Sometimes it seems refreshing to go back to the roots of training and throw out complex theories and schedules and just train as a primitive barbarian.
Basic, simple, hard work, nothing but you, your body weight and raw iron.
Throughout my bodybuilding career I have went back to this from time to time, as much for a mental break as to reconnect with what drew me to bodybuilding in the first place, the pitting of yourself against the weight of your own body as well as simple iron in its purest form.
After all it was this type of training from which your physique was forged and it is only right to pay homage now and then, as a seasoned iron warrior traveling back to his beginnings to take up once again the mantle of apprentice, to keep him humble, help him to remember the struggles in darkness of his iron brethren still in the trenches of foundation building searching for knowledge wrought by years of experience.
As I stated earlier, this is a refreshing way to train from time to time.
It gives you time to clear your head and serve as a hospice until you are ready to launch your next assault of increased intensity and may even spur a new cycle of size and strength when you return to a more advanced training program.
Remember growth stimulation is all about change, change is good.
The barbarian workout can be done in one of two ways, a total body workout with just body weight exercises or with a whole body workout with simple barbell and dumbbell movements incorporated into it.
Lets take the most basic, purest version first, the whole body, body weight only routine.
Feet elevated pushups, feet on floor pushups, parallel bar dips, bench dips for chest, front and side deltoids, and triceps.
Wide over grip behind the neck chins, wide over grip chins, shoulder width under grip chins, close under grip chins for back, traps, rear deltoids, and biceps.
Hanging knee ups and roman chair sit ups for abdominals.
One legged standing calf raise, two legged standing calf raise, two legged bent over calf raise for calves.
rope squats one legged squats for quadriceps and hamstrings.
Two sets of each exercise for upper body, calves, and abdominals and three sets for rope squats and one legged squats with two minutes rest between all sets.
Do as many reps as you can on all sets.
The second whole body workout incorporating barbell and dumbbell exercises is my personal favorite and goes like this, parallel bar dips, medium grip barbell bench press, standing shoulder width grip overhead barbell press, standing two hands on a single dumbbell behind and overhead tricep press for chest, front and side deltoids, and triceps.
Shoulder width under grip chins, bent over medium grip barbell rows, barbell medium grip upright rows, standing barbell curls for back, traps, rear deltoids, and biceps.
Standing calf raise and bent over calf raise for calves with a dumbbell suspended by a rope hooked onto a lifting belt.
Rope squats and dumbbell squats for quadriceps.
Barbell stiff legged deadlifts for hamstrings.
The trick with the two calf exercises is to adjust the rope so that the dumbbell or loose plates hang at about shin level, yet doesn't come in contact with the feet so as not to interfere with the execution of the movement.
Leave some room in the belt so it can rest on the top of the hips for standing calf raise and snugs up as you slide the belt as low as it will go on your buttocks without slipping off your hips when doing bent over calf raise.
The weight is in front of you on both exercises and the reason you slide the belt so far down your hips on bent over calf raise is to place the weight as close to your thighs as possible to get the weight over your calves because otherwise if the belt remained higher the weight would hang at your waist and shift some of the resistance to your arms as you hold yourself with your hands on a flat bench in front of you and needlessly put a negative strain on your lower back.
You shouldn't need direct abdominal work on this routine as the abs are worked pretty hard throughout in a supporting role.
Do two sets of eight to twelve reps on all exercises for the upper body and three sets of ten to fifteen on all exercises for the lower body.
Rest two minutes between all sets.
Rest between workouts can be managed in one of two ways, on Monday and Friday of each week, resting on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and the weekend or for more rest between workouts you can train on Monday and Friday one week and only on Wednesday the next week and just keep rotating these two working out twice one week and once the next, personally I suggest this approach because there is more rest and less chance of overtraining, a win win for the mind and body.