There's a ridiculous notion that natural, non drug-enhanced, trainers need to do less work to get better results. Only in some sort of Sci-Fi Bizarro world can a natural trainer do less work and get better results.
“Oh, you can't do as much as a drug trainer. You can't recover. Your body is as frail as my Grannies. If you work out more than 3 times a week you'll overtrain and fry your central nervous system”.
Surely you've heard the internet morons parrot the statements above.
Do you want to know the truth?
Ok. Here it is.
Only drug enhanced trainers can do less work and get better results.
If you don't take drugs and try to get in shape with 3 days a week baloney workouts you are just pissing into the wind.
The nasty truth is that a natural trainer has to do a lot more work to get inferior results to a drug trainer.
While it is true that a natural trainer can't train like a drug trainer, it is not true for the commonly thought of reason.
The common reason is “You can't train like a drug trainer because you can't recuperate. You can't train as heavy as them or as often as them. They train too heavy for a natural, they train too long and hard and they train too much“.
You've heard that nonsense I'm sure. Would you like to know why you really can't train like a drug trainer and get results?
Ok, here it is…..
Drug trainers train really light!
Yes, it's true. You've seen the guy with gigantic arms curling 20 lb dumbbells. The guy that's all muscle and no fat and he's rowing 50 lb dumbbells. Drug trainers only train each bodypart once per week. Most juiced out trainers do not train very hard.
Natural trainers cannot train like juicers because light-weight doesn't do anything for a natty. Natural trainers can't train like juicers because training 3 or 4 days a week does nothing for a natty. A natty has to train hard and heavy and often. A natty who does “bodypart splits” is wasting his time.
Drug trainers don't have to train hard and heavy because they are on the right drugs. And what do the right drugs do? They turn you SUPERHUMAN. That's not a joke, that's not hyperbole, and that isn't bullshit.
The right drugs give you results that you absolutely cannot get without using them. You really can become SUPERMAN if you take the right drugs. Yes, I'm talking to you, Skinny Sam or Fat Fred with the “bad genetics”. ANYONE CAN GET JACKED. There's no such thing as a “genetic mutant”. No one is jacked because they “have awesome genetics, bro“. No one is jacked because “they're just really dedicated“.
Here is a secret you may or may not know: steroids aren't really drugs, they are hormones.
The biggest part of being jacked is having the right hormone balance. The right hormone balance = muscles. Hormones and the right hormone balance makes up 90% of jacked-ness, the right food and the right training make-up only about 10% of getting jacked.
When you train naturally you are training at the bottom 10% capability. You leave the most important part, hormones, out of the equation and concentrate on food and training. Because of this you must train hard and heavy and often to maximize your gains. Yes, you have to work hard to get results.
To get the lean and mean body of a spartan you have to push yourself. You can't be terrified of hitting the weights. You can't be a pussy around the weights and cry about “overtraining”. You can't be afraid of “doing too much”.
You have to hit the weights hard, heavy, fast and often to get the most out of natural training.
It is only then, when you give it your best, that you get the best out of your natural training. But there is a limit to your natural training and you will hit it and you will not improve after that point. You will stay the same muscular size and all you can do at that point is gain or lose fat.
So how do you become Super-Human?
First, you build your body up as best you can using the Body of a Spartan method. When you are at your natural limit (if you work hard you have two years natural at most before you reach your limit) and then you move on to A or B…
A) Get yourself some superdol. This stuff is the real deal and will put lbs of muscle on your body and massive strength in your bones.
B) You go to kindly Dr. So and So and you say “Doc., I have low testosterone. I want to start Hormone Replacement Therapy immediately“. Your kindly old Doctor is going to take care of your hormone imbalance and fix that plummeting testosterone level that affects every single western male and he's going to get you on the road to putting on some muscle.
And then, you are…..
SUPERMAN.
And you have become SUPERMAN the legal way.
