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Doug Hepburn Power Training Routine

I’ve finally come back from the dead. I have been busy on some side projects and the blog has suffered for it.

Everything is hunky dory now and I’ll be back posting every week.

Here is an old-school workout routine from the great Doug Hepburn. In case you don’t know, Hepburn was once the worlds strongest man and won the gold medal at the world championships in Stockholm in 1953.

Hepburn tried many different routines during his career and this was a power routine he was particularly fond of.

Doug Hepburn Power Training Routine

Monday/Thursday
Bench Press 1 x 3; 7 x 2
Curls 1 x 3; 7 x 2
Overhead Press 1 x 3; 7 x 2

Tuesday/Friday
Squats 6 sets of 6,5,4,4,4,3 reps
Rows 6 sets of 6,5,4,4,4,3 reps
Deadlifts 6 sets of 6,5,4,4,4,3 reps

Notes: Remember, Hepburn was a world champion. If this routine is too much for you, cut back to three days per week, alternating workouts and drop the sets down too if you want. As always, increase poundages whenever possible, eat right, get adequate rest, and drink lots of water. Train hard and heavy and you can’t go wrong.

Understand that to be successful in any weight training program – hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you’re new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.

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How Not to Workout: Do This and You’re Insane

I’ve been giving out training advice and workout routines for a few years now and this blog has steadily grown, not only in size, but readership as well.

Many readers from male to female, large to small, have written to me over the years.  They’ve told me how the routines posted here and the advice I gave them,  helped them get closer to their weight training goals.

That’s cool. It’s what I started this site for – to help people.

With this post I decided to go in a different direction than I usually do to help people.

Instead of posting another routine to try, I’ve decided to post one you shouldn’t do. It’s called the Law of Contrast and I hope it sinks in for you.

I’m going to show you today how not to train and if you are training this way, drug free, then stop immediately and follow one of the workouts on this site.

You grow by lifting heavier and heavier weights (progressive overload) and then getting the hell out of the gym!

No routine, and I mean none, should be more than four days a week and even that for most is too much. I personally prefer three days per week.

Some can’t recover enough and need to drop it down to two days per week.

Don’t go to extremes.

I know a guy who trains six days a week, twice a day, without the use of drugs. Do you know what?  He’s still the same size when he started, maybe a little bigger. He blames it on nutrition and he calls himself a hardgainer.

That’s bullshit!

The reason he never gains is because his lifting too damn much. If he would cut back to three days a week he would grow like a weed.

Another friend I know trains once every two weeks.

Bullshit again!

You need to stimulate your muscles to grow. In order to do that you need to work them on a regular basis…not twice a freaking month!

Get real people. The too much and too little outlooks on training are dead wrong.

The only way you can gain on routines prescribed in the muscle rags is by doing drugs, lots of them.

So, for your enjoyment,  here’s how not to train. I ripped this out of a magazine…No, I won’t name names. What I will say is if you train like this then you’re insane.

Stop the insanity right now. Get off the muscle rag addiction and take up sensible training. Do that and watch how big you get.

Here’s how not to workout:

Monday: Back

Deadlifts – 4 sets – 6-12 reps
Barbell rows -  3 sets – 10-12 reps
T-bar rows – 3 sets – 10 – 12 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows -  3 sets 10-12 reps

Biceps

Barbell curls -  4 sets -12 reps
Seated alternate dumbbell curls 4 sets -  12 reps
Cambered-bar preacher curls 4 sets -  12 reps
Standing cable curls – 4 sets – 12 reps

Shoulders

Military presses – 4 sets – 10-12 reps
Seated dumbbell presses -  4 sets – 12 reps
superset with
Front dumbbell presses – 4 sets – 12 reps

Tuesday : Legs

Squats -  5-6 sets – 10-12 reps
Leg presses -  4 sets – 12 reps
Parking-lot lunges -  2 sets – 100 yards
Stiff-leg deadlifts – 3 sets – 12 reps
Seated leg curls -  3 sets – 12 reps

Wednesday : Chest

Bench presses -  5 sets – 12 reps
Incline barbell presses -  3 sets – 12 reps
Flat dumbbell presses -  3 sets – 12 reps
Flat flyes -  4 sets – 12 reps

Triceps

Seated cambered-bar extensions -  3 sets – 12 reps
Seated dumbbell extensions -  4 sets – 12 reps
Close-grip bench presses – - 4 sets – 12 reps

Thursday: Back

Barbell rows  – 5 sets – 10 – 12 reps
Pulley Rows -  4 sets – 10 – 12 reps
Machine pulldowns – 3 sets – 10 – 12 reps
Front pulldowns -  3 sets – 10 – 12 reps

Biceps :

Incline alternate dumbbell curls -  4 sets – 12 reps
Machine curls -  3 sets – 12 reps
superset with
Standing cable curls – 4 sets – 12 reps

Shoulders :

Seated dumbbell presses -  4 sets – 12 reps
Front dumbbell raises – 3 sets – 8 – 25 reps
Machine raises – 3 sets – 8 – 25 reps

Friday: Legs

Leg extensions -  4 sets – 30 reps
Front squats -  4 sets – 12 – 15 reps
Hack squats -  3 sets – 12 reps
Standing leg curls -  3 sets – 12 – 15 reps
Lying leg curls  – 4 sets -12-15 reps

Saturday : Chest

Incline dumbbell presses -  4 sets – 12 reps
Decline barbell presses – 3 sets – 12 reps
Incline dumbbell flyes -  3 sets – 12 reps
Decline dumbbell presses -  3 sets – 12 reps

Triceps :

Lying cambered-bar extensions -  4 sets – 12 reps
triset with
Machine dips  4 sets – 12 reps
triset with
Seated cambered-bar extensions – 4 sets – 12 reps

Additionally :

Calves ( twice a week )

Donkey raises – 4 sets – 12 reps
Seated raises -  4 sets – 12 reps

Abs ( four times a week )

Crunches – 3 sets – failure

Sunday : Rest

WOW…Sunday I can rest!

If you can grow from that kind of volume without taking drugs, congratulations, you are a genetic freak. And even if you are a genetic freak, who has the time to do all that lifting?

Do you see how ridiculous those magazines really are?

Toss them aside and follow common sense programs the old-timers used in the days before steroids and mass media took over the iron game.

Stop the insanity!

Back From Vacation Workout

Just got back from vacation and it was awesome.

I hadn’t taken one in almost 20 years and decided to just get up, get out, and get away.

I’ve returned revved up and ready to roll with a back from vacation workout.

While I was away, I didn’t lift at all. And that can be a good thing. Let me explain.

Your body builds muscle to its maximum capacity when you combine a proper weight training program with sufficient rest.

You grow out of the gym, not in. Don’t freak out about this. It’s a fact.

Taking a week off can refresh and recharge you. The relaxing time can also improve your muscle building and strength efforts.

Try it and see. Experiment for yourself. Take a week off and see if you don’t come back with improved strength, eager to attack the iron.

Here is my back from vacation routine.

Back From Vacation Workout

Overhead Press (Standing or Seated) 3 x 8 or 5 x 5
Bench Press 3 x 8 or 5 x 5
Chins 3 x Failure
Squats 3 x 8 or 5 x 5
Deadlifts 3 x 8 or 5 x 5

Notes: Workout 2-3 days per week. Eliminate the deadlifts for one workout if you’re doing the routine three times a week.

As always, increase poundages whenever possible, eat right, get adequate rest, and drink lots of water. Train hard and heavy and you can’t go wrong.

Understand that to be successful in any weight training program – hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you’re new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.