DC Training Manual

[PRIDE]

DOGCRAPP TRAINING MANUAL


Introduction to Philosophy:

My whole goal is to continually get stronger on key exercises equals getting continually bigger. I will state this, the method I am about to describe is what I have found that makes people grow at the absolutely fastest rate possible and why I am being inundated down in this area to train people. It’s going to go against the grain but I'm making people grow about 2 and a half times as fast the normal rate so bear with me. A typical workout for the masses is (lets use chest for an example) doing a body part once every 7 days (once a week) and sometimes even once every 9 days or more. This concept came to the front due to
recovery reasoning and I agree with most typical workouts your going to need a great deal of recovery. Here’s the problem---lets say you train chest once a week for a year and you hypothetically gain 1/64 of an inch in pectoral thickness from each workout. At the end of the year you should be at 52/64 (or 13/16). Almost an inch of thickness (pretty good). To build muscle we are trying to lift at a high enough intensity and load to grow muscle but with enough recovery so the muscle remodels and grows. The problem is everyone is loading up on the volume end of training and its taking away from the recovery part of it. You can train in a way so you can train chest 3 times every nine days and you will recover and grow faster than ever.

If you train chest 3 times in 9 days you are now doing chest roughly 136 times a year! So instead of 52 growth phases you are now getting 136 growth phases a year. I personally would rather grow 136 times a year than 52. At a hypothetical 1/64th of an inch per workout you are now at 136/64 (or roughly 2.1 inches of thickness). So now your growing at roughly 2 and a half times as fast as normal people who are doing modern day workouts are. Most people train chest with 3 to 4 exercises and wait the 7-9 days to recover and that is one growth phase. I use the same 3 to 4 exercises but do chest 3 times during those 9 days and get 3 growth phases. Everyone knows a muscle either contracts or doesn’t--you cannot isolate a certain part of it (you can get into positions that present better mechanical advantages though that put a focus on certain deep muscle fibers)--for example incline presses vs. flat presses. One huge mistake beginning bodybuilders make is they have a "must" principle instilled in them. They feel they "must" do this exercise and that exercise and this many sets or they won’t grow.

Base Program:
How I set bodybuilders workouts up is I have them pick either their 3 favorite exercises for each body part or better yet the exercises they feel will bring up their weaknesses the most. For me my chest exercises are high incline smythe machine press, hammer seated flat press and slight incline smythe press with hands very very wide----this is because I look at my physique and I feel my problem area is upper and outer pecs---that is my focus. Whenever I train someone new I have them do the following --4 times training in 8 days---with straight sets. Sometimes with rest pause sets but we have to gauge the recovery ability first.

Day one would be Monday and would be:
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Back width
Back thickness

Day two would be Wednesday and would be:
Biceps
Forearms
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads

Day three would be Friday and would be:
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Back width
Back thickness
(Sat + sun off)

Day four would be the following Monday and would be
Biceps
Forearms
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads

And so on Wednesday Friday Monday Wednesday etc.
Stay with me here--You’re only doing one exercise per muscle group per day. Your doing your first favorite exercise for chest on day one--your doing your second favorite exercise for chest on the next chest workout and your third exercise for chest on the next. You’re hitting every body part twice in 8 days. The volume on everything is simply as many warm-up sets as you need to do- to be ready for your ONE work set. That can be two warm-up sets for a small muscle group or five warm-up sets for a large muscle group on heavy exercise like rack deadlifts.

The ONE work set is either a straight set or a rest pause set (depending on your recovery abilities again). For people on the lowest scale of recovery its just that one straight set---next up is a straight set with statics for people with slightly better than that recovery----next up is rest pausing (on many of the of movements) with statics for people with middle of the road recovery on up.
Three key exercises are picked for each body part (hypothetically we will use flat dumbell bench press, incline smyth bench press, and hammer press) ---USING ONLY ONE OF THOSE EXERCISES PER WORKOUT you rotate these in order and take that exercise to it's ultimate strength limit (where at that point you change the exercise and get brutally strong on that new movement too). That can happen in 4 weeks or that can happen 2 years later but it will happen some time (You cannot continually gain strength
to where you eventually bench pressing 905 for reps obviously)---Sometime later when you come back to that original exercise you will start slightly lower than your previous high and then soar past it without fail---

As you progress as a bodybuilder you need to take even more rest time and recovery time. READ THAT AGAIN PLEASE: AS YOU PROGRESS AS A BODYBUILDER IN SIZE AND STRENGTH YOU NEED TO TAKE EVEN MORE REST AND RECOVERY TIME. Example: My recovery ability is probably slightly better now than when I started lifting 13-14 years ago but only slightly...but back then I was benching 135lbs and squatting 155lbs in my first months of lifting. Now I am far and away the strongest person in my gym using poundages three to six times greater than when I first started lifting. With my recovery ability being what it is both then and now do you think I need more time to recover from a 155lb squat for 8reps or a 500lb squat for 8reps? Obviously the answer is NOW! This past year I have been really pounding the slag iron as heavy and hard as I can in preparation of trying to get onstage at about 252lbs early next year.

That means a hard 300lbs to me off-season and I’m pretty damn close to that right now. The gains I have made in strength this past year even at my lifting level are nothing short of phenomenal (in my mind). With those strength gains comes the ratio of recovery factor. Whereas a year ago I was training 2 on one off 2 on one off and getting away with it with extreme stretching etc....about 2 months ago I took an extra day off on the weekend because of work obligations and I just started to feel somewhat tired because of how heavy my weights were. If my strength keeps progressing at this level I am eventually going to have to train Monday Wednesday Friday Monday Wednesday Friday like outlined above simply because I am reaching poundages that are so far and away above my beginning weights-I have to take the necessary recovery precautions. I am still training as often as I possibly can per body part--that’s key to me. The more times I can train a body part in a year’s time and recover will mean the fastest growth possible!

I’ve done the training a body part every 10 days system in the past and while recovering from that--the gains were so slow over time I got frustrated and realized the frequency of growth phases (for me) was to low. I want to gain 104 times a year instead of 52--the fastest rate that I can accumulate muscle (YET AGAIN WITHIN ONES RECOVERY ABILITY-I CANT SAY THAT ENOUGH)

In the past 4-5 years that I have been slowly changing my philosophies of training I’ve been gaining so fast the last couple of years it’s been pretty amazing. I’ve got my training down to extremely low volume (a rest pause set or ONE straight set) with extreme stretching, and with recovery issues always in the back of my mind. I realize the number one problem in this sport that will make or break a bodybuilder is overtraining. Simply as this--you over train you’re done as a bodybuilder gains wise. Kaput. Zip. A waste of valuable time. But I also think there is a problem with under frequency (only if you can train hardcore enough with extremely low volume to recover)--As stated in an earlier post I skirt right along the line of overtraining--I am right there...I’ve done everything in my power (Stretching, glutamine, "super supplements", sleep)to keep me on this side of the line and its worked for me. I believe everyone has different recovery abilities--the job of a bodybuilder is to find out what their individual recovery ability is and do the least amount of hardcore training to grow so they can train that body part as frequently as possible.

For anyone who wants to follow my lead that would mean starting out with straight sets training 4 times in 8 days and strictly gauging yourself recovery wise with every step up you take (statics, rest pauses)

Alternate Programs:
MON TUES THURS FRI- For people who have (above normal) recovery ability (hitting body parts twice in that time-or twice in 7 days)

MON WED FRI MON- For pretty much the norm of society with average recovery ability--hitting body parts twice every 8 days

MON TUES THURS FRI- With body split into three parts-for people with hectic schedules these are extremely short workouts yet stay roughly in the same scheme as the above.
On this schedule someone would group body parts like the following:

DAY ONE:
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
(Stretches)

DAY TWO:
Biceps
Forearms
(Stretches)
Back width
Back thickness

DAY THREE:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
(Stretches)

In the first week of doing this, day one would be hit on Friday again and then the Monday of the following week would be Day 2 again, Tuesday would be Day 3, Wednesday off, Thursday-day one again etc. You would still be hitting body parts twice every 9 days and these workouts would be about 35 minutes tops.

Set & Exercise Examples:

Example Day One:
First exercise smyth incline presses (ill use the weights I use for example) 135 for warm-up for 12--185 for 8 warm-up--225 for 6-8 warm-up-----then 375 for 8 reps to total absolute failure (then 12-15 deep breaths) 375 for 2-4 reps to total absolute failure (then 12-15 deep breaths) 375 for 1-3 reps to absolute total failure (then a 20-30 second static hold) DONE!--that’s it 375lbs for 8+4+3= 375 for 15 reps rest paused..... next week I go for 385 (again rest paused)-----directly after that rest pause set I go to extreme stretching flyes and that’s it for chest and on to shoulders, triceps and back........the next day I come in to do chest would be day 4 and I would do hammer flat presses in the same rest paused manner (and then extreme stretching again)---the next day I come in to do chest is day seven and I would do my third favorite exercise rest paused and then the cycle repeats. Three chest workouts in nine days with low enough volume to recover in between workouts and high enough intensity and load to grow rapidly--my workouts last an hour—I’m doing one exercise for one all out balls to the wall rest pause set (I don’t count warm-ups only the working set) ---so in simple terms I am using techniques with extreme high intensity (rest pause) which I feel make a persons strength go up as quickly as possible + low volume so I can (recover) as quickly as possible with as many growth phases (damage/remodel/recover) I can do in a years time.

