Mass Construction Revisited

Tips and Insights for Getting the Most Out of My Mass Construction Program

+Some Training Variations

     During the ‘90s and until (around) 2010, I probably wrote 100 articles, give or take a few, for Ironman magazine.  I won’t get into it here—in fact, I have never discussed what transpired and don’t plan on it; water under the bridge, as they say—but I stopped writing for the magazine when I received a phone call from Jeff Everson late one evening in ‘09, asking me if I would write for his magazine, Planet Muscle.  It didn’t take much for Everson to convince me.  He said he’d pay me $800 to $1K for each of my original articles.  Double that of most magazines, save Muscle & Fitness, at the time.  I write “original” because he also asked me if I would re-write some of my older articles, particularly ones that I had written for MuscleMag International.  Since I didn’t have to do much for these older articles, other than give them a new title and re-do some of the wording (technically, MuscleMag still owned the copyright on them; they weren’t “mine” per se), he said he would pay me $500 for those.  Easy work.  I didn’t mind at all.  It was still more than most magazines paid for my brand-new stuff.

     Everson would find old magazines he owned—he seemed to be a bit of a collector, something we had in common—that had my articles.  He would clip out the articles and then mail them to me in a standard, white envelope, with his address and mine hand-written in his kinda ragged, scribbly writing.  What surprised me then—it no longer does now; I’ve grown accustomed to it—is the number of times that I didn’t even remember writing the article he sent.  It still happens now, though, and probably more often, since it’s been more than 30 years since I first became a published author.  I’ll rummage through my attic, searching for one of my older articles—you know, one that I do remember—and then find an article that reads well and gets my interest while thumbing through the pages, only to then discover that I was the one who wrote it!  No, it’s not dementia.  That’s simply what happens once you’ve penned damn-near 1,000 articles—once again, give or take a few.  Besides, the only reason that I do remember certain articles is because the number of questions that I’ve received about them over the years.  I really don’t know what it is that makes some of my workout programs popular with readers and others downright forgettable.  But the more questions asked, the more it stays in the forefront of my mind.

     Hands down, one of my most popular workout routines is my “Mass Construction” program, which I wrote for Ironman in ‘08.  Of the ones penned in this century, I’ve probably received the most questions about either “Mass Construction” or my “High-Frequency Focus Training.”  If you’re interested in my HFFT program, I actually wrote a “sequel” to it as my first post of 2026.  HFFT2 is different from the first program, but similar enough because it uses the same “principles” as the first one.  Originally, that’s what I thought I would do here, but after reading over my “Mass Construction” regimen again, I don’t think it needs much, if any, changes—the changes that I would make are pretty much miniscule.  Instead, I want to re-visit it, discuss any areas where I may feel as if my thoughts on a subject have shifted slightly, and then give you some alternatives, including a “heavier” program and a split-training option.

     For the remainder of this article, all of the italicized sentences are from the program as it originally appeared in Ironman.  The non-italicized paragraphs are my current commentary.  I figured it was best to approach this the same way that I do a lot of my “classical bodybuilding” pieces.  I allow the original article to “speak for itself,” and then offer (for whatever it’s worth) my own thoughts.

     The subtitle of my original MC program was “State-of-the-Art, Holistic Training for Out-of-This-World Results.”  Let’s see if that still holds true.  Here was the opening few paragraphs, the preamble to get things rolling:

     After years of heavy power training—years upon years of heavy triples, doubles, and singles performed with supra-maximal poundage, my body just couldn’t take it any more.  For six months I couldn’t even lift a weight due to several herniated cervical disks.  Finally, I had to have surgery.  The doc’s advice: “don’t ever train heavy again!”  What, was this guy crazy?  I love lifting heavy weights—it’s the most addictive thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.  I’ve never tried heroin, but I’m pretty damn sure that I wouldn’t find it as addictive as getting under a 500-pound squat and cranking out a few triples.

