"Compound Exercise Overload" to Force Muscle Growth and Gain Strength

I've been looking for something new to do recently and I will give this a try starting tonight.

This is a very interesting topic. I've heard of compound overloading before but never for such a prolonged period.

My thoughts: avoiding sets to failure doesn't promote hypertrophy (muscle growth); instead it causes the nervous system to recruit more muscle fibers thus resulting in strength increases. I'm not sure what effect doing this for 5 days straight would have…I guess there's only one way to did out.

Either way, my curiosity has been sparked and I'll report back with my updates. It's going to be tough to completely avoid all other actioties.

Oops. Find out* and activities*

Hey Rusty,

Very interesting stuff. I think a lot of people who like to be active and workout multiple times per week might find the idea of being restricted to only one movement a bit of a challenge. I know I would…but I am curious to know if it would work. I think I'm gonna give this a go, but start with 20 minutes on day one like you suggest. 45 minutes would be torture!

Pretty neat strategy. It's comparable to Pavel's Grease the Groove method in a lot of ways. It always made sense to me that if you wanted to get better at a certain exercise, the best way is to practice that exercise. For someone looking to target a particular muscle/exercise, this looks pretty aggressive and I'd expect very good results. Unfortunately I don't think I'm ready to undertake this strategy at this point in time.

This sounds insane, I can't wait to try it in October. Thanks for the strategy.

Thank you for sharing this information… I have always been puzzled by the fact that I have crazy strength, but not as much mass as you would think. Everyone is always surprised at the weight I'm throwing up on bench, given that it's coming from a guy that isn't over-the-top meaty.

I think I'm going to give this a shot – at least in the chest and arms first. I'll keep you posted on the results!

This looks pretty interesting.

Only workout I'd consider using it for is the bench though since it is kind of a common "benchmark" of strength and I don't like the way squats and deadlifts make me look.

Will maybe try this with the bench press when I'm done with Visual Impact, which I'm currently doing right now (about 1 week into phase one with upper body specialization).

Wouldn't mind getting my bench up to 300+ pounds, just to brag

Great Post Rusty!

That seems like an awesome method for building muscle. It seems like a similar strategy as Pavel's Russian Bear Program but then modified slightly and performed 5 days a week.

A lot of people ask me how to get the bench up. And the first thing I say is that the Bench Press is a skill and can't be improved if only performed once per week. Therefore you should look at your training sessions as Strength Practices NOT strength workouts. By performing an exercise 3-5x per week you teach your muscles how to generate maximum tension as quickly as possible.

My interest is not in gaining muscle but rather building strength and muscle tone. As a result I focus on 1 or 2 movements and perform them almost every day for a few weeks. Then I switch up the main movements. All of my strength practices start with the same 1 or 2 movements plus accessory lifts. This is what has given me the best gains. Including:

315 bench
one arm chin ups…..

Greg O'G

Because my interest is in gaining strength and tone and not muscle I keep the volume low. 2-3 work sets at most.

Love these outside the box concepts, I've done several MAX-OT weight training cycles in the past (not exactly the same but focus on compound exercises and muscle overload) and have always seen great results. I'd love to figure out a way to do this with pullups, as I've been having trouble widening out lately

I will have to give this a shot. I have never attempted overloading muscle with that particular method.

Rusty,

Thanks for sharing. I've done progressions that are similar, but not as focused nor intense as Nick's approach.

My home gym doesn't give me the weight flexibility to really try it, but it might be worthwhile to give it a shot for a week at the gym. It would undoubtedly make people stare (or even ask questions) — being camped out on one piece of equipment through the entire workout. It is worth trying just for the reaction!

Another great post Rusty! Hands down, you have the best fitness site on the net. Anyway, to answer Matt question regarding pullups, if you can do 5 to 6 reps already, then start with the 3 reps as mentioned in the article. Once you are unable to perform 3 reps, just go to a lat pulldown machine and choose a weight that u could do 5 to 6 reps with a that given moment and perform 3 reps. From there, decrease the weight when you cannot do 3 reps with that particular weight until your time is up. Just a suggestion

Would this be beneficial if you were following phase 3 diet and cardio training with this being the weight workout instead?