Just in case any of you were confused every body part is hit 3 times in 9 days and advanced techniques such as rest pause is used (if it can be used)....Some exercises like hack squats and some back rowing exercises don’t allow themselves to rest pausing too well. A sample couple of days for me would be the following (I’m not including warm-up sets--just working sets):

Day One:
Chest- Smyth incline 375 x 15 reps rest pause (RP) and 20 second static rep at end
Shoulders- Front smyth press-330 x 13RP
Triceps- Reverse grip bench 315 for 15-20 reps rest paused
Back width- Rear pull downs to back of head 300 x 18RP (20 second static at end)
Back thickness- Dead lifts straight set of 12-20 reps

Day Two:
Biceps- Dumbbell curls rest paused for 20 reps
Forearms- Hammer curls rest paused for 15
Calves- On hack squat straight set for 12 reps but with a 20 second negative phase
Hamstrings- Lying leg curl rest paused for 15-20 reps and then 20 second static at end
Quads- Hack squat straight set of 6 plates each side for 20 reps (of course after warming up)

DAY Three: Off

Day Four & Five: Same as day one with same concepts but different exercises (and again the same with days seven and eight)

Every exercise is done with a controlled but explosive positive and a true 6-10 second negative phase. And the absolutely most important thing of any of this is I write down all weights and reps done from the working set on a notepad (and every time I go into the gym I have to continually look back and beat the previous times reps/weight or both)---If I cant or I don’t beat it, no matter if I love doing the exercise or not, I have to change to a new exercise. Believe me this adds a grave seriousness, a clutch performance or imperativeness to a workout. I have exercises I love to do and knowing I will lose them if I don’t beat the previous stats sucks! But there is a method to this madness because when you get to that wall of sticking point of strength (AND YOU WILL, THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN HACK SQUAT UP TO 50 PLATES A SIDE) that is when your muscle=strength gains will stop.....and you must turn to a different exercise and get strong on that one. And then someday you will peak out on that one too.

You can always come back to that loved exercise in the future and you’ll start somewhat low and build up to a peak again- and trust me that peak will be far more than the previous one. Some exercises you’ll stay with and gain strength at for almost up to a year and some exercises you’ll be at the limit in 4 weeks and lose them but its all in the plan. I love reverse grip bench presses--knowing that I have to beat 315 for 17 reps rest paused or else I have to change to maybe dips next time puts a serious sense of urgency into workouts. I
either have to beat it by doing something to the effect of 320 for 15 rest paused or if I stick with 315, I have to get at least 19 reps rest paused or so. If I’m feeling crappy or having an off day I might give myself a little leeway and allow myself another go at it next time around but that’s it. The notepad is your intensity level, how badly you want to keep doing an exercise will be how hard you push to beat the previous. Looking at that piece of paper knowing what you have to do to beat it will bring out the best in you. Again it’s all in the plan to make you the strongest bodybuilder possible which will equal out into the biggest bodybuilder possible

Heavy is relative--it doesn’t mean 3 reps --- it means as heavy as you can go on that exercise no matter if it is 5 reps or 50 reps. I personally like to do hack squats for 20 reps but I use about 6 plates on each side rock bottom--that’s as heavy as I can go on that exercise for 20 reps. I could do sets of 6 and probably use maybe 8 or 9 plates a side but my legs (and most people I train) grow best from heavy and 15-50 reps.

Question: When you say you go balls to the walls for four weeks, then take it easy for 2 weeks, can you elaborate on the taking it easy part regarding training. Do you take two weeks off? Do you just not train to failure?

Doggcrapp: I still train to failure and rest pause but I’ll use those two weeks to get my sanity back honestly. I’ll use those two weeks to either stay with an exercise that I know I’m gaining on, or change up an exercise I feel I’m maxed out strength wise on at that moment. Again I would leave it up to you guys what you want to do. A lot of you will just want to stay with what’s working. I just find myself going crazy sometimes with some of the weights I get up too and try to think of ways to make a movement harder so the weight comes down. –I’ve gone as high as 765lbs on a rack deadlift for 6 reps and I start going stir crazy with anxiety knowing I have to lift that heavy. So Ill do something crazy during those two weeks like rack deadlifts for 30 reps with 495 (real fast) or try out some exercise that I was wondering about. If I like that exercise Ill stay with it. If not I go back with what works. If I am doing something that is working continually I will stay with it during those two weeks. Id say 3/4 of the exercises I stay with and I’ll tool around with some ideas I had with the other 1/4.

Question: How much of an increase should we look to add a week in terms of weights? When we pause, do you mean rack the weight after the initial 8 reps, take 15 deep breaths, then fire out 5-6 more then rack and take deep breaths again, then finish? I believe I understand the principal to an extent, but I want to be sure.

Doggcrapp; Again the bigger the strength increase will be, the bigger the eventual size increase will be. Personally I have to beat my previous by either 2 reps or I have to add weight and at the very least get the minimum number of reps I allow myself rest paused on that exercise (or like previously stated I lose that exercise). If you find yourself blasting for weeks on end gaining just a rep here and a pound there, I think that is a waste of time--the gains will be coming too slow. Somewhat rapid increases are what we are striving for. If you really put your mind to it you can make rapid strength increases on any exercise and you can make those 2 rep or 5lb (at least) jumps for a lengthy amount of time.

Here I'll give you an abbreviated version of what I am looking for:

Day 1- Paramount shoulder press (warm-ups), and then 185X14RP (which was a 8+4+2 or something to
that effect) twelve is the lowest I will allow myself on this movement, twenty is the highest)---the next
time you would do paramount shoulder press again would be:
Day 10--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
185x18RP
Day 20--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
195x13RP
Day 30--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
195x16RP
Day 40--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
195x18RP
Day 50--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
205x12RP
Day 60--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
205x14RP
Day 70--paramount shoulder press (warm-ups)
205x13RP DAMMIT - I BLEW IT NOW I HAVE TO GO TO DUMBELL PRESSES NEXT TIME

In the real world I doubt you would of bombed out there, I bet you would of made it up somewhere around 240 to 260 before bombing out You do 185lbs to total failure (which we will hypothetically say is 8 reps ok) FINISH ON THE NEGATIVE-rack the weight and start breathing as deeply as you can to get as much oxygen in for 12 to 15 deep breaths (during this time you might or your training partner might be getting whatever exercise your doing ready for you again--like both of you bringing the bar back to the top again etc) I say 15 deep breaths but I want that whole time period to last maybe 20 seconds tops so depending on your breathing 12 to 15 deep breaths. You went to failure with 185, you racked on the negative, took 15 deep breaths, and now you take the 185 again and go to complete failure again (lets say hypothetically failure was 4 reps)

DO THE NEGATIVE PORTION 8 SECONDS DOWN AND RACK IT--15 more deep breaths, then 185 again to total failure FINISH ON THE NEGATIVE AND RACK IT. Depending on your recovery ability, the exercise and if your an advanced trainer or not instead of racking it at the very end you can "try" (and I say try) to hold the weight in a static hold for 20 seconds just before racking it (good luck you'll be shaking like a leaf at that point--I've had some words come out of my mouth trying to hold my static that could hit a triple word score on scrabble)

Reason for not doing traps: I let deadlifts and heavy rack deadlifts take care of traps. My reasoning: I can’t see where a 250lb shrug is going to beat 600lb+ rack deadlifts that I try to pull up and back at the top anyway.

How to do rack deadlifts: In a power rack, safety bars at knee level (your pulling from knee level)--keep your back arched or at least flat the entire movement (not rounded at all)--if your back starts rounding, its time to end the set or your using too much weight. Personally I pull with an overhand and underhand deadlift grip and with my arms perfectly straight, try to pull my shoulders up and back at the top. I then do about a 4-5 second negative down but I wouldn’t suggest that to others unless I can show how to do it. (I keep locked---my back arched and knees slightly bent and lower it). It kind of takes a little getting used too.

Back Width: With all width movements rest paused I like front pull downs to the chin, rear pull downs to the mid-ear level (no lower), gravitron chins (the air compressor one with the platform), hammer under grip pull downs, and rack chins. Rack chins: Find the widest smythe machine you can (or barbell in a
squat rack) and put a bench in front of it- put the bar about shoulder height- use wrist straps and put your grip as wide as comfortably possible-put your heels up on the bench but cross your legs to take them out of the movement- your legs should almost be straight but not quite- now do chins explosively up and 8 seconds down until the full stretch- any rep that your chin doesn’t either go over the bar or hit the bar doesn’t count! Do one warm-up set and then have someone put a fixed plate barbell (like used for barbell curls) in your lap. On every rest pause the spotter grabs the barbell off the chinners lap and the chinner stands up and counts his 15 deep breaths (and he stays strapped up to the bar).

Then the chinner gets back into position after 15 deep breaths and the spotter puts the barbell back on the chinners lap. I want one warm-up straight set with no added weight done for 10-12 reps and then one all out rest pause set for 15 to 20 reps with added weight (use a 30lb barbell this first time out), then 10-30 short range static reps at the end. These are going to be excruciating and tomorrow your lats are going to be killing you. This exercise is my lat width pronto exercise.

