5 Reasons people need a framework to succeed –

1 – Most don’t know what they need to do and as such need it clearly signposted

2 – It helps people feel less pressure, basically they can blame the structure for failure rather than themselves

3 – Things such as accountability and more responsibility become easier to administer

4 – Recorded data makes for a great confidence booster to show them how far they’ve come

5 – It teaches them how to achieve success on their own

Now there are those rare people who don’t need a framework to make their own success, if you’re one of them then we’ll see each other at the top. If that’s not you it’s not a problem, just ask for help and it will be yours.

Short & simple today.

Enjoy,
Ross

Too good not to share

I came across this article while browsing through the inter webs for knowledge and it’s too good not to share.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-get-ripped-with-4-rep-sets?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article4844

Christian Thibaudeau is one of my favourite and his knowledge is phenomenal, you’ll enjoy this read.

I will certainly be giving this a go as I am currently short on time in my own training.

Ross

Lift, Lift, LIFT!

“I want to be big and strong”

 

^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.

 

“I want to be lean and strong”

 

^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.

 

While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.

 

I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.

 

These sports all centre around lifting:

 

– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)

– Body Building

– Powerlifting

– Strongman

– CrossFit (some may not like this one)

 

Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:

 

– Improved bone density

– Ligament/tendon health

– Delayed sarcopenia

– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few

– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)

– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)

– Increased strength for sport/daily life

– A boost in confidence

– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)

 

Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.

 

Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.

 

However….

 

If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.

 

Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.

 

What if lifting isn’t for you?

 

That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:

 

– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun

– Martial Arts

– Gym Classes

– Track & field

– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)

– Climbing/outdoor sports

 

There are almost endless options.

 

Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.

 

Now go, have fun and make progress.

 

Ross.

Butt Hurt to Commence in, 3…2…1…

Monday, Monday

So good to me

Monday morning

It was all I hoped it would be…

 

That means gym 7-8am, 2 meals already eaten, 2 articles written and a back tweak, yay for me :/.

 

Morning Guys,

 

I trust you all had a productive weekend, if you didn’t, well… shame on you.

 

There is a lot of protection for peoples ego/pride in the modern age and it seems to be having a negative effect because it is making people lazy, more lazy than they have ever been.

 

Obviously there are those who are the other end of the spectrum and are anything but, however those are not the majority, sadly.

 

What ever happened to tough love?

 

You know, people would see you fail in a catastrophic manor, give you a pat on the back with a few words of wisdom and then tell you to crack on and stop wallowing in the mud.

 

These days that approach would be considered insensitive, inconsiderate to peoples feeling, belittling, demotivating and not supportive of people. I’m all for helping people but wrapping them in cotton wool? Nope, not my style, it does nothing for building character or more importantly, resilience.

 

Now that’s a word from the past, resilience.

 

What happened to it?

 

It seems to have been forgotten in the channels of time along with – that’s life, get over it, better luck next time, toughen up and “perhaps you should try knitting”.

 

All joking aside, the kid gloves of the modern world are actually a very dangerous thing, they hold people back and give false expectations or rather, they give people a sense of entitlement and that is a very slippery slope, let me give you an example oh how this relates to fitness.

 

Person A – Works hard, does everything they should be doing to get their desired results, accepts set backs and take on board constructive critique on the chin for what it is (advice to help them grow) to allow progression. The they achieve results because they understand they have to work for them and that nothing ever comes easy. They earn their success. 

 

Person B – Works semi moderate to not really doing anything meaningful, does some of what they should do, feels life is against them and no one ever helps them, rejects critique because it hurts their feelings, stays in the comfort zone but feels they should get the same results as person A because they just should. Sadly results will happen initially then taper off fast, potential regress too and this is obviously not their fault at all… They feel entitled to success (this is not good). 

 

Now these are actually real examples of people, they haven’t been made up I am sorry to say.

 

Many of you know that nothing in life comes easy and chances are for the majority it never will, that’s just life. While I agree we need to be mindful of people and encourage them there also has to be a line where we say “Stop pissing about, the problem is you.” which we seem to be afraid to say nowadays.

 

Maybe it’s my attitude… It’s definitely my attitude, it doesn’t have time to waste on people who feel entitled, yep, that makes me an asshole but hey ho, we can either work hard or not, it’s that easy.

