HEAVYD DENSITY LIFTING: HDL is a style of lifting where you perform many micro-sets of 1-5 reps with only

10-15 seconds of rest. Nornally 4-6 of those micro-sets are done in a row and it constitutes one round. The 4-4-3-3-2-2 works great for slower twitch and mixed individuals. Fast twitch people will respond better to 5-4-3-2-1 (not the 5-4-3-2-1 scheme that I often refer to, you take 10-15 sec. between micro-sets and use the same weight for all). In essence, it is one big set BEST EXERCISES: I find that to maximize muscle mass with as few exercises as possible, the bench press decline tilt, bench press incline tilt, high pull and trap bar deadlift are ideal (I like the deadstop row, but it is not on the same level as the others). I personally only add the power snatch to that on my "fun day". But I also use the method with other exercises for people with specific needs (e.g. olympic lifters, powerlifters) 1) Ramp to max: I usually take about 7 or 8 sets I think to get to a max. First few sets will be triples and then I switch to singles so as to not accumulate much fatigue. 2) clusters are done at 90% of whatever max you ramped to and then they are done as single reps done every 10 seconds or less. Depending on the lift and your fibre make up (fast vs. slow twitch dominant) you will likely get somewhere between 5 and 10 single reps in your first cluster. Do 3 separate cluster sets. 3) HDL - full explanations in some recent spills. Basically, take 65-70% of the max that you ramped up to and then perform multiple micro-sets w/ about 15 seconds rest between micro sets. The set up of the HDL microsets depends on your cluster performance. If you got more than 17 total reps across your 3 cluster sets then do each HDL set as 4/4/3/3/2/2/1/1 - so do 4 reps, rest 15 secs, do 4 reps, rest 15 secs, do 3 reps.....and so on. That is one set. Do 3 of these. 4) Number of exercises per day- CT originally wrote about 2 exercises per day an now does only one himself. Keep in mind that he is working on a full progression that we have only seen hints of so far. I'm sticking with my current set up for now and will progress as needed once the full program becomes avaialble. 5) CT's current 'money' exercises are: slight incline BP, slight decline BP, high pulls, trap bar deadlift, scrape the rack over head press (press the bar hard against power rack uprights as you press overhead), deadstart row. Have a look through my log for the last few weeks to see how I currently arrange the split - not the only way to do it obviously - do whatever works for you. 1) rest between clusters: I don't believe in prescribed rest periods as each person will be different and even from one day to the next a given person will require a different amount of rest depending on a number of factors - my opinion is that you should rest for as little time as necessary to be able to perform optimally on the next cluster set. Same goes for HDL sets - keep in mind some exercises are more challenging than others and this is very evident on HDL sets - I rest longer between deadlift HDL sets than I do for OHP or high pull HDL sets for example.

2) scrape the rack press - yes, press it against the uprights in front of you as you press and as you perform the eccentric portion too. FOR MAX PUMP: I honestly believe, and it has been my experience, that the layering of (1) max ramp (2) Clusters (3) and Heavy Density Lifting (HDL) will build a ton of dense, hard mass even on coat racks. There are some who asked about adding more work afterwards. I mentioned that I like adding a few explosive sets. If one wanted to do a bit more pump work he could do 1-2 sets of the following (on the same lift at the 3 main techniques) HDL SETS AND ROUNDS: The HDL portion of the workout is made up rounds which are made up of micro-sets with short rest between each. For example 5 reps/10 sec rest/4 reps/10 sec rest/3 reps/10 sec rest/2 reps/10 sec rest/1 rep... is ONE ROUND. You rest 90-180 sec. after the round and you perform 2-4 rounds per workout. The 1 SET you mention is for the max pump work that I talked about earlier that can be added at the end of HDL Christian Thibaudeau: @ Mccarthy... you hit the major groups 3x per week or so, but with different movements. Something like (1) Bench decline tilt (2) high pull (3) Bench incline tilt (4) high pull (5) Scrape the rack overhead press (6) Front squat/Trap bar dead with some lats work thrown in on the pull days would work fine. HIGH PULL VARIATIONS: I personally use 2 styles of high pulls and 3 variations of each. STYLE 1: Traditional high pull (pulling as high as you can, shooting for your neck) STYLE 2: Chinese-style high pull where you pull to sternum level and dip down toward the bar (imagine trying to bring your chest to the bar). For these 2 styles I can do the lift from hang, from blocks or from the floor (more) HIGH PULL VARIATIONS (2): Only the pulls from blocks and from the floor can be done for the max ramp/cluster/HDL layer. And I recommend using the blocks for most since the pulls from the floor are more technical.

