Hypertrophy Max - Primer Phase

primer Cover tK

Vince Del Monte & Ben Pakulski

PAUSE & PRIME

PRIMER PHASE WWW.HYPERTROPHYMAX.COM

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HypertropHy M.A.X “pAUSe & prIMe” prepArAtory progrAM Welcome aboard! We want to first congratulate you for joining the most elite musclebuilding program in the world and being the newest “Hyper MAXER!” We are ALL here to make each other better, which is why activity on the forums has been running rampant for the past six months (since we officially opened registration) and if you haven’t introduced yourself yet, do that soon. You’re going to see why the Private Members’ Forum is the crown jewel of the program and you’ll get to meet more than 3,700 amazing members who will be of valuable assistance to you, since they have already gone through what you’re starting. After going through a few posts on the forums you’ll quickly discover that Hypertrophy M.A.X. has the smartest members in the world and that you made an awesome decision!

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When we first discussed the idea of an exclusive members’ forum we were both really excited about the possibilities - connecting men and women from all over the globe in one place, with a unique goal, all following the same program and helping each other every single step of the way! We are creating a network of FRIENDS, co-workers, and training partners to help everyone overcome their obstacles and eliminate their limiting beliefs. We all have those beliefs that hold us back from being where we want to be in life. Whether it’s the belief that we CAN’T, or maybe we’re not good enough, or we just don’t have the time or the resources. Well guess what? We just gave YOU the tools to overcome each and every one of those useless beliefs. There is someone somewhere in this world that is facing the exact same obstacles you are. Chances are that even WE (Ben and Vince speaking here) have encountered the very same obstacles. We are ALL here to help each other. As your coaches we are constantly seeking the best information in the world. We want to bring the best to you! The forums will be our place to personally interact and chat about what we are doing and what we have learned that you can apply NOW. Obviously, there are thousands of you, and only TWO (2) of us, so please take the time to help each other first. We are doing our best to give you all the tools you need to achieve the physique of your dreams in 12 months. For some of you, your profession is personal training. This program will be the best personal training course you’ve ever taken! Hypertrophy M.A.X. will get you THINKING! That is the goal. We do not want to teach autonomous robots. We strive to educate so that you can decipher all the crap that exists out there. First things first, until you receive your Phase 1 package of Hypertrophy M.A.X. in the mail, we are going to be providing EVERYONE with the HypertrophyMAX primer and the MI40 execution videos to allow you some time to watch, and rewatch the videos so that you can brush up on the details of intention and perfect execution. WWW.HYPERTROPHYMAX.COM

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The Goal of the Primer Phase The direct goal of the Hypertrophy M.A.X. Primer Phase is to prepare your body and set you up to optimize gains over the next 12 months. The goal is to break old “crappy” movement patterns and replace with them with new biomechanically-optimal movement patterns. To do this we must ensure you are accessing a full and maximum range of motion for your body. Each body part has a correct biomechanical range of motion that must be utilized under some varying degree of tension to ensure all muscle fibers and motor units are stimulated to maximize the growth potential of that muscle. In layman’s terms: If you’re looking for maximum muscle growth (or any amount of growth in a healthy and balanced way) stimulate a muscle at all points along its predetermined range of motion with maximum tension.

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In stating this, it is important to recognize that any point in the range that is bounced or moved with inertia would not constitute muscular “tension.” It’s more considered “fools gold.” So even though you may feel like you’re getting a “full range of motion” the missing ingredient would be a full range of motion under tension. Making Growth Inevitable To get the most out of any workout plan, being able to execute optimal movement patterns is vital and must be implemented at all times. When you get to the point of using these optimal movement patterns without thought, or what is known as “unconscious competence,” you will be able to shift focus from exercise execution, to taking your body and mind to the absolute limit. At this point, growth will be inevitable. This is the direct goal of every stage and step of Hypertrophy M.A.X. If you carefully adhere to the plan that has been set forth, eliminating inertia and cheating until your body only knows the absolute perfect movement patterns, growth will be 100% under your conscious control, and it will seem as though you’re able to grow at will.

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The Workout Guidelines THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS to remember when undergoing the Hypertrophy M.A.X. Primer Phase: 1) Every exercise in this primer is specifically selected for a reason and to be done in a very specific way. See the execution videos for additional pointers, and even if you’ve watched them before, watch them again. Heck, you should watch them at least once a month if you truly want to master optimal technique. 2) Each exercise is to be done in a “PAUSE & PRIME” fashion. The definition of “Pause and Prime”: The best way to “prime” a muscle for optimal execution (i.e. FORM), neural firing (increasing the efficiency of your nervous system), and hypertrophy (i.e. GROWTH!) is to learn to generate tension throughout the entire range of motion. This can be done manually (with conscious intent), or with added resistance. STEPS TO PRIME: 1) CONTRACT THE ANTAGONIST - To ensure you are using a full range of motion for the working muscle, start by contracting its antagonist muscle when the working muscle (agonist) is fully lengthened or relaxed. 2) PAUSE - While contracting the ANTAGONIST. 3) SQUEEZE BEFORE INITIATING MOVEMENT - Now, before moving at all, squeeze the working muscle and create tension in that muscle. (Note: nothing has moved at this point - only a conscious engaging of the agonist muscle in its fully lengthened position.

