Here's how to put your Muscle-Building Training on the Right Path

Phase 1: Mass and Power Training

There are a million and one training systems out there. Which one is best or right for you? Well, this is the “million dollar” question. Over 70 years of
Iron Game practical knowledge with weights at just about every conceivable level — Olympic and powerlifting, strength training for sports, beginning intermediate and advanced bodybuilding (drug-free and otherwise), has revealed the best ways to add solid muscle and lose fat.

It is not just laboratory stuff but lifelong observation and experience, the art and science of gaining muscle, everything from tried and true basic methods to the most complex scientific training methods. The bottom line is that almost everything works to a degree, some methods better than others. But even that depends on the stage of training and development your body is at. One thing for sure – if you don’t work out properly, get proper nutrition, and enough rest and sleep, you will not get maximum muscle growth!

The rationale behind the Ultimate Muscle Training System is that you first must lay down a foundation of size and strength. This can best be accomplished through basic exercises, heavy (for you) weights, and an increased focus on nutrition with an emphasis on frequent use of very high-quality protein and a slight overload of calories.

The first phase of our Ultimate Muscle Training System is the Mass & Power phase! The training program will last for six-eight weeks, training 3 days per week. (The second phase will continue with power exercises with a few more refinement exercises to increase muscularity. Dietary adjustments will reflect an even greater emphasis on improving muscularity by adding lean mass and more effort to cut fat. This phase will also last six weeks but with a 2 days on, 1-day off workout split.

Mass and Power Training Rules

• Train 3 days per week. No extras!
• Do only the exercises listed. Do not add anything.
• Do 3-8 reps on each work set. (On isolation exercises, go up to 12 reps.) All sets should be taken to the final rep that you can do in good form but not to absolute failure.
• Over and above warm-ups, do 3-5 work sets on each exercise.
• Rest 2 to 3 minutes between each work set.

Monday: Chest, Biceps & Triceps

Bench Press 4x5-6 (same weight after warm-up, when you get 6 reps on all 4 sets, increase the weight your next workout)
Incline Press 3x8-4
Barbell Or EZ Bar Curls 4x6
(Alternate Sets – 1 biceps, then 1 triceps)
Close-Grip Bench Presses 4x6
Alternate DB Curls or Preacher Curls 3x8-6 (use the same weight on all three sets; when you can get 8 reps on all three sets, increase your next workout's weight.)
Lying Triceps Extensions 3x8-6

Wednesday: Legs

Squats 5x4-6 (Begin with a couple of warm-up sets. Now select a weight that will allow you to squat in perfect form for five sets of 4-6 reps. When you can get 6 reps on every set – add weight!)
Semi-Straight-Leg Deadlifts
4 sets; 6-8 reps
Leg Curls 3x12-8
Standing Calf Raises 3x20-10
(Alternate Sets – 1 set standing, then 1 set seated.)
Seated Calf Raises 3x20-10

Saturday: Back and Shoulders

Deadlifts 5 work sets; 3-5 reps.
(Use an overhand grip and straps if needed. Add weight to each set, staying in the 3-5 rep range. Add weight to the bar each week.)
Bent Barbell Rows or Cable Rows 4x5-6
Pulldowns 3x8-4
Shrugs 3x8-4
Seated Military Press 4x5-6
Lateral Raises 3x12-8

Your Mass and Power Guaranteed - Nutrition Plan

Your goal during this phase is to add thick, powerful muscle. There are two nutritional prerequisites. You’ll need extra protein and more calories than you are currently ingesting. To get the greatest results during this first six-eight-week phase meeting your nutritional requirements will not be enough. You’ll need an overabundance of protein, calories, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and essential fatty acids. Your nutrition should build throughout the program. Add 300-500 calories each week to your previous week’s caloric intake.

Here’s how you can do that easily and cost-effectively by concentrating on some very good stuff! If you are already taking UMP (Ultimate Muscle Protein), make sure that by Week 2, you are taking 2 scoops 3 times daily.

Week 1
Add just 1 scoop of the UMP three times daily to your current diet. This means three extra scoops per day to what you are already consuming. UMP is an EXTREMELY powerful mixture of fast and slow proteins that will facilitate muscle growth 24/7.

Week 2
Now your three daily Ultimate Protein shakes should contain 2 scoops for each shake. In two weeks, you have just increased your daily baseline nutrition by over 700 calories per day (that’s one pound of muscle each week) and 120 grams of the ultimate protein for muscle building.

Week 3
Add one-half serving (1 scoop) of Beverly’s Mass Maker Ultra to each of your UMP shakes during week three.

Week 4
Now take a full serving (2 scoops) of Mass Maker Ultra and two scoops of UMP three times daily. You are now ingesting more than 1500 calories daily over your baseline nutrition. That translates to 2 lbs of muscle each week!

Week 5/6
Your three shakes remain the same – two scoops of Mass Maker Ultra and two scoops of UMP. To volumize your muscles and wring out the greatest strength gains possible, add Beverly’s Creatine Select – with phosphates and beta-alanine for the final two weeks.

Other essentials you should include in your nutrition program are very high-potency vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and essential fatty acids. You can get all of these from just two supplements - Beverly’s Super Pak and EFA Gold.

If you follow this supplement program faithfully and continue eating your current baseline diet, you will add ten pounds of muscular mass to your frame over this six-week program.

My passion for strength training starts in the weight room at Owen Valley High School in Spencer, IN. As a multi-sport athlete, I knew I needed to gain size and strength to be competitive. In the 8th grade, I began reading as much as I could about strength training. When I started lifting with the high school football team in January of 2000, the coaches and older guys on the football team were serious about strength training. When I saw the record board for lifting, I knew I wanted to be on there one day. I dove hard into my training and, after 4 years, had gained 45 pounds of muscle. I did make it on that board for my high school's current and all-time lifting records.