Year Long: Phase IV
By Cameron McGarr, C.S.C.S.
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Phase IV takes a break from the heavy training a little.After all, you won’t make better gains by destroying your muscles in every successive workout — you’ll just end up destroying your muscles. Sometimes, simply by decreasing your training volume for a few weeks after periods of intense heavy lifting, you facilitate even faster muscle growth. First and foremost, your goal this month is to recover from the hard work you’ve done since the program began, and you’ll accomplish that by performing fewer sets with lighter weights. That’s why Phase IV has you doing only two workouts (cycled for three sessions per week) and backing off leg work almost completely in order to save energy.
At the same time, we’ve tailored your recovery efforts to include plenty of work for your chest and arms — ensuring that these muscles stay pumped as T-shirt season begins. “How is that possible without heavy weights?” you ask. By increasing your training frequency. You’ll do plenty of lifts that incorporate the chest and arms in both workouts. And while the work won’t be hard, it will be more than enough to keep the muscles.
