Simple Guide to Mass

Building
By Chad Wesley Smith
An Expert In Mass Gain
At Juggernaut, I have the great opportunity to work with athletes
from junior high through the pros and one of the most common
goals shared by my younger athletes is, I need to gain weight. I
consider myself to be an expert mass gainer, at the age of 14, a
freshman in high school, I played football at 5-8 175 pounds; at 17,
my senior year, I played at 6-0 270; currently at 25, I stand 6-1 325.
On a nearly daily basis, I hear from some skinny high school kid
how they cant gain weight and my response is always the same,
eat more, which is normally met with I eat so much. Well their
understanding of so much usually means a bowl of cereal and
piece of fruit for breakfast, sandwich and chips for lunch and
whatever mom makes for dinner, with their whole day maybe
coming in at a whopping 1500-2000 calories. That just isnt going
to cut it for a high metabolism kid who practices 2 hours a day
5-6x per week and trains another 3-5x per week.
This 5-8 175 pound 14 year old version of myself had yet to realize
the tremendous benets of lots of quality, whole foods and simple,
heavy and consistent training.
Eleven years, 5 inches and 150 pounds later; the performance
benets of basic training and quality nutrition, have manifested
themselves into a number of notable athletic and strength
accomplishments.
Keeping It Simple
The other pitfall that many young athletes fall into when they are
trying to put on muscle is a lack of attention to the big exercises.
They get on YouTube and see bodybuilders doing isolation
movements and dont realize that those physiques were built with
a foundation of complex barbell lifts and the isolation movements
are just the icing on the cake. Put the bar on your back and in your
hands if you want to get big.
Currently I have a group of several high school freshmen football/
lacrosse players that just began training with us after the nish of
their lacrosse season. These guys are a talented group of athletes
and play for some very prominent programs but face many of the
same issues many 15 year olds do, mainly they are skinny and dont
eat enough. These guys are all ranging from 5-10 to 6-2 and 155 to
180 pounds and are looking to put on 10+ pounds in the next 9
weeks that they have of between the end of their lacrosse
seasons and the start of their schools summer football program.
From a strength standpoint they all bench 165-205 pounds and
squat 185 to 245; when you are dealing with athletes who have low
preparation levels like this it is of paramount importance that they
train with high frequency so they can learn proper movement
patterns. Also, they havent been exposed to any solid
programming before and have never done any true speed work
(only conditioning that their coaches think is speed work). Here is
an overview of the 9 weeks of training they will be doing with me
and the dietary guidelines we will try to adhere to.
9 Week Training Program
Day 1 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Sled Sprints 10x10/15/20yds 3x6x20yds 4x4x20yds
Various Jumping
Drills
4x3 each 5x3 each 6x3 each
Front Squat 8x5 at 60%-45 sec
rest
8x3 at
67.5%-75 sec
rest
3x5 at 50-60%
Floor Press 8x5 at 60%-45 sec
rest
8x3 at
67.5%-75 sec
rest
3x5 at 50-60%
RDLs 5x15 5x12 5x10
Blast Strap Rows 5x15 5x12 5x10
Situp and Press 3x20 3x15 3x12
BB Twists 3x15/15 3x12/12 3x10/10
Day 2/4
Explosive Medball
Throws
2x10 each 2x8 each 2x6 each
Upper Back-
Shoulders/Hip
Mobility
3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Biceps/Hip
Mobility
3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Traps/Hip Mobility 3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Triceps/Hip
Mobility
3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Neck/Hip Mobility 3x20/3x10 3x20/3x10 3x20/3x10
Prowler Tempo
Circuit
2x6 rounds 2x8 rounds 2x10 rounds
More Abs 30 sec on/30 sec o!
