Blue Collar Training For Mass and Strength - Part II

In the first part of this series I talked about eating to gain mass. In this part I will lay out a training template to put together a quality mass building routine and some factors outside of the gym that play a role in training progress as well.

Getting stronger, with an exception...

Since we're really talking about getting bigger in this series, we need to address correlation of strength and size. If your diet is dialed in, you need to get stronger to gain more lean mass, but with a caveat. You need to get stronger within a certain rep range. Training for a maxium single is more nervous system related, but training with maximum mass as an emphasis is closer related to time under tension, and of course a surplus of calories.

Now when I say time under tension, I'm not talking about super-slow training or counting rep speed or any of that stuff. I'm talking about a general repetition range. There is a reason after deccades of bodybuilding that the majority of bodybuilders train in a higher rep range than most powerlifters. Because training in medium and higher rep ranges is generally a superior way to build mass. Something in the neighborhood of 9-20 reps per working set seems to be ideal. Legs even tend to respond to higher rep ranges. Just ask Tom Platz. Now again, we're talking about using as much weight as you can handle in that rep range. This isn't an excuse to train "light". We're talking about moving as big a weights as you can move on that rep range.

This doesn't exclude lower rep ranges. 5's have often been touted as the single best rep range because it gives you a bit of both worlds. Good carryover to your one rep max and mass gain. So we will include some 5-8 range stuff as well.


Kirk Karwoski had a love for sets of 5 and he was kinda strong, so it's probably ok to do sets of 5 for mass building too.

Volume -

The next issue to tackle is training volume. I have never been an advocate of high volume training. It's never produced mass or strength gains for me like low volume training has. I completely believe in the adage "you can train hard or you can train for long time, but you can't do both." Focusing on a select few movements per session and working hard on those has been very productive for me and the people I have trained and helped over the years. Now low volume and high volume differs for everyone. A guy that is used to doing 20 working sets in a general training session may say that 8 working sets in a session is low volume. The guy who has been doing 3 working sets may say 6 sets is high volume. You also have to factor in the level of strength you are at. If you're squatting 500 for 13 reps your recovery between not only sets will probably be longer, but so will the time you need between training sessions. Exercise selection plays a part in this as well. Generally speaking, it takes longer to recovery from a barbell movement than dumbbell movement. And longer to recovery from a dumbbell movement, than machine. So with that in mind, you can lay out your volume related to the movements you choose in your program.

Barbell Movements -
When working to failure - work up to 1 top set all out, sometimes using an intensity technique
When working shy of failure - 2 top sets leaving a couple of reps in the tank (a couple means two BTW)

Dumbbell Movements -
When working to failure - working up to 1 top set all out with an intensity technique added (rest/pause, strip sets)
When working shy of failure - 2-3 top sets leaving a couple of reps in the tank

Machine Movements -
When working to failure - 2-3 top sets to failure with added intensity techniques occasionally
When working shy of failure - 4-5 sets leaving a couple of reps in the tank and limiting rest between sets

Bodyweight Movements (dips, chins, push ups, lunges) -
Pick a desired number of total reps and shoot for that in as few sets as possible


Dips (chains optional) are an awesome exercise for building mass.

Now this isn't science. This is what I believe works well for most people. This should also allow you to program in some intensity cycling to your routine, so that you aren't training balls out so much that you grind your bones into dust inside of 3 weeks. That's not productive training either. Also during a pure mass building phase, don't be afraid of machine work. They are great for using intensity techniques with and training to failure is safe and the injury factor is generally low (granted that the the machine is built physiologially sound, don't use any machine that hurts in a bad way, obviously). Second, machines are generally joint friendly, and giving the joints a break is never a bad thing.

Frequency -

For mass training there is that balance of growth stimulation and recovery again. How many times should you be in the gym? I believe for the most part, you can accomplish all you need to accomplish with three training sessions a week. I think you can even do it with two, but that's a hard sell.

