The Muscle Couple

The Muscle Couple Current Workout

TMC’s 3 Day HIT Workout:

Day 1:(1-3 Days recovery between training sessions-depends on your individual rate of recovery)

Chest

  • Nautilus Chest Press warm up and then 1 Set (4′ Eccentrics)till Failure and then 3 Negative 10 Sec Holds(You must learn to maximally contract chest fibers as you finish the concentric portion of the movement-Once you can fully “fire” or enervate your deep wall chest muscles, your chest musculature will CHANGE-Male or Female)
  • Nautilus Chest Fly Machine-No Warmup 1 Set 1 Full Rep and Quarter Rep to failure
  • Hammer Incline or Decline Press with 10′ Concentric and 10′ Eccentric (only perform the 10 Concentric and Eccentric on every 4th chest workout)

Triceps

  • Cable Pushdown-1 Warmup Set + 1 Set + Quarter Rep til Failure
  • Rope Cable Extension-1 Warmup Set +1 Set til failure with last 2 reps full contraction at lock out
  • Dip Machine or Weighted Dips-1 Warmup Set + 1 Set til Failure with 3 10 Negative 10 Second Holds

Abdominals

  • Nautilus Crunch Machine 1 Warmup Set + 1 Set and Quarter Rep till Failure, then 5 second rest and continue with normal reps until failure again
  • Hanging Leg Knee Ups to failure (20 reps or higher in very slow and controlled cadence keeping hips and psoas neutral)

Day 3:(1-3 Days recovery between training sessions)

Back

  • Bent Over Barbell Rows or Hammer Rows or Deadlifts 1 set of 6-12 reps to failure plus static hold to failure on the last rep.
  • Nautilus Pullover Machine or Dumbbell Pullover on decline bench- 1 set of 6-12 to positive failure followed by a 1 set of Reverse Grip Pulldowns at 6-8 reps to failure (important here is to do them in superset fashion with less then 5-8 second rest if possible!)
  • Negative Chin Ups-1 Set til Positive Failure utilizing body weight and then 2-4 Negative 10 Second Hold Chins(videotape will prove how amazing this exercise is for your entire upper back and core-This is amazingly hard but productive)
  • Lower Back Hyper Extensions or Low Back Machine- 1 set of 8-15 reps to positive failure-utilizing resistance of up to a 25 pound plate behind the head (this exercise is a little too delicate in order to perform negatives or static failure due to potential lower back injury risk.)

Biceps

  • Straight Bar Curls -6-10 reps to positive failure plus negatives (2-3-not every training session)
  • Hammer Machine Curls 6-12 reps to positive failure plus static failure.
  • Reverse Grip DB Curls to failure (two arms at a time) If you’re not getting stronger each workout, drop it. You might already over train your arms because they are used on all exercises.  Over training with regards to biceps is very common.

Day 5(1-3 Days rest between Training sessions

Delts

  • Side Lateral Machine or Dumbbell Laterals seated (Markus prefers machine) – 1 set to failure, 6-12 reps..make sure to hold the static at 2 seconds each and lower slow of course – reach positive and static failure then ..
  • Superset with Shoulder press machine…6-8 reps to positive failure plus a slow 10 second negative!
  • Rear Lateral Raise Machine or Dumbbell Rear Laterals….8-12 reps to positive and static failure

Quads and Hamstrings

  • Bodymaster Squat Machine
  • Leg Curl Machine Seated 8-12 reps to failure with static failure. (60 Second Static Holds on Leg Curls are “Interesting”)
  • Quad Extension Machine 8-12 reps to failure with last rep static for 20 seconds or more(try to superset both of these exercises if at all possible)

Calves

  • Seated Calf Raise Machine 8-15 reps to failure and static failure plus some partial reps till your calfs basically fall off…lol…supersetted with…
  • Standing Calf Raise Machine 12-20 reps to failure..also add static failure set to the end.
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49 Comments

49 responses so far ↓

  • 1 The Muscle Couple “Current Workout” // Jun 11, 2009 at 11:00 am

    [...] Current Workout [...]