You can rig this up where you don’t need a spotter. I’ve done this before by putting my weight belt really loose around me and putting a 35lb plate down the back of it with a short chain, or you can rig up some benches where you can get that barbell off your lap but it’s much easier if you can get someone to help you for the one working rest pause set. You need to really push the stretch down the bottom and then try to explode up to the bar on every rep

Back Thickness: I like over grip bent over rows, rack deadlifts, floor deadlifts, and T bar rows using a barbell in a corner and using the pulley handle from a seated row around it (and using multiple 25's or 35's instead of 45's to increase the range of motion)—I’m not a fan of t-bar rows with the pad on the chest apparatus--with heavy weights your lungs go out before your back does.

Hamstring exercises: leg curls rest paused, stiff legged deadlifts, and I do the following movement on a leg press religiously (man this one is easier to show and hard to explain here): legs wide, feet are at the very top pushing only with your heels, toes are off the plate. Rest paused for 20 reps. Your pretty much doing a leg press with only your heels and your toes off the top of the plate--it blasts hamstrings and you will feel it as soon as you get up the next morning. You need the right leg press to do this though-some plates are angled weird. I go as deep as I safely can on these--don’t let your ass round up-you can do this by taking in a lot of air, keeping your chest high (and your head stays on the back rest) when your lowering it and your ass will stay down.

Quads: a typical quad workout for me is super heavy weights on either a squat, a leg press or a hack squat for 15 to 30 reps (the last 7 reps for me is truly succeed or death). Someone who has a sweep from hell and his wheels are his best body part I usually have him doing a heavy 4-8 rep set on certain exercises (squat)and then maybe a hardcore 20 repper on other exercises. But most guys who could use more leg size I have them do one set in the 4-8 range to failure and another follow-up set with as much weight as they can use in the 15-20 range to failure on legexercises. It just depends on what I see by their pictures. That is about the only time you will ever see me have a person do 2 sets of the same exercise. With bodybuilders with troublesome legs it’s usually those 20 rep sets that make their legs grow and I just have them do that hard and heavy 4-8 rep set to keep the strength gains moving up the ladder.

Warm-ups for Legs: Johnny the behemoth who squats 650lbs is going to have to use a lot more warm-up sets than Jimmy the stick-boy. Something like:
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 6
405 x 6
495 x 4
650 x failure (4-8 reps)
The bottom line is whether its riding a bike for 15 minutes and doing one warm-up set or doing 10 warmup sets, warm-up sets are just warm-up sets--they mean nothing to me in a growth concept. I feel you should warm-up as much as you deem possible that makes you ready to go all out. This is the mistake I think people make when they say they get injured from low volume training. They think "one set" and go in and try to squat 405lbs without 3 warm-up sets with 135, 225, and 315. A sample hack squat warm-up I’ll do (just so you can see I’m not growing or taxing myself in the least from warm-up sets) is 90lbs on each side for 10, 160 each side for 6, 225 each side for 4, and then 315 on each side Ill go for 12-20 reps

Let’s say leg day one is: Leg press, day two: Hack, day three: Squat. You don’t have to do 50 rep leg
presses every time they come around. You could pile more and more weight on every week and let your reps drop slowly till you’re moving some serious poundage at 10-12 reps. Trust me, I bet any money this will be far and away higher weight than you’ve ever been on the leg press. Or you could alternate--50 rep leg presses and then the next time 12 rep heavy....just throwing some options at you in case you thought you HAD to do 50 rep leg presses. By the way I don’t rest pause them--I just sit there with the knees very slightly bent and breathe 5 deep breathes and go, breathe 5 more and go etc...at 40 reps the last 10 I’m doing 3 (breathe) 3 more (breathe) 2 more (breathe) 2 more. (and I refuse to put my hands on my knees at all times).....

Rest Pausing: After some time at rest pausing I noticed I started counting 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 at roughly the same pace during every eccentric phase of exercises I did. I went home and did it at a stop watch and kept the same counting cadence and it always comes out somewhere about 8 seconds (every time). So something like a bent over row or rack deadlift Ill count to 8 (5 seconds) and if it’s a bench or bicep curl etc, etc Ill count to 10. With me, counting to 8 always comes out to 5 seconds or so and counting to 10 comes out to 7.8 (lets just say eight) seconds or so. So 99% of my exercises I’m doing a 8 second negative phase on. As far as rest between the rest pauses I find breathing in and out deeply 12 times comes out to about 23 seconds for me every time so I just stick to that. I used to count "one one thousand, two thousand etc etc" but I’ve been rest pausing for a long time now and its all second nature to me.

 

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Stretching and Cardio

DOGCRAPP TRAINING MANUAL


Stretching:

CHEST: Flat bench 90lb dumbbells chest high--lungs full of air-- I drop down into the deepest flye I can for the first 10 seconds or so with my lungs full of air and chest out---then staying there I arch my back slightly and try to press my sternum upward --this is absolutely excruciating--the rest of the 60 seconds I try to concentrate on dropping my elbows even farther down (I try to but I don’t think they are going any lower--LOL)---the last 15 seconds I’m pretty much shaking like a leaf, I have tears in my eyes and I think about dropping bodybuilding and becoming a tap dancer on Broadway (ok that parts not true)--My opinion is people should use dumbbells that are a little over half of what your heaviest set of 6-8 reps would be. I cant state this enough--extreme stretching royally sucks!!! Its painful. But I have seen
amazing things with people -especially in the quads.

TRICEPS: Seated on a flat bench-my back up against the barbell---75lb dumbell in my hand behind my head (like in an overhead dumbell extension)--sink dumbell down into position for the first 10 seconds and then an agonizing 50 seconds slightly leaning back and pushing the dumbell down with the back of my head I like one arm at a time in the bottom position of a dumbell triceps extension----going to the extreme stretch and then slightly pushing on the dumbell with the back of my head.

SHOULDERS: This one is tough to describe--put a barbell in the squat rack shoulder height--face away from it and reach back and grab it palms up (hands on bottom of bar)---walk yourself outward until you are on your heels and the stretch gets painful--then roll your shoulders downward and hold for 60 seconds.

BICEPS: Olympic bar in a power rack or squat rack about neck high---face away from it and reach back and put both hands over the bar gripping it----now either sink down with one leg forward/one leg back or better yet squat down and try (I say try because its absolutely excruciating) to kneel. Go down to the stretch that is almost unbearable and then hold that for 45 to 60 seconds. Your own bodyweight is the load. What I do is put the bar at a place on the squat rack in which I can kneel at a severe stretch and then try to sink my ass down to touch my feet. If its too easy I put the bar up to the next rung.

BACK: Honestly for about 3 years my training partner and I would hang a 100lb dumbell from our waist and hung on the widest chin-up bar (with wrist straps) to see who could get closest to 3 minutes--I never made it--I think 2 minutes 27 seconds was my record--but my back width is by far my best body part--I pull on a doorknob or stationary equipment with a rounded back now and its way too hard too explain here--just try it and get your feel for it.

HAMSTRINGS: Either leg up on a high barbell holding my toe and trying to force my leg straight with my free hand for an excruciating painful 60 seconds or another exercise I could only show people and not type here.

QUADS: Facing a barbell in a power rack about hip high --grip it and simultaneously sink down and throw your knees under the barbell and do a sissy squat underneath it while going up on your toes. then straighten your arms and lean as far back as you can---60 seconds and if this one doesn't make you hate my guts and bring tears to your eyes nothing will---do this one faithfully and tell me in 4 weeks if your quads don’t look a lot different than they used to.

CALVES: my weak body part that I couldn’t get up too par until 2 years ago when I finally thought it out and figured out how to make them grow (with only one set twice a week too) I don’t need to stretch calves after because when I do calves I explode on the positive and take 5 seconds to get back to full stretch and then 15 seconds at the very bottom "one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand etc" --15 seconds stretching at the bottom thinking and trying to flex my toes toward my shin--it is absolutely unbearable and you will most likely be shaking and want to give up at about 7 reps (I always go for 12reps with maximum weights)--do this on a hack squat or a leg press--my calves have finally taken off due to this.


Static Holds:

Different than extreme stretching. I do extreme stretching for each body part after its finished (holding into a weighted stretched position for 60 seconds)--- Statics are what I do immediately after a working set to try to create even more of an overload ---example: lat pulldowns-300x 14 reps rest paused to failure and then immediately I do a static hold which is pull the bar down 4 inches and lean back slightly. I fight like hell to hold it for 20 seconds counting (one one thousand, two one thousand, three...) but I usually end up shaking like a leaf on some movements (incline presses etc)--trying to hold a three hundred plus pound incline press in a 20 sec. Another example: Incline bench press, John Doe has just completed a rest pause set with 275lbs. He takes the bar off the rack and brings it about 4 inches down (as this is usually where peoples strength range is) and tries to hold it there for a true 20 second count. To be totally honest with you its nothing more than a personal favorite of mine to reach an overload threshold--- someone else might want to do burns down near the bottom for 6-15 short reps, someone else might want to do a 20% more weight negative.


Cardio:

Individualistic choice but I like treadmill or a walk around the neighborhood. Days per week - off-season- 0 to 2 times a week, pre-contest--every day except leg days, minutes per sessions - always 45 minutes (60 minutes if someone got to a serious sticking point).