 

Which camp do you fall in to, honestly…

 

Work hard and you will achieve what you deserve in the end, accept life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, become resilient and earn your success, don’t expect it all to be given to you on a plate, you’re not entitled to success, work for it, earn it, deserve it.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Failure Mindset

Morning Guys,

 

Do you live with the failure mindset?

 

Plenty of people live with the attitude of:

 

“That person is … Bigger, Stronger, Leaner, Fitter etc… than me because of … Genetics, Money/Born with a Silver Spoon, Steroids and so on…. I will never be like that.”

 

This is the failure mindset and all it serves to do is hold you back because you’re expecting to fail. I’ve said it plenty of times before, too many people make their excuses as to why they won’t achieve XYZ and as a result never achieve anything.

 

Sadly I feel the failure mindset is actually something that our culture is feeding these days, what with all the ‘safe spaces’ the ‘words hurt’ and ‘You all deserve nice things’ campaigns people are becoming mentally weaker by the day. Don’t get me wrong, some things people say really do hurt and there is no need for them but most of the time people need to simply grow a thicker skin and crack on with life.

 

If you’re wondering what’s prompted this post today, the answer is simple. I’ve been in the failure mindset for a while, mainly due to not feeling that I was reaping the rewards for the effort I was putting in, when in reality I was missing certain elements that would allow success. The fault was mine because of my mindset, I stopped training as hard as I should have, I wasn’t eating enough and as a result make slow and lack lustre progress. It sucks but we reap what we sow so it’s time to kick myself up the ass and get back to the righteous path of the iron.

 

I have made plenty of mistakes, this mindset being one of them. It’s time to learn from that mistake and do what needs to be done.

 

Do you live in the failure mindset?

 

Sit down and write a list of all the things you are meant to be doing to achieve your goal, then write down every excuse you use to avoid doing what needs to be done. Once you’ve done this take a moment to change those excuses in to behaviours that will allow you to succeed and break free of the failure mindset.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

More Truth

Fad Diets.

 

Magic Pills.

 

Quick Fixes.

 

Do they work?

 

Well some of them actually do, but the results never last. It’s like drinking coffee to perk yourself up, the effect is often immediate and skyrockets but it only lasts so long and the crash is just as fast, as is the rebound back to the starting point.

 

The sad truth is that to achieve anything it will take time, effort and consistency, which, people do not like to put in.

 

Now it’s worth understanding that some fad diets and magic pills can actually give people the kick start they need to get not he right track, so taking that in to account they don have a place but the main thing to remember is that THEY’RE NOT SUSTAINABLE, and for lasting results sustainability is the key to it all.

 

When people ask – “What edit should I be on?” – or something of a similar ilk, the honest answer is the one that you can stay on indefinitely. This is why the rise of IIFYM & Flexible Dieting took off. There are a few reasons such as:

 

– They are based on your BMR/TDEE (basal metabolic rate & total daily energy expenditure).

– They break down the barriers and misconceptions of Good & Bad Foods and help people understand that there is not really good or bad, just too much.

– They also help you understand macronutrients and how to proportion yours appropriately for your goal.

– No food restriction (unless you have a specific intolerance).

– Freedom to hit Calories/Macros accordingly, with foods for health and also foods for indulgence.

 

Obviously some foods are better for health than others (more whole foods as opposed to processed ones), but that’s another topic all together.

 

The only downside to those is the fact act not everyone likes to be neurotic and track all their food, but all in all they are the way to go if you want lasting results and a ‘diet’ that you can stay on indefinitely.

 

The same is true for exercise programs. While you need to keep progressing to achieve results you also need to enjoy it, this will help ensure that you’re going to be consistent. A good example is CrossFfit, it creates a community in each individual Box that is part of something bigger and people always enjoy it, hence why it’s so popular. Provided you have decent coaches that understand programming and can teach correct form CrossFit is actually one of the best forms of training. Strongman is also great fun too.

 

What’s the point of this post?

 

To help you understand that there is no quick fix and you will need to put in thousands of hours of hard graft, however it doesn’t have to be super strict in terms of diet, you simple have to adhere to your daily calories and get your idea macro ration and when it comes to exercise you want something that will specifically be relevant for you goal but also FUN so that you want to do more of it.

