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Biceps are a male obsession. This usually leads to throwing everything and the kitchen sink at them.

In reality, to build large and vascular biceps, there is no need to do isolated arm work.

All you need are two compound exercises (one high-rep and high-speed, and the other low-rep and low-speed) and, if you absolutely must do curls, include one lesser-known version called the "reverse drag curl."

The First Compound Exercise: The Two-Handed Kettlebell Swing We covered this exercise in detail in "Building the Perfect Posterior." Reps are 50+.

The Second Compound Exercise: The "Yates" Bent Row [image]

Named after six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, who used it as a staple of his back routine, this exercise is a palms-up bent row performed with a slight 2030-degree bend at the waist from standing. The bar will generally be at the top of the kneecaps in the bottom hang position. To minimize wrist pain, perform with an EZ bar if possible (here demonstrated with a standard Olympic barbell) and pause for a second at your hip crease, where the bar should make contact.

The Reverse Drag Curl This exercise, ideally performed with a thick bar, develops the brachialis on the side of the upper arm and provides more constant tension than traditional curls.

Traditional curls often place the elbow under the weight at the top of the moment, minimizing resistance: [image]

The suboptimal traditional curl The drag curl, in contrast, raises the bar straight up rather than in a circular motion, grazing the front of the body and maintaining tension throughout.

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The "drag curl"

The above photos show a standard drag curl with palms up. To reverse it, as suggested, ensure your palms are shoulder width apart and facing down.

Tempo and reps on both the row and the drag curl are the same as in Occam's Protocol, 5 up and 5 down.

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Dave Palumbo was going to become a doctor.

Then, somewhere between running track in college and his third and final year in med school, he became fascinated by muscular growth. That marked a fork in the path, and he opted to step outside of the laboratory and make himself a real-life experiment.

He weighed less than 140 pounds when he started in 1986. By 1997, he was 310 pounds at less than 10% bodyfat.

In 2008 alone, in addition to training professional athletes and celebrities like WWE star Triple H, he trained more than 150 bodybuilders and physique compet.i.tors. Getting to 3.5% bodyfat or doubling your body ma.s.s isn't normal, but that is precisely Dave's forte: creating freaks of nature.

This brings us to the kitchen in 1997, just before his apex of ma.s.s proportions.

Dave was standing completely still, braced with his hands on the sink.

He hadn't been gaining weight. Despite consuming six to eight Met-Rx meal replacement packets and four to five whole-food meals per day, the scale wasn't budging. He needed to eat more, but he couldn't chew and digest more solids without regurgitating. It was impossible. He'd reached his solid food limit, so he had to augment with liquid.

His Jewish grandmother hara.s.sed him about consuming raw eggs and the risk of salmonella poisoning, so he compromised: 12 eggs mixed in a blender and then microwaved for one minute. That formed the base. The full recipe was four ingredients: 12 warm blended eggs1 cup apple juice1 cup uncooked oatmeal2 scoops whey protein powder Blending the concoction created a cement-like substance, which he then had to pour down his throat while stationed at the kitchen sink. He'd conditioned himself to inhibit the gag reflex, which was critical, as the sludge moved at a glacial pace down his esophagus to his stomach.

Just another day at the office.

Then he waited.

Dave had learned from experience-and thrice-daily cement feedings-that he had to remain perfectly still for 15 minutes, no less, breathing slowly and allowing things to settle. Even shifting on his feet could trigger immediate retching. Stillness was important.

There were times, of course, when the world didn't cooperate.

He had once been late for a training appointment, so he force-fed himself, threw the blender in the sink, and jumped in his car to beat the clock. Keep in mind that, at 510 and more than 300 pounds, his legs were only a few inches from his stomach when seated. He had outgrown his car.

In minutes, as he rushed through traffic, his mouth began to produce copious amounts of saliva, preparing his digestive tract for rejection. He did his best to achieve a Zen-like state, repeating "Please don't puke, please don't puke, please don't puke," like a mantra. He was almost there.

Dave approached a light, and the car in front of him stopped short.

He slammed on the brakes. This made his stomach slam into his thighs and he projectile-vomited onto the windshield, like Linda Blair in The Exorcist The Exorcist, for several long seconds. Not an inch of windshield was spared, and nothing remained in his stomach.

Toweling off just enough to see, he raced to his client's house, jumped out of the car, and ran up to the front door. "What the h.e.l.l happened to your car?" was all his client could say as Dave walked past him directly to the kitchen.

It was time to have another shake. The calories were not optional.

Gaining more than 180 pounds of muscle is possible, as is squatting with fourteen 45-pound plates on the bar, but neither is common. Doing the uncommon requires uncommon behavior. Rule #1 for Dave: eating would not always be for enjoyment.

If you're attempting to gain large amounts of muscular weight, it won't always be enjoyable for you either. This is particularly true for the first week.

Buckle up and get the job done.

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End of Chapter Notes 16. Yes, in case you missed it earlier, this is a weight lifting maneuver. Yes, in case you missed it earlier, this is a weight lifting maneuver.

17. Med school mnemonic for "supinated": imagine eating "soup" out of a cupped hand. Med school mnemonic for "supinated": imagine eating "soup" out of a cupped hand.