 

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Nutrition

DOGCRAPP TRAINING MANUAL


Nutrition:

Protein Powder: I use Optimum pro complex due to its varied proteins (55gram serving) and 5 grams of glutamine (not glutamic acid) per serving (THAT'S A HUGE REASON FOR ME)--I pay 38 bucks for 4.4lbs on the net (with no shipping because I buy over 200 bucks worth)--yes I go thru a bucket every 5 to 6 days, but not having to buy glutamine separately and getting in 20-30grams each day of it makes me smile. The protein powder is the most expensive thing in my diet everything else is pretty cheap.


A sample day for me is (with protein grams after each item) – Bulk Diet:

Breakfast: oatmeal(5) with soy grits and ground flaxseeds on top (23) a little bit of milk(2) in the oatmeal and a protein drink (55)=85grams

After-workout snack: two potatoes(7) and a double serving protein drink in cranberry grape juice (110) =117grams

Lunch: (quick one because of my work)-can of ravioli (11) and protein drink(65) (cup of water cup of milk in there) =76grams

Snack: two 99cent big Macs(54) and 2 cups of milk (20)=74 grams

Dinner: 1lb of hamburger (100) cooked drained and then washed off with water thoroughly (to remove as much fat as possible) with condiments and noodles (4) =104grams

I keep reasonably lean by taking in zero to trace amounts of carbs (found in vegetables) after 6-7pm

Night-time meal: six egg white omelet with peppers or peas(20) or roast beef cold cuts with half water half milk protein drink (65) =85 grams

That’s 541 protein grams on average and with me usually eating larger portions than measured I probably venture toward 600 grams a lot. If you look at the food I eat its pretty cheap, specially the way I buy it in bulk.

Sample Day – Bulk Diet - Total Calories:

1) protein drink (olive oil 600/milk 210/water 0/powder 260/flaxseed 50+ oatmeal 200+ banana 102=1420cals

2) post workout drink=3 cups cranberry juice 390, four scoops protein powder 520, 2 baked potatoes 284=1194cals

3) chicken rice casserole-cup of rice 190 chicken 581, sauce 150 , two cups milk 280=1201 cals

4) T bone steak 1419, water with lemon (trace), mashed potatoes (400)=1819cals

5) protein drink with olive oil 600/powder 260/milk 210/ water 0 and protein bar 290 = 1360

6) two cups 2% milk 280 and 2 cups cottage cheese 440=720

Total calories: 7714


Diet Philosophy: For fat sources, I like OMEGA-3's (flaxseeds) and extra virgin olive oils (mono unsaturated fat)--118 calories per tablespoon. I throw 2-3 tablespoons in my morning and afternoon shakes but not in the post workout or bedtime ones (self explanatory). Go slow with olive oil or you will be seat belting yourself to the toilet the first couple days. As far as diet I am like Palumbo in that aspect...I like high protein, moderate (good) fats and low to moderate carbs I eat the amount of protein grams I want to ingest first and if its before 6-7pm I satisfy the rest of my hunger with carbs. If I go to McDonalds I'll blast as many hamburgers as I can and skip the fries (laughing) but true. After 6-7pm I will go high protein and trace to low carbs (example huge steak and a lot of a vegetable but no rice, pasta or bread).

This is the way I have found thru trial and error that I can keep myself and people I train fairly lean but still have them gaining at the highest rate. I’m not a calorie counter at all. I’m a protein gram counter. I weigh myself and others once a month on the same scale and if they are not gaining I already know they are on high protein so I fix the problem with added mono unsat's (olive oil), flaxseeds and some extra carbs here or there. A simple way to keep the scale going up: I run into the same problem from time to time and I know I cannot eat any more than I do.....the savior for me is extra virgin olive oil--I work my way up to 3-4 tablespoons per protein drink...118 calories per tablespoon of a mostly monounsaturated fat (besides its other health benefits.
10

I like people to do this at their meals:
1) pound down the protein amount they must get in first for that meal

2) add flax or olive oil to that meal if it allows i.e. protein drinks etc (and its before 6pm)

3) finally eat carbohydrates to satisfy any other hunger pangs at that meal and don’t worry about grams! If you cut your carbs off at 6pm the night before you can pound raisin bran at breakfast and pasta at lunch etc etc your not going to have to worry about it (your going low carb after 6pm again tonight) Off-season you shouldn’t feel like your abstaining or dieting--hell if you want 25 chocolate chip cookies--pound them down at 2pm (after you downed your protein drink first) After 6pm worry about carb grams--keep them low to trace--just delete potatoes, pasta, bread, cereals after 6pm and boatload all the corn, peas, or
vegetables you want with your (after 6pm) protein sources.
Way to cut cost of eating: I buy in bulk period. I buy eggs (5 dozen), ground beef(10lb chubs), rice etc in bulk and save a grip of money. I also always buy according to unit price which seems simple but most people overlook it. I scour flyers for steak deals and go to the supermarket that is selling London Broils for 1.87 a LB and snatch up a slew of them. I am a stingy frugal shopper--my biggest expense is protein powder (I use the 4.4 Pro complex). At lunchtime at work every day I go out to eat (otherwise I go nuts eating homemade food all the time). I am "COUPON BOY"---I get tons of restaurant coupons in the mail and use them religiously.

Cutting Diet: Lets say "John Smith" is a 275lb bodybuilder holding 16% body fat in the off-season. He is smooth but his heavy training and high protein eating have made it possible for his body to hold 275lbs with probably an ideal contest weight of 226-234lbs or so. Since his present diet is allowing him to hold a "hypothetical" 230lbs of lean mass, what do you think is going to happen on a "cutting diet"....oh he will get ripped but probably at a 60-40 or 70-30 body fat to muscle mass ratio loss. My opinion is to leave the training heavy and leave the diet 90% what it is. The only changes I would make are to be religiously strict with low/trace carbs after 6pm and drop dairy 6 weeks out. Let the cardio take off your body fat!

Forty five minutes at a slightly brisk walk on a treadmill first thing in the morning on an empty stomach-- on every day except leg days will do it. Add in maybe usnic acid and a thermogenic and your going to end up inside out shredded. That’s from a bodybuilding standpoint as I hate seeing someone gain 15lbs of muscle from training so hard in the off-season just to panic diet it all off trying to get ripped. In a general everyday sense for people who don’t care about losing 8-20lbs of muscle mass on their way down to leanness,--cardio and a cutting diet will work faster for them. Again, the diet I prefer is high protein, moderate carbs, and moderate good fats (olive oils, flax oils, EFA's)--your stomach is always going to be full on this diet and I want it to be. A main staple of my way of doing things is cutting carbs at night.

The only carbs coming in after 5, 6, or 7pm (depending on your schedule and your meal timing) are trace carbs found in vegetables and such.

 

[ASHOP]

I use a tweaked version of this style of training. I like it really well.

 

[PRIDE]

Interview by: Ron Harris

Dante’s Inferno
Who is he, and why is Doggcrapp training building so much muscle mass?
Interview by Ron Harris


RH: Would you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Let’s start with Dante, is that your actual name or an alias?
D: That is my actual name. It's my middle name but its what I go by, unless we are talking about the guy on the freeway yesterday who called me something else. (kidding)

RH: Do you have a background in sports, and how did you get involved in bodybuilding?
D:I have always been a good athlete in every sport, but back in the day, when I got into Junior High school something strange happened. I stopped growing. I went into my high school as the 3rd shortest person out of about 1000 people in the school and I was a complete stick to boot. My freshman year in high school I was 92lbs and I ended up graduating at 5'7" and a strapping, robust 122lbs (laughing). I had always excelled at basketball and baseball but found it very tough going-being so small. I grew 5.5 inches after high school and wound up at 137lbs at 6 foot tall at nineteen years old. While driving my car by a grocery store one day in my hometown of Gardner Massachusetts, I saw two time AAU Mr Massachusetts (and AAU America and Universe competitor) Donnie Lemiuex. The man was monstrous at 5'7" and a lean 240lbs and I was shocked to see someone look like that. I was determined right then and there to put my nose to the grindstone and I researched/studied every single facet about bodybuilding I could find right down from the basics to the molecular level. Donnie Lemiuex actually became my training partner later on and to this day we remain great freinds.

RH: Did you publish your own newsletter at one point?
D:Yes i published Hardcore Muscle from 1993-1995 and that is when I started to first put out my thoughts on multi-rep rest pause and other theories I had to the public. It was a very cutting edge newsletter and I was very proud to say that my readership was a list of who's who in bodybuilding at that time. I had a whole slew of pro's, top amateurs, doctors and researchers on that subscriber list. I was on the phone with Phil Hernon, Tom Prince, Curtis Leffler and a majority of other competing bodybuilders at that time gathering information for each issue. Even your old boss Lou Zwick was a reader of that mag Ron.

RH: Have you competed in powerlifting or bodybuilding? If not, do you have any desire to?
D: Three times in the last few years I have dieted down for shows and every time I pull out because of the same reasons. I have worked 2 jobs for a long time now (usually working 7 days a week) and I just get absolutely burnt out with the 1 hour of training and (up to 2 hours) of cardio I need to do to come into shows just absolutely shredded to the bone. I admire anyone that can compete in todays modern society working 40-60 hours a week because I know I sure as heck cant do it. This last time (early 2005) I was determined to follow thru and I went from 292lbs to 258lbs (15 weeks) but with 5 weeks to go my father was diagnosed with a tumor on his liver and both my wife (competing in figure) and I both pulled out of the show. Bodybuilding shows come and go but family is forever-that was an easy decision to make, and luckily my father was operated on and is fine and in good health now.

