East European Bodybuilding Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training East European Bodybuilding Muscle mass secrets from the old countries by Christian Thibaudeau April 12, 2005June 10, 2022 Tags Bodybuilding, Training Big Bad Europeans The more you're involved in the world of strength training, the more you get to meet interesting people and learn new training methods. Last year I attended the Weider International Grand Prix of Canada, a bodybuilding contest organized by the Quebec Federation that included several of the world's best amateur bodybuilders from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, etc. What's interesting is that these countries aren't under the same influence as North American lifters. They haven't been contaminated by muscle rag propaganda. Rather, their methods are heavily influenced by the training of their Olympic lifters and powerlifters. In some cases, athletes from all three sports train together and some even compete in two or all three of these events! So when you get to know these guys and learn how they train, you realize there's more than one way to get big, and you don't need to follow the 3 x 10 dogma to do it! This is obviously a high quality physique. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that this particular athlete had just started his preparation for the World Championships that were to be held three months later. So he wasn't even in top form in this photo! Needless to say, these guys know how to train for size. But exactly what are they doing? The following will explain their training system and how it can be adapted to fit the North American lifestyle. These athletes have two training sessions per day (on the days they train). The morning session is a high load workout, while the early evening (or afternoon) session is an "intensive" workout. Don't confuse "intensive" with intensity strength training jargon. Intensity normally refers to the weight used (e.g. an intensity of 90% of your 1RM). Intensive means the use of advanced intensity techniques such as supersets, drop sets, forced reps, etc. The heavy session is performed first when the CNS is fresh and ready to go. That's a very important point. At least 4-6 hours separate both workouts to allow the athlete enough time to use restorative measures and ingest two or three meals. In the morning session, train for strength. East European countries have a large background of Olympic lifting and this is reflected in the training of their bodybuilders. The bodybuilding coaches (they do have a national coach and a whole organized coaching system for their top athletes) were often old Olympic lifters. The same could be said about some of their athletes. While they don't perform the Olympic lifts in their first session, they do employ an Olympic lifting mentality of using few movements (two or three) performed for a lot of sets of few reps, normally above 85% of the athlete's maximum. This training session serves several purposes: It greatly increases muscle density and hardness (myogenic tone or "tonus"). It can enhance neural efficiency, especially the capacity to recruit high threshold motor units. This means that subsequent bodybuilding-type training will be more effective since the body now has the capacity to recruit more muscle fibers. It can increase muscle size in its own right. East European bodybuilders use what they call the "basic exercise" for each body part and will rarely change it. The basic movements are: Quadriceps – Front Squat Hamstrings – Romanian Deadlift Pectorals – Bench Press Shoulders – Push Press, Upright Rowing Back – Barbell Rowing Biceps – Barbell Curl (even slightly cheated) Triceps – Close-Grip Bench Press So a week of morning workouts might look like this: Day 1 A. Front Squat Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets B. Romanian Deadlift Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets Romanian deadlift performed with dumbbells Day 2 A. Bench Press Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets B. Close-Grip Bench Press Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets Day 3 A. Barbell Rowing Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets B. Barbell Curl Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets Day 4 A. Push press Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets B. Upright rowing (shoulder width grip) Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets In the early evening session, train for "the pump." Well, the objective isn't the pump per se; it simply means that in the second workout of the day, the methods used are high-volume and high-density (a lot of work performed per unit of time). Rest intervals are kept as short as possible and density training techniques such as supersets, pre-fatigue, post-fatigue and drop sets are used, as well as intensity techniques such as slow eccentrics, isometrics combined with regular reps and forced reps. (If you're unfamiliar with those techniques, checkout my Violent Variations series.) If the AM workout rarely changes as far as exercises, volume and methods go, it's quite the opposite for the PM session. Basically, in the first session of the day you train to get as strong as possible, while in the second workout you try to trash the muscles. So, exercise selection and training methods can vary widely. However, the key is to keep a fast training pace and use intensity or density techniques. A sample week of PM training could look like this: Day 1 A. Back Squat 3 x 12-15 Use the double contraction (11/2) technique: go down to a full squat, get halfway up, go back down then stand up. That's one rep. 2 minutes of rest between sets B1. Leg Extension 1 x 20, 1 x 15, 1 x 12, 1 x 10 Hold a 2 second peak contraction on each rep No rest B2. Leg Curl 1 x 10 – 5 – 5 * 1 x 8 – 4 – 4 1 x 6 – 3 – 3 2 minutes of rest * These are rest-pause sets. Perform the first number of reps, take 10 seconds of rest, perform the second number of reps, take 10 seconds of rest, then perform the third number of reps. You use the same weight for all three mini-sets within the same rest-pause set. Day 2 A1. Incline Bench Press 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 Post-fatigue method No rest A2. Incline Cable Flies 4 x 12-15 Hold a 3 second peak contraction on each rep 2 minutes of rest B1. Lying Barbell Triceps Extension 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 Post-fatigue method No rest B2. Standing Cable Triceps Extension 4 x 12-15 Hold a 3 second peak contraction on each rep 2 minutes of rest Day 3 A1. Lat Pulldown 4 x 8-10 Hold a 3 second peak contraction on each rep No rest A2. Seated Rowing 4 x 12-15 Hold a 3 second peak contraction on each rep 2 minutes of rest B1. Preacher Straight-Bar Curl 4 x 12-15 Use the double contraction (11/2) technique: go down until the arms are fully extended, get halfway up, go back down, then curl the bar completely. That's one rep. No rest B2. Reverse Grip Barbell Curl 4 x 8-10 + max iso Perform 8 to 10 reps then hold the bar in the mid-range portion of the movement for as long as possible. 2 minutes of rest Day 4 A. Seated Dumbbell Press 4 x 12-15 Use the double contraction (1 1/2) technique: go halfway up, go back down, then lift the dumbbells completely. That's one rep. 2 minutes of rest B1. Lateral Raise 3 x 21s: 7 full reps, 7 top range reps, 7 low range reps No rest B2. Bent Over Lateral Raise 4 x 12-15 Hold a 3 second peak contraction on each rep 2 minutes of rest C. Power Shrug 4 x 8-10 1 minute of rest A week of training would look like this Monday: Day 1 exercises Tuesday: OFF/Restorative measures (See my article 7 Secrets to Rapid Recovery to learn about the best restorative measures.) Wednesday: Day 2 exercises Thursday: Abdominals/Restorative measures Friday: Day 3 exercises Saturday: Day 4 exercises Sunday: OFF/Restorative measures Training twice per day might seem like a lot, but the actual training volume is very similar to a regular bodybuilding workout, except that this volume is divided into two daily sessions. This makes it even harder to overtrain. Plus, there are three days per week without strength training. Restorative measures are included three times per week also. So, if you follow this plan exactly, the potential for overtraining is actually relatively low. Where there can be a problem is when people try to do more volume at each session (e.g. performing four exercises in the morning and adding a few more in the evening). In this particular case, more isn't better. Not everyone has the luxury of training twice a day. If you work forty hours per week, or are a full-time student it could be hard. Fortunately, there's a way to adapt the principles of this training program to suit your own schedule. Obviously, if you don't have any time restrictions, following the original plan would work very well for you. But just in case, here are some other options: Option #1 The Grouped Workout This is the simplest option: you group the morning and evening sessions into a single workout. The heavy sets are obviously performed first. Once