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stolen from another site and originally written by Black_Spit

There is plenty of info on the 5x5 and HST and Westside on this board. And, a lot of folks recommend Stuart McRobert’s books, but, there is not much information about how to train in this style.

I’d like to help the author sell more books, as I feel like this is one of the most informative and inspirational books I’ve ever read on the subject of strength training/bodybuilding. That is why I’ll lay out some of the basics, and not get too in-depth… and for anybody REALLY interested in learning more in-depth information, they can buy the book:

‘Beyond Brawn’ by Stuart McRobert:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/996...808734?ie=UTF8

I’m also currently reading this one:
‘Further Brawn’ by Stuart McRobert:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/996...lance&n=283155


The general ideas presented in the book are very conservative, as McRobert will mention many times in ‘Beyond Brawn.’ According to him, the goal is adding small increments to the bar on core exercises weekly, generally in the 1-2 lb. range over the long-term(this is the most important part of the book). Although 12 weeks is a typical training cycle for many training programs, McRobert advocates ‘milking’ a cycle dry(<in his own words) for as long as the gains keep coming. This is all important; Even if it means dropping all accessory work, and even a compound exercise or two… so long as the trainee is still making progress on The bench Press and the Deadlift, or the trap bar deadlift and the squat, or the parallel bar dip... you get the point. Progress is progress.

^^For an awesome deal on Fractional Plates… Iron Woody is selling an 8 plate set on Ebay(defective paint, but accurate weights), 2x ¼lb, 2x ½lb, 2x3/4lb, and 2x1lb for $30.

Mr. McRobert doesn’t have a set ‘Big 3’ exercises, ie., Bench, Squat, and Dead. If a trainee is better suited for the weighted Dip and makes more progress on that than the Bench Press, then that is your exercise. Same goes for Squats. The author actually contends that many trainees, particularly those not structurally suited for the Squat, will likely be better off doing ‘Trap Bar Deadlifts.’

The Author does not have an affinity for the Power Clean, Bent Over Row, or the T-Bar row. He is a big proponent of doing what works for the specific trainee, so, he would likely approve of doing them if they are important to them, but, in general, does not recommend doing exercises like those 3 in particular where the back is not supported.

Frequency: Beyond Brawn recommends training a bodypart once every 7-10 days for the typical ‘hardgainer,’ and possibly doing some experimenting over the long-term to see if any more would be beneficial. 2 workouts a week for those with poor recovery ability, and 3 at the most for those with slightly better recovery ability.




Other than progressive, if small, poundage increases, the Second most stressed part of McRobert’s program is IMMACULATE FORM! It is ultra important to use super-strict form at all times, even on your last rep when you’re sweating buckets and don’t know if you have that last bit of effort… Do it right!

Rep Range: Much less important than perfect form: Find what works best for you.

Sets: 2 sets for most everything besides the core, compound movements, which will be done for 3 sets mostly.

NON-exhaustive exercise list(buy the book):


Chest:
Bench Press
Weighted dip
Breathing Pullover(rib cage expansion: 20 rep variety… generally speaking, to be done after a compound movement that will have you somewhat winded if possible)

Back:
Deadlift
Pullups
Chins
Pulldowns
1-Arm rows

Legs:
Squat
Trap-Bar Deadlift
Calf raises

Shoulders:
Overhead Pressing of all kinds… although he stresses caution with standing military due to potential back injury with poor form.

Biceps/Triceps:
Probably not essential to the program, and towards the end of a training cycle when things slow down, will be one of the first exercises to be dropped to save recovery ability for the more important lifts. Standard fare:






General accessory(all done progressively)
Hyperextensions
L-Flyes
Abdominal work
Grip-work


Sample #1: After studying the book very carefully, here is a program that I devised for myself(taken from my journal that I started for this program:

On just about everything other than Bench, Squats and Deadlifts I have a rep range of, for example: Seated calves 12-20, starting at 140 lb.'s, and when I can get 20 with 140, move on to 145, and when I can get 20 with that, move on to 150, etc. This aspect of my 'Brawn' routine is similar to some of the 5x5 programs I've seen. Anyway, with that in mind, this is what it's going to look like with my new rep ranges incorporated.

