I used to be an avid lifter but I have lately not been getting to the gym as much as I would like. My initial workout consisted primarily of power and strength exercises but I would now like to gain some mass.

I was wondering what workout would suit me best, the Express or the regular workout? Also, I recieved a hamstring injury my Freshman year in college due to a football injury and still feel alot of pain when I do squats. What else can I do that would take it's place? Perhaps power clean?

First, I will give you a very fast response. Try out the Bodybuilding programs and choose the EXPRESS version at any time depending on how busy you are and/or how you feel you are recovering between workouts. And, while the power clean is one of my favorite exercises, it probably won't be any less painful on your injured hamstring than a squat exercise will be. You will want to switch to leg presses for a few weeks. But, keep your feet closer together and don't go down quite as deep. Also, any program you choose will have some form of direct hamstring exercises like leg curls or stretch deadlifts. This will isolate your hamstring muscles and get them back into shape. Make sure you warm-up for about 10 minutes and do some light stretching exercises as well. You should be feeling better in no time.

Now for the long response! I had to give you this response as well because you mentioned that your initial workouts consisted primarily of strength and power exercises and, that now you would like to focus more on mass development. This has triggered a "definition response" from my head. Bear with me as I explain a few things!

What I must say is that some of the best "mass" programs are those that actually focus a large amount of time on strength and power exercises or phases of training. A strength and power phase is characterized by both an exercise standpoint (squats, deadlifts, power cleans, bench presses etc.) and from a volume and intensity standpoint (4-6 reps at 80-90% intensity ranges). However, it is the volume and intensity parameters, not specific exercises that are truly the most important factors in any program.

Overloading a muscle by progressively increasing the intensity or weight (which is what the strength and power phase will do) is one of the two most important factors in mass and strength development! The other important "growth factor" comes from a volume standpoint, which I'll explain here in a minute. Specifically, the strength and power phase elicits a muscle growth response by stimulating an increase in the contractile proteins, actin and myosin. This gives your muscles a more dense, thick, and mature development. But, as important as training for strength and power is, it's still only half the picture. Read on.

My Strength and Power Programs will definitely overload your muscles. The Bodybuilding Programs will provide for this overload as well. But, unlike the Strength and Power Programs, the Bodybuilding Programs will also push higher repetition sets or "flush" sets in combination with the classic strength and power sets. These flush sets have repetitions in the 10-15 range and will push as much blood as possible into the muscles. This explains our second "growth factor". The increased volume creates a growth response by forcing the muscle cell to adapt to this greater workload and subsequently store greater amounts of glycogen (and water). Many people call this process “cell volumizing”. This type of muscle hypertrophy or growth can actually provide for the visually largest mass increases.

Think about these last two paragraphs for a minute. Now, think about somebody that trains with heavy weights similar to those explained in the strength and power phase. A very strong person does not necessarily have to be very large. But, their muscles are strong, thick and dense. As stated above, training with heavier weights creates this type of response. Now, think about a bodybuilder. Bodybuilders generally train with less weight and higher volumes. Again, as stated above this brings about a different type of hypertrophy or cell volumization. One that creates much larger increases in muscle size. However, the best bodybuilders, and those with the most mass are those that will engage in classic hypertrophy phases as well as strength and power phases. I have accounted for the use of both of these phases in my Bodybuilding Programs.

Now, let me tell you exactly what I would recommend for you to do based off what you said about not training very consistently lately and wanting to build mass! This is actually a yearlong training organization. It is the key to long term (and overall) success.

Your training year needs to be broken down into (4) three-month cycles. Three months or 12 weeks is a great segment of time to really maximize a physical goal like strength or size. Here is an example of a great yearly training schedule:

1st Macrocycle (3 Months) – 5 Day General Fitness Program
2nd Macrocycle (3 Months) – 4 Day Strength and Power Advanced Program
3rd Macrocycle (1st 6 weeks) – 5 Day Bodybuilding Mass EXPRESS Program.
(2nd 6 weeks) – 3 Day Strength and Power EXPRESS Advanced
4th Macrocycle (3 months) – 6 Day Bodybuilding Mass Program

This yearly schedule takes into account specific preparation phases, strength and power cycles, bodybuilding hypertrophy cycles, resting phases, etc.

These combinations may seem long but if you think about it, every top bodybuilding or strength athlete cycles their training into yearly phases that are broken down into specific macrocycles. Most people who are not strength coaches or trainers will still be familiar with these macrocycles by the names "Off-Season", "Pre-Season", and "In-Season".

I believe this cycling and yearlong training organization is truly the best way to maximize your potential and ability to gain mass! Give it a shot!