Like so many athletes of the modern age, Craig Capurso reached a point in his life when he could no longer play the sport of his youth. Craig was a football player. Now he is a fitness model, competing in the Physique Division of the IFBB.

The sport switch coincided with a training switch. No longer is he consumed by "Bigger, Faster, Stronger," but instead he pursues fitness like a Brahma bull.

"I adapted a new style of heavy volume," Capurso said. "It's not so much bodybuilder-style, but more fitness-style. I'm doing little rest. I'm trying to push as much weight as I can, but I'll go into the gym randomly and be like, 'I'm doing 100 reps of this exercise.' How I get there, I don't even know."

No 2-week stretch is safe from Craig's variable manipulation. It's 100 reps followed by superset followed by a day working the trade floor at the NYMEX.

"It's about being spontaneous, and it's about agility," Capurso said. "I'm always exerting my body as much as I can. I'll worry about the next set when I have to worry about the next set."

Craig Capurso's Fitness Program

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Cardio isn't the devil, nor is it some altar for ritualistic sacrifice. Craig uses boxing training techniques, which promote both heart health and power.

"I'm a fitness guy; I'm going to be agile," Capurso said. "I will do jumps. I'll run around the gym. I'll do lunges. I will be training hard; you will see me sweat."

Craig's Training Philosophy

The gym is my second home. It is a place where a bad day can turn good. You may call it my church or sanctuary. I go to throw around some weights and try to expand every muscle fiber in that working muscle group.

I have trained as an athlete under the principles of bigger, stronger, faster which has created a great base. I am able now to fine-tune those muscles and work on my weakness in order to showcase a more aesthetic physique.

You have to build the foundation from the ground up. Legs are by far my biggest body part and my favorite to train. Work all your muscle groups in order to be the complete package. Nothing looks more ridiculous than someone who has large upper body and no lower body or vice versa. I am now building my body with my new training strategy of HEAVY VOLUME. I used to train heavy for low reps but found I would get strong but not sore.

I know when I am sore that I did some damage to those muscles, and I will have to work harder next week to increase my lactic acid threshold. This is the part of the process where you break down muscles in order to repair to grow. That's what you should all be after; remember, there is no scale or weight on stage.

Best Body Part: I've always had big quads. I feel like I have a good base. I have a good back from the power exercises I've done in the past. My training method over the years has built a certain physique, but now I'm getting judged on everything. You have to bring everything into a certain aesthetic.

Worst Body Part: Calves are my worst! I gotta start doing them more. I have to start putting those into my routine on a regular basis. I kind of neglect them. Calves are my red-headed stepchild, but they need to start being my main son in this relationship.

Craig's Training Regimen

Training Rules

• 2-3 minutes rest between exercises unless designated superset.
• Supersets: Complete 1st exercise, immediately follow with 2nd exercise (no rest), then rest 2-3 minutes before repeating.
• I do not have a set time in gym; the workout lasts as long as the work lasts.
• I do not add cardio until a month out from a show, in which case I do 30 minutes walking on incline 2 days per week, followed by a treadmill incline variation: 2 min walk, 1 minute sprint, 30 seconds rest, repeated for 30 minutes.

Heavy Volume

• Pick a weight for the first set that you can get 15, but maybe not 16 reps.
• This should be your weight for all sets.
• Follow multiple sets until failure until you hit the desired number of reps (ex. 100).
• Most likely you'll need 3 minutes rest between sets.

Day 7: Rest Day

[ Craig Capurso's Fitness Program ][