Bradley Steiner's Rugged Size and Strength SPLIT Program Version 2.0

Bradley Steiner's "Rugged Size and Strength Program"

Version 2.0

A.K.A.: The New, Improved, Totally Bad-Ass Rugged Size and Strength Program for 21st Century Mass and Power!

Bradley Steiner flexing his well-developed arms.  This picture was taken sometime in the '70s.

 

Anyone who has read my blog with more than passing interest knows that one of my inspirations has always been Bradley Steiner (sometimes his name would appear as Bradly J. Steiner).  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Steiner, he wrote a LOT of really good articles for the old IronMan magazine in the '70s and '80s, and he wrote a monthly column for them for decades, into the 21st century.

Steiner was the voice of basic, sensible, but tough programs using full-body workouts.  In turn, he inspired a lot of other writers (Stuart McRobert probably was the most well-known) who wrote for IronMan starting in the '80s, and continuing to this day.  And his training programs and workout suggestions are just as relevant today as when he wrote them, maybe even more relevant when you think of the plethora of misleading information on the internet when it comes to real, result-producing programs.

As mentioned, most of Steiner's programs were basic, but tough full-body programs.  He made ONE exception, however, and that was for an article he wrote for IronMan in 1972 entitled, "The Rugged Size and Strength Split Routine."  Yes, split routine.  If you are at all familiar with Steiner, but didn't know about this particular article, then your eyes are NOT deceiving you.  Steiner did, indeed, write a "split" program for IronMan readers.  It's just that it wasn't quite what most lifters think of when they think "split" training.

The "Original" Rugged Size and Strength Split Program:

Here is the gist of this split-program, which he said is better thought of as a "divided workout":

  On three non-consecutive days each week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for example) you perform the following:

Bench presses

Bent-over rows

Stiff-legged deadlifts

Squats

An abdominal exercise

     On two other days during the week (Tuesdays and Saturdays would be ideal), you perform the following:

Behind-the-neck presses

Barbell curls

     That’s it.  Pretty conservative for a “split” routine, isn’t it?  It can work wonders for your strength, however, if you follow these guidelines:

1.    Don’t perform the exact same set/reps every training day and every week.  In other words, change things up.  Some days (or weeks) use a 5x5 system of training.  Some days use a 3x3 system.  On other days, use heavy singles.  And on some days you might want to employ the 5/4/3/2/1 method.  Also, you don’t have to use the same set/rep scheme on each exercise.  For instance, you might use the 5x5 method on bench presses and bent-over rows, then use heavy singles on the deadlifts, and then triples on the squats.

2.    Make one or two days each week “light” days.  This doesn’t mean using high reps.  It means cutting back on the poundages you are using.  This helps recovery and keeps you from burning out.

3.    Steiner recommended taking a week layoff every five weeks of hard, steady, progressive workouts.  I think it is good to take a break every five weeks, but I don’t think you should take a complete layoff.  Layoffs of an entire week tend to breed bad habits of being inconsistent with your training.  Instead, have a down-week every five weeks where you cut back on the number of sets, the number of reps, and the amount of weight you are lifting.  This will prevent overtraining while still not allowing you to miss workouts.

4.    After every five-week cycle, don’t be afraid to change exercises around.  Instead of bench presses, use incline presses.  Instead of stiff-legged deadlifts, use rack pulls.  Instead of behind-the-neck presses, use standing overhead presses.  The only exercise I never want you changing (Steiner and I would agree wholeheartedly on this) are the squats.

5.    Make sure you follow an adequate nutritional plan.  Eat plenty of good protein, carbohydrates, and good fats.  Three square meals and a couple of protein shakes should do it for you.  If you don’t eat properly, then even abbreviated programs can breed overtraining.

Steiner's Rugged S&S Version 2.0!

I think you could stick with Steiner's original, and not necessarily need to make any changes.  However, I do think the program can be improved just a little by making a few minor changes:

• Add an extra day of training for the "2nd" workout.  This means that both training days would get 3-days-per-week.
• Incorporate heavy, light, and medium days into the program.
• Incorporate a variety of rep ranges that allow you to "surf the rep curve."  (More on what exactly this means below)

Taking into account those differences, here is my Rugged Size and Strength Split Program VERSION 2.0

This "modified" version is ideal for someone who has either used the "original" program first, and has stopped getting gains on it, or for someone who has done a lot of hard, basic, full-body workouts, and is ready to take their physique, and their strength, to the "next level" of more advanced training.

I'm going to outline three weeks of workouts, and I will "explain" some of the details of the program as we go along.

