In Part I, I had mentioned that 2015 was the year of the lost offseason for me. In other words, I simply did have the time or consistency to make noticeable gains during my bulking phase. As a result, I had to really dial it in during my prep mode training this year. This required a lot of adjustment on my part.
What changed during my prep mode training?
My friend Jay has been telling me for the longest time that I have been using too much volume in my training and that my form was not strict enough.
I needed to make some big changes and shock my body so I decided to take his advice and incorporate HIT training in to my split.
I did this by eliminating supersets from my routine and taking the volume all the way down to 10-12 working sets per body part.
I also went super slow on the movements and made every rep count by focusing on working the muscle throughout the entire rep. Here is an example:
Getting stronger… #chestday #strengthbysonny #bodybuilding #massthetics #hustlehard #lvac A video posted by !🎥YOUTUBE.COM/STRENGTHBYSONNY (@strengthbysonny) on
I trained like this for about 12 weeks. Throughout that time period I felt stronger than I have in years past. My body also felt refreshed because I wasn’t destroying myself like I usually do. This was very efficient training. Training sessions were only lasting about 45 minutes to an hour.
Eventually, I switched back to my normal high volume superset routine. I did this in order to switch it up and shock my body again. This enabled me to bring it all together with my trademark 3-D shape. I also had more muscle density than in years past. The training adjustments and most importantly, the heat, were responsible for this.
So in reality, my prep mode for 2015 can be broken up in to 2 phases:
1) Phase I- super low volume HIT training/slow controlled reps (about 12 weeks)
2) Phase II- normal high volume superset routine/fast fluid reps (about 3 weeks)
It was over 120 degrees Fahrenheit outside the day this picture was taken. This is prime time conditions for getting swole:
Prep Mode Split and Prep Mode Money Movements
Monday: Abs, Back, Calves
Tuesday: Shoulders, Traps, Abs
Wednesday: Quads, Hams
Thursday: Abs, Chest
Friday: Triceps, Biceps, Forearms
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off
This year I used a lot more free weights than machines during the initial phase of prep mode. I had to since I cut down the volume so much.
Free weights hit the most muscle fibers and work the muscle in a way that machines simply cannot.
Once I switched back to my usual high volume training, I incorporated more machines. This was usually the second exercise in the superset.
Unlike last year, there were a lot of big changes from offseason to prep mode money movements. Here they are:
Chest- Incline Dumbbell Press
Back- Dumbbell Rows
Quads- Back Squat
Hamstrings- Dumbbell Deadlifts
Triceps- Weight Dips
Biceps- Heavy Dumbbell Concentration Curls
Forearms- Seated Barbell Wrist Curls
Shoulders- Wide Grip Upright Rows
Calves- Donkey Calf Raises
Abs- Planks
Traps- One Arm Dumbbell Shrugs
Let me know if you have any questions.
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4 Comments
You train triceps the day after chest? Don’t you give it a day off since triceps are a secondary muscle in most chest exercises?
You could do that. With me I still feel like I can hit tri’s even the day after I train chest. Hell I might even train tri’s on chest day right after chest too.
Oh wow. I’ll have to experiment with that
Definitely man. TRY EVERYTHING!