Trainer of the stars
Before it's doors closed after nearly 50 years in business,
Vince's Gym was the number one destination for Hollywood
stars that had to get in shape in a hurry. Movie execs would
often send their flabby leading men and women to Vince so
he could work his magic on them. Although it was located
conveniently on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, Armand
Tanny once said, "If Vince had his place on a Tibet
mountain top instead of near the major motion picture studios,
his followers would make the pilgrimage."
Vince had the ability to get the movie stars in shape so
fast it was almost uncanny - not in months - but in weeks
or even days! Cher, Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood, Denzel
Washington, Michael Landon, Kurt Russell, Burt Reynolds,
Carl Weathers and Tommy Chong were just a few of the names
on his star-studded client roster.
Vince was one of my very first mentors. When I was a teenager
just starting in bodybuilding, I cut out and saved every
one of Vince's articles from Ironman and the other muscle
mags. I purchased all of Vince's mail order courses and
studied every word as if my life depended on it. I experimented
extensively with his techniques and came to the conclusion
that Vince possessed esoteric knowledge about the art of
bodybuilding that few others ever had or ever will have.
Vince's most powerful training system:
The 8 X 8 "honest workout"
Vince was known for his unusual training methods. Some
of his unique exercises included the bench press to the
neck, the sternum chin up (touching the chest to the bar),
"drag" curls and sissy squats with what he called
a "Burlesque Bump." His training systems included
15 sets of 4, 3 sets of 12, 6 sets of 6, 10 sets of 10 and
4 exercises in a giant set - one for each "side"
of the muscle.
Of all Vince's techniques, the 8 sets of 8 program was
his favorite for the advanced bodybuilder. "I have
a definite preference for the 8 X 8 system of sets and reps,"
wrote Vince. "I come back to this high intensity "honest
workout" more often than any other for maximizing muscle
fiber growth in the quickest possible time for the advanced
bodybuilder."
8 sets of 8 might be the most effective set and rep combination
ever developed for rapidly building muscle fiber size while
simultaneously shedding body fat. Vince called it the "honest
workout " because of the pure muscle fiber size that
can be achieved on it. "Keep to 8 X 8 and your muscle
fiber will plump out, giving you a solid mass of muscle
density as a result," promised Vince.
8 sets of 8 is so effective that as a 20 year old novice
competitive bodybuilder, I was able to gain 17 pounds of
muscle drug-free (contest weight from one show to the next)
in under nine months using this system. To this day, I still
use the 8 sets of 8 system whenever I need a "shock
program" to bring up a lagging body part.
Vince warned that this set and rep combination is not for
beginners: "You have to build up to the stage where
you can benefit from this extremely advanced form of training.
I doubt if anyone with less than two years of training experience
could benefit from this method."
How it works
8 sets of 8 is a high volume, fast tempo, size building
workout. It is not designed for strength development - it's
purely for bodybuilding or "cosmetic" improvements.
8 sets of 8 will also help you get leaner. The short rest
intervals stress the cardiovascular system to the point
where calories are burned, the metabolism is stimulated,
hormones are stirred up and fat is melted away.
Here's how it works: You will select three or four exercises
per muscle group and perform 8 sets of 8 on each exercise.
Yes - that's 24 to 32 sets per body part! You will work
two or three muscle groups per session and rest only 15
to 30 seconds between sets. Each workout will be completed
in approximately 45 minutes and never more than 60 minutes.
Although this apparently excessive volume might seem reminiscent
of the Steve Michalik and John Defendis "Intensity
or Insanity" style of training - it's NOT the same
thing. These are not two or three hour marathon workouts.
You are completing this routine in under an hour. The reason
this doesn't constitute overtraining is because you're not
exceeding the workout duration that begins having a negative
effect on recovery and anabolic hormones. You are simply
overloading the muscles by condensing more training into
less time.
Why it works: More work in less time
= higher intensity and bigger muscles
Many people are under the impression that the only way
to make a muscle larger is to increase the amount of weight
you use. This is not true. Overload is an absolute requirement
to build muscle, but the overload can come in more ways
than one. Progressively adding weight may be one of the
best ways to provide an overload, but it's not the only
way. Vince was all in favor of adding weight to the bar,
(provided good form was maintained), but he believed that
performing more work in less time was a better method of
overload.