 

Pretty simple really.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Protein Synthesis, Simple Explanation

Morning Guys,

 

I’ve mentioned Protein Synthesis a couple of times recently, therefore I feel today is as good a day as any to explain a little bit more about what it is and how to increase it’s potency.

 

Muscles grow through protein synthesis, that’s the short answer. Despite what supplement companies, internet gurus and people who are trying to sell you something will tell you, there is no magic formula that will supersede the basic science of protein synthesis, it takes time, effort and understanding, just as with everything in fitness. Once you understand how protein synthesis creates muscle growth, you can achieve your goals, whether they are bodybuilding, strength, performance or just general fitness based.

 

As many of you are aware, muscles grow by repairing small micro-tears that occur on a cellular level during exercise as a result of the stimulus (overload) you give them, thus exercise a key component of muscle growth and without it your body wouldn’t have any cause for adaptation. Weight training is generally considered the best type of exercise to promote muscle growth, however high power anaerobic CV work can also have some muscle building affects as well. When the muscle experiences adequate stimulus/overload, blood flow to the area increases which allows for more nutrients to be delivered to the working areas, among the nutrients the necessary components for repair/growth/adaptation through the process known as protein synthesis.

 

For protein synthesis and muscle growth to occur, a number of components must be present. First, the muscle must have exercise-induced micro-injury. Second, naturally occurring hormones, including testosterone and growth hormones produced by the pituitary, must be present. Finally, you must have a diet containing sufficient protein. Protein is the basic building block of all of the body’s tissues, especially muscle. Proteins are made from amino acids, some of which the body can synthesise and some of which must be consumed in the diet.

 

You can increase your bodies ability/potency for protein synthesis by hitting as many Motor Units/Deep Muscle Fibres as possible. This is because you will for the body in to places it hasn’t been before, meaning that when it starts the adaptive process it will super compensate so that it can handle that amount of load the next time it comes around.

 

Protein synthesis is higher after you have exposed said muscles to the necessary overload and lasts anywhere from 24-48 hours after the workout, however there are various high level coaches and athletes that will recommend a higher frequency of training (daily or twice daily for example) to help keep the body in a more anabolic state. This is why you will find top level lifters train more than once per day, but you must also remember that they have the most optimal nutrition for them, not to mention their training is tailored perfectly to them as well.

 

When you take this concept int o account you will realise it’s not about smashing out 40sets in one workout for legs and waiting a week before training them again, it’s far more beneficial to train legs 4 times per week and do 10 sets per workout to increase the rate of protein synthesis and potential muscle growth.

 

If you can train a muscle every 2-3days you will find the optimal place for achieving your goal. Below is an example of how to get more frequency on your lifts using an upper/lower split based on those lucky enough to train twice per day (if you can train twice per day you can combine the workouts, you’ll just need to regulate the volume accordingly).

 

Day 1 – Lower AM – Quads, PM – Hamstring

Day 2 – Upper AM – Shoulders/Back, PM – Chest/Back

Day 3 – Off

Day 4 – Lower AM – Quads, PM – Hamstring

Day 5 – Upper AM – Shoulders/Back, PM – Chest/Back

Day 6 – Off

Day 7 – Repeat 2 on 1 off (Y).

 

Need a set and rep range?

 

7×5 on Compound Lifts – 1 lift per workout

4×12 on Accessory Lifts – 2 lifts per workout

 

What exercises could you use?

 

Quads – Squat, Lunge, Leg Extension.

 

Hamstring – Deadlift, Good Morning, Hamstring Curl.

 

Shoulders/Back – Press BB, Press DB, Lateral Raise – Super Set pressing with Pull Ups and Lateral Raise with Reverse Fly.

 

Chest/Back – Bench BB, Incline Flies or Press DB, Dips – Super Set bench/incline work with a rowing movement and dips with chins.

 

Frequency of training is key to increased protein synthesis however you must ensure you don’t do too much and exceed your ability to recover. You an achieve this by tracking all of your volume. 

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Do You Really Need That Specialist Exercise?

Walkouts, Partial Reps, Banded Moments, Movements with Chains, Lockout Reps, Board Pressing, the list of specialist exercises is numerous but do you really need them?

