Posted on 19 May 2014
5 min read
This journal follows junior bodybuilder Brandon Allsopp as he trains for the NABBA England 2014 contest in October.
You can read the introduction to the series here.
Today I’m going to give you an insight into what a typical week of training looks like for me.
I’ll start off by saying I f**cking hate cardio with a passion – but saying that do you know of a bodybuilder that enjoys it?
OK, it’s good at times to relax and let your mind switch off, but come on, it’s boring.
Like I said in my earlier post, I’m currently right in the middle of my offseason.
I start dieting on the 1st of July so this time period is crucial as I believe it’s very important to start dieting at your biggest (leanest) weight.
At the minute I’m doing three cardio sessions a week, not intense or strenuous (it never is, I hate it).
Usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday I’ll get up around 6.30am, go to the gym, and do 30-40 minutes.
This is usually on the stepper while I watch an episode of Sons of Anarchy.
Many won’t do cardio offseason but I think it’s a good idea to do so.
It helps keep me leaner, allows me to eat more food, and also – this for me is very important – when it comes to dieting I’ll already be doing cardio so it won’t be so difficult going from doing none whatsoever.
I’ll just keep the cardio the same and adjust my food intake.
I’m a massive believer in progressive overload – I’ve always done it, and it’s always worked.
It’s a very basic principle: every week you make sure you improve.
You log your lifts and each session you improve, whether that’s by going heavier on an exercise or getting a few more reps in.
Just remember with this don’t expect to be adding 5-10 kg every week, as it won’t happen.
Any progress is progress – it doesn’t matter if it’s by 0.5 kg.
Look at it like this, there’s 52 weeks in a year, which means 52 opportunities for growth, as most people generally train one body part per week.
So if you add 0.5 kg a week over 52 weeks, that’s a 26kg increase, which isn’t bad at all is it really?
Recently I’ve changed things in my training.
In the past I’ve always gone really heavy on the first exercise (bench, squat, deadlift, etc).
I’d go for a max weight for 5×3, 3×2, and even up to a really heavy single, then drop back and do more reps.
When I say more, this is usually around 5×5 with around 80% of my 1RM.
The last month or so I’ve changed it to higher reps, still going as heavy as I can but for between 8-15 reps.
I’ve never trained this way before so hopefully I’ll react quite well.
I know I’m a bodybuilder and I don’t really need to be lifting huge weights to improve, but I just love lifting heavy shit, it’s as simple as that!
This is what my week has looked like:
| Exercise | Sets & Reps | Notes |
| Straight Arm Pulldowns | 3 x 15 | |
| Rack Pulls | 3 warm up sets, 3 x 12 @220 | Back was in bits! |
| Pull Ups | 3 x Max | Last to failure then straight on to the assisted machine to failure |
| Single Arm Rows | 4 x 12 | |
| Lat Pulldowns | 4 x 12 | |
| Seated Row | 3 x 15 |
| Exercise | Sets & Reps | Notes |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 4 x 10 | |
| Decline Bench Press | 12 @100, 8 @140, 5 @160, Drop Set starting 3 @180 | Was in too much pain to count the reps on the drop set! |
| Chest Press | 4 x 12 | Band assisted |
| Flys | 4 x 12 | |
| Cable Crossovers | 3 x 15 |
| Exercise | Sets & Reps | Notes |
| Leg Extension | 3 x 15 | Warm up |
| Back Squats | 12 @100, 12 @120, 10 @140, 6 @180, Drop Set @220 | Drop set – starting at 220 dropping a plate down to 60 (this was hell) |
| Leg Press | Drop Set | Drop set – starting with 10 plates each side dropping 2 plates each time |
| Hack Squat | 3 x 15 | At this point I was hurting |
| Exercise | Sets & Reps | Notes |
| Seated Barbell Press | 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8 | Working up to 120 (last couple of reps I needed a spot) |
| Side Laterals | 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8 | |
| Side Lateral Seated Machine | 3 x 15 | |
| Cable Side Lateral | 3 x 15 | |
| Rear Delt Flys | 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8 | |
| Reverse Pec Deck | 3 x 15 |
No traps or front deltoid work?
The reason being my traps just grow and are getting overpowering so I’m really trying to bring my side delts out more.
Also I feel like my front delts get enough work from the heavy bench pressing.
| Exercise | Sets & Reps | Notes |
| California Press | 5 x 12, 10, 8, 8, Drop Set | A mix between a skullcrusher and a close grip bench |
| Weighted Dips | 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8 | |
| DB Skull Crusher | 3 x 15 | Really like these a lot |
| Rope Pushdown & Cable Kickback Superset | 3 x 15 | |
| Seated DB Curls | 4 x 15, 12, 10, 8 | |
| Spider Curls | 3 x 15 | |
| Concentration Curls | 3 x 15 | |
| Reverse EZ Bar Curls | 3 x 15 |
| Exercise | Sets & Reps | Notes |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 x 15 | |
| Seated Leg Curl | 3 x 15 | |
| Standing One Leg Curl | 3 x 15 | |
| Db Stiff Legged Deadlift | 3 x 15 |
Yes, I only have one rest day.
A lot of people will say I’m not resting enough, I won’t grow, etc.
Well I am – it’s working, so why change it!
One more thing: we all see people in the gym every week who never change.
They look the same year after year and constantly ask themselves, “Why aren’t I changing?”
Well we can’t do the same thing week in week out and expect different results.
Don’t be afraid to try new training methods – try them all!
Find out what works for you and stick to it.
Don’t be that guy that never makes any improvements!
If you have any questions and want me to talk more in-depth about by training regime – or if you have any requests for future posts – then please just leave me a comment.
See you all next week!
Brandon is a competitive junior bodybuilder, personal trainer and nutritional adviser. He is a former Llanelli Scarlets under 18s rugby player and has won various senior strongman competitions.
Posted on 13/07/2014
Posted on 27/05/2014
Hi Brandon, how long will this cycle last? Also, do you hit the same exercises week after week, or do you alternate? For example, I see no front squats, barbell rows, deadlifts, etc.
The heavy squats won’t change, I’ll usually keep them. I’ll alternate between deadlifts and rack pulls. I’ve been doing a lot of hamstring work lately that’s the main reason for changing to rack pulls. I might change to front squats for a period at times but I seem to get a better feel of back squats.
My assistance exercises will change every 6 weeks or so. I don’t do a lot of barbell rows my biceps come into it a bit too much. I get a much better feel off single arm rows for example.