The Million Dollar Bodypart Challenge
by Chad Waterbury
Let's imagine two guys: Both are 5'10", 165 pounds, 14% bodyfat, and both have the same genetic make-up. One guy wants to build a body that looks and moves like UFC champ Georges St. Pierre, the other wants his body to look and move like bodybuilding legend Dorian Yates.
Should these two guys use different muscle-gaining methods? No. The rules of building muscle don't change whether you're trying to add five or 50 pounds of muscle. You must focus on getting stronger and increasing your training volume. For those who have the luxury, the most effective way to increase volume is through a higher frequency.
But should our two guys use different exercises to gain muscle? Yes, and this is the biggest difference between training a bodybuilder and an athlete. A guy who wants to move like an athlete must train with movements that challenge stability across the entire body and that force the joints to work through a full range of motion.
A bodybuilder doesn't need to do pistols, but a combat athlete does. And a barbell bench press from chest to lockout is not a full range of motion exercise when you consider the function of the shoulder blades.
Should one follow a total body workout and the other follow an upper/lower split? Probably. Most bodybuilders need to train with more volume per bodypart than an athlete. Therefore, upper/lower splits are good for them. But keep in mind that an upper/lower split is where the conversation ends if you need to gain more than 10 pounds of muscle fast.
A chest/back, legs/abs, and shoulders/arms split each week will take you a helluva lot longer to gain 10 pounds of muscle compared to either of the protocols I prescribed above. Don't let anyone tell you different.
Here's my dream challenge, if I had a million bucks to spare. I'd like to take the coaches who are the biggest proponents of bodypart splits and challenge them to add 10 pounds of muscle to a natural guy as quickly as possible. The coaches can train the guy for an hour, three times per week. The first coach to add 10 pounds of pure muscle to his client gets a million bucks.
I guarantee you this: you wouldn't see a single bodypart split.
[FONT="]I guarantee you this: you wouldn't see a single bodypart split.[/FONT]