Bodybuilding - The Rock Hard Challenge (Month 1 Training)
Bodybuilding - The Rock Hard Challenge (Month 1 Training)
Bodybuilding - The Rock Hard Challenge (Month 1 Training)
CHALLENGE
Tired of looking like a typical “before”
picture? Here’s the three-month program
that’ll whip you into your best-ever shape.
By Mark Casselman, MS, CSCS, and Beth Sonnenburg, MPH, Staff Writer
I
t’s back. And bigger and better than ever. Once
again, we’re throwing down the gauntlet — challeng-
ing you to burn fat, build muscle and transform your
body over a three-month period. And, of course, we
The Workout
provide you with an awesome physique-tweaking By Mark Casselman, MS, CSCS
training and nutrition blueprint to guide your efforts.
Like any good sequel, we’ve based our new program on Like the 2001 version of the Rock-Hard Challenge, this core
the same premise that made the first so successful, added a program is based on a three-day split: pressing movements
major plot twist or two, and thrown in a few cameo appear- on one day, pulling movements on another and leg exer-
ances from stars that made the original not only exciting cises on a third day. The big twist this time around is that
but effective. The result is a complete step-by-step guide we’ve planned the program around a microcycle system,
that’ll map your course to ultimate physique development where your routine changes week to week. Those changes
in three short months. in training style, total training volume and intensity effec-
The plot is simple: Commit yourself to this program from tively stack your gains one on top of the other. You won’t
start to finish, adhere to the subtle weekly and monthly hit a plateau at any time during the program (as long as you
training and dietary tweaks, and invest as much intensity as rest on the planned recovery days), and you’ll be looking
you can muster in each training session. You’ll strip away and feeling your best in weeks!
bodyfat, build lean muscle mass, improve your cardiovascu- There are no shortcuts when it comes to constructing a
lar fitness, and look leaner and more muscular than ever fantastic physique; however, this innovative reorganization
before. Accept our challenge, and not only will your own of your training routine challenges your system to respond
rock-hard physique be just weeks away but you’ll have a quickly with positive adaptations. Take note: Each week
chance to win a trip to Venice, California, to train with a is a one-shot deal — you’ll never get another chance to
Weider athlete! (See rules on page 217 for details.) revisit the same combination of sets, reps, weight and exer-
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Changes in training
style, total training
volume and intensity
effectively stack your
gains one on top of
the other. Thus, you
won’t hit a plateau at
any time during the
program
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The Rock-Hard Weight-Training Workouts
Listed as: exercise sets x reps per set
WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3
Legs Workout
Barbell Squat 4 x 15–20 Barbell Squat 3 x 10–12 Barbell Squat 4 x 6–8
Romanian Deadlift 4 x 15–20 Leg Press 3 x 10–12 Romanian Deadlift 4 x 6–8
Dumbbell Lunge 4 x 15–20 Romanian Deadlift 3 x 10–12 Leg Press 4 x 6–8
Leg Extension 3 x 15–20 Dumbbell Lunge 3 x 10–12 Hack Squat 4 x 6–8
Lying Leg Curl 3 x 15–20 Leg Extension 3 x 10–12 Lying Leg Curl 4 x 6–8
Standing Calf Raise 3 x 15–20 Lying Leg Curl 3 x 10–12 Standing Calf Raise 3 x 10–12
Push Workout
Bench Press 4 x 15–20 Bench Press 3 x 10–12 Bench Press 4 x 6–8
Incline Dumbbell Press 4 x 15–20 Incline Dumbbell Press 3 x 10–12 Incline Dumbbell Press 4 x 6–8
Seated Dumbbell Press 4 x 15–20 Seated Dumbbell Press 3 x 10–12 Seated Dumbbell Press 4 x 6–8
Dip 4 x 15–20 Incline Dumbbell Flye 3 x 10–12 Close-Grip Bench Press 4 x 6–8
Lying French Press 4 x 15–20 Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 x 10–12 Lying French Press 4 x 6–8
Close-Grip Bench Press 3 x 10–12
Pull Workout
Pulldown to Front 4 x 15–20 Seated Cable Row 3 x 10–12 Pull-Up 4 x 6–8
Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 x 15–20 Pulldown to Front 4 x 10–12 Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 x 6–8
Seated Cable Row 4 x 15–20 Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 x 10–12 Seated Cable Row 4 x 6–8
Upright Row 4 x 15–20 Barbell Shrug 3 x 10–12 Upright Row 4 x 6–8
Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 x 15–20 Standing Barbell Curl 3 x 10–12 Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 x 6–8
Incline Dumbbell Curl 3 x 10–12
Week 4
Power Circuit
Do all 10 power-circuit exercises without taking a
rest between exercises, 10 reps per exercise. Rest for
2–3 minutes, then repeat the circuit twice more.