Interesting. To get more reps in, you can also try Beta-alanine. It helps buffer that lactic acid buildup/reduced PH so your muscles don't fatigue as quickly. Works great but it gives you a weird tingling sensation in your skin.

I have been looking for something new to try to increase my chest in size and I have found what I was looking for.

Awesome post Rusty! I am definitely going to try this out and I will post my results when I am done

Compound exercise overload sounds interesting and I tried it in high school then later in my early 20's and it really did not help me at all. Recently however, I have applied this type of strategy (compound exercise overload) every few months for one workout and one workout only. Doing more days than that sends me in to burn out real quick.

I won't say that it a 5 days approach isn't an effective method, I just think that as with many methods it may work very well for some and not well for others. In fitness I have learned that so much is trial and error. You have to try different methods before you really find what works for you.

Most types of workouts will get the job done and give you great results, but really taking your body to a whole other level requires trying different techniques, workouts, etc.

A workout like compound overload is probably not entirely a bad idea for SOME at an advanced level of lifting from what I can see. Although guys I know who have been in prison would argue that they did these types of workouts on the inside…

-Sam

Could this be done with pull-ups? Perhaps using bands when 3 reps becomes too much?

I'm going to try this next week. My training has been limited as I'm rehabbing a knee injury, so this will be a fun challenge to do with an upper body exercise.

I'm going to use the incline DB press since it hits the most muscle in my upper body without messing with my shoulder(old injury). I'll report back here with the results.

They don’t call Nick Nilsson the Mad Scientist for nothing! He really likes to experiment & mix up his training routines and to manipulate different exercises to the extreme until they become a boiling test tube of physical wonderment!

Best thing is he tests it all out on his self and always shows you an exact video of how he performs them. Some might find his style controversial, but really he just likes to think outside the box! I like his work nearly as much as yours Rusty. In fact after I finish Visual Impact (Just about to start stage 3 and progressing nicely) I might have to give one of Nicks programs a shot.

Best wishes,
Glenn.

Looks similar to a German Volume Training protocol (GVT is 100 reps) with less reps per set.

Interesting, I'd guess the difference between GVT and this method is the weight is much heavier in this compound exercise overload approach. I might have to try this out.

What don't you like about looks from the results of squats and deadlifts? I find that most people at the gym don't even do them, as a result, their entire back & legs look a little lacking in size.

For benchmark of strength, typically I find that novices in the weight room use bench press as a benchmark. Those who are more experienced (and stronger) tend to ask about squats & deadlift. In the old days the standing overhead press was used as a benchmark of strength.

Question regarding the article: would it be recommended to do this for deadlifts?

I will be doing this routine using incline close grip pushups. I will also be using a LeanGains/EatStopEat comination. Will update on the results.

Note: first 2 paragraphs were directed to "Kris – Health Blog". Thought it was going to be nested comments :/

Hey Rusty,
Sounds like an wild way to break a plateau … I think Nick's stuff is odd but works. He is living proof of the "Learning is in the Doing" ..hey but whatever it takes to reach a goal.
I'd love to say I'll try it and perhaps I will before end of summer but I have to admit it looks fun BRUTAL but fun!
Thanks
Raymond

Rusty,

This is a neat concept. I'm not sure if I'll ever try it out, simply because I don't know if I'd want to modify my entire exercise and eating pattern for a week just to try to master one exercise. Still, it might be fun to try while I'm in between programs.

Alykhan

Hi Rusty! I just got back to playing squash after 12 years. I completed the first 3 daze over this weekend. I am paining all over from the reactivation of muscles I had forgotten I had…and it feels great!! I am going to work myself into this idea slowly while I get my squash muscles stretched and ready once again. Thanks for the writeup.

Sincerely,
Divi

@Divi – Love squash! One of the best ways to exercise.

@Rusty – Thanks for such a great explanation of this method. I'll keep this in mind next time I hit a stubborn sticking point I want to blast through. Sometimes you just have to show your muscles who is boss through brutal punishment.

