1/16/2011

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A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

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WORKOUT PLAN

PRINCIPLES OF STRENGTH AND SIZE

A 9-week workout plan used by the pro athletes our own Muscle Guy trains
By Scott Quill, Workout by Mark Verstegen , M.S., C.S.C.S

Principles of Strength and Size (Editor's note: These exercises are from Core Performance by Mark Verstegen. You can order the book online at the Men's Health store)

Athletes' Performance is the training ground for professional athletes of every sport, including all-pros like Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, along with household-names-in-training like Tampa Bay Devil Ray Carl Crawford.

"These guys are built to perform at high speeds with high power, and they look unbelievable, too," says Mark Verstegen, M.S., C.S.C.S., owner of Athletes' Performance, and the Men's Health Muscle Guy. "People would think they spend a lot of time bodybuilding. But they don't -- everything they have is for go, not just for show."

Building a body to perform will give you the best results even if your only reason for training is to attract attention at the beach. The first step is to set up a resistance-training workout plan, and there are many ways to do this.

For instance, you might do total-body workouts, alternate between routines such as upper-body/lower-body, or work pairs of muscle groups together. That's why, throughout these pages, we've included cool exercises and great tips for many types of workout plans.

What follows is a new plan, courtesy of Verstegen, so you can scrap your current routine if it has stopped yielding the results you want. The first step is to train movements, not body parts. This allows you to do upper-body pushing movements like bench presses and lower-body pulling movements like Romanian deadlifts in the same workout, and lower-body pushing exercises like squats along with upper-body pulling exercises like lat pulldowns in another workout.

You'll also notice that the workout plans include some total-body rotational movements to attack muscles in all planes. Organizing your workout around pushing, pulling, and rotational movements involves a tremendous amount of muscle mass each session, so your body releases more muscle-building hormones, stimulating greater increases in strength and muscle mass while shedding body fat.

This also allows you to do upper- and lower-body exercises as supersets -- pairs of exercises done one after another without rest--so your muscles have more time to recover between sets.

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1/16/2011

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

The result: "You'll be able to go harder on the next set, recruit more motor units, and become bigger and stronger at the same time, as opposed to just trying to get a pump on," says Verstegen.

Go to the next page for the workout plan...

Foundation Period In Verstegen's program, adapted from his book Core Performance, you'll change the focus of your training every 3 weeks. (Exercise scientists refer to this as periodization.)

The first 3-week phase is your foundation period, a time to perform a variety of exercises that incorporate stability and balance so you learn the proper movement patterns and can get more out of these exercises when you increase weights later in the program.

Perform one or two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions of the following exercises twice a week. Rest 30 seconds after each superset.

Week 1-3 Super Set

Dumbbell Alternating Bench Press Starting Position: Lie supine (faceup) on a bench, holding dumbbells at the outside edges of your shoulders, palms facing your thighs. Procedure: Lift both dumbbells straight up over your chest. Keeping one arm straight, lower the other dumbbell, touch the outside of your shoulder, then push it back up. At the top of the movement, "plus" (push farther) with both hands, as if trying to punch the ceiling. Then repeat with the other arm. Coaching Key(s): Make sure to stabilize your extended arm and take the active dumbbell through a full range of motion. "Plus" at the top with both hands. You Should Feel it: In your chest, shoulders, and triceps.

Swiss-Ball Leg Curl Starting Position: Lie supine (faceup) on the floor, put your heels on the ball, pull your toes up toward your shins, and pull your shoulder blades back and down. Procedure:

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1/16/2011 A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's Squeeze your glutes until your body is in a straight line from ankle to shoulder. Keeping your hips tall, pull your heels in toward your glutes. Let the ball roll back slowly as you straighten your legs, keeping your hips elevated. Stay in the bridge for all your repetitions.
Coaching Key(s): Be sure your glutes stay activated the entire time. Don't let your hips drop as you pull your heels in. Note: If you don't have access to a physioball, you can do this exercise on a smooth floor (wood or linoleum). Put a towel beneath your heels to allow a smooth movement. Or, if you're using a carpeted floor, put a magazine or file folder beneath your heels. You Should Feel it: In your glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

Split Squat Starting Position: Set a bar across your shoulders or hold dumbbells at arm's length at your sides. Step out into a lunge. Procedure: Lower your hips toward the floor by squatting back and down. Without letting your back knee touch the ground, return to the starting position by driving your weight back up with your front leg. Do all the reps with that leg forward, then switch legs and repeat. Coaching Key(s): Don't let your front knee slide forward over your toes; if it does, start over again with your front foot farther forward. You Should Feel it: In your hips and the front of your legs.