  • 2 Travis Berridge // Jun 25, 2009 at 2:36 pm

    If i’m 15 and trying to put on pounds of mucle.. and am fine with my body fat %. What should i do on day 2 and day4 of the whole body work out?

  • 3 Mike // Jul 28, 2009 at 7:17 pm

    Hey Jay,

    I’m currently using GymTechNik.com’s full body workout 3 x week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) with cardio on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The cardio can consist of conventional running on a treadmill to stair climbing, or even an elliptical machine and the cardio is approximately 30 – 45 minutes in length.

    In addition to my full body workouts on those days, I’ve been adding in abs as well which consist of cable crunch, reverse crunch, and an ab-roller type of machine.

    I’m coming up on the 10 week mark of using this workout and I want to change it up while turning it up a few notches.

    Do you have suggestions on what types of exercises that I should perform? I’m open to changing the routine to split days or isolated body parts over the total body that I am currently doing.

    Thanks in advance!

  • 4 jayckbb // Jul 29, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    Hi Mike!
    We will be changing up our “Current Workout” in the very near future and would invite you to use it yourself. More details to come. I appreciate your patience.
    Best of luck in your nutrition and training. Thanks for reading the blog.

  • 5 Free Weights vs Machines | Hard Sweat // Aug 1, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    [...] would also encourage you to continually check out The Muscle Couple CURRENT WORKOUT for regularly updated videos of different exercises and [...]

  • 6 Steve // Sep 3, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    Im somewhat new to trying different things in working out (usually 3 sets of 8 reps). Can you explain what you mean by 1 set of 2 drops? Also, I think your website is an awesome thing…keep it up!
    Thanks

  • 7 jayckbb // Sep 3, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    Hi Steve! Thanks for your reply. “One set of two drops” means that you drop the weight two times while performing the set before you finish. For example say you are performing a Chest Machine Press…perform 8 reps, drop the weight by 25% crank out another 4-5 reps, drop the weight again by 20-25% more and rep til failure. This isn’t easy but will produce tremendous results over time. Good luck and feel free to ask a question anytime about anything. Thanks for reading the blog!

  • 8 The Muscle Couple’s REST PAUSE WORKOUT | The Muscle Couple // Sep 24, 2009 at 9:52 am

    [...] NOTE <We will be inserting videos of the Rest Pause Exercises being performed within the next 2 weeks in our Current Workout Section> [...]

  • 9 TMC Current Workout Updated-Rest Pause Training Videos | The Muscle Couple // Oct 5, 2009 at 8:44 am

    [...] Muscle Couple has finally gotten around to updating our Current Workout with Video of the Rest Pause [...]

  • 10 Cody // Oct 9, 2009 at 7:09 am

    Great site! I work at a Gym in Tampa FL and have been looking for something new to add to my workouts. This looks like something that will break up the routine and make it exciting again.

  • 11 Mike // Oct 10, 2009 at 6:49 am

    Jay –

    I watched the videos from day one and from what I observed, you’re completing three sets of each exercise, but the video is labeled (x 2sets).

    How many sets per exercise do you suggest completing?

    Thanks!

  • 12 jayckbb // Oct 11, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    Hi Mike. That’s not correct. We complete one warm up set and then do one set of 3 Rest Pause Intervals. 8-10 Reps-10 Breathing Intervals, 5-6 reps-10 Breathing Intervals and then total failure(as many reps as possible). The Rest Pause set is only one set broken up into 3 sections. You could consider it 3 sets but in Rest Pause Methodology, it’s only considered one set. I hope this answers your question?

  • 13 Ray // Oct 20, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    Hi Jay,

    Nice blog entry, I think me and my workout partner are going to give this a go to spice up the workout.

    I had a few quick questions though: you mention going to “positive failure”. Is this simply the point where I can no longer do any reps without sacrificing form?

    Also, the instructions say “70% of max with 3 drops”. Does this mean if my max is 100lbs on a given machine that I’d load it up with 70lbs for the first part, and then drop how much weight I’m doing for the 2nd two parts? I didn’t notice you guys changing the weight on the machines in the above videos. Am I supposed to stay at one weight for the whole set?

    Thanks for the help!