18. These are rectangular frames with pins that can be set at various heights to catch weights if dropped. I train solo and do almost all of my barbell exercises in a Power Rack. These are rectangular frames with pins that can be set at various heights to catch weights if dropped. I train solo and do almost all of my barbell exercises in a Power Rack.

OCCAM'S PROTOCOL II The Finer Points It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.-John Wooden, Hall of Fame NCAA basketball coach (10 NCAA t.i.tles in 12 years) Common Questions and Criticisms CAN THIS FREQUENCY REALLY BE ENOUGH?.

Yes. Doug McGuff MD compares burn healing to muscle tissue healing to explain:

Building muscle is actually a much slower process than healing a wound from a burn [which typically takes one to two weeks]. A burn heals from the ectodermal germ line, where the healing rate is relatively faster, because epithelial cells turn over quickly. If you scratch your cornea, for instance, it's generally going to be healed in 812 hours. Muscle tissue, in contrast, heals from the mesodermal germ line, where the healing rate is typically significantly slower. All in all-when you separate all the emotion and positive feedback that people derive from the training experience-solid biological data indicate that the optimal training frequency for the vast majority of the population is no more than once a week.

For a much more in-depth discussion of recovery intervals, especially if you're science-inclined, I suggest Dr. McGuff's book Body by Science Body by Science.

HOW DO I DETERMINE STARTING WEIGHTS?.

The first A and B workouts will be longer than subsequent workouts, as you need to use trial-and-error to determine starting weights.

Do this by performing sets of five repet.i.tions in each exercise with one minute of rest in between. Cadence should be fast but controlled on the raising and two to three seconds on the lowering. Do not perform more than five reps per set. If you can lift more, wait a minute, increase the weight ten pounds or 10% (whichever is less), and attempt again. Repeat this until you complete fewer than five reps.

After you fail to complete five reps, calculate 70% of your last full five- rep set. Take a three-minute rest and perform a 5/5 cadence set- to- failure using this weight. Congratulations, you just performed your first proper set- to- failure for this exercise, and this weight will be your starting point for Occam's Protocol. For the shoulder press, use 60% of the last successful five- rep set instead of 70%.

Let's look at a hypothetical first workout A, performed on a Monday. Here is how things might look for a semi-trained 150-pound male doing the pull-down (weights will differ from person to person of course, and that's why you budget at least an hour for these first workouts): 90 lbs 5 reps (f/2)19(1-min rest)100 lbs 5 reps (f/2)(1-min rest)110 lbs 5 reps (f/2)(1-min rest)120 lbs 5 reps (f/2)(1-min rest)130 lbs 4 reps (f/2) (he failed to complete 5 reps, so 120 lbs was the last full 5-rep set) Then we do the math: 120 0.7 = 84, and we round up or down to the nearest weight we can actually use on a machine or bar, which leads us to 85 pounds.

(3-min rest)85 lbs 8.4 to failure (5/5) The 8.4 just means your failure was reached at 8 + 4/10 of a repet.i.tion.

Take a five-minute rest, then repeat this process with the shoulder press. Once finished with this first workout A, record the target weights you will use for your next A. Since this A was done on a Monday, your next few workouts will look like this: (Just finished: Monday-Workout A)Thursday-Workout BSunday-Workout AWednesday-Workout BSunday-Workout A (notice the planned increase to 3 rest days preceding this workout) HOW DO I ADD WEIGHT?.

If you complete your required minimum of reps, add 10 pounds or 10% of the total weight in the subsequent workout, whichever is greater. In the example above, we crossed our seven-rep threshold with 85 pounds in the pull-down, so we will increase the weight to 95 pounds for the next workout, as a 10% increase would be less at 93.5 pounds.

To maintain this rate of progress for even two months, you will need to eat like it's your job. Add shakes or milk if whole food is too difficult.

WHAT IF I MISS A WORKOUT DUE TO TRAVEL?.

It is better to take an additional one to three days off than to half-a.s.s a workout with different equipment that makes it impossible to determine progress or proper weights when you return. There is nothing to be lost by an additional one to three days of rest.

The other solution is to always use free weights with standard Olympic barbells, as these will be universal and comparable between facilities. Free-weight options are outlined in the preceding chapter.

WHAT IF I DON'T MAKE THE TARGET NUMBER OF REPEt.i.tIONS?

This means one of two things: either you didn't stimulate growth mechanisms (insufficient failure during the last workout), or you haven't recovered (insufficient rest/food).

If you miss your target by more than one repet.i.tion on the first exercise of a given workout, go home, take the next day off, then repeat the workout.

Let's say you're scheduled for workout A on a Monday. The first exercise is close-grip pull-downs, and your target number of repet.i.tions is a minimum of seven. If you complete six good repet.i.tions or more, complete the entire workout. If you don't complete six repet.i.tions for pull-downs, do NOT proceed to the shoulder press.

Instead, pick up your gym bag and go home. Rest Tuesday, ensure proper nutrient intake by eating a ton, and come in Wednesday prepared to crush both exercises and proceed as planned.

