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By Vince Del Monte,
Honors Kinesiolgoy Degree, P.I.C.P Level 1& 2 Certified,
Precision Nutrition Certified, WBFF Pro Fitness Model
www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com
The hardest muscle-building
workout on the planet!
The
6-12-25
Mega-Size
Method
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Basic Introduction
Always consult a physician before beginning any exercise program.
Complete a thorough warm-up of cardiovascular activity, static stretching
and dynamic stretching before commencing the 6-12-25 Workout. I
recommend Dynamic Stretching For Bodybuilders as the ultimate ten-
minute pre workout warm up.
For maximal fat-burning, add four bouts of interval cardio for 20 minutes a
session after each weight training workout.
For maximal muscle-growth, limit your cardio to two bouts of interval cardio
for 10 minutes after the upper body weight training workouts.
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Safety & More
Recommendations
Safety Step #1: The tempos dictate the loads you select. If you cant
maintain the prescribed tempos, the weight is too heavy.
Safety Step #2: Master a full and controlled range of motion throughout
the entire rep. Do not change your body position to achieve extra reps.
Safety Step #3: Stick to the tempos to avoid the use of kinetic energy i.e.
fools gold.
Safety Step #4: Stick to the progression model below and dont forget to
wear a stop watch to time the rest intervals.
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The 6-12-25
Mega-Size Workout
THE LOGIC BEHIND THE PAIN:
This is a 4-day workout catered to intermediate (1-4 years of training) and
advanced trainees (4 or more years of training). If youre a novice lifter (less
than 1 year of training), this workout is not for you. The primary training
effects are functional hypertrophy, hypertrophy and strength-endurance. In
laymans terms, youre going to get stronger, bigger and leaner because of
the unique targeting of the Type IIa, Type IIb and Type I muscle fibers.
The 6-12-25 Breakdown: This workout consists of a giant set of three
different exercises per body part. You will perform 6 reps with perfect form
on your first exercise; take no longer than 10 seconds to move to the second
exercise and perform 12 reps with perfect form; take no longer than 10
seconds to move to your third exercise and perform 25 reps with perfect
perform. That is the completion of the first giant set. Rest for a complete 3
minutes and repeat. Follow the progression protocols below.
The Secret To Making The 6-12-25 Method Effective: Its all
about choosing the optimal loads. Let me pain a picture for you: You
must pick a load that will pop your eyeballs out of your skull after 6 reps,
after 12 reps, and after 25 reps. You should feel like youre in a death-
struggle whether it is 6 reps, 12 reps, or 25 reps. Make sure you watch the
instructional videos to see what I mean J
To get amped i.e. warmed-up for this, you will need at least 2 non-work
sets before your first work set to familiarize yourself with the optimal loads.
The 6-12-25 Split: An ideal split would be 2 days on, 1 day off, 1
day on, 1 day off, 1 day on, 1 day off and repeat. That would look like:
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Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Another option is Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Take the other days completely off.
The 6-12-25 Progression:
Week 1 - 3 giant sets
Week 2 - 4 giant sets
Week 3 - 5 giant sets
Week 4 - 3 giant sets but increase all your weights by 5-10%
This is considered one 28-day cycle. Rest for at least a week before you
begin another workout program. When I say rest I mean REST - no de
loads, no light sessions, I mean NO
WEIGHTS AT ALL. Dont even dream
about them.
Keep a training journal so that every
time you do a new 28-day cycle, you
can make sure youre starting weights
are slightly heavier on week 1. This
will ensure youre increasing your work
capacity/density, which means youre
doing more work in less time -- the
cornerstone principle of muscle growth.
The Tempo Matters: The only
guys who tell you that tempo doesnt
matter are those who are too scared
of the pain and are more interested
in impressing people in the gym with
their loads, rather than their physique.
Some gurus say you should not be
focusing on tempo when lifting heavy
weights and I disagree. I believe that is
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the EXACT time you should be using a tempo because its an indication of
whether youre in control or not! Heck, if you cant lift and lower the weight
in control than you have no business using that weight in the first place.
Using tempos will keep you injury free for life. Ive never met someone
who got injured while using a tempo. This is not ego-building, this is
bodybuilding!
The Rest Periods Matter: When I say 3 minutes, I mean that the next
set starts at 3 minutes so start getting ready for your next set around 2 and
minutes. True progress is based on standardizing the tempo and rest
period from workout to workout.
The Exercise Selection Matters: None of the exercises are randomly
selected, there is a reason we do each one in the order its been placed so
dont think you know what youre doing and switch things around J This
workout utilizes Positions of Flexion, a concept that my good buddy Steve
Holman introduced years ago. Its based on biomechanics and targeting
a muscle in the midrange position (where its strongest), the stretch position
(where its weakest) and the contracted position (where its weakest). You
see, most guys choose exercises that continue to make them stronger where
they are already strong - the midrange of a movement. However, when you
ask a guy to squat one inch lower or ask a guy to do a chin up one inch
higher, he cant because hes trying to access muscle fibers that have been
neglected, therefore weak. In the instructional videos Ill explain all this in
more detail and youll get to see examples of exercises that emphasize the
midrange, stretch and contracted position. In this workout I have allocated
the 6 RM (rep max) to a midrange exercise; the 12 RM (rep max) to a stretch
exercise and the 25 RM (rep max) to a contracted exercise. Again, dont
mess with the exercise order or selection for optimal gains.
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The 6-12-25
Mega-Size Diet
CALORIES:
Bodyweight x 17
If you did not gain 4-5 pounds of fat-free muscle mass after 28-days, readjust
your calories to Bodyweight x 20 the next time through.
MACRONUTRIENTS:
Carbohydrates: 40% if youre over 10% body fat
Carbohydrates: 50% if youre less than 10% body fat
Protein: 30% if youre over 10% body fat
Protein: 30% if youre less than 10% body fat
Fat: 30% if youre over 10% body fat
Fat: 20% if youre less than 10% body fat
To calculate your macronutrients for a 175 pound male less than 10% body fat:
175 x 17 = 2,975 calories per day
50% carbs = (2,975 x 0.50 = 1,487 / 4 calories per gram = 372 grams per day
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30% protein = (2,975 x 0.30 = 892 / 4 calories per gram = 223 grams per day
20% fat = (2,975 x 0.20 = 595 / 9 calories per gram = 66 grams per day
NOTE:
This is a generic starting point. Each week you will assess how you feel, look and
perform to determine if you should increase your carb intake or fat intake if youre
not making gains. There is very little need to increase your protein intake, its
more than sufficient. Do not make any changes to your diet if youre not following
it at least 90% of the time or else you dont have enough intelligence to make an
accurate decision.
MEAL FREQUENCY:
Every 3-4 hours MAXIMUM. A meal cadence any less than this is less than optimal
and will initiate a cascade of catabolic hormones. You can debate about optimal
meal frequency all day long with the arm chair experts out there, but I have
no interest in engaging in academic debate. Over the past ten years Ive worked
with hundreds of clients and they all stick to a meal cadence of every 3-4 hours
MAXIMUM. We strive for at least 5-6 meals a day minimum and no more than 2
shakes a day. Optimally, 1 shake a day but 2 is the max. If you want to look solid,
you need to eat solid food J And if youre skeptical about eating every 3-4 hours,
take a look at how its worked out for my us: