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Bodybuilding Training the “Natural Way”
Part II, Hormone Manipulation
By Craig
Yarnall:
I have
recently taken this type a training another step further and yet it
still falls under the category of non-linear periodization! It is called
SSHIT Training (Sully’s Super High Intensity Training) because Sully put
some ideas out there that really helped me develop this program along
with Dr. Joe Klemczewski’s ideas of Non-cyclic periodization!! It calls
for more of a power style training grouped on only a heavy upper body
workout and a heavy lower body workout through one cycle!! Each of these
workouts hits only the bigger muscle groups which include the Legs,
Back, Chest, and Shoulders!! On the heavy lower day, the legs are hit
with basically one major multi joint movement, the Squat which will
prioritize the quads, and then the Stiff-Legged deadlifts to hit the
hamstrings and the glutes while helping to strengthen the whole leg and
lower back connection! These exercises are done for about 4-5 working
sets of with a rep scheme of 5,5,5,5,2 and only one exercise is chosen
for each body part. Calves would be done at the end of course!
Now as for
the Heavy upper body, I would perform one exercise for each group, the
Chest (Incline BB), the back (Deadlifts), and the Shoulders (Power
Presses)!! The same rep scheme is used from the legs and the abs would
be skipped as this workout does take some time to complete!! The heavy
days will be shown below as in how the days on and days off are split
up!!
The power
days allow for the body to keep the muscles that you want to be worked
(fast twitch) and these are the ones that will help to release the GH
from the body and the best to help build more muscle, which in turn will
increase your metabolism, and this will burn more body fat! Everything
here causes a nice domino effect, but it does take time and it is more
dependent upon body type and sex of the individual. This is the main
thing we are trying to accomplish here and this is the main way to do
it, but at the same time if this is done day in and day for weeks and
yes some will do this for months and even years without ever changing
the workouts up and the body can eventually be over trained and injury
could be the result. Nothing slows down progress more than an injury,
and this is where the second half of the workout comes along!! This
involves doing a higher volume, just as I have mentioned above, but
there will be some twists to the workout and will seem like the workout
is never the same week after week!! It will work those endurance fibers
and yes even help to release hormones that would not normally be
released during the other style of workout. The other positive aspect of
these part of the workouts is it helps to let the joints recover
adequately because the pounding going on here is nothing compared to the
one you will get when doing the heavy upper or heavy lower days!!
Now, next
we will be going to the 4 day split I have mentioned up above, but their
will be some catches along the way as you will see!! This part the body
is split up to the way I like and you could split this up into a three
day, a four day, or even a five day! It’s just whatever works best for
you and your needs and what your body can handle!!
The spit I
set goes a little like this:
1)Chest/Tris
2)Legs/Calves
3)Shoulders/ Traps
4)Back/Bis
Along with
my 4 day split, I had to include some different training protocols to
help keep the variety in the workouts!! These would include 100 rep
sets, slow positives, Negatives, Supersets, and Drop sets (step Bombs)!!
I will show how each one was hit and how each one was used when I lay
out the 40 day complete rotation of the workouts for proper rest and
recovery!! All of these training protocols have been shown to show some
type of improvements in your muscle size and to work them into your
program takes a little bit of proper spacing. These 100 rep sets would
be done a day or after it had been trained already and is done for one
all out set at the end of another workout with an isolation movement for
that body part!! If you have never done 100 reps sets, you should give
them a try. It starts off with a weight that you can do at least 25-30
to failure, then you will rest for 10-15 sec. and then continue your
count until you fail again and then take the break again for 10-15 sec
and then start up again and continue until you reach 100 reps no matter
how many sets it will take!!! Negatives are done where the muscle is
being elongated or stretched with either a 10-12 sec. negatives on a
single movement or the 4-6 sec negatives when it super setted with an
isolation movement of that same muscle group!! Slow positives are done
now in the opposite direction where the muscle is being contracted
slowly in the opposite direction of the negatives for about 5-7 sec and
at the end of each set the motion is held isometrically for about 15-20
sec. The old drop sets are done with a weight you can handle for a good
8 reps and then dropped 4 times about 15% and then done for a total of 5
sets of 8 reps(40 total reps). Next I will show the 40 day schematic of
how this all comes together, so you can see how it all works!!
Take this
one step further with a little explanation from Sean Sullivan and this
might clear some things up about the Hormone Manipulation Training!
Everyone has a theory on reps sets and workout parameters. Most programs
work, and all will stop working at some point. This is where the theory
of micro cycles comes in. Frequent change in workout stimulus has been
proven to make longer lasting gains and maximize results. There is one
area that most programs fall short and that is hormonal manipulation.
After all the most effective way to build muscle is to combine anabolic
hormones and training. Any IFBB pro is proof positive of that.
Manipulating hormones artificially and training to enhance the effects
of those hormones creates a powerful synergy. But we as natural
bodybuilders refuse to compromise and cross those boundaries, but does
that condemn us to being small? NO! For every bodybuilding drug there is
a corresponding hormone that is naturally produced by the body, and can
be manipulated by your training. Finding a way to increase the secretion
of your natural hormones is the second biggest factor in your program
selection. Through careful manipulation of training variables you can
increase various growth producing hormones and the corresponding
receptors in your muscles that mediate their anabolic effects. Through
careful manipulation of training stress you can convince your body to
release each hormone at specific times, and increase receptor sites on
the muscle itself. Interested? Read on. A “smart” training program will
fulfill three necessities:
1) Provide enough stress to the muscle fibers to trigger repair and
growth.
