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Old school style-20 rep squat and milk program

Chances are some of you might have heard stories about this legendary routine. It is a very old training technique used to help pack on some muscle to not only your legs but to your whole body. Before you attempt this program make sure you have mastered proper squat technique and of course make sure you are injury free in the lower body. This routine takes just as much mental toughness and mental focus as it will physical toughness. Pain and fear will come across your mind as you move forward with this program but it will be up to you to push through it and be a man about it. Squatting 20 reps with heavy weight will hurt and will most likely make you want to vomit. If you are ready for the challenge then read on.

The most important thing to know is that you should not attempt this without a power rack or safety pins. Like most anything that is really intense I would highly recommend a training partner or spotter. If you don't have one then use the safety pins! If you get to that last rep you want to know that you wont die finishing it.

The whole program is based on one set of 20 reps with the basic full barbell squat. Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule works the best. The length of the cycle for this program should be six weeks max. Generally anything after six weeks will burn you out and will yield diminished returns. To find your starting weight simply take your 5 rep max on the squat and subtract 90 lbs and this will be your day one squat weight. From each day forward you will add 5lbs, this is the factor that causes the gains in size! For each rep take a big mouthful of air, hold your breathe squat down and then exhale on the way up. As you get higher in reps you might need to start taking more big breathes between reps. Breathing is huge here, make sure you do it! You might find yourself taking 2-5 breathes between reps. Once you are done with the 20 reps go grab a light barbell and do pull overs while lying on a bench. Take a big breath between reps and feel the stretch in your rib cage. Do 20 reps with somewhere around 20-25lbs. Every workout keep the weight on the pullovers the same since this exercise is just for stretching the rib cage.

If you take on this program you must eat! You need to be consuming calories if you want to get big. Add to your plate and add to the bar. This program got the name squats and milk because drinking a good amount of milk was recommended. Drink up!

Go dominate!

Time under tension training ( TUT )

Most lifters use low reps, high reps, or even train to failure. Some use free weights while others use machines. All of these methods are perfectly fine but there is another method that many are not using....TUT training. TUT is the total amount of time your muscles are under tension during any movement. For example, while doing a bicep curl, the moment you start the curl until you end the curl is the time the muscle was under tension. By doing this type of method you will increase growth hormone levels and fatigue more motor units. which equals more muscle growth!

Next time you go to the gym try this method with any muscle group and any exercise. Lets take the bicep curl again for instance. Try to curl the weight up for 4 seconds, then pause at the top for 2 seconds and then let the weight down for 4 seconds. This would create 10 seconds of tension time on the muscle. Remember that the whole point is to keep the tension on that muscle which means do not lockout any of your movements. You can play around with the time you want to use but generally I would not exceed 10 seconds on the way up, down or on the pause. Another important note is that you should be keeping your reps down when using this technique, I would stick to under 8 reps. You might also notice you will need to drop the weight from set to set.

Go dominate!

Muscle vs Fat

I am sure you have heard the saying "muscle weighs more than fat". This is just not the case. Ten pounds of muscle weighs the same as ten pounds of fat, end of story. However, muscle does take up less space than fat. Muscle is perceived as bulky, when it is actually not. This means you could gain 10 pounds of muscle and lose 10 pounds of fat and look more fit even though your scale hasn't moved.

Shoulder super set

As you notice I don't tend to post many direct shoulder workouts since I believe you get plenty of work when doing chest. I do like this routine as it allows you to hit your rear delt and front delt. The first exercise is a kneeling military press with dumbbells. Make sure to keep your back straight and stand tall to involve some core. If you notice yourself swaying back you might need to drop the weight. If you have back issues then just do this seated instead. The second exercise is the reverse fly with dumbbells. The best way I believe is to bend over with your head resting on a incline bench and your back kept flat. From this position raise your arms straight out to the sides without bending them, pause and let them back down. The key is to envision some pulling your elbows up to the ceiling with strings.

Kneeling dumbbell military press-10 reps

SUPER SET

Reverse dumbbell fly-12 reps

Repeat back and forth without rest for 2-3 more rounds.

Pre-workout nutrition

Studies have shown that consuming a protein type supplement before weight training greatly increases your post workout energy expenditure over consuming a carbohydrate supplement. This means you can reduce body fat and improve your body composition better. I would recommend eating a high protein lunch or protein bar before your workout.

A BETTER BENCH

Bench press is one of those exercises that every guy wants to be good at no matter what his training goals are. Bench press is the biggest ego exercise in the gym in almost any city or town. If you want to increase your bench try some of these tips.

1. TRAIN THE TRICEPS- This does not mean push downs and kickbacks, this means close grip presses and extensions. The close grip bench press is a great way to pack on size and give you bench pressing strength. If you have noticed you cant finish the reps on your bench press that is due to poor tricep strength.

2. TRAIN YOUR BACK- While most people wont think about this, your lats and mid back play a huge part in stabilization during the bench press. Bigger and stronger back muscles will equal a bigger bench. Do barbell rows and seated rows!

3. PULL YOUR SHOULDER BLADES TOGETHER AND TIGHT- Do this while pressing and you will create a shorter distance for the bar to travel which helps you. You will also create a more stable surface to push from.

4. ELBOW POSITIONING- If you want to get a bigger chest you bench with your elbows out, if you want a big bench you bench with your elbows tucked. This will allow you to use your lats to help drive the bar off your chest as well as your triceps. You will generate far more force in this position as oppose to elbows out wide. Another important thing is to keep the barbell in line with the elbow throughout the press.

5. BAR POSITIONING- Bring the bar low on your chest when pressing. At almost all power lifting competitions you will hear people say bring it low! This helps keep your elbows in line with the bar.

6. TRAIN YOUR ROTATOR CUFF MUSCLES- This is very over looked but when you strengthen this you will notice a huge jump in your bench press strength. Sometimes you can improve your bench by 20% just by doing this. Your shoulder joint will become more stable and allow you to lift more weight. Try doing external rotation exercises or cuban presses.

7. OF COURSE BENCH-If you want a bigger bench you need to bench! Sure you can do 100's on the dumbbells but you must bench to bench! Try training bench in different ways. Some days train very heavy, like 90-100% of your max for 1-3 reps. Other days try doing reps for speed to create that explosiveness. This type of lifting would use 40-60% of your max for max speed.