Strength and Muscle

Welcome to strengthandmuscle.net. You’ve come to the right place if your goal is to get stronger in the gym, stronger on the platform, or want to build lean muscle in quick time.

Do you want to build solid, rock hard muscle and get strong?

Do you want to increase your squat, deadlift and bench press?

Do you want to lose that stubborn belly fat and bitch tits that just doesn’t want to go away?

Do you want to surpass all your friends even though they’ve been lifting weights longer than you?

If you’ve answered YES to any of the above questions, then the Strength and Muscle workout is for you!

 How Strength and Muscle workout came about

I designed this workout after having received fairly decent results from other strength programs and took the best from all of them and put them into my own workout. I started out with the Bill Starr’s 5 x 5 workout, then the Stronglifts 5 x 5 workout. The problem I had with those workouts were that after a few weeks you get bored of only doing a few exercises which leads to decreased motivation.  Also I had a very weak lower back which would get very sore from heavy deadlifting and needed to incorporate some exercises to strengthen it. More deadlifting definitely was not the answer. The standing good morning has enabled my then stagnant Deadlift to increase by 90 pounds in 11 weeks.  The 5 x 5 workouts really helped my squat increase but squatting 3 times a week will kill your bench press. I’m still thankful for those workouts as they provided me with a good strength base which is important.

I’m a big fan of Westside barbell and all their training techniques. However I felt that for beginners and intermediate trainees their volume was bit too much. They have a max effort day and a dynamic effort day which is great for advanced lifters but for guys just starting out a linear progression will get you to your goal quicker.

Why a strength training program, what if I want to be a bodybuilder?

Many of the top bodybuilders built their bodies using basic powerlifting movements. They will build a good foundation and also build the most important muscles in your body in my opinion, i.e the back muscles, the lower back, glutes and hamstrings. They are the muscles that generally develop slower than the “club muscles”, (as my training partner calls them) the chest, biceps and quads. You usually want those muscles to be visible when you go to the night club. The “club muscles” usually develop a lot quicker and sometimes without a lot of direct work. Also powerlifting movements usually give you the thick, dense look, not the fitness model look. If that’s what you looking for then this workout isn’t for you.

What about bicep work, abdominals and calves?

Squats, deadlifts and rows force the whole body to grow and get strong so isolation exercises like bicep curls are basically a waste of time for beginner and sometimes even intermediate trainees. Your time in the gym is limited so why not spend it on exercises that make you strong like the squat and deadlift instead of calve raises or bicep curls. The Strength and Muscle workout does hit every muscle group in the body so you getting a full body workout.

Is that all? Only 4 exercises per workout

Yes, that’s all. The exercises incorporated in this workout is more than enough In order to make gains every week, your body requires rest.

 

11 week Strength and Muscle Program

Day 1 (Monday)

Squats – 5 sets of 5

Standing Good Mornings – 3 sets of 5

Stiff legged deadlifts/Stiff legged deadlifts on a platform – 3 x 10

Standing abdominal pulldowns –(three sets of eight)

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Flat bench press – 5 sets of 5

Overhead press – 3 sets of 5

Tricep Dips/close grip bench press – 3 x 8 (progress to weighted dips after you can complete 15 dips easily)

Tricep extensions – 3 x 8

Day 3 (Friday)

Deadlift – 5 x 5

Front squats/Zercher squats – 3 x 6

Pull throughs: 3 x 8

Pendlay Rows/Bent over rows/Lat pulldowns: 3 x 8

Rules for Strength and Muscle workout

1. The main lifts should not be rushed and a 3 to 5 minute rest between sets is recommended. The 1^st 2 exercises should be done in the order. You can play around with the next 2.
2. Start the main lifts, i.e the squat, bench press and deadlift with a weight that you can easily do 15 reps.
3. Increase the weight on the 3 main lifts by 10 lbs for the squats and deadlifts, and 5 lbs for the bench press for the 1^st 3 weeks, then on the 4^th week deload (use a lighter weight). Training heavy for more than 3 consecutive weeks has a negative impact on your central nervous system. The 4^th light week will also give your body and mind much needed break. The following week your central nervous system will be fresh and you can proceed to break new PR’s (personal records) on all the main lifts.
4. The 3^rd and 4^th exercises on the program should be done in a semi tired state and the weight on those exercises should be increased weekly. They help the increase the main lifts.
5. Keep a training journal. Most people don’t but in my experience it keeps you focused and you’ll more than likely succeed with your goals if you do it religiously.
6. After 11 weeks of the program take a full week break from all training then start the process all over again.
7. At week 4 you can switch up on a few of the lifts, i.e do close grip bench press in place of dips, similarly you can swop the stiff legged deadlifts on a platform for the conventional stiff legged deadlifts , also in place of overhead presses, do push presses (using your legs to drive the barbell overhead), do Zercher squats in place of front squats and switch up Pendlay rows with bent over rows or lat pulldowns.

Give the Strength and Muscle workout a go and let me know how you progress. I would love to hear your success stories.

Yours Truly

Jason Brown