I know a similar concept called "concentrated overtraining".
Basically, it is: pick one or two exercises, train your ass off for 4 days, be in a coma for three days, repeat.

I'm going to try that with pull ups and dips when i come close to the muscle up.

The concept of compound exercise overload seems pretty brutal, but radical and challenging enough to spark interest and possibly push through a plateau of the sorts. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Rusty i just bought your visual impact ebook. I have a few questions before i decide to start. Please email me whenever you are available. Thanks

Hi Rusty,

I find this concept very interesting and it has gotten me thinking a bit. I am pretty strong when it come to bench pressing, but I am terrible when it comes to training abs. Now I know the article said that you want to focus on an exercise such as bench pressing for the five days and not do any other exercises such as cardio or abs. BUT could you do this with abs for five days? Is it even a good idea? If it is, then what exercise would you recommend? – there are quite a few options of weighted abdominal exercises and or machines one could use.

I just don't exercise abs as much as I should and it is the one part of my body that is letting me down. I was thinking that if I focused on them for five days like this then I could get back to my usual routine the following week and it won't be a such chore anymore and hopefully see results sooner. Or am I fooling myself into thinking that there is a "quick-fix" for abs?

Thanks for the interesting article.

Regards,

B

sounds like an interesting technique. would you switch to a different compound exercise the following week (for example rows or squats)?

Nice one Rusty – I'll definitely be trialling this shortly.
Will post my results on 'crude'.
Anything this brutal, must surely work

This is a very interesting concept! I am going to be giving this a shot over the next 5 days on my shoulders! I have always wanted to grow my shoulders more than any other body part, so if this can give my shoulders the width, size and strength, then I will be happy, as shoulders are what make a good body look really good!..I will report back with results…Today I took a different approach to my shoulder training, and is very similar to what you have posted!

Instead, I was supersetting from shoulder press to side lateral raises, with 30 second rest in between, and repreated 5 times, and it gave me one hell of a workout! I am going to do this method for the next 4 days, seeing as I have worked my shoulders already.

However Rusty, with this, is it just one body part we should work on, or can we work on several different bodypart, or should it be done in 5 day cycles for each body part, to see how results turn out?

Thanks so much for tha abs blueprint! It's really good info. But I was wondering, since I have defined arms and legs but cut abs, how can I get my arms and legs to be cut?

I have never heard of this method before. however, I have heard of variations of it. This sounds perfect to help people to get through a point when they are stuck and can't move on.

As an nyc personal trainer I have never ever heard of this training method. I think I will try it out starting monday!

At the end of a current dieting project I'd gladly try this for shoulders/tricpes, which is the only muscle area where I have much interest in acquiring more size.

Just wanted to check (as it wasn't focussed on in the Newsletter write-up by Nick) that this could be expected to build muscle size as well as strength? I suppose if it does (rapidly build size), that's all down to the shear quantity of reps while avoiding going to failure the whole time.

That sounds both: hilarious and believable! I actually haven't heard ot this method or something similiar before. I started working out 3 years ago and I am always in search of new experiences and methods! I'll ask my personal trainer what his opinion referring to this is and hopefully get started in the next days!

Hey Rust, sweet post, remember your january 2008 post on circuit training, do you still believe in this form of training and can i use it in place of cardio and normal resistance training as i am not looking to gain any mass? will i end up flabby, thanks

Just tried this doing barbell curls for the past 3 days, but i couldnt continue after because i dont ahve access to a gym nor a better difference in weights, i simply couldnt go from the 50pounds to 70 pounds and do more than 3 reps once, when i have access to a gym after school ill try. But in those 3 days my biceps have definitely increased in size and i was not even doing this to its full capability. Its definitely a interesting idea and worth the try.

So, I was travelling when this was posted, but as soon as I got back to my gym I gave it a go. Im not someone predisposed to huge muscle gains, so I'll give most things that have that aim in mind (within the realm of reason) at least a try.

