Much of bodybuilding-style training relies on tried and true methods to reach hypertrophy. You always see variations, but often those variations come in the form of the number of sets and reps, time under tension, or slight angle changes.
In IFBB Pro League Men’s Physique competitor George Brown‘s case, he throws the traditional bodybuilding book right out the window and incorporates a good amount of strength and conditioning training into his routine. It’s the sort of functional training you see pro athletes doing, but it clearly works for bodybuilding, too.
Not sure what we mean? Check out one of his posts from the takeover:
Brown took fourth place at the 2019 Men’s Physique Olympia—an impressive result given the size of the category. In a recent takeover of the Olympia’s Instagram account, Brown gave some insight into his typical training.
During his Instagram takeover, he highlighted some upper body moves during a workout with coach Mike Davies. (Watch the story here to see the moves.) Brown drinks EAAs (essential amino acids) intra-workout to boost recovery.
Dumbbell lat raises (palms forward)
Plyo pushups, superset with Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Seated Lat Raise pulses, superset with Weighted Situps on the bench (without putting the dumbbells down)
Lat/Rear-delt Raises, superset with Flutter Kicks on the bench (laying back onto the bench and keeping the dumbbells up in front of you)
Alternating between Pushups and Up and Down Planks (putting one hand at a time up on a bench and then lowering yourself back down one hand at a time)
Plyo Pushups, landing with hands up on a bench
Front Raise to Shrugs
Conditioning ladder work for upper body and lower body
Cardio: Stationary Biking for 45 min to finish the day
How’s that for some unconventional training? The moves Brown did in this particular workout are pretty advanced, so make sure you can safely do them if you’re going to try it. If you can’t land the plyo pushups on the bench, you won’t have a great time.
