B U I L D I N G
T H E
RUGGEDPHYSIQUE
How to Build A Lean, Strong & Rugged Calisthenics Physique In
Just 3 Hours Per Week With A Set of Gymnastics Rings And A Pair
Of Adjustable Dumbbells Even If You Are A Complete Beginner
Hey there, bodyweight exercise fan.
Thank you for opting into our newsletter, downloading this guide,
and becoming a part of our little cult we like to call Bodyweight
Muscle.
Hopefully, this training guide and everything we share with you
through our YouTube channel, emails, articles and social media
doesn’t just meet but also exceed your expectations.
Our goal with this guide is to teach you the exact system we
teach our paid coaching clients, and finally build the body and
confidence you’ve always wanted by training 2-3 hours per week
split in as many or as little sessions as you want with just a set of
gymnastics rings you can take anywhere with you and a pair of
adjustable dumbbells.
But more on these in later chapters.
Our promise is that if you apply everything we are about to teach
you in this guide, you will be able to 2x, 3x, or even 5x your training
results, build way more muscle, shed more fat, and overcome pains
and aches in your body without breaking the time bank.
And If you ruthlessly read, learn and practice what we teach,
we’re confident that this will be the last training method and guide
you’ll ever need.
So, again, thank you for being here. We appreciate you, and hope
this guide is the proverbial kick in the ass you need to drop the
fluff, double down on your training, and finally build the body that
you want with a sustainable system.
In the meantime, make sure you email and message us any
questions you might have and we’ll be more than happy to
answer them for you in detail.
With these aside… let’s dive right in.
What’s the
Rugged Physique
and who is this
for?
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 3
The term “Rugged” physique refers to the kind of rough, manly, outdoorsy physique you build by
building a lot of real world strength and taking your training and nutrition seriously.
The kind of physique you build by working with primarily free weights, calisthenics implements,
and gymnastics rings.
Here’s what a Rugged Physique looks like:
Or, yours truly:
John
Anthony
But before we go on, let me make one thing clear. The system we are about to teach you in this
guide won’t turn you into an overbuffed, huge, chunky bodybuilder with veins the size of the
Suez Canal.
If this is your goal, then we’re not your people.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 4
But if you’re an everyday guy, who wants to drop the belly, 10-30 pounds of excess fat, and
carve a strong and lean physique, and feel amazing in your skin without training for HOURS on
end by training anywhere, anytime with just a set of gymnastics rings and a pair of adjustable
dumbbells, then this is for you.
And if this sounds intimidating at first, it’s normal.
But we’ve been using this exact system to help everyday men from all walks of life like the ones
below turn their ordinary meat machines into Rugged specimens for a long time with great
results. Here’s a few of our results:
So, if this all sounds interesting, then keep reading.
Because, I am about to teach you everything you need to get similar results.
Our hopes are that our method and this guide will be the last training resource you will ever
need.
Now, if you don’t know us let us rapidly
introduce ourselves…
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 5
Hello, I’m Anthony Arvanitakis, and I’m a professional
strength coach, and best-selling author. After graduating
from the sports science and physical education department
at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, I faced a life-altering
accident that ultimately cost me my left leg.
This tragic event led to 13 surgeries over 5.5 years and
triggered a prolonged period of isolation and pain which
plunged me into deep depression. However, after spending
many years feeling sorry for myself, I reached a turning
point and decided enough was enough. I knew I had to take
control of my life. I set out to get into the best shape of my
life, defiantly raising my middle finger to my condition and
refusing to let it drag me down. And eventually… I turned
my life around.
Since then, I have dedicated my career to helping others
transform their bodies and lives through bodyweight
training. My work has been published in top online
publications in strength training, fitness, and men’s lifestyle
—such as T-nation.com and the popular podcast Art of
Manliness
Hey, I am John Voulgaridis, I’ve been running Bodyweight
Muscle alongside Anthony for the last 1.5 years and I’m a
certified personal trainer with 12 years of experience,
coaching men all over the globe and helping them transform
their bodies and lives.
Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t boast a credential catalog the
size of Anthony’s. And his story can make a soap opera
jealous, but Ι can certainly whip your body into mean
shape. I initially got into lifting weights to boost my
confidence, escape depression, deflect the bullies, and
build enough muscle to make myself somewhat marketable
in the dating marketplace.
I stuck with it because of how amazing it makes me feel, the
energy boost that rivals a quadruple espresso, and
honestly, I’d much rather rock a T-shirt and look great than
have to squeeze into a suit like a sausage.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 6
Ultimately, we’re just two normal, everyday dudes who love training, enjoying good (and by that,
I mean lots of) food, and looking great with our clothes on or off, while feeling fantastic in our
own skin.
We’ve combined Anthony’s calisthenics background with my weightlifting experience to create
what we call the No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics Method, a hybrid approach that fuses
calisthenics with simple, no fluff, straightforward dumbbell training to maximize results by
training a mere 2-3 hours per week, depending on your goals, without ever needing a gym.
Which is why we inherently believe and know damn well that our system works like clockwork
when it comes to getting everyday, ordinary men like you in extraordinary shape (well, also
because we’ve helped so many men turn their bodies and lives around over and over again).
Now… I know what you’re wondering.
“Cool beans John, but why is your system among the best? Why should I choose your No B.S.
Hypertrophy Calisthenics Method over anything else?”
Why does our No B.S. Hypertrophy
Calisthenics Method and gymnastics ring
training work so damn well for everyday men?
We’ve already established that if you’re a gym rat, unless you take your gymnastics rings and
method to the gym, this system isn’t for you.
But, why do we deeply believe and are so convinced that our philosophy and methodology is
one of the best tools and methods for everyday men?
Simple.
In today’s evermoving, rapid-paced society, time is limited.
That’s why being able to build muscle and carve the physique of your dreams in just 2-3 hours
per week split however you want, with only a set of gymnastics rings, and a pair of adjustable
dumbbells (if you want to take your leg training further) from anywhere, anytime works so damn
well.
But what makes our HCM (Hypertrophy Calisthenics Method in short) so unique and different is
how we structure and use the gymnastics rings to build a complete, extremely effective training
system that helps you build a lot of muscle and strength without having to spend all your free
time training.
Here’s what makes our system so effective:
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 7
The inherent lower volume, high intensity nature of our system helps you train less but
build more muscle as it focuses on quality over quantity
Because of the inherent lower volumes, and the nature of bodyweight training being more
joint and nervous system friendly you stress your body less, and are able to recover faster
which doesn’t leave you drained for the rest of the day and the day after
The ability to train with just a pair of gymnastics rings literally anywhere, anytime drastically
improves your ability to remain consistent thus leading to more muscle and strength gains
(yes, even when you can’t bring your dumbbells with)
There are a ton of exercises and progressions and variations for ANY level you can do to
build your upper body without needing another piece of equipment for years to come
Rings (and dumbbells) are fairly cheap, easy to carry around and take little space so that
you can train anywhere, anytime, even when you’re traveling or on vacation
They’re fun as hell compared to other approaches since you get to master your
bodyweight and do cool tricks other people consider impossible
They train the body as an interconnected whole the way your body is designed to
work, building strength and mass in muscles you didn’t even know existed and that other
mediums never train in such a manner
You burn more calories as every part of your body has to work synergistically (compare ring
push-ups to a bench press where you lie on a bench and your arms are the only thing that
moves)
Gymnastics increase your proprioception, meaning they improve your kinesthetic
awareness, your balance, and how you move your body through space
They build your arms, forearms, and abs without having to target them separately (but
you can if you want to or want to take them to the next level)
You can hit more body parts with less exercises thus cutting the volume and time
investment of your workouts significantly
They are an extremely honest tool – you can’t be overweight AND have great performance
on the gymnastics rings when compared to other approaches since your bodyweight-tomuscle ratio must be high (have you ever seen an overweight person doing strict muscleups or multiple pull-ups?)
