MAX CITRIN, BS, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D1)

Regular Workout schedule:

UNCOVERING THE SECRETS OF BODYBUILDING’S FATHERS: THE ULTIMATE PROGRAM TO BE LEAN, CUT, PERFECTLY PROPORTIONAL, AND SYMMETRICAL. The Program I used to win the Mr. Gainesville 2006.

THIS IS A PROGRAM I crafted for myself based on Arnold’s Old school routines in which he worked every bodypart three times, that’s right, three times per week. I did it for 16 weeks but spent many more working up to the kind of training volume. Training this frequently,or this much (4-6 hours per day) may not be in vogue right now, and it may be difficult or near impossible to fit around your other commitments…believe me, I know from experience. I tried to do this while going to medical school and it didn’t work out. This is one instance where you can actually say “I don’t have time” and I won’t blame you. But the only way to build mass while dieting, and work weakpoints while dieting is to forget what you learned about overtraining and remember that pro athletes in all sports work out for 4-5, or more, hours per day. For example, Calf workouts, although 30 minutes to an 1 hour long do not tax the body like a regular workout. And with some cardio added in at the beginning and end of a calf workout, can actually build you work capacity over a short period of weeks, thus, increasing your ability to recuperate, instead of dipping into your stores of recuperation. Plus, working out more frequently causes more frequent bursts of growth hormone and testosterone, and boosts your testosterone levels long-term, which obviously, enhances recuperation. This is a secret touted highly by bodybuilding legend, and possessor of possbley the best abdominal muscles of-all-time, Serge Nubret, who himself worked out 4-5 hours and day and daily ate 4-5 pounds of lean beef. “I don’t have time” is usually just another way of saying you don’t feel like making time, and you would rather remain status quo than put in the extra effort to improve yourself and reap the attendant rewards. Whenever you say, “I don’t have time” ask yourself “Am I just being a Poon??” I will write a whole article on pinpointing excuses some other time. For now, lets focus. 

TRAINING STRATEGY:

Many people I talk to say that this program constitutes overtraining. I would like to briefly speak to that. This program, is designed to give every muscle the stimulation it needs to be constantly growing, even on a low-calorie diet. I am sure you have heard that if you want to gain mass you cannot on a low-calorie diet. I contend that you can. The problem with a low-calorie diet is that your muscles receive fewer nutrients to grow, less recuperation, and probably less stimulation to grow because you are too tired to work them with intensity. However, when you are working out 4-5 hours per day you constantly partition nutrients to the muscles to recuperate, via increased blood flow, and increased nervous system stimulation. The more neural stimulation the muscle gets the more nutrients are partitioned there. You literally signal the muscle cells at the DNA regulatory level to increase protein synthesis for hours per day. And the more blood flow the muscle receives, the more nutrients arrive there. Plus, more frequent workouts lead to more frequent hormone release, and long-term elevation of testosterone levels. If you are a natural competitor, this is the only edge you can get. It is better than more sleep, it is better than more supplements. The only catch is you have to commit time, and you have to work up to this training volume with patience. It is the only way to build mass while dieting. 

OVERTRAINING IS A MYTH:

Overtraining is not as prevalent as people have been led to think. It does exist, but it is poorly understood by most, even the so-called experts. Most people think that there is a set volume that the body can handle, but it is usually an arbitrarily low volume: Some say 1 hour per day, others say 3 times per week. Although you do need to rest and recuperate People seem to overlook what constitues overtraining depends on the kind of shape you are in. Overtaining is really just working at a volume and intensity that is above your ability to recuperate.  The result is injury or burnout. If you are making progress in the gym consistently, you are not burnt out. Some people mistake lack of determination for burnout. They think that because they don't "feel like" going to the gym and are "more sore than normal" that is burnout. Burnout comes from working above your work capacity, i.e. trying to do too much too soon for too long. But you can raise your work capacity. The problem is the other commitments of life, and the shear difficulty of being consistent with the task get in the way of continually raising work-capacity, so people develop the belief that 1 hour per day is overtraining.  

