1) Provide enough stress to the muscle fibers to trigger repair and growth.

2) To increase the levels of various anabolic hormones.

3) Up regulate corresponding muscle receptors and get the most out of those anabolic effects.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the training design lets look at various forms of training and there affect on hormonal manipulation and the effect on the muscle receptor sites. Now these are not my ideas, I did not develop anything, and most of this is common knowledge to most of you. I am just here to link it all together, after all I am just a dumb cop with a degree in aviation science so what do I know? I know enough to look at the science behind the training theories and what corresponds to specific muscle building hormones and anabolic states.
 

First lets look at testosterone boosting and training. We know through endless research that testosterone, the holly grail of muscle building hormones, it triggered through specific training. That training consists of heavy movements, specifically heavy partial squats. This is not a 1/4 squat but to parallel or just short with a maximum poundage. Rep speed should be constant with a explosive acceleration. Forced reps are great to increase the intensity of the exercise as well. The workout also needs to be short, less than 45 minutes is best. Anything longer and testosterone levels will plummet rapidly! Testosterone boosting has long-lasting effects and the effects are compromised when too many workouts of this type are strung together too often and this is why the old 20 rep squat programs have short lasting results, but by manipulating this type of workout infrequently, say every six to eight days, you can maximize the effects. All high intensity training will increase your testosterone level to some degree, as long as the sessions are kept short. It will not be as potent as the testosterone boosting squat workout, but it will enable you to extend the effects of the workout as you focus on manipulating other hormones. If squats are out of the question then leg press or rack dead lifts can also fit the requirement, but squats are the king of testosterone boosting workouts, and yes ladies this means you too!
 

Negative only training has been shown to force the muscle to secrete insulin like growth factor 1 and fibroblast growth factor, tow powerful autocrine/paracrine anabolic hormones. This type of training causes extreme soreness and muscle trauma and again needs to be done infrequently. Sets need to be limited to 2-5 Negative only sets of 6-10 reps. That is a 10-15 second Negative with a 3-5 second pause between the reps. Between all sets stretch, and if you’re not familiar with Dante’s stretch protocols then I would research it. All other movements this training session should be heavy with a maximum stretch at the bottom and peak contraction at the top. Hold the top and bottom positions for 2-4 seconds. Again this training needs to be infrequent with 24-30 days between Negative only workouts for the same body parts.
 

Another training fact is growth hormone manipulation training. If you combine a heavy compound exercise with an explosive positive and slow Negative and a single-joint movement for the same muscle a pronounced GH releasing effects occurs. This superset will boost GH secretion and increase GH receptors on the trained muscle. The second exercise needs to be lighter and you should go for the burn. Reduce the range of motion as the muscle fatigues to optimize the burn. A superset of bench press done heavy with a 5-6 second Negative for 6-10 reps combined with cable crossovers done for 15-25 controlled reps and 4-5 partials or burns at the end would be an ideal chest combination. Only the combination of more GH secretion (the compound exercise) and increasing the GH receptors on the muscle (quick burns) will induce muscle growth.
 

Insulin depletion workouts followed by a high carb drink post training can maximize the insulin effect of muscle building. Insulin will shuttle carbs into one of two places, fat cells and muscle cells. By training to delete glycogen in the muscle and bring in as much blood as possible, then follow the session with a high GI carb drink you can better train the muscle to store carbs in the muscle and maximize the anabolic effects of insulin. Think about your carb depletion workout’s pre contest. They are designed to do just this, and then maximize the volume with carbs and shuttle the nutrients into the muscle cell. Why do we only do this precontest? Would it not be best to throw in a few of this type of workouts a week and harness the growth and recovery potential of insulin? Use a typical carb depletion workout of high rep, and short rest fast tempo workouts. Use non traumatic movements, cables and machines, and reduce the range to increase the pump and force more blood into the muscle. Follow the workout with a high-carb food or even better a high GI post workout shake. A hour or two after training take in another high carb meal.
 