Due to their instability, if your form is off, they’ll let you know thus cutting the risk of injury
They build amazing tendon strength and bone density due to the instability aspect and
exercise variations
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 8
They also help you build endurance, strength, and muscle all in one system due to the
instability aspect and the combination of high reps with lower reps and supersets, which
force you to use all of the body’s energy systems at once.
So, now that you know why our method works so amazingly well, I want to cover something
extremely important.
If you’re still reading this, then it’s perhaps because your training either flat out sucks and yields
no results, or if it doesn’t suck then it’s not yielding quite the results you had hoped for.
So, if that’s you, then you’re probably making some of these 7 mistakes below.
Avoiding these is crucial for our system to work.
Common Training Mistake #1:
You focus on the wrong stuff
Look, you are probably not an athlete or bodybuilder who is paid to train.
This means you only have so much time and energy to pour into training.
Which is why you MUST be focusing all your resources on the big, basic, compound, bang for
your buck exercises like pull-ups, chin-ups, rows, dips, push-ups, lunge and squat variations and
hip hinges and get obnoxiously strong on those.
If, for example, you can now do 2 full ROM (range of motion) chin-ups and you build these up to
whipping 10-12 consecutive full ROM and perfect form chin-ups your back, biceps, and forearms
will grow like wildfire, even if you aren’t directly training your biceps or forearms.
That’s the nature of proper, effective bodyweight training.
But more on that in the next chapter, where I’ll teach you the ins and outs of our No B.S.
Hypertrophy Calisthenics system and how to set-up your program. So, keep reading.
For now, let’s keep going.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 9
Common Training Mistake #2:
You’re doing way too much
“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
– Steve Jobs
Go into any gym, or calisthenics park and you’ll see most people training for hours on end, doing
way too many exercises and sets away from failure and yet, they still have little or nothing to
show for their hard effort.
They focus on quantity over quality.
But the thing is… you don’t need a ton of quantity to build muscle. You don’t need a ton of sets
and repetitions. You don’t need a ton of exercises. You don’t need all this needless,
unproductive junk volume.
All you need is a few good exercises, done right.
Quality beats quantity every time.
A couple of exercises done properly for 2-3 sets, with the right intensity, outperforms 5 poorly
performed exercises and sets every time.
Not only that but you will also cut your training time in half, and won’t feel deadbeat tired and
drained for the day after and the days after thus making recovery way easier (which is also
usually one of the top 3 reasons people start and stop all the time - feeling tired, lack of time,
and not seeing the results they want.)
So, how can you inject quality into your training?
By fixing this next all too common mistake.
Common Training Mistake #3:
Your form, tempo, and range of motion suck
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 10
The other day I saw a dad with his 2 kids training at the park I go to.
He was taller than me and rocked a lean, climber kind of physique, so I was surprised when I
saw him doing kipping crossfit pull-ups and half-range bouncing dips.
We talked, and he used to be indeed a competitive climber who’s now doing crossfit, and when I
commented on his physique he told me that he looked like this all his life.
Which made complete sense, because you won’t build rock solid muscle if your form, tempo and
range of motion suck.
Which is why our No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics method works so well, but only if you do it
exactly as we lay out.
If you want to build a lot of muscle and radically transform your physique you want your form,
range of motion and tempo to be perfect and dialed in.
No jumpy, bouncy, quick, half-assed repetitions that use the muscle’s elasticity more than the
muscle itself.
You have to use a full range of motion on every exercise. This means going all the way up, and
all the way down.
Slow down your tempo in the negative, lowering part of the rep, and count 2-3 seconds, pause at
the bottom position of each repetition for a split second to prepare yourself for the next repetition
and kill any momentum and then explode up.
This helps recruit more muscle fibers and in turn build marginally more muscle in the long-run.
When you apply proper form, tempo, and use the whole range of motion on your exercises don’t
be surprised if you’re able to do 30-40% less reps. While you may be able to do less repetitions,
I assure you that the training effect will be far greater than before.
Especially if you also correct this next common mistake…
Common Training Mistake #4:
You’re not training hard enough
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 11
As I mentioned above, most people don’t see the results they want because they do way too
much work.
