OCT-18 #HyperWorkouts – 8w Gym Workout Plan

5x DAY Strength & Hypertrophy Training Block – 2x Strength Days, 2x Hypertrophy Days and 1x Power Day. Includes Training Max protocol and Chains.

Here’s the 9th 8-Week #HyperWorkouts training programme I am following October through to end of November 2018. Phased-programming to follow throughout the year.

Read on for the OCT-18 Programme that contains 5x 60-90min workouts. There are 4x 1min YouTube guide videos and workout lists for each day, as well as links to each of the exercise vids. The videos are live-footage of my actual current workouts – real weight and no demo sets. RAW!

In addition to the Training Videos, you’ll find:

• Training Block Objectives & Who it is suited for
• Useful Resources for further reading, depending on goal & current knowledge
• Mobile-friendly Downloadable Copies of Training Block & Training Sessions
• Option to Import Training Block directly into HeavySet Weight Training iOS App & try for free!
• And for the gym geeks, the Design Principles and other Training Pointers

OBJECTIVES OF THE OCT-18 TRAINING BLOCK 

1. Introducing Percentage-based Training to support Frequency & breaking Strength Plateaus
2. Stepping up Workout Frequency to 5x per week by dialling down intensity in a couple of the workout days
3. Increasing Frequency of Bench Press (x3), Deadlift (x2) and Back Squat (x2) to get in more volume, practice and muscle gains
4. Introducing Accommodating Resistance in Day 5 – using chains to break through Strength Plateaus
5. Weekly Undulating Periodisation to allow for High Rep Hypertrophy Work (Muscle Growth)
6. Full-Body Workouts with daily bias to Upper/Lower to allow for Adequate Rest
7. A focus on Hip Strength & Variations to improve Squat & Deadlift performance

IMPORTANT: Can be used for Lowering, Increasing or Maintaining Bodyweight. The critical factor to which path you take on this programme will be your diet plan.

WHO IS THIS PROGRAMME FOR?

Anyone can pick up this programme and benefit. Whether it’s ladies wishing to lose weight and tone up, beginner guys who wants to develop a muscular physique, or for seasoned intermediate lifters who want to develop greater strength and more muscle mass. No age, capability or sex bias here – anyone can make progress with this well-rounded programme.

P.S. There are Female-Centric #HyperWorkouts Programmes too, if you’re looking workouts with greater focus on what ladies generally prioritise.

What’s Critical to Note is this…

You can’t out-train a bad diet, and any physique goal must be paired with a diet plan/approach that helps support either Muscle Growth OR Losing Fat (you have to choose, unfortunately).

So, a female will not get bulky and muscly on this plan, unless they are making a concerted effort to match the programme with a very specific calorie-suplus and protein-rich diet plan. Likewise, a male will not lose 20 pounds of weight by following this programme if he is consuming more calories daily than he is burning through exercise and daily activity.

A. If You Want To Get Bigger, Stronger (& Leaner)

Listen to this AdapNation Podcast – #7: Lean Muscle Growth – the 3 Key Pillars to Getting Started, and follow this Training Programme. You will see results.

If you want to double-click into Progressive Overload, then check out this Podcast – #34: What Is Progressive Overload & All The Ways To Do It.

There is a ton other useful discussion on Training & Nutrition related topics on the AdapNation Podcast – check it out on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

B. If You Want To Lose Weight (& not necessarily put on muscle size)

Listen to this 2-Part AdapNation Podcast – 101 on Losing Fat for GOOD! Revisited, or read the associated 3-Part Article – Losing Body Fat For Good – Here’s All You Need To Know, and follow this Training Programme. You will see results you want. Strength training is that versatile.

C. If You Want Guidance On Eating To Thrive AND Look Good

Then you’ll want to read up about AdapNation’s IIFYM+ Thrive Eating Approach, as well as check out the 90+ (and growing) exciting meal ideas at AdapNation’s Food Diary. Lastly, check out this Article or Podcast, if you want some practical selection, prepping and cooking tips from Michelle.