RH: How and why did you come up with DC Training? Had you grown frustrated with other styles of training? Did DC Training evolve over time?
D:I started out with the old volume training concepts just like everyone else does who reads what Arnold and the boys did and what the newstand magazines put out there as "the golden rules".....but I got to a point where I started thinking "there is no rhyme or reason to this". It all seemed based on obsessive-complusiveness instead of deductive reasoning to what truly builds muscle mass. I think alot of modern day bodybuilding routines are built on "the must principle" which is fanatical bodybuilders thinking "I must do inclines and declines and cable crossovers and flat bench and pec deck and flyes for chest this workout or I wont have all the bases covered and I wont grow". I think thats flat out wrong and again comes from direct obsessive-compulsiveness. DC training did evolve over time as I trained more and more bodybuilders and noted their results. Back in the early 90's it was the same basic concepts as today but had slightly more volume to it. Thru trial and error over the last 13 years or so Ive honed it down to what you see today.

RH: Why the name, ‘Doggcrapp?’ I mean, from a marketing point of view, you’ll remember it, but didn’t you have second thoughts that it would be mocked?
D:Yea that was a real ingenious move on my part was'nt it? I definitely should be nominated "idiot of the year" for that one (laughing). What happened was 6 years ago I was a member of a small but elite bodybuilding board on the net which had about 50 members. I never posted, I just read the board. I had viewed some posts by advanced bodybuilders on that board that I felt were very detrimental toward their health. I decided to respond and posted with the anomynous screenname of Doggcrapp. I thought it would be one post and kaput, done and over with. BIG BIG HUGE MISJUDGEMENT! People were intrigued with what I had to say and kept asking questions and I kept answering and it became an encyclopedia. That post became 118 pages long and had over a quarter of a million views. My posts back then were cut and pasted onto bodybuilding sites all over the net, people started using my methods and gaining rapidly, telling freinds....and it carried on thru word of mouth like a wildfire and sadly to say Im stuck with the name "Doggcrapp" now. If I could do it all over again Ron trust me, I would of given myself a much classier name.

RH: What are the basic principles of DC Training?
D:Heavy progressive weights, lower volume but higher frequency of bodyparts hit, multi-rep rest pause training, extreme stretching, carb cuttoffs, cardio, high protein intake and blasting and cruising phases (periodization).

RH: Can you give me an example of how the bodyparts might be arranged in a typical training week?
D: For the majority of bodybuilders who are in need of size the following works the best

monday=chest, shoulders, triceps, back width, back thickness
wednesday=biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings, quads
friday-repeat of mondays bodyparts
monday-repeat of wenesdays bodyparts

This above way bodyparts are hit twice every 8 days or so

For advanced bodybuilders (and with that I'm talking very elite bodybuilders and extremely strong people) I sometimes go with the following

monday=chest shoulders triceps
tuesday=biceps forearms backwidth backthickness
thursday=calves hams quads
friday-repeat of mondays bodyparts
monday-repeate of tuesdays bodyparts
tuesday-repeat of thursdays bodyparts

This way bodyparts are hit twice every 9 days or so and I can work on advanced bodybuilders lagging bodyparts somewhat better with this split.

RH: One very radical aspect of DC Training is that there are no isolation movements. How do you answer those that believe muscles need to be worked from several angles at each workout for ‘complete development?’
D:Let me clarify that. My trainees have kind of put the notion out there that no isolation exercises are ever being used. I honestly dont care what exercise someone uses as long as he can be progressive on it over time. If someone really believes in an exercise then they can have at it. Obviously a tricep dumbell kickback which you can hypothetically go from 15 to 45lbs is going to be alot less effective than a close grip bench press where you can start at 200lbs and end up at 405 in my scheme of doing things. I think this all comes down to the "Must" principle again I was talking about earlier and obsessive compulsiveness. When Ronnie Coleman came into this sport from powerlifting did anyone see big gaps of muscle missing from his physique? Is Johnnie Jackson playing catch up with certain bodyparts from powerlifting all those years? I dont see distinct weaknesses in their physiques. They were just somewhat smaller versions of what you see today. People are doing every foo foo exercise under the sun thinking it bombs muscles from all angles and in my opinion all your doing alot of the time is wasting energy resources. Once a growth response is reached in a workout then pretty much everything done after that is just cutting into recovery time and burning up glycogen (and god forbid muscle mass). Steve Michalik and his gang were doing up to 75 sets per bodypart and with elite genetics to boot set absolutely no difference in size or advanced development than the people doing 20, 15, 10, 5, or even 1 set a bodypart (mentzer).

RH: Could you walk the readers through a set, DC style? Let’s assume the person is properly warmed up and ready to do a set on say, close-grip lat pulldowns.
D: They would explosively pull it down to the chest and then on the negative return they would resist (control) on the way up. I don't want specific seconds, or a certain time amount, I just want control on the negative to the point if they had to, they could easily reverse direction. They would keep going to the point in the set where they would reach failure, hopefully between rep 7 and 10. At that point, they would take 10-15 deep breaths (usually 22 seconds or somewhere in that area) and then start the exercise again and go to failure once again . Then another 10-15 deep breaths. And then once again to failure. During the rest pauses you do not stay strapped to the bar or anything, you take your 10-15 deep breaths and then get back in there. Oxygen is the key here. What I'm looking for in a restpause set usually is a 11-15 rest pause total (with 3 failure points in that set). That usually comes out to something like 8 reps (failure) ...10-15 breathes....4 reps (failure)....10-15 breathes.... 2 reps (failure) = 14 rp. (hypothetically a total of 11-15 rest paused reps is what im after).

RH: Because of the rest-pause nature of DC Training, there tends to be a good mix of machines used. Do you believe that machines like Hammer Strength can stimulate muscle growth as effectively as barbells and dumbbells?
D: I would like to see everyone build a base and use free weights whenever possible. If someone has a training partner, there is no worry at all using free weights with my methods. But sometimes my trainees don't have a spotter and in those cases I try to set them up on machines that they can "save" themselves on while going to the 3 failure points during a rest pause set.. For example, it's very easy to save yourself on an incline smith press at a failure point, you just turn the bar and rack the weight, while with the free weight barbell incline press, i would hate to see one of my trainees sitting there with a guillotine bar on his neck at failure and have no way to get out of it without screaming "help!" Regardless a lot of people misconstrue this as a love for machines when in actuality I'm trying to keep safety in mind for someone who does not have a spotter. Its as simple as that. If push comes to shove my choice would always be a free weight exercise over a machine if it can be done safely. Thats why I tend to use power racks and smythe machines alot, so someone can go to the well and back and not worry about becoming "tomato canned" for lack of better words (laughing)


RH: Here’s a direct quote from an Internet hater regarding DC Training: “It’s a lazy man’s training program guaranteed to turn you into a fat tub of lard.” How do you respond to a statement like that?
D:Well with any training routine regardless if it's mine or someone elses, if you throw cardio to the wayside and eat like a glutton your going to end up with an accumulation of adipose tissue (bodyfat). I have seen many people use different training methods while not having their diet dialed in - who end up eating gross amounts and the wrong types of food thinking thats the secret. They end up being a fat pile of "lard" and blame it on the training routine instead of the real reasons...lack of cardio and an idiotic diet.


RH: How is DC Training fundamentally different from other abbreviated training systems like Heavy Duty?
D:To be honest Ron this one always rankles me. The HIT advocates love to shove anything thats a lower volume training routine under their gigantic HIT umbrella. I don't beleive in Menzter's theories, I kinda though he went off the deep end at the end there getting crazy about overtraining and in no way want to be associated with "HIT" protocols. My methods are lower volume but extremely heavy. My whole mentality is based around progression over time. With the normal bodybuilder training a bodypart 52 times a year (once a week) and with my clients training bodyparts 75-92 times a year (hence that body part growing 75-92 times/yr instead of 52), thats how I am getting these guys up in muscle size so fast. I can't have them doing 15-20 sets per body part or I cant get them recovered and that defeats the purpose of this all. So its heavy, progressive, lower volume training with recovery in mind so I can get these guys training that bodypart frequently. People have such a hard time grabbing this low volume per workout concept. But in actuality Im doing the exact same things as most volume trainers out there if they look at the big picture. They might be doing 4 different exercises for their back in todays workout (hitting back once a week). Im doing those same exact 4 exercises in a weeks time, but in two separate workouts while training back twice in a week.

RH: From talking with Dave Henry, I understand that record keeping and ‘beating the numbers’ from the previous week is a critical component of DC Training. Can you explain why?
D: Progression. Simply progression. Some people go into the gym with no plan at all and just absolutely wing it. I've never understood that. I bet any money that if I logged their workouts that 2 weeks later or 6 weeks later or even 12 weeks later when they do those same exercises again they are probably using the same 120LBS or 225LBS or 315LBS they used 2,6,12 weeks previous. Thats not progression! Nothing has changed, that to me is repeating something you've already done and will not force the body to grow further. Thats a waste of time in my opinion. With my methods, you are held accountable for todays workouts versus the last time you did this workout. Trust me, when you have that kind of imperativeness and your log book is your arch mortal enemy, you are in for the fight of your life! You have the man in the mirror to answer to. Do you want to drive home knowing the logbook kicked your ass? Or do you want to drive home knowing you destroyed the logbook and showed it who the damn boss is around here?!?! My trainees look back sometimes on their log books and find out that they are 50 to 200 lbs higher on those exercises months later. What does that equal out into? Adaption and rapid muscle mass accumulation.