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4) SQUEEZE THROUGH - Continue with that initial squeeze and now contract the muscle harder to finish the rep through the entire range. 5) MAINTAIN CONTINUOUS TENSION AND TEMPO - No resting at the top of the range, only in the fully lengthened position. 6) USE ONLY 60% INTENSITY - The preparatory phase is not designed for you to be a hero or set new personal bests. You have 12 months of workouts just around the corner that will do that so don’t think you know what you’re doing and deviate from the Prime & Pause Phase (I don’t care if you’re an IFBB Pro Bodybuilder)! Examples: CHEST: Rest and pause at the bottom of a chest press while there is still tension, not at the top. BACK: Only pause in a fully lengthened position. AGONIST/ANTAGONIST PAIRINGS i) Biceps/Triceps ii) Quads/Hamstrings iii) Chest/Back iv) Calves/Tibialis Anterior (shin muscle) v) Delts/Lats

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This primer program is a 7-day program that can be repeated as many times as necessary to attain the desired result or “unconscious competence.” It is recommended that you follow the program a minimum of two times through (three to four times is optimal). The primer is NOT intended to be a “heavy” training session. It is contractionbased training. Focus on intention and contracting as hard as you can from top to bottom. Don’t forget to stick to the 60% intensity for load selections (1RM X 0.6). Take approximately a 45-90 second rest between sets. Don’t worry too much about the rest periods during the Primer Phase - take enough time so you’re relatively fresh for each set.

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The Prime & Pause Preparatory Phase

Day 1: Chest & Back Exercise Incline Barbell Bench Press (pull shoulders back, squeeze your back)

SETS 4

REPS 10

Supported Machine Row (stretch, retract, then pull through)

4

10

Flat Dumbbell Press

4

6

One Arm Dumbbell Row

4

6

Flat Dumbbell Fly

3

15

Assisted Pull Up

3

15

Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl

4

10

Lying Barbell Tricep Extension

4

10

*Make sure to keep shoulders depressed the entire time.

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The Prime & Pause Preparatory Phase

Day 2: Legs & Calves Exercise Leg Extension

SETS 4

REPS 12

Leg Curl

4

12

Hack Squat

4

10

Wide Stance (toes out) “Plie” Squat

4

10

Bulgarian Split squat

4

15

Stiff leg Deadlift

4

20

Seated Calf

3

20

Standing Calf

3

12

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The Prime & Pause Preparatory Phase

Day 3: Shoulders & Back Exercise Two Arm Cable Side Laterals (cross body)

SETS 4

REPS 15

Assisted Pull Up

4

15

Incline Dumbbell Front Raise

4

12

Decline Dumbbell Pullover

4

12

Two Arm Cable Bent Over Laterals (cross body)

4

15

Seated Cable Row Elbows High

4

15

Day 4-OFF

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The Prime & Pause Preparatory Phase

Day 5: Biceps & Triceps Exercise Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl

SETS 4

REPS 10

Close Grip Bench Press (2” outside shoulder width) elbows high

4

10

Two-Arm Bicep Cable Curl

4

15

Bench Press (4” outside shoulder width) elbows high

4

15

Barbell Preacher Curl

4

15

Flat Dumbbell Pec Fly

4

15

Cable Triceps Pushdown

4

20

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The Prime & Pause Preparatory Phase

Day 6: Legs & Shoulders Exercise Front Squat

SETS 4

REPS 12

Deadlift (stop 2” from floor)

4

12

One Leg Hack Squat

4

12

One Leg Lying Leg Curl

4

12

Leg Press

4

20

Back Extension

4

20

Two Arm Cable Side Laterals (cross body)

4

20

Incline Dumbbell Front Raises

4

12

Bent Over Two Arm Cable side Laterals (cross body)