This Is Not A Magic Training Programme, But…

There is no such thing. Nor is it a programme that will deliver results for all eternity. You will need to mix it up, to create new stimuli, hit different muscle fibres, and practice other functional patterns.

You will also benefit from undulating between Strength-biased training to higher-rep Hypertrophy workouts through the course of the year. The key is purposeful and measurable change, versus randomly mixing up your daily workouts.

That said, this is a great place to start for the uninitiated, and is a great alternative to your current training for the more experienced trainers. It will garner results as long as you respect the intent, your diet and proper rest and recovery (rest is critical to results – check this Article out).

You could, if you wish, just do this programme for the next year and continue to get results, assuming you are progressively overloading (see below). Alternatively, and more likely, you will cycle through the #HyperWorkouts every eight weeks, as part of an annual phased programme. For me, this approach helps keeping it fresh, gives me milestones to hit, helps me try new movements, and of course provides the plateau-breaking new stimuli.

THE OCT-18 TRAINING BLOCK

DAY 1, STRENGTH UPPER

To see all the Exercise Vids for this day, check the OCT-18 DAY 1 Instagram Post.

DAY 2, STRENGTH LOWER

To see all the Exercise Vids for this day, check the OCT-18 DAY 2 Instagram Post.

DAY 3, HYPERTROPHY UPPER

To see all the Exercise Vids for this day, check the OCT-18 DAY 3 Instagram Post.

DAY 4, HYPERTROPHY LOWER

To see all the Exercise Vids for this day, check the OCT-18 DAY 4 Instagram Post.

DAY 5, POWER / PRACTICE

To see all the Exercise Vids for this day, check the OCT-18 DAY 5 Instagram Post.

IMPORT & Start Training Right Away!

If you don’t measure, you can’t manage. Plus, if you want to efficiently get started and blitz through these workouts, there is no better solution than to get this entire Training Block loaded up into HeavySet with just a couple clicks.

Here’s what you need to do:

STEP 1: Install HeavySet iOS App and accept terms (you can perform 2x workouts for free)

STEP 2: Press the button below to load data into HeavySet

STEP 3: Open up the HeavySet app, where it will recognise the routine to import. Click Import and Choose.
STEP 4: Train! Just click on the imported Folder, and select Day 1. Hope you’re in your gym gear already…

DESIGN PRINCIPLES & TRAINING POINTERS

For some people, they just want to know what to do and go do it. Others prefer to know why they are doing it. Then there are those who want to not just know why, but what other tricks can they implement. I’m the latter. 🙄 If you’re interested, read on. If not, just get on with the training!