     Nevertheless, when I recovered from my surgery and it was time to start pumping the iron again, I knew it was also time to make some changes to my training.  And so I made a choice: I decided to trade in one addiction for another.  I traded in the addiction of the max single for the addiction of the monster pump.  “Pump” training was my original love, after all.  (If you don’t believe me, just dig out some of the original articles I wrote for Iron Man back in the mid ‘90s.  In fact, I wrote an article in one of the ’94 Ironman magazines—it was Ironman back then, not Iron Man as it is today—entitled “The Monster Pump.”)*

     But one thing was certain: I also wasn’t about to start training like the average pro bodybuilder.  I decided that my new-style bodybuilding training was going to be state of the art.  I was going to take all of the stuff I learned from years of powerlifting and power-building, and I was going to apply it to some serious hypertrophy training.

     This bodybuilder was going to be 21st century; cutting-edge as hell.

     Okay, those paragraphs are still true.  No doubt.  But I’m not sure if my MC program was, or is, “cutting edge.”  Because, truth told, it’s more or less a “throwback” program.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that it’s still not “state-of-the-art.”  But it’s more reminiscent of old-school bodybuilding programs than anything new.  In many ways, it’s similar to some of the programs that I’ve been writing lately for the blog; routines of the “Silver Era” bodybuilders such as Marvin Eder.  As we progress here, I think you’ll find that to be true, as well, if you have been reading my blog this year.

The Principles of Mass Construction

     I based this program on several principles.  If the principles are correct, then the program should “work.”  Here are the principles as I laid them out in the article:

Principle Number One: Volume is King!

     “Whoa!” some of you are saying.  “Hold your friggin’ horses, Sloan, ‘cause there’s no way this principle can be right!  We’ve read Mike Mentzer, and while we might not agree with everything he had to say, we do know that less is better.”

     Keep in mind that this article was written for Ironman.  If any magazine was a defender of Mentzer and other “H.I.T.” writers, it was IM.  What was good about IM, however, was that they allowed different writers their own say.  You had plenty of pro-HIT authors, sure, but you also had writers such as Gene Mozee who wrote programs that were the complete opposite, and then you had the old-school guys such as Steiner and Starr who couldn’t really be said to fit in any “camp” of training, other than the “sane, sensible” one, to use Steiner’s words.

     Not so fast.  Not only is less not better, but more is a hell-of-a lot better.  The key is just knowing how to apply the volume, when to pour it on and when to back off.  But we’ll get to that backing off stuff in a little bit.  First, I want to spin a little tale about myself – how I first discovered there might be a lot more to this volume stuff than I ever realized.

     A few years ago, I was training for a powerlifting meet down here in the Deep South.  A couple of training partners I lifted with wanted to try one of those crazy Russian-style squat routines.  I decided what the hell, might as well give it a shot.  But if we were going to follow a Russian-style squat routine, then we were going to do the entire program.  We were going to train our bench presses and deadlifts Russian-style just the same.

     “Crazy Russian-style” meant “Smolov.”  I won’t get into the details of a Smolov-style squat regimen here, but, yes, most folks would find it “crazy.”  We settled on a Sheiko program instead, which is better for long-term training than Smolov.

     The program we followed had us hitting the bench press three times per week, squatting twice each week, and deadlifting twice each week.  The squatting and deadlifting were both done on different days, which meant that we were training our hamstrings, glutes, and lower back a total of four times each week.  And none of the workouts we did were light on volume.

     I definitely had my reservations at first.  But after a few weeks, I was sold.  My squat had never been stronger, and my deadlift and bench press were increasing.  The only problem: I was gaining too much muscle, funny as that may sound.  This routine wasn’t for someone trying to stay in a weight class, but it was fantastic for a trainee trying to pack on the pounds.  I had to actually decrease the amount of work I was doing in each workout in an attempt to stay in my weight class.

     But I had learned my lesson, one that I am now applying to my new hypertrophy workouts.  Volume definitely rocks!  You just need to know how to manipulate it to get the best results.  That’s where the following principles come in.

