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The "locked position." Marie has pulled her shoulder blades back and pushed them down toward her hips 12 inches. Notice how you can see her shoulder strap in these photos but not in the first set. There is a slight arch in the back, and if you extend your arms in front of you, the elbows should be closer to nipple height than collarbone height. Marie is now stable, and I can even lift her off of the ground with one arm. Marie has pulled her shoulder blades back and pushed them down toward her hips 12 inches. Notice how you can see her shoulder strap in these photos but not in the first set. There is a slight arch in the back, and if you extend your arms in front of you, the elbows should be closer to nipple height than collarbone height. Marie is now stable, and I can even lift her off of the ground with one arm.
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WORKOUT B: THE MACHINE OPTION.
1. Slight incline/decline bench press 7 (5/5 count) 2. Leg press 10 (5/5 count) (Optional: Kettlebell or T-bar swings from "Building the Perfect Posterior" 50) 3. Stationary bike 3 minutes at 85+ rpm (to minimize subsequent leg soreness)
Slight Incline/Decline Bench Press (Shown Here: Hammer Machine) If you"ll injure your shoulders on any exercise, it will be the flat bench press. For this reason, I suggest a slight (less than 20-degree) incline or decline when possible. For stubborn chest development, Dorian Yates suggests the slight decline. If only flat machines are available, a phone book or thick rolled towel behind the lower back will create a slight decline angle. If you"ll injure your shoulders on any exercise, it will be the flat bench press. For this reason, I suggest a slight (less than 20-degree) incline or decline when possible. For stubborn chest development, Dorian Yates suggests the slight decline. If only flat machines are available, a phone book or thick rolled towel behind the lower back will create a slight decline angle.
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To prevent unnecessary shoulder strain, set the pins in the machine (or seat adjustment) so that your knuckles are one fist width above your chest at the bottom of the movement. I also suggest a one-second pause at the bottom of the movement without touching the weight stack, which will aid in chest development and further reduce risk.
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For most trainees, I suggest the above routine incorporating machines.
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WORKOUT A: FREE WEIGHT OPTION.
Free weights can be used if you prefer them, or if you travel often and need standardized equipment that is the same around the world:
1. Yates row with EZ bar (ideal) or barbell 7 (5/5 count) (see pictures in the sidebar later this chapter) 2. Shoulder-width barbell overhead press 7 repet.i.tions (5/5 cadence) (Optional: Abdominal exercises from "Six-Minute Abs")
Barbell Overhead Press The elbows are kept in front of the shoulders and do not flare outward. The bar travels in front of the face, but the head and upper torso move forward to be under the bar once it pa.s.ses the head. The split stance prevents excessive arching of the back, but a shoulder-width parallel stance can also be used. The elbows are kept in front of the shoulders and do not flare outward. The bar travels in front of the face, but the head and upper torso move forward to be under the bar once it pa.s.ses the head. The split stance prevents excessive arching of the back, but a shoulder-width parallel stance can also be used.
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WORKOUT B: FREE WEIGHT OPTION.
1. Slight incline bench press with shoulder-width grip 7 (5/5 count) (If no Power Rack18 is available, use dumbbells, but you"ll often run into problems with adding weight in small increments.) is available, use dumbbells, but you"ll often run into problems with adding weight in small increments.) 2. Squat 10 (5/5 count) (Optional: Kettlebell or T-bar swings from "Building the Perfect Posterior" 50) 3. Stationary bike 3 minutes (to minimize subsequent leg soreness)
Squat (Shown Below with Smith Machine) The feet, slightly wider than shoulder width, are placed a foot ahead of your hips. Initiate the movement by breaking at the hips (imagine pouring water out the front of your pelvis) and sitting backward, descending to where your thighs are parallel with the ground. Look up at approximately 45 degrees throughout the movement and do not pause at the top or the bottom. The feet, slightly wider than shoulder width, are placed a foot ahead of your hips. Initiate the movement by breaking at the hips (imagine pouring water out the front of your pelvis) and sitting backward, descending to where your thighs are parallel with the ground. Look up at approximately 45 degrees throughout the movement and do not pause at the top or the bottom.
