This pyramid actually works. Its a workout used by bodybuilders and also works for any sport where brute strength is required. It was given to me by brad dicneite, who wrestled for the us army years ago and placed 5th in the world greco championships. At 5'6 maybe 5'7 and 200 lbs, this guy reps 450 lbs on close grip bench for as long as he wants. From my hometown and was a former asst coach.


*disclaimer* this is an advanced workout and should not be tried by someone out of shape. Work your way up, then try this. I don't care if you think your strong, after the first week you will not be able to fully extend or contract your arms, and will have stiffness for the first couple weeks. Always stretch for a hot minute before working out



You need a partner there. Its a must.

Ok each day hits a specific muscle group. You want to start out a particular exercise at 60% of your maximum. Do 10 reps, 8 at 70% 6 at 80 and hit 90% until exhaustion. Rest for 1 minute between each set. Focus on proper form, i.e. flexing at the top of a curl, really contracting the muscle. Now do 90% to 4 reps, or less if you have to. 6 at 80 8 at 70. Don't bother with 60%. Go down to 50% and go to exhaustion again. Now you see that every day has two muscles. Finish this then move to the next muscle for an exercise. Then go back and forth. Each day should consist of 6-8 exercises total and should take 60-90 minutes.

Monday, Back and bi - rows, preacher curls, lat pull downs, reverse preacher curl (turn your palm to the floor, btw flex at the top and bring the bar to your forehead) dead lift(be smart, use a belt and don't hurt yourself. Breath in when you lift) and hammer curls last.

Tuesday, Chest and tri - these are harder to isolate. Standing pull downs (machine, stand with hands on bar facin the floor, pull elbows down to comfortable level with hands up, extend to make your arms parallel with the floor) butterflies (free weights only way to go) incline bench, military press(wide grip) dumbell bench

Wednesday, Quads and calves- squat (be smart here too) calf lifts, leg press, calf pushes on leg lift machine, quad extensions, cat machine if you have it (only one you should never do 90% on, do two extra sets at 80)

Thursday, Hams and abs- not uber necessary to overwork your hams here, they are a delicate muscle that once injured, are never quite the same. Leg curls are good, but don't over do it. Wind sprints are the best, form running as well. Abs are your choice, everyone does them different. I do a lot of medicine ball work on an incline, with a partner throwing it to me. Extend it over your head on the way down and bring it up as you contract, 2 side to side oblique twists and toss it back, catch it as you get about a 1/3 down. Crush your abs, and the rest of your body will thank you.

My cardio is windsprints up and downhill with 1 minute in between. Usually 10 gets the job done, as long as its done 3 times a week (never on quad days tho you'll want to kill yourself lol)

Always take 3 days off. If anyone wants to try this, give us a before and after 3 months pic. I guarantee you will add at least 30% to each of your maxs.

sweet i dont think you have to respond to my pm now haha

how do i find my percent of my max on things though? lol i suck at math
if you could tell me how to put it in on the calculator i could figure it out
i just need to know for when my max increases i can still tell the %

This sounds interesting.

I personally haven't lifted weights outside circuit training for years, but am interested and if someone wants to try it it would ask for him to keep a diary and before and after pics (diary once a week, nothing strenuous, just for the rest of us to see the feedback).

Thats pretty much a generic bodybuilder workout

ive been doing some pratically like this for a while now
and it does work just takes time

quick question.
for the wed. and thur. exercises would it work if i did a machine exercises?
and for deadlift i dont have a belt so is there any other exercise that can substitute for it?

For things like curls and what not Im sure you mean to do like a 3 set of 10 rep thing right?
Not 50 lbs curl one time right? because i wouldnt see the point to not repping those alot

Alright i started this thing tuesday, did monday and wednsday's exersize today... ill get a picture of me on my camera maybe today or the weekend depending how busy things are tomorrow.

I'll post a thread called "results of pyramid scheme" in like 3 months

I thought bodybuilder regimens weren't effective for sports or athletics? From what I know, it's mostly hypertrophy rather then strength and conditioning. Any help here?

Gomi fan, it is if you do it the right way. You can put on mass, build strength power and explosiveness. Once you hit a certain spot on the mass end, its hard to keep that explosiveness. That all depends on your body type. An ectomorph like jesse will take more time to show major results in mass, but will have marked gains in strength and power. The final set, the one for exhaustion is where you really build your strength, tearing those muscle fibers microscopically and rebuilding them.

almost been doing it for... i started on the 3rd soo like 2 weeks
10 weeks from now ill post a picture

wow this is similar to my workout. except for the hams and abs. im gonna do this. see what im gonna look like in 5 months.

Already similar to what i do, but it is a great explanation of a bread and butter split which incorporates drop sets.