  • 14 jayckbb // Oct 21, 2009 at 8:52 am

    Hi Ray! Thanks for your questions. Your answer to your first question is correct. Positive failure is when you really can’t lift another rep. Your answer about 70% of max is correct. There are no drops of the weight however. Just Breathing rest intervals of 10-15 seconds and then repeat. You will grow more and more fatigued as you progress through the 2nd and 3rd set. Drops is poorly worded. I should have said Rest Pause Set instead.

  • 15 Rob // Sep 22, 2010 at 11:16 am

    Hi Jay

    I love you site, its very rich with some great informaiton.

    Quick question, I noticed from your videos that while the duration is brief te reps are a lot faster than would be associated with HIT. Have you changed that since you started adopting HIT.

    Also do you do abs every day or have you changed that to a less frequent routine.

    take care

    Rob

  • 16 Jay Campbell // Sep 22, 2010 at 12:46 pm

    Hi Rob! Thank you for visiting our site. Great questions. We have completely changed. I’m in the process of developing an entire new blog post about the differences in TMC “pre HIT” and “post HIT”.
    Ab training frequency is something worthy of it’s own blog as well. Currently we’ve scaled back our ab training to be more in line with HIT workouts. But due to our competition staging process being so demanding, we may increase frequency soon. More to come. Please stay in touch and continue to ask great questions.

  • 17 Marc // Dec 23, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    Again, this is notorious over training, mentzer only recommended training every 5-7 days and as you get stronger you have to train even less. Continuous over training leads to weakening of the body’s energy systems and has been correlated with cancer, listen to mike mentzers radio interview on youtube, here he talks about this.

  • 18 Jay Campbell // Dec 24, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    “Notorious over training”? LOL. Marc, my wife and I are not overtraining. We invite you to come to LVAC on Flamingo to observe or even train with us. I can assure you we’re not going to “catch cancer” either. LOL. I’ve read enough Mike Mentzer thank you. Happy Holidays to you and your family!

  • 19 Marc // Dec 24, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    Here is a quote right from mike mentzer’s own website.
    “An important factor in determining proper exercise “dosage” is the time off in between your workouts. Mike Mentzer spoke about this issue on countless occasions and was often quite specific; start with 4-5 days between workouts and add 1 or 2 days as your progress stalls. Eventually, you could end up working out once every 10 – 12 days (or less).”
    http://www.mikementzer.com/howbrief.html

    Dorian Yates worked out every other day, but he was on massive amounts of steriods,

  • 20 Jay Campbell // Dec 25, 2010 at 12:34 am

    Marc. I appreciate your insight but I’m very good friends with Mike Mentzer’s protege Markus Reinhardt. He has personally communicated to me (this very night actually after reading your comments)that Mike changed his opinion often about the time of rest required between workouts. Everybody is different. My wife and I training a bodypart every 4th day is fine and we’re making steady progress. There is no set “time off” for folks. Individual variance is always the ultimate determinant. You have to see what works for you and then tweak and experiment as you go. I can assure you this form of training is productive for us. If it becomes too “much” I’ll back off and reduce session count or even time in between training sessions.

  • 21 Marc // Dec 25, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    That’s great jay, just keep in mind markus is not infallible, and not an ultimate authority, that is philosophic fallacy, and it is highly likely he is unnatural allowing for more frequent training than us natural HITters. Keep up the good work, do you guys post you workout weights so your viewers can track your progress?

  • 22 Jay Campbell // Dec 27, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    Marc, none of us is infallible. But I trust Markus over you. There aren’t many people I know who can speak about HIT and it many tenets from a more objective viewpoint. Maybe you can? I wouldn’t know. I also don’t know what you look like. And trust me in the world of training, THAT MATTERS. And don’t come at me with drugs, unnatural etc. I know plenty of people taking copious amounts of AAS and still look like dog shit. Please don’t take this reply as an attack, but when you come on my site questioning people whose wisdom and knowledge I respect, expect exactly the same reaction every time. Now to your question, I have listed our workout weights in the past but avoid doing so now due to it taking more time than I have. It’s hard enough trying to regularly post content and maintain all the other important things in my life. If you do live in Vegas and would like to train together, just let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts on HIT. Happy Holidays!

