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This is Week 2 of the THIRD and FINAL MESOCYCLE in the Spring 2024 Hypertrophy cycle. Last week was the deload/reset week.
The objective this week is to EXCEED performance from “week 2” of the prior Mesocycle, when “reps from failure” were the same for the repeating movements.
Please read the Lengthened ROM Blog, as the philosophy for this current training cycle will reflect all of the principles discussed in this post.
This cycle is designed in the idea of utilizing a predominance of movements that train the muscle at long muscle lengths and/or provide significant overload tension at the lengthened position of the movement.
For movements that do not overload the muscle in the lengthened position (the exercises that are inherently “lower stimulus” short overload movements) will be progressing in a manner that provides additional stimulus to the portion of the movement where the muscle is lengthened.
We can expect the lower fatigue “short” movements to utilize partials, dropsets, rest/pause sets, and “lengthened only sets” as a way to accentuate the lengthened portion of these exercises that are inherently lacking sufficient stimulus at that portion of the ROM.
Per the standard SOP for Evolved Programs, we will progress effort week to week. The objective is to begin the cycle around 4 reps from failure on demanding compound movements and around 1-2 reps from failure for “short overload” single joint movements that have much lower fatigue cost per unit.
These will each be progressed to failure (and beyond where relevant) as the cycle continues.
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Monday
Lower Body
Part A and B Repeat week to week
A. Barbell RDL (1 and 1/2 Reps)
2-3 Warm-up sets, then;
2 work sets x 5-8 Reps (~3-4 then 2-3 RIR)
Rest 2-3 min between work sets
Alternative Movement you can swap (stay consistent week to week):
–DB RDL (1 and 1/2 Reps)
–Trap Bar RDL (1 and 1/2 Reps)
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B. Front Foot Elevated Split Squat (Quad Dominant)
1-2 Warm-up sets per leg, then;
1 set x 6-10 Reps (heavier; ~3-4 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min between legs
1 set x 10-15 Reps (lighter; ~2-3 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min between legs
Alternative Movement you can swap (stay consistent week to week):
– Flat Foot Split Squats (quad dominant)
–DB Split Squat (quad dominant)
*flat ground
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C. Superset Movements:
1-2 warm-up sets, then:
2 work supersets
***If you can’t superset these due to a crowded gym, you can either just do them separately, or alternate them with as little rest as possible!
Leg Extensions x 8-12 Reps (~2 RIR)
Hack Squat x 5-10 Reps (~3-4 RIR)
Rest 2-3 min between rounds
Alternate movements you can swap for Hack Squat:
–Heels Elevated Back Squat
–Leg Press
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D. Seated Leg Curl OR Lying Leg Curl
Reps 15-12-10-8
(increasing weight/effort each set)
Target ~5-4-3-2 RIR across the 4 sets
Rest 1-2 min between sets
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E. Superset x 2-3 sets each:
Barbell Ab Rollouts x 6-12 Reps
Decline (weighted) Sit-ups x 6-12 Reps
Rest 2 min
Alternative Movements you can swap for Rollouts:
–Plank Hand Walkouts
Alternative Movements you can swap for Decline Sit-ups
-Standard Flat Sit-ups
–Overhead DB Sit-ups
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Tuesday
Upper Body
Part A and B Repeat week to week
A. Flat DB Bench Press
2-3 Warm-up sets, then:
1 set x 6-10 Reps (heavier; ~2-3 RIR)
Rest 2 min
1 set x 10-15 Reps (lighter; ~2 RIR)
+ Superset the FINAL SET:
Flat DB Flies (Bottom 60% ROM) x 8-12 Reps (~2-3 RIR)
Alternate movements you can swap for Flat DB Bench Press (stay consistent week to week):
–Cable Chest Press
–Machine Chest Press
–Flat Barbell Bench Press
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B. Alternate Movements:
1-2 warm-up sets each, then:
3 work sets (see reps and RIR below for each)
*Bring DB’s over to the Pulldown machine with you
Wide Grip Pulldowns x 6-10 Reps (~2-1-1 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min
DB Lateral Raise x 10-15 Reps (~1 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min
Alternative Movement you can swap for Pulldowns (stay consistent week to week):
(weighted) Pull-ups
Weighted Rack Pull-ups
Unweighted Rack Pull-ups
Leg in front Rack Pull-ups (no elevation)
Foot-Assisted Pull-ups
Machine Assisted Pull-ups
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C. Alternate Movements:
First set warm-up, then:
3 challenging work sets each
Target ~2-1-0 RIR for both movements across 3 work sets
Chest Supported DB Row x 8-12 Reps
Rest 1-2 min
Cable Tricep Pushdowns x 10-15 Reps
Rest 1-2 min
Alternative Movement you can swap for DB Row:
–Chest Supported T-Bar Row
–Chest Supported Cable Row
–Chest Supported Machine Row
Alternative Movement you can swap for Cable Pushdowns
–Cross Cable Tricep Pushdowns
– Banded Tricep Pushdowns
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D. Alternate Movements:
First set warm-up, then:
3 challenging work sets each
Incline DB Bench Press (pause bottom) x 8-12 Reps (~3 then 2 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min
Cable Face Pulls x 12-20 Reps (0 RIR each set)
Rest 1-2 min
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E. Preacher Curl Machine
1-2 warm-up sets, then:
2 tough work sets x 8-12 Reps (~2 then 1 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min b/w sets
Alternative Movement you can swap for Machine preacher curls:
EZ or Barbell Preacher Curls
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Thursday:
Lower Body
Part A and B Repeat week to week
A. Leg Press – quad dominant
Quad dominant = put the feet low on platform.
Also should have a PAUSE at the deepest stretch position at the bottom of each rep.
2-3 Warm-up sets, then;
1 set x 6-10 Reps (heavier; ~3-4 RIR)
Rest 2 min
1 set x 10-12 Reps (lighter; ~2-3 RIR)
Alternate movements you can swap for Leg Press (stay consistent week to week):
–Heels Elevated Back Squat
–Hack Squats
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B. Superset Movements:
1-2 warm-up sets each, then:
2 work supersets (see reps and RIR below)
*Bring DB’s over to the Hip Extension with you
Weighted Hip Extensions (45-degree) x 8-12 Reps (~2-3 then 1-2 RIR)
Walking DB Lunges (Glute focus) x 8-12 steps (4-6 per leg) (~3-4 RIR)
Rest 2-3 min
Alternative Movement you can swap for Hip Ext (stay consistent week to week):
–Horizontal/GHD
–Home Hack (with barbell and box)
–Home Hack (Hips over barbell)
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C. Giant Set x 3 Rounds:
Increase weight/effort each round, such that ONLY the final round is a tough work set
(see individual exercise RIR below)
Seated Leg Curl OR Lying Leg Curl x 10-20 Reps (~1-2 RIR)
DB RDL (1 and 1/2 Reps) x 5-8 Reps (~3-4 RIR)
Seated Leg Curl OR Lying Leg Curl (see note below)
Rest 2-3 min between rounds
For the SECOND set of Leg Curls ONLY ON THE FINAL ROUND, match reps completed on first set, understanding that you may need to complete some PARTIAL reps to equal the total from the first set:
Example:
First set Leg Curls x 12 Reps
RDL x 5-8 Reps
Second set Leg Curls 8 Reps + 4 partial reps (= 12 total reps)
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D. Weighted Hanging Knee Raises
Over 2-3 progressive sets, build to a TOP SET of 8-12 Reps (~2 RIR)
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E. Superset x One Round:
Weighted Hanging Knee Raises x Max reps unbroken (same weight as top set)
Garhammer Crunch x 6-15 Reps
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F. Calf Raises (on leg press)
3 sets x 6-10 Reps
2-3 sec at the “deep stretch” position, and 1-2 sec at the top “contraction”
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Friday
Upper Body
Part A and B Repeat week to week
A. Chest Supported Machine Row
2-3 Warm-up sets, then:
1 work set x 6-9 Reps (heavier; ~2-3 RIR)
Rest 2 min
1 work set x 9-12 Reps (moderate; ~1-2 RIR)
Rest 2 min
1 work set x 12-15 Reps (lighter; ~1 RIR)
Alternative Movement you can swap for Chest Machine Row (stay consistent week to week):
– Chest Supported DB Row
–Chest Supported T-Bar Row
–Head Supported DB Row
–Chest Supported Cable Row
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B. Superset Movements:
1-2 warm-up sets each, then:
2 work supersets each (see reps and RIR for each below)
Cable Machine Option (preferable if available):
*Note that you could also do these “single” arm by emulating the movement patterns. It may be easier to consistently get one cable versus trying to fight for the dual cable machine in a crowded gym….