They focus on quantity over quality.
We see it all the time whenever someone comes into our training program.
They think they have to do way more volume than they really need, and they finish their
sets prematurely when they still have way too much gas in the tank.
In fact, a month ago, one of my good friends asked me If I wanted to train together and he
ended up blowing his previous best performance on push-ups by 10 repetitions. 10 FREAKING
REPETITIONS.
No wonder he has been going to the gym for years on end without any result whatsoever.
Training close or even to failure recruits way more of your muscle fibers, thus making each set
way more effective for muscle building. The closer to failure you go, the more muscle fibers your
body recruits, the more muscle you will build.
One of the telltale signs you’re indeed training close to failure, is that you will get less reps in
each consecutive set of the exercise you perform.
Instead of getting equal reps across all sets (e.g. 10,10,10) your reps will look more like this:
10,9,7.
The ONLY job of the first few easy reps of a set is to get you to the harder, more effective
reps at the end.
Granted, you have to keep increasing the difficulty of your exercises, which leads us to the next
mistake you’re probably making.
Common Training Mistake #5:
You aren’t beating your previous performances
Now, all this is fine and dandy, and if you correct the above mistakes your training will go to a
whole new level.
But… we’re not done yet. This mistake is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 12
You see, your body is an extremely adaptive piece of machinery.
So even if you do all of the above right, at some point it will adapt completely to the stimulus you’re
giving it thus rendering the stimulus too insignificant to elicit growth.
Which is why you have to keep pouring gasoline on the fire, so to speak.
Simply put, you MUST keep beating your previous performances so that your body keeps adapting.
In exercise science they call this principle “progressive overload.”
And you can do this by doing more reps, or more weight than you did the previous time.
But the only predictable, measurable and precise way to do this, is by noting down your
performances for each exercise and set every time you train, and then trying to beat it on your
next training session, which 99% of trainees don’t do.
Common Mistake #6:
Your nutrition looks like a massive happy meal
If you’re anything like the men we work with on a daily basis when they first enter our coaching (and you
probably are) then your nutrition lacks intent, and structure.
It looks more like a happy meal rather than the diet a grown up trying to build a lean and muscular body
eats.
It’s all over the place.
No way to know if you’re eating enough or too little to support your training.
It consists of too much processed food and carbs.
And you’re barely eating enough protein to meet the basic health criteria, let alone build muscle and
recover from hard training.
Honestly?
It’s like pissing into your car’s tank and expecting it to win the Grand Prix.
Your body and training performance are a direct reflection of what happens outside of the training as
much as what happens during the training session.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 13
You can’t expect to eat like shit, and get amazing results.
That’s insanity.
Protein is the main muscle-building ingredient. Without it, you’re playing the fat loss and muscle growth
vastly handicapped.
Which brings me to the last, but totally not least mistake you’re probably doing which is…
Common Mistake #7:
You’re neglecting your sleep
If nutrition is to your body what fuel is to your car, then sleep is like the car's entire system—the wheels,
steering wheel, frame, engine, everything. Without it, nothing functions properly.
That’s how important sleep is.
And if you’re sleeping terribly, then how are you ever going to have the energy to perform well in the gym,
lose fat and transform your body?
Research has shown that sleep deprivation significantly impacts fat loss and muscle growth. For
instance, one study found that when trying to lean down, individuals who slept 5.5 hours lost 55% less fat
compared to those who slept 8.5 hours.
Using simple deductive reasoning, that’s the equivalent of losing 55% more muscle mass.
Crazy, right?
Now, of course, sleeping 8.5 hours is a hard task and probably a long shot for most people.
But you can always improve your situation and sleep more.
Especially if you care about your physical, mental health and performance.
Now, if you were to only take away ONE thing from this guide, then simply applying this section above
to your training program will at least double the results you get.
It’s like possessing the Midas touch of muscle-building.
Let alone applying this next and last chapter of this guide, which we’re going to take you exactly and
precisely into how we program for our own coaching clients for maximum results.
