I was asked about this by someone else, so I thought I'd share. I’m not a professional trainer, and although I do have a background in exercise physiology I have never worked in the field nor been up to date with it for the past 8 years. So you can do this if you wish, but if you get busted up, not my fault.
I have four lifters (friends) using this approach successfully right now and wanted to share. They all enjoy it, have seen some good improvements in their lifts, and have added on good solid bodyweight. The only complaint I got is from one of the guys (Matt) as he had to wear sweatpants for several days because his thighs grew so fast he couldn’t fit into any of his pants and he was in between paychecks when he discovered none of his pants fit. Most get their workout done in under 90 minutes easily, and like the simplicity of it.
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Back in the 1970s, there was a powerlifter by the name of Doug Young who was turning heads not only with his impressive poundages in the squat, bench, and deadlift, but also from his physique. At 5'11" Doug Young was a dominant figure in the 110kg/242 pound class. Young's top lifts were a 722 squat, a 612 bench press (which he did in just a T-shirt), a 738 deadlift, and a 2017 pound total. He also boasted legitimate 20 inch arms and reportedly at his heaviest (275 pounds) he had a 60 inch chest. He was accurately measured at 245 pounds of having a 55 inch chest (just 2 inches shy of Schwarzenegger's). All in all, Young was impressive both strength and size wise.
For that reason, I wanted to share some of his training secrets with you all. This is not his exact routine but is rather based off of his training methods, as at his peak Young was pushing for a monster bench press so he would often bench three times a week and hit the squat and deadlift only once every 8-10 days. Obviously this isn't ideal for beginners so I upped their frequency a bit while reducing the bench press frequency to 1-2 times a week and alternating it with the press. I also added in some heavy compound pulls to even things out with all the pressing. Young was big into bodybuilding as accessory movements, so once you begin adapting to the basic program you can start addressing other areas.
With that said, here's the basic template. You'll see similarities to the Greyskull LP in some respects. Like the old saying goes, there is nothing new in the Iron Game.
So far it looks pretty basic. You'll notice the plusses at the end of some of the sets. We'll explain that here shortly. Here’s the bare bone details for now.
Train three times a week, no more. If you can only train twice a week, I’ll give you an option for that at the end.
Make sure you warm up properly before your work sets. I typically do 2-3 light sets before I begin my work sets, I take minimal rest during these sets (only the time it takes to change the plates and get prepared for the lift). Once I finish my last warm-up set is when I take the full rest time. Obviously individual warm-ups will vary. Speaking of rest –
rest at LEAST two minutes in between sets. Three minutes is probably ideal for most trainees, up to five minutes if your recovery is poor or if you are in dire need of more for any reason. I find three minutes gives an ideal range for both strength and hypertrophy purposes.
Rest and diet are just as important as your workouts. Don't train hard, spend all night out at the club, sleep three or four hours a night on most days of the week, and complain about why you won't grow. 8 hours of sleep should be a minimum - 9+ is even better if you're bulking. Fit a nap in during the day if you can too. As for food, it depends on your goal but you need to start tracking your intake and most likely up your protein. I won't cover diet as it's already been covered very well - read the stickies in the Nutrition forum.
Now let’s talk briefly about how to best perform these lifts. Specifically, Youtube references of what I personally feel are the best descriptions of these lifts.
Squat – If big numbers are what you’re after, a low bar wide stance typically works for most lifters. If big quads and explosive legs are what you’re after, a high bar narrow stance (Olympic-style) squat works well for most lifters. Either can be used on this program, though the low bar wide stance is probably the most applicable for most lifters. Young naturally preferred the low bar version, but he went as deep as he could in that position even in competitions which could be why he had 29” thighs.
Bench Press – Young preferred a wide grip (32 inches, which was the maximum width at the time) and conducted these powerlifting-style, with an exaggerated pause on the bottom. Observers often thought he was moving in slow motion when he was lowering the barbell - Young's rationalization was if you got perfect placement of the barbell, the press back up was easy. I recommend an exaggerated pause on the first rep of each set, and controlled reps rather than bouncing them off the chest. Don’t flare your elbows, keep a tight arch, and don’t just blast out the reps.
Deadlift – Young was a conventional deadlifter, and that’s what I recommend for this program. If for whatever reasons you prefer sumo, I would use sumo for the first set of 5+, then switch to conventional for the remaining sets. A lot of great powerlifters used both in their training (Rickey Crain, for example).
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Overhead Press – This is one variation I added in myself. Young admittedly did no real overhead pressing from what I can find. The closest I can find is the standing barbell triceps press, which Young would crank out reps using 225 pounds. I personally think the overhead press is a bit more elbow friendly (reportedly Young did have some issues with his elbows which was probably from the heavy triceps presses), is an under-utilized but effective exercise, and helps balance things out overall. Another thing I recommend is cleaning from the floor rather than pressing from the rack. Cleaning from the floor seems to amplify the press and besides, it's way sexier than pressing from the rack.
Barbell Row – Though popular now known as the Pendlay row, this is the form that many bodybuilders and powerlifters from the 1970s used. I prefer Pendlay rows for most folks simply
Chin-Up – For a good combination of back work and to hit the biceps so you don't complain about the lack of curls, chin-ups can help you get there. Keep your shoulders down, palms facing towards you, and get your chin well over the bar. Don't mindlessly crank out reps, one strict chin-up is better than three shoddy ones. Focus on form - strength and growth will follow. These should be done for As Many Reps as Possible (AMRAP).
Lat Pulldown - Some people might find it strange to see the lat pulldown in a beginner routine. This is yet again an under-utilized but effective exercise that has gotten a bad rep lately. This was a key deadlift assistance exercise for many powerlifters during this era (it was one of Vince Anello's key exercises, and he was the first man under 200 pounds to deadlift over 800 pounds) and some of them developed some impressive lats from just these and rows. Keep it strict - if Anello can do strict pulldowns with 1.5x his body weight, you can do a strict pulldown without heaving yourself into it.
One-Arm Row - You'll notice there's no rep scheme for these other than AMRAP (As Many Reps as Possible). Though a favorite of a lot of powerlifters, this is one modern twist I decided to add. These are also called Kroc rows, so popularized by Matt/Janae Marie Kroczaleski. The idea is to pick a dumbbell of moderate weight and do 20+ reps with this weight per side. Once you can hit at least 20 reps, you can go up in weight. I feel these are superior to most one-arm row variations in that it is beneficial to the deadlift (it is an excellent grip and back exercise) as well as for hypertrophy purposes.
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