x6 rounds
30/30x8 rds 30/30x10rds
Day 3
Sled Sprints 10x10/15/20yds 3x6x20yds 4x4x20yds
Various Jumping
Drills
4x5 each 5x5 each 6x5 each
Back Squat 10x5 at 60%-45 sec
rest
10x3 at
67.5%-75 sec
rest
75%xAMAP
Board Press 6x5 at 60%-45 sec
rest
6x3 at
67.5%-75 sec
rest
3x5 at 50%
Neutral Grip Chins 5x6-8 5x8-10 5x10-12
Back Extensions 5x15 5x12 5x10
Ab Wheel 3x10 3x12 3x15
DB Side Bends 3x15/15 3x12/12 3x10/10
Day 5
Sled Sprints 10x10/15/20yds 3x6x20yds 4x4x20yds
Various Jumping
Drills
4x4 each 5x4 each 6x4 each
Bench Press 10x5 at 60%-45 sec
rest
10x3 at
67.5%-75 sec
rest
75%xAMAP
Box Squat 6x5 at 60%-45 sec
rest
6x3 at
67.5%-75 sec
rest
3x5 at 50%
Chest Supported
Rows
5x15 5x12 5x10
Reverse Hypers 5x15 5x12 5x10
Situp and Press 3x20 3x15 3x12
BB Twists 3x15/15 3x12/12 3x10/10
Notes:
-Sled Sprints are all done with full recovery. The sprinting these
weeks will be pretty high volume and aimed at giving them
enough reps to begin to correct their technical errors and increase
their capacity to do high intensity speed work.
-Our primary lift (bench/squat variations) are based on the
Inverted Juggernaut Method but will utilize slightly shorter rest
periods since the athletes are using such light weights at this
point.
-Prowler Tempo Circuits are used to increase the athletes aerobic
capacity and are key to improving their tness, promoting
recovery and eventually increasing their alactic capacity. These
circuits are also a great way to get them more volume in on basic
movements. To do a prowler tempo circuit the guys will push an
unweighted prowler down and back 20yds each way and then
perform either 10 pushups or 20-30 abs.
These rst 3 weeks will do a great job of building up the athletes
work capacity, putting on some muscle and hone their technique
on our foundational movements. Over the next 3 weeks, we will
increase the intensity of all their work (sprints, jumps, throws,
primary lifts) as they will now be capable of higher outputs. Since
recovery will come at a greater premium now that intensities
increase, the oor/board presses and front/box squats will
become more supplementary in nature.
Day 1 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Free Sprints 3x6x20 yds 4x4x20 yds 5x3x20yds
Reactive Jumps for
Distance
4x3 5x3 6x3
Drop Pushups 4x2 5x2 6x2
Bench Press 5x5+ at 55-75%5x3+ at 60-80%65%x5, 70%x4,
75%x3, 80%x2,
85%x1+
Box Squat 3x5 at 55-75% 3x3 at 60-80% 65%x5, 75%x3,
85%x1
RDLs 4x12 4x10 4x8
Blast Strap Rows 4x12 4x10 4x8
Situp and Press 3x12 3x10 3x8
BB Twists 3x12/12 3x10/10 3x8/8
Day 2/4
Explosive Medball
Throws
x10 each x8 each x6 each
Upper Back-
Shoulders/Hip
Mobility
3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Biceps/Hip Mobility 3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Traps/Hip Mobility 3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Triceps/Hip Mobility 3x15/3x10 3x12/3x10 3x10/3x10
Neck/Hip Mobility 3x20/3x10 3x20/3x10 3x20/3x10
Prowler Tempo
Circuit
2x10 rounds 2x10 rounds 2x10 rounds
More Abs 30 sec on/30
sec o! x10
rounds
30/30x12 rds 30/30x14rds
Day 3
Reactive Change of
Direction Drills
20 reps total 15 reps total 10 reps total
Reactive Jumps for
Distance
4x3 5x3 6x3
Drop Pushups 4x2 5x2 6x2
Front Squat 3x5 at 55-75% 3x3 at 60-80% 65%x5, 75%x3,
85%x1
Floor Press 3x5 at 55-75% 3x3 at 60-80% 65%x5, 75%x3,
85%x1
Neutral Grip Chins 4x10 4x8 4x6
Back Extensions 4x10 4x8 4x6
Ab Wheel 3x10 3x10 3x10
DB Side Bends 3x12/12 3x10/12 3x8/8
Day 5
Free Sprints 3x6x20 yds 4x4x20 yds 5x3x20yds
Reactive Jumps for
Distance
4x3 5x3 6x3
Drop Pushups 4x2 5x2 6x2
Squat 5x5+ at 55-75%5x3+ at 60-80%65%x5, 70%x4,
75%x3, 80%x2,
85%x1+
Board Press 3x5 at 55-75% 3x3 at 60-80% 65%x5, 75%x3,
85%x1
Chest Supported
Rows
4x12 4x10 4x8
Reverse Hypers 4x12 4x10 4x8
Situp and Press 3x12 3x10 3x8
BB Twists 3x12/12 3x10/10 3x8/8
Notes:
-Free sprints are much more taxing to the body because of the
higher velocities being achieved so we will only perform them 2x
per week.