Dual Cable Lateral Raise x 8-12 Reps (~2-3 then 1-2 RIR)
Dual Cable Front Raise x 6-10 Reps (~1 RIR each)
Rest 2-3 min
Free Weight Option:
The Incline DB Lateral focuses more on the lengthened range-of-motion by placing the arms behind the body. The Front Raise will therefore be much lighter, given the fatigue carried into the second exercise.
Incline DB Lateral Raise (Behind back) x 10-15 Reps (~2-3 then 1-2 RIR)
DB Front Raise x 8-12 Reps (~1 RIR each)
Rest 2-3 min
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C. Costal (Lower Chest) Press Around
1-2 warm-up sets, then:
1 tough set x 15 Reps per arm (~1-2 RIR)
Rest 1-2 min
Using the same resistance as the 15 reps…
Complete 3 sets x reps of 12-10-8 for each arm, and rest ONLY while other arm works
Alternate arms, 12 right, 12 left, 10 right, 10 left etc…
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D. Neutral Grip “Lat” Pulldown
(use “D-handles” on a straight bar, as shown, or find a neutral grip bar that is ~shoulder width)
Select a weight you can do ~15-20 reps unbroken
Accumulate 50 Reps in as few sets as possible
Start with one high rep set to ~1-2 RIR
Then rest only 15-20 sec between each set
Keep going till 50 Reps
Maintain ~1-2 RIR with failure on the final set if needed to hit 50 reps
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E. Alternate Movements:
First set warm-up, then:
2 challenging work sets each x 8-12 Reps
(Target ~2-3 RIR for each across the 2 work sets)
Face Away Cable Curls
Rest 1-2 min
Incline Anterior Delt DB Press
Rest 1-2 min
Alternate swaps for Face Away Curls:
–Incline DB Curls
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Saturday – OPTIONAL Conditioning
45-60 Minutes of ZONE 2 Cardio
This can be performed with whatever modality you can do with EFFICIENCY.
For most people, this would likely be optimized with a bike, elliptical, or steep incline walking.
Zone 2 can be completed by rowing OR running (or other modality) however most people are inefficient rowers and runners, and therefore will often find it difficult to stay within the target heart rate zone for ZONE 2.
My views on finding this zone have changed a bit.
In the past, I’ve veered towards relatively crude formulas based on HEART RATE.
Now I tend to simply use RATE OF PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE) as the BEST way to assess ZONE 2.
Take a 12-15 word sentence that you have memorized with a normal speaking cadence (not rushed).
When you believe you are in ZONE 2, speak this sentence. If you can complete it in one breath without having to stop to get air, and without feeling like that sentence caused you to go into a breathing deficit (i.e. you aren’t gasping for air at the end of the sentence), then you are likely in ZONE 2.
Another RPE based assessment of effort is the duration component.
We are performing ZONE 2 workouts for 45-60 min, but we want to select a pace / effort level in which we *COULD* continue at the SAME PACE for 2-3 hours.
This means that when complete your ZONE 2 workout, you are glad it’s over, strictly due to monotony/repetition, and not due to accumulated fatigue.
In fact, you should feel like the session never actually gets harder. The first 10 minutes should feel the most taxing, as you move from doing nothing into Zone 2.
Once you’ve established yourself into Zone 2, each 10-minute period should be exactly as difficult as the prior 10-minute period.
At no point should you think that the workout has increased in difficulty. It just a steady and consistent effort could be repeatable for multiple hours (if needed).
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OTHER FORMULAS:
Well-trained aerobic athlete:
180 minus age = approx. Zone 2 (~75% of Max Heart Rate)
Lifter or non-trained aerobic athlete:
170 minus age = approx. Zone 2 (~65-72% of Max Heart Rate)
*Max Heart Rate can be determined generally with 220 minus age
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