What’s up guys, we’re back for our second (free) installment of the newsletter. Last week, we laid the foundation of the rest of your life with a primer on everything the average person needs to know to manage their nutrition. I received some good feedback from a few of you that will be taken into consideration in future installments.
A few of you have noticed that I have not posted anything for the “paid” version of the newsletter, I appreciate the attentiveness.
For now, until I have the basics of fitness/diet/lifestyle published for the “free” tier, I will be focusing on that content. Within the month, I’ll progress to adding advanced content to the sub stack as well.
Anyways, let’s get started…
Section 1: So you want to get in shape…
I think the healthcare/fitness industry do a huge disservice to most people by not clarifying the argument about how you actually get in shape. Instead of promoting healthy lifestyle habits/changes, it’s always some debate over a fad diet / workout/ supplement geared to get you the results you want. A lot of that can be attributed to someone trying to make money at your expense, when in reality, the process is straightforward and scientific.
It boils down to two things:
Eat a healthy diet that provides the right nutrients to your body to perform optimally.
Provide the right stimulus to your body and muscles so that they can use those nutrients effectively to grow in a specific/targeted way.
That’s it. That’s the whole enchilada (don’t eat those, they’re awful for you).
No seriously, if you do both of those things consistently enough, for a long enough amount of time, you will attain the results you want. That’s certainly easier said than done, but there is not a magical solution or supplement you will take that’s going to change the fundamentals here.
Notice, I listed the two items above in a specific order, because it’s my understanding/belief that your nutrition is more important than your exercise.
In a sense, “you can’t out lift a bad diet.”
It’s clear why we started with nutrition now, right?
With nutrition squared away, the next step is outlining a basic workout to get you on your way to peak physical condition.
Section 2: Structuring Your Workout
The goal of working out is to provide enough stimulus to your muscles to trigger a signal in your body to repair/grow them. When provided with the right signal, typically tension, your body responds by increasing the amount of muscle cells and fibers so that you are capable of responding to that stress in the future.
In a future newsletter, I’ll dive into the nitty gritty details of how muscle growth actually occurs, but for now, this is enough to get us going.
Keeping the above in mind, you should plan your workouts intending to challenge your muscles with enough weight/reps to stimulate muscle growth. In general, focusing on high weight & low reps will lean toward building strength (this is typically what power lifters do). On the other hand, focusing on medium-high weight and a medium amount of reps will tilt toward hypertrophy or building muscle (more on the bodybuilding side of things). Either way, if you are a complete beginner, you’ll see pretty drastic “noob gains” from just looking at weights (an exaggeration, but you get the idea).
The following workout is a great place to begin if you have zero experience in the gym, particularly because it provides an easy to follow, straightforward approach to hitting most of the muscles in your body through a combination of compound and targeted lifts.
Push Exercises
Let’s take a look at some of the most effective push exercises you can use for mass and strength:
1. Bench Press
The flat bench press is among the best chest-building movements out there. This is the bread and butter of having great pectoral muscle development. This lift engages essentially most of your pec, along with a few accessory muscles, so it’s a great way to develop your upper body.
For a guide on how to properly bench, check out Alan Thrall’s overview (LINK). He’s one of my favorite, no-nonsense fitness influencers, and I’ve used his videos in the past to help improve my form.
If you have sensitive shoulders/elbows (like yours truly), it is perfectly okay to use plate loaded/cable machines to achieve the same stimulation. If my joints feel a little tender I’ll swap to that until I heal up.
In general, ignore all the comments from people that tell you that you MUST use a barbell or dumbbells to get a good workout in… find what works for you and do it.
2. Incline Bench Press
I suggest throwing in the incline press purely because flat bench doesn’t engage all of your pecs completely. If you want to achieve a fully developed chest, some variation of the incline bench, ideally with an incline of abut 45 degrees, will activate your upper pecs better than a flat bench can.
For a guide on proper form/technique, check out this video from Scott Herman which thoroughly explains what you should be doing (LINK).
3. Overhead Press
Obviously, we want to stimulate our shoulders to get that nice capped look, so this is where overhead press comes into play.
You’ll engage the majority of your shoulder muscles with this exercise, and over time you’ll find that you can progressively overload this exercise with ease.
Fundamentally, there isn’t a huge difference between seated or standing OHP, but once again, if you have tender joints, find something that works for you.
Here’s another Scott Herman vid to explain what you should be doing (LINK).
4. Floor Press (Barbell or DB)
Floor press is a little bit of a wild-card here, but I think this exercise provides a great way of engaging your chest with decreased range of motion (ROM) in a way that really accentuates the bottom of your lift. I’m a fan of this as well because it is less aggressive on my shoulders compared to bench press.
Another vid for you…(LINK).
5. Tricep Extension (Cables)
I know what you’re thinking… Tricep extensions aren’t “push” exercises, but I throw them in here because they’re a form of muscle extension, which kind of fits in with the theme. Your main four lifts will recruit your triceps, but nonetheless, I like to train my vanity muscles independently just to make sure I stimulate them enough.
A lot of people swear by skull crushers or any variation of that, but I honestly find that strains my elbows a lot. I prefer cable pull downs more.
Any grip works fine, I’m partial to the rope but again, find what works for you (LINK).
Main Pull Exercises
Let’s take a look at four of the most effective pull exercises:
1. Bent Over Row (Barbell)
Bent over rows… one of my favorites.
Bent over rows are an excellent way to target your lats/back/traps, and since this exercise requires you to also employ your grip, this is also a great way to improve your grip strength. I tend to keep a neutral stance when pulling, and I like keeping the weight I use right around 50-60% my max. This allows me to complete a rep with full range of motion while also controlling the weight very carefully. Overall, this is an excellent way to engage your entire back. Just keep in mind to keep your back as parallel to the ground and rep through the full range of motion. (LINK)
2. Pull Up And Chin Up
This is your bread and butter. Every single human being should be able to accomplish at least a chin-up - ideally more than that.