Too many people get caught up in doing things they have no real need for. I am guilty of this on the odd occasion but found that it only severed to hinder my progress in the long run because there was no need for the specialist movements.

You will find these types of exercises common for high level power lifters but they serve little purpose for us normal folk. If I had to give people some variations of lets say the big 3 I would suggest the following:

– Pause Squats

– Front Squats

– Box Squats

– Paused Bench

– Narrow Grip Bench

– Pressing Overhead or High Incline

– 1/2 – 1 inch Deficit Deadlifts

– 2-4 inch Block Pulls

– Snatch Grip Deadlift

– Overhand Deadlift

That’s pretty much it. While it’s nice and quite fun to try some of the specialist exercises there is little to no need unless you’re squatting/deadlifting 3xbw and benching 2xbw. The variations I’ve suggested will be more than enough to help keep you busy for months if you rotate them properly.

Do you need some guidance on a program too?

Warm Up Sets x4 at 3-5 reps (40,60,70,77%)

Week 1 – 10×1 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

Week 2 – 5×2 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

Week 3 – 3×3 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

Week 4 – 2×5 + 70-80% back off AMRAP set -10min

*increase weight and start over.

*2 lifts per day – EG Squat/Row, Deadlift/Press

*Lower body would work better with this programs set rep progression.

*Upper body = Volume or Ramping, try 8×8 on the volume with only 30 seconds rest on upper body pressing/pulling movements or Ramp up to a 3-5RM (meaning you do 3-5 reps and add weight each set until you hit technical failure, then you’re done).

An example day might be as follows:

Workout 1 – Squat/Pull Up

Warm Up Sets – Paused Squat x4 at 3-5 reps (40,60,70,77%)

A1 – Paused Squat – 10×1 – 100kg + 80kg AMRAP (10min time limit)

B1 – Pull Up – 8×8 – Wide Grip Body Weight/Weighted or Pull Down

*Optional C1 – Ab Roll Out – 1×12

Workout 2 – Deadlift/Press

Warm Up Sets – Overhand Deadlift x4 at 3-5 reps (40,60,70,77%)

A1 – Overhand Deadlift – 10×1 – 100kg + 80kg AMRAP (10min time limit)

B1 – Press – 5RM Ramp Start with Overhead Press and hit 5RM (You can alternate your Pressing movement to your own personal desire, one day might be overhead press, the next time around it might be bench and so on.)

*Optional C1 – Ab Roll Out – 1×12

A weeks training might look like this:

Monday – Workout 1

Tuesday – Workout 2

Wednesday – Off

Thursday – Workout 1 – Front Squat/Pull Down Neutral Close Grip

Friday – Workout 2 – Snatch Grip Deadlift/Incline Press

Saturday – Off

Sunday – Off

Repeat last weeks exercise selection, keep weights the same on SQ/DL but move on to week 2’s reps (5×2).

There is nothing stopping you from adding in a sprint day on Saturday or some CV just regulate the intensity so that is doesn’t disrupt your recovery and adaptation phases.

In the world of lifting it’s best not to try and run before you can walk. Learn the basic movements and learn then well, then once you’ve started to hit the upper limits of your natural strength (around 3xBW SQ/DL & 2xBW Bench) then it will be worth adding in some specialist exercises to help you past your sticking points.

Enjoy,

Ross

Build A New Body: Part 1

There are a great deal of programs floating around on the internet and today i’m going to give you another one to consider.

This will be one of several programs I will be writing for you that will help create a 12 week training cycle to help you add lean mass, strength, strip fat and feel much more confident because of the results you will achieve.

Today’s program will consist on what you will ideally be looking to do for the first 3 weeks of your training block. It will help you build a good foundation of lean mass while starting to bring up your base strength in preparation for the next 3 week block, here is what the basic outline of what the primary goals of each will look like:

Weeks 1-3 – Hypertrophy/Strength

Weeks 4-6 – Hypertrophy/Strength

Weeks 7-9 – Strength/Conditioning

Weeks 10-12 – Strength/Conditioning

The first 6 weeks is based on building the foundation, then the second 6 weeks will be about utilising/realising the strength you’ve gained from your newly built muscle to it’s full potential while also adding in some conditioning style work to help keep you lean and feeling ‘fit’ don’t worry if you think they will contradict each other, they won’t if programmed properly and the correct volume/approach is used.