Go to the next page for the circuit for weeks 1-3...

Circuit Dumbbell Split Curl-to-Press Starting Position: Stand holding dumbbells at your sides. Rest your front foot on a bench or sturdy step at about midthigh height. Procedure: Perform a biceps curl, rotating your palms so they're facing you. Then press the weight over your head, finishing with either the palms facing forward, in, or backward. Do all your reps, then put the opposite foot on the step for your next set. Coaching Key(s): Maintain perfect posture, with belly button pulled in and shoulder blades pulled back and down. You Should Feel it: In your biceps and shoulders and throughout your pillar.

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1/16/2011 Swiss-Ball Pushup Plus

Starting Position:

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

Get in the pushup position, with your hands on the ball and your fingers pointed down the sides of the ball. Shoulder blades should be pushed away from each other in "plus" position (as far forward as possible). Procedure: With your belly button drawn in, lower yourself to where your chest barely grazes the ball. Control the ball as you push back up, holding your belly button in and protracting, or "plussing" out of, the shoulder blades to get as far away from the ball as possible. Coaching Key(s): Lock your belly button in to stabilize your pillar before starting. Keep your body straight from ear to ankle. You Should Feel it: In your abs, chest, shoulders, and triceps.

Dumbbell Pullover Extension Starting Position: Lie supine on a bench, with dumbbells held with straight arms over your chest or eyes. Procedure: Keeping your upper arms in the same position, lower the dumbbells until your elbows are bent 90 degrees. Now lower your upper arms until they're parallel to the floor. Now pull your arms back to the starting position, straightening your elbows on the way up. Note: If you have shoulder problems, just do the first half of the movement, bending your elbows and then straightening them. Coaching Key(s): Drop your hands first so that your elbows point up toward the ceiling, then drop your elbows. You Should Feel it: In your upper back, lats, and triceps.

Swiss-Ball Lateral Roll Starting Position: Lie supine (on your back) with the ball between your shoulder blades, hips fully extended, and knees bent to 90 degrees. Your arms are extended straight out to the sides. There should be a straight line from your knees to your shoulders and another straight line from hand to hand. Fire the glutes to keep your body in line. Keep your belly button drawn in. Procedure: Roll across the physioball, reaching as far to one side as possible, holding your arms parallel to the floor. Keep your hips tall. Coaching Key(s): Keep your arms rotated so that your thumbs are back and down toward the floor, pulling your shoulder blades back and down. You Should Feel:

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1/16/2011 A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's A stretch in your upper back and core and an activation of the glutes.

After 3 weeks of training, take a few days to train less intensely and change the stimulus on your body. Verstegen calls this the reload period. You might try yoga, do body-weight exercises, or, as you progress in your training, return to the balance and stability moves you used in this foundation period.

Go to the next page for workouts for weeks 4-6...

Extensive Phase For your next 3-week block, which Verstegen calls the extensive phase, you'll focus on gaining size, strength, and endurance. Do three or four sets of six to 10 repetitions of each exercise and perform each workout once a week. Rest 30 seconds between supersets.

Weeks 4-6

Workout A

Superset

Bench Press Starting Position: Lie supine on the bench, with your feet on the floor. Your shoulders and hips remain in contact with the bench the entire time. Grasp the bar (or hold the dumbbells) just wider than shoulder width, and hold it with straight arms over your shoulders. Procedure: Breathe in, lowering the bar to the lower part of your chest. Drive the bar forcefully back to starting position. Extend your arms and shoulders fully at the end of each repetition. Coaching Key(s): Keep your feet on the floor and your hips and shoulders on the bench at all times. Keep your head straight. You Should Feel It: In your chest, shoulders, and arms.

Romanian Deadlift Starting Position: Grab a barbell with an overhand grip just wider than shoulder width, or stand holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Set your feet hip-width apart, with your legs in a fixed position but not locked at the knees. Your shoulders should be back and down and your weight on the back half of your feet. Procedure:

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1/16/2011 A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's Shift your hips back and lower the bar as far as you can while keeping your back straight. Fire your hamstrings and glutes as you return to an upright position.
Coaching Key(s): Your torso/pillar stays straight. Keep the bar or dumbbells close to your body, touching your legs or almost touching all the way up and down. Don't think of the exercise as bending forward; think of it as sitting back, but with your torso moving forward instead of staying upright. Keep your shoulder blades back and down throughout the movement. You Should Feel it: In your glutes and hamstrings mostly, with some effort in your lower back and core. You may feel it in your upper back, since it's challenging to keep your shoulder blades retracted as the weight moves toward the floor.

