Getting sliced: phase 3 will transform the gains you've made in the past 12 weeks into lean muscle

Men's Fitness, March, 2003 by Melvin Jones

By now you should be in the 10th week of our three-phase, 18-week program. Phase 1 was designed to build strength, add some muscle and have you feeling healthier than ever, while Phase 2 was intended to get you bigger and more muscular. At this stage, you should have only two weeks left in the bulking-up phase, so now is the time to bear down and make those last 14 days count before reconfiguring your training for Phase 3.

CUTTING IT

After you've packed on some size through the first 12 weeks of this program, you're going to want to show off the product of that effort this spring and summer. Even though the goal of Phase 3 is the opposite of that of Phase 2, Lee Newton, a certified personal trainer with Bally Total Fitness in New York City and the designer of "Fit for Good," maintains the reliance on weight training, rather than endless cardio, to achieve the desired results.

The goal now isn't to lose weight, which would indeed be the net result of doing a lot of cardio; the goal is to lose body fat while adding still more muscle, if possible. Whereas cardio takes the pounds away indiscriminately, weight training promotes fat loss with muscle gain. The resulting change in body composition will turn your body into a lean, fat-burning machine.

PHASE 3 BASICS

Phase 3 is a five-day program consisting of three days of lean-muscle building and two days of cardio and flexibility work. Alternate one day of weight training with one day of cardio and stretching. After five days, take two days off before heading back to the weight room.

1. LEG PRESS (quads) Sit with your back flat against the backrest. Place your feet on the sled, toes angled out very slightly. Straighten your knees to raise the sled, and disengage the support handles (1a). Lower the sled until your knees almost touch your chest (1b). Push through your heels to drive the platform back up to the starting position, stopping just short of full extension, and repeat.

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2. BARBELL SQUAT (quads, glutes) Stand with a bar resting across your traps and shoulders, your feet parallel (or toed out slightly) and shoulder-width apart (2a). Bend your knees and drop your hips back and down, descending until your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly lower (2b). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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3. LEG EXTENSION (quads) Sit on the machine so that your back lies against its support, the edge of the seat touches the back of your knees, and your feet fit snugly under the pad (3a). Holding the handles for support, straighten your legs until they're parallel to the floor (3b). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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4. BARBELL LUNGE (quads, glutes, hamstrings) Stand holding a barbell across your back, feet shoulder-width apart (4a). Keeping your back straight, step forward three feet or so with one leg, and then bend the knee of that lead leg to lower yourself until the trailing knee nearly touches the floor (4b). Immediately push off the lead foot to return to the starting position. Repeat using the same leg, and then do the same number of reps with the other leg.

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5. BENT-OVER BARBELL ROW (lats) Position yourself over the bar with your feet planted. Bend at the waist, grasp the bar with both hands, and raise the weight off the floor (5a). Keeping your back flat but angled 30 or so degrees to the floor, pull your elbows behind your back as far as you can without touching your stomach to the bar (5a). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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6. PULL-DOWN (lats) Adjust the seat pad so that it rests comfortably atop your thighs once you sit down. When you do, you should be holding the bar overhead using an overhand grip, hands slightly outside your shoulders (6a). With your back arched slightly, pull the bar down to your collarbone, bringing your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together (6b). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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7. EZ-BAR PULL-OVER (lats) Place a weighted EZ-bar at the foot of a flat bench and lie down. Reach behind you and grasp the bar so that your elbows are bent 90 degrees (7a). Maintaining that angle, pull the bar up in an arc over your torso and stop when it lies above the upper half of your abs (7b). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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8. STANDING HAMSTRING CURL (hamstrings) Place the back of one ankle against the machine's resistance roller (8a). Keeping your working thigh up against the pad, bend your knee to raise your foot as high as you can (8b). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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9. ROPE CRUNCH (abs) Kneel in front of a cable stack holding a rope handle attached to a high pulley (9a). Pull your sternum down toward your pelvis, rounding your back (9b). Return to the starting position and repeat.

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10. FRONT BARBELL RAISE (anterior deltoid) Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell at arm's length against your thighs, palms facing your body (10a). Keeping your arms nearly straight, raise the bar out in front of you, stopping when your upper arms are parallel with the floor (10b). Return to the starting position and repeat.