So now you’ve got the basic idea shall we get started?

4-4-4 is the first method you will be using is based around the following:

– 4 Workout days per week

– 4 Exercises per workout

– 4 Sets with varying rep ranges

The days you workout are down to you, that could be Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday or whatever.

As for exercises you will want to cover the full body in as little movements as possible, I will give you two guideline workouts A/B where you will hit all the major muscle groups, here they are:

Workout A –

– Front Squat

– Snatch Grip Deadlift

– Bent Over Row

– Supinated Grip Pull Up

Workout B –

– Press – Shoulder Width

– Bench Press – Medium (narrow is you want more triceps, wider if you want more chest)

– Dip

– Face Pull – Pronated Grip W/Thumbs Facing You (think you’re hitting a double bicep pose when pull to your face)

*You can do which ever day you want first, it’s down to personal preference.

Now it’s time for the rep/set scheme I will recommend for you.

– 12,10,8,6

– Use a 4-1-1-1 tempo (4 second eccentric, 1 second pause, 1 second concentric, 1 second pause)

Suggested loading:

– 12 – 65%

– 10 – 70%

– 8 – 75%

– 6 – 80%

A very simple descending pyramid that will help you begin to build a base. As for a warm up I would advice doing what you need to do so that you feel mobile and ready, remember a good mobility routine will help you stay injury free and improve your performance and overall life for that matter (There are lots of options on YouTube, you’ve got a great book called Becoming a Supple Leopard and much more to get ideas from).

I can’t tell you your weights but the suggestion I have given will be a good starting point, but remember the stronger you get the higher these numbers will go, not only % wise but also because you will be able to lift more. Start off light so you have somewhere to go, if you start too heavy you will stagnate and can even get hurt if you’re not careful.

The above program is designed to be followed for 3 weeks, then you will move on to the second 3 week block which I will get uploaded in due course.

You will obviously need to know about nutrition as well, here is a good starting point for you:

LBMx 17-19 = Muscle Gain Caloric Range

Protein – LBM x1 = Grams per day, multiply this by 4 to get calories of protein for the day.

Carbs – Protein x1-3 = Grams per day (depending on style of training/overall daily activity, desk jockeys use x1, site workers use x3 and people in the middle use 1.5 or 2), multiply this by 4 to get calories of carbs for the day.

Fat – What ever calories are left divide them by 9 to get your fat in grams for the day.

Example Equation:

175lbs x 19 = 3325 total cals

175lbs x 1 = protein 175g x4 = 700 cals

175g x 2 = carbs 350g x 4 = 1400 cals

3325 – (700 + 1400) = 1225 cals

1225/9 = 136g fat

So these example calories/macros would be:

3225 Total Cal

175g Protein

350g Carbs

136g Fat

Get the idea?

*Eat mostly single ingredient whole foods to get the bulk of your calories, doing this will sort out your micronutrients without you having to worry too much. think 80/20 – 80% single ingredient foods 20% what ever you fancy. Just keep the callers correct and the overall macronutrient ratio sold and you can’t go far wrong.

Breakfast/AM – Fat/Protein

Snack/AM – Fat/Protein

Lunch/PM – Complex Carbs/Protein

Snack/PM – Complex Carbs/Protein

Dinner/PM – Complex Carbs/Protein

Post Workout Protein/Simple Carbs – regardless on time of day.

This will be a good place to start, you can make adjustments according to your own persona needs as you see fit.

You now have the first 3 weeks and some basic ideas for nutrition, it’s time to get in to the gym and start working (Y).

Enjoy,

Ross

Yesterdays Results

Morning Guys,

Building is the aim, but with all the set and rep ranges out there which one should you use?

There was the famous 6×6 & 8×8 that was used by Vince Gironda

Or the hugely successful 7-5-3 Wave Loading System found under the tutelage of Charles Poliquin

You even heard stories of how well people did on Dorian Yates’ ‘Blood & Guts One Set to Faliure’

Some even did phenomenally well on the very simple 4×8-12

But the truth is that all of the systems work, lets be honest and accept that if they didn’t work they wouldn’t be spoken about.