The Iron Guru's advice: "To acquire larger muscles
you must increase the intensity of work done within a given
time. This means minimum rest between sets. Push yourself.
I feel workouts should be timed and you should constantly
strive to shorten the time it takes to get through your
routine. This is another form of progressive resistance,
and is more important than raising your weights. This principle
of overload explains why sprinters have bigger muscles than
distance runners. Although it's more work to run a mile
than it is to run 100 yards, the sprinter is doing more
work per second. Consequently, his muscles will become larger."
Why use 8 sets of 8 instead of "conventional"
training?
The most popular method of training for advanced bodybuilders
is to choose between two and four exercises per muscle group
and perform three or four sets of 6-12 reps on each exercise.
The rest intervals range from 60 seconds to four minutes,
depending on the goal. So why bother with such an "outrageous"
program as 8 sets of 8?
The answer is because this type of "honest,"
high volume, fast tempo training will be a complete shock
to your body, especially in the beginning when you are unaccustomed
to it. An advanced bodybuilder will adapt to any training
program within a matter of months and often within just
weeks. Once adaptation occurs, you must seek out new types
of stress to coax your muscles into continued growth. Although
Vince did not advocate over-training in any way, shape or
form, he did advocate using "muscle confusion"
for stimulating gains, even if this meant, "temporarily
overtraining." 8 sets of 8 is simply an unusual and
effective method of overload and muscle confusion.
Obviously, this program is not intended for constant use.
It's a "shock routine" you can use for brief periods
to kick-start a new growth spurt when you need it most.
After completing a cycle of 8 sets of 8, you can go back
to more conventional methods. How long should you use 8
sets of 8? As long as it keeps working.
Another advantage of 8 sets of 8 is that it can be used
to work around an injury. Heavy training with 5-6 rep maxes
is impossible when you're babying a strain, pull or soft
tissue injury. But you can do 8 sets of 8 because you get
such an "honest" workout with a fraction of your
usual weight.
8 sets of 8 is a fantastic method for pre-contest definition
training because 50-60 sets in under an hour is decidedly
aerobic. You can easily count each weight training session
as a cardio workout. Fast-metabolism types may not even
need any other aerobic work while using 8 sets of 8.
How much rest between sets?
Vince advocated "a very businesslike approach towards
tempo." He said that using the 8 sets of 8 format is
not enough to ensure muscle gains. What's more important
is the speed with which you get through the program. "Minimum
rest between sets is a must," said the master. When
Vince was training Mohammed Makkawy for the Olympia, he
had Mohammed conditioned to the point of doing 8 sets in
as little as 5 minutes or less.
Your goal is to reduce your rest intervals to 30 seconds
or less, ultimately cutting them down to just 15-20 seconds
between each set. Once your conditioning has adjusted to
the demands, you'll need just five to ten deep breaths between
each set, then it's on to the next set.
If your tempo on each exercise is 2-0-2-0 (2 second eccentric,
no pauses and two second concentric), then each rep will
take you four seconds. Eight reps per set means that each
set will take you 32 seconds. With a 15-20 second rest interval,
24 sets will take only 18 to 21 minutes to complete and
32 sets will take 25 to 28 minutes to complete.
Tempo tips
The proper tempo combined with the correct resistance is
the key to the success of this program. Vince defined optimal
tempo as "the evenly spaced sets (time-wise) without
any distractions and complete concentration on when to pick
up the next weight and do the next set."
This means no magazine reading, no walking around the gym,
no gossiping, no changing the CD in your Walkman, and no
- not even going to the bathroom. This program requires
100% total concentration. If you get interrupted or distracted,
you might as well pack up your gym bag and go home.
Do not put the dumbbells down between sets. Rest them on
your knees, but don't put them down or re-rack them. Also,
don't release the bar between sets; rack it, but keep your
hands on it. If you're using straps, don't unwrap them.
Stay on the bench or machine until all 8 sets of 8 are completed.
Take no rest between body parts. When you finish the last
exercise for the first muscle group, move directly into
the first exercise for the next muscle group.
By the way, to follow these tempo guidelines means you'll
have to ditch your training partner. This program must be
done alone.
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
Conintue to Part 2
About the Author
Tom Venuto is an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified
strength and conditioning specialist, lifetime natural bodybuilder,
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the
Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM). Tom has written over
170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine,
Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine,
Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and
Men’s Exercise. For information on Tom's "Burn
The Fat" e-book, click
here |
