Heavy/Light Alternate Training

A Golden Era-Inspired High-Volume Mass-Building Program but with a Twist

     Since I started working on my recent series on the training methods and workouts of the golden era bodybuilding legends, I’ve had a lot of old-school routines, ideas, and plans running through my mind.  Those thoughts led me to write the program here.  This is a routine that uses some of the golden era methods but does so in a way that will better allow the bodybuilder to recover while still taking advantage of the various benefits with higher-frequency, high-volume training.

     If you’ve read at least a couple of the articles in my on-going series—I have two more still to go—then you realize by now, if you didn’t beforehand, that most of the old-school bodybuilders, particularly those from the 1970s, favored training antagonistic bodyparts in the same workout session.  These days, many bodybuilders favor training just one muscle group at a workout—the so-called “bro split”—or if they do train multiple muscle groups in a session, prefer something such as 2-way, upper/lower split or a 3-way, push/pull/legs split where you might train chest, shoulders, and triceps on one day and back/biceps at another.  But the golden era champs liked training chest with back, biceps with triceps, quads with hamstrings, and so on.

     Along with agonist/antagonist training, old-school bodybuilders liked high-volume workouts, high-frequency training—they would often train a muscle 3 days per week or 2 at the minimum—and a fast training pace.  Antagonistic muscles were often trained together in a superset fashion, particularly biceps and triceps.

     Another method that comes from the golden era—though it was definitely not a common technique—was something called “alternates.”  I first remember reading about alternates in an article in the July, 1994 issue of MuscleMag International that was written by Greg Zulak (who had a profound influence on my own writing and the subjects I wrote about; I had just gotten started in my writing career that same year), aptly and simply titled “Alternates” with the subtitle “A Fantastic Way to Build Mass and Strength.”

     With alternates, you do a set for one muscle group, rest a minute or so (less or more depending on your goals), and then do a set for the antagonistic muscle group.  You might do a set of bench presses, rest two minutes, do a set of wide-grip chins, then rest a couple more minutes before returning to the benches.  You continue that way throughout the workout, whether you utilize one exercise per muscle group or 5 different ones.  It’s obviously similar to, and has its inspiration from, supersets.  With supersets, however, you don’t rest any between the two exercises, only between each superset.  Some bodybuilders called them “jump sets” as you would “jump” back and forth between two movements.  This is how Leo Costa referred to them in his bodybuilding manual “Big Beyond Belief.”

     The program here uses alternates, as well, but does so in a way that will allow you to train each bodypart more frequently while still using a high amount of volume.  With alternates the way that Zulak wrote about them and the way that they were used by the bodybuilders of that era, a bodybuilder would often need several days off—Zulak recommended taking off as much as a full week—before doing the same workout again.  In this program, you will train each muscle group twice per week.  One workout for each muscle will be “heavy” and the 2nd workout will be “light.”  I will explain the details as I lay out the routine.

The Old-School, Heavy-Light Alternate Regimen for Size-Building

Day One: Heavy Chest and Shoulders - Light Back and Traps

Bench Presses: 5x8,8,8,6,4.  Warm up with 1 or 2 light sets of 8 to 10 reps.  After that, load the bar with a weight where you could get about 12 reps for one all-out set.  Do a set of 8 reps, add weight and do another set of 8; add weight again so that, by the 3rd set, you are at, or close, to your 8-rep max.  Add weight and do a heavy set of 6 reps.  Add more weight for your final set of 4 reps.

   Alternated with/

Wide-grip lat pulldowns: 5x10.  For this movement, select a weight for all of your work sets where you could get 20 reps for one max set.  You should get each set with ease, but heavy enough that you still feel the lats being worked.  Doing the pulldowns in between each set of bench presses—and this is the beauty of alternates—will actually make you stronger on every set of bench presses.  In fact, the lat work will make you stronger on benches than you would be otherwise.

Incline bench presses: 5x8.  Select a weight on these, as with the flat bench presses, where you could get around 12 reps for one all-out set.  If you manage 8 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next Day One workout session.

   Alternated w/

Close-grip lat pulldowns: 5x10.  Use the same method as the wide-grip pulldowns.

Incline dumbbell flyes: 5x12.  Select a weight on these where you can get around 16 reps for one all-out set.  If you manage 12 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next session.

   Alternated w/

Seated close-grip low cable rows: 5x10.  Once again, the same method as the pulldown movements.

Military presses: 5x8.  As with the flat and incline presses for your chest, select a weight here where you could get 12 reps for one all-out set.  You can do these seated or standing.

   Alternated w/

Barbell shrugs: 5x10.  Same method as the lat movements.

