Only the strong will survive this strength-boosting regime. It’s guaranteed to make you shift more than ever on all your lifts while giving you gigantic mass gains.

Read on and get the knowledge, then head over to Monster Supplements to get MASSIVE SAVINGS on USN’s Winter Bulk pack!

Few things can defeat a man more than a weight that comes to a dead stop, mid-rep. You can put everything you have behind it and nothing – it won’t budge.

Weakness can be frustrating, but you’re never so strong that you can kick back and rest on your laurels. That performance upgrade comes to you in the form of this routine called Six and One.

It was originally formulated by Dragomir Cioroslan, a former Olympic weightlifting medallist and ex-USA national weightlifting coach, and has you doing a 1 rep max (1RM) set then three minutes after you do a 6 rep max (6RM) set.

This lets you use more weight that you could if you hadn’t done the 1RM set. Let’s say, on your best day, you can only bench press six reps of 100kg. But if you used the 6&1 system and did a maximum bench of say 130kg, then waited three minutes, you’ll be able to bench press six reps of 110kgs.

By overloading your muscles on your first set, you trick your body into preparing for further heavy sets. When you chase down that set with a lower weight, albeit one you wouldn’t normally be able to get six reps with, you’re able to shift up more weight than usual.

You’re tricking your nervous system into lifting more weight for higher reps and that’ll ears you more mass.

THE SCIENCE OF 6 & 1 STRENGTH

Your miraculous increase in strength after a 1RM max is thanks to a phenomenon called Potentiation. This refers to your body’s ability to produce more force than normal because of the activity you did just before the lift, found studies in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

The 1RM. Excites your nervous system so much that it recruits all your muscle fibres for the following lift – much like an Army General getting bombed then calling in reinforcements and sending all his troops to the front line.

When you start your reps you’ll have all your muscle fibres at your disposal, which will help you to use a greater weight than you could have if you hadn’t done 1RM set.

THE SIX RULES OF 6 & 1

  1. Sets and reps

Perform a warm-up of 15 reps then do one set using your 1RM, rest three minutes (between all sets) then do a set of six reps using a weight that’s 70-85% of your 1RM.

Keep alternating in this fashion until you’ve done a total of 6-8 sets on each exercise.

  1. Lifting speed

For the 6RM sets take three seconds to lower the weight and one second to raise it. For the 1RM sets take 1-2 seconds to lower the weight and one second to raise it.

  1. How to get stronger

After each set, increase the weights you use for both your 1RM and 6RM sets even if it’s only by 2-3%. People often report getting stronger as they do more sets.

  1. Number of sessions per week

Perform 3-5 workouts a week. The best strategy is to alternate between training and rest days but you can train for two consecutive days if you’re on a tight schedule.

  1. The training split

Train the following muscles together: biceps and triceps, legs on their own, chest and back. Ignore shoulders and abs – they get worked when training the rest of your body and you’ll lower your 1RM sets if they’re fatigued.

  1. Number of exercises

Only use 2-3 exercises for each body part. Avoid isolation or machine exercises and stick to compound multi-jointed moves, such as squats and presses, because they let you shift the most iron possible.

Before we get in to the all-in-one muscle-building routine it’s key to make sure your preparation is right, make sure that you’re well rested, hydrated and stretched so that your body is raring to go for your workout, if you still think you need that extra bit of oomph, there are some great pre workouts available on the market at fair prices.

All-in-one Workout 

Follow this full body muscle-building routine to keep on increasing your gains.

WORKOUT 1 – BACK, CHEST 

Exercise, Sets, Reps

  • Lat pull-downs, 7, 15, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Bent over barbell row, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Dumbbell row, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Barbell bench press, 7, 15, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Incline dumbbell press, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Weighted dips, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6

WORKOUT 2 – LEGS 

Exercise, Sets, Reps

  • Barbell front squats, 7, 15, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Leg press, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Stiff leg deadlift, 7, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Good morning, 6, 15, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Seated calf raises, 7, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Standing calf raise, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6

WORKOUT 3 – BICEPS, TRICEPS 

Exercise, Sets, Reps

  • Weighted pull-up, 7, 15, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Standing EZ bar curls, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Dumbbell hammer curls, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Close grip bench press, 7, 15, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Push-downs, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6
  • Upright weighted dips, 6, 1,6,1,6,1,6

Even after your workout’s finished, it’s important you don’t neglect your body. Make sure you have another stretch and foam roll to allow your body to cool down bringing it back to its resting position. Refuelling with some post-workout nutrition such as a protein shake is also key if you want to maximise the benefits of the effort you’ve just put in the gym, these will give your body the carbohydrates and protein it’s looking for to build muscle and replenish itself.

Get the Winter Bulk supps! Head over to Monster Supplements for MASSIVE SAVINGS on USN’s Winter Bulk pack!