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Rules to Lift By 1. If you complete the minimal target number of reps for all exercises (excluding abs and kettlebell swing), increase the weight the next workout at least 10 pounds for that exercise. If the additional 10 pounds feels easy after two to three reps, stop, wait five minutes, increase the weight an additional 5 to 10 pounds, then do your single set to failure.
2. Do not just drop the weight when you hit failure. Attempt to move it, millimeter by millimeter, and then hold it at the limit for five seconds. Only after that should you slowly (take five to ten seconds) lower the weight. The biggest mistake novice trainees make is underestimating the severity of complete failure. "Failure" is not dropping the weight after your last moderately strenuous rep. It is pushing like you have a gun to your head. To quote the ever poetic Arthur Jones: "If you"ve never vomited from doing a set of barbell curls, then you"ve never experienced outright hard work." If you feel like you could do another set of the same exercise a minute later, you didn"t reach failure as we are defining it. Remember that the last repet.i.tion, the point of failure, is the rep that matters. The rest of the repet.i.tions are just a warm-up for that moment.
3. Do not pause at the top or bottom of any movements (except the bench press, as noted), and take three minutes of rest between all exercises. Time three minutes exactly with a wall clock or a stopwatch. Keep rest periods standardized so you don"t mistake rest changes for strength changes.
4. The weight and repet.i.tions used will change as you progress, but all other variables need to be identical from one workout to the next: rep speed, exercise form, and rest intervals. This is a laboratory experiment. To accurately gauge progress and tweak as needed, you must ensure that you control your variables.
That"s it.
The temptation to add exercises will be enormous. Don"t do it. If anything, if you"ve never been able to gain ma.s.s, you might choose to do less. That"s what we did with Neil. His program and progress over four weeks looked like this: WORKOUT A.
Pull-down: 8 reps 80 lbs 8 reps 110 lbsMachine shoulder press: 8 reps 30 lbs 5 reps 60 lbs WORKOUT B.
Seated dips: 6 reps 140 lbs 6 reps 170 lbsSeated leg press: 11 reps 140 lbs 12 reps 190 lbs Occam"s Protocol is enough to stimulate a ma.s.sive growth response.
Remember our tanning a.n.a.logy in the beginning of this book? Forget working harder for a minute and realize that biology isn"t about blunt force.
Don"t add a d.a.m.n thing.
Occam"s Frequency Michael, I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be.-Peter Gibbons, Office s.p.a.ce The frequency of the A and B Occam workouts is based on a simple premise: you must increase recovery time along with size.
You will exercise less frequently as you increase strength and size, as you can often increase muscle ma.s.s well over 100% before reaching a genetic ceiling, but your recovery abilities might only improve 2030% through enzymatic and immune system upregulation (increased plasma glutamine production, etc.).
Put in simple terms: it takes nongrowing repair systems longer to repair a 20-pound muscle than its 10-pound predecessor. The bigger and stronger you get, the less often you will go to the gym.
Looking at the hypothetical two months below printed from freeprint ablecalendar.net, we see that sessions are not scheduled on set days (e.g., Monday and Friday), but are instead s.p.a.ced apart by set numbers of rest days, which increase over time.
In 1996, while at the Capital University of Business and Economics in Beijing, I grew to 197 pounds and was easily the strongest I"ve ever been. No supplements whatsoever were used, as none could be found. I hit a whole-food ceiling at 6,000 calories per day, as more made me ill, but I was able to resolve all progress plateaus with additional rest days, eventually ending the bulking cycle after four months at 12 days between identical workouts.
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Two sample months GETTING STARTED.
Step 1: Take at least seven days off of all training that causes significant muscular damage. No bodyweight resistance training or weight training allowed. Take at least seven days off of all training that causes significant muscular damage. No bodyweight resistance training or weight training allowed.
Step 2: Begin Occam"s Protocol with two days between A and B workouts. After two of both the A and B workouts, increase the rest days between workouts to three days. As soon as you have a workout where more than one exercise has stalled (indicated in our hypothetical calendars with the B*), but not before, increase to four days between workouts. Begin Occam"s Protocol with two days between A and B workouts. After two of both the A and B workouts, increase the rest days between workouts to three days. As soon as you have a workout where more than one exercise has stalled (indicated in our hypothetical calendars with the B*), but not before, increase to four days between workouts.