So, let’s cut into the chase and get into the nitty gritty of our system, shall we?
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 14
Enter the
The No B.S. Hypertrophy
Calisthenics Method
As I’ve mentioned previously, our system takes 2-3 hours of training per week. The closer you
get to 3 hours the more you optimize your training as you’ll be covering all of the bases.
But we also included the 2-hour version because we wanted to make the system accessible for
those on the lower-end of busyness.
Now… one thing is certain.
Whichever version you choose, you’ll have to work hard, avoid the mistakes above, and also
apply the principles I’m about to cover.
Bear in mind, we covered many of these steps in the common mistakes above.
So, let’s jump right in.
Step #1:
Determine your training split and frequency
Before I dive deep into the nitty gritty of our system, you have to decide how many times you
want, prefer and practically can train every week, and how much time you have available. This
will then instruct how your program will look like.
Remember, everything can work.
But as I said… every single program we craft trainees follows one very particular philosophy:
They all take around 2-3 hours per week, split however you want, however I recommend
you opt for the 3 hours if you want to maximize results.
2 sessions of 60-90 minutes
3 sessions of 40-60 minutes
4 sessions of 30-45 minutes
5 sessions of 25-35 minutes
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Now, any of the above can work if you follow every single step and piece of information in this
guide, but we recommend the 3, or 4 sessions because they allow your body better recovery
and more free time to pursue other things in your life.
However, if you lack time on some particular days and you can’t get your whole training session
in, then you can either split the workout and finish it later on in the day, or you can do this next
step, which we like to call “The Training Matrix.”
The Training Matrix
Now, any of the above can work if you follow every single step and piece of information in this
guide, but we recommend the 3, or 4 sessions because they allow your body better recovery
and more free time to pursue other things in your life.
However, if you lack time on some particular days and you can’t get your whole training session
in, then you can either split the workout and finish it later on in the day, or you can do this next
step, which we like to call “The Training Matrix.”
Here’s how this works:
1 set
Myo-rep
Match
2 all out sets
Regular Sets
The training matrix is simple and follows one endearingly simple principle:
Something is always better than nothing.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 16
So, if you’re low on time, and you can’t do your training session on another day, then you can at least do
a shorter workout based on the time you have available.
This step has come in handy at times when I’m extremely pressed on time and can’t do the workout
another day.
There are levels to this:
Level 1: Do your training as normal (Best option,90% of your training sessions should fall into this if you
want good or great results)
Level 2: Do 2 all-out super hard sets right on failure (Second best option)
Level 3: Do a Myo-rep match set (close third)*
Level 4: 1 all-out super hard set of each exercise
*Myo-rep match: Myo-rep match sets allow you to get much more work in way less time but I don’t
recommend doing this protocol with every exercise, even though it CAN work sometimes.
Essentially, you do one normal set as you otherwise would leaving 1-3 reps in the tank. This first set is
called “Activating Set”. You then do as many mini sets as you need to do to match the repetitions of the
activating set with 20-25 seconds of rest in between each set.
If you did 12 repetitions, then this may look like this:
Activating set: 12 repetitions
Mini sets with 20-25s rest in between: 5+4+3 = 12 repetitions to match the activating set
So, now that you’ve picked your preferred frequency it’s time to put some structure to it.
Step #2:
Focus on compound exercises only
Since time is of the essence, and we want to do as much quality work as we can in these 2 - 3 hours of
training per week, we MUST pick the biggest bang for our buck exercises.
And these are compound exercises like the pullup, dips, squats, rows, lunges, etc.
Exercises that work many muscle groups at once to save time, hit them hard, and have a big capacity for
progressive overload which is the most potent muscle-building technique if you’re a natural trainee
(whether in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or even 60s).
And these compound exercises must cover all the essential movement patterns.
Which brings me to the next step.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 17
Step #3:
You MUST train all 6 essential movement patterns
As we pointed out on Common Mistake #1, to build a strong, bulletproof and balanced physique, your
training must cover all essential movement patterns.