All the girlies you run into start to say “Wow, you have great genetics!”. “You must have been working out since you were 10 years old!” “Wow, you must be really strong”.
And you laugh because you started out at 130 lbs and now you weigh 200lbs even. Some “great genetics” at work.
The possibilities are limitless and any old Skinny Sam or Fat Fred can turn into “Natural Genetics” Johnny with the beast of a physique that gets the girlies wet, the heads turning and the weights flying up.
But before you play around with hormones you need to get yourself in the gym and get to liftin' them weights, then get to the kitchen and get to eatin' them steaks.
And when the time is right to go forward, you'll know it.
-Victor Pride
Love alot of your posts Vic. Luckily Im smart enough to read and think for myself about what I will or won’t take on board.
This is one Ill give a big pass on.
But hey, not everyones gonna agree on everything.
So, pass on this one, but awesome job on the majority of stuff. Keep it coming. Cheers
Good or Bad you give us both sides of the coin
Excellent article Pride.
You said a natty have to train heavy hard and often. Do you think 4 full body workouts or 6 workouts (3 upper, 3 lower) a week are okay this way, with approx. 2-3 exercises for bodyparts and 4×5-8 reps? I’ve been training for a year, I bench my bodyweight, and deadlift more than 1.5 of my bodyweight.
Atex,
I would go with 3 upper and 3 lower over 4 full body.
Agree with most of your posts, have to say I disagree with this one though. I’m not a natural trainer, and I frequently use very light dumbbells to train with. And I’m going to give you the reason why…Once you get to a certain level, the weights really dont matter as much as the squeeze and contraction of your muscles. Its all about squeeze and time under tension. I could curl a 50 lb dumbbell and to anyone else it would look the same as my form with a 30 lb dumbbell. The difference is they cannot see the muscle squeeze I’m putting into the move. You simply cannot contract your bicep as hard curling a heavy dumbbell as a lighter one. This volumization technique is what gives your muscles “the pop” the appearance that they are full and pumped. Also, bent over rows is another good example. 90% of guys could get a bigger back doing 135 on bent over rows than 315. How many times do you see a guy standing almost upright trying to do bent over rows with 315 Dorian Yates style? It doesnt work for most people. Watch how Arnold did them, if you go truly bent over parallel with the floor your lats get a much better stretch, and you can hold the barbell in peak contraction rather than just heaving it. Alot of guys who are juicing are veteran trainers, they know what truly works to get their bodies to respond. IMO overtraining is a very real issue, especially with a natural trainer. Their bodies are not processing amino acids and synthesizing protein at the same rate as a steroid user. Therefore, yes it takes much more time to recover. I dare you to try this routine Vic, keep an open mind and just try it for 6 wks. I GUARANTEE you’ll grow faster than anything you’ve ever done before. Its a full body routine performed once every 3 days. Here are the rules; #1- you have to get to at least 12 reps before adding anymore weight #2- true 4 second negative on each rep #3- no more than 1 hr in gym #4- You have to keep a log book of your workouts. #5- no more than 1 work set per bodypart, no exceptions except for a 1 min static hold afterwards!! Here is how my routine looks
workout 1-
bench press- 135/12 (light warm up)
225/10 (moderate warm up)
275/5 (heavy warm up, this is just accustoming my body to what its about to do)
work set- 315/16 reps
static hold w/ 225 for 1 min DONE
**all other exercises follow same protocal for warm up, but I’m just listing work sets
1 arm tri extensions- 40/15 (I’ll go up nxt time, I hit at least 12 reps)
1 min dip- 30 sec down, 30 sec up (using this as my static hold exercise)
lat pulldowns (for back width) 1- 300/14 (I’ll go up nxt time, I hit at least 12 reps)
Back thickness- bent over rows- 1- 185/17 (I’ll go up nxt time)
barbell curl 1- 90 lbs/26 reps (migt go up, might stay there and do more reps nxt time, bad bicep tendon so have to grow through reps)
military press- 1- 225/12 (might go up 5 lbs nxt workout, or stay and get more reps)
leg extensions- 1- 240/16 (stay and get more reps nxt time)
lying leg curls 1- 140/16 (stay and get more reps nxt time, weight felt good)
leg press 1- 5 plates/side w/ 4 sec negative and pause- 22 reps(go up nxt time)
standing calve raise- 1- 300/18 (might go up, or stay and get more reps)
abs- 1 set of decline situps- 62 reps (more reps nxt time)
DONE, GO HOME!! NOTHING MORE!!!
