“Mikey Muscle Stack”
If you are a rational person, please read no further! For those of you who are completely INSANE, welcome! This is right up your alley! And if you are already in good shape, have been doing P90X for a while, and are ready to put on some serious muscle mass and density, read on!
The “Mikey Muscle Stack” workout is named after one of our own teamRIPPED members, Mike B., who happens to be a former gym owner, powerlifter, bodyguard … you name it, he’s been it!
And he started a phenomenon on our teamRIPPED challenge with a few other crazy beasts who wanted to really bulk up. The result — “THE MIKEY MUSCLE STACK”. It is based on a typical P90X lift schedule (AM) with an extra workout 8-12 hours later to blast the same muscles you already destroyed earlier that day! It leads to huge gains, but must be done properly to avoid injury or overtraining. Consult your doctor, etc. before attempting this! (In other words, don’t come blaming me if you hurt yourself! I WARNED YOU!!!)
(*The Mikey Muscle Stack is also permanently linked under Coach W’s Tips, so in the future you can always find it there, even after this post gets old.)
The schedule:
You can implement the Mikey Muscle Stack no matter what version of P90X or hybrid you are doing. The key is that out of all 13 weeks of the program, you will only be doing the STACK on weeks 5 & 6, then on weeks 9 & 10. That’s all. Your body will wear down if you attempt to do it anymore than this.
On the first stack weeks (5 & 6), you will do extra work on the muscle groups you worked earlier that day, using 3 sets of 3 exercises per muscle group. For instance, on Chest/Back day, that evening you will do 3 different back exercises (3 sets each), and 3 different chest exercises (3 sets each), for a total of 18 sets. The focus of this first round of the stack is SLOW REPS (for each set, concentrate on doing about 4-6 reps at a slow tempo — think 7-count per rep).
On the second stack weeks (9 & 10), you will do higher reps (8-12) with heavier weight, at a normal tempo (not the 7-count tempo from the first round).
The type of exercises you choose for your STACK routine depends on what you have access to. It can be simple, like pullups, pushups, dumbells, etc. Or if you have access to additional equipment, you can add variety with lat pulldowns, barbell work, bench press, etc.
*All exercises should be performed with only a 1 minute break between sets (don’t go out and get a cheesburger, a pastrami sandwich, or a Coke between sets! LOL!). Keep the burn going!
My YouTube Demo of The Mikey Muscle Stack Mass Building Technique:
Below I will list some options you can choose from for each body part you wish to work in your Mikey Muscle Stack! Please feel free to offer additional suggestions in the comments section!
Chest:
Lying Dumbbell Press, Lying Dumbbell Flys, Decline Pushups, Weighted Wide Pushups, Bench Press
Back:
Wide Pullups, Narrow Pullups, Dumbbell Back Flys, Seated Rows
Shoulders:
Alternating Dumbbell Press, Deep Arnold Press, Military Press, Pike Press, Lateral Shoulder Raise, Front Shoulder Raise, Rear Shoulder Raise
Biceps:
Seated Curls, Barbell Curls, Preacher Curls, Reverse Grip Curls
Triceps:
Alternating Tricep Kickback, Tricep Cable Pushdowns, Lying Tricep Extension, Side Tri Rise
Forearms:
Forearm Curls, Reverse Forearm Curls, Forearm Sandwich, Off-The-Butt Forearm
Legs:
Leg Press, Squats, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, Calf Raises, Lunges
Related Posts:
36 Responses to ““Mikey Muscle Stack””
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sounds fun, looks like Ill have to give it a try in a few weeks.
Awesome tips and I look forward to trying this and seeing my results. Will be starting P90X tomorrow!
One simple question:
Using your example of Chest/Back
When you’re doing the Stack, is it:
Chest excercise#1
Set1, set2,set 3
Then Chest exercise#2
set 1,2,3
then Chest exercise #3
set 1,2,3
THEN on to the 3 exercises, 3 sets each of back?
Or do you alternate Chest#1—set 1,2,3
the back #1—set 1,2,3
then chest #2—set1,2,3
Back #2—set 1,2,3
etc
In other words, do you do all exercises of one bodypart before going to the next;
or do you alternate bodyparts, as in the P90X exercises?
John, YES, do each exercise (all 3 sets) before starting the next. Now this gets a little confusing, but you can “fold” the last chest exercise with the first back exercise (using your example above), so that Chest Exercise #3 is interlaced with Back Exercise #1. That’s an extra Mikey Tip for ya!
Thanks!
I did Biceps & Back this morning—gonna try the Stack this evening. I can’t even imagine how painful the interlacing thing must be! I think I’ll start slow with just the “normal” (LOL!) stacking!
BTW,
If I recall, you are on your way to California this week. Good luck with the MC2 workout! I have a feeling we’ll all be watching Tony introduce you in the next set of videos!
What happens on days where 3 body parts are on the schedule like Chest/Shoulders/Triceps? Would you recommend just doing 2 sets per body part or 3 sets each?
thanks
John, thanks man! It’s actually in Dallas, but say a prayer for me that I bring it and turn some heads! There’s a bunch of us that got invited! It’s a small shot, but that’s all I need!!!!
You’re as good as in!
I betting that none of the other invites does pull-ups with their kids hanging around their neck!
You’ve been crushin’ the hybrids/P90X/Insanity Workout/Stacks
There’s no way you don’t turn some heads!
BRING IT!!
Interesting concept. I think I’ll give this a try. Good luck in Dallas!
