1AUG: Even better shape than before

Holy cow!  I'm actually down to a rock solid 214 lbs, and can run 5 miles for the first time since in 15 years.  My deadlift has suffered but my squat strength continues to climb.  Sadly, I've reached a point of dimishing returns on my whole-body or even half-body routines.  I'm now squarely in the realm of split routines.

Here's the thing.  I HATE bodybuilding.  I hate going for a pump.  I much prefer seeing the pounds increase on big basic movements, and combining dissimilar lifts in gut-wrenching fat-burning strength circuits.  But now, my recovery ability has improved to the point that I just need a bit more volume in any given muscle group to see cosmetic or even strength changes.  So split it is.   Back to the best framework I know for rapid size & strength gains:


8 Days A Week

This is my favorite split routine.  Its basically two 4-day cycle:  3-on, 1-off

Cycle 1:
Day 1: Chest (strength), Shoulders (size), Traps (size), Triceps (1 strength movement, 1 size movement)
Day 2: Deadlifts, calves, abs
Day 3: Lats (Pavel's 5RM Pulllup plan), mid back (size), Traps (size), Biceps (1 strength movement, 1 size movement)
Day 4: Off

Cycle 2:
Day 1: Shoulders (strength), Chest (size), Traps (size), Triceps (1 strength movement, 1 size movement)
Day 2: Squats, calves, abs
Day 3: Lats (Pavel's 5RM Pulllup plan), mid back (size), Traps (size), Biceps (1 strength movement, 1 size movement)
Day 4: Off

I'm still running 3 days a week, so I'm pretty much always hurting.  :)
My goal is to drop 15 pounds of body fat and add 10 pounds of muscle in 4 months.

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