This is actually my third day, and its where I am stopping. The time spent is supposed to get longer, and the starting weight higher, but having followed the instructions to the letter the first two days, I'm afraid I wasnt really able to do so today. I was doing the routine with the bench press, and despite more stretching than usual to counteract the overtraining, my pecs and shoulders just felt a little (alot) strained towards the end of todays program, and I was not able to lift as much as on day two. Given how long an injury can take you out of the game, I don't like tempting them. I certainly do not feel up for a further 5 minutes and 10 pounds added on tomorrow.

In that sense, for me the program is a bit of a failure. I'm not lacking in will-power and I go to the gym religiously, and have done for some years. So while I'm no body builder I'm not a rookie either.
Having said that, I have actually seen some quite significant (hopefully not purely psychological) gains in muscle on my chest, just in these three days. Im actually going to do this shortened program on my shoulders next, and see if I can replicate this, or if its more of a fluke than anything significant.
Id love to know anyone else's thoughts on the overtraining aspect of it.

A couple of other things: it was taking me more than 20 seconds to change the weights on the bar when I needed to drop weights, and also that avoiding failure within the boundaries of only three reps is quite hard: failure can come quite suddenly (in my opinion), when doing drop sets. After losing 10 pounds on the bar it seems easy the first two reps, then on the third the effects of 20 minutes prior reps would suddenly hit.

I'd love to try this for pull ups ,the problem I can do 6-7 reps adding only 5 kg.
After a few minutes I'm already down to my bodyweight and there's
no dropping from here.

I'm going to try this with squats.

Great experiment at the very least.

Hey Rusty,
What is a good weight for a 5'9 male with a small to medium frame? I'm 15 150 lbs and may still grow…but I would like to set a goal. Hope this is enough info, thank you in advance!

I'm doing incline bench press. Day 2 of 5 is tonight- getting my workout buddy (my brother) to do this with me to break up our VIMB routine- just for fun, its only 5 days.

I figured the incline bench would be one of the most beneficial because it works quite a bit at once. Help chest and triceps- I guess even biceps if you do your negative reps slow.

Also, throwing in protien shake in the mornings with 5g of creatine added. Trying to consume a lot of protien and some carbs in there after workouts to help repair the muscles while I sleep.

Will post progress.

LOL, also. The meat heads in the gym keep looking at me , "What the hell is he doing? He has been doing benchpress for 30mins."

I can see the bewilderment in their eyes when I'm only pumping out 3reps and stopping for 20secs staring at my watch. hahaha

Finished the 5 days experiment with Concentration curls, the results feel and seem really good.
I'm actually thinking of doing another series of 5 next week, whether with the c. curls or something different.

- Rusty, is this a good idea or should I go back to do a "regular" gym week now before another of this series?

Great post, I can't wait to try this technique!

Mel

wow, this technique works… strength went up, size definitely went up… id say this is worth doing… id recommend once a month picking a different targeted muscle, and do the 5 day stint. not only will it add strength and size, but then you can maintain your gains by continuing your normal routine. AND, this will break up your routine and change it up a little bit and maybe prevent burnout. JMHO

Rusty I love the idea of this particular muscle gaining program. It definitely seems like something that will work well for me needs helping me to build muscle and skill in specific exercises.

My question for you is how important is it to severely restrict other activities? For example I commute to work on my bike 4 days a week, I play basketball 2-3 times a week, and I also do 3 to 4 strength/resistance training routines a week. Should I drop down to doing this only? How bad would if be to do just biking, basketball and this program?

If anyone can give me any insight into how much interference my other activities will be on this program I would appreciate it!

Just to clarify, I would not be doing any other resistance work if I did this, just basketball and biking.

Thanks

@ CHRIS

Just from me doing the 5day stint, this is IMO.

The basketball and biking will be okay, just make sure you eat enough calories to help repair the muscles. I believe the concept of restricting other activity is to obtain major results in a very little amount of time. I noticed quite a big gain from my 5days.

Essentially, the more of your body you work- the more it is responsible for repairing when you sleep. So if you resrict your activity but create a huge need in your specific target area to be repaird, your body "focuses" on rebuilding what has been broken. Which to my understanding is what muscle building is, you tear down in a sense to build back stronger and/or bigger.