Superset

Split Squat (see page 2)

Pullup Starting Position: Grab a pullup bar with either an overhand or reverse (underhand) grip. (If you have access to a bar with handles, you can take a "neutral" grip, with palms facing each other.) Procedure: Hanging from the bar, pull your shoulder blades back and down to lift your body up. Finish by pulling with your arms. Coaching Key(s): Return to the fully extended position after each rep. If you can't do a pullup initially, perform a "horizontal" pullup by lying underneath the bar of a squat rack or Smith machine, as shown on next page. You Should Feel it: Under and around your shoulder blades, backs of your shoulders, and your arms.

Circuit

Cable Single-Arm Rotational Row Starting Position: Attach a handle to the low pulley. Kneel perpendicular to the cable machine, with your right knee and left foot on the floor. Procedure: Reach across your body with your right hand to grab the handle, turning your hips and shoulders to the machine. Now rotate your right shoulder back and pull the handle to your right hip (much like a dumbbell row). Do all your reps, then repeat with your opposite side.

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1/16/2011 Coaching Key(s):

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

This movement should look and feel as if you're trying to start a lawn mower that doesn't want to crank. Don't forget to turn your shoulders and hips toward and then away from the machine with each repetition. You Should Feel it: In the torso and hip rotators, waist, lats, arms, and rear shoulders.

Dumbbell Split-Curl-to-Press (see page 3)

Dumbbell Pullover Extension (see page 3)

Go to the next page for Workout B...

Workout B Superset

Alternate Dumbbell Bench Press (see page 2)

Split Squat (see page 2)

Superset

Dumbbell Single-Arm, Single-Leg Row Starting Position: Stand on one leg, grasping a stable surface in front of you (such as a dumbbell rack) with one hand. Procedure: Bend by dropping your chest and lifting the leg opposite your free hand to create a perfect T with your body. Grab a dumbbell with your free hand. Pull it to the side of your waist and then lower it. Perform the designated number of reps with one arm, then repeat with the opposite arm and leg. Coaching Key(s): Move your shoulder, not your arm, to initiate the row. Keep your back level--your shoulders should stay parallel to the floor--and fire the glute of your extended leg to keep it parallel to the floor. Extend the leg opposite the hand doing the lifting.

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1/16/2011 You Should Feel it:

In your back, lat, and shoulder.

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

Swiss-Ball Leg Curl (see page 2)

Circuit

Cable Lift Starting Position: Attach a handle to the low pulley. Kneel on your outside leg, with your inside leg up, perpendicular to the machine. Procedure: Grab the handle and turn your shoulders, keeping your chest up and tummy tight. Pull the handle up toward your chest while turning your shoulders and continue the motion by pushing it up and away. Lower your hands back toward your chest as you turn back to the machine. Do all your reps, then repeat with your opposite side. Coaching Key(s): Be sure to turn your shoulders. Your back should be turned to the machine at the end of the movement. Think of this as a combination of two familiar movements -- upright row and incline press -- but turned to the side and combined in one motion. Lower in the same pattern as you lifted. You Should Feel it: In your torso rotators, upper back, chest, and shoulders. Progression: Try this exercise while seated on a physioball.

Cable Chopping Starting Position: Attach a handle or rope to the high pulley. Sit on a Swiss-ball, perpendicular to the cable machine. Procedure: Rotate your shoulders and grab the handle with both hands. Now pull the handle to your chest as you rotate away from the machine, continuing the momentum by pushing the rope down and away. Do all your reps, then repeat with your opposite side. Coaching Key(s): Turn toward and away from the machine with each repetition. At the end of each rep, your chest should be up, your shoulder blades back and down, and your tummy tight. You Should Feel it: In your shoulders, triceps, and abs.

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1/16/2011 Dumbbell Split Curl-to-Press

(see page 3)

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

Go to the next page to learn the workouts for weeks 7-9...

Intensive Phase After you reload, focus on building strength and power for 3 weeks (the intensive phase). You'll start to see improvements in all the sports you play. Aim for four to six sets of three to six repetitions using heavier weights for the following exercises. (Do 10 to 12 repetitions of the Russian twist, plate crunch, and lateral roll.)

Do each workout twice a week, alternating between them. Rest for 60 seconds between supersets.

Weeks 7-9

Workout A Superset

Bench Press Plus Swiss-Ball Pushup (see page 3) Do three Swiss-ball pushups after each set of bench presses, rest 60 seconds, do a set of weighted pull-ups, then rest 60 second and repeat.

