CT's #1 Personal Trainer, Jim Cipriani, B2B Phase 2

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Back to Bodybuilding: Phase 2

Covering the "Extras"

I'm now entering the second month of my "Back to Bodybuilding" phase of training....and I'm loving it! It's good to feel and see my chest get pumped up and regain it's density. It's great to feel and see my arms get back to that almost over-sized bodybuilding look. It's great to see my shoulders start to get that full, round, capped look. It's great to see my legs respond with more than just a mass of muscle, but a muscle with shape and aesthetics. And it's sure nice to have my abs starting to get back to what they used to be.

Although the second month may call upon some different exercises, the template for all of the major bodyparts stays the same. It comes in 4 parts:

Part 1: Heavy Compound Movement

Here is where I attack the muscle building standards: Military Presses, Bench Presses, Bent Rows, Squats/Leg Presses, etc. I do 2 light warm-up sets of 10-12 reps with 50% of my targeted workset weight. Then I do one acclimation set each of about 70% for 6 reps, about 80% for 3-4, and an optional third acclimation set of about 90% for 1-2 reps. After all of this, it's GO TIME! Two to three total work-sets of 4-8 reps looking to reach failure.

Part 2: Super-sets

This is done in many forms:

Sometimes I may do a pre-exhaust super-set where I hit an isolation movement first and a compound movement for the same muscle group immediately after (example - doing a set of leg extensions first and, without rest, going right into a set of dumbbell squats).

Sometimes I will us a post-exhaust super-set which is the exact opposite of the pre-exhaust version (example - upright rows supersetted with side laterals).

And, yet, other times I will use two different isolation movements for the same muscle but with two different positions-of-flexion (example - overhead triceps extensions super-setted with pushdowns).

Although I go into each workout with a plan of which super-set I will utilize, I am always open for a change. It's all dictated by either what I feel I'll be able to give 100% intensity or what equipment is open and available for me to use on a crowded night at the gym. No matter which type of super-set I am doing, it's always done for 3 sets of 8-10 reps each.

Part 3: Drop-set

This is the finisher. More than not, it's done with an isolation exercise. And more than not, it's done on a machine or with a dumbbell (just because it makes it easy to do a quick drop). I'll often utilize one of the same exercises I used in the above super-set (example - I'll do 3 super-sets of Leg Curls and Dumbbell Stiffleg Deadlifts and then finish off hamstrings with a single drop-set of Leg Curls alone). No matter what the exercise, I execute it the same way:

do a set reaching failure within an 8-12 rep range,

immediately drop the weight by about 20% and continue with a few reps to failure,

immediately drop the weight by another 20% and finish with one last set to failure.

One thing worth noting: Before I do this drop-set, I may or may not do one acclimation set of a straight 8-12 reps on the movement I choose. If, like in the above example, I am utilizing a movement that I was did in the super-set, there simply is no reason for an acclimation set.

The Split for Phase 2

There is no doubt that when training on a 5 day-a-week schedule, the muscles that get hit towards the back end of the week don't get the same zest from me that the muscles in the front of the end of the week get. To provide some balance, I have changed up the split a bit from Phase 1 to emphasize, prioritize, and provide that energy to a different set of major muscle groups.

Monday: Chest and Triceps

Tuesday: Biceps and Abs

Wednesday: Quads, Hamstrings

Thursday: Shoulders and Calves

Friday or Saturday: Back and Abs

The "Extras" - Abs, Calves, and Cardio

Abs - Unlike in past phases, I have returned to using spinal flexion movements for my ab development. I know that it's more in vogue to utilize "core" building supportive movements where there is not spinal flexion at all. Well, all I can say is I bought into that for the last couple of years and my ab development declined. I say you need BOTH! But due to the fact that I have focused so long on Farmer's Walks, Planks, Roll-outs, Get-ups, Dragon Flags, etc, I am specializing on those spinal flexion movements that were neglected for so long. And it's nice to get that abdominal burn and cramp after a hard tri-set again. Yes...I said tri-set. And here it is. On the days I do abs, I do two rounds of:

Rope Crunches (10-12 reps), immediately followed by

Floor Crunches (taken to failure), immediately followed by

Hanging Leg Raises (taken to failure).

Calves - Very simply, my calves are good. I don't have to work them too hard to get them to respond. But again, during all those "performance" oriented workouts I was putting in, I didn't do any direct calf work. The stimulus they were getting was from any jumping movements I utilized. And just like my abs, my calf development simply wasn't the same. After phase one, there is a noticeable difference in the density, shape, and aesthetics of them. And I, for one, love a great set of calves (not just on me, but on women...what can I say? I'm a leg man). My calf training is the same as phase 1 except I am only hitting them once a week. When I do train them, I simply do 2 stagger-sets (1 minute of rest between each exercise) where I zigzag between the Seated Calf Raise and the Standing Calf Raise. Both are done for 8-12 reps each.

Cardio - When I began Phase 1 of "Back to Bodybuilding," I was feeling...well..let's say "not so tight." I was out to attack everything that I haven't done in so long. Things I used to do when I approached the level of conditioning when I competed (as seen in the pics at the top of this blog). Included in that was trying to get 2-3 sessions of cardio in each week. In my head, this felt like a miniscule, bare minimum amount. But compounded with my work schedule and the new training I encountered, I was simply wearing myself out. So I dropped the cardio two weeks ago altogether. What has happened since? I dropped 10 pounds!

Yup! Inside of 2 weeks I have gone from 215 down to 205....without any cardio! How did I do it? With hard consistent training (as you have been reading) and getting back to the nutrition principles I have developed over the years.

Which brings me to what's coming up next: My Diet. I have dropped 10 pounds of fat inside of 2 weeks without cardio, without counting calories, and without depriving myself. And I'm just starting! It's all through smart choices and executing the knowledge I have attained over the past 2 decades regarding food and our bodies. You will get an inside look at it all in the very next post. Till then...

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James Cipriani

Cutting Edge Personal Training

1120 Federal Road

Brookfield, CT 06804

(203)775-5128

Jim@JamesCipriani.com