I believe if you get enough sleep, no less than 8 hours a night. The cardio activity shouldnt be to bad. I think the only bad result would be it may take you an extra couple of days (7 – 9days total) to see the same gains that the restricted followers obtain in 5 days.

But I am no expert by any means, this is just what I "think." I'm sure someone can correct me or explain more.

@ Chris
Well Ive been doing this for 2 days now and it already seems to be working pretty good but i will tell you alll your other activities will feel like your on a planet with stronger gravity. Ok not exactly but i shut off peoples cable for a living so i kinda have to still pick up my ladder 10 to 20 times a day and my later feels like its a lot heavier than usual. Im Working on dumbel bench pres and you can feel it in your chest shoulders tris and even some in your back muscles. So in my opinion no only like Nick said will it confuse your bodies stimulous but it will make just about every other activity you do harder. Unless thats just me. Sorry i was so long winded.

Help from anyone desperately needed! (especially you Rusty!)

I'm 4-5 weeks out from a vacation with my friends. I have been training for just under a year now and following a good diet. I have bought your material Rusty (Visual Impact…) and thought it was great!
I'm 6'1, and currently around 173-175lbs. I'm fairly lean after training maybe between 11-13%. Can see my abs in some cases, but no heavy definition. I've been training mostly in the higher rep range since I did not start with a lot of muscle mass as i only started weight training in September. I'm 19.

Help needed is that i want to get as lean as possible for my holiday for maximum definition. So i want to drop body fat as quick as possible while maintaining/increasing muscle. After reading all of your material Rusty i'm slightly confused and need direction in what to do in these last 4 weeks. I'm not sure if my stats would make me skinny fat? I don't think i am. Anyway, Here's my options, what do you guys think?

Weights;

Continue higher reps + Creatine to increase muscle size while dropping fat
Start strength training to increase definition but minimal size + creatine

Diet;

2 shakes, 1 small meal (chicken salad) diet with 2 ESE fasts per week.

A strict warrior diet with the same amount of nutrients as 2 shakes 1 chicken salad but in one meal.

Cardio;

Walking AM fasted
HIIT
HITT + low intensity cardio.

Please someone help to get in best shape in a short amount of time!

Have known about this for a long time but never made up my mind to pull it off. Need to try it for my biceps…

This kind of reminds of rest pause training. I have used it in the past and like it for some lifts but not others as it is often difficult to rack and un rack the weight.

What i do like is the ability to use heavy weight but yet get enough volume in.

Thanks for sharing, always nice to see slightly different twists on training.

I gave this a go for five days with pushups, since I don't have a gym membership at the moment. I also started with 6 pushups per set and after a while would have to drop down to 5, 4, 3, 2 and then finish the last few sets doing the pushups on knees.

First two days I got 15 minutes, but then had to lower the time the next days to 13, then 10 and 10. I was definitely sore the whole time after the first day.

But I saw really good development and improvement in my pecs which are a weak point for me. I really like this workout and am going to give it a try with shoulders, and then pullups/lats.

I'm blown away that my pecs actually look muscular now.

Thanks for the great workout!

Hey Rusty, great post – thank you for sharing that info it will enhance my training routine.

Hi Rusty, is this workout target for certain part of the body?

Chest has always been a weak point for me, started today using dumbells which aren't ideal seeing as they require a lot of repositioning, but I found a system where I could restart in time. The bench presses are too busy at my gym. I really get what you mean about chemical fatigue, and can tell that I wasn't getting much of that thanks to the low reps. I'll let you kids know how it turns out.

This really reminds me of Pavel's grease the groove method as dave was saying. I have no doubt it works good.

Absolutely something to try out in the future. Thanks.

hi rusty ,i came to your website by searching the web for weight training and fat loss, i want to purchase your book for women and need to ask some questions if it is possible, ia m 50 from south africa a woman started cycling 4 years ago to lose weight started weight trainig this year ,i can use all the help i can get ,i still need to lose a lot of fat ,will i benefit with your book with diet and weight training.
kind regards
nokkie du toit

Wow really interesting stuff Rusty. You almost never here people recommend doing the same exercise in row like that. Then again, you aren't like most people=)

But I'm guessing this technique wouldn't work as well for single joint movements like dumbbell curls and tricep extensions.

