(Legs)
Set resistance to the same for all sets. Do squats then move bench in and
do leg extensions. Rest 60” and repeat cycle.

The last rep of the fifth set should be very hard. As soon as it gets a little
easy, increase resistance for all sets.

Two times per week is plenty. Good luck on this one.

Anyone can use these programs. Just adjust RPE levels. Obviously, results
are most often greater and faster at higher RPE levels. High RPE’s are tough and
not required for results.

This type of specialization adds fun (well, maybe) and results to specific
body parts.

Sports Programs for Athletes

28
 Chapter 14 Special Programs

I’m not going to lay out any specific routine. The Basic Program will be
good for any athlete. Just determine how much time you have to exercise and
the specific muscle groups you need to work for your sport. Look through the
exercise lists and pick the ones you need to exercise and the muscles you use
for your sport. Do 6-10 sets of two or three exercises for any primary body
parts. Substitute them in the Basic Program.

If you need both strength and muscle endurance then combine short
10-15” rest periods using lower weights with longer 1’-2’ rest periods using
heavier weights.

Use the principles outlined and the Basic Program as a base and then
design your program for your needs.

Review of Principles -- Summary

Key Principles for Results from Resistance Exercise
1) Intensity
2) Duration
3) Frequency

Program Variation
1) Choice of and total number (volume) of exercises
2) Order of and exercise selection (see below, specificity of training)
3) Number of sets (volume)
4) Number of repetitions in a set (volume)
5) Rest periods between sets and different body parts
6) Frequency of workouts per week (volume)
7) Intensity (Intensity is determined by many of the above items but is
mostly affected by choice of resistance. I encourage you to use RPE
guidelines)
8) Overload principle is part of Intensity

Order of Exercises
If variety is important to results, then changing the order of exercises is a
variable to give variety. The only limitations are these:

1) If you need to stand to do some exercises, such as shoulders or arms,

then you may want to do legs last. It’s difficult to stand on tired legs.
They sometimes shake and quiver.

29
 2) Most upper body exercises use the arm muscles. If you do them first, it
will mean you must use less weight for back, chest, and shoulder
movements. As a result, these larger muscles may not get worked as hard
as they should for best results.

Cycling
I want to close this section with a brief discussion about cycling. The
basis for the development of this theory is the General Adaptation Syndrome
originally described by Dr. Hans Selye.

The theory states that three phases of stress adaptation occur.

1)Phase 1 is shock
2)Phase 2 is adaptation
3)Phase 3 is staleness

This theory supports many of the ideas in this book. This is why I
encourage changing programs and why I’ve provided so many different
workouts.

Develop your own cycles that fit your body. For athletes, this could mean
a program that lasts for a three-month period in the off-season. The program
should progress right up to the season and stimulate change. Don’t over-train
and avoid staleness.

A middle-aged woman may use a winter cycle to get ready for the
summer swimsuit season. Use dates and occasions to serve as deadlines for
cycles, goals, and programs. Remember -- do anything to keep consistent and
regular.

Closing Comment
You have the equipment, the programs, and the knowledge to get the
best possible results. If you do the workouts, then I guarantee results. I’ve said
this repeatedly: If you don’t do it, then nothing will happen.

Keep your body fat percent down and train. You’ll soon look the way you
want.

30
Plastic Tubes

You can substitute plastic tubes for all of the following exercises.

Glossary of Exercises

The Glossary of Exercises has photographs of the start and finishing

position for each the many exercises I’ve described above. Descriptions for
each exercise list the proper method of performance. Follow the directions
closely.

Basic Program
1)2-Hands High Pull

Warming up exercise.
Stand close to the barbell, feet 12 to 18
inches apart... grasp the barbell with both
hands a bit more than shoulder width
apart. Straighten up, pulling the barbell to
a point a few inches above your head and
then lower the weight until the plates touch
down on the floor. Continue to perform the
required number of repetitions according
to the training program that you are
following. This exercise is not a strength
feat but merely a warming up exercise. The
movement should be done slowly enough
that exertion can be felt every inch of the
way.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

2)Side-to-Side Bend

Develops the muscles on the sides of the body.