Weighted Pullup (see page 4)

Superset

Cable Chop (see page 5)

Cable Lift (see page 5)

Workout B

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1/16/2011 Superset

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

Cable Single-Arm Rotational Row (see page 4)

Swiss-Ball Russian Twist Starting Position: Lie supine on the ball, with your shoulder blades on the ball and hips tall. Procedure: With shoulder blades back and down, extend your arms above your chest; your hands are either together or holding a weight plate. Keeping your hips tall, turn your shoulders to the right so that they're perpendicular to the ground while your hips stay horizontal. Twist back to the starting position and then to the other side. Coaching Key(s): When rotating to the side, be sure to fire (squeeze) the glute on that side to keep your hips flat. You Should Feel: A stretch in your core and an activation of the muscles of your hips and the sides of your waist.

Superset

Split Squat Plus Split Jump (see page 2 for Split Squat) Do three split jumps after each set of six split squats, then immediately do the...

Split Jump Starting Position: Take a large step forward, keeping your chest up, shoulder blades back and down, tummy tight, and knees and toes pointed straight. Procedure: From the split-squat position, sit your hips back and down until your back knee nearly touches the ground. Hold this position for 2 seconds, then explode up, using your hips and legs and throwing your arms up at the same time. Extend your front leg and land back in the same split-squat position. Coaching Key(s): Maintain good stability and balance upon landing. You Should Feel It: In your hips and legs.

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1/16/2011 Swiss-Ball Plate Crunch

Starting Position:

A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's

Lie supine on the ball, arching your entire torso over the ball. Try to touch your shoulder blades, back, and glutes over the ball so that your abdominals are completely stretched. Hold the weight plate behind your head. Procedure: Roll your hips and chest up at the same time while pulling your belly button in. Crunch from the top of your torso and then lower your hips and chest to the starting position. Coaching Key(s): Arch your torso completely. Roll your chest and hips toward your belly button. You Should Feel It: A stretch in your abs and core, followed by an activation of your midabdominal muscles.

Go to the next page for the rest of the supersets...

Superset

Dumbbell Front Squat-to-Press Starting Position: Stand holding dumbbells at shoulder height, with your elbows resting on your ribs, palms facing each other. Procedure: Initiate the movement with your hips, squatting back and down until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor. Explode out of your hips and quads, using that momentum to drive the weights off your shoulders and overhead. You should finish with straight legs and arms. Lower the dumbbells back to your shoulders, then drop back into a full squat and repeat. Coaching Key(s): Keep your weight on your heels when squatting--never let your weight go forward onto your toes. You Should Feel It: Pretty much everywhere. This is a total-body exercise.

Swiss-Ball Lateral Roll (see page 3)

Superset

Romanian Deadlift Starting Position:

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1/16/2011 A 9-Week Workout Plan from Men's Grab a barbell with an overhand grip just wider than shoulder width, or stand holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Set your feet hip-width apart, with your legs in a fixed position but not locked at the knees. Your shoulders should be back and down and your weight on the back half of your feet.
Procedure: Shift your hips back and lower the bar as far as you can while keeping your back straight. Fire your hamstrings and glutes as you return to an upright position. Coaching Key(s): Your torso/pillar stays straight. Keep the bar or dumbbells close to your body, touching your legs or almost touching all the way up and down. Don't think of the exercise as bending forward; think of it as sitting back, but with your torso moving forward instead of staying upright. Keep your shoulder blades back and down throughout the movement. You Should Feel It: In your glutes and hamstrings mostly, with some effort in your lower back and core. You may feel it in your upper back, since it's challenging to keep your shoulder blades retracted as the weight moves toward the floor.

Swiss-Ball Prone Knee Tuck Starting Position: Get in the pushup "plus" position (shoulder blades extended forward) with your shins on the ball. Procedure: Pull your knees to chest until your toes are on top of the ball. Return to the starting position and repeat. Coaching Key(s): Keep your belly button in and shoulders pushed away the whole time. Don't let your back sag. You Should Feel: An activation in your core and shoulders and a stretch of your lower back.

After you reload, focus on building strength and power for 3 weeks (the intensive phase). You'll start to see improvements in all the sports you play. Aim for four to six sets of three to six repetitions using heavier weights for the following exercises. (Do 10 to 12 repetitions of the Russian twist, plate crunch, and lateral roll.)

Do each workout twice a week, alternating between them. Rest for 60 seconds between supersets.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/workout-plan-5

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