Great article,
Very interesting Rusty – I think this will have to be something I try next time I fancy a bit of a change. Still a little it concerned about overtraining, but I should imagine the damage will be minimal if you're advocating stopping before failure and eating a lot

Thanks for the info

Sam

I think having passion for health will help in your weight loss success as when you get healthy you lose weight. Most people think the opposite. They think just losing weight is going to equal better health. People need to look at weight loss less superficially.

Just finished it today. God damn its grueling. Gonna rest over the weekend and re-test my maxes on monday. Honest to god you will feel every muscle involved in the Bench Press after this. Even my bloody biceps hurt from stabilising the damn lift.
Hardest five days training of my life tbh.

How did it go Garret? I'm curious to hear your results!

Hey, I have been struggling for a while to gain any muscle. I am a skinny, 19 year old guy who has played lots of sports and is in decent fitness, but I could never put on any muscle mass. I just always stay thin and lithe with about 8% body fat. I am going to start a hard workout regiment in about three weeks when I have access to a gym. My main question here is are there any techniques or other pages that anyone would recommend me looking at before I start trying to gain mass?

Yeah, I recommend you buy Rusty's Visual Impact program on this website. You will have all the tools you need to start out and excel. Just my opinion. I have had awesome results, with his program methods and with subsequent posts on this blog.

=]

@Nate Was hellish, but it did give me a decent jump in my Bench Press max and a decent size increase in five days. Didn't reallly feel right for a couple of days but I went from an 80kg bench to an 87.5kg bench. So its good but brutal.

@ Connor. If pure mass is your goal i had great results from a low frequency, Low volume, HIT approach. Stronglifts is a good place for pure mass. Also Martin berkhan talks alot about gains in strength being gains in muscle so concentrate on strength.

Building muscle is easy and compound movements are the way to go to build muscle mass. But it will mean nothing without the right diet.

i think i may give this a try, as sometimes i do experiment with this type of technique -but found that after a few days my body is as stiff as ever and aching all over. but once i have had a few days to recover – i feel alot stronger .worth a try anyway.

lol Amazing post Man. we do no sue to listen such facts from people or trainers to follow or repeat same steps again and again like that. but you just always try to be stand away from all.

Rocking post :p love the idea.

@Garret, thanks for the advice, lots of it and stuff to consider and @ben, what type of diet would you be talking about? Warrior diet? High Protein-low carb? Dieting is sometimes quite complicated.

I did this (as part of the whole Muscle Explosion book, which I got on amazon — a lot cheaper than buying the pdf book) and it worked very well. I used the deadlift. I overdid it the first day, so I had to use less weight on the second day, and then went up from there. I ate like a horse that week (it was in March). I can literally say that my back has been bigger and stronger since that time. (I am NOT a seasoned lifter lifting huge weights– been lifting since september 2010.) It's not quite the same as it was when I was actually dong the program, but if I deadlift 3X/week for two weeks, I can hit my max again, and that max is 50 pounds heavier than it was BEFORE I did the program. By the way, while we all love a good pump, the amount of actual GROWTH (as opposed to swelling) of a bicep muscle after three or four days can't be that huge. However, it is definitely true that if you follow the program, you will increase your muscle mass and your strength pretty dramatically. Doing it properly is VERY draining…..

Tonight will be my 5th day of bench press using this method.. my question is what next? I was thinking of doing my back using this method….and then after that move to squats then shoulders then biceps using the same method …. is this the correct way to go about it?

Sounds like it would cause a world of pain.
Basically like a pyramid but lower weight and obviously the duration is extended right out.
I feel for you Eddy, this would drain you alright!

I wonder if you could do it the opposite way? Increasing the weight while lowering the reps.

