Dan John - Mass made simple: a six-week journey into bulking

Mass Made Simple

Mass Made Simple
A Six-Week Journey into Bulking
Dan John

On Target Publications
Santa Cruz, California

Mass Made Simple
A Six-Week Journey into Bulking

Dan John

Copyright 2011, Daniel Arthur John
ISBN: 978-1-931046-02-2 Print
ISBN: 978-1-931046-21-3 Ebook

Photos taken at The Weight Room, Santa Cruz, California

Also by Dan John
Never Let Go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living and Learning

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author or publisher, with the exception of the inclusion of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

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Disclaimer

The information contained herein is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment in any manner. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition or before engaging in any physical fitness plan.

I didnt know it until I had been teaching for years, but a small decision in my youth had a massive impact on my life and athletic career. My birthday is about as late as you can get in August, and back then the cutoff date for starting school was September first.

As the youngest of six kids, and given the fact that nobody held their kids back when I was growing up, there was no question when I would march off to kindergarten. And nearly every day for the first month, I cried. I was the youngest in the class and far less mature.

Now, I must have loved tanks because everything I drew had tanks in it. One of my clearest memories of kindergarten, and frankly there are few, is my teacher asking me to draw something besides tanks. In fact, my mother had to meet with the teacher to convince me to do something besides draw tanks.

Even then, I guess, I was consumed with size and power. However, as a boy and, in this case anyway, as a Celt, maturation was a long way away. While the other boys with Mediterranean heritages hit a growth spurt in the sixth grade and had facial hair by the ninth, I was lucky enough to not hit puberty until well into high school. I played ninth grade football at 118 pounds and bulked up to 130 pounds as a sophomore. Honestly, I didnt shave daily until my mid-20s.

But I wanted to be an athlete. Fortunately, I had the right idea: I needed to lift weights. I caught the iron bug early when my brothers bought a weight set after our Aunt Florence died and left us a little money. We went to Sears and got the Ted Williams weight-lifting set with 110 pounds. Frankly, I doubted I would ever lift those big 15-pound plates. For the record, I didand a lot more.

Every month, I would walk over to the corner pharmacy to see if Strength and Health had come in. It was the only information available, and it was perfect for me at that time. All the lifters were heroic, according to the articles, and lived on Hoffmans Hi-Proteen and drank the amazing Energol. Drugs were bad and clean living was the answer to all questions. Sure, I was young and believed it allI only mastered cynicism in my 30s.

My lifting program was simple and I am amazed how much I still keep the same structure. The Southwood Programsee the extra stuff in the back of the book for the whole program, page 106was perfect for me.

The program was based on this

• Four lifts: Power Clean, Front Squat, Military Press and Bench Press
• A simple repetition scheme of 86-4
• We lifted in little groups. When we made all 18 repetitions with all four lifts, we moved up to the next weight during the next workout.

The descending-rep scheme was genius. It remains the cornerstone of my programming since 1971, and the four lifts are still the best movements I know for superior athletic performance.

Throughout high school, I had a love affair with the bench press. I saved up literally every quarter I had for over a year to buy an adjustable incline bench press. By this time, that original Ted Williams set had been expanded by borrowing plates from many of my neighbors; I could now get 132 pounds on the bar. So, nearly every morning I went early to school to get some bench pressing in, then lifted after school with more bench pressing. At nights, I trained on our porch doing inclines and a host of other movements.

I got very strong in the bench press! How strong? Lets just say this: As a senior in high school I was stronger in the bench than when I was a senior in college, the high point man on the track and field team. I was so strong in the bench press, kids from other schools came to see me nail the big lifts.

And, I weighed 162 pounds as a senior. I could easily bench press double bodyweight, but I was only a lean, mean benching machine. When I finished high school, I knew I had to get bigger to compete with the heavier college discus. I knew, too, that I had to learn the Olympic lifts.

A guy at school told me there was an Olympic lifting meet in San Francisco, so I drove my Honda 200 up there to see what was going on. During a break in the competition, I went to use the restroom. It was down a small hallway and I had to make room for the guy coming out. His name was Dick Notmeyer, and he changed my life.

Dick owned the Pacifica Barbell Club just over the hill from me. I got to talk with him and he said I should join up, but the fee was high: 25 cents a week. From saving all those quarters to a now paying a quarter a week for a gym fee is too poetic to miss.

The following Monday, I pulled up to a house and started having doubts. In a minute or so, Dick opened the garage door and took me into his back room gym. It was small, but filled with equipment. Starting that day, I began doing the Olympic lifts. Three days a week, I was on the platform snatching and doing clean and jerks. Two days a week, I stepped to the rack to do front squats and jerks. Thats right: two- to three-hour workouts just doing two lifts. Dick told me to eat more and eat more protein. I did.

Four months later, I weighed 202 poundsI went from 162 to 202 in four months. Thats 10 pounds a month, two-and-a-half pounds a week, nearly half a pound a day. Go to a local fast-food place and order a quarter-pound burger. Imagine slapping 160 on those on your body in four months.

I came home one evening and my brother, Gary, was visiting. When I walked in, he looked up and said, Holy shit. Thats a bulking program.

Certainly, I grew larger in my career. Lifting as a 242-pound lifter, I often let my weight go up to as heavy as 273 before a contest. And, no, my friends, that is not a good plan. But, the gems of bulking have been laid out for you here

• Mastery of the basic multi-joint barbell movements
  
• A commitment to getting stronger
  
• Real improvements come when you squat seriously (sorry!)
  
• Bulking is best done in a short period
  
• Finally, you need to be physically ready to bulk up. Its not something a nine-year-old can do!

And, one caveat: We will be talking about lean body mass here. Anyone, and it seems more like everyone, is bulking up today with a slothful lifestyle and massive amounts of cheap sugar. Thats easy. Bulking up, especially for long-limbed guys, is tough.

Now, another caveat: I reported in the fall to Skyline College at 202. For the next nine months I held steady, although I rose to 204 pounds. How did I go from 162 to 202 in four months, then basically stop progress for nine months? Simple. I started track and field with Coach Bob Lualhauti and he had us doing some running, some bounding, some sprints, some throwing, some of this and some of that. In other words, if you decide to do more than just add lean body mass, your progress is going to stop.