TLDR: At the intermediate stage, focus on systematic ways to progress for continued growth
Natural Bodybuilding is an art, a science, and a craft to which we have dedicated the last 10 years. We are proud to coach, teach, and celebrate natural athletes to help them fulfil their true potential in. 12 Week Powerbuilding Program Available until. Gaining Strength and Size Through Powerlifting and Bodybuilding The Crew% COMPLETE $77 Strength and Fatloss 2 - 13 Week Program Available until. Lose Fat While Maintaining Size & Strength The Crew. Bodybuilding: Beyond the Basics I don’t know a single serious lifter who doesn’t want to build more muscle. It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself a bodybuilder or not. Most people get into lifting to look better. Sure we might also pick up other lifting pursuits (such as getting stronger) but at our core, we still want to look good. Alberto took up cross country running, lost a lot muscle, and was not happy. From this time he has been on a roller coaster ride of weight changes. A bulking cycle is where the story starts. Learn how he went from 250 pounds to 198 healthy pounds.
After the short bursts of beginner gains, an intermediate lifter needs to learn to be systematic in training for continued progress. A traditional 3 set of 10 of bench press, increasing 5lbs every week will simply not cut it as increases in strength is no longer weekly. There has to be a better way for progress to occur than simply trying to add weight.
In this course, Alberto Nunez lays out a systematic, science based approach for progression to happen. Different progression schemes are listed for compound lifts and isolation exercises.
For compound lifts, one possible progression is a monthly increase in weight. Within a block of 3 weeks, progressively decrease the reps (like from 3×12, to 3×10, to 3×8) done while increasing the weight (e.g 20kg, 22.5kg, 25kg) used in the exercise per week. After that, take a 1-week deload and then begin again from 3×12 but with a heavier weight. The example is as follows:
| week 1 – Row – 85lbs x 12, 12, 12 |
| week 2 –Row – 90lbs x 10, 10, 10 |
| week 3 –Row – 95lbs x 8, 8, 8 |
| week 4 – Deload by reducing sets by 1 set and weight by 10-15% from week prior and doing bottom end of rep range (8 reps) |
| week 5 –Row – 90lbs x 12, 12, 12 |
| week 6 –Row – 95lbs x 10, 10, 10 |
| week 7 –Row – 100lbs x 8, 8, 8 |
For isolation exercises, the way to progress is by trying to increase reps done weekly. For example, if bicep curl was done with 15kg for 3 sets of 8, try doing more reps per set next week. The likely event is that a lifter would do 9,9,8 for the next session. Keep driving this rep progression until a designated rep is reached (like 12 reps for the first set). After which a heavier weight can be used.
On top of that, if the lifter plateaus again, an extra day and extra sets are added for the movement at is plateauing. This allows more volume accumulation for the lifter at the specific movements instead of simply swapping exercises.
Pros:
- Systematic and long-term progression
- High frequency and periodized volume
- Customizable spreadsheet for programs and intensive course
Cons:
- Expensive af
- A minimum of 4 days per week, and will take too long if compressed into 3 days
Edit: For the comment below saying that he goes up in rep range first before increasing weight. I was referring to his compound progression as shown here.
I believe he was commenting on the isolation progression schemes below that, which was exactly what I already said, increasing the reps until a person hits a target rep range, then increasing weight.
He first stepped on a competitive stage in 2007, and then the very next year he earned his pro status in virtually every major natural organization. While Alberto Nunez is relatively new to the sport of competitive bodybuilding he has played a vital role in promoting the natural movement. His contributions as a coach, athlete, and author have helped propel some of the growth the sport has seen over the last decade.
Despite all this success, Nuñez claims his most successful accolade comes in the fact that he gets to be called Coach Nuñez. “My biggest thrill is that I was lucky enough to be one of the founders of Team 3DMJ. I can honestly say we as a team have changed this sport we love for the better. Everyday I am thankful that I get to be part of this movement, alongside Coach Helms, Loomis, Alberts and Valdez.”
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