05 THE ULTIMATE BODY TRANSFORMATION WORKOUT PLAN
You’ve graduated from the entry-level workouts (here and here) and are now ready to tackle the core programme of this book.
You probably want the 12-week programme laid out for you step by step, day by day. My apologies, but this plan doesn’t quite work like that. To help you create a routine that suits your own very specific goals I have constructed a workout regime that allows you to add and subtract routines based on the areas of your body that you want to give special attention to. For example, if you have arms like wet linguini then you need to do additional arms work. If you’re a narrow beanpole then you need to do extra shoulder work.
The more effort, more volume and more intensity we apply to a muscle the more it will respond, up to a point.
THE WORKOUTS
The ideal scenario is that we temporarily overload the muscle, often called overreaching, and then we back off to allow supercompensation (a positive rebound) to occur.
However, we must always bear in mind that the human body can only tolerate so much work and stress before the training becomes counterproductive. This is commonly referred to as overtraining. If you reach the overtraining stage then the only recourse is rest and recuperation until you get back to normal. You’ve gone too far and are unlikely to experience the benefits of supercompensation.
The routines that you will follow factor all this in to give you the following:
A foundation 12-week programme that you consistently follow.
Specialisation routines that allow you to give extra attention to specific body parts.
Enforced back-off periods to allow supercompensation and maximum muscle growth.
THE WORKOUT ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL PLAN
FOUNDATION WORKOUTS
The Foundation Workout plan contains three sessions per week for each of the 12 weeks. Numbered 1 to 36, these three weekly sessions each focus on different muscle groups: one is chest and back; one is legs; and the final one is arms and delts.
If you followed only this plan you would get some great workouts in but you would only be training your main muscle groups once per week. This frequency of stimulus is too low for maximum results. However, it is more than enough for those areas of your body that you are happy to see slower improvements with while focusing more effort, and frequency, on lagging body parts.
Therefore, every week you will follow two of the three Foundation Workouts only. Let me make that clear – you do not do all three weekly Foundation Workouts.
Why? Because you will drop one of the three sessions and replace it with two sessions from the Specialisation Workouts.
SPECIALISATION WORKOUTS
You have the option of specialising on your arms, chest, shoulders, back and legs.
If you want to pay extra attention to your abs then there’s a 99.9 per cent chance that you need to prioritise getting leaner and not building them up, which is why I have left them out of the book to avoid an unnecessary distraction. If you do fall into that 0.1 per cent then the specialisation routines are available as a free download at www.UltimateTransformation.Guide.
Each specialisation routine is numbered A to E or A to F (depending on the split) and lasts for three weeks. It must be followed for the duration, and only ever do one specialisation routine at a time.
You can specialise on the same muscle group more than once in the 12-week programme, but you must not do them consecutively. You must always have a three-week gap in between where you specialise on another body part.
For example, if chest and arms are your only priorities you could follow the workout specialisation strategy below. You will find detailed step-by-step guides to all the exercises in the Foundation and Specialisation Workouts in the next section.
HOW TO MAINTAIN
The beauty of the 12-week training plan in this book isn’t just that you can specialise and prioritise different muscles to build a better, bigger and more balanced body; it’s that the programme can essentially be followed for the rest of your training days. That’s because once you have completed the 12-week programme you can simply return to the beginning and start again. You’ll need to increase the weights you lift to keep your muscles growing – which won’t be a problem, because you will be significantly stronger – then you can simply add in the Specialisation Workouts for those muscle groups you now need to focus on and improve. Say you focused on delts and arms for the first 12 weeks, like we did with Joe; start again and now focus on your chest and back, or your legs, or whatever muscle group you want to build. And you can repeat this strategy again and again to keep getting bigger, stronger and leaner. That’s why this book is the only training guide you’ll ever need.