The hardest part isn’t finding a set/rep scheme that works, it’s finding one YOU can stick with for the long haul, in our society of quick fixes and instant gratification we want to add 30lbs of lean muscles, drop 50lbs of body fat and look akin to a Greek God all by last week.

Sadly life doesn’t work that way. If you want to build some decent lean muscle you will need to be prepared to put in the hard work, eat adequately and have everything pretty much on point. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a life but you must understand that the more effort you put in and the more sacrifice you’re willing to make the faster and less time you will need you will achieve your results (which could still be in the years in most cases).

Now the obvious points are out of the way it’s time to give you some options to help you on your way to a better you.

The rotation of set/rep schemes will be set using a 3 days on 1 day off rotation until you have done the particular set/rep scheme 4/5 times (this will last mean each set/rep system will last around 3 weeks or so) with a total of 4 different rep/set options to go though. The main exercises will stay the same for all 4 mini blocks, as for assistance work you can add in some DT (Density Training) that should take no more than 10min and the chosen assistance movements can change every 3/4 workouts if you feel the need, but remember a change is only needed if you have become stagnant on that particular exercise.

Parameters for the mains lifts:

First 5 Workouts (weeks 1-3):
Reps/Sets: 10,8,6,20
Loading % of 1RM: 70%,75%,80%,60%
Tempo: 6-1-1-1 and 2-1-1-1 for the 20 rep set
Rest: 90 Seconds

Second 5 Workouts (weeks 4-6)
Rep/Sets: 6×6
Loading % of 1RM: 75-80%
Tempo: 4-1-1-1
Rest: 30 Seconds

Third 5 Workouts (weeks 7-9)
Rep/Sets: 5×5
Loading % of 1RM: 80-85%
Tempo: 3-1-1-1
Rest: 90-120 Seconds

Forth 5 Workouts (weeks 10-12)
Rep/Sets: 5,4,3,2,1
Loading % of 1RM: 82,85,87,90,92%
Tempo: 2-1-1-1
Rest: 120 Seconds or as needed

The main lifts will be comprised of the following:

– Squat (Front or Back)
– Bench Press (Incline of Flat)
– Deadlift (Overhand only)
– Bent Over Row (Supinated Grip)
– Press (Military or Behind Neck)
– Pull Up (Weighted or Body Weight)

Now it’s time for the interesting part, the workouts themselves.

Based on 3 working days you will only be required to do 2 movements per workout, plus 1-2 assistance movements if you feel the need.

Day 1:
A1 – Squat
B1 – Pull Up
C1 – Dumbbell Curl (5-10min on timer, do as many reps as possible in the time limit)

Day 2:
A1 – Bench Press
B1 – Bent Over Row
C1 – Skull Crusher (5-10min on timer, do as many reps as possible in the time limit)

Day 3:
A1 – Deadlift
B1 – Press
C1 – Lateral Raise – Do one set of C1 followed by C2, minimal rest between transitions.
C2 – Face Pull or Reverse Fly (5-10min on timer, do as many reps as possible in the time limit)

Day 4: Off

Repeat.

The above is a very simple progression that will help you build some quality lean muscle tissue while keeping things fresh and interesting. as I mentioned above you can change your assistance exercises as you see fit but try to keep the main movements the same as this will help with the accumulation f overload stimulus.

One benefit of these workouts is that they won’t take long to complete, perhaps 40min tops meaning that you will have lots more free time to spend with friends and family, eat lots of good foods and because the workouts are so short you will look forward to your next one, unlike some other extreme training programs that kill your motivation to train.

You will also need to make sure you’re eating enough, if you want my opinion on how to make a educated guess then do the following:

LBM (Lean Body Mass) x 17-19 = Daily Calories

LBM x 1-1.2 = Protein in Grams for the day x4 = calories from protein.
Protein x 1.5-3 = Carbs for the day (1 if you’re a desk jockey. Use 2 if you’re somewhat active at work and 3 if you’re job is very physical) x4 = Calories from carbohydrates.

Daily Calories – (Protein Calories + Carb Calories) = Calories of Fat per day, divide this number by 9 to get your daily grams of fat.

Now go and make some progress.

Enjoy,
Ross