HIGH PULL FROM BLOCKS: I normally recommend a height that is 1-3" above the knee (1) I don't like to use the pins in the power rack for high pulls... too many things can go wrong! You hit the post with the plate, you squeeze your finger between the bar and safety pin, etc. I prefer to use two adjustable benches for blocks. (2) yes, one main movement per day NO. OF SETS TO RAMP TO MAX: I personally do sets of 3 reps for the first 4 sets then when I approach 80% I switch to singles./ MAX PUMP LAYER: The MPL is not part of the regular approach, but can be added on after the HDL layer if you feel that the muscle needs a bit more. For a quick recap, you still use the same movement. You hold the bar 5 sec., do 5 reps, hold 4 sec, do 4 reps, hold 3 sec, do 3 reps, hold 2 sec, do 2 reps, hold 1

sec, do 1 rep. The hold is at the mid-range (bench, squat, trap bar dead), peak contraction (row) or shrug (high pulls). And you never rack the bar during the set. NO. OF SETS TO RAMP TO MAX: Here's an example if I ramp up on 385 on bench press incline tilt from pins: 135 (35%), 185 (48%), 225 (58%), 275 (71%), 295 (77%), 315 (82%), 335 (87%), 355 (92%), 375 (97%), 385 (100%). The percentages are not targets, I just calculated them to give you an idea... roughly 10 ramp sets. 4 of 70% or less, 3 of less than 90%, 3 of 90-100%. CLUSTER REPS: To me the minimum rep number for the first cluster is 3... it's fine if you only get 2 on the last set, but not the first one. That might happen if you hit a very good PR on the ramp that leaves the nervous system exhausted rather than activated. If you cannot get more than 2 on the first cluster, reduce the weight by about 10lbs and start over. DURATION OF THE MAX RAMP SECTION: I last me about 15-20 minutes when doing it with my partner... the cluster section lasts about 10 minutes and the HDL section 10-15 minutes. ABS MOVEMENT DURING AB BLITZES: I mentionned it many times in the past: with abs it's not about the movement but how you contract the muscles during the exercise. Before you start the rep you flex your abs as hard as you can (imagine that I was gonna punch you in the stomach) THEN you do the rep... at the end of the rep you flex hard again then return to the starting position trying to maintain the flex. deadstart row... I personally do the rows on their own day. I was going from the schedule for which the question was asked. I use a similar scheme as the other lifts except that I ramp to a 3RM not 1RM. I also focus on perfect movement and contraction. With rows it's easy to use a lot more weight by slightly cheating or changing body position. I want the torso to be almost parallel to the floor and focus on a hard squeeze at the peak. I only go heavier if I can maintain that.

deadstart rows: I use a pronated grip although I'm sure you could use a supinated grip if you wanted to try them both and see which gives you the best feel. No need to use pins on the deadstart row - just lift right from the floor - I start the movement with a bit of leg drive and then pull towards the lower abdomen or hip crease - again, play around with the line of pull and see what gives you the best feel (rowing higher ie toward the chest with an elbows flared position will emphasize mid back/rear delts more while wide grip with elbows in and pulling to the hip crease hits more lower traps/lats - all depends what you want and you can vary the pull often to hit different aspects. 2) for OH pressing from pins use a setting that puts the bar somewhere between mouth and eye-height height - again, the optimal placement depends on the individual - play around and see what feels best. Personally, I set the bar around bridge of the nose height. COOL THING WITH MAX/CLUSTER/HDL: The motivating this with that sequencing is that you have 3 areas to improve on. Let's face it, you will not always be able to add weight to your max set. But if you

can't, you can shoot for 1 more total rep on the clusters or even on doing one more rep at the end on an HDL set. DURATION OF THE MAX RAMP SECTION: I last me about 15-20 minutes when doing it with my partner... the cluster section lasts about 10 minutes and the HDL section 10-15 minutes. THE PURPOSE OF RAMP TO MAX/CLUSTER/HDL: It is primarily built to build muscle, and mostly THE POWER LOOK. The hard, dense, animalistic look of an explosive pro athlete with a lot of size. My primary objective was to build a certain look... and it turns out that the best way to do so also build a lot of strength, power and resiliency which is why I started using it will all kind of athletes I don't like the term warm-up... it just programs the brain to do pointless, focus-less sets. I prefer to call them preparation sets. It can isolation work, it can be the same movement. The goals are to prepare the muscles and joints as well as pull nutrients-rich blood in the muscle. But in both cases (isolation or same movement) we want as little fatigue as possible to avoid hurting the ramp without at least ANACONDA there is no way to get the most out of the system. The whole basis for the system is stimulating and delivering a maximum amount of nutrients into the muscles I have a hard time eating enough to grow optimally and that is with close to 1000 calories during the workout (2) people's PRs are misleading: it is NOT a system designed to build maximum strength, but rather maximum size. Which is why the big PRs took me by surprise. When I built the system, the key was to improve on the clusters and HDL parts... the ramp to max was mostly to activate the nervous system and to know the weights to use on the others layers. It is NOT a matter of frequency or even volume if you do not have the proper peri, but rather that the proper peri is necessary to send the right stuff to the muscles. That's why I use a lot of pauses during sets: it causes a reactive hyperhemia that forces more blood, thus more nutrients into the muscles. I would not do the layer system without a proper peri myself. BICEP TRAINING: I do not like biceps questions. I feel that this muscle gets a disproportionate level of attention that is not justified. My biceps training varies so I cannot say "this is how I train biceps" the same way I can say that "this is how I train my main movements". But for my last session I did a form of layer without the ramp to max on preacher curl (so 3 sets of clusters, 3 sets of HDL 5-4-3-2-1, 3 sets of max pump)... but I took 5-7 sec of rest instead of 10-15 during the clusters/HDL