If you fail before the requisite number of reps, do not-as many people do-decrease the weight and do another set (called a "drop-down" or "break-down" set). Do nothing but leave. If you haven't recovered, you haven't recovered. Continuing can easily stagnate you for two weeks or more.

Cutting a workout short takes tremendous self-control and runs counter to gym culture.

Be smart and opt for a 48-hour reboot instead of a two-week or three- week reboot.

Last but not least, if you abandon a workout because you miss a set, add another recovery day between all workouts moving forward. In effect, you're just accelerating the planned decrease in frequency. There is very little downside to doing this. Twenty-four hours of additional time cannot hurt you, but underrecovering will screw up the entire process.

HOW MANY CALORIES SHOULD I CONSUME?.

If you fail to gain weight after adding milk and shakes, chances are that you have a medical condition. It shouldn't be necessary to count calories, and I never have.

There is one exception.

If you believe you're doing everything right and still aren't adding pounds, confirm that you aren't vastly overestimating your food intake and hence undereating. Count calories and weigh food for a 24-hour period.

For recording like this, I use the Escali food scale, which allows me to input the code for a food, provided in an included manual, to determine the protein, carbohydrate, and fat breakdown.

Ensure that you are eating 20 calories per pound of lean bodyweight for 10 pounds more than for 10 pounds more than your current lean bodyweight your current lean bodyweight. Note that this is not necessarily your ultimate target weight (a.s.suming you want to gain more than 10 pounds). Adjust this target number on a weekly basis.

Let's say you are 160 pounds lean bodyweight (determined by body composition testing) and want to have 180 pounds of lean ma.s.s. You would check your diet to ensure that you are consuming 170 20 = 3,400 calories. This is the absolute rock-bottom minimum and also applies to non-workout days.

All that said, remember: you shouldn't have to count calories.

Keep it simple and you will gain. If the number on the scale isn't getting bigger, eat more.

BUT WHAT ABOUT CARDIO?.

Think you need to hit the stationary bike or run to maintain or improve aerobic capacity? This isn't always the case. Doug McGuff MD explains: If you are intent on improving your aerobic capacity, it's important to understand that your aerobic system performs at its highest when recovering from lactic acidosis. After your high-intensity workout, when your metabolism is attempting to reduce the level of pyruvate in the system, it does so through the aerobic subjugation of metabolism...since muscle is the basic mechanical system being served by the aerobic system, as muscle strength improves, the necessary support systems (which includes the aerobic system) must follow suit.

If you're a sprinter or marathoner, can you prepare with weight training alone? Of course not. But, if you're a noncompet.i.tive athlete looking to avoid cardiovascular disease, do you need to spend hours spinning your wheels, literally or figuratively? No. The artificial separation of aerobic and anaerobic (without oxygen) metabolism might be useful for selling aerobics, aerobics, a marketing term popularized by Dr. Kenneth Cooper in 1968, but it's not a reflection of reality. a marketing term popularized by Dr. Kenneth Cooper in 1968, but it's not a reflection of reality.

Occam's Protocol develops both anaerobic and aerobic systems.

WHAT IF I'M AN ATHLETE?

Though it depends on the sport, if you are a compet.i.tive athlete with frequent sports training, I would suggest a protocol designed for maximal strength gain and minimal weight gain. See "Effortless Superhuman."

WON'T THIS SPEED OF LIFTING MAKE ME SLOW?

Though this program is not designed for athletes (again, see "Effortless Superhuman" for that), there is no evidence that a 5/5 lifting cadence will make you slow. Let's take a look at one counterexample in a sport where speed is paramount: Olympic lifting.

In 1973, an Olympic weight lifting team with no prior experience was formed at DeLand High School in Florida. Their main training protocol was slow, mostly eccentric (lowering) lifting. The team went on to ama.s.s more than 100 consecutive compet.i.tive wins and remained undefeated and untied for seven years.

Letting weight training displace skill training is what makes athletes slower. A focus on muscles shouldn't replace a focus on sport. For compet.i.tors outside of the iron game, lifting is a means to an end. It shouldn't interfere with other sport-specific training.

WHAT ABOUT WARM-UPS?.

Take 60% of your work weight for each exercise in a given workout and perform three reps at a 1/2 cadence (1 second up, 2 seconds down). This is done to spot joint problems that could cause injuries at higher weights, not to "warm up" per se. Prep sets for all exercises should be performed prior to your first real set at 5/5.

In practical terms, the first few repet.i.tions of each work set act as the warm-up. I have never had a trainee injured using this protocol.

HOW SHOULD I WORK OUT WITH A PARTNER?.

If you work out with a partner, ensure that your rest intervals remain consistent. Three minutes should not bleed into three and a half because your partner is socializing or slow in changing weights. This is nonnegotiable. I have always lifted alone and use training time as near-meditative "me" time, which the counting of cadence reinforces. Many people benefit tremendously from workout partners, but I don't appear to be one of them.

The exercises are chosen to be safe when performed alone. Even if you elect to train with partners, do not let partners help you. It will lead to them lifting the weight while shouting "All you!" This makes it impossible to know how much weight you actually lifted.