Dumbbell side laterals: 5x12.  As with the flyes, select a weight on these where you could about 16 reps if you were attempting one all-out set.

   Alternated w/

Dumbbell shrugs: 5x10.  Same method as the other light exercises in the workout.  If your back and/or traps are starting to feel fatigued by this point, you can always just use the same weight that you are using for the side lateral raises.

Day Two: Heavy Biceps - Light Triceps

Barbell curls: 5x8,8,8,6,4.  Use the same method as you utilized on flat bench presses to begin Day One.

   Alternated w/

Straight-bar triceps pushdowns: 5x10.  Select a weight where you could easily get 20 reps for one all-out set.

Seated alternate dumbbell curls: 5x8 (each arm).  Select a weight where you could get right at 12 reps if you were doing one all-out set.  If you get 8 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next session.

   Alternated w/

Rope pushdowns: 5x10.  Same technique as the other pushdowns.

Preacher curls: 5x8.  Same method as the seated dumbbell curls.

   Alternated w/

Bench dips: 5x10

Day Three: Heavy Quadriceps - Light Hamstrings

Barbell squats: 5x8,8,8,6,4.  Same method as the first compound lift from the other training days.  Use a relatively close stance to make sure that you focus on your quads as much as possible.

   Alternated w/

Romanian deadlifts: 5x10.  Use the same method as other light exercises on the other workouts.

Hack squats: 5x15-20.  Use a weight on your first set where you could get around 20 reps for one all-out set.  Try to get 20 reps on all 5 sets.  The higher reps will promote better leg growth compared to higher repetitions on other muscle groups.  Once you do get 20 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next session.

   Alternated w/

Lying leg curls: 5x10 (light)

Leg extensions: 5x15-20.  Same method as the hack squats.

   Alternated w/

Standing one-leg leg curls: 5x10 (each leg) (light)

Standing calf raises (barbell or dumbbells): 5x20.  This is the only bodypart that you won’t use the alternates technique on.

Day Four: Heavy Back and Traps - Light Chest and Shoulders

Wide-grip weighted chins or lat pulldowns: 5x8,8,8,6,4.  Use the same method as the heavy movements from the other workouts.

   Alternated w/

Flat dumbbell bench presses: 5x10.  Once again, use a weight on these where you could get 20 reps for one hard, all-out set.

Bent-over barbell rows: 5x8.  Again, use a weight where you can get around 12 reps for one max set.  Once you are capable of getting 8 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next Day 4 workout.

   Alternated w/

Incline dumbbell bench presses: 5x10

Close-grip weighted chins or lat pulldowns: 5x8.  Same method as the bent-over rows.

   Alternated w/

Cable crossovers: 5x10

Flat-footed power cleans: 5x5.  Use a weight on these where you could get 7 or 8 reps for one all-out set.  Once you are capable of getting 5 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next session.

   Alternated w/

Seated dumbbell overhead presses: 5x10.  Same method as other light movements.

Barbell shrugs: 5x8.  Again, use a weight that would be your 12-rep max.  If you get 8 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next workout.

   Alternated w/

One-arm cable side laterals: 5x10 (each arm)

Day Five: Heavy Triceps - Light Biceps

Skull crushers: 5x8.  For your first heavy triceps movement, you will stick with 8 reps on all 5 sets since this movement can place a lot more stress on your elbows.  If, however, you want to, you can use the same 5x8,8,8,6,4 method as the other heavy movements.  Only do this, however, if you know that your elbows can handle it.

   Alternated w/

Cable curls: 5x10

Overhead triceps extensions: 5x8.  For these, you can use either a straight bar or an E-Z curl bar.  Again, use a weight where you can get about 12 reps for one all-out set.

   Alternated w/

Incline dumbbell curls: 5x10

Rope pushdowns: 5x8.  Since you can recover easier from cable movements, select a weight here where 8 reps is tough starting with the first set.  Go all-out on every set.  If you have to, reduce the weight as the sets get harder.

   Alternated w/

Concentration curls: 5x10 (each arm)

Day Six: Heavy Hamstrings - Light Quadriceps

Deficit stiff-legged deadlifts: 5x6.  Select a weight where you can get about 8 reps for one all-out set.  Once you manage to get 6 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next session.

   Alternated w/

Smith-machine squats: 5x10.  Same method as other light exercises.

Lying leg curls: 5x12-15.  Select a weight where 15 reps is hard on the first set.  Once you can manage 15 reps on all 5 sets, add weight at the next session.  If needed, reduce the weight if any set drops below 12 reps.

   Alternated w/

Leg extensions: 5x10

Stiff-legged dumbbell deadlifts: 5x8.  Use the same method as the other heavy 5x8 exercises.