  • 23 Marc // Dec 27, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    hey jay, i know i have been giving you a hard time, lol. your routine does look very balanced and challenging. keep up the good work, it is great as long as you are getting progressively stronger every workout and make the necessary rest adjustments to compensate, the best to you

    have you read any of john little’s max contraction HIT method, he was also one of mike mentzer’s students

  • 24 Ivan // Jan 15, 2011 at 2:57 am

    Hi Jay,

    Im from South Africa,im a HIT trainer myself..the best training method 4sure!! I have been watching many of your training videos with Markus..great work..keep it up mate! I see you train 4 times a week? Isn’t that a bit much..wont that lead to overtraining? Im training 1-2 times a week..sometimes im just to sore to train for a couple of days.haha..dont know how you get it right to train 4 times a week..ill die.haha..Keep up the good work and thanks for this website,relly find it helpful. Regards

  • 25 Jay Campbell // Jan 15, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    Hi Ivan! You’re right. We’ve cut back to 3x per week and with MR’s new Nautilus only gym and “Static Contraction” training, it could be cut to two times only as well.
    The 4x a week program was Mentzer’s original and it’s pretty obvious to us he was “ENHANCED” to train HIT Style @ 4x per week. It did work really well for about 5.5 weeks before my strength got in the way of recovery. I’ve gotten really strong recently and can’t recover without 4-6 days in between body parts. Thanks for your patronage of our site. Keep spreading the TMC love in the beautiful country of South Africa. Please look us up if/when you come to Las Vegas. Don’t be a stranger with your commentary. Cheers mate!

  • 26 Ivan // Jan 16, 2011 at 10:10 am

    Hi Jay,thanks for the reply..appreciate it! Mike admits in his book he used steroids..like you said..its obvious. I saw some pics on facebook for MR’s new gym..looks good!! Dont think we get Nautilus here. I will definately see you some day..my sister stays in the states aswell as some friends of myne.Have you ever been to South Africa? Would like to come HIT with you guys some time! What is static contraction training? do you just use more static holds after your set to failure?

  • 27 Jay Campbell // Jan 16, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    Sort of. Max Contraction/Static Training is something devised by John Little. More on that soon. I’ve never been to South Africa but it’s on the bucket list for sure. Have a great week Ivan!

  • 28 Ivan // Jan 21, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Howsit Jay..had great week thanks..hope you did 2..you will love South Africa..let me know if you come someday..what is Eccentric and Concentric? i see you do 10 of each on your chest workout..ive never heard of those terms.haha..i read up a bit bout the Max Contraction Training..quite interesting..have you tried it?

  • 29 Jay Campbell // Jan 21, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    Eccentric is the lowering phase. Concentric is the upward movement of the lift/exercise.
    I will be engaging in max contraction training soon when I am able to train in MR’s new facility.

  • 30 Ivan // Jan 24, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    I saw Markus video with that Max contraction trainig..looks insane! will see how much further i can get wit my program now then mayb give it a shot! Im off-season now..my weight is 94kg..wana gain weight..but just getting fat.haha..my carbs is sitting at about 350g a day and protein about 260g and fat bout 50g. Im not sure how to work out a balanced diet..do you mayb have any suggestions? How much of each do you think i need so that i build but put on minimal fat? Thanx Jay..much appreciated

  • 31 Jay Campbell // Jan 25, 2011 at 1:53 am

    Hey Ivan! Send pictures before I can make recommendations. Happy to help but need full disclosure. Max Contraction is insane brother. More to come.

  • 32 Ivan // Jan 29, 2011 at 12:27 am

    Hi Jay..thanks alot..where can i send the pics too? Have you got facebook? Mayb i can upload some there as well. Do you think you can do Max Contraction on normal machines or do you need the electrical ones like Markus has?

  • 33 Ivan // Jan 30, 2011 at 1:40 am

    Hi Jay..thanks alot..where can i send the pics too? Have you got Facebook? i could add them on FB then you can matb check there..

