A solid split for strength and mass

A solid split for two weeks

Monday (up to 25 sets)

Squat (or box squat) 5 x 5 (Day I)
Good mornings 3 4 x 8 – 10
Bent-over T-bar row 3 – 4 x 6 – 8
Seated row with an underhand grip 2 3 x 8 – 10
Standing barbell biceps curl 3 x 8 – 10
Seated incline dumbbell biceps curl 2 3 x 10 – 12
Standing calf raise 3 x 30 45 seconds

Wednesday (8 x 3 using the Kennelly heavy day II method…see the article) (up to 25 sets)

Bench press 8 x 3
Barbell floor press 3 – 4 x 5 – 8
Standing barbell press (or seated dumbbell press) 3 4 x 6 – 8
Lying triceps extension with palms facing each other (on the floor) 4 x 5 – 8
Cable pushdown 3 x 8 10
Machine crunches 10 x 10 (15-second intervals, same weight on every set)

Friday (up to 23 sets)

Deadlift (5 x 5 + 1 x 10 program)
Wide overhand-grip pull-ups 3 4 x 5 (or wide palms-facing lat pulldown on a machine 3 4 x 8 – 12)
One-arm bent-over dumbbell row 3 4 x 6 – 8
Machine row with an underhand grip 3 x 8 – 12
Barbell biceps curl 3 x 21 (21 d) or seated barbell biceps curl 3 x 12 + 3 x 10 + 3 x 8 (see the article “Let’s pump…”)
Seated calf raise 3 x 30 60 seconds

Monday (up to 27 sets)

Bench press – 5 x 5 (Day I)
Dumbbell floor press 3 x 8 + 1 x 12 – 15
Pec deck fly 1 – 2 x 15 – 20
Smith machine press (or seated dumbbell press) 3 4 x 6 – 8
Standing bent-over raise (rear delts) 3 x 8 – 12
Cable pushdown 3 4 x 6 8 (use a heavier weight, hang weight from a belt to make yourself heavier)
Weighted parallel-bar dips 1 2 x 12 – 15
Some ab exercise 3 5 sets.

Wednesday (up to 29 sets)

Squat (or box squat) 5 x 5 (Day II)
Leg press 4 x 7 10 (all sets with the same weight)
Leg curl 3 4 x 5 8 or stiff-leg deadlift 3 x 8 – 10
Bent-over barbell row 3 4 x 8 – 10
Seated row to the chest with a narrow palm grip 3 4 x 8 – 10
Standing alternating dumbbell biceps curl 3 4 x 8 – 10
Standing calf raise on the Smith machine, with a barbell on your back, or on a calf machine 3 4 x 12 – 15

Friday (up to 22 sets)

Bench press – 5 x 5 (Day II)
Dumbbell fly on a bench with a slight incline (or incline dumbbell press) – 4 x 6 – 8
“Skull crusher” with palms facing each other using a special implement (or narrow-grip floor press) – 4 x 4 – 7
Seated overhead triceps extension with a dumbbell held in two hands 2 3 x 6 – 10
Cable pushdown with the hands 2 x 15 20
Machine crunches 3 4 x 30 60 seconds

A note: as the title says, this is a solid split that both those chasing mass and those chasing strength can try. I came up with the plan myself, based on my own experience, views and various splits found online. The microcycle lasts two weeks. It uses both the 5 x 5 and, on one press day, heavy triples. On triples day, start low and work your way up week by week…the way it is laid out in Kennelly’s bench press article. For the 5 x 5, you will have to calculate the weights yourself based on your records. The note in brackets after the squat (box squat) means that you choose whether to base your 5 x 5 weights on the regular squat or on the box squat. You can try doing one period with the box squat 5 x 5 and the next one with the regular squat. This is still not a purely powerlifting split, because, unlike powerlifting programs, I think this split contains more general muscle-building work…which, by the way, is intentional. The sets and repetitions of the exercises done according to the system obviously do not go to failure. Likewise, I do not recommend going all the way to failure on most of the assistance exercises either. Instead, I recommend following a set progression. What does that mean? It means that if you do, for example, good mornings, you should start by choosing a weight that is already slightly challenging but not too heavy, and do 3 x 8 with it. At the next workout do 3 x 9 with the same weight, and at the one after that 3 x 10. The repetition range given for this exercise in the plan is 3 x 8 10. Only when you have reached 3 x 10 should you increase the weight by, say, 5 kg and do 3 x 8 again, then 3 x 9 at the next workout, and so on. All the assistance exercises could actually be done in this style…all working sets with the same weight, fill the repetition range workout by workout, and once it has “gone from one end to the other,” you raise the weight. This kind of progression only works if the chosen repetition range is not very wide, and the number of working sets must not be very large either, 3 4 at most. On deadlift day, do your 5 x 5 system and then, for example, finish with a set of ten at a lighter weight. That set of ten can easily be done with the weight of the system’s second or third set. You can do the same with the squat, but it is by no means mandatory. Calf and ab exercises that are done for time should likewise be approached with progression in mind above all. For example, start with seated calf raises for 3 x 30 seconds with 50 kg. Next time 3 x 40 seconds and so on, up to 60 seconds. When you manage 3 x 60 seconds with 50 kg, add 5 10 kg at the next workout and do 3 x 30 seconds again, then 3 x 40 again and so on. All three sets with one weight. When adding weight, go by what suits you individually and be moderate. What matters is that all 3 planned sets get done with the desired times. Moderation above all, otherwise tracking your progress and the progress itself will be disrupted, and you will soon “get stuck.” Machine crunches…I will try to find a link for the exercise to go with this. That 10 x 10 means the following: say you start this exercise with 4 plates. Do 10 x 7 with those 4 plates, resting 12 15 seconds between sets…7 x (12 15 sec) 7 x (12 15 sec) and so on. Next time do 10 x 8 with the same rests, then 10 x 9 and then 10 x 10. Once you have done 10 x 10, add 1 plate at the next workout and do 10 x 7 again, but now with 5 plates. At the following workout do 10 x 8 with 5 plates and so on, all the way to 10 x 10 again. This is a good way to do it…there is progression, it is intense enough for the abs, and you do not have to keep inventing something new all the time.
The plan has sets of different lengths. On every day and for every muscle there are both heavy short sets and, in many cases, 1 2 longer “pump sets” at the end. Rest between sets as usual…heavy basic exercises and the systems 2 2.5 minutes, lighter exercises 1 1.5 minutes. And as always, feel free to make your own changes and experiment. There is probably no need to add sets, but if you feel it is too much, you can do somewhat less.

Good luck trying it out…

Author: Janar Rückenberg

Source:Turg.Fitness.ee

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