Stand close to the barbell with feet 12 to 18 inches
apart. Grasp barbell with both hands at slightly
wider than shoulder width and then lift the barbell
to a position above the chest, close to the neck.

From this position, push the barbell up and over

your head, then let it move backwards and lower it
to a position behind your head, resting on the thick
upper back muscles (not against your neck
vertebrae). Bend slowly and steadily as far to the left
as possible pausing for two seconds. Return to the
starting position then bend sideways in the opposite
direction. Again, pause for two seconds before
beginning the return to the starting position.

Repeat by bending to the opposite side. Keep legs

straight at all times. Bend only to the side, do not
allow your body to bend forward. Make sure you’ve
secured your barbell plates with their collars.

32
3)Barbell Curl

The two hands regular barbell curl

develops the muscles on the front part
of the arm.

Use the same weight on the barbell as

in the previous two exercises. Stand
close to the barbell and grasp it with
both hands with your palms facing out.
Stand erect and, slowly, without
moving your elbows, curl the weight
toward the shoulders and then lower
the barbell to the starting position.

Use the strength of your arms only and

avoid swinging the barbell or bending
the torso forward or backward. Repeat
the repetitions according to the
exercise prescription.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

4)Stiff Legged Deadlift

Stiff legged dead lifts (develops the powerful muscles

of the lower back).

Increase the weight of the barbell 50% above that used

in the previous three exercises.

Stand close to the barbell with your feet about 12 to 18

inches apart. Grasp the barbell with both hands at
shoulder width and then stand erect allowing the
barbell to rest against your thighs. While keeping your
knees locked, lower the barbell until it nearly touches
the floor and then come back to the erect position and
continue the movement for the specified number of
repetitions. Don’t bend your knees and keep the legs
straight at all times although a very slight bend in the
knees is OK too.

This exercise will dramatically increase your flexibility.

For the first few repetitions, do not allow the barbell to
go all the way to the floor and gradually increase how
far you lower it thereby gradually "warming-up." You
will avoid injury to the lower back by performing the
exercise in this way.

34
5)Press

Two hands military press (develops the

shoulder muscles and the triceps muscles on
the back of the arms).

Use the same weight as in the dead lift. Stand

close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18
inches apart and grasp the barbell with both
hands at shoulder width. The bending motion
to grasp the barbell should involve bending
both at the torso and at the knees.

Pull against the barbell, lifting it upward until

it rests on the tops of your shoulders. Keep
your knees locked and bend backwards just a
little bit at the waist and push the bar upward,
past your chin, and over your head until your
arms are locked at the elbows.

Lower the bar again to the starting position

on the top of your shoulders and repeat the
repetitions.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

6)Shrug

Shoulder shrug (develops the trapezius

muscles).

Stand close to the barbell with your feet

12 to 18 inches apart and bend
downward both at the low back and at
the knees and grasp the barbell as you
have in the previous exercises.

By straightening your knees and lower

back, stand erect and place the barbell at
the starting position with it resting
against your thighs. Without bending
your arms at the elbow joint, pull the bar
by lifting from your shoulder, moving
them upwards towards your ears.

Keep your arms straight at all times and

force your shoulders to go as high as
you can. Pause briefly at the highest
position before lowering the weight.

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7)Bent-Over Rowing

Rowing Motion (develops the muscles of the

upper back and all of the upper arm)
Use the same weight as in the previous
exercises. Again, standing close to the
barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart,
grasp it with both hands at a width slightly
more than shoulder width apart.

Keep your knees slightly bent and bend your

torso at a 90 degree angle to your legs. With
both arms pull the barbell upward until it
contacts your chest. Lift the barbell without
raising the upper body. Allow your elbows to
be out and away from your body -- don’t
have them touching your sides.

Lower the barbell to the starting position and

repeat the repetitions. A variation for this
movement is to pull the barbell upward to a
point slightly above your navel instead of to
your chest.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

8)Raise on Toes

Raise on toes (develops calves and

strengthens feet and arch).

Increase the weight 50% over that used in the

previous exercises. In this exercise, you’ll take
the same position as in many of the previous
exercises, grasping the barbell and lifting it
upward into a position on top of your
shoulders. From here, you’ll push it upward as
you did in the two hands military press but
only to a point slightly above the top of your
head. Then, allow the barbell to go backward
behind your head and lower it until it’s resting
on your upper back muscles.

