I've been using this workout for approximately 2 years now. I do some informal personal training on the side, and have started many people on this workout, who have all had incredible results. Personally my bench press went from 155x1 to 315x2 during this time, and at the same time I was ketodieting mad fat away, a total of 85lbs so far. From 265lbs to a lean 180lbs.
First, before trying a new program, always take 7-10 days off to recover from any previous overtraining, about 75% of the people I run into are overtraining. During this time do NO EXERCISE WHATSOEVER if possible. No weight training, no cardio, nothing. Let the body recover, because you're going to blast it VERY HARD. During the off time, feel free to use the time to STUDY. The best reference manuals I've found are: 'The Insiders Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique' and 'Beyond Brawn', both by Stuart McRobert, and available from http://www.hardgainer.com. The Weight-Training Technique book is packed with photos and descriptions of how to do the most productive mass-building exercises, the ones used in the program below. Beyond Brawn goes into explicit detail on why other programs fail, and why programs that focus on the basic compound movements work so well.
I recommend squats, deadlifts, and back extensions only. For instructions on how to deadlift properly, go to http://www.cyberpump.com/training/trainhard/hwtodead.html. Reading this article is pretty much required if you're even considering deadlifts, and you should definately be doing them! Better yet, get the McRoberts book mentioned above, it goes into explicit detail.
Workout is as follows:
2 Warmup sets of squats with an appropriately light weight, I use 135lbs. My warmup sets are done for 12 reps, and are just that, light warmup sets. They don't really stress the muscles, or build up lactic acid. After the warmup, do 2 working sets of squats to complete failure. Use the heaviest weight you can WITH PERFECT FORM, where you can do 8 reps. If you get over 8 reps move the weight up on the next workout. Note: When I say complete failure for squats, it means don't stop until you CANNOT do another rep while using perfect form. When you're at the failure point, stop at the top of the moment, take 5-10 seconds worth of DEEP BREATHS, and SQUEEZE OUT ANOTHER REP! Don't quit until you pass out. Note: Some people do better with squats in the 15-20 rep range, don't be afraid to try this. For others, pushing it this far just isn't necessary and can lead to overtraining, so adjust as necessary for your body's recovery ability.
After squats, give yourself enough time to fully catch your breath, say 4-5 minutes, but no more. Don't rush, don't linger. You're not in the gym to socialize. Next, move onto deadlifts. Do 2 sets for around 8 reps, if you can get more than 8 move up in weight next week. If you're new to doing deadlifts, START SLOW, they can hit your lower back VERY VERY hard, so don't go all out on your first couple of workouts. Again, always use perfect form. Note: Many people when they get to an intermediate or advanced level find themselves wiped out after a couple sets of squats or deads, feel free to alternate by just doing squats one week, and just deads the next.
Last, one or two sets of back extensions (optional) can really help with lower back strength.
That's pretty much it for the leg workout. After you're done, get out of the gym, and go EAT. You need proper protein and carbs after your workout. I usually wait at least 5-7 days between leg workouts to allow for full recovery. And I always wait 48 hours between workouts to allow glycogen stores to recover so that I can give a maximum effort/maximum intensity. I.E. If I do legs Monday, I won't work upper body Tuesday, I'll wait till Wednesday.
I can't stress enough how important leg day is. Deadlifts work so much muscle mass that when you do them, the guy standing next to you at the gym even grows from them! Doing your squats and deadlifts regularly will help your upper body gains immensely. Trust me on this, don't shortchange yourself and get those heavy lower body workouts in, and do them properly. Perfect form is a must.
Mission 3s and 8s (you'll need a spotter for this):
2 warmup sets of bench press with a weight that you can get 12 reps on quite easily, I use 135lbs. Once the warmups are done, we're going to do 6 working sets. 3 sets of 3, followed by 3 sets of 8. For your 3s, use the highest weight you can get for 3 reps, for the 8s, take your 3s weight and subtract 40lbs. I.E. Right now I'm doing 3 sets of 3 at 285, then 3 sets of 8 at 245. When you get all of your 3s and 8s, move up by 5lbs next week. Take about 2-3 minutes between sets. Note: The bench portion of the workout does NOT follow normal HIT theory, but everyone that's tried this has made excellent progress. Basically instead of doing 1-2 sets for pecs, then 1-2 for triceps, then 1-2 for anterior (front) delts, you're just doing all the sets on the good old mass building flat bench.