A great way to rotate everything in and maximize recovery is to do all of your upperbody pushing and pulling on one day, and all of your lower body work on the other. Spread that across 4 workouts but lift three times a week. So one week you would train upperbody twice, and lower body once. The next week would be lower body twice and upperbody once. Like so...

Week 1 -
upper body A
lower body A
upper body B

Week 2 -
lower body B
upper body A
lower body A

So as you can see, you will have to set up two upper-body sessions, and two lower body sessions. The key here will be to manage those properly so that you can train hard as hell during certain periods, then back off a bit during others. If you want to program in a deload, that's fine. However for mass gaining I like to string it out a bit longer. Something in the 6-8 week range then see how I am feeling. If my joints are achy and I am not wanting to go to the gym, I will generally take a whole week off. I would then restart everything without any intensity techniques added in and train shy of failure for the first week or two.

Another option is to train 5 times over a two week period. You can use the same rotation of workouts however one week you're going to train 3 times, and the next week twice. This puts recovery at a premium and works really well. You can also stagger your cardio work as well (you didn't think you'd stop all cardio just because you're training for mass did you?). Doing two cardio sessions the week you train three times, and three times the week you train twice. It would look like so...

Week 1 -
upper body A
lower body A
upper body B

Week 2 -
lower body B
upper body A

Week 3 -
lower body A
upper body B
lower body B

Week 4 -
upper body A
lower body A


Putting it all together -

Since we've talked about rep range, volume, and frequency the only thing left to do put this all together.

There is no "perfect" routine in this article. I am simply giving ideas based on what I have seen work. So I will outline how I might set up a few routines using the principles above...

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Week 0 - Break In Week -
Use the first week of the routine below, but use no intensity techniques, and leave a couple of reps in the tank on every exercise.

Week 1 -
Upper Body A - Intensity Based
Bench Press - work up to a top set of 5-8 all out to failure
Barbel Rows - work up to a top set of 5-8 all out to failure
Incline Db Press - 1x15-20 reps rest/pause style
Cuff work - 2-3 sets light

Lower Body A - Intensity Based
Squats - work up to a top set of 12-20
Stiff Leg Deadlift - work up to a top set of 15
Leg Curl - 1 strip set 10/10/10 all to failure

Upper Body B - DB, Bodyweight and Machine Based - Moderate Intensity Overall
Db Bench Press - 3 sets of 12-15 heavy, but leaving a rep or two in the tank
Chins - 30-50 reps in as few sets or as little time as possible
Hammer Strength Incline Press - 2 straight sets of 8-10 taken to failure
Cuff work - 2-3 sets light

Week 2 -
Lower Body B - Machine and Bodyweight Movement Based - Low Intensity
1-Legged Squats or Walking Lunges - 80-100 total reps
Leg Press - 4-5 sets of 15-20
Glute-Ham Raises - 30 total reps

Reapeat Upper Body A

Repeat Lower Body A


A very bare bones routine could look like so (and work REALLY well)


Day 1 -
Bench-2 working sets
Dips-50-100 total reps
Upright Rows-2 working sets

Day 2 -
Squats-2 working sets
Rows-2 working sets
Chins-30-50 total reps

Day 3 -
Incline-2 working sets
Press Behind the Neck or Standing Military Press-2 working sets
Side Laterals-2-3 working sets

Day 4 -
Deadlifts-2 working sets
Rows-2 working sets
Chins-20-30 total reps weighted


You could rotate these the same way and just try like hell to get as brutally strong using a few sets shy of failure, slowly adding reps or a couple of pounds every week until you stagnate, then reset those lifts (take around 15% off and start over).

These are just example routines, but they could be used as written with great results as well. There are no curls and no isolation tricep exercises and I don't have a problem if you wanted to throw something in at the end of the upperbody days. I would just limit it to cables and dumbbell work because the meat and potatoes should be the squats, presses, rows, chins, etc.

The other thing you may notice on the first routine is that I set it up so that you basically do two all out sessions per week, then have a moderate or low intensity based day. These days should be "fun" where you get a pump, lube the joints up, and feel better leaving the gym than when you walked in. As I noted, beating the snot out of yourself every single session is a sure fire way to grind your bones to dust in no time. Plus, training should still be fun sometimes. Especially on those days where you feel like shit and don't want to go on.

