Year Long: Phase II
By Cameron McGarr, C.S.C.S.
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Up till now our program had you using light weights and doing a high number of reps. The tempo for each set was fairly slow, because we wanted you to develop muscle endurance and stability. There was no heavy benching and no marathon "arm workouts," and while that may have been a blow to your ego (sorry), if you were responsible and did as we asked, you're about to reap some tremendous rewards. Now that you're better conditioned, you're ready to lift heavier and start blasting muscle groups for maximum growth. In other words, you're ready to kick it up a notch.
The next four weeks will consist of three full-body workouts per week. Many of the exercises we'll have you doing will require a lot of work from your core, reinforcing the stability you built last month and helping chisel out your abs. You may also notice that some old-school bodybuilding moves pop up in the mix as well, preparing you for even heavier lifting in April.
Phase 2's goal is to build size, you'll have to eat like a hippo - but to avoid turning into one, try to keep your food choices as clean as possible. Aim for at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight each day, and let the bulk of it come from complete sources such as chicken, lean beef, fish, and eggs. At the same time, you should attempt to eat twice that many grams of carbohydrates, which will fuel your workouts and give you ample calories for recovery. Any and all vegetables are good choices, but don't skimp on starchier carbs such as sweet potatoes, whole-wheat pasta, and rice, either. About 30% of your diet should come from fats, particularly unsaturated kinds as found in olive oil and nuts. Tip: To minimize fat gain during this bulking phase, avoid combining carb-rich foods with fat. For example, if you make yourself a hamburger, eat it on a whole-grain bun or without bread entirely. Keeping insulin levels low helps prevent calories from being stored as body fat.