Now, raise up as high as you can on your toes,

then lower yourself, repeating the exercise
until you have performed the required number
of repetitions. Do not allow your knees to
bend. This is a very good exercise to have the
availability of a rack.

You could place the barbell onto one of the

higher rack barbell holder settings and then
simply position yourself underneath the bar to
place it in the proper position.

Since you are using a heavier weight at this

point, it’s sometimes difficult to lift the
heavier weight into the position behind your
head.

Here’s another tip: place a towel or some form

of padding around the bar so that it rests
more comfortably on your upper back
muscles.

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9)Straddle Lift

Straddle lift (develops most muscles of the upper leg

and increases flexibility).

Use the same weight as in the previous exercise. My

only difficulty with this exercise as pictured is that
the grasping of the barbell with one hand in front
and one hand in back places a little twist in your hips
and back increasing the possibility of pulling a
muscle. This is why I recommend the use of the Hip
Belt as pictured in the two bottom photos. You’ll also
need some sort of stand that is safe to rest the
barbell on while hooking yourself in and out of using
the Hip Belt as described in the text.

Obviously, if you perform the exercise as pictured,

you will not need a rack of any kind. I support the
substitution of other leg exercises for this one
including step-ups onto your purchased or home-
constructed stepping apparatus while holding
dumbbells or also lunges while holding dumbbells.

To complete the straddle lift as pictured, spread

your feet apart about 18 inches and squat down and
grasp the barbell, one hand in front of you and one
hand behind. To make the initial lift into the proper
position you may need to bend both at the knees
and at the lower back. When performing the
exercise, bend forward at the lower back no more
than needed to maintain your balance.

It’s often a good idea to place a one or two inch

block under your the heel of each foot to help
maintain balance.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

10)Deep Knee Squats

Deep knee bend on toes (develops all of the muscles
of the body, particularly the thighs and hips).

Use the same weight as in the previous two exercises.

This is another exercise which would be performed
more easily by having the availability of a rack.

Squats are recognized world-wide as one of the very

best exercises for body development. In fact, if you
could only do one exercise this would be it. If you do
not have a rack, grasp the barbell as in many of the
previous exercises, lifting it up into a shoulder
position and then pushing it slightly up over your head
and let it downward onto the upper back muscles.

This exercise is best performed with a one to two inch

block under your heels. Lower your body into a full
squat position and then come to the erect position
again and repeat. The most difficult part of this
exercise is balancing yourself on your toes. You may
want to begin using only the weight of the bar until
you adapt to the motion. When that occurs, you can
gradually begin to add weight.

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Advanced Program
1)Clean & Press

Two hands press complete (warming up exercise).

Select your starting weight based on the techniques that I have previously described.
Stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp it with both
hands shoulder width apart. First, lift the barbell to a position atop your shoulders and
from here press it to arms length overhead. Then lower it to your shoulder position
again and then lower it from your chest to the floor.

Although this exercise is suggested as a warm-up exercise, it’s one of the very best
exercises that you can do. In fact, one of the hardest exercises in all of weight training
is the first movement of this exercise which is called a clean and involves the lifting of
the bar from the floor to the top position on your shoulders.

Repeated repetitions with an appropriate weight can really maximize your breathing
rate, heart rate, and overall conditioning. If you had very little time to perform exercise,
I would recommend combining this exercise with the squat and performing 10 sets of
each 2-3 times per week. You would develop some serious muscles and fitness
conditioning.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

2)Reverse Curl

Two hands reverse curl (develops muscles of the

forearms and biceps).

Use the same weight as in the previous exercise.

Note: the large muscles of the body used in the
previous exercise are far stronger than the small
muscles used in this exercise.

But, we want to use the two hands press complete

exercise as a warm-up. You could shift the two hands
press complete to a later position in the workout and
use heavier weight to make it a more effective muscle
building and conditioning movement. In respect to
the two hands reverse curl, if I were to drop one
exercise from this routine it would be this one
because it involves the use of so little muscle. Stand
with your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp the
barbell with an over hand grip.