2) To increase the levels of various anabolic hormones.
3) Up regulate corresponding muscle receptors and get the most out of
those anabolic effects.
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the training design lets look
at various forms of training and there affect on hormonal manipulation
and the effect on the muscle receptor sites. Now these are not my ideas,
I did not develop anything, and most of this is common knowledge to most
of you. I am just here to link it all together, after all I am just a
dumb cop with a degree in aviation science so what do I know? I know
enough to look at the science behind the training theories and what
corresponds to specific muscle building hormones and anabolic states.
First lets look at testosterone boosting and training. We know through
endless research that testosterone, the holly grail of muscle building
hormones, it triggered through specific training. That training consists
of heavy movements, specifically heavy partial squats. This is not a 1/4
squat but to parallel or just short with a maximum poundage. Rep speed
should be constant with a explosive acceleration. Forced reps are great
to increase the intensity of the exercise as well. The workout also
needs to be short, less than 45 minutes is best. Anything longer and
testosterone levels will plummet rapidly! Testosterone boosting has
long-lasting effects and the effects are compromised when too many
workouts of this type are strung together too often and this is why the
old 20 rep squat programs have short lasting results, but by
manipulating this type of workout infrequently, say every six to eight
days, you can maximize the effects. All high intensity training will
increase your testosterone level to some degree, as long as the sessions
are kept short. It will not be as potent as the testosterone boosting
squat workout, but it will enable you to extend the effects of the
workout as you focus on manipulating other hormones. If squats are out
of the question then leg press or rack dead lifts can also fit the
requirement, but squats are the king of testosterone boosting workouts,
and yes ladies this means you too!
Negative only training has been shown to force the muscle to secrete
insulin like growth factor 1 and fibroblast growth factor, tow powerful
autocrine/paracrine anabolic hormones. This type of training causes
extreme soreness and muscle trauma and again needs to be done
infrequently. Sets need to be limited to 2-5 Negative only sets of 6-10
reps. That is a 10-15 second Negative with a 3-5 second pause between
the reps. Between all sets stretch, and if you’re not familiar with
Dante’s stretch protocols then I would research it. All other movements
this training session should be heavy with a maximum stretch at the
bottom and peak contraction at the top. Hold the top and bottom
positions for 2-4 seconds. Again this training needs to be infrequent
with 24-30 days between Negative only workouts for the same body parts.
Another training fact is growth hormone manipulation training. If you
combine a heavy compound exercise with an explosive positive and slow
Negative and a single-joint movement for the same muscle a pronounced GH
releasing effects occurs. This superset will boost GH secretion and
increase GH receptors on the trained muscle. The second exercise needs
to be lighter and you should go for the burn. Reduce the range of motion
as the muscle fatigues to optimize the burn. A superset of bench press
done heavy with a 5-6 second Negative for 6-10 reps combined with cable
crossovers done for 15-25 controlled reps and 4-5 partials or burns at
the end would be an ideal chest combination. Only the combination of
more GH secretion (the compound exercise) and increasing the GH
receptors on the muscle (quick burns) will induce muscle growth.
Insulin depletion workouts followed by a high carb drink post training
can maximize the insulin effect of muscle building. Insulin will shuttle
carbs into one of two places, fat cells and muscle cells. By training to
delete glycogen in the muscle and bring in as much blood as possible,
then follow the session with a high GI carb drink you can better train
the muscle to store carbs in the muscle and maximize the anabolic
effects of insulin. Think about your carb depletion workout’s pre
contest. They are designed to do just this, and then maximize the volume
with carbs and shuttle the nutrients into the muscle cell. Why do we
only do this precontest? Would it not be best to throw in a few of this
type of workouts a week and harness the growth and recovery potential of
insulin? Use a typical carb depletion workout of high rep, and short
rest fast tempo workouts. Use non traumatic movements, cables and
machines, and reduce the range to increase the pump and force more blood
into the muscle. Follow the workout with a high-carb food or even better
a high GI post workout shake. A hour or two after training take in
another high carb meal.
Muscle tension will rapidly increase the number of androgen receptors on
the trained muscle and negate the effect of the cortisol receptors. By
increasing muscle tension, and decreasing fiber trauma you can harness
the power of the secreted testosterone, IGF 1 and GH in the muscle. The
reduced fiber trauma will decrease cortisol production and receptors as
the training induces fiber growth. This workout would be the opposite of
the Negative only workouts. You want to accentuate the positive part of
the movement and negate the negative effect. The Negative workout will
maximize trauma, but this workout is designed to minimize it. Movements
need to be done with a 4-6 second positive, and a 2-second pause at the
top and bottom and a 1-2 second Negative. Train strictly and keep the
muscle under tension for as long as possible, Use static holds at the
end of each set to really increase the tension on the working set, and
get a maximum contraction at the top of each rep. Use movements that
have the greatest range of motion and peak contractions such as leg
extension and hack squats for the quads. Avoid bouncing and too many
sets as long workouts this will burden recovery and release cortisol.
This covers the why, but what about the how? I will outline a program
designed around these parameters in part 3, but until then review what I
have outlined and research the variables for yourself. Only an ignorant
man would follow blindly, so go fourth and learn and then in part 3 you
will fully understand the principles as I apply them.
Craig Yarnall, CSCS, CPT, WNBF Pro
"Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder"
"Want a Better Body, Squat DEEP"
"Train Hard and Stay Natural"
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