Principle Number Two: Volume Might be King but Squatting is Queen

     If you don’t gain anything else from this article, at least learn this: volume training combined with lots of squatting is the most sure-fire way imaginable to pack on the muscle mass.

     I still stand by the above statement as much as ever.  In fact, read it 3 or 4 times (or more) so that it’s seared into your mind.  Let it be your muscle-building, strength-gaining mantra for the remainder of your lifting life!

     You want to increase your bench press?  Squat more.  You want to gain 30 pounds of muscle?  Squat more.  You want big arms more than anything else in the world? Squat more.

     In case you haven’t figured it out, all of those above answers had one thing in common.  You’ve got to squat if you are serious about gaining muscle mass.

Principle Number Three: Full Body Workouts are the Best

     If volume is king and squatting is queen, then full body workouts are the aces up your muscle-building sleeve.

     Full body training is “the bomb” for several reasons.  First, training the whole body seems to promote overall growth better than “split” training.  It acts as an anabolic catalyst, so to speak, triggering growth everywhere, even if only a few exercises are performed.

     Second, full body workouts allow you to train each bodypart more frequently.  Yep, you just read that correctly.  Frequent is good.  Recently, it has become almost a fad to train infrequently and irregularly.  The rationale has been that increased rest between workouts will aid recovery, and therefore growth and strength.  It sounds simple, it sounds like it will work, but unfortunately for many that have tried it, it just doesn’t work that way.

     While it’s true that you can’t train heavy more than once-per-week (at least until you become very advanced) you can train several times each week using workouts that aren’t that heavy.

     Look at all of the great lifters from the past sixty years (especially the ones that weren’t on steroids) who had fantastic physiques and were freaky strong, and you won’t find any of them that got great results from infrequent training.  From Marvin Eder to Bill Pearl to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Pat Casey to (current World’s Strongest Man champion) Mariusz Pudzianowski**, all of them trained (or train) each muscle group at least twice per week.

     Also, if you look at all of the good systems of training over the last twenty years—from Bill Starr’s full body 5x5 workouts to Louie Simmons’s Westside Barbell system, to the full-body powerlifting methods of Russian coach extraordinaire Boris Sheiko, to the “grease the groove” training of Pavel Tsatsouline—the one thing these workouts all have in common is they train the major lifts frequently.

     To put this in perspective, consider this quote by the great Russian strength coach and current director of the biomechanics laboratory at Penn State University, Vladimir Zatsiorsky: “You need to train as heavy as possible as often as possible while being as fresh as possible.”

     And if all of that is not enough, I’ll give you one more reason to give full body workouts a try: Marvin Eder, pound for pound the greatest strength athlete/bodybuilder to ever walk the planet.  In the 1950s, Eder had 19-inch arms at a bodyweight of 198 pounds.  He could squat 550 pounds for 10 reps, bench press 510 for a single, and do standing overhead presses with 365.  In addition, he once did the mind-boggling feat of cranking out 1,000 dips in 17 minutes.  And he built his physique using whole body workouts, training three days each week.

     I’m not sure how much it influenced me at the time, or whether I was even aware of it, but my actual MC workout program is markedly similar to Eder’s approach of utilizing cyclical workloads throughout a training cycle.  It is possible that I was influenced by Eder more than I realize, but I don’t think so.

Principle Number Four: Stay Away from Failure

     When training with high volume (lots of sets, full-body workouts three days each week) you want to, for the most part, stay the heck away from muscle failure.  You’ve probably heard the phrase “You can either train hard or you can train long, but you can’t do both.”  Well, that statement happens to be right on, but most people just don’t understand that training long is better than training to failure.

     Several years before this one, I wrote an article for T-Nation entitled “Train Long Not Hard.”