Continue adding rest as needed to resolve plateaus until you hit your target weight or end your bulking cycle.
Important caveat: this s.p.a.cing a.s.sumes you are consuming enough food to support rapid growth. Of the trainees who fail to gain significant muscular weight (significant = at least 2.5 pounds per week) on Occam"s Protocol, 95%+ of them fail due to insufficient caloric/nutrient intake. The remaining 5% have nutrient absorption issues such as leaky gut syndrome, impaired stomach acid production, excessive fat excretion, insufficient bile, etc., or other conditions requiring medical attention before the protocol can do its job.
I"ve encountered only one such clinical case in the 5% group. He was 124 pounds at 61, and even when he attempted to gain weight by eating bag after bag of doughnuts in 24-hour periods, he could not gain a single pound.
Don"t a.s.sume you are in this unlikely minority. The most common problem is insufficient food intake.
That leads us to the real challenge of Occam"s Protocol.
Eating.
Occam"s Feeding In the 1995 gaining experiment, I set an alarm to wake me four hours into sleep so that I could consume five hard-boiled eggs as an additional meal. It helped, to be sure, but it was also uber-inconvenient. Inconvenient eating schedules, no matter how effective, have a high abandonment rate after initial enthusiasm wanes. I prefer low-friction approaches that are less disruptive, even if it takes a few more weeks to reach my goals. Taking two to four more weeks to reach a ma.s.s goal is much better than constant irritability or quitting a program altogether.
Some athletes eat 10 times per day to break up caloric load and avoid excessive fat gain. I find this unnecessarily inconvenient, particularly when you are on a regimen of supplements that increases insulin sensitivity and GLUT-4 activity (see "Damage Control"). I eat four main meals per day for both fat-loss and muscular gain.
MY STANDARD NIGHT-OWL SCHEDULE.
10:00 A.M A.M.-Wake up, immediately breakfast + shake (details later in this chapter)2:00 P.M P.M.-Lunch6:00 P.M P.M.-First dinner7:30 P.M P.M.-Training, if scheduled (I sip low-fat protein just before and throughout. Neil used Isopure.)8:30 P.M P.M. (30 minutes post-training)-Dinner15 minutes before bed-Second half of morning shake The meal composition is nearly identical to the Slow-Carb Diet, as are the tenets, though we now add a starch such as brown rice or quinoa to the non-shake meals. There is no need to mimic my hours, of course. Just look at my meal s.p.a.cing as one option that has worked.
Neil was different. He was p.r.o.ne to skipping breakfast and had little appet.i.te. It was impossible for him to consume large meals from the get-go. The solution was to prescribe a calorie-dense shake for breakfast and increase the number of meals to achieve a proper food volume, even with smaller portions.
NEIL"S FOOD SCHEDULE 9:00 A.M A.M.-Protein shake (see below)11:00 A.M A.M.-Protein bar (Balance Bar or, preferably, a Training 33 YouBar)1:00 P.M P.M.-High-protein/-carb lunch (usually chicken breast with potatoes)3:00 P.M P.M.-Protein bar5:00 P.M P.M.-High-protein/-carb dinner (usually sushi/sashimi with extra rice)7:00 P.M P.M.-Protein bar9:00 P.M P.M.-Protein snack with carbs (chicken or eggs or tuna)11:00 P.M P.M.-Protein shake The choice is yours: eat big or eat often. Fat gain will be slightly more with the former, and inconvenience will be much greater with the latter.
Pick one and make it your religion for four weeks. It"s easy to lose a little extra fat later.
A NOTE ON SKIPPING BREAKFAST.
If you skip breakfast even once a week, or opt for a nonbreakfast like coffee and toast even once a week, make the blender your first stop after getting out of bed.
