10 Secrets to Insane Gains

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10 Secrets to Insane Size

JANUARY 09, 2012 ADMIN

Check out these 10 secrets to SUPER SIZE!
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SIZE SECRET #1

High Reps for Big Legs

FOUAD ABIAD: The most important change in my career came in 2010, when I decided

that lifting really heavy for legs was mostly for my ego. Throughout my career, lagging quads

and hams have always held me back. Not enough sweep, people would say about my legs,

or not thick enough all around. So I decided to make some changes in my quad training.

Instead of lifting heavy for sets of 68 reps like I did for the first 10 years of my career, I

decided 1520 reps was the way to go. As soon as I increased my rep ranges, I noticed a

rounder, fuller look to my legs. Now, I mix the two training philosophies. On leg presses, I go

as heavy as I can for 20 reps, and on hack squats, I go as heavy as I can for 1012. I dont do

any sets for my legs under 10 reps anymore; I just dont get the size from it.

ABIADS SAMPLE LEG WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps

Lying leg curls 5 20-10*

Squats 5 20-10*

Leg presses 6 20

Stiff-leg deadlifts 4* 10

Hack squats 3 10

* Increase weight each set, starting out with 20 reps with the lightest weight and finishing

with 10 reps with the heaviest weight.

SIZE SECRET #2

Super Slow Reps

DENNIS JAMES: When something doesnt work or I hit a plateau in my training, I always

implement very, very slow reps. Im talking super slow, as in 510 seconds up and 510

seconds down on every rep using 30%50% of the weight youd normally use. And you dont

have to limit this to just one exercise in your workout; you can do it for every exercise. It

takes you much longer to get through the set, but I guarantee one set will make up for 56

regular sets. You can either do slow reps for, say, a month, or you can do slow reps one week

and go back to normal reps the next. Doing your reps very slowly is much more intense,

creates more of a burn and the chance of injury while doing it is almost zero. And even
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though youre going a lot lighter, it feels heavier. Because youre going so slow, you can

make one plate feel like its four, so I typically keep the reps between 3 and 6. And I

guarantee you, if you try it, you will walk away with the best pump you ever had.

JAMES SAMPLE TRICEPS WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps

Pushdowns 3-4 3-6*

Lying Extensions 3-4 3-6*

One-arm reverse-grip pushdowns 3-4 3-6*

* Perform every rep with a speed of 510 seconds on the concentric portion and 510

seconds on the eccentric.

SIZE SECRET #3Dont Overthink It

KAI GREENE: You should always aim to reduce everything to its lowest common

denominator to keep things very simple. A lot of times we make things more complicated

than they need to be, and as a result we make it harder to hear the common sense and

universal wisdom thats always lurking and is often quite obvious. We tend to think, It cant

be that simple. Its got to be something more complex. If you want to put on muscle, be very

clear about that goal. When were being very clear about the goal, well find that we dont

need to ask 50 different people the same question. Truth is, I dont have to get lost in

minutiae because that just makes things more complicated than they need to be. Keepingthings very simple will help anyone who aspires to be better at something. For example, if

you want to add size to your legs, you should do squats. Its very simple advice, but it works .
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GREENES SAMPLE BACK WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps

Wide-grip pullups 4 8-15

Lat pulldowns 4 8-15

Barbell rows 4 6-15

T-bar rows 4 6-15

Seated cable rows 4 8-15

SIZE SECRET #4

Shorten Your Range of Motion

ED NUNN: When I had to bring up my upper chest and pec tie-ins to the front delts, I

focused a lot on the basic incline barbell bench press, and I got a lot stronger and more

powerful on that move. I always make sure to lower the weight slowly, and I also do a pretty

brutal drop set on my last set, where I start with 405 pounds and work down to 135. But one

technique that really helped me, especially on inclines, was to stay in a certain window of

the range of motion. I dont lock out my elbows at the top of the rep and I dont come downall the way and touch my chest at the bottom. I stop just short of full range of motion on both
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ends to keep constant tension on the muscles. I think that has really helped my upper-chest

development.

NUNNS SAMPLE CHEST WORKOUT

Exercise Sets RepsStanding dumbell flyes (warm up) 2-3 10-12

Flat-bench dumbell presses 4-5 10-12

Incline barbell presses 4 8-10*

Pec-deck flyes 4 12

Cable flyes 7** 10

* On the last set, Nunn does a drop set where he tries to get 10 reps with each of the

following weights (pounds): 405, 315, 275, 225, 185, 135.

** Following Hany Rambods FST-7 technique, resting 3045 seconds between each set.

SIZE SECRET #5

Neurological Overload Set

BEN PAKULSKI : Neurological overload set training is something I do that contributes to

muscle growth and overcoming plateaus. On the fourth and final set of a given exercise

usually for each exercise in a workout I perform four consecutive drop sets in 20%

increments and try to knock off at least 56 reps with each weight. I find this to be a great

way to overload the muscle, as well as overload the nervous system to force adaptation. An

example of NOS would be lateral raises for shoulders. I choose to do laterals seated becauseit removes one variable of cheating. My typical NOS set for laterals would look something like

this: 70-pound dumbbells for 68 reps, then 55s for 68, 40s for 68 and finally 30s for 10

reps. (Check out Pakulskis upcoming DVD to see NOS in action at benpakulski.com.)

PAKULSKIS SAMPLE SHOULDER WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps

Bent-over lateral raises 5 12*

Seated lateral raises 5 8*

Machine overhead presses 5 10

Reverse pec decks 4 10

Cable lateral raises 3 15

Upright Rows 4 10*

* Perform an NOS set (four drop sets where the weight is decreased 20% each time) on the

last set.