Muscle tension will rapidly increase the number of androgen receptors on the trained muscle and negate the effect of the cortisol receptors. By increasing muscle tension, and decreasing fiber trauma you can harness the power of the secreted testosterone, IGF 1 and GH in the muscle. The reduced fiber trauma will decrease cortisol production and receptors as the training induces fiber growth. This workout would be the opposite of the Negative only workouts. You want to accentuate the positive part of the movement and negate the negative effect. The Negative workout will maximize trauma, but this workout is designed to minimize it. Movements need to be done with a 4-6 second positive, and a 2-second pause at the top and bottom and a 1-2 second Negative. Train strictly and keep the muscle under tension for as long as possible, Use static holds at the end of each set to really increase the tension on the working set, and get a maximum contraction at the top of each rep. Use movements that have the greatest range of motion and peak contractions such as leg extension and hack squats for the quads. Avoid bouncing and too many sets as long workouts this will burden recovery and release cortisol.
 

This covers the why, but what about the how? I will outline a program designed around these parameters in part 2, but until then review what I have outlined and research the variables for yourself. Only an ignorant man would follow blindly so go fourth and learn and then in part 2 you will fully understand the principles as I apply them.
 

PART II
 

In part I we discussed the ways various types of training effect the endocrine system and how we can use this to our advantage in the quest for more lean tissue. In part II I hope to align what we have learned into a rotational training system that can maximize both fiber trauma and endocrine function.
 

First lets review the base elements. Heavy low rep training increases the production of testosterone and adds a base of power. Heavy training employs the first tenet of muscle growth, progressive overload. By continually adding weight to your basic power exercises you become stronger and increase testosterone production. Rep speed also changes function by increasing release of hormones and increasing receptor affinity. Movements done with a slow negative followed by a isolation exercise for a high rep burn increases growth hormone and negative only reps increase IGF-I/FGF. Workouts done with a slow positive increase androgen receptors and lessen the effect of cortisol. High rep, superset type workouts followed by a high carb liquid meal increases insulin affinity to the muscle cell as apposed to the fat cell.
 

Now one rep pattern not covered that is a critical part of this workout is the high rep set. By high reps I mean 100. Yes that is 100 reps of a isolation exercise. This is done for two reasons, it forces more blood into the muscle and speeds the healing process and it forces the mitochondria to use fat as fuel. The type I muscle fiber contain a substance called lipoprotein lipase. The type II fibers, although capable of hypertrophy, do not. This means the type I fibers can be trained to burn fat as fuel even if they are not capable of the same hypertrophy as the type II. The best way to maximize this action is through high reps. By aiming for 100 reps you are sure to activate this process without becoming too board, and the high rep set can be just as brutal as any other form of training if done properly. First the 100 rep set is limited to a recovering body part, and its best to use a isolation exercise like leg extensions as apposed to a compound exercise like a squat. Next pick a weight you can get around 30 reps with before you need to summon willpower to go on. Try to reach 50 reps before the burn is so great you need to pause, rest 10-15 seconds and crank out more reps and continue this pattern until you reach 100 reps. Once you can get more then 70 reps without a pause add 5% to the load.
 

Now lets put it all together. I will not recommend specific exercises, number of sets or frequency of training. This program can be split into a number of different patterns and you must make you own adjustments based on training age, and other variables. This is my outline, that of a 40 year old male with 25 years of training. I will not cover number of sets specific to my workouts but I will normally preform between 4-10 sets per body part. Now here is how my program outline looks. I train two on one off and begin the cycle with my heavy low rep work. I split the body in half doing lower body day one and upper body day two. I pick one exercise per body part and after a warmup go for 3-4 sets of 4-5 reps one set of 2 and a back off set of 20. I do forced reps or rest pause as necessary to pump up the intensity. After a rest day I split the body into four workouts and again go 2-1-2-1. Now here is tricky part, I use three different styles of training over the remaining split with the 100 rep sets thrown in. I will rotate the following three workouts: negative sets with slow negative/high rep supersets, tension workouts with slow positives and static holds and step bombs for high reps. I then pick up the rotation for the 4th workout. After a rest day it’s the two heavy days and back to the 2-1-2-1 split picking up where I left off. Confused? Here is how it looks on paper. Note I have omitted the rest days but as stated above I work no more then 2 on 1 off.