   Alternated w/

Front squats: 5x10

Machine calf raises: 5x20.  These can be done on a seated or standing machine.  Work each set just as hard as the Day Three workout

Tips and Pointers

• Take off on the 7th day and don’t do any other physical activity.  Relax as much as possible on this day and eat as much food as you can.  Your body will need it.

• You can add some abdominal work on any day that you wish.  You might want to train your abs just twice per week in the same manner as you do your calves.  If you go this route, then the arm day workout might be a good day for training them.  You can also just train them every other day or every day if you just want to finish each workout with 1 hard, but not entirely all-out set.

• One of the keys to making this program work is selecting the “right” poundages for your light exercises.  My suggestions for how to select the weights are just that, suggestions.  You may need to drop the weights a bit or add a little more if you don’t feel as if you’re working the muscles enough.  The light movements should not be too light.  You should still feel the muscles being worked and should get a pump in those bodyparts.  Another idea is to use 80% of what you would use if you were training “heavy” on those lifts.  So, if you would typically use 225 pounds for 5 hard sets of 10 reps on front squats, you would do 180 for 5x10 on the light-day front squats.  Once again, that’s just a recommendation.  You might have to “play around” with your light exercises until you find the just right poundages.

• If you know that you respond well to less volume then you can do 3 sets on each exercise instead of 5.  But, as I’m fond of writing, more isn’t always better but it usually is!  You should get a massive pump in each muscle group that you are training heavy.  If you can get a huge pump with just 3 sets per muscle, then that’s probably enough sets, however.

• If you find that you already have a shirt-stretching pump (or pants-stretching for your legs) after 2 exercises, you can also eliminate the 3rd movement on those days.  Some workouts, you’ll find that the pump comes easier and quicker, and on other days you will need to do all 3 movements in order to attain one.  If you’ve read my series on golden era training, then you’ll know that old-school bodybuilders stopped their workouts once a full and complete pump had been achieved.  So, if you’re fully pumped by the 2nd set of your 3rd heavy exercise, you can stop right there.

• Stick with the routine for at least 8 weeks.  If you’re still making gains at the 8-week mark, continue to use it for another 4 weeks or so.  Most of the time, the program will have “run its course” by the 12-week mark.  At that point, if you enjoyed the training, you can continue to do it by selecting some same but different exercises and repeating for another 8-12 week training cycle.  A 2nd option is to keep the movements the same but change the sets/reps.  Instead of 5x8, you can do 8x5 on heavy exercises, or 5x6, 5x10-12, or anything else that you know works for you.

• Another option is to go to a one-exercise-per-muscle program.  For example, on your chest/back sessions, you might do 10 sets of 10 reps on bench presses (heavy) alternated with 10 sets of wide-grip lat pulldowns (light).  At the 2nd workout, it might be 10x10 on bent-over rows (heavy) and 10x10 on cable crossovers (light).  Do the same thing for all other muscle groups, selecting a “big” compound movement for the heavy lifts and more of an isolation exercise for the light ones.

• As far as rest between sets goes, if you’ve read some of my other writings, then you know that I don’t give “blanket” recommendations.  Some lifters might do fine with as little as 45 seconds between sets and others might need 2 to 3 minutes.  For building muscle, do your next set just before your muscle has completely recovered from your prior set—and that is an entirely individualistic matter.

• This is a mass-building program and to get big you need to eat big.  Make sure you are consuming at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight on a daily basis and shoot for around 20 times your bodyweight in calories on a daily basis minimum.  That means, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need at least 3,000 calories daily to grow.  You might need even more.  Some guys never grow until they get 4 to 5,000 calories daily!  The bottom line is that, if you’re serious about gaining mass, you must get serious about your eating, too.  It could be that the only thing holding you back is your lack of adequate calories.  Don’t let that hard training go to waste and not make gains just because you aren’t eating enough food.

• If you struggle to gain weight because you find it hard to eat enough food, then consume 2 or 3 protein-packed, weight-gaining milkshakes each day.  Don’t just make them with milk and protein powder, either.  Add in some bananas, peanut butter, heavy cream, raw eggs, or even some extra olive oil or MCT oil for your much-need calories.

     Alternates were never widely used by bodybuilders, even in the golden era.  I think that’s a real shame because I believe they’re one of the finest methods you can use.  In many ways, this article simply combined together two of my favorite systems.  Alternates and heavy/light training.  Alternates are great by themselves.  So is the heavy/light method.  When you merge the two techniques together, however, you have one heck of a program.

     As always, if you have any comments or questions, leave them in the “comments” section below or send me an email if you would prefer a private correspondence.

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