SIZE SECRET #6

Train Each Muscle Group Twice a Week
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PHIL HEATH : For me, legs were always a bodypart that I felt could be better. I found that

training them twice a week, every three or four days, worked out best for adding size and

detail. Many guys tend to think you only need to train a specific area once per week, feeling

it leads to more growth. I disagree, as when it comes to bringing up lagging areas, training

them twice per week will not only yield gains in size but also in detail, especially during

contest prep. Eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman trained everything twice a week for the

majority of his career, so its kind of hard to debate against someone who carries his muscle

mass.

HEATHS SAMPLE QUAD WORKOUT

WORKOUT AExercise Sets Reps

Leg extensions 7* 10

Front squats 3 15

Vertical leg presses 3 15

Hack squats 3 12-15

Walking lunges 1 50-100 yards

WORKOUT B

Exercise Sets Reps

Plate-loaded squats 3 12-15

Unilateral leg presses 3 12-15

Leg extensions 3 12-15

Hack squats 7* 12-15

SIZE SECRET #7

Unilateral Static Holds

TONEY FREEMAN: This is a technique I use on nearly every unilateral exercise dumbbell

presses for shoulders, dumbbell curls for biceps, unilateral triceps exercises , leg extensions,

leg curls. On dumbbell presses, for example, Ill leave one dumbbell in the top position while

the other arm is doing reps. Ill do five reps like that, then switch arms and repeat, then

switch back and do four reps with each arm, then three, two and one. So its 15 reps, but the

time under tension is equivalent to 30 reps on each arm. I kind of let go of the standard

banging out sets of 10 or 12 reps. Doing unilateral reps with the static holds incorporates

more muscle fibers than standard sets because of the greater time under tension and helps

stimulate more growth.

TONEYS SAMPLE CHEST WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps

Incline dumbell presses 2-3 15 per arm + static hold*

Flat-bench dumbell presses 2-3 15 per arm + static hold*
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Cable Crossovers 2-3 15 per arm + static hold*

* Each set consists of one arm remaining in the top position while the other arm does reps of

5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The right arm does five reps with the left arm in the top position, then the

left arm does five reps with the right arm in the top position, and so on.

SIZE SECRET #8

Leave Your Comfort Zone

EDUARDO CORREA: Most people do their exercises and sets inside a comfort zone

meaning the workouts dont require any extra concentration, effort or pain to execute them.

When you stay in your comfort zone, its difficult, if not impossible, to see significant gains in

size and strength. Leaving your comfort zone can entail anything from doing more difficult

exercises, adding more weight to your exercises, doing more reps or adding intensity

techniques to your workouts. I left my comfort zone when I started doing the same workoutswith the same exercises, only heavier. Its difficult because it requires more concentration

and focus, but if youre motivated it becomes an exciting and rewarding challenge for your

body. You can do the same routine but with heavier weights and great execution, leading

your muscles to exhaustion. It works best if you have a spotter to help you through the tough

sets.

CORREAS SAMPLE BICEPS WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps

Alternating dumbell curls 3 10-12

Concentration curls 3 12

Machine preacher curls 3 10-12

Cable hammer curls 3 15

NOTE: On every set, use as much weight as possible while still using strict form and hitting

the prescribed rep counts.

SIZE SECRET #9

Giant Sets for Giant Guns

DEXTER JACKSON: I found that training arms [bis and tris] on their own, in one workout,

worked best for me and allowed for maximum growth. Training arms on their own not with

a larger bodypart like chest, back or shoulders allows you to focus all your attention on

them and lift the heaviest weights possible. The specific technique I used that brought on the

most growth in my arms was giant sets. I would do one giant set for biceps and one for

triceps, and do that four times through. Giant sets give you a great pump and are effective at

shocking a stub- born muscle group into growing.

JACKSONS SAMPLE TRICEPS WORKOUT

Exercise Sets Reps


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Pushdowns 4 8-10

Dips 4 8-10

Lying extensions 4 8-10

Overhead rope extensions 4 8-10

SIZE SECRET #10

Isolate to Stimulate

STAN EFFERDING: Ive always struggled to build enough arm mass to compensate for my

shoulders, which tend to overpower my arms. Even after working up to 225 pounds on

straight bar curls for reps or 100-pound dumbbell curls, my arms still lagged behind. When I

trained with Flex Wheeler, we tried a different approach and isolated the biceps by taking the

shoulders out of the movement and increasing the rep range to put more blood in the

muscle. When performing standing barbell curls, the bar no longer curled away from the

body. Instead, we pulled the elbows back and the bar traveled straight up my body,

perpendicular to the floor. This eliminated the shoulders from the movement and created a

better squeeze. Dumbbell curls were changed to seated and performed the same way

elbows back and the weight traveling straight up instead of out in front of me. We also added

a lot of one-arm machine preacher curls to isolate the biceps and squeeze each contraction

without rocking the weight. This workout added size to my arms. Theyre over 21 inches in

the offseason now and growing.

ABIADS SAMPLE LEG WORKOUT

Exercise Sets RepsStanding barbell curls 4 20

Seated dumbell curls 4 20

One-arm preacher curls 4 21*

* The first seven reps are performed through only the bottom half of the range of motion; the

second seven reps are performed through only the top half of ROM; and the last seven reps

are full ROM.

source: flexonline.com

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10 Secrets to Insane Gains