The big 11: my 11 rules for building mass and power

Flex, June, 2002

2002 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Winner

When I turned pro in 1996, I weighed 248 pounds. In 1998, I was 260. In 2000, I was 265. In 2001, was 267; and when I won the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic this year, I was 270. I've said it a thousand times: The secret to my success is consistency, and the secret to my consistent improvement is a harnessed but aggressive pursuit of mass and a healthy acceptance of time.

It's all right to be impatient, but you need to realize that quality mass does not come overnight. Quick mass might, but quick mass doesn't win contests, because it hasn't been forged into place and anchored deep in bones by the cold-steel hammer of decisive training. There is a lot of braggadocio these days from bodybuilders who are proud of their "insane intensity" when they train. The winners, however, are invariably seasoned pros who take charge of their bodies, encouraging them onward, rather than punishing them masochistically for not responding to demands.

Your body has its own rules for growth, and those rules are the parameters for getting the most out of your training. Try imposing your own rules, and your body will refuse to respond; cooperate with your body's rules, and your body will respond in kind. Thankfully, I intuited this early in my career, and, ever since, my body and I have been able to negotiate a set of rules for keeping me balanced at the peak of my potential.

Rule 1

EAT BIG

To grow, you need to eat more calories than your body uses. My rule of thumb is one to one-and-a-half grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and two-and-a-half to three grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight per day. Start with that, then fine-tune it to your individual requirements as you go. Keep saturated fats to a minimum, eat as much quality and variety as possible, and drink at least two gallons of water per day. This is to keep your metabolism elevated, an especially important consideration when you're consuming this much food.

Rule 2

TRAIN HEAVY

Train at 70-80% of the maximum weight you're capable of handling effectively for six reps almost to failure. This is bodybuilding, not powerlifting; do not train so heavy that you reach total failure at two reps. My goal with every set is to help the muscle empty itself of its existing glycogen, so that can push more glycogen into the muscle in its place, without taking the muscle to failure or damaging tissue. With every set, leave the muscle room to recuperate and grow.

Rule 3

STICK TO BASICS

Meat-and-potatoes exercises make you grow best, and that means bench presses for chest, squats for quads, deadlifts for back, shoulder presses for shoulders, barbell curls for biceps, close-grip bench presses for triceps and stiff-leg deadlifts for hamstrings; i.e., all of the compound exercises that people hate to do. By involving muscle groups ancillary to the target bodypart, synergistic growth of adjacent muscles is stimulated, as well. This, in turn, accelerates your strength gains, which, in turn, translates into even more muscle growth; round and round we go, in an ever-faster upward spiral of mass gains.

Rule 4

SIX TO 10 REPETITIONS

Pick a weight you can control for six to 10 repetitions, executing each rep to its fullest contraction. Avoid excessive sloppiness in your training, but at the same time, use enough force, in the form of body thrust and explosiveness, to exhaust the muscle and break down the tissue. What I tend to do in a Jay Cutler routine is warm up by pyramiding the sets for my first one or two exercises. As I continue to move through the successive exercises in my workout, I will start with the heaviest weight and stay with it through all of the sets. For range of motion, I compromise: I don't lock out, but I get a full contraction. No half reps.

Rule 5

A MINUTE TO A MINUTE-AND-A-HALF REST BETWEEN SETS

When training for a show, I rest only 30 to 45 seconds between sets, but when I'm trying to 3 add mass during the offseason, I rest twice as long: a minute to a minute and a half. This gives me just enough recuperation time to catch my breath and allow my heart rate to return to normal. Most important, I want to have maximum strength to perform every set to its fullest potential. At the same time, a minute and a half is not so much of a delay that I will lose the pump I built from the preceding set.

Rule 6

NO MORE THAN 12 SETS PER RODYPART

If you're not getting the job done in 12 sets, after training heavy and resting only a minute to a minute and a half, you are doing something wrong. Most likely, you're not training with enough intensity. Conversely, if you trained intensely with your first 12 sets, you'll be entering the region of muscle waste if you try for more. As for myself, I like four exercises per body part, with three sets per exercise.

Rule 7

AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP PER NIGHT

You grow when you're out of the gym, not in it, and you grow even more when you sleep. That's when your body slows down, and its natural stores of growth hormone are released. Without enough sleep and recuperation, your body will have to struggle, and you won't be able to add weight. I get at least eight hours of sleep at night, but I also get in two additional hours of naptime every day, preferably an hour after a workout and another hour cumulatively after meals. In other words, I get 10 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.