1. The Primary Focus on any given day are the Compound Lifts (exercise 1 & 2) – This is where you will direct the majority of your mental and physical energy towards.For Strength days, 80% of your energy goes here. For Hypertrophy days, it’s about 60%.
2. A Good Variation of Functional Movement – You’ll see variations like Zercher Squats and Chained Deadlifts in this training block. The idea is to practice these new movements which in turn will help recruit new muscle fibres and make you stronger on the conventional lifts. You also see Bench/Fly variations as well as single-legged work, again for the same reason.
3. Percentage-Based Training – In Days 1 & 2 you have an escalating Percentage (%) guide for the Bench Press, Deadlift and Squat. This approach helps push to new limits by reserving some energy, and to generally manage fatigue better so you can increase your training Frequency. Take your heaviest Training Max (where you have done 2+ reps) and calculate your %’s from that for each of the 3-5 sets mentioned. For the last set, rep out to failure – that might be 4 reps, it might be 8. Look to nudge up your Training Max every 1-2 weeks.
4. Classic 4-6 Rep Strength Lifting to Build a Foundation of Strength – Strength increases muscle mass more than anything else. Period. Plus, it’s great to be strong for many reasons. Work with the 4-6 rep range. If you can’t get to 4 reps, lower the weight. If you can get to 6 or more for 2+ sets, add a little extra weight. Rinse and repeat.
5. High Rep Hypertrophy Work to Get The Volume In – Whilst strength rep ranges will get you stronger and as such bigger, 8-12 hypertrophy rep range work is is great for isolation exercises and can be performed more regularly. More volume = more growth.
6. Increasing Training Frequency – There has been a renaissance of scientific research of high-frequency training of late, and Greg Nuckols performed some neat meta analysis recently – Training Frequency for Muscle Growth: What the Data Say. In a nutshell, training 3-5x times a week on the same lift improves strength and hypertrophy gains. Greg walks through his reasoning behind this. Therefore, there are 2-3x Bench Press, Deadlifts and Squats, to increase Lift proficiency, strength and illicit some extra growth.
7. Chains & Accessories – The Chains are used to to support Accommodating Resistance, where the bottom of the lift is lighter than the top. This help experience heavier total bar weight at lockout, whilst allowing an appropriate weight at the weakest part of the lift. A bench board is used on the last Bench set on Day 1, to support moving to 105% of your Training Max by limiting your Range of Motion. The Arm Blaster is a neat tool to lock in your arms shoulders and elbows, making Biceps Curls SO MUCH HARDER.

GENERAL WEIGHT TRAINING PROGRAMME GUIDANCE:

1. Progressive Overload is the Most Important Thing – The name of the game is to progress in some fashion every week. This creates a stress response that results in muscle damage followed by repair and body adaptation. So, always aim to improve each lift from week-to-week. Whether it’s more weight (with good form), another set or a couple more reps. Ultimately, you’re looking for more volume from week-to-week (Volume = Weight x Sets x Reps). This Podcast walks you through Progressive Overload and all the ways to do it.
2. The Non-Essential Mobility & Pre-Activation/Power Drills are designed to be completed in 5-10mins Max – You don’t need to do them per se, as they are not core to you burning calories or taxing your body. They are there to prime your body for the functional movements of the day. I personally always do them, but if you feel good to crack on as soon as you walk through the gym, then go for it. You can also do these in between your sets, should you feel a bit tight or are missing mind-muscle connection.
3. Warming Up Recommendations – I would always do 5-10mins of walking or light cycling to get the blood flowing and raise my body temperature before getting started. In addition, I recommend completing a few escalating Warm Up sets ahead of your big Compound Lift for the day (no. 4 & 5). It’s a bad idea to get straight into the maximum weight without a few lighter practice sets.
4. The Role of Cardio – For a deep dive into the pros and cons of cardio, I would recommend you list to this AdapNation Podcast – #4: Cardio Pro and Con Deep Dive. In summary, if you are not training to be an endurance athlete, and cardio is purely a means to burn calories for you, then for the most part you can switch cardio for resistance training. You will see there is a Finisher/Conditioning section per day – it includes just 5-10mins of moderate steady state cardio (or you can do HIIT cardio). The emphasis here is more about active recovery after weight training and getting some stress-relieving deep breaths in, versus the calorie burn.
5. Increase your NEAT for greater Calorie Burn & Weight Loss – instead of doing loads of cardio exercise, I would generally recommend you increase your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). Basically, your moving around during the day. Go for walks, stand up regularly from your desk, do housework, yoga, get your steps in etc. You have the chance to burn significantly more calories through NEAT than pounding the streets for 30-60mins.
6. Expect a 300-600 Calorie Burn, plus More! – On average, I burn about 500-600 calories per training session. Lighter folk or those with less muscle will burn less, naturally. Moreover, there then is the recovery energy needed to repair which is yet more calories burned. Even better still, the more lean mass on your frame, the higher your BMR is – as in, you burn more calories every day just by having more muscle. It’s a beautiful thing! I use an Apple Watch to estimate my calorie burn during exercise and during the day.

ENJOY! 💪🏻