Phil Hernon

[tornquad201]

Phil was the best I still watch his videos on YouTube and learn something new every time , he definitely is missed

 

[Siggy]

 

[iwantmass]

I really enjoyed reading his "out of the box" ideas. Reflecting back, some are totally disproven while others have been proven beneficial. For example, he did not believe in the stretch on movements like calf raises and it is generally accepted to be the opposite. The stretch is supposed to be far more important than the contraction. BUT, Phil was also one of the first big name bbers to promote total body workouts and high frequency (over volume) which does have scientific confirmations regarding frequency.

I don't think he thought the stretch was unimportant, rather it was more prone to set you up for injury. He was big on ergonomics.

 

[NorwegianMuscle]

the thing about Phil was, he loved to be hated.

yep

 

[b-boy]

I miss the living hell out of Phil. My mentor in this sport, the man helped me so much its not even funny. Miss talking with him and John Meadows greatly

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Over 10 years ago under Phil Hernons training (forgot I even had this video on social media)

 

[warrenpeace]

Is ChatGPT right? I hired him, but it was eons ago and I forget specifics.

Phil Hernon “split” (old-school 5-10-15 style)

Frequency
• Mostly train 3 days on, then 1 day off (repeat).

Typical weekly layout
Day 1 – Chest / Back / Calves
Day 2 – Legs (quads + hamstrings)
Day 3 – Shoulders / Arms / Calves
Day 4 – Off
Then repeat.

Reps & Sets
• 3 working sets per body part (non-bullshit minimal volume).
• Each set is to failure in a rep range that shifts per set:

1. Roughly 5 reps (heavy)
2. Then ~10 reps (moderate)
3. Then ~15 reps (lighter)
   (Some people word it as 5-10-15 style or 5-9 / 10-12 / 15-20 depending on memory).

Approach
• Reverse-pyramid style: start heavier on the first working set, drop weight a bit for set two, drop again for set three.
• Mostly compound basics — no machines or fluff.

Variations folks report
• Alternate two-way split version:
Day 1 – Chest, Back, Calves
Day 2 – Quads, Hamstrings, Abs
Day 3 – Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Calves
Day 4 – Off
…and repeat.

Rep philosophy
• Hitting low, mid, and higher reps for the same muscle each session is part of what made his stuff “different.”

 

[NorwegianMuscle]

went and visited him when he was in Hosp in FL , talked to him for decades here, finally met him in person. Unique guy, taught me a fuck load.

Hey Lex, I'm still here in FL when I worked for Phil and he went into the hospital. I didn't know you lived around the area.

 

[SABAGOY]

Is ChatGPT right? I hired him, but it was eons ago and I forget specifics.

Phil Hernon “split” (old-school 5-10-15 style)

Frequency
• Mostly train 3 days on, then 1 day off (repeat).

Typical weekly layout
Day 1 – Chest / Back / Calves
Day 2 – Legs (quads + hamstrings)
Day 3 – Shoulders / Arms / Calves
Day 4 – Off
Then repeat.

Reps & Sets
• 3 working sets per body part (non-bullshit minimal volume).
• Each set is to failure in a rep range that shifts per set:

1. Roughly 5 reps (heavy)
2. Then ~10 reps (moderate)
3. Then ~15 reps (lighter)
   (Some people word it as 5-10-15 style or 5-9 / 10-12 / 15-20 depending on memory).

Approach
• Reverse-pyramid style: start heavier on the first working set, drop weight a bit for set two, drop again for set three.
• Mostly compound basics — no machines or fluff.

Variations folks report
• Alternate two-way split version:
Day 1 – Chest, Back, Calves
Day 2 – Quads, Hamstrings, Abs
Day 3 – Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Calves
Day 4 – Off
…and repeat.

Rep philosophy
• Hitting low, mid, and higher reps for the same muscle each session is part of what made his stuff “different.”

Yes, everything here is correct. He didn’t really use rep ranges but more of failure around 6-8 on first set, drop weight 10% go to failure, drop the weight another 10% go to failure.

Also, his failure was not take a few breaths and do another two and then another…but once you “stopped” the first time, set was over.

 

[claymore]

Everyone has different interactions with people that being said Phil was incredibly good to me I’ll always be grateful for the knowledge and time he took to help me early on in training.

 

[qbkilla]

Yes, everything here is correct. He didn’t really use rep ranges but more of failure around 6-8 on first set, drop weight 10% go to failure, drop the weight another 10% go to failure.

Also, his failure was not take a few breaths and do another two and then another…but once you “stopped” the first time, set was over.

I like it, very simple. Do you use the same exercises each or have 2 versions of each day? Also for shoulders...3 sets total or 3 for front, 3 rear, and 3 side?

 

[Dens228]

I like it, very simple. Do you use the same exercises each or have 2 versions of each day? Also for shoulders...3 sets total or 3 for front, 3 rear, and 3 side?

Three sets of the same exercise, generally, he did say you could do two exercises for a total of three work sets. But he usually had it as three sets, one exercise.
Also it's three total sets for the delts. His big recommendation there was just three sets of lateral raises.

 

[StevenGFH]

I was lucky enough to know Phil personally. He gave me keys to the gym. He would let me train late at night and lock up when I was done.

Learned a tremendous amount from Phil.

Got to train legs and squat with him a few times.