     Despite the fact that this program I’m outlining is state-of-the-art, it’s not really anything new.  Bodybuilders of old knew very well that it was better to train long than it was to train hard.  Most of your classic bodybuilders from the ‘60s and before trained their muscle groups three times each week.  They didn’t do this because they read some new-fangled study that told them that was the best way to go.  They trained this way because they attempted every bodybuilding workout under the sun, and this was what worked best for them.  And they knew that in order to train their muscle groups that frequently, they would have to avoid muscle failure.

Principle Number Five: Keep Your Reps Moderate

     When training with a lot of volume, you want to avoid a couple of things.  One, you don’t want to train with incredibly heavy weights.  Why?  Because you will be approaching failure or hitting failure on all of your sets.  And, as we saw in our fourth principle, failure is bad.  In other words, you can’t do 10 sets of max triples and not expect to burn out.

     Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t do 10 sets of 3; it just means that the weight needs to be only moderately heavy if the reps are going to be that low.  Also, keep in mind that when trying to build maximum muscle mass—not maximum strength—your reps can be a little higher.

     The second thing you need to avoid when training with a lot of volume is doing too many reps on each set.  High rep sets combined with a high number of sets can add up to too much workload in a single workout.  This is what leads to overtraining, not volume workouts in and of themselves.

     What’s an ideal rep range for a bodybuilder solely interested in building muscle?  I’d say anywhere between 6-12 reps, with 6 to 8 being best.

Principle Number Six: Know When to Back Off

     Funny thing about those Russian workouts my lifting partners and I were doing: every four weeks, the volume would drop for one week.  I’ve noticed something else about all other great workout programs that rely on volume, whether it’s a Soviet-inspired squat regimen or a Westside bench workout.  Almost every one of them takes a break after three weeks of hard training.  This doesn’t mean you have to lay off for an entire week; it just means cutting back on sets and reps.

     In fact, little Principle Number Six here is the key to making big gains with volume workouts.  And, in case you haven’t figured it out, not backing off every few weeks is the reason why most people get absolutely nowhere when training with high-volume.

     As you can see, I have little to add to my original words.  Now, the difference in my training then compared to now is what happened to me, and my training, after I wrote this article.  In the early 2010s, I got bigger than I have ever been in my entire life despite the fact that I was in my 40s (with the exception of my early 20s, but that was due, I believe, more to my age and the fact that, for the first time in my life, I tried to get “big as a house”).  I ended up using even more volume than what was in this program, training more frequently, but with lower reps.  So, after I present to you the original MC program, I’ll give you some training variations based on those mass-building discoveries.

Creating the Ultimate Workout

     Okay, knowing the above factors, just what in the world would a really great training program look like incorporating these principles?  I think it would look a lot like the one that follows.  This might not be the ultimate program ever created for packing on muscle, but I don’t think you could ever find one much better, either.

     What follows is a four-week cycle.  Read the entire program and study it several times before hitting the gym.  When we get done with the program, I’ll give you a little advice to keep the gains coming longer than just the four weeks.

Week One

Day One

Squats: 5 sets of 8 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 8 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 5 sets of 8 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 5 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 15 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deadlifts: 5 sets of 6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 5 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 4 sets of 10 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 15 reps

Day Three

Squats: 5 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 5 sets of 8 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 5 sets of 8 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 5 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 15 reps

Week Two

Day One

Squats: 6 sets of 8 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 6 sets of 8 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 6 sets of 8 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 6 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 20 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deadlifts: 6 sets of 6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 6 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 6 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 6 sets of 10 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 20 reps

Day Three

Squats: 6 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 6 sets of 8 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 6 sets of 8 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 6 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 20 reps

Week Three

Day One

Squats: 8 sets of 8 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 8 sets of 8 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 6 sets of 10 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 8 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deadlifts: 8 sets of 6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 8 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 8 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 8 sets of 10 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps

Day Three

Squats: 8 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 8 sets of 10 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 8 sets of 10 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 8 sets of 12 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps

Week Four

Day One

Squats: 3 sets of 8 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 3 sets of 8 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 3 sets of 8 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 2 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deadlifts: 2 sets of 6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 2 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 2 sets of 10 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Day Three

Squats: 3 sets of 8 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 3 sets of 8 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 3 sets of 8 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 2 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Tips

• Train three non-consecutive days each week.  The most popular days would be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

• All sets listed are “work” sets, done in a “straight” set fashion.  In other words, for all of your work sets, you will use the same weight on each set.  Perform one or two warm-up sets on each exercise before any work sets are performed, however.

• Only the last set or two of each exercise should approach “muscular failure.”

• When in doubt, use less weight not more.

• Rest two to three minutes between sets.

• The program is designed so that each week builds upon the previous one.  This entails that you DO NOT miss a training session.

• The last week is your “back off” week.

• When you are finished with the fourth week, you can either start the program over again for another four-week cycle or create a workout of your own based on the principles you have learned.

     Overall, I wouldn’t change anything with this original program.  If I did change anything, it would be to substitute sumo deadlifts for sumo deficit deadlifts or snatch-grip deadlifts.  For one, those movements force you into a deeper bottom-position, making it as much of a squat as a deadlift.  For another, both of them force you to use less weight, which might be good as you enter the 3rd week of the program.  Another option—and I think I like this one best—would be to use double kettlebell power cleans as a replacement.  With kettlebells, you can do higher-rep cleans and not worry as much about form degradation and/or injury, two serious issues I have with barbell cleans when done for higher reps.  When doing barbell power cleans, I think 5 reps is about the max number of reps that should be utilized.

     The premise of this program, when you get right down to it, is simple.  Full-body, high-volume workouts are superior to building muscle, especially when you steadily increase the volume for 3 weeks straight, then follow those weeks up with a “de-load” or “active recovery” week to allow for full recovery and recuperation.  As mentioned earlier, however, I got even bigger when I switched over to higher-volume, lower-rep programs.  So, let’s look at a couple of other options.  The 1st one is simple enough.  It’s almost the same as this one, but with more sets and less reps.  The 2nd option is only for advanced lifters, but it’s exactly the kind of program that I used 15 years ago to get massive.

Mass Construction 2: Heavier Weights and Higher Sets

Week One

Day One

Squats: 6 sets of 5 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 6 sets of 5 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 6 sets of 5 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 6 sets of 5 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 15 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 6 sets of 5 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 6 sets of 5 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 6 sets of 5 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 6 sets of 5 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 15 reps

Day Three

Squats: 6 sets of 5 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 6 sets of 5 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 6 sets of 5 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 6 sets of 5 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 15 reps

Week Two

Day One

Squats: 8 sets of 4 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 8 sets of 4 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 8 sets of 4 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 8 sets of 4 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 20 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 8 sets of 4 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 8 sets of 4 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 8 sets of 4 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 8 sets of 4 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 20 reps

Day Three

Squats: 8 sets of 4 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 8 sets of 4 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 8 sets of 4 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 8 sets of 4 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 20 reps

Week Three

Day One

Squats: 10 sets of 3 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 10 sets of 3 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 10 sets of 3 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 10 sets of 3 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 10 sets of 3 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 10 sets of 3 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps

Day Three

Squats: 10 sets of 3 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 10 sets of 3 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 10 sets of 3 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 10 sets of 3 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps

Week Four

Day One

Squats: 2 sets of 10 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 2 sets of 10 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 2 sets of 10 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 2 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deadlifts: 2 sets of 6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 2 sets of 10 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 2 sets of 10 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Day Three

Squats: 2 sets of 10 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 2 sets of 10 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 2 sets of 10 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 2 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

• All of the tips from the first program apply here.

• In week 2, add 10 pounds to your big movements and 5 pounds to your smaller ones.

• In week 3, add another 10 pounds to your big lifts and another 5 pounds to your smaller exercises.  This means that, for example, in week 1, if you did 225 on your squats for 6 sets of 5, you would use 235 for 8 sets of 4 in week 2 and 245 for 10x3 in week 3.