Pull-ups and Chin ups are killer ways to engage your back and lats, and they provide an excellent way of training your grip strength as well. Chin ups (or underhand grip) are easier to complete, and they engage your biceps a little. If you’re a little stronger, I suggest transitioning to pull-ups, if possible with a wide grip, since that will challenge you further than basic chin ups.
Here’s a video on pull up progressions to help out. (LINK)
3. Seated Cable Row – Wide Grip
One of my favorite exercises to help grow your back is the seated row. For starters, I recommend wide-grip cable rows, but any variation of this, like using a plate loaded machine, is perfectly okay.
To perform it effectively, make sure to not load the machine with too much weight that you’re forced to row the weight with your upper body. You want to make sure that you’re using your lats through their full range of motion, starting with a stretch at the start of the movement and a strong contraction/shoulder blade squeeze at the end of it.
Here’s a great example of how to do this properly. (LINK) Do this enough and you’ll have a Dorito back.
4. Bicep Curl (DB or Preacher Curl Bar)
You thought I forgot didn’t you?
Curls are obviously fundamental when it comes to having a stellar physique.
Whether you’re doing curls for the girls, or working out your bis for the guys, part of being a well-rounded specimen of physical fitness requires you to work out your vanity muscles.
I personally like using both DBs or a curl bar, for different reasons, but if you’re just getting started, I think using a DB curl allows for additional contraction of your biceps through wrist rotation during your curl. (LINK)
The wrist turn will get you a nice squeeze which will help activate your entire bicep.
Main Legs Exercises
You better not skip leg day. Having a strong foundation provides multiple benefits beyond just having aesthetic legs. A huge portion of your power comes from your legs, having well-developed leg muscles increases your metabolism (just because you have more muscles), and also, heavy lift leg days creates an increase in testosterone which will help you grow everywhere else in general.
In short, don’t skip leg day, you dingus.
1. Squat (Barbell)
Bread & Butter.
Squatting is fundamental, and if there’s one thing you shouldn’t skip it’s this.
I personally think everyone should be able to squat their body weight, but obviously if you’re just getting started, you have to start somewhere.
Yes… putting weight on your back is a little painful (at first).
Yes, figuring out your balance is hard (at first).
Stick with it and you’ll have excellent results, not just in musculature but also in balance, bone density, and nervous system growth.
Here’s another Alan Thrall video for you (LINK).
2. Bulgarian Split Squat
Honestly, I debated including Bulgarian split squats on here, because I think they’re the devil, but these are an excellent way to work your legs, in particular your gluten and quads. Find a light weight to begin, and focus on controlling your descent as much as possible. You’ll definitely struggle with keeping your balance the first few times, but over time you’ll find it easier and easier to complete this lift.
3. Romanian Deadlift (Barbell)
Okay… I’m about to say something controversial…
I honestly don’t think deadlifts are great lifts (to a certain extent).
For starters, I think everyone should be able to lift at least their body weight off the ground, and I think deadlifts are excellent ways to train your grip strength. However, Deadlifts can really strain your lower back with improper form.
If you’re new to the world of lifting, I think it’s definitely worthwhile to add in deadlifts to your workout, because you’ll see some reasonable strength/muscle gains through it, but just be warned that there are diminishing returns to this lift.
No one is “impressed” by you lifting significant amount of weight, so don’t risk injury purely to impress others.
Once again, Alan Thrall (LINK) - I actually learned how to deadlift watching one of his old videos.
4. Glute Ham Raise
I am a huge huge fan of these, although some gyms don’t have the right equipment for these. Glute Ham Raises do an excellent job at targeting your gluten and hamstrings and they’re notorious for strengthening the muscles surrounding your knees, which reduces the likelihood of reducing knee injuries down the road.
Here’s a good video explaining what to do. (LINK)
5. Calf Raises
You didn’t think I was going to forget calves, right? This one is pretty self explanatory. if you want some nice calves, you’re going to have to work them out. Find a calf raise machine and get to work!
Section 3: Workout Schedule/Rep Planning
Before we discuss how you should schedule your workouts, let’s discuss how many sets and reps you should be doing.
Obviously, depending on what your goal is, the sets, reps, and rest intervals will change.
Nonetheless, for the purposes of this workout, I’m going to assume you’re trying to get more “toned” or muscular, which means you’re going to want to target some muscle growth.
If you’re looking to get bigger:
Target a rep range of 6 – 12 reps per set.
Aim for 3-5 sets.
Rest time between sets should be short, about 60 to 90 seconds.
You should challenge yourself with enough weight that you feel that sore “burn” by the end of your rep range. That should be a signal that you’re challenging your muscles enough to actually signal growth.
With that squared off, let’s discuss your schedule.
Putting all of the above together, I’d start by stacking your workouts up on a 3 day split.
Basically, that boils down to doing the following:
Sunday - Rest/Walking/Stretching
Monday - Push
Tuesday - Rest/Walking/Stretching
Wednesday - Pull
Thursday - Rest/Walking/Stretching
Friday - Legs
Saturday - Rest/Walking/Stretching
Aim to progressively increase your weight on each lift from session to session. If you’re a complete beginner, you’ll see strength and size gains pretty quickly (within a month) if you’re consistently challenging yourself.
After 12-14 weeks, take a week off as a break from the gym, and then hit it again. You should be able to follow this workout for at least 6 months while still seeing strength/size gains before you consider switching things up.
Good luck, have fun.
-FIN-