After spending time in the gym on Sunday trying a bunch of things out and then thinking them through I am ready to release my Full Body Blackjack program. This is a full body workout where every lift is in the form of barbell 21’s.

For those of you who do not know, 21s are a lift, which uses the partial ROM to play with muscle fatigue and break down in order to build both size and strength. People have been doing barbell 21s for a very long time for one simple reason: they work. Basically the movement does half of the range of motion for 7 reps, the other half of the range of motion for 7 reps and then the full range of motion for 7 reps. You will need to be careful with this though, which side of the ROM you begin on is very important and will be listed below.

With this in mind I tried different lifts, both compound and isolation, for each of the major muscle groups and then devised an order to put them in that would really give a blast for the body. For those of you guys who are doing my Repetitive Action Performed Energetically program (Muscle R.A.P.E.) or following some other program this should be used on your off day.

This is a quick challenge that you should be doing at about 40% of your 10-rep max per lift. If you are not following a specific program, I suggest you get on in there and give this a try. This is a great workout for every part of your body including your heart. I tried about 30 different lifts and boiled it down to ten for this workout. I also tried them in various ways, doing different parts of the ROM first.

Putting this workout together, I am not ashamed to tell you, hurt like hell. I hope you all give it a try and report back on your feelings about it. There are ten lifts in total, all done in the 21 format, all done for two sets. So you do two sets of the first workout

Arnold was a big fan of 21s. He did them light and did them often.

and then move to the second. At first, I toyed with the idea of working through each workout like a circuit and then starting again for a second circuit. Honestly, I believe this might actually be a better way to do it. The problem, however, is that this really is difficult in a gym where you will need to make sure the next piece of equipment is open. The order here is very important. There is a reason to do shoulders right before traps etc. So follow this one as stated and welcome to hypertrophy town.

FULL BODY BLACKJACK

• Barbell Bench Press 21s (2sets. First 7 reps should be from midpoint up and second 7 from midpoint down. Last 7 are full ROM)
• Bent Over Barbell Row 21s (2 sets. First 7 reps should be from the midpoint up to the chest. Second 7 from the bottom to the midpoint. Last 7 are full ROM)
• Deadlift 21s (2 sets. First 7 reps are from the midpoint to the top lock out. Second set of 7 reps from the ground to midpoint. Last 7 reps are full ROM)
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 21s. (2 sets. First 7 reps from bottom of lift to midpoint. Second 7 reps are from midpoint to top. Last 7 reps are full ROM)
• Barbell Upright Row 21s (2 sets. First 7 reps from the bottom to the midpoint. Second 7 reps from the midpoint to the top. Final 7 reps full ROM)
• Seated Dumbbell Triceps Extension 21s (2 sets First 7 reps from the midpoint to the top lock out. Second set of 7 from the bottom to the midpoint. Last set of 7 full ROM)
• Barbell Bicep Curl 21s (2 sets. the standard 21s)
• Seated Leg Extension 21s (2 sets. First 7 from midpoint to full extension. Second 7 reps from starting point to midpoint. Last 7 reps full ROM)
• Seated Calf Raise 21s (2 sets. First 7 reps from the midpoint to the top. Second 7 reps from the very lowest point – extended beyond 90 degrees – to the midpoint. Final 7 reps full ROM)
• Laying leg lift 21s (2 sets. First 7 reps from bottom to the midpoint. Second set of 7 reps from the midpoint to the top. Final set of 7 full ROM)