1) Barbell Squat
2) Pull-Up
3) Push-Up
4) Squat Jump
5) Pulldown to Front
HACK SQUAT 6) Dip
7) Barbell Squat
8) Upright Row
PULLDOWN TO FRONT 9) Push-Up
10) Squat Jump
SQUAT JUMP
BENCH PRESS 2
1 2
3
ROMANIAN DEADLIFT
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ing toward the cardio machines. Ready or not, it’s interval
time! Do this power-circuit workout on Monday, Wednesday
and Friday. Blast your abs and crank out a few more inter-
Rock-Hard Advice
vals on Tuesday and Thursday. Then take the weekend off These simple guidelines will direct your progress
to contemplate what new corporal challenges Month 2 will over the next 12 weeks. For weekly tips, check out
present. Once again, the only question that remains is, Will the forum at www.muscle-fitness.com.
you accept the challenge? • Throughout the program, the primary goal is to
maintain muscle size while slowly stripping away
bodyfat. The importance of training heavy while
trying to get lean can’t be overemphasized. Don’t
increase your reps when the program indicates that
low- to moderate-rep ranges are necessary.
• You may feel the urge to add other exercises
(especially specific arm movements) into the pro-
gram. Resist! You don’t get lean by training bi’s and
tri’s — you get lean by building big muscle groups
with challenging compound exercises.
• Great form is much more important than heavy
weights. Your muscles don’t know how much
weight is on the bar, but they do respond to the
magnitude of tension developed during each move-
ment. High levels of tension are best accomplished
with proper form and relatively heavy weights.
• Don’t substitute exercises. This program is loaded
with multijoint, compound movements that use a
lot of muscle. Learn to do them properly before
starting this program. At no time during the next 12
weeks will you be able to lazily troll through a
bunch of reps just for the sake of doing them.
• Push yourself to complete every workout each
week. If you start to fall behind, you’ll likely be
unable to complete some of the subsequent work-
outs because your conditioning and recovery ability
won’t be at a high enough level. Consistency is the
only way to reap results.
Take the
Challenge
For your chance to win the MUSCLE &
FITNESS 2003 Rock-Hard Challenge, and
the trip to Venice, California, here’s
what you have to do:
1) Take two photos of yourself in
Cardio Key either a bathing suit or workout clothes
that show off your shape: one facing for-
A: Continuous, Moderate Intensity. Five- ward and one side view.
minute warm-up, followed by 20–25 minutes of 2) Start the program next Monday.
continuous cardiovascular exercise, then a five- Don’t put it off. The second installment
minute cool-down. of the program comes out in the May
B: Interval Training I. Five-minute warm-up, issue (on sale March 18), and you don’t
followed by 21 minutes of sprint intervals (7 cycles want to be left behind!
total) — sprint for one minute, jog to recover for 3) Use the training log on page 146 to
two minutes, repeat. Cool down for five minutes. keep track of your training and nutrition goals.
4) Most important, send us your training
C: Interval Training II. Five-minute warm-up, fol-
log for Month 1. Make sure it’s postmarked by
lowed by 15 minutes of sprint intervals (10 cycles
April 7, 2003, and check out the next two
total) — sprint for 30 seconds, jog to recover for
issues of M&F (May and June 2003) for the train-
one minute, repeat. Cool down for five minutes.
ing guides and programs for Months 2 and 3.
NOTE: You can choose among many cardio activi- Hold onto those “before” pics for now.
ties: running outdoors, riding a bike, a treadmill, 5) When you complete the program,
elliptical, stair-stepper, etc., as long as you do the you’ll send in your training logs for Months
prescribed time and work at a level intense 2 and 3, and your before/after photos.
enough for you to break a sweat. See rules on page 217 for complete details.
