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 By: John Berardi
This is Part II of the great Growth Surge Project, click here for part one. The goal here is to prime the body for an intensive two week program of twice-a-day training and hardcore eating that could result in a shocking amount of new muscle. But don't jump into this program if you haven't gone through the Priming Stage. You can check it out here.
Feeling good? Feeling well rested and ready to crank it up, tear it down, and build it back? In short, are you ready to explode? Good. Because now it's time for what you've been waiting for, the reason you accepted this challenge in the first place. It's time for the Growth Surge stage! Now we know what many of you are thinking. Although you may think you're a recovery reject, with the use of proper nutrition we can almost guarantee that you'll keep overtraining Man at bay. Many a trainee has approached us complaining of poor recovery. However, with the addition of a solid nutritional plan and a targeted recovery regimen, they kicked that problem out the door like a dog with the runs. Beyond the recovery issue, the two week limit on the Growth Surge stage was put in place because of another reason.
Another benefit of two-a-day workouts is the fact that two workout periods provide two post-workout "windows of opportunity" to stimulate anabolic hormone release, nutrient partitioning, and nutrient storage. In addition, the very nature of these workouts leads to the stimulation of GH and Testosterone bursts. By combining these bursts with the big insulin surge and the hyperaminoacidemia that the post-workout drink offers, you've got an anabolic cocktail designed for muscle growth. Without further ado, let's dive right in.
Here's your workout for the next two weeks: Week #1
3 sets x 6 reps of T-bar rows
3 sets x 6 reps of seated dumbbell press
Tuesday
4 sets x 6 reps deadlifts
4 sets x 6 reps of squats
Wednesday
3 sets x 6 reps of bench press
3 sets x 6 reps of barbell curls
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Notes: Rest should be approximately two to three minutes between sets based on conditioning levels. If you're out of shape and can't come back intensely during following sets, use three minutes. If you can use max weights, use two minutes. We suggest you train to failure or near failure on every set of every exercise. As for tempo, we have no strict guidelines, although you should be lowering the weights under control slower than you lift them. Triple strip sets are performed by beginning with a weight that you can do a maximum of five times; then immediately dropping to a weight that you can do five more times; then immediately dropping to a weight that you can do another five times. There'll be no cardio performed during this growth phase.
Week #1
Incline Flies: 2 sets of triple strips (5,5,5) Bent Over T-bar Rows: 2 sets 6-8 reps Underhand and Close Grip Seated Rows:* 2 sets of triple strips (5,5,5) Standing Barbell Press: 2 sets 6-8 reps Front Shoulder Raises: 2 sets of triple strips (5,5,5) Abs (leg raises): 2 sets
* Shown with normal grip. Tuesday
Glute-Ham Raises: 3 sets Preacher Curls With Dumbbells: 2 sets 8-10 reps Triceps Pushdowns: 2 sets 8-10 reps Standing Calf Raise: 2 sets of 10-12
Wednesday
Pull Downs (close parallel grip): 3 sets of 15 reps Rear Deltoid on Peck Deck: 3 sets of 15 reps
Thursday
Dumbbell Leg Curls: 3 sets of triple strips (5,5,5) Standing Barbell Curls: 2 sets 8-10 reps Lying Triceps Extension: 2 sets 8-10 reps Seated Calf Raise: 2 sets 15-20 reps
Friday
Wide Grip Pull-Ups: 2 sets to failure Machine Incline Bench Press: 2 sets 10-12 reps Push-Ups (feet up on bench, hands turned out): 2 sets to failure Arnold Press: 2 sets 10-12 reps Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 2 sets 10 reps Abs: 2 sets crunches or similar
* Shown with normal grip. Saturday
Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps Donkey Calf Raise or Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets of 15 reps
Sunday
Note: Triple strip sets are performed by beginning with a weight that you can do a maximum of five times; then immediately dropping to a weight that you can do five more times; then immediately dropping to a weight that you can do another five times.
Get ready for some big time eating during this phase! Since most trainees eat too few calories and fail to maximize feeding for recovery during their normal training cycles, we have to stress the importance of eating, eating big, and eating appropriately during this phase. Without the nutritional signals for growth provided at the right time relative to your workouts, the muscle can't adapt to get bigger and stronger. That said, you need to stop right here and realize one thing. Our recommendations are not a free pass to the Golden City Chinese Buffet! The eating, while big, must be super strict. If not, you'd better call this the Gut Surge program.