4

15

Day 7 OFF

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The Nutritional Guidelines For those of you that are familiar with the nutrition concepts set forth in MI40, those same concepts hold true for this program. They are sound, scientific methods and should be applied to your training protocols at all times. For those of you that haven’t followed MI40 in the past, we are going to be providing basic macro nutrient guidelines for the Hypertrophy M.A.X. program below. These macros will need to be adjusted according to your goals and according to the results you experience along the way. Use outcome-based decision making (we’ll teach you more about this later) to continue moving closer to your goals. Every nutrition program is only as good as the changes you make to fit your current goals. Not gaining as fast as you like? Increase by 500 calories a day for two weeks. Still not there? Add another 500 calories a day for two weeks until you see the results you expect! But remember, consistency is the key! I like to ALWAYS make sure that my first meal of the day and my last meal of the day never change. So I know I’m getting 1,000 calories in each of those meals. (Ben speaking). After that, the next two most important meals are pre and post workout. I will adjust these on a day to day basis according to my prescribed WWW.HYPERTROPHYMAX.COM

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workout. Long leg workout? I need more carbs before and after (100 grams before and 100 grams after). Arm workout? I use no carbs before, and a relatively small amount after (50 grams). Base it on an on-demand basis! What amount of carbs do I need to replenish? What amount of carbs did I “earn?” Did you do some crazy deadlifts and a hard back session? Chances are you’ll need more nutrients (carbs AND aminos/protein) than you might need after a bicep workout. Don’t worry, all of this will be explained in further detail in the private members’ forum and via the monthly newsletters.

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5 Steps To Individualizing Your Diet Step 1: Determine Calorie Needs The goal is to match your activity level and goals and to determine calorie needs. Here is a chart to help you decide which multiplier is appropriate for you.

Your Goal

determine calorie chart

Weight Loss

Weight Maintenance

Weight Gain

Multiply Bodyweight In Pounds By: Sedentary (minimal

10-12

12-14

16-18

Moderately active Very active (*Hypertrophy

12-14 14-16

14-16 16-18

16-18 20-22

exercise)

M.A.X. member)

A 120 pound female following Hypertrophy M.A.X. interested in adding muscle mass will be taking in 2,400 to 2,640 calories on training and non-training days. A 180 pound male following Hypertrophy M.A.X. interested in adding muscle mass will be taking in 3,600 to 3,960 calories on training and non-training days. Step 2: Determine Macronutrient Split

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For AVERAGE METABOLISM: For those of you that view yourselves as having an “average” metabolism, begin with the following macronutrient split and then use outcome-based decision making to move closer to your goal: 1 gram of protein/lb of bodyweight. 1 gram of carb/lb of bodyweight. 0.5 grams of fat/lb of bodyweight

To BUILD MUSCLE: For someone who believes he or she has a faster metabolism or simply knows he/she has a problem gaining weight, begin with the following macronutrient split and then use outcome-based decision making to move closer to your goal: 1.5 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight 2 grams of carb/lb of bodyweight 0.5 grams of fat/lb of bodyweight

For HARDGAINER: For someone who can eat everything and still has a hard time growing, begin with the following macronutrient split and then use outcome-based decision making to move closer to your goal: 1.5 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight 4 grams of carb/lb of bodyweight 0.5gram fat/lb bodyweight For SLOW METABOLISM: For someone looking to get big and to lose body fat or keep body fat minimal,

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begin with the following macronutrient split and then use outcome-based decision making to move closer to your goal: 2 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight 0.5 grams of carb/lb of bodyweight 1 gram of fat/lb of bodyweight NOTES: *For ANYONE eating 1 gram of protein/lb a day PLEASE remember it is important that you eat 15 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories of food you eat. Supplementing is not a bad idea. Find a balance of soluble and insoluble fibers. **For now, don’t worry about nutrient timing, we’ll get to that later. For now, we want you to simply focus on hitting your daily calories and macros, which will put you miles ahead of the pack. ***The only nutrient timing strategy will suggest you employ is to try to take in a large percentage of your daily carbohydrates around the workout in two separate servings. For example, if your carb intake was 300 grams for the day, you would have 150 grams one hour after the workout and 150 grams four hours after the workout. If 150 grams is too much for one sitting, you could do 100 grams of liquid carbs during your workout, 100 grams one hour after your workout and 100 grams four hours after your workout. If 100 grams per meal was too much you could do 75 grams of carbs two hours before you train, 75 grams of carbs during your workout, 75 grams one hour after your workout and 75 grams four hours after you workout. How you portion out your macronutrients is an advanced strategy that should only be considered AFTER you’re hitting your daily calorie and macro needs, period! ****IF you are training twice a day, add 20% to your total calorie intake from a balance of all three macros. This will be discussed in more detail once we introduce Twice-A-Day Training to those who purchased the Twice-A-Day Training Workouts.

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Click Here To Order the

555 Cycle Diet & Done For You Meal Plans

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Got a Question about the Primer Phase? Click here to post in on the Private Member Forums

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