  • 34 Jay Campbell // Feb 1, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    Jay Campbell on Facebook or check The Muscle Couple on Facebook as well. jay@themusclecouple.com is the preferred email. Take care brother!

  • 35 Ivan // Feb 6, 2011 at 2:54 am

    Thanks bro..i found you on Facebook..i sent you a friend request..ive got some pics on facebook of what i look like. those pics were taken last year..my fat percentage about the same now as in the pics..but im bit bigger now..ill upload some new ones..thanks bro..have a great day

  • 36 Ivan // Feb 16, 2011 at 12:45 pm

    Hi Jay..you been keeping well? im confused with this whole balanced diet Mike had Markus on..i think Markus used the same diet to prepare for MM. The low calorie but high carb diet..moderate protein. How does it work? Do you still eat carbs at night?

  • 37 Jay Campbell // Feb 22, 2011 at 1:21 am

    Hey Brother! Sorry so late in responding. You can eat anything you want pretty much at anytime. The only major concern is restricting kcals to very low levels. You should be eating no more than 13 kcals per pound of bodyweight. And going down to 10 kcals per pound when super advanced. Essentially kcal cycling to maximize thyroid output and to keep your endocrine system running smoothly. Good Luck Ivan!

  • 38 Ivan // Mar 23, 2011 at 12:19 pm

    Hey bro..thanks for the advice..sorry only getting back to you now..been hectic at work and been partying too much.haha..im gonna start dieting in about a months time for my contest..so im gonna give this a try bro..im tired of the high protein thing..wana try this method! Don’t you and Markus use any meal replacement shakes for post workout? If not what is good to eat after a workout to replenish and feed your muscles asap? Thanks Jay..really appreciate you helping me..when you come to SA i’ll stick you for a fat steak.haha

  • 39 Ashi // Apr 30, 2011 at 10:44 pm

    Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii……………

  • 40 Jamie // Sep 5, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    Awesome site you two! Love it!

  • 41 Ivan // Sep 23, 2011 at 12:18 am

    Hi Jay, its been a while..hope everything is going well that side. Jay, a few months back you suggested when im on a diet i should cycle my kcals for maximum thyroid output..im not too sure what you mean by that..could you please explain? would be much appreciated :)

    Take care brother!

  • 42 Jay Campbell // Sep 25, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    Hey Brother….Great question. I’m actually in the middle of writing a post about Calorie Cycling. It’s going to be featured on Physique RX soon. And of course reposted here. Quickly to answer your question. Eating more food(high kcal refeeds) after periods of lower kcal intakes forces your body internal metabolic systems to effectively up-regulate and increase BMR or burning calories at an accelerated rate. Your Thyroid hormone is responsible for this “upregulation” and increased kcal burning efficiency. More to come brother. Hope you’re well!

  • 43 Ivan // Sep 27, 2011 at 2:14 am

    Thanks for the post bro :) How often should i do the refeed process? once a week? So the way I understand it, is if I consume lets say 2500kcals a day on my diet. then for one day i should consume about 2700kcal-3000kcals? That correct? haha..Thanks brother..take care :)

  • 44 Jay Campbell // Oct 4, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    Something like that. To truly “calorie cycle” you want to have days of low kcals and then one higher day. It’s best used for fat loss/burning then bulking or gaining.

  • 45 Ivan // Oct 4, 2011 at 11:11 pm

    Ok great Jay..will give it a go..so this will help too boost the metabolism a bit? :) and how often do you recommend in do this? Thanks for your help bro

  • 46 5 Current Workout Sites | Azzi Training // Oct 20, 2011 at 1:06 pm

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  • 47 Jamie Spenner // Nov 14, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    I got Anh another 5 votes tonight! Status Fitness cover model contest!

  • 48 Jay Campbell // Nov 17, 2011 at 2:14 pm

    Thanks Brother! Truly appreciate it!!!!

  • 49 Georgi // Dec 26, 2011 at 6:47 am

    I think your workout looks good, but you do too many exercises for biceps and triceps.Triceps after chest and biceps after back requires maximum 2 exercises.Also will put sometimes flies and pullovers first in your training for pre-ex.

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