Next would be an overhead press, 2 sets of around 8 reps, when you get more than 8 reps with a weight, move up next week. Note: Do NOT do overhead presses behind the neck, as this will impinge on the rotator cuff over time. Dumbell presses, or barbell presses to the front work extremely well!
Last, do 2 set of dips with just your bodyweight. If you get more than 12 reps with your bodyweight, find a weight belt to attach some plates to so that the resistance is increased.
Do 2 sets of rows (Bent Rows, Seated Cable Rows, with light weight just to warm up (say 33% of your normal working weight), then do 2 sets of underhand grip chinups, for as many reps as you can. If you get more than 8 reps, grab that weight belt, attach some weight, and increase the resistance next week.
After that, 2 sets of rows in the 8 rep range (bent rows, seated rows, lever rows, anything but upright rows). Again, move up next week when you get more than 8 reps. My personal favorite would be the seated one-arm cable rows, still a compound movement, very very intense when done properly, and it really hits the biceps well!
NOTE: If you can only make it to the gym two days per week, feel free to combine chest/tri day with back/bicep day, your intensity will be a bit lower though usually.
Some people get enough work on the abs just from keeping them tight during the large exercises such as squats and chin-ups, but most people get better results from direct ab work such as weighted crunches, cable crunches, etc. With ab work, the important thing is to make sure there isn't movement around the hip joint, if there is, then you're working the hip flexors as the primary movers, and not the abs. To work the abs, you should just have curling of the spine, bringing the shoulders closer to your hips. Try to keep tension in the abs throughout the movement.
It's also good to do some direct work for the obliques, such as side bends. Some people think that any oblique work will result in a thicker waist, but in reality it takes a long time with heavy (100lb+) weights to get serious oblique development. As always, start slowly, and work your weights up.
Besides the abs, it's usually good to do exercises specifically to strengthen the rotator cuff, such as external rotation, internal rotation, etc. These exercises are described in detail in the Weight Training Technique book listed above.
Many trainees experience very significant gains in movements like the bench press after doing direct work for the rotator cuffs for a while. Both the ab work, and the rotator cuff work, can be done on off days, or tacked onto the end of one of the other workouts.
The goal of the program above is to get you away from overtraining. Reduce volume but increase intensity, and to focus on HEAVY *COMPOUND MOVEMENTS* and get away from isolation movements. It is specifically AVOIDING things like curls, tricep pressdowns, and calf work. Trust me on this, your biceps will get plenty of work from the chin-ups and rows IF you put EVERY BIT OF EFFORT POSSIBLE into them, and use an underhand grip when possible. Your triceps will grow like CRAZY from the benching, and if you do those squats and deadlifts heavy, and with perfect form, your calves will GROW. The reason this works so well is because you're not doing 6 sets for biceps, and 6 sets for lats, you focus all your intensity and energy into 4 simple sets! The more intensely you hit the muscles w/o injury, the more they will grow, if you give them enough time to recover.
Except for bench press, go to COMPLETE FAILURE on all exercises, where you cannot complete another rep while keeping perfect form, no matter how hard you try. Always, ALWAYS use perfect form. If you don't, you will injure yourself eventually, and then you won't be able to work out, and you'll lose progress. It's not worth it, use perfect form and avoid injury, you'll only be cheating yourself otherwise.
Only do each workout once every 5-7 days. (2-3 workouts per week total). Try to leave 48 hours between workouts if possible to let your body's glycogen stores recover. Eat a SOLID meal 1 hour before the workout, with plenty of low-glycemic complex carbs, because you're going to need some SERIOUS energy to put an all out effort into this. Each workout should last no more than 30 minutes, 45 mins tops on chest/tricep day. After each workout, get food into your body within 30-60 minutes, at least 30 grams of protein, and a good amount of complex carbs. Your body needs the proper building blocks to build muscle, be sure to give it what it needs!