• In week 4, drop down to a weight significantly lighter than week 1 for your 2 sets of 10.  You should feel almost as if you didn’t do much during these workouts.  That’s the point.  Remember, this is your active recovery week.

• I would run this 2nd program for at least 8 weeks, though most lifters would do well to stretch it into 12.  

• In week 5, do 6x5 with the weight used for 8x4 in week 2.  In week 6, when you do 8x4, use the weight utilized for 10x3 in week 3.  Then, in week 7, use 10 additional pounds than what you initially used for 10x3 in week 3.  For week 8, use the same weights as week 4.  This means, for our hypothetical squatter above, his 8 weeks of training would look like this - week 1: 225x6x5, week 2: 235x8x4, week 3: 245x10x3, week 4: 185x2x10, week 5: 235x6x5, week 6: 245x8x4, week 7: 255x10x3, week 8: 185x2x10.  Apply the same principle to all other movements.

Mass Construction 3: Advanced High-Volume Training

     If you have the work capacity to handle it, this program will bring about big-time mass gains.  It’s a split program, where you do squats and presses on one day and pulls and presses (along with lats and biceps) on the 2nd.  It’s a 2-way split, where you train 6 days per week.

Week One

Monday

Squats: 6x5 (6 sets of 5reps)

Front Squats: 6x5

Incline Bench Presses: 6x5

Weighted Dips: 6x5

Skull Crushers: 6x5

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x15

Tuesday

Double Kettlebell Power Cleans: 6x5

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 6x5

Wide Grip Chins: 6x5

Barbell Military Presses: 6x5

Barbell Curls: 6x5

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x15

Wednesday

Front Squats: 6x5

Decline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 6x5

Weighted Dips: 6x5

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x15

Thursday

Double Kettlebell Power Cleans: 6x5

One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 6x5 (each arm)

Barbell Curls: 6x5

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x15

Friday

Squats: 6x5

Front Squats: 6x5

Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 6x5

Weighted Dips: 6x5

Skull Crushers: 6x5

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x15

Saturday

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 6x5

Barbell Military Presses: 6x5

Wide Grip Chins: 6x5

Barbell Curls: 6x5

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x15

Week Two

Monday

Squats: 8x4 (8 sets of 5 reps)

Front Squats: 8x4

Incline Bench Presses: 8x4

Weighted Dips: 8x4

Skull Crushers: 8x4

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x20

Tuesday

Double Kettlebell Power Cleans: 8x4

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 8x4

Wide Grip Chins: 8x4

Barbell Military Presses: 8x4

Barbell Curls: 8x4

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x20

Wednesday

Front Squats: 8x4

Decline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 8x4

Weighted Dips: 8x4

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x20

Thursday

Double Kettlebell Power Cleans: 8x4

One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 8x4(each arm)

Barbell Curls: 8x4

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x20

Friday

Squats: 8x4

Front Squats: 8x4

Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 8x4

Weighted Dips: 8x4

Skull Crushers: 8x4

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x20

Saturday

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 8x4

Barbell Military Presses: 8x4

Wide Grip Chins: 8x4

Barbell Curls: 8x4

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x20

Week Three

Monday

Squats: 10x3 (10 sets of 3 reps)

Front Squats: 10x3

Incline Bench Presses: 10x3

Weighted Dips: 10x3

Skull Crushers: 10x3

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x25

Tuesday

Double Kettlebell Power Cleans: 10x3

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 10x3

Wide Grip Chins: 10x3

Barbell Military Presses: 10x3

Barbell Curls: 10x3

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x25

Wednesday

Front Squats: 10x3

Decline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 10x3

Weighted Dips: 10x3

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x25

Thursday

Double Kettlebell Power Cleans: 10x3

One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Presses: 10x3(each arm)