3 days later its workout #2- follow same protocal but all different exercises, incline instead of flat, pullups instead of lat pulldowns, squats instead of leg press, lunges instead of leg curls, hip abductor instead of leg ext, etc etc.
Workout #3 (3 days later)
same deal, yet different exercises from workout #1 and #2- might do flyes instead of presses for chest, lateral raise instead of press on delts, 1 arm db rows instead of bent over rows or machine for back thickness, close grip pulldowns instead of pullups or wide grip pulldowns,m etc etc etc.
Workout #4- back to same workout as workout #1 (which is a full 12 days rest since last time I’ve hit same exercises, but hit the muscle groups twice more in between w/ other exercises) IN THIS WORKOUT YOU WILL SMASH YOUR PREVIOUS PERSONAL BESTS, PROBABLY WITH MORE WEIGHT AND REPS!!
REst pause train- getting to your goal of at least 12 reps is ok if gotten there through RPT. Example, on flat bench I’ll do 315/8, rest a brief 15 sec, 3 more, rest brief 15 sec, 1 more. RPT is set within a set to break through plateus. Now, the reason some exercises listed are 26 reps, or 17 reps, etc. is simple. I only have 1 work set to get everything I need to get for that bodypart that day (except for my static hold afterwards) its like if someone stuck a gun to my head and said “Do more” the intensity is insane. You will never be able to hit that weight for that rep count using a traditional pyramid. Its 1 main set, balls to the fucking wall!!! You will be shocked at what your body will do training in this fashion. You will explode through plateaus and personal bests like nothing you’ve ever done before. You’ll grow like a fucking weed and be recovered 110% EVERY FUCKING TIME before going back after 2 days rest and working the entire body all over again. Your body will grow because its been stimulated as a whole, rather than a split routine.
So there you have it Vic, I fucking dare you to try this routine. Once every 3 days, hit it, 2 days rest, hit it again w/ different exercises, 2 days rest, again with yet different exercises, 2 days rest, back to workout #1. Remember your log book so you can see exactly what you need to beat each time. And just because you get to 12, if you can do more keep going!! If someone put a gun to your head and said do more….its that type of set, 1 work set only!!! (followed by 1 min static hold) This routine is a fucking warzone, fair warning. Your giving it 110% each lift, and beating that 110% every workout!!! Like I said, I fucking dare ya, I’m gonna give you a whole new perspective on growing like a weed, and “Spartan”
on cardio- day after workout 20-30 min high intensity cardio is ok, but NO WEIGHTS!!! next day is rest, no gym!! no exceptions Back in gym following day for weights!!
I’m sorry but this is so much BS. This is like learning japanese in 15 days!
also, your going to be moving a little faster between sets here, the heart rate should stay elevated the entire workout. I found I actually got leaner as well as larger with this routine (despite even a few more cheat meals/wk)
I’m sorry, just a huge fan of High intensity training, had to add one more thing here. You have photos of wolves and lions in your blogs, thats awesome. Now I want you to ask yourself this. Think of all the biggest and strongest animals out there. Lets use the make lion for example. Does the male lion run around endlessly burning calories and using his muscles? Nope, he sits on his ass while the female does the hunting and all of the work. HOWEVER, when its time to do something, this male lion can jump over a 12 ft wall, brutally fight to the death, and unleash all types of hell. Hence, HIT training w/ low volume and high intensity!!! It works bro!!!
