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It is fairly understandable that humans avoid extremely difficult tasks. We pick exercises we like. We design workouts that play to our strengths and ignore our weaknesses. And the most effective workout for me are the ones that I devised. My secret? I follow the same course of action I use to write workouts for my clients. Guide yourself with them, and you will create a custom routine that can have you looking stronger. 1. What Exercises should I include? DEADLIFT (1 or 2 times a week) Includes traditional barbell deadlifts (arms outside legs), sumo-style (wide stance, arms inside legs) and straight-leg lifts, and more variations than most of us could do in a lifetime. SQUAT (1 or 2 times a week) Includes barbell back and front squats and all the dumbbell variations. SINGLE LEG (2 or 3 times a week) Includes lunges; stepups; single-leg squats; and deadlifts with body weight, a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells. HORIZONTAL PUSH (2 times a week) Examples of these exercises include the classic pushup; the bench press with barbell or dumbbells; dips; and all their variations. HORIZONTAL PULL (2 or 3 times a week) "Horizontal" refers to the direction of movement if you were standing up. So if you're doing a seated cable row or a bent-over dumbbell row, it's still considered a horizontal pull. This category also includes face pulls and inverted rows. VERTICAL PUSH (0 or 1 time a week) Variations of shoulder press should be included. VERTICAL PULL (1 or 2 times a week) Includes chinups, pullups, and lat pulldowns. 2. What should I do initially? The primary exercise in each workout should be the one that requires the most exertion. If your objective is overall vigor, begin one workout with a squat and another with a dead lift, and separate them as much as possible. So if you do squats on Monday, do dead lifts on Friday. On Wednesday, you could start with an upper-body exercise. If your main goal is upper-body size, do the reverse and start your Monday and Friday workouts with upper-body exercises. 3. How many sets? The most important thing is to deal with the total volume of each workout. That is not a standard number. It is possible to yield results with less or more volume that the said value. Nevertheless, it is a superior yardstick for most men, most of the time. 4. How will I make progress? Strength One way to measure progress in terms of strength is the progression of weight increase, Let's say you're doing 5 sets of 3 reps of the front squat. In the first week, you use 135 pounds for your fourth and fifth sets. The second week, you might go up to 155 pounds for the final sets. Size Muscles grow larger when you make them stronger, which is easy adequate to comprehend even if it's sometimes hard to pull off. They grow because of the effort you exerted. This is possible by constantly increasing your reps or sets. Let us say you are doing the barbell incline bench press. You start with 4 sets of 6. For the first few weeks, You would observe that there is constant and steady increase of strength, by just adding weight. When you feel your strength reaching a plateau, try to squeeze out an extra repetition or two-that is, do 7 or 8 reps-with the same weight on your final 2 sets. Or you could add a fifth set. Simply add more work for your muscle for constant increase of power. 5. How can I keep my plan fresh? This is to ensure constant muscle growth and stimulation. There are tow methods to do this. 1. Revise the order.. If you've been doing 3 sets of 10 reps of the final exercise in a workout, try doing it first, using heavier weights for 5 sets of 3 reps. 2. Change exercises within each category It is imperative to pace yourself in between programs to facilitate growth and recovery. You don't need to take the week off; just use that week to do less-fewer sets, lighter weights. You will likely find that this "rest" helps boost future gains. Moreover, this concept is important if you are feeling tired and weak. Last point: The only way to figure out what works best for you is to tow your butt into the weight room, push yourself, and see what happens. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time in devising various routines.
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