Stand erect bringing the barbell to a position resting

against your thighs. From this position, curl the
barbell upward toward your shoulders. It’s important
that the elbows be held at the sides and that you do
not swing your body in an attempt to assist in
performing the movement.

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3)Barbell Teetotum

Barbell teetotum (develops muscles of the side and also of

the back).

Use the same weight as in the previous two exercises.

Face the barbell with your feet 18 to 24 inches apart (note
the wider foot spread).

Grasp the barbell with a grip where the hands are in a

position slightly wider than shoulder width. Stand erect
bringing the barbell to a position against your thighs.

Turn and bend to one side allowing the barbell to go

downward toward your foot. You can bend at the knee on
the side toward which you are moving.

Lift up and return to the starting position, then repeat the

movement to the opposite side.

Count a bend to the right side and to the left side as one
complete repetition. Move slowly allowing your muscles to
do the work so that you do not jerk or pull the weight
unnecessarily fast.

A slow, deliberate movement will help avoid any injuries

that might occur because of both the bending and
twisting motion. If you have any lower back problems, you
may choose to skip this exercise altogether.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

4)Behind the Neck Press

Press from behind neck (develops the shoulders and

arms).

Increase the weight of barbell 50% over the first three

exercises. Take a position close to the barbell with
your feet 12 to 18 inches apart and grasp it with both
hands slightly more than shoulder width apart.

Lift the barbell to a position on top of your shoulders

and then push it up over your head allowing it, then,
to come down and rest on your upper back muscles.
From this position push the barbell up over your head
until your elbows are locked.

Until you condition the muscles and joints for this

exercise (the shoulder muscles and shoulder joints
have to be somewhat flexible to get into this
position), begin using only a lightweight in this
exercise, even just the bar, and then gradually
increase the weight as both your flexibility and
strength increase.

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5)Snatch

Two hands repetition snatch (develops all

muscles in the body and builds stamina)
Use the same weight as in the previous
exercise. Note: to perform this exercise
efficiently involves a reasonable level of
coordination.

Again, therefore, as in several of the other

exercises, you may wish to practice this
exercise for quite a few sessions
beginning with just the bar and then,
gradually, increase the weight as you
become more skilled in its performance.

This is a terrific whole body exercise.

Stand close to the bar with your feet 12 to
18 inches apart grasping it with a very
wide grip. With one long and continuous
pull, lift the barbell from the floor to arms
length overhead while at the same time
moving one foot forward and the other
foot backwards.

Then bring both feet together so that you

are standing in an erect position with the
bar at arms length overhead. Lower the
bar, first to your shoulder position, and
then downward to the floor again. Make
sure that when you’re lifting the bar from
the floor position to the overhead position
that it rises upward very close to your
body.

The legs should be in the split position by

the time the bar is passing in front of
your chin. You will have to make a little
hop to get into this position. The forward
leg, therefore, will be bent at the knee
while the opposite leg that you thrust
rearward will be almost straight with a
slight bend in the knee. Decide for
yourself which leg is easier to move
forward or backward. Again, this exercise
is a hard one to perform because of the
coordination involved. Don’t feel foolish if
you choose to eliminate it from your
routine, substituting another one for it.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

6)Good Morning (barbell bendover)

Barbell bend over, also known as the Good

Morning exercise (develops the muscles of the
lower back).

Use the same weight as in the previous exercise.

Similar to many of the other motions, spread your
feet 12 to 18 inches apart, grasp the barbell with
an over-hand grip and lift it up to the front
shoulder position. Press it up to a position slightly
above your head and then allow it to go backward
so that you can lower it on to your upper back
muscles.

Without bending your knees, lean forward as far

as possible. Return to an erect position and then
repeat for the specified number of repetitions. It’s
important to keep the legs straight.

As you practice this exercise, you will be able to

bend much farther forward. Besides strengthening
the lower back muscles, this exercise is very
effective for increasing the strength and flexibility
in the buttocks and hamstring muscles on the
back of the legs.

Start very carefully with this exercise, gradually

conditioning your muscles over several weeks to
avoid injury.

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7)Upright Rowing

Upright rowing motion (develops upper arms, trapezius,

and shoulders).

Use the same weight as in the previous three exercises.

Stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to 18 inches
apart and grasp it with an over-hand grip, hands at 1/2
shoulder width position. Straighten your body, lifting the
bar upward until it is resting against your thighs.

Lifting your elbows up and outward (out to the side) away

from your body and pulling your hands and shoulders,
bring the barbell up to a height almost touching your
chin.

It’s important to keep the elbows higher than the barbell

plates (or, actually, higher than the level of the barbell).
Move your upper body as little as possible. This is a great
exercise for developing the shoulders and biceps
muscles.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

8)Deep Knee Bend

Deep knee bend on toes (develops all of the muscles

of the body, particularly the thighs and hips).

We’ve seen this one before in the Basic routine. Why?

Because it’s one of the most effective barbell training
exercises ever invented.

Use the same weight as in the previous two exercises.

This is another exercise which would be performed
more easily by having the availability of a rack. Squats
are recognized world-wide as one of the very best
exercises for body development.

In fact, if you could only do one exercise this would be

it. If you do not have a rack, grasp the barbell as in
many of the previous exercises, lifting it up into a
shoulder position and then pushing its slightly over
your head and let it downward on to the upper back
muscles. This exercise is best performed with a one to
two inch block under your heels.

Lower your body into a full squat position and then

come to the erect position again and repeat. The most
difficult part of this exercise is balancing yourself on
your toes. You may want to begin using only the
weight of the bar until you adapt to the motion. When
that occurs you can gradually begin to add weight.

48
9)Barbell Straddle Hop Barbell straddle hop (develops thighs,
calves, and strengthens the feet while
conditioning the jumping ability of the lower
body).

Use the same weight as in the Deep knee

bend exercise. Grasp the bar with a grip
slightly wider than shoulder width and lift
the weight into the shoulder position, then
press overhead and position it behind your
neck, resting it on your upper back muscles.
Again, this is a very good exercise to do if
you have a barbell holding rack and padding
around the bar.

Remember, many of these exercises were

developed in the 1930’s before the advent
of the equipment that we have available to
us today. So, for a very small expenditure of
cash, one can have the perfect equipment to
make the performance of these exercises
very easy. I’ve already outlined that a fairly
sophisticated rack and bench system can be
purchased for about $199. To perform the
exercise, jump up slightly and spread the
legs apart sideways at the same time.

As your body comes downward from the

jump position and the feet touch the floor,
push upward again bringing the feet back
together. You can lower the bar down onto
your trapezius muscles so that it’s not
coming in contact with any of the vertebrae
in your spinal column. The thicker trapezius
muscles act as a form of padding. I would
encourage you to go to your local home
repair center and buy some of the foam pad
that homeowners use to insulate their pipes.
This foam pad serves as a very good form of
protection against bruising the muscle from
the performance of this exercise. You may
have to pull with your hands, downward,
against the bar, holding it snugly so that it
doesn’t bounce against the muscle and
bruise it.

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 Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

10)Clean to Upright

Rapid high dead lift (develops all upper body

muscles).

Use the same weight as in the last two exercises.

Again, stand close to the barbell with your feet 12 to
18 inches apart and grasp it, over hand, with a
shoulder width grip. With one quick continuous
movement lift the barbell from the floor to a point
even with your chest muscles.

Then, without pausing, lower the barbell to within a

few inches of the floor and, again, repeat this motion
until completing the specified number of repetitions
in your exercise prescription. This exercise, most
often called the cleaning exercise, builds terrific
strength in the upper body.

It specifically develops the total back musculature

along with the shoulder muscles. Keep your elbows
high and away from your body while performing this
exercise.

This exercise is a tremendous cardiovascular

conditioner and I challenge anyone to perform
between 50-100 repetitions using a weight that is
tough to make that number of repetitions and not
come out of that experience screaming. You could
also perform this movement with a narrower grip and
pull the bar as high as your chin.

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Other Exercises

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Chapter 17 Dr. Gregory Ellis’s Spectrum Training System

Leg Extensions
Start: Left Photo
End: Right Photo

Chin Ups
Start: Left Photo
End: Right Photo

52
 Lat Pulldowns
Start: Left Photo
End: Right Photo

Parallel
Dips
Start and
Finish: Left
Photo
Midpoint:
Right Photo

53