Barbell Curls: 10x3

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x25

Friday

Squats: 10x3

Front Squats: 10x3

Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 10x3

Weighted Dips: 10x3

Skull Crushers:10x3

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x25

Saturday

Sumo Deficit Deadlifts: 10x3

Barbell Military Presses: 10x3

Wide Grip Chins: 10x3

Barbell Curls: 10x3

Incline Sit-Ups: 5x25

Week Four

Day One

Squats: 2 sets of 10 reps

Incline Bench Presses: 2 sets of 10 reps

Wide Grip Chins: 2 sets of 10 reps

Barbell Curls supersetted w/ Dips: 2 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Day Two

Sumo Deadlifts: 2 sets of 6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Presses: 2 sets of 10 reps

Dumbbell Curls: 2 sets of 10 reps (each arm)

Skullcrushers: 2 sets of 10 reps

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

Day Three

Squats: 2 sets of 10 reps

Dumbbell Bench Presses: 2 sets of 10 reps

Bent-Over Rows: 2 sets of 10 reps

Preacher Curls supersetted w/ Pulldowns: 2 sets of 10 reps (each exercise)

Incline Sit-Ups: 2 sets of 15 reps

• All of the tips from the original program apply here, as it did with the 2nd program.

• Increase weights from week-to-week in the same manner as the 2nd program, adding 10 pounds to your big lifts and 5 to your smaller movements.

• For week 4, since you will be in need of a de-load at that point from all of the volume, use the same “active recovery” week as the 2nd program.

• You may notice that I have eliminated bent-over rows from this program and replaced it on Saturdays with more wide-grip chins.  If you would prefer to do rows instead of chins on that day, you can.  My reasoning, however, is that your lower back could probably use the break with 3 days per week of squatting and 3 days of heavy pulls on alternate days.

• If you choose to replace any movement, ensure that your replacement is same but different.

• You should run this program for 8 weeks.  At that point, because of the volume, you may need to switch over to another program.  However, you can run it for 12, assuming you have the work capacity to do so.  Week 8 (and possibly week 12) should be the same as week 4.

• I must reiterate this once more: DO NOT do this program if you are not advanced.  However, if you are advanced enough to handle the workload, don’t think that it’s too much.  The only “issue” with it, even for those with the work capacity, is that you must dedicate all of your energy to this program and nothing else.  If you train in a sport or are highly active in something else (such as running), then this will be too much.  The only activity you should do outside of lifting is walking.

     No matter which one of these programs you try, make sure that you consume enough calories and get enough protein each-and-every day.  You will need it when mass-building.  None of these programs are ideal if you are trying to lose bodyfat.  They are hypertrophy regimens and require that you eat like it.

     This article has stretched into one of the longest I have ever written for the blog, so I suppose it’s time to call it quits. If you’re looking to build your physique, and need more mass, then consider giving one of these programs a go.  At the very least, apply the principles herein and construct your own mass-building, hypertrophy-inducing workout!

     As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email or leave them in the “comments” section below.  I am a little behind in answering my emails, but I typically get around to answering them within a couple of days of being sent.

     Also, if you liked this program and are looking for similar workouts, then consider purchasing my book “Ultimate Mass and Power: A Collection of Training Programs for Getting Massively Big and Incredibly Strong.”  It’s PACKED with multiple workouts to achieve just those goals.  If you are interested in it, or any of my other books, then head to the My Books page for more info!

NOTES

*Ironman magazine could never decide what-the-heck it should be called.  It has been “Ironman,” “IronMan,” and “Iron Man.”  I’m not sure what it is to this day, but I have reverted back to calling it, plain and simply, “Ironman.”

**Pudzianowski was WSM when I wrote the original article.  He is still, however, the best “built” man to ever win that title, and he trained with an insane amount of volume, frequency, and total workload.  His training, however, was, in many ways, just as similar to East-European bodybuilding as it was to East-European powerlifting or weightlifting.  Those are countries where, to this day, it is considered laughable to not be at least as strong as you look.