WEEKS 1–3
Arms Specialisation
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Foundation Weeks 1–3
Chest and Back, Legs
(Arms and Delts would be dropped from the Foundation Workouts)
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WEEKS 4–6
Chest Specialisation
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Foundation Weeks 4–6
Arms and Delts, Legs
(Chest and Back would be dropped from the Foundation Workouts)
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WEEKS 7–9
Arms Specialisation
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Foundation Weeks 7–9
Chest and Back, Legs
(Arms and Delts would be dropped from the Foundation Workouts)
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WEEKS 10–12
Chest Specialisation
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Foundation Weeks 10–12
Arms and Delts, Legs
(Chest and Back would be dropped from the Foundation Workouts)
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STEP-BY-STEP EXERCISE FORM GUIDE
Before we get into the detail of the workouts, I’m going to take you through all the exercises step by step, giving you handy tips on how to get the most out of each exercise. Remember, it’s about placing maximum stress on your muscle fibres in order to stimulate the most powerful muscle growth. All of the exercises in this section are included in the Foundation and Specialisation Workouts.
30° DUMBBELL CURL
Tap here for a video demonstration and commentary.
01 Sit on a 30° incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand.
02 Keeping your back flat against the bench and your elbows close to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height.
03 Squeeze your biceps at the top of the move.
04 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Contract your triceps as hard as possible at the bottom of the movement (under control, do not bounce it!), and squeeze at the top as if you’re trying to squash a pencil in the crook of your arm.
45° DUMBBELL CURL
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01 Sit on a 45° incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand.
02 Keeping your back flat against the bench and your elbows close to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height.
03 Squeeze your biceps at the top of the move.
04 Slowly return to the start.
60° HAMMER CURL
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01 Sit on a 60° incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing.
02 Keeping your back flat against the bench and your elbows close to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height.
03 Squeeze your biceps at the top of the move.
04 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Resist the urge to rest the dumbbells on the top of your shoulders in the fully contracted position.
BACK SQUAT
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01 Stand tall with your chest up, with a barbell resting on the top of your shoulders, held with an overhand grip.
/> 02 Keeping your chest up and core braced, squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor.
03 Powerfully return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Elevating the heels with a board will help 95 per cent of trainees adopt better squatting form. A second tip is to brace hard and squeeze the bar down over your shoulders throughout the movement.
BAND DEADLIFT
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01 Stand in a squat rack in front of a barbell with a band attached on each side of the bar to a pin.
02 Squat down to grip it with an overhand grip just outside your knees.
03 Keeping your core braced and your shoulders retracted, push down through your heels to lift the bar up.
04 Keep the bar close to your body and, as it passes your knees, push your hips forward.
05 Reverse the movement back to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
In your training programme we’re doing this exercise for increased mid and upper back activation. This means that you should take a wide grip, at least 6 inches wider than each shoulder, and focus on keeping your shoulderblades pulled back as hard as possible throughout the entire lifting phase. You will also benefit from using some lifting straps on this exercise so that your grip doesn’t become the weak link.
BARBELL BENT-OVER ROW
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01 Stand tall with your chest up holding a barbell with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
02 Bend your knees slightly and lean forward from the hips, keeping your core braced.
03 Pull the bar up into your belly button, leading with your elbows.
04 Slowly lower the bar to return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
With this exercise it’s all too easy for good form to go out of the window in the quest to lift heavier weights. Focus on the contraction and keeping the elbows tight into the body through the lift. If you can’t do that then lighten the weight.
BARBELL WRIST CURL
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01 Stand with your chest up holding a barbell with an underhand grip.
02 Curl your wrists up towards your forearm.
03 Slowly return to the start.
BEHIND BACK BARBELL WRIST CURL
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01 Stand with your chest up holding a barbell behind your back with palms facing behind you.
02 Curl your wrists up towards your forearms.
03 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Small movements like this are easy to rush, so be wary. Instead milk every rep by ensuring that you curl your wrists up as far as they will go at the peak contraction point.
BENCH PRESS
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01 Lie on a flat bench with your feet on the floor, directly underneath your knees.