Using the Growth Surge calorie formula provided at the end of this article, determine your calorie needs for this phase (they're about 15% higher than even Massive Eating recommends). In a prior Appetite for Construction column, you'll find a sample Massive Eating meal plan. Make similar food choices and you're on track. Again, you must follow this without compromise. Skimp on the calories and you'll be wasting our time and your own. And that means no new muscle for your scrawny no-calorie eatin' butt! You may be wondering why we recommend so many calories, especially since you think you have the metabolism of a small vegetarian creature, Dustin Hoffman for example. You may be thinking that you'd never be able to consume so much food without being transformed into a large seafaring mammalian creature and sent back into the ocean from whence you came. Don't despair. With Massive Eating, many who thought they had a slug's metabolism have been able to significantly increase caloric intake and create a new caloric balance point. We're definitely on to something extraordinary here. With this program, if you train two times per day as we recommend, you've got nothing to fear but fear itself (and stretched out shirtsleeves.)
Just like the training and the nutrition, this two week supplement regimen is intense. After two weeks you're going to be a little tired (mostly of chewing!), but the size gains will become apparent. Your Supplementation Includes:
Tips Let's head off a few problems at the pass. First, you're going to be intimidated by how much food you have take in during this stage. Don't panic. After all, it only lasts two weeks and surely you can put your pecker to the grindstone for that short amount of time. The secret is to think of food as fuel, nothing more, nothing less. You're going to have to fuel the machine to have productive twice-per-day workouts and pack on the muscle. One tip we can give you is to spend Sunday preparing food for the rest of the week. That way it'll be easy to get the calories required because much of your "stock" bodybuilding foods will be ready to go. MRPs and protein powders help tremendously in this area as well. Also, get yourself a small cooler to take with you to work or school. Pack it with the food you'll need to get through the work day - tuna, cottage cheese, pre-mixed protein shakes, fruit, beef jerky, nuts etc. Our Foods that Make You Look Good Naked article should give you some more ideas and there are some great recipes in the "Recipes for Success" articles. Don't forget to log your weight, body fat and other measurements before and after this stage. As you did in stage one, be sure you're keeping an accurate food log. Most people fall drastically short on calories without one. Don't assume you're eating enough! Some people find it convenient to train at home during one of the twice-a-day workouts. If you have some basic home equipment, this could make the twice-daily workouts a little easier to fit into your schedule, although you may have to make some exercise substitutions.
In the upcoming third and final installment, we'll help you recover from the Growth Surge, get rid of any extra fat you may have gained, and show you how to preserve that spankin' new muscle mass. Stay tuned and stay strong for the next two weeks!
[ Part One ] - [ Part Three ]
Get ready to pack in some calories! For this stage, you're going to be eating according the original Massive Eating calorie guidelines, only when you get to the final number you're going to add 15% to it! Also, don't forget that you'll be training twice per day so your Cost of Daily Activity numbers are going to double.
Auto-Calculator Note: How this calculator works is described down below.
Step #1
Now take your percent of body fat and multiply it by your weight in kilograms to get your fat mass (FM). If our 82 kg guy has 12% body fat, so 82 x .12 = 9.84 kg FM. Now subtractthis number from your total weight in kilograms to get your fat free mass. Our guy would subtract 9.84 kg from 82 kg to get a Fat Free Mass (FFM) of 72.16 kg. Now multiply your FFM times 22 and add 500. That's your RMR. Our guy would multiply 22 x 72.16 to get 1582.52. Add 500 for a total of 2087.52. So his RMR is about 2087 calories per day. Step #2
Activity Factors:
1.5-1.6 for Light (office work/watching TV) 1.6-1.7 for Moderate (some activity during day) 1.9-2.1 for Heavy (labor type work) So if our sample guy worked in an office setting, he'd choose 1.5. So 2087 calories (his RMR) times 1.5 = about 3130 calories.
So here's the formula: Cost of Exercise Activity = Body Mass (in kg) x Duration (in hours) x MET value Let's break that down using our sample dude. Let's say he trains with weights for an hour each time he hits the gym. As we said, the MET value for intense free weight lifting is 6. So he'll multiply his weight is kilograms (82kg) times one hour (1.0) times 6. So he uses about 492 calories during his weight training session. But hold on a second. If you choose the twice-per-day training option and each workout is about an hour in length then you'll need to double that. So Cost of Exercise Activity will be 492 x 2 for our sample guy, or 984 calories. Normally, he'd then figure out how much he burns during cardio, but remember, we don't suggest any cardio during the Growth Surge stage. So now our guy is going to add 984 calories to his total thus far. 3130 + 984 = 4114 Step #4
Step #5
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