Big & Strong
Calum Christopherson - AP Training
Custom ProgrammingBig & Strong Strength is the engine. Size is the result.
Off-season and pre-season are my favourite times of year. It's when athletes get built — heavy lifts, smart volume, real progress you can measure week to week. Ten years in professional rugby league, and that block still gets me excited.
Big & Strong is that programme — packaged for you.
Most hypertrophy programmes throw volume at you and hope something sticks. Endless push-pull-legs, junk sets, and 4x10s that leave you sore but not bigger. This one's different, because it's built on how pro athletes train when the goal is to come back bigger, stronger, and harder to break.
The science is simple: the stronger you get, the more muscle you can recruit — and the more you recruit, the more your hypertrophy work actually grows you. Heavy compounds lead. Smart accessory work follows. Every set has a job.
The structure
Four sessions a week — two lower, two upper — each built around a heavy primary lift, supported by hypertrophy work, athletic prep, and built-in prehab. Nothing is filler.
You also get an optional GPP day to drop in between sessions, aimed at weak areas and lagging body parts that can handle more volume. Use it when you've got the time. Skip it when you don't.
What you get:
- 4 sessions per week, written fresh each week
- Optional GPP day for weak points and lagging body parts
- Strength-led programming that drives real hypertrophy
- Built-in pre-hab, mobility, and athletic prep
- Coach-written, coach-updated, never copy-paste
Pro-sport off-season training, adapted for lifters who want to train with purpose and come out the other side genuinely bigger and stronger.
Let's get to work.
A1
90/90 Hip Switch
2 x 12
A2
Glute Bridge
2 x 10
A3
Hip Flexor Knee Drive
2 x 12
A4
Hip Mobility - KB Squat
2 x 8
A5
Wall Sit
2 x 30
B
Back Squat
12, 10, 8
C
Romanian Deadlift
12, 10, 8
D
Barbell Split Squat
10, 10, 8
E
Prone Machine Hamstring Curl
3 x 12
F
Spanish Squat
3 x 12
A1
Scapular Push Up
3 x 10
A2
Shoulder Pre-Hab
3 x 8
A3
Band Shoulder Press
3 x 8
B
Bench Press
12, 10, 8
C
Barbell Row
12, 10, 8
D
Half-Kneeling DB Shoulder Press
3 x 10
E
1-Arm DB Row
3 x 10
F
3D Shoulders
3 x 10
G
Alternating DB Hammer Curl
3 x 10
A1
Side Lying External Rotation
3 x 8
A2
Shoulder Pre-Hab
3 x 8
B
Facepull To Press
3 x 10
C
Suitcase Carry
3 x 30
D
Landmine Anti-Rotation
3 x 8
E
Backward Sled Walk
3 x 40
F
Band Tricep Push Down
4 x 25
G
Zottman Curls
3 x 8
A1
Hip Iso Hold: Bodyweight
2 x 30
A2
Couch Stretch (Hip Flexors)
2 x 60
A3
Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
2 x 12
A4
Clock Squat - Bodyweight
2 x 6
B
Trap Bar Deadlift
10, 8, 6
C
Barbell Hip Thrust
10, 8, 6
D1
DB Lateral Lunge
3 x 10
D2
Side Plank on Elbows
3 x 60
E
Prone Machine Hamstring Curl
3 x 8
A1
Scapular Push Up
2 x 8
A2
Backburns
2 x 8
A3
Paused Push-Up
2 x 6
A4
Side Lying External Rotation
2 x 10
B
Chin-Up
4 x 6
C
Overhead Press
10, 8, 6, 6
D
Seated Row - Cable - Wide Grip
12, 10, 8
E
Incline DB Bench Press
12, 10, 8
F1
DB Fly
3 x 10
F2
DB Reverse Fly
3 x 10
G
Tricep Pushdown
3 x 12
Calum Christopherson
BSc MSc CSCS - Owner: AP Training, Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach with 10+ years experience training athletes on and off the field, from professional rugby league to hybrid performance.
Look jacked and perform on the platform. The big and strong programme is built around a linear periodisation model that is guaranteed to help you build mass and get strong.
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Big & Strong
Big & Strong
Big & Strong