SYMMETRY COMES FROM "OVERTRAINING":

Don’t you ever notice how some of the most symmetrical professionals to ever grace the bodybuilding stage were not concerned with today’s buzz-word. Overtraining. Shawn Ray called it a myth, and we know Arnold worked at super high volumes. Why did they train at such high volumes, and how could you do the same? If you want perfect symmetry you are going to have to put extra time into the gym to hone in on your weakpoints everyday. There is a nice anecdote about how Arnold used to put in 45 minutes extra everyday for 3 years to bring his calves up to speed. This is what most people would call overtraining but I dare anyone who thinks they have tried everything to try this for calves and see if it doesn't work! He used all the shocking and intensity principles you can think: from changing angles, to super heavy partial reps, to drop sets, and so on. You need to add ingenuity, imagination, and enthusiasm to achieve the great proportions you seek. But most of all, hard work and determination, and patience are prerequisites for bringing up lagging bodyparts. Picture perfect proportion comes from choosing exercises carefully to target weakpoints and being relentless and innovative in your practice of these exercises. Muscle maturity comes from many reps and sets. Separation is from lots of reps. Density, from heavy weight. That's why older competitors have more dense and separated muscle. Look at Ron Coleman, he is 42 and has done alot of reps over the years, with very heavy weight, which gives him both separation and densty. Other people will never achieve the density he has because some of that comes from genetics. But a good deal of separation within and between muscle groups, as well as shape comes from doing alot of reps. You can get a head start by doing alot of reps at a young age. And preparing for a show is the time when your bodyfat is low so your deficiencies in proportion are revealed. It is the optimal time to do the extra work to bring everything into symmetrical balance, and use the extra motivation of being able to see your muscles well to do extra reps and sets that add separation  for when you step on-stage. 

DISCLAIMER**Keep in mind that I built up to this workload over time with diligence and persistence by slowly raising my general physical preparedness and work capacity. It would not be advisable to jump into this program without a couple months of progressive work. I give some tips on how to approach building your work capacity to the point that you can handle this level of volume with full-intensity during all sets. But, I would urge anyone who is seriously thinking of trying this program to contact me so I can guide you to where you can reach this workload safely.  

TRAINING TACTICS:

REGULAR WORKOUT SCHEDULE**

I do a two-day double split: Mornings and Evenings, Working Each Bodypart 3 times per week.M/W/F Morning: Chest, BackM/W/F Evening: Legs, Back, CalvesT/TR/SAT Morning: Shoulders, PullupsT/TR/SAT Evening: Arms, Calves 

DAILY GENERAL PHYSICAL PREPAREDNESS (GPP) **

20 minutes warm-up on bike before every workout. I was doing 20 minutes 2x/day per day. **Calves 4-6x/wk: 12-20sets @ 10-20 reps: Many people calves as a less responsive muscle group. Work them more like Arnold did.**Cleans 2-5x/wk: 2-5 sets of 10 @135-165. I did these before my eveneing workouts 2-5 times per week. They improve athleticism, prevent injury, add overall body power, density. **My baseline is to do 3 exercises/per bodypart/per workout, AND 4 sets of 8-15reps per exercise. I use that as my baseline and work from there. I stick to that pretty strickly for arms, and for shoulders. I stay somewhat close to that for chest and back. I use higher reps right now for legs to make sure I warm my knees up very well and get definition. 

MWF Morning: Chest and Back

1. Flat Bench Press: 8 of 3reps @ 155-185/ 2 heavier sets up to 285x1 **Getting closer to the contest I supersetted Flat bench with Flat Dbell presses with 40pnds for 10-15reps. 
2. SuperSet
   a) Incline Bench Press: 5 sets of 20/15/8/8/4
   b) Behind Neck Pullups: 5 sets of 15/10/5/5/10 
3. SuperSet 3
   a) Incline Dbell Flye: 4 sets of 20/10/10/8
   b)1-arm Rows: 4 sets of 20/10/10/8 
4. Dips: Bodyweight: 4 sets of 10
5. Shrug Machine: 4 sets of 30/20/20/20 *
   I typically practice posing in between sets of shrugs ***
   In the off-season I plan the following changes: 1. Add Pullovers, 2. Add Cable Crossovers 2. Increase my Bench press and Incline Press by focusing on going heavier 4. chest 2x/week.

MWF Evening: Legs and Back1. Walking Lunges: 4 sets of 60/60/60/60 reps Supersetted with Bodyweight squatsx20

2. Hack Squat: 3 sets of 30 @ no weight (10/10/10 at each foot position)

                        3 sets of 30 @ 25’s1 set of 24 @ 45’s

                        1 set of 20 @ 45+35’s*I warmup with three sets of 30 then I go by feel, I may workup to higher weight most days and superset them with leg extension. I really try to focus on contracting all the way up and down and focusing on my sweep more than the weight.  

3. Leg Extension: 4 sets of 15-20 *Last two sets supersetted with hacksquats 

Superset4a) Squats: 4 sets of 10 @ 45’s

4b) Leg Extensions: 4 sets of 10-15 

5. Seated Leg Curls: 6 sets of 30/25/20/25/10/10

6. Lying Leg Curls: 4 sets of 10-15 (light weight, focusing on the contraction) *As I write this I see the mistake I have made by including hamstrings late in the workout. I did this because my #1 priority while recovering from my hamstring tendonitis was that they were warm before I worked them. Now that tendonitis has abated, I need to add intensity to them. 

