Strength and Physique

I'm already a big fan of your training methods, and now I'm trying to build my own training program. After testing some of your training methods I've discovered that the 10-8-6-15 works the best for me to build muscle mass. I'm an ecto, even now I'm not too skinny anymore. I've achieved a good physique, and now I'm trying just to "finish" the quest. What I mean is to keep up with the muscle building but burning some fat. I'm already at 8-10% body fat, so its just a matter of training to keep the results and keep going until I get to my goal. So with my experience and your books, I've planned 3 routines, and I want your opinion which you think will work best, and of course some tips if ts possible. Here we go: The 1st Option 8x8 method, but with a compound/super set system and aerobics (HIIT) for legs 3 times a week / Bench press \ Lat pulldown / Dumbbell shoulder press \ Upright row / Biceps EZ bar \ Lying triceps E...

I read your article about ectomorphs on Bodybuilding.com. I train upper and lower body twice a week. I rest on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. I'd like to know if I should train even more frequently or if this routine was good? I'm not a true beginner as I used to do barhitting before coming into weightlifting. Yes, I'm skinny but with my old bodyweight workout and good diet, I could put on mass as much as 2 pounds in 2 weeks. I was wondering if I could get better results with weightlifting. Thanks. Cheers, Ludovic My Answer: You answered your own question. It's really just a matter of diet. Eat a lot of food and strength train in some fashion (whether it's barhitting or weightlifting) and you will gain muscle. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term "barhitting," it is simply body weight exercises, most of them performed on bars (pull-up bars, parallel bars). It is old school calisthenics: muscle ups, handstand pushup...

Hey man. I just read about your trisets workouts and the 4 ways to Widen Your Back and have a question regarding it. Are your suggesting to do all four of the workouts in one day or on separate back days? I would really appreciate a response, but if not, I fully understand! I appreciate it and your work in the police force very much. -Ryan My Answer: Yo dude. It's four workouts. That means separate days, man. You'd be crazy to do all four techniques in one workout. Focus man! Like I said in the last post: one program at a time. I know newbies want to try everything, but you'll make better progress by focusing on one method, one goal. You either focus on mass gain or fat loss. You either focus on trisets or straight sets. Even personal trainers have a hard time focusing. I've seen a lot of trainees do crazy "circus act" exercises. Somehow they think that doing different exercises at the same time works more muscle or burns more fat. They...

Q:  I am a detective in southern California and got interested in your website after reading your Copland article . Although I have been working out for years that program really helped, but with the heavy lifting I felt it in the joints and back. Yesterday I subscribed to your website and saw the post on Bodybuilding at 50 . Your comment on a smaller amount of volume and hitting each body part frequently sounds interesting. I would appreciate it if you could email me the ectomorph program . I was wondering if that would work and which of your books would work for an aging detective who wants to keep fit. I don't seem to be able to get more than 3 days of lifting in, was wondering if the Busy Bodybuilder is more for me. Thanks for your time and efforts. I appreciate your articles. -John My Answer: If you've been doing the Copland workout, then the Ectomorph program will serve as a nice follow-up workout. It is also easier on the joints, since you have to u...

Hi I'm 45 and started training 3 years ago. Recently I decided to focus doing an amateur bodybuilding competition at 50. I really mean it. What do you recommend as I start on this long road? I don't know if I'm a ectomorph. Of course I have a hard time building muscle, but I easily gain a pound when I'm eating, mostly fat. -Adrian My Answer: Well congratulations on setting a goal for yourself. Five years is plenty of time to prepare for a bodybuilding competition. If you haven't done so already, then find out what sort of bodybuilding contests you can enter by the time you're 50. They usually have a "masters" competition where contestants 50 and older can enter. You have five years to gain as much muscle as you can and then get ripped before the contest. So I would suggest educating yourself on all things bodybuilding: training, diet, contest preparation. Bodybuilding is a process of building, then refining. You build muscle...

Q: I am sure you have probably covered this before, but I would appreciate it if you could give me some advice as how to adapt a well rounded three and four day routine for some of our female trainees.  We are having great success with your comprehensive Neo-Classical program for the guys and was wondering how you would adapt it to suit women, specifically for those that can only train for three or four days. They want the same benefits regarding density and decompression but with a longer mesocycle that does not need changing too often. One of the reasons is that the guys don't want to keep on changing the program, as every time you pass through the different phases it feels like a first time challenge all from the start! Thank you for your time, P. Swart My Answer: In Tactics and Strategies I have a chapter on training for women. But if you want to adapt the Neo-Classical workout for women, then all you have to do is to assess the body types of the female traine...

Q:  I've only recently found your blog, and may I say it has excellent information. However, I am currently going through a dilemma and I was hoping you can help me out of it. I am 20 years old, have been working out for 2 years now (extremely slow progress, perhaps due to not eating enough) and currently weigh 145lbs at 5'9" with the bodyfat of around 15-18%. I am now more focused on bulking and building size, and worrying less about the bodyfat (will deal with that later). This whole time, I have been using split workouts, and it worked out alright. But not satisfactory. I only gained 10lbs of muscle over the past two years, and another 10lbs of fat in the past 3 months (ate like crazy trying to bulk). However, I have recently decided to try out the HST program. Thus I went to find out my 15RM, 10RM and 5RMs but alas, I found out that people give pretty bad reviews regarding this "Bryan Haycock masterpiece". I understand that nutrition and s...