Doe,
You’re neglecting the part where you got strong as hell by lifting balls to the wall heavy and often and that you have your rx in order. The damned ironic thing is that you have to work up to using light weight. You got to have that experience in the first place (heavy weights and rx) so that you can get max benefit from light weight and less frequency. The guys getting into the game and reading that baloney think they can use light weight and less frequency just like the veterans and get any benefit - but they can’t. It’s got to be balls to the wall first and then you can refine. First you build it up, and then you chisel it.
BTW Doe, how are your shoulders holding up? I’m going to get a shoulder health post in order, if you have any pro tips I’d like to hear them.
Hey but we are humans. I agree and i’m a huge fan of this site and follow most of the advice.
Gorilas! Yes, gorilas. We have more in common with gorillas
than with lions or wolves. What do gorilas eat?
No more questions.
Vic, I agree with you on that. The foundation has to be there and the experience first, before you get to the level I’m at where you can back off the weights and get the focus on the contraction. Sometimes I forget to relate things to the newer guy who hasn’t been in the gym half of his life. As for shoulder issues, I’ve been there on a few occasions. They wanted to do an orthopedic shoulder scope on both shoulders about 5 yrs ago, and I opted not to do it. My shoulders were going through some impingement where the cartilidge was wearing down from using heavy weights and the joint rubbing against itself, the cushion was wearing thin. For about 6 months I had to use machines for my chest and light weights, shoulder presses were out of the question. I recovered 100%. From injury comes knowledge, at this point I learned the value of 3/4 reps and keeping the muscle under tension without overstressing the joints. This is very evident in alot of videos you see with professional bodybuilders. Most people chalk it up as shitty form, but what they dont realize is the guy is doing a 3/4 motion to save his joints and volumize the muscle by keeping more tension on it and cut out relaxation points on exercises. Now, those damn tendons are the worst!! I’ve partially ruptured both bicep tendons and the recovery absolutely SUCKS. The first injury came from carrying a heavy granite countertop into a kitchen anf my arm was extended out the wrong way. I heard a cracking noise in my elbow and there went the bicep. Fortunately it was only a partial rupture keeping the everything in tact and doing nothing to distort the shape of the arm, took about 2 yrs to heal. Used about 10-15 lb dumbbell on curls for 6-8 months thereafter. Fast forward 3 yrs, decided to attempt to flip a 950 lb tire but had no idea how to use the proper form for strongman training. I went at it like a deadlift, bamm!! partial rupture to the other tendon, almost 2 yrs ago, still bothers me to this day. I started taking Animal Flex, good supplement for the tendons and joints, it HAS made it better since using Animal Flex. But from every injury I learn something new. THis is the point I started using lighter db’s and focusing more on squeeze and volumizing the muscle. My arms have gotten larger using 35 lb dumbells for curls than when I was using 60’s and 70’s. If I can offer anyone any advice, SAVE YOUR BICEPS!!! Muscle tears suck, tendons are worse!! ok, so for tips on the joints and tendons, here you go:
prescription fish oil- yes they make a script for fish oil, the shit is expensive but works amazing for your joints
That gel they use for horses, DHMO? DMSO? Something like that. GEt some ibuprofen tabs and a paper towel and mallet, crush it all up into a powder and mix with the gel and rub it into the joint, makes a transdermal pain killer. Old powerlifter secret
Animal Flex- huge cocktail of joint ingredients you’d spend much more buying singly, shit works good, I like it!!
3/4 motions, especially for chest and delts. Stop an inch before it hits your chest, stop 3-4 inches before lockout. For delts, no reason to bring bar or db below your ears, your only compromising your joints.