So that I won't have to list the exercises on each training day, they are divided like this:

(A) Session: Bench Press, Bent-Over Rows, Squat, and Stiff-Legged Deadlifts

(B) Session: Behind-the-Neck Presses, Barbell Curls, and abdominal exercise of your choosing

You will notice that the only difference is that I have moved the abdominal work to the "B" session.  The only "real" reason for this is a psychological one.  I think there is plenty in the "A" session, as it is, with the 4 exercises.  This way, you're not thinking, in the back of your head, about having to complete the abdominal work at the end of the A workout session.

I have "laid out" the program as Monday through Saturday program, with Sunday - Sabbath for many of us - as the off day.  Of course, you can "start" the program whatever day you want.  When I competed in powerlifting, for instance, I always liked starting my training week on Sunday.  This was always the heaviest training day of the week, and it helped me physically - and mentally - prepare for the coming week of both work and training.  I also enjoyed having off on Saturdays, which I could spend doing work around my house, or hanging out at the lake, or whatever it is I felt like doing on my weekends.  But I think most lifters like to begin their training week on Monday, so make adjustments to your training days as you see fit.

Week One

Monday: A session; 5 sets of 5 reps.  Perform a few "ramp" sets to prepare you for 5 work sets of 5 reps on each exercise.

Tuesday: B session; 5 sets of 5 reps

Wednesday: A session; 2 sets of 5 reps.  After one or two warm-ups (at the most), then perform 2 sets of 5 reps on each exercise. This is a "light" active recovery workout.  Pick a weight lighter for the 2 sets of 5 than what you used on 5 sets of 5 on your heavy day

Thursday: B session; 2 sets of 5 reps

Friday: A session; 3 sets of 3 reps.  On this, your "medium" day, you will train heavier than on your "heavy" day.  However, the total workload will be less.  Let's say, on bench presses, you did 225 for 5 sets of 5 on Monday, then here you would use 230 to 235 for 3 sets of 3 reps.  Although heavy, these shouldn't be that "hard", assuming that your Monday session was a true heavy workout.

Saturday: B session; 3 sets of 3 reps

Week Two

Week Two will essentially be a "duplicate" of the previous week.  However, your goal is to use the same weight that was used on your Friday and Saturday workouts (for 3 sets of 3 reps) on your Monday and Tuesday workouts for 5 sets of 5 reps.  The main thing is to push yourself on the "heavy" training days, just enough to coax a little more muscle and strength out of you.

Monday: A session; 5 sets of 5 reps.  Perform a few "ramp" sets to prepare you for 5 work sets of 5 reps on each exercise.  As mentioned, attempt to get 5 sets of 5 reps with what was used for 3 sets of 3 reps on Friday.  This session - and tomorrow's - are the "toughest" sessions of these first two weeks.  And they should feel like it! 

Tuesday: B session; 5 sets of 5 reps

Wednesday: A session; 2 sets of 5 reps

Thursday: B session; 2 sets of 5 reps

Friday: A session; 3 sets of 3 reps

Saturday: B session; 3 sets of 3 reps

Week Three

 Monday: A session; 3 sets of 5, 3, and 2 reps.  For week three, begin by starting your "work" sets (after a couple of warm-ups) with a set of 5 using the same weight from 3 sets of 3 on Friday.  After a few minutes of rest (your first 5-rep set should be fairly difficult), add weight and do a set of 3.  After resting a few minutes, add more weight and do a set of 2 reps.

Tuesday: B session; 3 sets of 5, 3, and 2 reps.  Same set/rep sequence as Monday.

Wednesday: A session; 2 sets of 5 reps.  For both of these work sets, use a weight slightly less than what was used for your first set of 5 on Monday.

Thursday: B session; 2 sets of 5 reps. Same technique as Wednesday

Friday: A session; 6 sets of 1 rep.  For this session, and tomorrow's, perform a few "ramps" of 5 reps, then a couple with 3 reps, but nothing too hard.  After that, then work up over 6 progressively heavier singles until you reach a "near-max".  It should be "hard" but no grunting, getting psyched up, having your training partner slap your, or any other such nonsense.  You should "go heavier naturally."

Saturday: B session; 6 sets of 1 rep

Week Four

As with Week Two, this week will be a "duplicate" of the previous week.  However, you should work up to a slightly heavier set of 5, 3, and 2 reps on your first two training days, and the same thing goes for Friday and Saturday.  Your last set of singles for this week should be slightly heavier than last week.

Monday: A session; 3 sets of 5, 3, and 2 reps

Tuesday: B session; 3 sets of 5, 3, and 2 reps

Wednesday: A session; 2 sets of 5 reps

Thursday: B session; 2 sets of 5 reps

Friday: A session; 6 sets of 1 rep

Saturday: B session; 6 sets of 1 rep

Concluding Thoughts

Once the 4 week block of training has ended, my advice would be to either repeat it using the same exercises, or to swap out exercises as I recommended in Steiner's "original" program, and repeat using new exercises.  The more advanced you are, then the more variety you need.