Day #1: Heavy quad, ham & calf

Day #2: Heavy back, chest and delt (no direct arm work on heavy days)

Day #3: Negative Quad and calf with 100 rep chest and tri

Day #4: Slow positive/tension ham and delt work with 100 rep back and bi

Day #5: Step bombs for Chest and tis with 100 rep quad and calf

Day #6: Back to the Negative workouts for Back and bis with 100 rep ham and delt
 

I start back with the same split only day #3 becomes the slow positive/tension day, day #4 step bombs, day #5 negative and day #6 slow positives. The rotation will continue on the next cycle just continue rotating the three workouts over the 4 day split.
 

Now for some specifics on the negative, slow positive and step bomb workouts. For the negative workouts I start with a compound movement and do negative only reps. After several sets I will then do several supersets of a slow negative set with a isolation superset for high rep burns. For the negative only set lower the weight in 10-12 seconds, rest 2-4 seconds and continue for 6-8 reps. For the superset lower the weight in 4-6 seconds with a controlled positive. For the second exercise pick a isolation movement and rep out until the burn becomes intolerable. On the second exercise use partial reps and burns to really get the lactic acid levels high. Stretch well between sets to accentuate the GH effect. Here is a example of a back workout:
 

Negative only weighted chins

Superset barbell rows with slow negative and high rep pull down

Superset cable rows with slow negative and high rep pullovers

Superset rack chins slow negative and straight arm pullovers.
 

The tension/slow positive sets are the opposite of the negative work. The weight should be raised over 5-7 seconds, with a 2 second pause at the top and bottom of the movement. Keep the negative portion under control but limit the time it takes to lower the weight. Make sure you hold the bottom position for a two count. This will increase muscle tension by limiting momentum. You do not want to induce muscle trauma, but increase tension. Add a few static holds at various points of the movement for 10-20 seconds. Try to keep the time under tension at 65 seconds or more, so 8-10 reps is best. I like more machines for tension movements so I do not have to concentrate on balance. Here is a tension/slow positive chest workout:
 

Smith inclines 3X10Cable flys 3X10

Hammer incline 3X8

Cable crossover 3X8
 

Now for step bombs. This is my favorite workout, and if done properly you will have nothing left after the workout. Use a normal rep tempo of 2 up 2 down. After a warm up pick 3-5 exercises for a body part and start the first exercise with a weight that limits you to 8 reps. After getting as many reps as possible in positive fashion rack the weight and lower it by around 15% and go for another 8 reps. Continue this for 5 steps, this is one step bomb. Rest 45 seconds and go on to the next exercise and do the same 5 step drops. Each set should consist of around 40 reps, all drops done to positive muscle failure with a weight allowing no more then 8 reps per drop. The short rest burns more glycogen in the muscle and if your not flat on your back after the workout then there is something wrong with your intensity. Drink a high carb post workout drink right after your workout. Here is a quad step bomb workout:
 

Leg press: 1000 X 8, 950 X 8, 900 X 8, 800 X 8, 700 X 8

Leg extensions 180 X 8, 150 X 8, 120 X 8, 100 X 8, 80 X 8

Sissy squats 45 X 8, 35 X 8, 25 X 8, 10 X 8, body weight X 8

Hack squats 270 x 8, 230 X 8, 180 X 8, 140 X 8, 90 X 8

Squats 315 X 8, 275 X 8, 225 X 8, 185 X 8, 135 X 8
 

Do not forget to end the workouts with the 100 reps set for a recovering body part.
 

This method of training can be complex and yes there are many variables to track, but after a few cycles you will get the hang of it. Variety is key here and you body will have difficulty adapting to the changing variables and the different anabolic techniques used. Use the program as a sample and change what you like, just respect the basic rules. Of course the program will work best with a good nutrition and supplementation program.