Meal Replacement Shake: 400 Calories, 40 grams Protein 

7. Calves:Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 25/20/15/15

Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15 -20      supersetted with Reverse Calf raises.

Donkey Calf Raises: 6 sets of 15/15//15/12/8/8 

*I often do some work for my upper back thickness after working legs. Often I do some moderate bench work in between sets, using dbells or straightbar.I do this for two reasons. Firstly, I needed to do some extra work for my upper back thickness. Secondly, the leg workout itself is long (2 hours or more) so it catabolizes upper body mass, just like long cardio. The goal is to stimulate the upper back and chest, enough to counteract this. Stimulating the muscles promotes nutrient partitioning to those areas following the workout, so that I do not start a day behind at the next chest workout. I only recommend this for those who are in extreme condition. It worked well but is not necessary. 

8: T-Bar Rows: 4 x10 (heavy)     *Sometimes SUPERSET widegrip bench to the neck

9: Bent-over Rows overhand: 4 sets of 10         *Sometimes SUPERSET closegrip to neck

10: Bent-over Rows underhand grip 4 of 10 @22511.*Sometimes I do a burnout with overhand for 6 then underhand for 6 @225 ***Leading up to the contest in the last four weeks I did fewer of these extra back exercises because I did not have the energy. But in the couple months before that I added this upper back work and saw results fast. 

T/TR/SAT Morning: Shoulders and Pullups

1) Standing presses: 4 sets of 10          *Supersetted with Close-grip pullups 

2) Quadset2a) Clean and press in 1 movement: 4 sets of 12/10/7/7

2b) Side Lateral Raise: 4 sets of 10/10/10/10

2c) Rear Delt Raise: 4 sets of 30/30/20/40

2d) Behind the Neck Pullups: 4 sets of 10 

3) Quadset: 3a) Front Raise: 4 sets of 20/10/10/10

3b) Arnold Press: 4 sets of 10/8/8/6 *Final two sets are superslow dropsets.

3c) Front Raise: 4 sets of 15/10/10/10

3d) Static Arm Raise: 4 sets of 30-60seconds *I did calf raises while holding my arms out to get in some extra work for the calves.*I burn out the Arnold presses with superslow shoulder presses in the last two sets. Dropsets. 

4) Shrugs – same as MWF with little variations in direction (backwards vs.. Forwards) and intensity (weight).  ***I plan to make the following changes in the off-season: 1) Increase weight, decrease supersets. 2) Behind the neck presses switched for clean and press in one mvmnt. 3) Some other superset for front Delts. 

T/TR/SAT Evening – Arms and Calves*Warmup for Calves: Prevents tendonitis from calfwork.

1) Hacksquats: Unweighted 2-3setsx30reps

2) Lunges: 1 set of 60 @ 1/2 regular work-weight

3) Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 15-20

4) Lying Hamstrings: 5 sets of 15/15/15/12/15/155)

CALVES:Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 25/20/15/15

Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 15 -20      supersetted with Reverse Calf raises.

Donkey Calf Raises: 6 sets of 15/15//15/12/8/8 

UPPER ARMS:  1) Triset 1a) Barbell Curl: 4 sets of 20/10/10/8

1b) Cable Tricep Rope pulldown: 4sets of 20/15/15/12

1c) Cable Tricep bar pushdown: 4sets of 20/15/15/12*I like to do a triset to make sure my elbow is warmed up before moving to barbell tricep extensions. This keeps my elbow healthy and uninjured. 

2) Superset2a) Seated incline Curls: 4 sets of 12/8/8/8

2b) Lying Barbell Extension: 4 sets of 12/8/8/8 

3) Superset:3a) Incline Preacher Curls: 4 sets of 7/6/5/6

3b) 1 arm overhead extensions: 4 sets of 20/15/15/15 @35pnds*Very little rest in between sets. 

Forearms:1) Superset: Seated Forearm Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 30/15/15/15

Seated Forearm Reverse Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 20/15/15/15 

2) Superset: Forearm Hanging Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 30/20/20/20

Forearm Hanging Reverse Dbell Curl: 4 sets of 20/10/10/10

PRE-CONTEST WORKOUT CHANGES

This workout schedule is a pretty extreme pre-contest schedule. But, as I got closer to the contest it got even more extreme, as I got in even better in shape so I added more sets (4-6 instead of 3-4), took less rest, and supersetted more. I also ran more regularly. In the final 5-6 weeks I ran 3-4x/wk. In normal pre-contest training I was running 1-3 times per week for 3-5 miles for cross training, active-recovery and to clear my mind. I also add in posing pre-contest. I was training up to 6 and 7 hours a day when doing all this stuff, so I started using posing as my conditioning instead of doing extra cardio (I was already doing 20 minutes twice a day on a bike). I don’t really think I needed much extra cardio because my general conditioning is good, and I can burn so many calories anyway with my long workouts. Posing would be more specific conditioning. Also, there are only so many hours in the day.  