02 Hold the bar with an overhand wide grip.
03 Slowly lower the bar to your chest, until it almost touches your nipples.
04 Press back strongly to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Do not bounce the weight off your chest; squeeze your shoulderblades back and down on the negative (lowering) part of the rep; tuck your elbows in so that your upper arms are at about 60 degrees to the torso.
BOX JUMP
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01 Stand in front of a box.
02 Bend down and jump explosively up onto the box.
03 Step back down to the start position.
CABLE WRIST CURL
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01 Stand tall facing a cable machine with a bar behind your back, attached to the low pulley, with your palms facing away.
02 Curl your wrists up towards your forearm.
03 Slowly return to the start.
CABLE FACE PULL
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01 Attach and hold a double-rope attachment to the high pulley on a cable machine.
02 Pull the handles towards your head, keeping your upper arms parallel to the floor, so that each handle goes either side of your face.
03 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
If you struggle to feel this movement standing up, even when using a split stance, then try leaning against something solid or even sitting down. This will better help you to isolate the upper back and posterior deltoids.
CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS
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01 Lie on a flat bench with your feet on the floor, directly underneath your knees.
02 Hold the bar with an overhand shoulder-width grip.
03 Slowly lower the bar to your chest, until it almost touches your nipples.
04 Press back strongly to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Don’t take such a close grip that your wrists take the strain. Typically the best grip would be with your hands about 12 inches apart.
DEADLIFT
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01 Stand in front of a barbell and squat down to grip it with either an overhand or alternate grip just outside your knees.
02 Keeping your core braced and your shoulders retracted, push down through your heels to lift the bar up.
03 Keep the bar close to your body and, as it passes your knees, push your hips forward.
04 Reverse the movement back to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Don’t lean forward too much by pushing the weight onto the toes; instead sit back a little and then push through the floor. Deadlifting in running trainers is often a bad idea, and stocking feet, if your gym permits it, is often a useful way to improve form.
DECLINE BENCH PRESS
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01 Lie on a decline bench.
02 Hold the bar with an overhand wide grip.
03 Slowly lower the bar to your chest, until it almost touches your nipples.
04 Press back strongly to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
You can go heavier on a decline movement than a flat or incline so don’t be afraid to load up here as long as form is kept perfect.
DECLINE CABLE FLYE
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01 Lie on a decline bench in the middle of the cable machine, holding a D-handle attached to the low pulley in each hand.
02 Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, raise the handles up and over your chest.
03 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
For a better contraction internally rotate the elbows so that your thumbs are facing one another. As you fatigue you can then externally rotate to the standard palms facing inward position.
DECLINE CLOSE-GRIP EZ-BAR TRICEPS EXTENSION
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01 Lie on a decline bench holding an EZ-bar above your chest with a narrow overhand grip.
02 Slowly lower the bar down towards the top of your head by bending your elbows, but keep them pointing straight up.
03 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
As long as there is no elbow pain try to keep your elbows tucked in, as opposed to flaring out at the sides, at least until fatigue sets in.
DECLINE DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
Tap here for a video demonstration and commentary.
01 Lie on a bench set at a decline angle holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height.
02 Keep your feet flat on the floor and back against the b
ench.
03 Press the weight straight up.
04 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
For the best contraction of your chest muscles think about drawing the upper arms partially across the ribcage at the top of the movement.
DECLINE DUMBBELL FLYE
Tap here for a video demonstration and commentary.
01 Lie on a bench set at a decline angle holding a dumbbell in each hand with arms straight.
02 Keep your feet flat on the floor and back against the bench.
03 Keeping a slight bend in your elbow, slowly lower the weights out to the side.
04 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
Follow Arnold Schwarzenegger’s advice on flyes and imagine that you are hugging a giant tree or a beautiful, but very large, woman!
DONKEY CALF RAISE
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01 Stand with your toes on a box, bent forward at the hips.
02 Go up on to your tiptoes.
03 Slowly return to the start.
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NICK'S TIP
If you’re strong enough you can have a partner jump on your back, but do take care! Don’t underestimate yourself here – think about how much weight one leg takes when running and jumping.
DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
Your Ultimate Body Transformation Plan Page 6