Man I cant wait till Im finished with Insanity Workout and get P90x so I can buff up and use this too! Good info and good luck coach!!
I am already of “afraid” of trying this kinda like I was afraid of round 2 of Insanity Workout. Then i got doing round 2 and really loved it, so I am committed to doing a complete round of P90X starting in DEC adn then doing the “MIKEY MUSCLE STACK” afterwards. Cant wait.
I think this program will be very good for any of you that are not getting sore after a p90X workout no matter how hard you bring it. I was at that point. No matter how many reps, how much weight I put in the back pack, always going to failure and beyond, I would not get sore the next day. I maybe would just be slightly stiff for one day and then felt totally recovered.
My first week of the splits I was sore every time. It woke my muscle back up and really worked them. Ive finished two weeks of this and Im already not getting sore anymore even after the double split for two weeks. Im taking a week off and then starting it over again for two weeks but with the week two sets and Mikey and I will be discussing this more next week when I start it back up. Can’t wait to pick his brain next week and hope we all learn something.
That said, even the people in the best of shape will be really happy when rest week gets there.
Take it easy and listen to your body.
Jeff
Correct me if I’m wrong, I would do my regular workout at 7AM and then do the stack routine around 7PM during week 5-6 and week 9-10.
Since I would take a recovery drink after my regular workout, do I take a recovery drink after the stack workout as well?
Thanks Coach
Hey Mel, you’ve got it! And on the Res/Rec, you can absolutely take it twice per day.
Wayne, I missed my morning workout today so I plan to catch it later this afternoon. Could I “Stack” me next one tomorrow morning? I have Plyo tomorrow so I’m not looking forward to that but I don’t want to miss this as I just got to Rd2-Week5.
Thanks,
Dan
Dan, that should be fine since you are doing Plyo!
Hey Coach Wayne,
First off I’d like to say awesome results! You really have a motivating and informative website. I’m on day 30 right now and I’ve been following the diet plan and my body fat is literally starting to melt away and i’m starting to get ripped. My question is after I complete the first round, if I want to try the stack technique since I do my workouts at night would it be okay if I did the stacking workout the next morning since the stack workout would be shorter or should I aim to do both of the stack workouts in the same day?
Thanks for all of your hard work, your website is very motivating and is a great tool.
Matt D.
Doing them the next morning is fine (still follows the same rule of hitting the same muscle group 10-12 hours after the initial workout). Thanks for the encouragement Matt!
Hey wayne,
I plan to incorporate the Mikey B Muscle Stack in round two. I know you take the res/rec fml after your morning workouts but what do you take to recover after the Mikey Stack workouts later in the day?
Hey Nick! On the days I do the stack, I take another serving of Res/Recovery Formula after the stack workout.
Here you go team I came across a Exercise database. This will help you when you are trying to put together you stack
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/main.html
~ Demitris
When things get hard, work harder…
Wow I have done the Mickey Muscle stack twice so far…(I’m on my 6th week) and I find it really exhausting to do THREE excercises per bodypart. I’ve only done the stack for Chest/Shoulder/Tri and I have only done two excercises per bodypart. I purposely did not do the stack for Back/Bicep because I didn’t want my Legs/Back workout to suffer.
Way to bring it Jason!
Coach Ant
I have cycled the dr max powers anabolic stack several times and have had great results. the name sounds dumb, but after i did my research – It has done what it claims to do. It has anti-estrogen and DHT blockers as well as some natural test boosters which have worked well for me.
Hey coach, since I’m going to do this at night, would you recommend casein protein after this workout or whey? and can i also mix it with p90x r/r? THANKS!
Hey Rein, casein is best at night if you have both to choose from, and yes you can mix it with the R/R, or you can take the R/R and then take the protein about 30-45 min later … whichever works best for you.
OK, I’ll do that. THANKS A LOT COACH!
Hi coach, i am in a little confusion..from past 7-8 months i have going to gym and i have reduced about 32lbs and now i will be starting p90x and my target is to get 8-9% bodyfat..currently i am on 24% bodyfat..now when i saw the weight training videos of p90x i saw tony doing all the exercises in a faster mode(with or without dumbells) but in a proper form..but if we want to engage more muscle fibres we have to do exercises in a slow motion(like u demonstrated 4 count up and down). so can i adapt this technique in p90x without stacking or any other routine?
Hey Raunaq, you can do the P90X routine with slower motions and even with pausing between exercises if you want. I did some of that during my bulking round.
Hey Coach,
Am given this a shot tonight. On week 5 did chest/back this morning.
Jus a few questions
For the rest time do you mean not more than a minute after each excercise or after each set? Also do you still do this and have you noticed any advantages when you have?
Regards
John
Hey John, you can rest between each set and each exercise. I only did it for one round and definitely saw good gains in strength. I’m not trying to bulk up right now so I’m not doing it at the time.
Hi coach, yesterday was great and my chest is sore for the first time in a long time. tomorrow is shoulders and arms am trying to plan ahead and decide on the workouts to do for the stack but not entirely sure how to incorporate it. I have my 3 exercises for shoulder but for arms would it mean 3 exercises for biceps and triceps? and forearms maybe?
Regards
John.
Hey John, it’s really whatever you feel up to, depending on how sore you already are! You can focus on one area (biceps), hit a little of each (bi/tri/forearm), or whatever.
Hi Coach Wayne,
Would you recommend this order or can I reverse it and do the heavier lifting/stack in the AM and at night do P90X?
You can definitely switch it up — same effect.
Great! Thanks for the info. My brother turned me on to this site and I am glad I found it. Thanks again!