The following recipe can also be used as a meal replacement or pre-bed snack: 24 oz (3 cups) 2% or whole organic milk30 g whey protein isolate (chocolate tends to work best)1 banana3 heaping tbsp almond b.u.t.ter with no added sugar, maltodextrin, or syrups5 ice cubes Caloric and protein profile with 2% milk (approximate): 970 cal, 75 g protein The Fixer: GOMAD Everyone on these heavy squat programs who drank enough of it [milk] gained weight. Yes, everyone everyone we"ve ever heard of. we"ve ever heard of.-Dr. Randall J. Strossen If the preceding diet and high-protein snacks don"t elicit at least two and a half pounds per week of gain, add in one liter of 2% organic milk between meals, up to four liters per day. Four liters = roughly one gallon. This is the simple and rightly venerated GOMAD (Gallon Of Milk A Day) approach to ma.s.s gain, which-along with squats-has produced monsters for more than 75 years, including the incredible Paul Anderson and some of the greatest lifters the world has ever seen.
I suggest adding a single liter per day each week (often in the aforementioned shake) and keeping a close monitor on fat gain, which can accelerate. Fat gain is not inevitable, but it needs to be monitored. Navel circ.u.mference measurements are a good estimation if you don"t have access to other body composition devices. Fat gain is not inevitable, but it needs to be monitored. Navel circ.u.mference measurements are a good estimation if you don"t have access to other body composition devices.
Reader Matt gained six pounds per week for three weeks (18 pounds total) using GOMAD as his only means of increasing calories during his "Geek to Freak" (G2F) trial, and his abdominal skinfold (two inches to the side of the navel) remained four millimeters throughout.
If you"re eating enough at your main meals, you shouldn"t need more than a liter per day to accelerate growth. Lactose-intolerant? Try incorporating one gla.s.s of organic whole milk per day into your diet. Don"t be surprised if you can comfortably consume milk after 12 weeks.
For many people, GOMAD or LOMAD (Liter Of Milk A Day) will be the only dietary change required to stimulate growth.
If simple does the job, keep it simple.
Occam"s Prescriptions This protocol works without any supplementation whatsoever.
There are, however, four supplements that I would suggest to those with the budget. The first two minimize fat gain and are covered in "Damage Control" and "The Four Hors.e.m.e.n": 1. 1. Cissus quadrangularis (2,400 mg, three times per day) Cissus quadrangularis (2,400 mg, three times per day) 2. 2. Alpha-lipoic acid (300 mg, 30 minutes before each whole-food meal). Here are the other two: Alpha-lipoic acid (300 mg, 30 minutes before each whole-food meal). Here are the other two: 3. L-GLUTAMINE.
L-glutamine is an amino acid commonly used as a post-workout supplement for tissue repair. In our case, I suggest it for an alternative use from strength coach Charles Poliquin: intestinal repair.
The food you ingest does no good if it isn"t absorbed. It"s like panning for gold with a chain-link fence. The anatomical equivalent of this porous chain-link fence is an a.s.sortment of digestive conditions, including leaky gut syndrome, for which L-glutamine has been shown to be a promising treatment.
Rather than risk suboptimal food absorption, consume 80 grams of L-glutamine during the first five days of Occam"s Protocol.
I recommend 10 grams at a time every two hours on the dot until the daily 80-gram quota is reached. Powder mixed in water is easiest to consume, but capsules are more convenient for travel. After the initial five-day loading period, if you wish to consume 1030 grams post-workout, it will speed repair and help prevent soreness.
4. CREATINE MONOHYDRATE.
Creatine increases both maximal force production and protein synthesis. Doses of 520 grams per day have been demonstrated as safe and largely devoid of side effects, though people with preexisting kidney conditions should use creatine under medical supervision. Athletes generally use a "loading phase" of five to seven days at 1030 grams per day, but this can cause severe intestinal discomfort. You can achieve the same muscular saturation with lower doses for a longer period of time.
Take 3.5 grams upon waking and before bed for the entire 28-day duration. If you use powder, mix in 56 grams total, as losing one to two grams in solution is hard to avoid.
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My single favorite meal for ma.s.s is macaroni (preferably durum whole wheat), water-packed canned tuna, and fat-free turkey/bean chili. Use a little whole milk or Irish b.u.t.ter with the macaroni, add only one-third of the orange-flavored cancer powder, and prepare this in bulk.
