The Strength/Power/Mass Protocol

 

Get Strong, Massive, and Powerful with this Minimalist Program

     Yesterday, I received an email from a reader with a simple question.  He asked what I thought was the best program for building strength and mass—this is one of the questions that I have received fairly regularly over the years.  He said that, after reading the many workout programs that I have on offer here at Integral Strength, he wasn’t sure which one he should select or what kind of program “style” in general was the best, and he said that, to be honest, all of the various programs I write about left him more than a little bit confused.  I told him, first, that there is no one program that reigns supreme over all others.  There are, in fact, a handful of programs that would be great depending on the lifter.  When selecting a program you must take into account several factors, including lifting history, age, job occupation (a construction worker needs a different regimen from a sedentary office worker), and how you respond to volume, frequency, intensity, etc.  Having written all that, however, as I explained to him, there is without a doubt one training style that I think is the best all-around for almost any lifter, with the only caveat being that she must be at least at the “intermediate” level.  And that style—there are different programs that can make use of this method—is one that combines multiple sets of really low reps (singles or doubles) with 90-95% of the lifter’s one-rep max with other sets done for more “moderate” reps in the 5-8 range, with the addition of some speed work (dynamic effort training) on the lifts you’re trying to improve.

      For the average lifter, you probably won’t find a strength/power/mass program much better than the one below.  One of the benefits of it is that, unlike some of the more high-frequency programs that I usually recommend, you won’t have to spend every day in the gym.  That’s one of the reasons I wrote that this is for the “average lifter”—if you have the luxury of being able to train whenever you want, however much you want, I would write something a little different, more voluminous but still with the same methodology intact.  You still have to put in some work, don’t get me wrong, but as long as you can make it to the gym 4 to 5 days per week, this is a good program selection.  It also might be a good program to follow if you have been hammering away at a high-frequency program for a few months and need a break or are just looking for something different.

     Before you start this program, it also might be good to take off for a week or at least 5 days before beginning it.  If you find that impossible—some people, such as myself (I admit) are addicted to lifting—then take a deload week where you do 2 or 3 workouts at about 50% of your usual workload.

     This is a minimalistic program, making it ideal for the lifter who has a regular job, a spouse or family, and obligations outside of just training all day every day.  You will select 3 exercises, and only 3 exercises, to train with during the course of running it.  You can select the 3 powerlifts.  Squat, overhead press, and power clean would also be great, especially for athletes or fighters.  I think 3 great movements to use on it are squats, bench presses, and barbell curls.  Barbell curls are underrated as a power movement, and sometimes get “hated on” in the strength training community simply because it seems as if every Monday is “International Curl Day” at most local gyms.  Select whatever 3 movements you wish to get stronger, and bigger, on but I will use squats, benches, and curls for the example program here.

     Train on a 2-on, 1-off, 1-on, 1-off schedule or a 2-on, 1-off, 1-on, 2-off schedule.  Whether you take that extra day off at the end of the rotation will depend upon your ability to recover between workouts and whether or not you respond to more or less work.  It also might be a good idea to start the program with 2 days off at the end of the cycle and then, as you adapt to it, reduce it to just 1 day off at the end.

     Using the 2-on, 1-off, 1-on, 1-off rotation, your week might look like this: Monday: squats.  Tuesday: bench presses. Wednesday: off. Thursday: curls.  Friday: off. Saturday: repeat.

     On each training day, do the following: Start the workout by doing ramps of 5s, then triples, then singles.  The number of ramps you do will depend upon how strong you are on the exercise.  The purpose of these sets is to neurally “prep” your muscles for the heavy singles that are to follow.  So, stop doing 5s before your sets get really tough.  At this point, you will switch over to progressively heavier triples.  As with the 5s, stop before these get very tough.  Then, do progressively heavier singles until you reach a weight that is between 90-95% of your 1-rep max.  Stick with this weight for 5 singles.  If you miss a single, then stop there.  So, for instance, if you only get 4 singles, stop.  Use that weight at the next workout and attempt 5 singles.  If you get 5 singles in a workout, then increase the weight at the next session for the lift.

     Once you are finished with the 5 singles, drop down to a weight that is 80% of the weight used for the 5 singles.  Now, do 5 more singles but do these with speed.  The bar can descend with control but should explode to lockout.  Just make sure that you are using good form.  Fast reps does not mean sloppy form.

     When you are finished with the 5 speed singles, drop down to a weight that is 60% of the weight used for the 5 heavy singles and do 6 sets of 8 reps.  These back-off sets may feel easy.  Reduce the urge to do more and simply stick with the plan.

     As your strength increases on your 5 heavy singles, make sure that you adjust the poundage used on the speed singles and the 6 sets of 8 accordingly.  The heavy singles and the speed work will make you stronger while preventing you from getting slower.  The problem with a lot of programs using heavy weight and low reps is that even though the lifter gets stronger, he also gets slower, which causes his max weights to begin to regress.  Not with this program.  Also, you will build mass from the 6 sets of 8 reps and the ramps as you work up to your heavy singles to start the workout.  These sets ensure that you’re getting in enough total volume and increasing your workload—two of the keys to gaining mass.

     To give you a better visual understanding, your workouts will look like this:

Day One - Squats

• 5 singles (after ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles) with 90-95% of your one-rep maximum

• 5 singles for speed with 80% of the weight used on the 5 singles above (not 80% of your one-rep maximum)

• 6 sets of 8 reps with 60% of the weight used on the 5 heavy singles

Day Two - Bench Presses

• 5 singles with 90-95% of your one-rep maximum

• 5 singles for speed with 80% of the weight used on the 5 singles above

• 6 sets of 8 reps with 60% of the weight used on the 5 heavy singles

Day Three - Off

Day Four - Barbell Curls

• 5 singles with 90-95% of your one-rep maximum

• 5 singles for speed with 80% of the weight used on the 5 singles above

• 6 sets of 8 reps with 60% of the weight used on the 5 heavy singles

Day Five - Off

Day Six - Repeat (or take off this day, too, and repeat on the following day)

     If you are trying to gain as much mass as possible while on the program, make sure you eat enough calories each and every day.  Consume at least 20 times your bodyweight in calories on a daily basis.  If you’re trying to stay lean while gaining muscle, then keep your caloric intake at 12 to 15 times your bodyweight.  No matter how many calories you consume, get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.

     Do little activity outside of the gym.  This is not an in-season program if you’re an athlete or one that you can utilize while engaging in other calorie-burning activities or hobbies.  If you are an athlete, then save it for off-season training.  You need your nervous system to be “primed” while training on this program, and doing a lot of other physical pursuits at the same time will prevent you from gaining as much strength.  You don’t have to be completely inactive, but limit your exercise outside of the weight room to walking or low-impact stuff such as tai chi or yoga.

     If you’re seeking a workout routine that builds muscle mass but also strength and power like nothing else, then consider your search over.  Your protocol has arrived.