The Mass Made Super Simple Regimen

A Strong-as-You-Look Bill Starr-Influenced, Old-School Strongman-Inspired Program for the Natural Bodybuilder/Lifter

     Modern bodybuilding is certainly capable of producing hypertrophy.  The problem with it is that it often doesn’t produce the kind of muscle size that is as strong as it looks.  This program takes care of that problem.  If you want to build muscle that is also strong and powerful, then look no further.  This one is as good as they come.

     This program combines, in one routine, many of my favorite methods. It utilizes heavy/light/medium training a la Bill Starr.  It uses load-cycling, where several training weeks move from lighter to heavier, then back off again.  And it also utilizes an old-school weight ladder method inspired by the legendary strongman Hermann Goerner that I have grown more fond of the more I use it.  Goerner called them “chains” where—unlike “rep ladders” in which the weight stays the same but the reps undulate—the reps stay the same but the weights undulate.

     This regimen is rather minimalistic.  You will use only 3 lifts during the course of the program: the front squat, the incline barbell bench press, and the barbell curl.  When incorporated together, these 3 lifts build muscle in all of the “right” places while also boosting your all-around strength.  The front squat works the quads more than the back squat, giving you a better teardrop look to the legs, but it still works the entirety of your thighs, while also building plenty of athletic power.  The incline bench press has all of the benefits of the flat bench press but it works your upper chest more, something that a lot of bodybuilders need.  And the barbell curl is more than just an arm builder.  It will also build a good deal of back strength along with working your “core” muscles.  If you do want to incorporate other movements instead, I will give you some options at the end, but I think these 3 are good for this particular program.

     This is a 3 days per week regimen.  You will do the 3 lifts on each training day.  I have listed the days below as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but feel free to train on whatever 3 non-consecutive days you wish.

     On each lift, you need to know what you are capable of doing for an all-out 10-rep maximum.  Using that weight, or a percentage of it, you will do no more than 5 reps.  I will explain in detail as we proceed below.

Week 1:

Monday (Heavy)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 4 cycles

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 4 cycles

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 4 cycles

     On each movement, after a couple of warmup sets (possibly more if you’re really strong), load the bar with 60% of your 10-rep maximum and do a set of 5 reps.  Add weight on the 2nd set, so that you now have 80% of your 10-rep max on the bar and do another set of 5.  Add weight again, so that you have 100% of your 10-rep max on the bar and do another set of 5 reps.  Drop back down to your 60% weight and repeat this “chain” for 3 more 3-set ladders for a total of 4 cycles and 12 sets.  So, let’s say your 10-rep max on front squats is 225 pounds.  This means, 60% would be 135 pounds and 80% would be 180.  Yes, if you’re wondering, the weights will probably feel easy your first day.  Do not make the mistake of using weights on the movements that are too heavy.  This program works by starting easy, working up to hard workouts over several weeks, then backing off before “ascending the mountain” again.

Wednesday (Light)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 4 sets

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 4 sets

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 4 sets

     For your light day, you will simply do 4 sets of 5 reps with 60% of your 10-rep maximum.  Even though the Monday workout might have felt easy, there’s a chance you’ll still be sore on this day, especially if you have never done such frequent training before.  This session will help you train through that soreness.  After a couple weeks, you probably won’t be sore at all, and, after this day, you will feel even better, as it will “train out” any soreness you do have.

Friday (Medium)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 4 cycles

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 4 cycles

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 4 cycles

     For this day, you will do a workout in between your Monday and Wednesday session, making it a “medium” workout.

Week Two:

Monday (Heavy)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 5 cycles

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 5 cycles

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 5 cycles

     Use the same weight on all of the movements that you used during the first week, but you will now do 5 “chains” of 3 sets each instead of 4 for a total of 15 sets.  You may start to feel fatigued by the final set of the 5th chain, but you should still get all of the reps on all of your 100% sets with relative ease.

Wednesday (Light)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 5 sets

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 5 sets

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 5 sets

Friday (Medium)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 5 cycles

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 5 cycles

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 5 cycles

Week Three:

Monday (Heavy)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 6 cycles

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 6 cycles

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5; 100% 10RMx5 x 6 cycles

     This is your last week of using the same weight.  Do 6 cycles of 3-set ladder chains on all of the movements for a total of 18 sets.

Wednesday (Light)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 6 sets

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 6 sets

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps x 6 sets

Friday (Medium)

Front squats: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 6 cycles

Incline barbell bench presses: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 6 cycles

Barbell curls: 60% 10RMx5 reps; 80% 10RMx5 x 6 cycles

     On the 4th week, add 10 pounds to your front squats and 5 pounds to your incline presses and barbell curls on all of your sets, but drop back down to 4 “chain” cycles instead of 6.  Week 5, you will use the same weight as week 4 but do 5 cycles of chains, and in week 6, you will do 6 cycles again.  Continue the program for another 3 weeks after that, adding another 10 and 5 pounds again to your movements.  After 9 weeks, you can either continue for another 3 weeks or you can switch to another routine.  The program will probably “run its course” by 12 weeks, however, and, at that point, you will need to switch to something different.

     If you like the program so much that you want to continue doing it past the 12-week mark, then simply change movements.  Good replacements for the front squats would be back squats (of course), hack squats with a barbell, bottom-position squats in the rack (you can do these as a front or back squat), or even sumo deficit deadlifts.  Even though it’s a deadlift, it works your leg muscles extremely well because it forces you into a deep squat to begin the lift.  I’ve often argued here on the blog that it’s the single best exercise that no one does, 2nd perhaps to only the traditional squat.  You can do dumbbell bench presses (incline or flat) or wide-grip bench presses as a substitute for incline barbell presses.  And any kind of curl would be a good replacement for the barbell curl.  You could also go with 3 completely different movements by using, for example, sumo deficit deadlifts, weighted dips, and military presses.  The fact that the movements are so different from the 3 suggested here would make them great for a change of pace using the same program.

     If you're an athlete and not in search of a bodybuilding routine, but want a program to supplement your sport, you could run the program with only 2 lifts.  Two great movements that would be good for football players, fighters, or anyone in a “contact” sport would be the sumo deadlift (deficit or regular) and the overhead press.  Doing just 2 lifts at each session would allow you to recover enough for your sport, since only 1 of the sessions each week, the “heavy” one, approaches “hard.”

     If you are not in the off-season or if you’re simply an athlete who trains a lot in another activity as a hobby—this would be great for martial artists who train at the dojo 4 to 5 times weekly—then you could only do 2 sessions each week, the Monday and Friday workout.  Cut out the Wednesday session, but stick with the M/F workouts as written.  If you go this route, you could do the Friday workout on Thursday instead.  Taking 2 days off after the heavy session and 3 days off after the medium workout is probably ideal, anyway, if you take that path.

     Another option, if you love going to the gym and want to do more than 3 lifts in a week, is to do 4 lifts and train 6 days straight before taking a day off.  So, for example, you might do incline barbell bench presses and barbell curls on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and you might do front squats and military presses on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Keep the training plan the same—you would just have 2 heavy days, 2 light days, and 2 medium ones.

     This program really is quite simple once you understand the concept.  Simple and minimalistic though it may be, it has all of the components that make for a good program—full-body (and frequent) training, cyclical workloads both daily and weekly, and undulating weight ladders.  As you do it, and as your body adjusts to it, you will also build up your work capacity, meaning that, once you’ve run it a time or two, you can start utilizing full-body, 3 days per week routines with even more total workload.  It might be mass-building made super simple but it’s also super effective.