Thanks for the help and feedback. I was able to complete it last week when I was on a business trip and had access to a gym with a nice set of dumbbells, and I had no other activities to interfere with this.

The results were pretty good, I believe I definitely increased in my skill at the lift, got stronger, and perhaps saw some better definition this morning after a few days of rest in the arms, and chest. I will definitely be doing this at least once a month to focus on areas I want to improve!

Will Visual Impact Muscle building help me even if I'm a 21 year old skinny guy (6'0", 140lbs)? I really don't care about becoming massive, I just want to look sharp and have the lean hollywood look.

bigdawgali,

I used overload program on three different muscle parts. Started out with chest (as this has always been my weakest spot), then did my back and shoulders.

Results were very good. I upped my bench press about 20 lbs, bent over row went up about 25lbs and my DB overhead press switched from 70lbs to 75 db's.

I'm kind of scared to try it with small muscles such as biceps or triceps as they tend to fail quicker than bigger muscles such as chest or quads.

I definitely recommend doing that on your back, legs and shoulders. You can experiment with biceps if you'd like. Let me know how that works if you do decide to do it with biceps.

Hope this helps a little

Bob

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A great guide and article indeed! My friend also went to Results Room Personal Training Gym in Wellington. They are passionate about helping you achieve your health and fitness goals…Fast!

Hey Rusty,
well ive seen my brother did this with triceps pushdowns i thought he was crazy but he actually increased the weight at end of the week he got stronger and build bigger tris im gonna try it out

Randy

Interesting article. I don't have a bench press or a squat rack in my home gym anymore (moving stinks) so I'm stuck with only bodyweight workouts at the moment.

I think I'll try it with pushups and see how that works.

I'm just reporting on my experience following this over the last few days. I also threw in some of the macro nutrient cycling that Nick Nilsson packages with the routine – couple of low carb days before commencing; almost zero protien on day 1 (I fasted about 18 hours and then just consumed fruit the rest of that day) then generous portions of food and creatine on the remaining 4 days.

I'd been debating with myself what exercise I would use. I wanted to break a growth plateau for my shoulders, but definitely not at the cost of getting chunky 'bodybuilder' type traps development as a side effect.

Thanks to a mention by Michael on the 'Underwearbody' blog, I found what I wanted: Larry Scott dumbbell shoulder presses for middle delt emphasis. I found this press a lot easier than something like lateral raises for maintaining alright form across the couple of hundred sets you need to complete over 5 days with compound overload.

I would say doing this program with a smaller type of compond move (compared to say bench or deadlift) means you don't get so physically wiped-out. I actually feel pretty good after my 5 days. The delts themselves are just feeling plenty of muscle fatigue, and as the the vital question – yes the side delts are looking significantly bulked up, as are my triceps.

I just purchased the Visual impact program – which I plan to start in december. I've read so many different things across the web and in magazines about muscle building, but I really like everything Rusty has to say, so I'm putting my faith in him. But first I want to try this 5 day overload a few different times with different exercises.

I'm a 6'3" ectomorph and can't ever seen to gain any size.

I am going to try standing barbell curls for biceps. I will report back and let everyone know how it goes…very excited!

Tim

Just starting gym after few years of break and this should be one thing that I could test after I get to the normal program and exercise routines. This sound like training for 100 push ups but the time zone is a little more intense.

i would love to try out bench press but trouble is I dont gain any mass, cauyse I cant eat a lot..When I eat more, I get an upset stomach..Any recommendations?

What are you eating – be specific? How often are you eating? It's best to eat every 2-3 hours for a total of 5-7 meals a day instead of 2-3 giant meals. Protein shake or a high protein breakfast first thing in the morning, as well as high quality protein post workout are probably the two most important things when eating for mass. No junk food! An occassional small treat is fine to keep your sanity, but this is not a cake or cookie eating contest.

Worth trying …

**Update**

I did this 5 day overload program first with barbell bicep curls. I definitely was able to add weight to the bar. Day 1 I started at 95 for more than half of my workout. Day 2 was 100, day 3 105, and day 4 I was still able to add more and get to 110. Not sure that I noticed much in the way of size gains, but my biceps are stubborn.

