8 Weeks to More Muscle

Alternating heavy weights and high reps gives your muscles no choice but to grow.

The concept of “shocking” your muscles into growth is one of the oldest maxims in fitness—but that’s because it’s sound advice. If you’ve hit a plateau in gaining size and strength, it’s time to try this time-tested wisdom out and get into something new. I’ll show you what this means over the next eight weeks, using a classic training strategy that will jolt your body into growth.

How It Works

You’re going to spend one month training with heavy weights, low reps, and a low volume of sets. The following month, you’ll lighten the load, raise the reps, and up the sets. Heavy lifting is very draining, sending the signal that your body needs all its reserves to adapt to stress. When that stress is suddenly removed, your muscles are free to grow faster.

Directions

Frequency:

The program has two four-week phases, each containing four workouts.

Time Needed:

45–60 min.

How to Do It:

Alternate sets of the “A” and “B” exercises. The remaining exercises are straight sets. In Phase I, you’ll do three sets of four to six reps for each exercise and rest 90–120 seconds.