RH: Do you think a person would get better results with DC training as opposed to standard volume training if he was using steroids, not using steroids, or would that have no impact either way?
D: To be totally honest, anyone using steroids on any training routine known to man is going to advance forward faster than if they did it au natural.


RH: Obviously Dave Henry is the most visible example of what can be done with DC Training. Can you give me a couple other specific examples of the types of gains your clients have made?
D: I have seen some pretty amazing things in my time, some things I dont even have an answer for (laughing). Ive seen a person have their bodyfat measured before and a year later where it was a little over 1% higher and in that time he had gained 52 lbs. Ive made numerour lightheavies into superheavies. Ive made numerous middleweights into heavyweights. I think alot of people are coming to realize with all the posts and photos online involving my methods, that the old thought of "you can only gain 8-10 lbs of lean mass a year" is complete utter bunk. I would venture to say that I can't remember a trainee of mine that has been with me for a whole year that has gained less than 15 lbs of lean tissue. I did have a trainee one time who came to me after an injury so he obviously lost some previous muscle mass, but I saw the before and after pictures with body fat percentage measured and 8 months later he had gained 67 lbs.and he was completely natural. To this day, that shocks me. Those are elite genetics though and for anybody reading this article, Im telling you straight out, there ain't a chance in hell I can repeat that with everyone. In my mind that was and is still virtually impossible. I have made many, many, people 30-50 lbs heavier in a years time but those people have to be absolutely meticulous and follow exactly what I want them to do--which is pretty much eating like a 300LBER, but cardioing like a guy who is 8-9% bodyfat and turning your body into a muscle building fat burning blast furnace. You pretty much get to a point in which your tricking your body into becoming muscularly larger.


RH: Obviously you don’t have to name names if you aren’t comfortable with doing so, but are there any other pro’s or top amateurs you are working with or have worked with as a trainer?
D: There is another pro besides Dave Henry but due to his sponser's contract rulings I don't mention him publicly. I also have trained INPA Natural Pro Travis Macduff. As far as top amateurs.....how much space do we have? Junior Nationals champ Ralph Garcia, top NPC/USA competitor Rob Lopez, Junior USA champion Jason Wojciechowski, 2nd place Junior USA Tom Whorley, top Junior USA competitor Josh Barnett, top USA and Junior National competitor Joey Mobareki, Junior USA competitor Jason Hamner, Junior USA/National competitor Chris Genkinger, NPC competitors Scott Stevenson, Robert Hopper, Joey Bonacia, Joey Mobareki, Stone Laszly, Ramey Benfield, Mike Piacentino, Jason Torres, and a whole slew of others including Canadian and European champions like Ivan Gasser (two time Swiss champion)

RH: Do you train anyone in person? Are you available as such, or do you prefer to do everything online and on the phone?
D:I used to train people in person. But training people is just a side job for me and I usually reject 70% of the people who contact me regarding training them.. Im very particular on who i want to train. They have to have the right, determined mind set, and its my way or no way. This is my reputation on the line and Im not going to screw with that reputation by taking someone on who isnt going to listen to me. I'll train a genetically gifted pro or I'll train someone with genetics like Woody Allen, it does not matter to me. I just need to feel that we will work well together, so I have an extensive questionairre everyone must fill out before I make my decision.


RH: One odd thing is that you don’t believe in doing any direct work for the traps. What’s your reasoning for that?
D:Name the 2 bodybuilders out of the 400 pros that have the most gigantic traps. Ronnie Coleman and Johnnie Jackson. Everyone and their brother is doing shrugs but why did those two former powerlifters join the bodybuilding ranks and have traps that stand up to their ears? Deadlifts. In my opinion there isn't a 225-275lb shrug on this planet that could ever equal the trap size you can accomplish by doing 300-650lb floor deadlifts and rack deadlifts.

RH: Where do you stand on cardio? Do you believe everyone should do it year-round, that those trying to gain mass shouldn’t do it at all, or that it should never be done by bodybuilders?
D: I believe highly in cardio, almost universally. The problem is with most bodybuilders, thats the first thing they skip. The only people I believe should not be doing cardio are some severely ectomorphic people, with fast metabolisms and/or teenagers who could pretty much eat anything and not gain any appreciative bodyfat. I feel almost everyone else should do it to varying degrees according to that specific individual. Its very hard to give recommendations and cookie cutter that without knowing anything about the individual of course. One of the staples I've found through training people who had a difficult time gaining weight, was when I had them do cardio (walking on treadmill or around the neighborhood) first thing in the morning upon arising that the rest of the day they would be as hungry as a bull and would eat so much that they would finally gain muscular weight. Whereas they couldn't gain weight when they weren't doing cardio because their appetite was lacking.

RH: I also understand that you don’t believe in the concept of ‘bulking up,’ correct?
D: I believe in the following Ron, I am trying to get people to put on as much muscle mass in the shortest amount of time possible. I don't believe ANYONE should become a fat pile of crap in that quest. I have people eating gross amounts of food up to a new level in size, but I shore up bodyfat gain by limiting carbs at times during the day, food combining, cardio, carb cuttoffs and using certain fat burning supplements like green tea, etc. My trainees most likely eat more food than people "bulking up" per se but I am adamant about not letting people use the "bulking up" excuse to become sumo wrestlers in the offseason.

RH: Do you believe in taking scheduled breaks or layoffs from training?
D: yes, my whole concept is based on "blasting" and "cruising". I have every trainee of mine "blast" for somewhere between 6-12 weeks all out and then I have them do a cruising phase which is maintenance training for 10-14 (sometimes 21 days) depending on how long their blast was. It has to be done. The people who try to go all out all year round with this are the ones who go into overtraining mode and eventually recede in gains.

RH: Should a bodybuilder stay on the DC style of training year-round, or do you recommend phases where they do something different, like higher volume or a routine that features more isolation exercises?
D:I think as long as they blast and cruise correctly (some obsessive compulsive bodybuilders refuse to do so) they can do DC style training year round

RH: As Dave Henry put it, DC Training isn’t for everybody. What type of traits would you say an individual needs to possess to successfully follow it?
D:You have to be a bulldog, no doubt about it. And above all else you need to debrainwash yourself of the preconcieved notions that everyone in this sport has which come directly from being taught from an obsessive-compulsiveness viewpoint and reasoning. And I think you have to be a little bit crazy. If your 2 bolts short of a carwreck, DC training is for you jack!!!

RH: I doubt it’s possible to put a number on how many bodybuilders out there are using DC Training or have used it, but it does seem to be gaining momentum. Could you see a day when it becomes as widespread as standard volume training?
D:God I hope not, Im already overwhelmed and have too much on my plate currently. I had absolutely no idea of Dave Henry's following and fanbase until I started training him 2 years ago. Every time he does really well in shows my emails go thru the roof. He just got second in the Ironman Pro show and Im getting emails from Africa, Europe, all over the place about DC training. I had a priest contact me yesterday about "Dave Henry's training routine"...Amen


RH: Do you have any books or videos available on DC Training, or are any in the works?
D:I believe Dave Henry is doing a DC training video pretty soon so that will be available to the public in the future. I really should put a book out there for people to read but right now I have a rare disease that is keeping me from doing so called "being a slacker". In all seriousness my articles online are in the process of being copyrighted so Ill get some literature in book form out there to people as soon as I can free up some time.


RH: Hopefully this interview will solve the mystery of the mysterious Dante and give a clear overview of what DC Training is all about. I thank you very much for speaking with me.
D:Us Massachusetts guys have to stick together Ron! thanks for the interview


**(SIDEBAR
(please just list the exercise or exercises a client might use (since I know back gets two), and only indicate sets if it’s being done for straight sets rather than rest-pause)

****D:as said earlier any exercise that you can be progressive and safe on could be used but Ill list a short hypothetical sampling of what someone could do (after fully warming up thru progressive sets)

DC Training by bodypart

Chest:
incline smythe press (11-15rp)
hammer strength press (11-15rp)
decline barbell press (11-15rp)

Backwidth:
front rack chins (11-20rp)
close grip pulldowns (11-15rp)
front pulldowns (11-15rp)

Backthickness: (back thickness exercises and quad exercises arent rest paused due to safety reasons of fatigue and loss of form)
deadlifts straight sets (6-9reps) + (9-12reps)
T-bar rows straight set (10-12 reps)
rack deadlifts (6-9reps) + (9-12reps)

Shoulders:
military presses (11-20rp)
hammer strength presses (11-15rp)
upright rows (11-20rp)

Quads: (quads are done again with no rest pause because of safety reasons, but after progressive warmups there is a heavy set and then what I call a "widowmaker set" for 20 reps with a still heavy, but lighter weight)

free squats (6-10 rep straight set) 3-5 minute rest and then (20 rep widowmaker)
hack squats (as above)
leg press (as above)

Hamstrings:
lying leg curls (15-30rp)
seated leg curls (15-30rp)
sumo press leg press (pressing with heels only- straight set of 15-25 reps)

Biceps:
preacher curls (11-20rp)
barbell drag curls (11-20rp)
dumbell curls (11-20rp)

Forearms:
pinwheel curls (straight set 10-20 reps)
hammer curls (straight set 10-20 reps)
reverse grip one arm cable curls (straight set 10-20 reps)

Triceps:
reverse grip bench presses (11-20rp)
close grip bench presses (11-20rp)
EZ bar tricep extentions (15-30rp) (elbow safety)

Calves: (all calves are done with an enhanced negative, meaning up on big toe, 5 seconds lowering down to full stretch and then a brutal 10-15 seconds in the stretched position and then back up on the big toe again. It really separates the mice and the men--this is an all straight set)
leg press toe press (10-12 reps)
hack squat toe press/sled (10-12 reps)
seated calf raises (10-12 reps)

 

[PRIDE]

Article by: Greg Merritt

A load of Doggcrapp: is Dante Trudel's Doggcrapp training system the next big thing in bodybuilding?

