Tom Treutlein
New member
The Bigger Faster Stronger Program
First off, this routine is done on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday split. It's pretty simple, and is used nationwide for various sports teams (I believe for highschool, college, and even professional) and has proved quite successful. The routine is done on a 4 week cycle, in which core/compound lifts differ in their rep scheme. The cycle looks like this:
Week 1: 3x3
Week 2: 3x5
Week 3: 5-3-1
Week 4: 10-8-6/4-4-2
The workouts tend to be very short and to the point. Notice, only three working sets, all staying in the fairly low-rep range. The 4th week is done 10-8-6 for Monday and Friday workouts. The Wednesday workout on week four is done 4-4-2. Just in case you don't know, that means 3 sets at 10 reps, 8 reps, then 6 reps. Same goes for the 4-4-2. The higher reps, I guess, are to sort of shock the body. Whether or not that works, I don't know. Some people cut out the fourth week and just cycle the first three, but that's up to you.
You are supposed to preform two core lifts every training day. This is how it should look:
Monday: Flat Bench Press/Squat
Wednesday: Deadlift/Power Clean
Friday: Bench & Squat Variation
On Friday you can do incline or decline bench, and box, front, or hack squats. Whatever you please. The reps are kept lower for deadlifts and cleans. I guess they can be done at higher reps, but I like 'em that way, and it's how the routine was designed.
Now, you can choose any amount of auxillary lifts you wish and place them on whatever days. All auxillary lifts are done in a 2x8 fashion. You would probably put back exercises like Shrugs, Rows, Widegrip Chins on Wednesday. Military Presses on Monday. Closegrip Bench Presses and Curls on Friday. That's just me though. It's a very flexible routine.
The last set of every exercise, be it a core or auxillary lift, is done as a "+" or "plus". This means taking it to failure. If, on the auxillary lifts, you can preform more than 12 reps on your second and final set, you should bump the weight by 5 lbs. the following week. If not, stick with that weight. During the 4 week cycle, the auxillary lifts keep the same set/rep scheme.
Your core lifts should be increasing every week. Mine have been for the past 12 weeks now. Very nice gains I've had so far. The workouts take, at most, an hour. Usually less but that's the highest mine have gone.
Rest Time
I usually rest 1m30s between auxillary, 2m for benches, and 2m30s-3m for squats, deadlifts, and cleans.
Warm-ups
I warm-up for the core lifts only. My body is fine for the rest of the workout after that, but it's up to you. I don't think more than 2 warm-up sets are needed. Maybe it's just me, but I'm fine with that.
Keeping Records
I personally don't do this, but part of the routine (if you wish) is to record at the end of each week the total amount of weight you pushed. Once you get back to that week in the cycle, you add up your weight and see if it beats the previous weak. A psychological thing, I guess. I never bothered, because I know my lifts all went up, and I don't need to see how much total weight I'm pushing. An ego booster, to me.
That's pretty much it. The routine is very simple. If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. I was skeptical, but you should really give this routine a shot if you want something new. It's enjoyable for me and friends of mine to use when working out. I guess part of that reason is every week the core lifts rep schemes are changed, and the last time you did that scheme was a month ago, so it's nice to see numbers go up since you've had three weeks since you last did, let's say 3x3, and you're ready to break those old numbers.
First off, this routine is done on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday split. It's pretty simple, and is used nationwide for various sports teams (I believe for highschool, college, and even professional) and has proved quite successful. The routine is done on a 4 week cycle, in which core/compound lifts differ in their rep scheme. The cycle looks like this:
Week 1: 3x3
Week 2: 3x5
Week 3: 5-3-1
Week 4: 10-8-6/4-4-2
The workouts tend to be very short and to the point. Notice, only three working sets, all staying in the fairly low-rep range. The 4th week is done 10-8-6 for Monday and Friday workouts. The Wednesday workout on week four is done 4-4-2. Just in case you don't know, that means 3 sets at 10 reps, 8 reps, then 6 reps. Same goes for the 4-4-2. The higher reps, I guess, are to sort of shock the body. Whether or not that works, I don't know. Some people cut out the fourth week and just cycle the first three, but that's up to you.
You are supposed to preform two core lifts every training day. This is how it should look:
Monday: Flat Bench Press/Squat
Wednesday: Deadlift/Power Clean
Friday: Bench & Squat Variation
On Friday you can do incline or decline bench, and box, front, or hack squats. Whatever you please. The reps are kept lower for deadlifts and cleans. I guess they can be done at higher reps, but I like 'em that way, and it's how the routine was designed.
Now, you can choose any amount of auxillary lifts you wish and place them on whatever days. All auxillary lifts are done in a 2x8 fashion. You would probably put back exercises like Shrugs, Rows, Widegrip Chins on Wednesday. Military Presses on Monday. Closegrip Bench Presses and Curls on Friday. That's just me though. It's a very flexible routine.
The last set of every exercise, be it a core or auxillary lift, is done as a "+" or "plus". This means taking it to failure. If, on the auxillary lifts, you can preform more than 12 reps on your second and final set, you should bump the weight by 5 lbs. the following week. If not, stick with that weight. During the 4 week cycle, the auxillary lifts keep the same set/rep scheme.
Your core lifts should be increasing every week. Mine have been for the past 12 weeks now. Very nice gains I've had so far. The workouts take, at most, an hour. Usually less but that's the highest mine have gone.
Rest Time
I usually rest 1m30s between auxillary, 2m for benches, and 2m30s-3m for squats, deadlifts, and cleans.
Warm-ups
I warm-up for the core lifts only. My body is fine for the rest of the workout after that, but it's up to you. I don't think more than 2 warm-up sets are needed. Maybe it's just me, but I'm fine with that.
Keeping Records
I personally don't do this, but part of the routine (if you wish) is to record at the end of each week the total amount of weight you pushed. Once you get back to that week in the cycle, you add up your weight and see if it beats the previous weak. A psychological thing, I guess. I never bothered, because I know my lifts all went up, and I don't need to see how much total weight I'm pushing. An ego booster, to me.
That's pretty much it. The routine is very simple. If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. I was skeptical, but you should really give this routine a shot if you want something new. It's enjoyable for me and friends of mine to use when working out. I guess part of that reason is every week the core lifts rep schemes are changed, and the last time you did that scheme was a month ago, so it's nice to see numbers go up since you've had three weeks since you last did, let's say 3x3, and you're ready to break those old numbers.