Squats- Huge misconception on stopping parallel to save the knees, thats bullshit. Stopping parallel places MORE stress on the knees because they have to stop the motion before the quads can fully be engaged and take the brunt of the workload. I found it more beneficial to go below parallel to let the quads fully stretch and kick in, its actually saved my knees going deeper (and yes I’ve had former knee issues)
As for warmups, if your form sucks then yes. But I could get right under 405 on the squat rack my first set and get warmed up. When the form is good and the reps are slow, it becomes a warm up within a set. The day I went 180 degrees against conventional training is when my training went from ground zero to fucking blastoff!! Like I said, I’m a huge fan of HIT. I am a big follower or Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer, Casey Viator, Boyer Coe, Dorian Yates. When I started following these guys is when my physique really took off. I’m a firm believer that even a drug free athlete could blow a steroid user out of the water doing the workout I’ve posted. I strongly suggest any readings by Ellington Darden PHD on these concepts. “The New High Intensity Training” great book!!! The most realistic no bullshit approach I’ve read to building size. Anyways, not everyones cup of tea, but I always like to add any input from my own experiences in this arena. Thanx Vic
You have any recommendations on PCT? How does you respond when you come off cycle?
In the big boy world there is no such thing as pct because there is no such thing as cycling. Those guys don’t play around with hormones and get huge just to lose it all and go into a depression just to go right back on and yo-yo back and forth getting nowhere. There is no cycling, there is blasting and there is cruising and that’s all she wrote.
Well said Pride. So would you maintain the same level, or start high and then taper to some maintenance dose? i.e. Super-DMZ recommends using 2 pills for 4 weeks. would you just keep on with that dose indefinitely?
No, no, no. Never, ever, ever abuse pills for long stretches. These pills are far safer than most think but they WILL mess up your liver and your kidneys if you stay on for years. Use them for a little while and then go clean for a little while. Do not ever use them continuously.
My recommendation: use them for a month, maybe two or three at most, and then take a breather.
Appreciate it.
Vic,
I have noticed a disturbing trend with some of the comments recently on this blog. This blog is about kicking ass and being the top dog …. the ALPHA MALE. The Alpha male does not follow anyone. He may ask for advice and seek knowledge to things he does not yet know, but he must be careful because there is a fine line between asking for advice and becoming a follower. No one striving to become an alpha male should ask, should I do this or should I do that. You may ask for information and then you make your own damn decision. You make that decision and you stick to it. The alpha male is quick to make decisions and very slow to change them.
If we are not careful and determined, we can all go from asking advice to following someone else. On this day where we recognize the leaders and followers that gave us freedom, make the decision to be a leader. No one can make that decision for you. God Bless.
I accept that there is a time and a place for being humble, and when someone has knowledge and experience that I do not have then that is time when I will listen to them. Plus I don’t really give a fuck about what makes a guy ‘alpha’ so long as I feel like the top dog in the areas of life that are important to me.
Dude, the smart leader man, if that is what you consider “alpha”, LISTENS AND LEARNS
from EVERYBODY. Not just because you dont follow anyone that means you are alpha.
I apologize if my post responses derailed any points you have made. Much of what I do with training can change, depending on what I’m trying to do with my physique at the present time. I didnt mean to derail your blog in any way brother, keep up the good work, I really enjoy your blog site
Doe, there is no need for apology. Your post on shoulder health was phenomenal. I went out this morning and picked up some animal flex and have an order in for DHEA gel. Those fish oil pills are expensive on the black market though, I’m gonna pass on those and see how what I can get accomplished with this stuff.
Btw. My comment was not directed at anyone on this particular post. I am not that passive-aggressive. This just happened to be the latest post.
P.S. Doe, your workout seems intense. I might have to give that a try.
Hey John Doe,
Whats a good H.I.T routine for calves?
This is basically spot on in my experience. I’ve been training hard for two years. I’ve reached my peak strength given my current dimensions.
To give you an idea, I’m 6′ 2” and weigh 185 lbs. I’m 11 percent body fat, which I may try to lower by 2 points.
I can squat 350, dead lift 425, and bench 250. I CANNOT go higher as currently constituted.