Flex, Sept, 2006 by Greg Merritt

Let's not call it a revolution yet, but if the '70s were the era of Arnold (double splits, high volume) and the '90s were the years of Yates (high intensity, low frequency), then this decade may be remembered as the age of Doggcrapp. Try to ignore the name for now; instead, consider the fact that not only has DC become an Internet bodybuilding board phenomenon, but DC disciple and pro bodybuilder Dave Henry has acquired 30 lean pounds in less than three years. That's a lot of' Crapp. FLEX interviewed DC mastermind Dante Trudel to learn about Doggcrapp's rapid growth and why its adherents grow so rapidly.

Trudel, 38, grew up in Massachusetts and currently lives in Southern California with his wife, Dianne. He co-owns the Internet supplement company Trueprotein.com. At 6'1", he now weighs a muscular 280, but when Trudel began bodybuilding at age 20, as he jokes, he was a wispy 137 "after a good meal and with four rolls of quarters in my pocket." After developing his low-volume rest-pause training style and experiencing his greatest growth, Trudel tutored his friends, who saw similar rapid results. From 1993 to 1995, he published a cutting-edge bodybuilding newsletter called Hardcore Muscle.

However, it wasn't until Trudel posted his theories on an Internet discussion board six years ago that his ideas began to spread. Unfortunately, he used the screen name "Doggcrapp" for what he thought would be his only post. Much to his surprise, he was deluged with questions, his original post grew to 118 pages and his writings were copied and pasted all over the Internet. Thousands have adopted his philosophy, and today DC has its own forum at IntenseMuscle.com - Powered by vBulletin. "Sad to say, I'm stuck with the moniker 'Doggcrapp,'" Trudel laments with a laugh. "If I could do it all over again, trust me, I would've gone with a much cooler screen name."

FLEX: What was your early training like?

DANTE TRUDEL: I did the "good ol' boys" programs I saw in the magazines, jumping back and forth according to the latest article. It took me two years of six meals a day and training hard just to look normal at 190. It kind of sucked that I had to gain 50 pounds to look normal, but I had a never-say-die attitude. I went three-and-a-half years barely missing a meal, and if I did miss one, I'd get up at 2 AM and cook it. I really believe that bullheaded consistency in eating put the 50 pounds on me more than any type of training I did.

How did you first develop DC?

After three-and-a-half years of obsessive-compulsive volume training, I started to read everything I could get my hands on concerning nutrition, supplements and training--even abstracts and lab studies. I got to the point where I thought, Jeez, there is no rhyme or reason for what people are doing bodybuildingwise. It seemed to me that everything was done with an "I must do inclines, declines, flat bench, flyes, cable crossovers and pec deck or I won't grow" mentality.

I thought about what makes a muscle grow, what would make it grow faster, and to absolutely stop thinking in this "I want to be big so bad I'll overthink and overdo everything" concept. Why do people think in terms of "annihilating myself into rigor mortis in today's workout" instead of progression and recovery over weeks, months and years? I started stringing together workouts with a game plan instead of winging it and hoping I was doing the right thing. I was 23 when I scrapped everything and reverse-engineered it. I broke it down, took out all the things I felt were just fluff, and there for ego and obsessive-compulsive satisfaction, and created a planned "powerbuilding" attack.

How fast did you grow when you first started DC training?

As soon as I got down to the brass tacks of what I felt worked and what didn't, I started gaining again. I had been stuck at about 204, and then after I got my head out of my ass and attacked this like a chess game, I consistently gained. I've been over 300, but currently I'm 280. I told my wife I will slowly take it down to about 260 and stay there. I reached my goals, proving to myself that with my extreme ectomorphic qualities I could attain a certain level through incredibly hard work and consistency. Now, I want to learn to tap dance--just kidding.

What are the basic principles of DC?

* Heavy progressive weights

* Lower workout volume but higher workout frequency

* Multirep rest-pause training

* Extreme stretching

* Carb cutoffs later in the day

* Morning cardio

* Higher protein intake

* Blasting and cruising phases

Explain why continuously gaining strength is the essence of DC training.

I believe he who makes the greatest strength gains [in a controlled fashion] makes the greatest muscle gains. Note that I said strength gains. Everybody knows someone naturally strong who can bench 405 yet isn't that big. Going from a 375 bench to 405 isn't an incredible strength gain and won't result in much of a muscle mass gain. If someone goes from 150 to 405 for reps, that incredible strength gain will equate to an incredible muscle mass gain.

Ninety-nine percent of bodybuilders are brainwashed that they must go for a blood pump, and those same 99% stay the same year after year. It's because they have no plan. They go in, get a pump and leave. They give the body no reason to change. A power-bodybuilding game plan stresses continually getting stronger on key movements, and the body protects itself by getting muscularly larger. If you never get anywhere close to your ultimate strength levels, you will never get close to your utmost level of potential size.

How does the three-exercise rotation work?

Pick the three best exercises per bodypart you can rest-pause--generally those in which you can safely make maximum strength increases. For example, close-grip bench presses are better for triceps than kickbacks because you should be able to make more incremental improvements over a longer period. The three exercises will be rotated, using only one of them each time you train that bodypart. If someone only does one exercise over and over, he plateaus on it very quickly. I've experimented with this multiple ways, and the three-exercise rotation can keep you from plateauing for a long time.

How important is a journal?

It's crucial. You must always write down your weights used and reps done, excluding warm-ups, in a logbook. Every time you go to the gym, you have to continually beat your previous weight, reps or both--even if it's just by five pounds or one rep. If you don't beat it, you lose that exercise from your three-exercise rotation. This adds grave seriousness to a workout. I have exercises I love to do, and knowing I'll lose them if I don't beat the previous stats sucks! If you get to a strength sticking point, you must turn to a different exercise for that bodypart and get brutally strong on that new one. Looking at that piece of paper and knowing what you have to do to beat your best will bring out the best in you.

What training split do you recommend?

My usual recommendation is workout A--chest, shoulders, triceps, back width and back thickness--and workout B--biceps, forearms, calves, hams and quads. I recommend this bodypart order because it puts the hardest bodyparts you have to train--back and quads--last in your workouts. This is contrary to conventional wisdom, but after doing deadlifts or a "widowmaker" for quads, you're not going to have the same energy for training anything else.

The two-workout rotation is done three times over two weeks on a Monday (A), Wednesday (B), Friday (A), Monday (B), Wednesday (A), Friday (B) schedule. This creates more growth phases. The guy next to you is training chest on Monday and then waiting a week before training chest again--two growth phases over 14 days. You, on the other hand, train chest three times in 14 days. He trains chest 52 times a year and grows 52 times, while you train chest 78 times a year and grow 78 times.

You're doing only one exercise, out of your three rotated exercises, per bodypart each workout while Joe Gymguy over there is doing incline barbell presses, flat dumbbell presses and Hammer Strength decline presses in his chest workout today. You're doing the same exercises he's doing over two weeks, but you're growing at a much faster rate.

For DC, does it matter if someone is a beginner or advanced?

DC isn't for anyone who hasn't been lifting hardcore for at least three years. You have to know your body well and your way around a gym before shifting to something this intense.

Why do you stress low workout volume?

On this schedule, you cannot do 12 to 16 sets per bodypart. Lower volume is the only way you can recover to quickly train that bodypart again. Besides, once a growth response is met during a workout, anything you do past that point is pretty much delving into your recovery and catabolizing muscle mass, so I don't want to take one step forward and half a step back. There are many ways to build muscle. In simple terms, I'm using extreme high-intensity [rest-pause] techniques, which I believe increase a person's strength as quickly as possible. Along with that is lower volume, for quicker recovery and as many growth phases as possible in a year's time.

Explain how a DC rest-pause set is performed.

Most of the sets are in the 11- to 15-rep range, although sometimes it's higher or lower, depending on the bodypart, exercise, safety and health of joints. Every rest-pause set is done with three failure points. A hypothetical incline bench 11- to 15-rep set would start with eight reps to failure, rack the weight, take 15 deep breaths, unrack, two to four reps to failure, rack the weight, 15 deep breaths, unrack, and a final one or two reps to failure.

Should every bodypart be rest-paused?

Most quad exercises and back-thickness exercises are not rest-paused due to safety reasons. These usually involve incredibly large poundages and, as you grow fatigued during a rest-pause set, it's easy to lose form. I don't want someone T-bar rowing 250 and pulling from a bent rest-pause dead stop and getting a serious injury.

