Strength Program

With the school semester finally over, I can dedicate more time to this blog!

After finishing the Arnold Blueprint a few weeks ago, I decided that my latest mesocycle would be to lift for strength before beginning a hypertrophy period. I believe that a strength phase before lifting primarily for muscle growth is essential because as a result of increased strength, one should be able to lift lighter weights for more repetitions. Thus, with this way of thinking, hypertrophy should be further enhanced.

 The strength program I have created lasts for ten weeks. The intensity of each exercise increases every two weeks, while the repetitions decrease. For these first two weeks, the repetitions for compound exercises are six to eight, while assistor lifts will be completed for 10-12 reps. For every back and bicep exercise, the reps will be for 10-12, as I'm hoping for growth in these two areas. The intensity of the compound exercises is currently 77%-80% of my 1-RMs.

Note: This is the first two weeks of the program, I will post the remaining increments of the program as I complete them.

Monday (Chest/Tris)

Bench Press (4x6/8)

Incline Bench (4x6/8)

Machine Flys (3x10/12)

Skull Crushers/Close Grip Combo (3x10/12)

Overhead Pulley Tricep Extensions (3x10/12)

Dips (3xF)

Decline Med Ball Sit-ups (3x25) Tuesday (Back/Bis) Bent Over Barbell Rows (4x10/12) Lat Pulldowns (3x10/12) One-Armed DB Rows (3x10/12) Barbell Curls (3x10/12) DB Hammers (3x10/12) DB Concentration Curls (3x10/12) DB Forearm Twists (3x20) Leg Raises/Med Ball Twists (2x25) (Each) Wednesday (Legs/Shoulders) Barbell Squats (4x6/8) Barbell Deadlifts (4x6/8) Step Ups (3x10/12) Leg Extensions (3x10/12) Leg Curls (3x10/12) DB Calf Raises (3x25) Clean and Press (4x6/8) DB Shoulder Press (3x10/12) DB Front Raises/Lateral Raises (3x12) Bent Over Rear Delt Raise (Head on Bench) (3x12) Cable Crunch (3x25) Thursday (Chest/Tris) Bench Press (4x6/8)+ Dropset Incline Bench (4x6/8) + Dropset Machine Flys (3x10/12) Close Grip Bench (3x10/12) Cable Skull Crushers (3x10/12) Tricep Rope Pulldowns (3x10/12) Leg Raises/Med Ball Twists (2x25) (Each)

Friday (Back/Bis)

T-Bar Rows (4x10/12)

Lat Pulldowns (3x10/12)

DB Bent Over Rows (3 second pause) (3x12)

Barbell Curls (3x10/12)

Incline Dumbbell Curls (3x10/12)

DB Concentration Curls (3x10/12)

DB Forearm Holds (3 for 45 seconds)

Decline Med Ball Situps (3x25)

Saturday (Legs/Shoulders)

Front Squats (4x6/8)

Barbell Deadlifts (4x6/8)

Leg Extensions (3x10/12)

Leg Curls (3x10/12)

Smith Machine Barbell Calf Raises (3x25)

Military Press (4x6/8)

DB Bradford Press (3x10/12)

DB Isolated Front Raise/Lateral Raise (3X12)

Bent Over Rear Delt Raise (on bench) (3x12)

Leg Raises/Med Ball Twists (2x25) (each)

 Let me know what you think of this, and what you think can be done in order to improve the program as a whole!