80% of exercises should be compound movements Don’t train any muscle group more than once a week, or three times in a two week cycle if you’re more advanced.
Train to failure and limit assisted and negative reps Consistently strive to increase the weight (without sacrificing form).
Don’t exceed 10 total working sets per muscle group Do squats, deadlifts and bodyweight exercises (chin-ups, wide and narrow grip dips) regularly.
Summary
- Shorter workout durations – try keep workouts to 60 min (max. 75 min)
- Compound exercises for maximum gains in strength and mass
- Shorter rest intervals between sets – 45-60 seconds
- Utilising the heaviest weights possible, with strict and proper form, and train to failure
ALLOW FOR ADEQUATE RECOVERY BETWEEN WORKOUTS AS PREVIOUSLY EXPLAINED:
a minimum of three to four days between workouts is critical, a maximum of seven days is beneficial. I would structure the workout programme as three days in the gym, one rest day, two days in the gym, one rest day, and so on, ensuring that there is enough time between associated muscle groups to allow for recovery. For instance, while doing chest and shoulders, front delts and triceps are associated muscle groups; when back and biceps are trained, biceps are the common muscle group.
KEEP AN EXERCISE DIARY TO KEEP TRACK OF POUNDAGES WEEK ON WEEK:
when training in a finite rep range, the only real change is the weight lifted. The ideal scenario for natural lifters is not to increase the exercise duration or number of sets or reps, so the real ‘test’for gains is then the amount of weight that can be lifted… with proper form! When you feel that your muscle growth has reached a plateau, then it would indicate a need for a change in training programme – the easiest way to keep the body guessing is to reverse the order of the exercises each week:
- Week 1 – start with the most difficult exercise (poundage exercise), the one where you go your heaviest.
- Week 2 – end with the poundage exercise. The muscle is completely fatigued by that stage so you won’t be able to lift the same amount of weight, but a significant amount of weight will do so much more damage.