2) Typical Diet: **Bascially try to eat every 2-3 hours and have some protein in every meal. My flaw is not eating enough in the middle of the day because I’m not hungry and because I do not want to upset my stomach before doing legs later in the day. I sometimes skipped 11am and 12:30 meals. Since the contest I have not been keeping with my normal diet but that will change. 5am: ¾ Chicken leg7:30am Post Workout Shake: 40 grams protein 10oz of water8:30am Post-Workout Meal: Oatmeal: 150-250cals, 1 piece Wheat Bread, 6 egg whites, 1 yolk, 10oz water11am: ¼ Chicken Leg, a 5 broccoli heads and 5 carrots with a teaspoon of ranch sauce12:30 Lunch: 1 can tunafish with 2 pieces Wheat Bread and vegetables as above..2:30pm: I may have a shake during a my workout or eat some chicken when I get home6:30pm: Post-workout Shake: 40grams Protein7:30pm: 1 chicken leg, Lipton’s noodles plus a can of tuna fish9:30pm: 6 egg whites, 1 yolk and a piece of bread *Note, I do not know exactly how much water I drink; probably a gallon. I’m pretty good about this, although I sometimes don’t drink much in the morning during or between classes. **I usually eat brown rice instead of wheat bread. But I got tired of brown rice recently.**I often do not eat much in the middle of the day, sometimes going 5-6 hours without too much. I need to change that.***I don’t use many condiments. Just Spaghetti sauce or whatever sauce is on Lipton’s noodles.  ***That is an estimate. I have not been following it for the past three weeks after the show. But generally I am pretty good about it. I ate like this for months leading up to the show. I like to keep things simple. People worry about taste too much and end up with so many cravings. For me, if it is part of a ritual, I don’t have to think about it, so I have that much more mental energy to pour into training. 

PRE-CONTEST DIET CHANGES:

I like to think of this more as a transition than a diet. First I substituted things I was craving for healthy stuff. I did this many months ahead of time, as soon as my training is getting serious and I am getting in shape. Then I switched out bread for more vegetables a few weeks out. Then as the final weeks came close I ate a bit less, carb-depleting for 4-5 days, and then repleting on the weekends, and I played with my salt and water. I did not know much about contest dieting and some of the people who worked out at Gainesville gym tell me I could have been 5-6 pounds drier, and they are probably right. But it was my first show. **In the final week or two, I ate 1 or two pieces of chocolate in the morning to get me going—about 50-100 calories.**I ate more fats in the final two weeks, particularly in the form of egg yolks. I feel that saturated fats are needed for normal metabolism and cell-turnover when exercising a lot.**In the final 5 weeks I started cutting out lipton’s noodles with dinner. That really wore on me hard. Next Time I should only do that for 2-3 weeks at a time because it lowered my BMR after 3 weeks and gave me more cravings on cheat days, and post-contest.**In the final weeks I cut out oatmeal with breakfast. I think that is ok. That was easier than not eating my pasta or noodles with dinner.**In the final weeks I did not have any carbs in the shake I drank during long leg workouts. It was just protein, 40grams. Normally it would be 40grams of protein and a total of 400-500 calories.**In order to fight cravings and feel more satisfied and give me a boost I would eat 1 or 2 dove chocolates if I felt I had to. I usually ended up doing this twice a day. I do this in the gym as well during workouts. It takes my mind off the pain and can only help psyche out competitors.**On cheat days I did not drink enough water because I was too full from stuffing myself with foods I had been craving. That needs to be different.  

3) Injuries Past and Present:

1) I had a sports hernia from 16-19yrs old. It still hurts a lot to do direct ab work. But I need to do some work for my obliques, very badly. I did ab work every morning and some evenings from the time I was 12, until I got the hernia at 16. But I did not do work for the obliques, and now they are behind.

2) Knee tendonitis/Gastroc tendonitis/Hamstring tendonitis – Knee pain had me laid up for the past year and a half. I still need to warm my knees up very well before doing direct work for them. I have only been back using my legs since this spring when I decided that I needed to use what potential I have while I still can. So I rehabbed them with a lot of high re lunges.

3) Rotator cuff tears and Sprains: Rehabbed with Band exercises. If I do too many heavy squats it gives me problems.

4) Tendonitis in my left wrists. If I do too many heavy benches or presses it starts to give me problems.