For quads, I usually recommend a brutally heavy set of four to eight reps followed, after a rest, by a 20-rep set with less weight, but still heavy. I call that 20-rep set a "widowmaker." Once you do it, you'll have no question why. For back thickness, I recommend a brutally heavy set of six to eight reps followed, after a rest, by a slightly lighter set of 10 to 12, going to failure both times.

How many warm-up sets?

Whether it's one warm-up or five, take as many as you need to get ready for your all-out working sets. This all depends on the person and how advanced he is. For example, if someone was going to rest-pause 405 for incline presses, then his warm-ups might go something like this: 135 for 12 to 20 reps, 225 for 10 to 12,275 for 6 to 8,335 for 4 to 6, then 405 for an all-out rest-pause set of 11 to 15 reps. A bodybuilder using a lot less weight may need only two warm-ups before his rest-pause set.

What is extreme stretching, and what are you trying to accomplish with it?

Extreme stretching can have myriad benefits if done correctly: recovery, fascia size and potential hyperplasia, which is still only theory. It can change your physique in pretty dramatic ways [especially your chest, triceps and quads]. It should be done only after the bodypart has been worked. I recommend extreme stretching for every bodypart except calves, and that's only because the way I have people train calves already has an extreme stretch built into it. Basically, you want to get into a deep stretch and hold it for 60 to 90 seconds. These are very painful.

I'll walk you through a quad stretch. You just got done quad training, so take an overhand grip on a barbell fastened in a power rack about hip high and simultaneously sink all the way down. Push your knees forward and under the barbell until you're on your toes--basically a sissy squat. Now straighten your arms and lean as far back as you can, and hold that stretch for 60 to 90 seconds. It's going to be excruciating for most people. Do this one faithfully, and in four weeks your quads will look a lot different than they used to.

How important are static contractions?

I like to get people confident in the ability to handle big poundages, instilling the mentality that they are in control of the weights and not vice versa. For this reason and for "time under tension" purposes, some trainers should do a static contraction or static reps--short two-inch range of motion reps--at the end of their rest-pause set.

How should trainers use cardio?

In the offseason, if you train three days a week, then do cardio on the four off days. If more people took that approach, you would have fewer offseason bodybuilders looking like sumo wrestlers. Cardio is a very individualistic thing, so it's hard for me to say "do this" in an article without knowing a great deal about who's reading it. I've found that if people who have a difficult time gaining weight do cardio--walking on a treadmill or around the neighborhood--first thing in the morning, appetite and muscular weight gains become nonissues. I'd have them get up, take in either branched-chain amino acids or a scoop of protein powder, do their cardio and then eat the day's first meal. The old wives tale that you can't gain muscle mass if you do cardio is the biggest bunch of crap. If done right, cardio is a huge weapon in a bodybuilder's arsenal.

What are the basics of the DC nutritional philosophy?

* Use a higher protein intake--1.5 grams to upward of 2 grams per pound of bodyweight.

* Drink at least a gallon of water daily in direct relation to your protein times bodyweight ratio. For example, if you take in 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, drink at least one-and-a-half gallons of water daily.

* Except for postworkout carbs, most people should take in no carbohydrates after 6 PM, primarily so morning cardio is done with lower glycogen levels.

* Eat either protein and carbs or protein and fats, but don't mix up those components greatly. You don't have to be absolutely meticulous with this, but it's a generalized way to keep most people from creating insulin spikes and driving fats toward adipose tissue.

* Meals that are protein and carbs are usually eaten in this sequence: protein first, fiber and veggies second, carbs last. This is simply because about half the time you're so full after the steak, salad and broccoli that you don't eat all the carbs, and for bodyfat control, that's a good thing.

* There are some individuals who should eat mainly protein and fats because they are so carb-sensitive, and other people who should take in carbs only pre- and postworkout. It's one of those things where I have to ask a lot of questions of the person, and I come up with a game plan.

Basically, I try to trick the human body into getting larger by becoming a muscle-building fat-burning machine. In the simplest of terms, if you're 180 and want to weigh 200, you'd better eat like a 220-pounder to get there. I say eat and train like a 300-pounder, cardio like a guy who is 8% [bodyfat] and shore up all excesses with carb cutoffs, food combinations and key supplements--green tea, etc.

What are blasting and cruising phases?

I recommend people train all out for six to eight weeks [blasting] and then take a 10- to 14-day period [cruising] in which they remove one meal per day and do only maintenance training. During the cruise, only go to the gym two or three times, go through the motions with straight sets and try out some new exercises you might switch to if you're close to strength plateaus on any current ones. Guys come off that 10- to 14-day cruise like rabid dogs chomping at the bit to get blasting again. Blasting and cruising must be done. You cannot train all-out all the time without overtraining. Blast and cruise back and forth all year long.

Let me play devil's advocate. Our muscles can't see the weight or count the reps; they only react to stress. As long as I keep stressing them enough, why do I need to get another rep or use another five pounds? Why can't I stress my muscles as much as a DC adherent with, say, supersets or drop sets or new exercises?

I think I can answer that best by asking the readers a question. Would Ronnie Coleman, or any top pro, be the size he is today if he stayed lifting the same light weights he started with when he was a beginner?

Bodybuilding is all about creating continual adaptation. The number of exercises you can do per bodypart is finite. How many good quad-building exercises are there? Six, maybe? The number of sets--volume--you can do is finite--or infinite if you want to spend the next 3,200 hours straight in the gym.

As for supersets or drop sets or whatever, after you do them this time, what are you going to do next time to make sure you went above and beyond the supersets and drop sets you did this time? Anyone reading this can giant set squats, leg presses, hack squats and lunges, and they will be blown out and sore as hell for the next few days. They could do that exact same workout with the same exercises and weights every leg workout for the next year and they'd be blown out and sore for days each time. Are they really going to gain any leg mass after the second or third time? No, because nothing has changed in the parameters to cause an increase in muscle size.

What is pretty much infinite in training? Poundage. You take a key exercise up to an extreme strength plateau, and at that very point, switch to a new key exercise and get brutally strong on the new one; you do that continually. That repetitive progression that you're held accountable for in your logbook is the key game plan to get to point B--where you want to be--from point A--where you are--at the absolutely quickest rate possible.

We've covered a lot of ground. What one thing would you most want people to take away from this article?

A lot of what bodybuilding is about for many people is obsession-compulsion instead of deductive reasoning. I would like people to start thinking of how to get to point B from point A in the shortest route possible. I am not claiming to have built a better mousetrap, but I think I'm showing how to catch the mouse quicker.


*** Each working set is preceded by one to five warm-up sets.

*** The additional set of 10-12 reps for rack and regular deadlifts, as well as the 20-rep additional "widowmakers" for quads, is performed after a rest and with lighter (but still heavy) weights.

*** Abs can be trained on any day, typically with one warm-up set and one working set to failure of both a crunching movement and a leg-raise movement. Working sets can be either rest-pause sets for 20-30 reps or straight sets for 15-20 reps.



REPS PER
EXERCISE WORKING SET

"A" WORKOUTS

CHEST
1 Incline Smith machine presses 11-15 rest-pause
3 Flat-bench barbell presses 11-15 rest-pause
5 Hammer Strength chest presses 11-15 rest-pause

SHOULDERS
1 Military presses 11-20 rest-pause
3 Medium-grip upright rows 11-15 rest-pause
5 Smith machine shoulder presses 11-20 rest-pause

TRICEPS
1 Close-grip bench presses 11-20 rest-pause
3 Lying triceps extensions 15-30 rest-pause
5 Machine dips 11-20 rest-pause

BACK (WIDTH)
1 Hammer Strength 11-15 rest-pause
underhand pulldowns
3 Front wide-grip pulldowns 11-15 rest-pause
5 Close-grip pulldowns 11-15 rest-pause

BACK (THICKNESS)
1 Deadlifts 6-9 + 9-12
3 Rack deadlifts 6-9 + 9-12
5 T-bar rows 10-12

"B" WORKOUTS

BICEPS
2 Barbell drag curls 11-20 rest-pause
4 Seated dumbbell curls 11-20 rest-pause
6 Machine curls 11-20 rest-pause

FOREARMS
2 Hammer curls 10-20
4 Barbell wrist curls 10-20
6 Cable reverse curls 10-20

CALVES*
2 Leg-press toe presses 10-12
4 Machine donkey calf raises 10-12
6 Seated calf raises 10-12

HAMSTRINGS
2 Lying leg curls 15-30 rest-pause
4 Sumo leg presses (feet high and wide, 15-25
press with heels)
6 Seated leg curls 15-30 rest-pause

QUADRICEPS
2 Squats 4-8 + 20
4 Hack squats 4-8 + 20
6 Leg presses 4-8 + 20

* All calf exercises are done with an enhanced negative portion of the
rep. Each rep consists of five seconds of lowering down to a full
stretch, a 10- to 15-second hold in the stretched position, then rising
onto the toes.

WORKOUT SCHEDULE

Monday Wednesday Friday

Week 1 1(A) 2(B) 3(A)
Week 2 4(B) 5(A) 6(B)

NOTES: The numbers 1 through 6 correspond to the exercise numbers in the
Doggcrapp cycle chart. Follow a pattern of A and B workouts for the
bodypart split. Beginning with week 3, this pattern repeats, starting
with the #1 exercises.