Mass and strength gaining Plan

Comprehensive training and nutritional plans for mass and strength gaining!

From the two articles, “PhD mass gaining essentials” and “PhD radical fat-loss” you will be able to see how PhD Nutrition can help you structure your diet and training to allow you to target specific goals and meet them head-on.
This section basically takes the ethos of those two booklets and goes into a little more depth, including training plans and additional supplements choices that may help accentuate the progress made from the basic plans.
Firstly I’m going to tackle mass and strength for all you hard gainers out there, or those of you seeking to really maximise the winter months and add some solid mass onto your frame.
Firstly, I’ll tell you know, I don’t believe in the generally-accepted “rest and grow” principle. So if you are one of those guys who likes to be at the gym 3 times per week and spend the rest of his/her time sat on the couch eating, forget about this article, or if you are seeking a little enlightenment having tried other approaches and failed, perhaps you should read on.

Different approaches for different goals.
I’ve always lived by the rule that weight training is dependent upon the specific goal at the time of compiling the training cycle.
For example, when preparing for a competition, or simply aiming to shed body fat, the aim is to lose body fat whilst maintaining muscle tissue. This can be extremely difficult for a natural body builder. In fact, many believe that the major difference between natural body building and those who choose to use drugs to enhance their physique, comes when contest time and preparation begins. Anabolic steroids and other such tools make muscle maintenance far easier. When you are a natural body builder and dieting on PhD sports supplements, you have to be intelligent and maximise your weight training sessions with the above goals in mind.
When not dieting for a competition, or attempting to lose body fat and simply looking to add strength and maximise muscle tissue, training can be varied far more and my options widen greatly. Off-season or non-contest training is the best time of the year for me, I’m strong and recover quickly due to the excess calories I’m taking in through my diet. This is the time to increase the workload and vary the repertoire.

Phase 1- The PhD Volume and strength system

The basis of any mass-gaining plan lies within the strategy. It’s no good having a great diet if your training is poor and you don’t use supplements. Similarly, it’s pointless eating a precision mass-gaining diet if your training is based around isolation movements for 20 reps. To really maximise every aspect of your mass-gaining potential, it’s important to have every aspect of the process firing on all cylinders. When mass-gaining is the aim, the three key factors to focus on are diet/training and supplementation.
The following article will break all 3 factors down into simplistic terms. Whilst the training plan may throw you off guard a little, the diet and supplement plan holds no real shocks. So let’s go.

Phase 1- The Training plan.

The generally-accepted rule of mass and strength is, “get stronger, get bigger”. Even the most basic and fundamentally flawed “training plans” have that right. However what most wonder-plans fail to recognise is that a basic “add more weight to the bar every week” approach does not address the problem that eventually there’ll come a time when you simply cannot add anymore weight. What then? Well, then most guys change exercises, which is a decent approach, but again, doesn’t really get you stronger in any given area, it just adds variety.
The following workout is based very loosely around the “Ultimate Hypertrophy Training” system, a structured training plan devised by Gavin Laird, noted strength author and coach. Whilst Gavin’s expertise far exceeds my own, I’ve put together a sample routine that essentially takes all the best bits from his plan and jumbles them together as almost an “introduction” into Gavin’s style of training. For some, beginning the UHT plan immediately, could be very alien to what you have been doing for the last 10 years or so. So with that in mind, perhaps you could look at the following PhD mass gaining plan, as a gentle, though very productive, introduction to a grander plan. A plan which you would be wise to check out after reading this.

I split my workouts into “strength sessions” and “volume sessions”. Through numerous discussions with strength coach and author, Gavin Laird (author of UHT), I’ve tailored a programme which I feel meets all my body building needs when seeking to gain mass:

1. Get stronger- I firmly believe that for a non-genetic phenomenon, as a natural body builder, you have to get stronger to get bigger. Of course there are varying degrees to this statement. Some of us respond fantastically to a minor increase in strength and others don’t. Again, many factors dictate this progression. Though it stands to practise that if you can go from squatting 120kg for 6 reps, to squatting 160kg for 6 reps without sacrificing exercise form, chances are you’re entire lower body is going to be bigger. However traditional body building “programmes” are so limited it’s frightening. Ask a body building “expert” about how to train for strength and the reply will generally be as one-dimensional as “add weight to the bar each week”. Then if you start to hit a plateau (which you will do), it’ll be “change your exercises” until you end up exhausting every possible option and start back at the beginning telling yourself that the “variety” must have led to new muscle. Most body building training experts are clueless, they know less than I do and I’m a veritable beginner compared to the experts out there, operating in all walks of sports. Continual linear progression is impossible. If we all added “ a few kg” to the bar every week we’d all be benching 1000kg in 20 years, not going to happen. With this in mind, body builders must become more open-minded in their training approach, I believe it’s tantamount to prolonged success, particularly in the natural world, where progression is even harder without resorting to drugs.
2. Increase the volume of work performed in a given time scale- It stands to reason that if you can lift the same weight for x amounts of sets in 10 minutes, rather than 15 minutes, you are providing more stimulation to your muscles. My volume workout comprises largely of 10 sets of 10 reps. It’s a hybrid of the old “German Volume Training” that power lifters used to do during their off-season training if they wanted to increase muscle mass and move up a weight class. Essentially I will pick a weight that I reckon I could bang out 20 reps with for 1 all-out maximum set and simply perform 10 reps, rest 60 seconds and then start again. I’ll continue this until I can eventually get 10 sets of 10 reps whilst adhering to the strict 6o second time limit. Often, when beginning a cycle, I’ll fail on set 5 or 6 and then have to drop the weight by 10-15% to make my 10 sets in the required time. Over the weeks my body will become accustomed to the short rest periods and eventually I’ll make the 10 x 10. Once I get there, I can do 1 of 2 things. I can keep the same weight and shorten rest periods to 45 seconds and again work up to 10 x 10 over a length of time, or I can add maybe 5% to the bar and again aim for 10 x 10 with the same amount of rest in between. As you can see, this training sequence involves methodology. It’s quite simply about performing the same, or similar work yet in a shorter space of time. Remember there are more ways than simply “increasing poundage” to progress. By decreasing time and maintaining load, you are performing the same work, in less time. Therefore you are working more efficiently.
3. Provides Variation- Variety is essential to me if I am to ensure progress throughout the year. Moving blindly from week to week just wouldn’t provide me with the motivation to really knuckle down to a lengthy attack on the gym.

The following workout is essentially exactly how I am training at the moment. With the competition season some 6 months away I’m looking to really maximise the next 3 months before beginning my contest-preparation and starting to shed the excess body fat.

Program:

Monday- Upper body strength
Tuesday- Lower body volume
Wednesday- Arms and Calves (volume)
Thursday-Off
Friday- Upper body volume
Saturday- Lower body strength
Sunday- Arms and calves (strength)

As you can see I’m training in a 3-on, 1-off manner. However, far removed from regular body building “split” routines, I split my body 2 ways with an extra day for what I class as either essential body parts, or weak body parts for me. (arms). After 4-6 weeks on the above split, I will alter it slightly. However, I strongly believe that as a natural athlete and with an optimum diet and good supplement habits, I can recover far quicker than the average gym goes. I feel that with 10 years of solid training under my belt, I’ve now built up the recovery ability to train a body part every 3-4 days. Sounds alien to a lot of you I know, but if you check my discussion forum on uk-muscle.com you will see that many of the top natural body builders now train with far higher frequency than they used to. In fact often with more frequency than the chemically-assisted athletes. The proof is in the pudding. Both myself, PhD athlete Dr Dean Garratt and many more within the natural body building world have improved considerably in muscle size over the last 18 months. Both train body parts every 3-5 days.

Notes: The major premise of the UHT system so therefore my own recommendations is that very little work is taken to traditional body building “failure”. Quite simply, training to failure consistently is not only not productive for those seeking strength and mass gains, it can be counterproductive. Stress to the central nervous system, constant muscle soreness etc. all things that are counterproductive to being able to get back into the gym soon and hit the same body part again. Recent studies have suggested that once you have rested a body part for 48 hours, it’s either grown or it hasn’t. Resting until the “soreness has gone” isn’t necessary. If you do get sore when you first begin the training cycle below, fine, simply spend an extra 5-10 minutes stretching before your workouts and a set into the session, you will be fine. Remember, soreness is primarily an annoying side effect of weight training, it should not be sought after specifically. Getting sore only means that it takes you longer to get back into the gym and train that muscle group again, which means you are missing out on growth time.
Some major points to remember before beginning the cycle below:

1. Ditch the age-old and plainly incorrect concept that “unless you train to failure you won’t grow”. This has never and never will be proved, because it’s a fallacy.
2. Begin to get into the mindset of “an athlete”. Shock, horror, can body builders be athletes? Well given that a huge percentage of sports now incorporate weight-training into their yearly plan and in general, look and perform better than many traditional “body builders” (certainly for 40 weeks of the year), yes we are athletes. Start thinking like an athlete who knows that more training means better nutrition, better nutrition and more training means quicker recovery and quicker recovery means more time in the gym. More time in the gym equates to more anabolic windows of opportunity and these in turn mean an increased likelihood of maximising the anabolic hormones. It’s common sense, but unfortunately, traditional body building training can often be lacking in this.
3. Get used to training quickly sometimes. Training quickly won’t suddenly turn you into the scrawny guy who runs around his circuit training with lycra shorts and a head band on. Training with allotted rest periods means you can be a) consistent in monitoring progress and therefore track real gains and b) It allows you to become slightly more aerobically-conditioned. Better levels of fitness equate to better conditioning, which in turn equate to more efficient utilisation of nutrients. Most guys get the best pumps of their lives when dieting or in a low body fat state. Part of this is down to the fact that many guys train quicker and because they are “in-shape” they are utilising nutrients more productively.