O
ut of 24 hours in your day, you’ll be exercising
for about one. That’s 60 minutes down and match what you burn, explains Dan Benardot, PhD, RD,
1,380 minutes to go. What you do during those professor of nutrition and kinesiology at Georgia State
thousand-plus minutes will make the difference University in Atlanta.
between flab and fab. How can you tell if what you’re eating matches what
Good nutrition is your greatest ally in the quest for a rock- your body is burning? Besides monitoring your shape and
hard body. You know those people in the gym who work out the number on the scale, consider your blood-sugar levels.
faithfully but whose bodies never really seem to change? “If you track blood sugar, one thing becomes very apparent:
Chances are, they’re exercising hard but countering their Blood sugar fluxes about every three hours in human
efforts by eating a poor diet. Outside the gym you have beings,” Benardot says. “It rises when you eat, then levels
plenty of opportunities to eat too much, too little or just not off, then starts to drop in about three-hour units.” He
often enough to support muscle growth and fat loss. points out that most people in the U.S. eat in five- or six-
Here’s the foundation plan you need to succeed during hour units, creating about a two-hour discrepancy between
the next three months. Month 1 covers several important blood-sugar needs and food to meet that demand.
basics of sports nutrition you’ll need to master before mov- “The question is, what backup systems do humans have
ing on to Months 2 and 3. We also provide weekly goals to to fill in that difference between normal blood-glucose flux
ease you into the three-month program. Let’s jump in by and typical eating behaviors?” Benardot continues. “Our
learning your first fundamental sports-nutrition principle: bodies do have some rather sophisticated systems for
meal timing. infusing sugar into our bloodstream, but none of them are
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Throw vegetables into plastic bags you
can take with you, and cook a big batch
of chicken breasts ahead of time.
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Day 2 For 2,100 calories add:
Breakfast: 3⁄4 cup 100% orange juice
1,800-calorie plan:
Lunch: 1 cup baby carrots plus 2 Tbsp. reduced-fat
dip
Breakfast:
Dinner: 2 oz. pork loin plus 1 more egg white on
1 cup oatmeal cooked with 1 cup skim milk. Top with
salad
1 Tbsp. brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. walnuts
1 banana
For 2,400 calories add the above plus:
Breakfast: 2 Tbsp. walnuts
Snack:
Lunch: 1 cup skim milk
1 apple
Dinner: 1⁄2 cup couscous plus 2 more egg whites on
salad (for a total of 4 egg whites)
Day 3
1,800-calorie plan:
Breakfast:
2 soft-boiled eggs
1 whole-wheat bagel with 2 tsp. jam
3
⁄4 cup 100% grapefruit juice
Snack:
1 orange
2 Tbsp. almonds
Lunch:
1 chicken burrito
1
⁄2 cup Spanish rice
Snack:
1 cup fat-free fruit yogurt
1 banana
Snack:
2 whole-grain graham crackers
Dinner:
4 oz. broiled lean lamb chop
1
⁄2 cup rice pilaf
1 cup steamed mixed green beans and red
peppers, with squeeze of fresh lemon juice
(add butter-flavor spray if desired)
1 cup skim milk
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AD
Week 4 Power Circuit Cardio B Power Circuit Cardio B Power Circuit Rest
Nutrition • Barbell Squat Abs • Barbell Squat Abs • Barbell Squat
Goal: Cut down • Pull-Up • Pull-Up • Pull-Up
on high-sugar • Push-Up • Push-Up • Push-Up
drinks • Squat Jump • Squat Jump • Squat Jump
• Pulldown to Front • Pulldown to Front • Pulldown to Front
• Dip • Dip • Dip
• Barbell Squat • Barbell Squat • Barbell Squat
• Upright Row • Upright Row • Upright Row
• Push-Up • Push-Up • Push-Up
• Squat Jump • Squat Jump • Squat Jump
Cardio C Cardio C Cardio C
Sunday is rest day.
Cardio Key: A: Continuous, moderate intensity; B: Interval Training I (1 minute sprint/2 minutes jog);
C: Interval Training II (30-second sprint/1 minute jog)
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AD