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March
2000
Hard-core Training Due to readers' request, this month marks the return of the hardcore training series. This month also marks my return to hardcore training, after having taken somewhat of a forced layoff due to court. It's difficult to successfully argue three years of natural training when you're 310 lbs at 18% bodyfat, I would think the DA and judge would be a tad bit skeptical. My buddy Jason picks me up and it's off to the gym to meet another Jason. The other Jason, who we'll refer to as the Sicilian Slayer (that's what chicks call him in honor of his massive tool), will be leading this workout. Quite honestly, I can't train according to the type of workouts we talk about in the Hardcore Training series unless the Sicilian Slayer (SS) is leading the workout. This kind of training almost requires the support and motivation a good workout partner can provide, so if you're having difficulty making it through this workout, get yourself a dedicated partner. We start by warming up, I grab the 20 lb dumbbells and do 20 reps. Then I proceed to the 30's and do another 20. Warm-ups are over, time to spanked. We start with seated dumbbell presses, straight heavy sets. I lead things off with a set of 10 with the 60's and they follow. Next set I grab the 100's and get 8. For our final set, I get six with the 120's and we're done. SS gets that twisted smile on his face and says, "Now I get to have some fun." Oh shit. We move over to a flat bench for seated laterals. We're doing a reverse drop set, which means we start with the lighter dumbbells for more reps and move to progressively heavier dumbbells for less reps. We are also performing them seated to minimize cheating. Trust me, you're going to want to cheat on these. I start with the 20's for 25 reps. By number 20, my shoulders are screaming. I hit 25 and immediately grab the 25's for 15. Now, if you've never done these before, you'll probably think we're insane if you try this workout. By this time, you're shoulders are going to be on fire and you're going to feel as if it's humanly possible to continue. That's why you need a training partner for this kind of workout, you need someone making you feel like you just killed their Mom if you quit on them. Anyway, back to the workout. At this point, I'm barely cranking out reps. I've got a Jason on each side telling me I'm a pussy if I quit, and I somehow manage to get 12 reps before I have to drop them and grab the 30's. The last drop, I'm supposed to get 12. I get six and weakly manage to get some partials in before I drop the dumbbells in utter agony. I can't move my arms and get up off the bench with my arms crossed in front of me, waiting for the fire to go away. The two Jasons actually perform complete sets of 25,15,12! The bastards! Only one more set to go. I somehow make it through this last set, although by the time I get to the 30's, I'm only able to do partials. Fortunately, the two Jasons also fail to complete their final set, so I'm able to retain some of my pride. We walk over to the Paramount rear delt machine for two drop sets. This machine is plate-loaded and extremely effective at isolating the rear delts. We put a 10, 5, and 2 ˝ lb plate on the machine to facilitate our drop sets. Again, we're using a 25,15,10 rep scheme. On the first set of reps we use all the plates, on the second we strip off the 2 1/2 , and on the third we strip the 5. Although the pain is brutal, we all manage to get all of our reps in, and we're all secretly hating each other for doing so. Time for machine shoulder presses. We're using the Paramount shoulder press, which again has a very unique and effective design. Both arms of the machine are independent of one another, and both move in an arc that's very effective at working the shoulder area. We adopt a rest-pause style for these sets, doing a rep scheme of 10, 7, 5. If you're new and not familiar with rest pause training, refer to the Anabolic Extreme back issues section for a more detailed look at this very effective style of workout. Although rest-pause training is brutal, these sets are almost a welcome relief after two exercises using reverse-drops. Last exercise for shoulders is shrugs, and once again, we use reverse-drop sets. We use the Cybex shrug machine, which basically two arms attached to a lever, at the end of which are the plates. We start with 2 plates for 25 reps, reverse-drop to 3 plates for 15, and finish with 4 plates for 12. Again, there is no rest between drops, as soon as my training partners have the plates on the bar, I'm doing reps. This exercise is fairly easy, we all make it through these last sets with comparatively little pain. We're done with shoulders, thank you God!! Biceps. We start with straight Olympic bar curls to warm up. Two quick sets with a 25 on each side and we're ready to rock. We put a 25, a 10, and a 5 on each side and start with drop-sets. All the plates for 10, remove the 5 for 6, remove the 10 for six. Do I need to tell you that this sucks? On to seated incline dumbbell curls. Jason has that twisted look on his face, I now know these next sets are going to be brutal. Reverse drop sets starting with 20's for 20, 25's for 15, and 30's for 10. I can't make it through without quitting early, fortunately neither can anyone else. Two sets of this and I'm looking longingly at the exit.. One more bicep exercise to go. Machine preacher curls, we're doing two sets of 21's. For those of you not familiar with 21's, you do seven reps using the top range of motion only, then seven reps using the bottom range of motion only, then 7 reps using a full range of motion. Sounds fun, right? I can't get any more than 4 reps of the last seven, I'm completely dusted. After my last set, I go to the bathroom to weigh myself and splash cold water on my face, My biceps are so pumped I can't get my hands to my face to splash water on them. This is ridiculous! Finally, triceps and we can get the hell out of here. We start with lying tricep extensions, but my left elbow is unable is unable to stand up to the stresses. Even with it wrapped, I can't stand the pain I'm getting after every rep. After this session, I'm going to be looking for some DMSO so I can mix it with aspirin. We have to move to standing tricep pushdowns, an exercise my elbows can handle. We do three high rep sets of pushdowns, doing between 15 and 20 reps per set. We move to the Nautilus tricep extension machine. This machine consists of two arms which move independently of one another, and a pad upon which the back of your arms are placed so they are parallel with the floor. This machine requires you to use good form, since your elbows are locked fairly closely together. We do three straight heavy sets of 10-12 reps per set. Is this it? Are we really on the last exercise? Behind-the-neck dumbbell extensions for two drop sets are we are gone! Starting with a 150, we get as many reps as possible before dropping to a 120, then a 100. Two sets of this and my tri's are completely dusted, my arms haven't felt this swollen in years. I got to be honest with you. Out of all the workouts I've written about in the Hardcore Training series, this is probably the toughest. The sense of accomplishment I had after completing this workout was immense, I knew we had really caused some growth to occur. The workouts we talk about in this series are not for neophytes, they are for advanced trainers only! Additionally, you can't train like this every time you go to the gym, you'll get over trained and end up losing size. These are shock workouts, performed occasionally to induce your body to grow. Have fun, be safe, and get big!! Meuller out. Copyright 2000 Jason Meuller and Anabolic Extreme. This material may not be copied, reproduced, or transmitted without the express written permission of the copyright owners. |
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