-As the intensities of the primary lifts increase we must reduce the
volume of the assistance work because the body can only handle
so much work.
Through these 3 weeks of training the athletes will experience
tremendous increases in their alactic power, maximal strength and
inter/intramusclular coordination. They are now 3 weeks away
from the start of the schools summer camp where they will be
doing football drills, 7 on 7, scrimmaging and a great volume of
running. To prepare them for that we will now shift our focus from
alactic power development to alactic capacity. Since the athletes
are still relatively weak, they can continue lifting at a high intensity
without risk of overtaxing their system, we will however move the
board/oor press and front/box squat to an even more
supplementary role, but will still include them as frequent
exposure to compound movements will still greatly benet young
athletes like this.
Day 1 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Positional Start
Sprints
2x4x15-35yds
depending on
position
2x5x15-35yds
depending on
position
2x6x15-35yds
depending on
position
Reactive Change
of Direction Drills
2x4 reps 2x5 reps 2x6 reps
Prowler Push
+Sprint
2x4x5+10-15yds 2x5x5+10-15yds 2x6x5+10-15yds
Prowler
Explosions
2x4x3 pushes 2x5x3 pushes 2x6x3 pushes
Reactive Jumps
for Distance
2x4x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
2x5x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
2x6x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
Explosive MB
Throws
X5 each X5 each X5 each
Bench Press Up to 3x5 at
75-85%
Up to 2x2 at
85-92.5%
Up to 1rm
Front Squat 2x6-Submaximal 2x5-Submaximal 2x4-Submaximal
Any Type of Row/
Pullups
3x12 3x10 3x8
Any Type of Hip
Extension
3x10 3x8 3x6
Situp and Press 2x12 2x10 2x8
BB Twists 2x12/12 2x10/10 2x8/8
Day 2/4
Prowler Tempo
Circuit
2x10 rounds 2x10 rounds 2x10 rounds
Day 3
Positional Start
Sprints
2x4x15-35yds
depending on
position
2x5x15-35yds
depending on
position
2x6x15-35yds
depending on
position
Reactive Change
of Direction Drills
2x4 reps 2x5 reps 2x6 reps
Prowler Push
+Sprint
2x4x5+10-15yds 2x5x5+10-15yds 2x6x5+10-15yds
Prowler
Explosions
2x4x3 pushes 2x5x3 pushes 2x6x3 pushes
Reactive Jumps
for Distance
2x4x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
2x5x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
2x6x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
Explosive MB
Throws
X5 each X5 each X5 each
Floor Press 3x6-Submaximal 3x5-Submaximal 3x4-Submaximal
Box Squat 2x6-Submaximal 2x5-Submaximal 2x4-Submaximal
Traps 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12
Shoulders 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12
Arms 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12
Neck 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12 2-3x8-12
Ab Wheel 2x12 2x10 2x8
DB Side Bends 2x12/12 2x10/10 2x8/8
Day 5
Positional Start
Sprints
2x4x15-35yds
depending on
position
2x5x15-35yds
depending on
position
2x6x15-35yds
depending on
position
Reactive Change
of Direction Drills
2x4 reps 2x5 reps 2x6 reps
Prowler Push
+Sprint
2x4x5+10-15yds 2x5x5+10-15yds 2x6x5+10-15yds
Prowler
Explosions
2x4x3 pushes 2x5x3 pushes 2x6x3 pushes
Reactive Jumps
for Distance
2x4x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
2x5x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
2x6x2-4 jumps
depending on
position
Explosive MB
Throws
X5 each X5 each X5 each
Squat Up to 3x5 at
75-85%
Up to 2x2 at
85-92.5%
Up to 1rm
Board Press 3x6-Submaximal 3x5-Submaximal 3x4-Submaximal
Any Type of Row/
Pullups
3x12 3x10 3x8
Any Type of Hip
Extension
3x10 3x8 3x6
Situp and Press 2x12 2x10 2x8
BB Twists 2x12/12 2x10/10 2x8/8
Now that we have laid out the training, basic and full of compound
movements and bodybuilding accessory work, that will help these
young athletes grow bigger, stronger and faster, lets take a look at
what will really help them put on the pounds: nutrition.
