Hi hotshot,
If you want to find out what my reasoning was behind this workout plan, I used a
bunch of articles explaining the optimal regime (volume, intensity, exercises). Just so
u know I’m not completely talking out of my ass ;).
Training plan:
Premise
I went with a 4x per week training schedule, divided into weeks of full body training
and upper/lower splits. Working out four times a week should be more than enough
to attain significant gains while also still being doable in terms of time management.
The reason why I chose for full body and upper/lower split weeks, is because:
● I personally enjoy the variation of different exercises on a weekly basis, which
should prevent you from becoming bored after a couple of weeks.
● The Full body weeks allow you to hit different muscle groups multiple times a
week because you are not fully depleting those muscles. Whilst the
upper/lower splits allow you to target specific muscle groups.
Training volume: sets
Although the emphasis is more on lower body because growing that booty is one of
the main goals, I still tried to incorporate plenty of upper body exercises to keep it
balanced.
In terms of volume, I did some research into the optimal amount of “worksets” (i.e
sets that take effort to complete vs. warm up sets) per muscle group, per week .This
optimal amount of worksets varies per muscle group due to some groups being
larger than others and therefore, needing more stimulation to grow. Furthermore, it
also depends on your priority, which is why I decided to incorporate more sets into
lower body vs. upper.
Training volume: reps
In terms of the amount of reps per set, it is commonly known that by limiting the
amount of reps and maximizing the amount of weight, you optimize strength.
Increasing the amount of reps per exercise,
Warmup:
I would limit the warmup to 10 minutes of cardio before your workout. Excessive
cardio before strength training can result in your body burning your stored
carbohydrates = energy before you can use them to build muscle. Carbs are your
primary energy source when it comes to using your muscles and consequently,
building them. Source
That’s why I suggest doing cardio after so most of the stored carbs in your muscles
can be used for your workout.
For compound movements (exercises that involve multiple muscle groups at the
same time) such as squats, deadlift, bench press, I suggest warming up progressively
to your workset. In order to prevent injuries, it is important that your joints, tendons
and muscles have had some blood flow through them.
I use something that’s called ramping up instead of warming up. Meaning that I will
do 3-5 warm up sets before I actually start my working sets. For example: If I would
need to do squats for 3 sets of 8 reps at 60 kg, I would ramp up as follows:
Empty bar (20kg) x 10
Bar + 10kg (30kg) x 8
Bar + 20kg (40kg) x 5
Bar + 30kg (50kg) x 3
This is also something that varies per person, I tend to do 4-5 ramp up sets and try to
not go too many reps per set. The goal is to warm up and feel ready for the actual
working set, instead of exhausting yourself too much!
Progressive overload:
This is a pretty straightforward method/mindset for strength training but also
effective, especially in the beginning stages!
The idea is simple: put your body/muscles under more stress than last time you did
the exercise. More stress can mean lifting heavier weights but also using the same
weight and doing an extra set or just one more rep than last time. Finally, another
way to put your body under more stress is adapting the way you do an exercise. For
instance, holding a glute bridge or pausing a squat/deadlift for 1-2 seconds.
I highly recommend using your notes to track your progress on a weekly basis.
Especially when it comes to a changing amount of reps, it’s nearly impossible to
remember how many you did last week.
Exercises:
In terms of exercises,
Recovery:
Metabolism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fnyZ8kcGh8
Refeeding / Sleep
NEAT: 10k steps a day
Sleep:
Sources:
https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/rep-range-builds-most-muscle/
https://outlift.com/hypertrophy-training-volume/
https://mennohenselmans.com/upper-limit-training-volume/
https://rpstrength.com/hypertrophy-training-guide-central-hub/