On the second routine the majority of the movements are barbell movements so I'd personally recommend using the "2 sets with a few left in the tank" methodology here. Just concentrate on adding a few reps every few weeks or a couple of pounds. A mere 2 pounds a month on your bench is 24 pounds on your bench in a year. For guys with an already good level of strength that is a heck of a nice gain.

So if you're an intensity guy, the first routine may be more to your liking. If you are a guy who likes to get a little more volume in, the second routine may be more to your liking. You still have a bit a little bit of your own scientist no matter what, and try some things out. If something is working however, don't fix it. Stick with it until it isn't.

I also strongly advise listening to your body. If you are tired but are scheduled to do a high intensity session, take another day of rest and try it tomorrow. Or do the same movements but go in and do something light like it's a low intensity day. The longer you can string out the program without burn out or injury the steadier the gains are going to come. When you do hit a wall, don't fret about it. Take a week off and have a break in week before you implement another cycle of this style of training.

I also recommend setting a time line on how long you will run this and set some REALISTIC goals to accomplish in that time. Like "gain 10 pounds of lean mass in 3 months." Some may scoff at that but 10 quality pounds is a hell of a lot better than 20 pounds of fat sitting on top of 10 pounds of lean mass. Why? Because when you diet to take that off that 20 pounds most of that 10 pounds of lean mass will go with it. Now you're right back where you started. Doesn't seem too smart does it?

Other Factors -

There are two other factors that really matter when it comes to results from a training program. Your "buy in" and lifestyle. If you think a program is the holy grail of training programs, you'll proably make great progress. If you don't buy in that that training program is very good, you're probably not going to make very good progress. My advice is to buy into a philosophy rather than a training "style" or "program".

In other words, my own philosophy is as so...

Add more reps or weight to the bar, a little bit at time over the long haul

Train hard with low to moderate amount of volume

Stick with a few select movements that you can do pain free, that give a lot of bang for their buck.

Press big weights overhead, pull big weights off the floor, and squat.

Get strong as hell at moving your body through space (dips, chins, push ups, lunges)

Do some injury preventative work like 1 legged movements, rotator cuff work, foam roll, and stretch.

Do hard conditioning a few times a week.

This is my philosophy of training. This covers everything I need to know. I can lay all of these things out in a million templates. But what doesn't change is the philosophy of what I believe works, and has worked for people for decades.

Just like gaining mass can come down to inserting a few PBnJ's into your diet, training is simple. The effort required is the hard part.

The other factor is lifestyle. If you are getting drunk every night and hungover how the hell are you going to train hard on a consistent basis? You can't. Spare me the bullshit. If you're staying up all hours of the night when is your body going to get the rest it needs to recover? It's not. Make lifestyle and sleep a priority as well. I'm not saying you can't have a beer now and then at all. I enjoy a good drink myself. But just like a cheat meal when you are dieting, earn those moments. Put as much focus on recovery as training and reap the rewards.


Batman won't be fighting a lot of crime or squatting big weights after a night like this...

And finally, let me add that once you embark on a mass gaining quest and are lucky enough to have all the stars align, don't mess with anything. If you're gaining at a nice clip of a pound every 7-10 days, strength is climbing, and you feel good.........don't mess with anything. I liken it to drag racing. A guy works for a long time to take his ride up to 700 horsepower. He forges all of the internals, replaces his transmission to handle the torque, gets his gear ratios perfect, puts some fat meats on the back and hits the track. He runs a fastest time ever then goes home and figures out how to get faster. He takes his car up to 800 horse power, goes back to the track, takes off and blows everything to hell in a hand basket.

Sometimes things are as good as they are going to get, and you're already doing everything as perfect as it's going to get. So if gains are coming in at a steady clip, don't be greedy. It's hard enough to make progress doing this as is. Don't mess with a good thing.

Now go make some PBnJ.