I also did this with incline barbell chest press. This seemed to add some slightly noticeable size to the upper chest. Perhaps this theory really is for a 'compound' exercise and not necessarily a small individual muscle.

As an above knee amputee, I gave this a shot. I chose to use it with one legged squats.
I started squating 135lbs on day 1 and added 10lbs each day. The biggest thing I noticed by day three was how much easier it was to keep with it. Day 1 was a struggle to only rest for 20 seconds and there were a few times I rested for a lot longer. But as each day passed I returned much stronger. By the fifth day, I went to the original weight of 135lbs and blew throw it with ease and at the time of 45 minutes, a big jump from 20 minutes on day one.
I regret not measuring my leg before hand, but I plan on using this routine in the future on other muscles and I won't make that mistake again. I can say I saw a huge jump in my strength and stamina in the end though.
I will also add, by the end of day 3, I was concerned on how well I was recovering and if I should continue. After day four, My leg ached so much that I had trouble sleeping. But the intensity that I was able to produce on day 5 was well worth the pain. The gym I use is very small and day 5 was on a Sunday morning, I didn't expect the amount of people that were there and a group of guys looked a little irrated by the amount of time I spent hogging the squat rack. I almost felt bad but then I realized I was a guy some would consider "disabled" but I was in much better shape than any of them and when I finished my workout, I knew they couldn't match the amount of sweat and work I put into it. Nothing is more motivating then walking out of the gym drenched in sweat from a single leg workout.

It seems like a good system but muscles aside, I will be slightly more cautious with it… seems to really overload the joints.

Do you suggest a any specific stretching or mobility work while you completing a week of compound exercise overload. I have visions of walking around like he-man! "By the power of grayskull!"

**Update**

After doing this for a 5 day one-leg squat routine, I enjoyed the intensity so much, I decided to add it to my regular workout routine. Of course I don't do the 5 day version every week.
Every 6 days I do one-legged squats, 3 reps every 30 seconds for 30 minutes. Every week I am able to go up in weight and I plan to continue to use it as long as I see improvements. Todays workout was at 170lbs and I was able to finish strong and after the 30 mins, I rested for 2 minutes and completed 8 more reps. I have found I really look forward to this workout. I don't see any difference in size but the amount of strength I have gone up is well worth it.

The recovery period after the workout is extremely important as well, it's important to take a day to recover and let your muscle fibers build back up after they have been torn down. It is also important to implement various self massage techniques, my friend boris has a bunch of them on his massage naperville site.

It's hardly news that exercise is great for your heart, breathing, and mental outlook. Here's another reason to lift weights and do cardio: Regular exercise is one of the keys to healthy skin. We do skin care at spa lane in naperville and tell this to all of our clients.

Strengthen your body, heart, and lungs with just one exercise 15 minutes a day! Introducing the 8-count bodybuilder. All you need is yourself and a little floor space:
1) begin with a body weight squat (hips down and weight in your heels)
2) drop your hands to the ground and kick your legs out to plank position
3) PULL yourself down to the floor (don't just drop)
4) explode back upward into plank (try to make your hands leave the floor)
5) kick your legs out to form an x while maintaining plank position
6) bring your legs back in
7) pull your feet up under your chest
jump straight up

Adding HIIT training at the end of your workouts can through your metabolism into serious overdrive and burn calories for hours after your workout is over.

This really is an interesting theory, which I'll be practicing when I'm in the gym again. I was always told that a muscle has to recover for at least 48 hours, so this is contradictory, but I'll give it a try. Thanks!

It is possible to do effective interval training outdoors, but you have to take a slightly different approach compared to doing them on a treadmill. With a typical cardio machine you can adjust the intensity level by simply pressing a button. When you perform intervals outdoors, you are simply guessing at how hard you need to run for the intense portion of the interval. I plan on outlining a solution and better way to perform HIIT when you aren't near a cardio machine.

I have never heard of a method like this, I really want to try it out. My only concern is that after a workout, muscles need at least 24 hours to recover. It may increase the risk of an injury.