Mix the macaroni with a can of tuna and as much chili as you like, microwave it for one minute on high, and have it for breakfast in a bowl. I sometimes ate this meal two or three times per day, as prep time was less than three minutes if I made the macaroni in advance. For a higher-protein change of pace, feel free to subst.i.tute quinoa for the macaroni.
It might sound funky, but trust me: this mess tastes delicious.
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Lessons From Neil Neil gained significant muscle for the first time in his life using Occam"s Protocol.
Not only did he add 10 pounds to his frame in four weeks, he also improved his strength 50 pounds on some lifts and doubled others. His minimum improvement was 21.4%. He used machines exclusively and used a dip machine in place of the incline bench press, as the former had less traffic: WORKOUT A.
Pull-down: 8 80 to 8 110 (+37.5%)Overhead shoulder press: 8 30 to 5 60 (+100%) WORKOUT B.
Seated dips: 6 140 to 6 170 (+21.4%)Seated leg press: 11 140 to 12 190 (+35.7%) There is no need to reinvent the wheel or face challenges alone. Here are some of Neil"s notes, in his words, on what to expect and what to do: "An unexpected side effect of the experiment is how, after the first few days and the initial shock of having to stuff my gullet to the point of feeling ill actually pa.s.sed, I began to feel incredibly happy and content.
"Like everything, there"s a pain period when you step out of your comfort zone. And just when it seems toughest, and you most want to give up (because it"s too much time/work/energy, because you don"t understand it, because you don"t trust it), if you push through that moment, immediately afterward you break free and it becomes a habit that you feel you"ve been doing all your life (and know you should have been doing all your life).
"The workouts are the least challenging part of it. Going to the gym so rarely and for so short a time left me wanting more. I think the key is, like you told me in the gym, to know that you only grow in those last reps when your muscles want to give up. To really focus and keep pushing to complete failure is an internal battle, so one has to really have the mental strength to keep going when the body wants to quit, rush, or use bad form in those last reps.
"My main advice would be to: write out a meal/supplement plan and keep it with you at all times. Have a workout buddy in the gym to push you and help spot. Do this at a time when you aren"t traveling and can have a pretty routine schedule. And carry a pack with supplements and protein bars in your car or with you at all times, in case your schedule changes during the day. Interestingly, it was only the first few days when the creatine made me p.i.s.s like a racehorse; after four days, my body began absorbing it like it should.
"I think my biggest worry was that all the food would just create a tire around my abdomen, but like you said, it all went to the right places and people noticed...there was no downside and no reason not to do this."
TOOLS AND TRICKS.
Free Printable Calendar (www.freeprintablecalendar.net) Use this free custom calendar maker to schedule your workouts and rest s.p.a.cing for each month. Use this free custom calendar maker to schedule your workouts and rest s.p.a.cing for each month.
YouBar Custom Protein Bars (www.fourhourbody.com/youbar) Custom design your own protein bars with YouBar, which allows you to choose protein type and dozens of add-ons like cashew b.u.t.ter, chia seeds, goji berries, and much more. Anyone can have their own branded (you choose the label type) protein-on-the-go for a minimum of 12 bars. For my preferred mix, search for the "Training 33" bar. Custom design your own protein bars with YouBar, which allows you to choose protein type and dozens of add-ons like cashew b.u.t.ter, chia seeds, goji berries, and much more. Anyone can have their own branded (you choose the label type) protein-on-the-go for a minimum of 12 bars. For my preferred mix, search for the "Training 33" bar.
Parkinson"s Law by Cyril Northcote Parkinson ( by Cyril Northcote Parkinson (www.fourhourbody.com/parkinsons) This is the seminal book on Parkinson"s Law, written by Parkinson himself. Everyone you meet will want to tell you how to train and eat. Read this hysterical book to cultivate your selective ignorance of these "bike shed" discussions, which will derail more than help. This is the seminal book on Parkinson"s Law, written by Parkinson himself. Everyone you meet will want to tell you how to train and eat. Read this hysterical book to cultivate your selective ignorance of these "bike shed" discussions, which will derail more than help.
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