this segment of the training program is completed, you take a 15 minute break and ingest a serving of Surge Workout Fuel. Why? Because performing both workouts within the same training session will run you longer than 60 minutes and we want to avoid a catabolic-dominant situation. By taking in nutrients and resting a short moment you can prevent cortisol from ramping up too high, which will allow for a much more effective workout. For example, Day 1 would look like this: Day 1 A. Front Squat Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets B. Romanian Deadlift Week 1: 7 x 4 Week 2: 5/4/3/5/4/3 Week 3: 3/2/1/3/2/1 3 minutes of rest between sets Take a 15 minute break and a serving of Surge. C. Back Squat 3 x 12-15 Use the double contraction (1 1/2) technique: go down to a full squat, get halfway up, go back down, then stand up. That's one rep. 2 minutes of rest between sets D1. Leg Extension 1 x 20, 1 x 15, 1 x 12, 1 x 10 Hold a 2 second peak contraction on each rep No rest D2. Leg curl 1 x 10 – 5 – 5 1 x 8 – 4 – 4 1 x 6 – 3 – 3 This first option is the easiest to plan, but I'll be honest with you: it can be brutal. The lower body day is especially gruelling. So it isn't the most effective way to train if you have either a low work capacity or are extremely fast-twitch dominant. However, workhorses and slow-twitch dominant individuals can normally use this approach. Option #2 The Crossed Workout This is similar to the first approach in that you perform both types of workouts at the same training session. The difference is that you don't train the same muscle groups during the two different segments of the training session. For example: Day 1: Intensification lower body/Accumulation shoulders Day 2: Intensification chest/Accumulation arms Day 3: Intensification arms/Accumulation back Day 4: Intensification shoulders/Accumulation lower body Day 5: Intensification back/Accumulation chest Ideally you'd switch to an eight-day cycle to keep the same training days/rest days ratio. So a training cycle becomes: Monday: Day 1 Tuesday: OFF/Restorative measures Wednesday: Day 2 Thursday: Abdominals/Restorative measures Friday: Day 3 Saturday: OFF/Restorative measures Sunday: Day 4 Monday: OFF/Restorative measures Tuesday: Day 1 Wednesday: OFF/Restorative measures Thursday: Day 2 Friday: OFF/Restorative measures Saturday: Day 3 Sunday: OFF/Restorative measures Monday: Day 4 Etc. Option #3 The Pendulum Organization Those of you who are familiar with my pendulum approach know that it alternates the nature of the training program every week. It can be used with this bodybuilding approach: Week 1: Perform the intensification workouts Week 2: Perform the accumulation workouts Week 3: Perform the intensification workouts Week 4: Perform the accumulation workouts Week 5: Perform the intensification workouts Week 6: Perform the accumulation workouts You keep the same training schedule as in the original plan: Monday: Day 1 (lower body) Tuesday: OFF/Restorative measures Wednesday: Day 2 (chest and triceps) Thursday: Abdominals/Restorative measures Friday: Day 3 (back and biceps) Saturday: Day 4 (shoulders) Sunday: OFF/Restorative measures This type of training has obviously built several rock-hard physiques. (You have to see these guys to get the full impact!) If properly applied it'll do the same for you. Not to mention, this type of training will build as much strength as it will muscle size! Try it! Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip Do Partner Flyes for Bigger Pecs Manual resistance flyes. Yeah, this is gonna hurt. Here's how to do them. Tips, Training John Meadows April 4 Training Tip Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Triceps Extension Dumbbells beat a barbell for this exercise. You'll get better triceps engagement and a better stretch, which triggers more muscle growth. Arms, Bodybuilding, Exercise Coaching, Tips Mark Dugdale April 12 Training Smart Training 2 Dr. Ken Kinakin, much like Dr. Mike Leahy, knows your pain. In fact, he's made a living off of it. The doc is one of the best in the world at devising training protocols to help make you injury-proof. Yeah, he likes bodybuilding and powerlifting routines, too, but when it comes to figuring out how to fix what ails ya', he's one of the best. Training Chris Shugart October 22 Training Tip 100 Reps to Bigger Calves Crank up the reps and the training frequency to add some size to your stubborn calves. Bonus: You can do this anywhere, every day. Bodybuilding, Calves, Tips, Training Paul Carter December 24