UNICRON: The Workout - Phase I

You probably want me to explain the UNICRON thing, right? Well I'm not because either way I'm a dork so let's move along.

I've been chomping at the bit to get this week started because in coincidence with the New Year, I start "bulking" for my workout for the second time around. If you've ever searched online for workouts, health, and fitness you were probably overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and just wanted to know what or who's right. Well, over the past 10 months I learned that I'm right - my body that is. During that time I committed to stick to a muscle building program, no matter the results, just to see how my body responded and I learned that, for me:

The 3rd set of an exercise was useless.
A plateau was an early warning sign of overtraining.
I pick up (bulk) and drop weight (cut) incredibly fast.

I used that new found knowledge plus previous experience and information echoed from multiple sources to design a workout that I hope is perfect for me.

I chose a 3 day split for 4 days a week which will rotate which muscle group gets worked out twice a week. This will limit the rest for a muscle group to a maximum of 5 days (I already knew from college that exercising a muscle group once a week/7 days rest was too little training/too much rest for my body). So my training schedule looks like this:

S M  T W T F S
X  1  2  X  3 1 X
X  2  3  X  1 2 X
X  3  1  X  2 3 X

Workout 1 - Push
Barbell Bench Press; 2 sets; 6-8 reps
Incline DB Flys; 2 sets; 9-12
Swiss Ball Push Up; 2 sets; Failure
Military Press; 2 sets; 9-12 reps
Tricep Rope Extensions; 2 sets; 9-12 reps
Bench Dips; 2 sets; Failure
Ab Roller; 2 sets; Failure
Rest 60/45s

Workout 2 - Lower Body
Squats; 2 sets; 15-19 reps
Leg Extensions; 2 sets; 20-25 reps
Deadlifts; 2 sets; 15-19 reps
Leg Curls; 2 sets; 20-25 reps
Leg Press; 2 sets; Failure
Obliques; 2 sets; Failure
Rest 90/60s

Workout 3 - Pull
T-Bar Row (Narrow grip; Lats); 2 sets; 6-8 reps
Cable Row (Wide neutral grip; Upper); 2 sets; 6-8 reps
Lat Pullover; 2 sets; 9-12 reps
Rear Delt Flys; 2 sets; 9-12 reps
Chin Ups; 1 set; Failure
Pull Ups; 1 set; Failure
Barbell Curls; 2 sets; Crazy 18's (upper 1/2 rep, lower 1/2 rep, full rep)
Hanging Leg Raises; 2 sets; Failure
Rest 60/45s

*warmup 2 sets for the 1st exercise of the day then full throttle rest of the workout*

You probably noticed that I don't have a dedicated shoulder or ab day, welp, that's because I'm trying to pack the most into each workout. I spread shoulders and abs across multiple workouts because they're smaller muscles that developed well for me with minimal amount of training over the past 10 months so I don't think I need to rip them to shreds on their own dedicated day.

I'll be bulking on this routine for 9 weeks followed by a strength training period then a power period (while cutting) so more to come. And believe it or not, that's not even the most important part of the routine - the diet is! But I'll save that for next week's post out of interest of wordiness.

This workout is a culmination of what I learned about my body from previous training experiences so it may not work for you. You may benefit from 3 sets, a separate shoulder day, and more ab work but in the past I didn't. And since J and I have a strict unwritten No-homo policy, I'll refrain from posting unnecessary shirtless pics but I do realize I may have to show the proof in the pudding if this workout goes the way I plan.

Steve

Disclaimer: I’m an employee of Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner, however the views expressed in this post are of my own.