Tuesdays
Squat 3x5
Seated Calves 2x12-20 Rep Range
Leg Press 1x20
Breathing Pullovers 2x15-20 Rep Range
Hypers 2x12-25 Rep Range

Thursdays
Deadlift 3x3
Pullups 3x10
45 Degree Shrugs 2x10-15 Rep Range
Thick Bar Holds 1x60/30
BB Curls 3x10-15 Rep Range

Saturdays
Bench Press 3x5
Push Press Rep Range 5-10
Breathing Pullover 15-20 Rep range
Triceps Pressdowns Rep Range 12-20
Abs 2x10








Sample #2: Here’s one that will be better suited for someone who has a hard time putting mass on; a 2 workout a week program:




Monday:
Squat
Bench Press
Pulldown
Calf work
Hyperextension
Abs


Thursday:
Deadlift
Seated Military
BB Curls
45 degree Shrugs
L-Fly
Gripwork

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More on Brawn:

Strengths vs. Weaknesses
Mr. McRobert appears to be a believer in exploiting one's own strengths to a point. In this case, he recommends, perhaps every so often(after one has built a very solid muscular base... NOT when a person is a beginner) doing a cycle that will place emphasis on a particular exercise or bodypart. For example, if deadlifts are your exercise and you were chomping at the bit to really make the most of this exercise for a while, you could keep all your lifts at maintenance from your previous training cycle and only progressively increase the weight on this exercise.

The 45 Degree shrug:
This one was new to me. I've just started doing it as part of my 'Brawn' routine. It's very simple, but, due to the mechanics of the lift, I actually feel them all the way down my traps instead of just towards the top liike with standing shrugs, for example. Adjust a bench to 45 degrees, and shrug your weight(whether it be a barbell or dumbells). The trrick is finding the correct positioning. For me, it took placing my feel at the base of the bench so that most of my weight was on my chest and the bar was pulling me into the movement. Anyway... try it.

The L-Fly is a pretty big part of the basics of this type of training. I believe McRobert recommended it to anyone with a bench press over 250 lb's or dips with any significant weight strapped on. I've had some experience with the L-Fly actually. I have 2 buddies who suffered some damage to their rotator cuffs while we played football together in high school. Both used this exercise with great success.

The aim of this exercise is to strengthen the external rotators. I looked on a google search to see if I could find any pictures of this exercise with no luck. If anyone else has some, please post them here as this is somewhat difficult to describe.

Try it like this: picture that you're going to shake someone's hand, but, you're elbow is at your side. You can either rotate inward toward your belly button(only moving at the shoulder with elbow attatched to your side) or you can rotate outward away from yourself. What you will do is start very light, maybe a 2.5 or a 5 lb plate and rotate outward(or externally). This will help strengthen the weaker(by nature) external rotators for demanding presses of all kinds.

the end

You're doing this on purpose aren't you? I love a lot of his ideas such as exploiting your strengths (to a point). I also believe that the introduction parts of the book (all the stuff before actual training guidelines) is the most useful part of it. Very good for getting people in the right mindset. I wish I had read some of that way back when.

I think he's a good guy who really wants to help people. And obviously training by his recommendations is better than sitting on the couch or playing video games all day. But I think it is pretty much TOO conservative. If the only other thing people had to go by was Arnold's stuff then I would be saying this is the shit. But times have changed and we know some more concrete things about frequency, volume, recovery and all that. So while I think many people could benefit from his ideas I do not think it is OPTIMAL for the majority.

In general I think it just feeds peoples tendency to fall back on that tired old "hardgainer" excuse and cry about overtraining.

L-Fly's, btw, as described, are simply external and internal rotations done with a dumbell. I can see a lot of silly stuff like doing those horizontal shrugs on a program with no rows.

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If you act sanctimonious I will just list out your logical fallacies until you get pissed off and spew blasphemous remarks.

BTW, double progression I think is very useful expecially on something with a set single progression on the core compounds. I.E. using double progression on the accessories. That's actually what I do on a 5x5. But up to a point. Going all the way to 20 is going to be counter productive on a lot of things. You're pretty much just working up to an endurance range. And starting at 12 or 15 and gong to 20 is pretty much a waste of time unless you're rest pausing it.

*Edit..On things that are done in the realm of pre-hab or therapy, btw, I'm all for these very high rep ranges. But in that it is not about progression per se in the first place. In the end doing 20 reps mostly makes you better at doing 20 reps.