Here’s the breakdown of the workouts:

Day 1- Upper body strength

1. 1-arm dumbbell rows- 5 x 5 reps- 1-arm immediately after one another, then I rest about 2 minutes before beginning again.
2. Flat Dumbell Press- 5 x 5 reps- Rest about 2 minutes between each set
3. Parallel bent over barbell rows- 5 x 5 reps- Rest about 2 minutes between each set
4. Seated dumbbell shoulder press- 5 x 5 reps- Rest about 2 minutes between each set.
5. Face Pulls- 3 sets x 10 reps

I always begin all workouts with 4-8 sets of external rotator exercises (Cuban Press, cable retract and rotate) and finish the workout with face pulls, which again target the traps and external rotators.

Day 2- Lower body volume

1. Dumbell squats- 10 x 10 reps- 60 seconds rest between each set- aim for 10 x 10 with same weight, then add weight.
2. Seated leg curl- 10- x 10 reps- 60 seconds rest between each set- aim for 10 x 10 with same weight, then add weight.
3. Dumbell step-ups- 5 x 20 reps- 10 reps each leg. Rest 60 seconds between each set.

Day 3- Calves and Arms

1. Seated Calf raise- 10 x 10 reps- 60 seconds rest between each set.

B1- Standing hammer curls- 5 x 5 reps- rest 60 seconds then move to B2.
B2- Lying decline EZ skull crushers- 5 x 5 reps- rest 60 seconds before moving back to B1
Perform this alternating sequence until 5 sets of each exercise are completed.
C-Dumbell concentration curls- 5 sets of 10 reps. No rest between arms.
D- Tricep cable pushdowns- 5 sets of 10 reps. Rest 60 seconds between each set

Day 4- Rest

Day 5- Upper body Volume

1. Parallel bent over barbell rows- 10 x 10 reps- 60 seconds rest between each set
2. Flat or incline dumbbell press- 10 x 10 reps- 60 seconds rest between each set
3. 1-arm side delt raise- 6 x 10 reps- No rest between individual arms.

Day 6- Lower body Strength

1. Front squats- 5 x 5 reps- Rest about 2-3 minutes between each set
2. Sumo deadlifts- 5 x 5 reps- Rest about 2-3 minutes between each set.
3. Seated hamstring curls- 5 x 6 reps- Rest about 2 minutes between each set
4. Abdominal work- 6 sets of varied work, usually for 8-10 reps.

Day 7- calves (strength and arms)

1. Donkey calf raises- 10 x 6 reps- Rest 1 minute between sets
2. Arm workout is the same as day 3 of the program.

Phase 2- The mass gaining diet.

Of course a mass-gaining plan only works in conjunction with a mass-gaining diet. Far too many “gym experts” tell you to cram as much food down your mouth as is humanly possible in an attempt to get bigger. Believe me, I’ve tried this myself. Whilst it feels great being suddenly able to eat whatever food you want, I ended up FAT!. It happens to everyone at sometime or another. The trick is to consume enough calories to encourage muscle growth, yet not so many that you are consistently eating way in excess of your daily calorie maintenance levels. For me, a guy who weighs about 200lbs in the off-season with good condition, I aim for around 3500-4000 calories. 4000 being the absolute maximum and at times I may slip below the 3500 mark.
If I structure the following diet on myself, it will be easy enough for you to adjust the figures to fit your statistics. For example, PhD endorsed athlete Ian Stocks is a natural body builder competing in top condition at around the 11 stone mark. He eats around 3000 calories in the off-season and stays in good condition at approximately 12 stone or just above and never looks anything other than an athlete. I weigh about 90kg at a good 4-5 inches taller than Ian, though not quite as lean in the off-season, so with these two guidelines, you should be able to tailor-make your own nutritional guidelines.

Of course when it’s time to get ready for competition season, things change around dramatically. Out go the late night carbohydrates and in come the extra EFA’s.

My pre-competition diet and training plan can be seen in the section “The PhD radical fat-loss plan” elsewhere on our website.

Phase 3- The supplement plan

Much of the above dietary plan takes care of the supplement recommendations and as you canb see I basically split my food intake in half between solid food and convenient, high-quality sports supplements

1. Pharma-Gain- I like 2 servings daily. One serving mid-evening and one serving before going to bed.
2. Pharma-Whey- Vitally I like to use 2 servings immediately after training and then additional servings with my oats throughout the day.
3. Formula-X- Used 3 times daily (only for men over 18 years of age) as instructed on the label
4. Battery +/-3™- Used immediately after training (I use 4-5 scoops, depending on the training day, which provides me with over 80 grams of triple-action carbs)
5. Creatine Monohydrate- I use 10 grams every other day. Usually I use 5 grams 30 minutes before training . This could be in the form of PhD Wired™ which contains 5 grams of creatine monohydrate, or by just using 5 grams with water. Then I consume 5 grams of Creatine Monohydrate with my Battery +/-3™ and Pharma-Whey™ immediately after training.
6. Smart bar™- Every now and again I need a snack between meals. A large protein bar constitutes too many calories, too much volume of food and quite frankly, the majority of them are packed full of artificial ingredients that I don’t want to include in my diet. The Smart bar™ gives me enough quality protein and enough low GI carbs to help me keep my appetite at bay.