Juggernauts 2012 college bound football class, which includes
some of the top players in the nation, are a testament to the
efectiveness of this type of training and diet. As a group they
have averaged an increase of 13 pounds of lean body mass, 63
pounds in the bench press, 109 pounds in the squat and reduced
their 40 yd dash times by .27 seconds.
Nutrition
Young athletes face a number of issues when trying to follow a
nutrition plan that older ones usually do not. 1) They are at school
all day and wont have access to things like microwaves, 2) They
dont drive/have any money so picking up food is mostly out of
the question, 3) They, for the most part, are pretty limited in their
cooking abilities, so things need to be basic. To overcome these
issues we need to provide them with dietary guidelines that can
accommodate their schedule cause while it may be good in theory
to have a 15 year old high school football player eating 10 oz of
grilled sh and 2 cups of steamed veggies for lunch, it isnt
realistic, and if the plan cant be efectively executed, it wont be
followed.
While these guys have pretty signicant weight they are trying to
gain, we want it to be as clean as possible so we will follow a carb
cycling routine with them but wont be overly concerned with
keeping things too strict. The schedule will be Days 1/3/5-High,
Days 2/4-Medium, Days 6/7-Low. Lets look at a breakdown for
each day
High Carb Day
Meal Number Foods/Quantities
1 3 Whole Eggs scrambled with spinach and cheese, 2 Pieces
of Toast with Jam, 2 Packets of Instant Oatmeal, 1 Glass of
Milk
2 Juggernaut Muscle Growth Formula mixed with water, 1
Piece of Fruit
3 2 Turkey Sandwiches on Quinoa Bread, 1 Piece of Fruit, 2
Cartons of Milk
4 (Pre
Training)
2 Slices of Quinoa Bread with Honey or Jam
5 (Post
Training)
Juggernaut Muscle Growth Formula, 1 Piece of Fruit, drink
the shake rst
6 10-16oz of lean meat (chicken, sh, steak), 1-2 cups of
rice/pasta/potatoes, large serving of green veggies, 1
Glass of Milk
7 Juggernaut Muscle Growth Formula blended with chocolate
milk, oats, and banana
Medium Carb Day
Meal Number Foods/Quantities
1 4 Whole Eggs scrambled with spinach and cheese, 2-4
strips of turkey bacon, 1 Glass of Milk
2 Juggernaut Fat Loss Formula mixed with water, 1 Handful
of trail mix
3 1 Large Spinach Salad with 6-8oz Turkey or Chicken, 1
Handful of Trail Mix, Olive Oil Dressing
4 (Pre
Training)
2 Slices of Quinoa Bread with Honey or Jam
5 (Post
Training)
Juggernaut Muscle Growth Formula, 1 Piece of Fruit, drink
the shake rst
6 10-16oz of lean meat (chicken, sh, steak), 1-2 cups of
rice/pasta/potatoes, large serving of green veggies, 1
Glass of Milk
7 Juggernaut Muscle Growth Formula blended with chocolate
milk, oats, and banana
Low Carb Day-These will occur on the weekends so they will have
more exibility in what they can eat
Meal Number Food/Quantities
1 4 Whole Eggs scrambled with spinach and cheese, 2-4
strips of turkey bacon, 1 Glass of Milk
2 Juggernaut Fat Loss Formula mixed with water, 1 Handful
of trail mix
3 10-16oz of lean meat, large serving of green veggies, 1
glass of milk
4 Juggernaut Fat Loss Formula, 1 Handful of Trail Mix
5 Same as Meal 3
6 Juggernaut Anytime Shake mixed with milk and 2 tbsp of
Peanut Butter
Gaining quality lean muscle mass is simple, notice that there is a
BIG diference between something being simple and being easy.
This plan isnt complex or fancy, hence it is simple, but it will
require great dedication, planning and hard work, so it isnt easy.
Follow this plan or create a similar one for your athletes and watch
them grow and improve.