To get to this point, I’ve done 5×5 (and then 3×5) workouts with various substitutes (exchanged weighted pull-ups for bar bell rows). I have a nasty sweet tooth, else the body fat would be lower. But I’ve sweated and toiled for two years to get strong and pretty lean. The only supplement I’ve used is protein powder.
I’m going to seriously consider the superdol.
^This is what someone who is a prime candidate to move on to greener pastures looks like. Put in the time, developed the strength to the best of ability and has stalled. Not someone who is brand new and hasn’t developed any strength or muscle and hasn’t put in the time.
6’2 185lb, sounds like you need to eat more. How many calories are you eating per day? The secret to getting gains seems to be…..food. Can’t one just eat their way out of a plateau?
Marquis, try this. Just do 1 set, as many reps as you can do with a 20 second negative on each rep. Your going to be under the weight for a few minutes here, and its a lot of pain, believe me!! Its all about time under tension with HIT. We have a hammer strength plate loaded machine at my gym that you sit upright in and extend your calves straight out. I’ve gotten to the point I can load 6 45 lb plates on each side and hit about 15 reps with a 20 sec negative on each rep. It hurts most people to watch me do it. I wish we had a standing calve raise at the gym, but we dont. Anyways, try that out. 1 set heavy as fuck, 20 sec negatives on each rep!!! They’ll explode into new growth. I’d keep it no more than 2x/wk with this
Well here it goes, I just ordered some prohormones, I’m starting with haloplex. What should I expect besides to see my fat burn away while my muscle grows? Either way I’m looking forward to starting. 3 years in the gym working hard, time to boost.
John,
I haven’t used halo, I can’t say for the sides. But I would bet it works as advertised.
Don’t play with your hormonal system. Simple as that. 3 years in the gym?
Workout real hard and heavy for 7 years more and come back, kid.
This site is for MEN. Real men dont
give a fuk about looks. Real men are too busy lifting heavy, fighting in martial arts
etc no time left for looking at the mirror.
Vic,
I love your no BS approach to this blog. People seem so scared of steroids but they have no problem taking all kinds of prescription drugs and over-the-counter crap that has all kinds of nasty side effects to it.
Like? For example? Don’t tell me an aspirin.
What happens when you lift like you did as a natural on gear? Anyway I’m starting my halo tomorrow.
There is one thing I’m scared about is putting on fat from eating more. Will that happen?
If you’re worried about putting on fat don’t eat more. Eat less. And if you do eat more make sure you eat bigger meals but less frequently like in Body of a Spartan.
Mutation. Angels start to sing into your ear as you transform in a matter of weeks.
Great post victor, but what about superdrol and gyno, although it cannot convert to estrogen, many people have said they got gyno from taking superdrol. Do you take nolva alongside to prevent this?
Cheers
No, I don’t take nolva or anything else but if you experience gyno you can take that or one of the other pct’s offered.
Seekay:
SHUT the fuck UP
Have a nice day. Dick
Victor,
I’m 16 years old, been workng out for a year. I’m a mesomorph with around 14 % body fat. I’ve never had abs. I want to get ripped, right now I workout with a 6 day split - chest, back, shoulders and legs, arms, traps and forearms and i workout my forearms regardless after every workout. How would you go about bodybuilding if you were in my position?
Got a question. You said “A natty has to train hard and heavy and often. A natty who does “bodypart splits” is wasting his time” So what do you recommend? Full body workous? Push-pull? Upper-lower? Besides the weight training I do 100 pushups, 100 squats and 50 pullups a day. + Muay Thai twice a week. Concerning the bodyweight stuff what do you think is better: do it in the morning or throughout the day?
No offence but igotta call bull cuz i was 130 lbs 6 months ago and now im 180 you know how? GOMAD yeah i know ppl bitch n complain its not 100% muscle so what do what honest lifters doe LIFT BIG BULK UP CUT DOWN AND GET SHREDDED sure it took me more than 6 weeks but hey i can keep my chin up ;) THANK FOR THE ADVICE BUT PASS