Above, Untapped Target #1 - Position of Flexion Training, I laid out the first phase of my masterpiece Maximize Your Muscle program, which uses three exercises per body part - mid-range, stretched and contracted - to target unexploited muscle fibers and stimulate phenomenal growth by training each muscle through its full range of motion.
Phase 2 of Maximize Your Muscle, 5-Day Full-Body Training, expands on that principle and builds onto it an incredible metabolism-boosting component that will fire up your metabolism in much the same way as high-intensity interval training does. This phase is not for the fainthearted, but it's so incredibly effective that the effort will be very worthwhile.
An Overview of 5-Day Full-Body Training
While Position of Flexion training is a split routine, in Phase 2 you will be moving on to a full-body workout. Even if you've done full-body training before, this program is unlike most standard full- body routines in a number of ways. The most important differences are that, a) this routine is designed to ramp up your metabolism for incredible fat-burning and, b) this routine continues the principle of training each body part through its full range of motion. My 5-Day Full-Body Training phase targets not only growth and fat-burning, but endurance, conditioning and improved recovery.
The Inspiration for the 5·Day Full Body Training Phase
Several years ago, renowned trainer Scot Abel introduced his game-changing program, Metabolic Enhancement Training. Think CrossFit for bodybuilders. The program is essentially a fast-paced circuit that incorporates both traditional and functional movements and utilizes a variety of ranges of motion and planes to constantly stimulate new muscle fibers, trigger an enormous metabolic boost and get incredible growth.
My 5-Day Full-Body Training phase takes those extremely effective components and expands on them, making this one of the hardest and most effective protocols you will ever use.
How the 5·Day Full·Body Training is Done
During this phase of the Maximize Your Muscle program, you will train each body part five times per week, but your routine for each part will change from one workout to the next. You'll vary the loads, reps, sets and even the order in which you do the exercises. You will be challenging your muscles, recruiting new muscle fibers and stimulating your neurological system with a constantly changing, unpredictable (to your brain and muscles) routine that never gives your body a chance to adapt and become complacent.
Why the 5·Day Full·Body Program is So Effective
Like I said earlier, this phase is like a strength-training version of high-intensity interval training. HIIT works so phenomenally well because it keeps your body guessing, which boosts your metabolism and keeps it revving for up to 48 hours. Because this workout is a fast-moving circuit of constantly changing loads, time under tension and sets/reps, your metabolism will get as much of a workout as your muscles. In fact, you do not do any cardio during this phase of the Maximize Your Muscle program. That's right, no cardio. This routine is so effective at boosting your metabolism for maximal fat-burning that you can put your cardio program on hiatus.
The Benerits or Both HiiT and Strength/Conditioning
Normally, your muscle-building workout and high- intensity cardio are two separate workouts. You do one to realize gains