These are:
1. Vertical Pull (pull-up variations)
2. Vertical Push (handstand, pike push-up, or weighted overhead press variations)
3. Horizontal Push (push-up variations)
4. Horizontal Pull (row variations)
5. Quads (squat and lunge variations)
6. Posterior Kinetic Chain (hip hinge, lower back, hamstring variations)
The exercise variations you pick for each of those movement patterns depends on your equipment,
training level, experience and injuries, and you should rotate these movement patterns. But more on this
on Step #5.
But before you go there make sure you don’t skip this next step which will make Step #5 make sense,
and that is…
Step #4:
You MUST train each movement
pattern at least 2x week
Frequent practice is the mother of improvement.
Now, some say that practice makes perfect, but in reality… only perfect practice makes perfect.
So the aim in our No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics system is to practice often, but practice perfectly.
Training each movement pattern at least 2x per week helps you become more proficient at each exercise,
while hitting slightly higher workout volumes which in turn helps you get stronger, and build more muscle
mass.
So… no matter which split you choose, make sure you hit each movement pattern at least twice per
week.
And this brings me to Step #5.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 18
Step #5:
Alternate between light and heavy
days and variations
Now… you can skip this because it’s a more advanced method.
But this is how I program for most of my trainees and it makes a big difference in the results they get,
which is why I thought I should include it regardless.
In powerlifting, and weightlifting programming there is a method called Conjugate Periodization where
you alternate between heavier, harder days and lighter, easier days to make practice easier after hitting
the hard days but still get your practice and necessary volume to grow in.
Does that make sense? (again if something doesn’t make sense, you can always message us)
Here’s what this looks in practice:
Let’s say that on one of your sessions you train dips, and you train those for 5-10 repetitions because you
can’t do more than that.
Then on the other day, you will do a leg-assisted dip, or a band-assisted dip as your main pushing
movement, to get in the extra volume without killing your body completely.
Here’s how this could look:
Day 1 (Heavy Day)
Pull-ups: 3 sets of 5-9
Dips: 3 sets of 5-9
Feet Elevated Inverted Rows: 3 sets of 5-9
Goblet Squats: 3 sets of 8-12
Day 2 (Light Day)
Leg-assisted or Band-assisted ring pull-ups: 3 sets of 9+
Leg-assisted or Band-assisted dips: 3 sets of 9+
Ring Rows with feet on the floor: 3 sets of 9+
Bodyweight Squats or lighter goblet squats: 3 sets of 12+
Now, you can also add a third day, where the reps and movement variations are also different to get
enough volume in or you cover the other movement patterns.
Which brings me to this next step.
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Step #6:
You must do 7-10 HARD sets of each movement
pattern per week
The keyword here is the word “hard”.
To get the best possible results out of this training system with just 2- 3 hours of training per week, the
few sets that you do must be HARD and each movement pattern must be practiced twice a week.
Now… does determining your training split, frequency and volume and focusing on compound
exercises that train all the essential movement patterns mean you’re going to get amazing results
from your training and build heaps of muscle?
Hell no.
Now your program must have started taking shape but there is something more. The glue that keeps
everything together and makes everything work.
Which is…
Step #7:
You MUST apply the 4 Unbreakable Laws of
No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics
This last rule is also the most important one.
If you have followed the steps above you have probably come up with your ideal training split and
frequency, and you know which movement patterns you must do, how often, and in what volume.
A correctly structured plan is extremely important.
But it will only make a hole in the water if the quality of the work that you perform sucks.
Which is why we’ve come up with what we call the 4 Unbreakable Laws of No B.S. Hypertrophy
Calisthenics.
If you master those 4 I assure you you will soon possess the Midas touch of muscle-building.
And that is… any program you touch will yield results.
What are those 4 Unbreakable Laws of Hypertrophy Calisthenics?
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 20
Step #6:
You must do 7-10 HARD sets of each movement
pattern per week
The keyword here is the word “hard”.
To get the best possible results out of this training system with just 2- 3 hours of training per week, the
few sets that you do must be HARD and each movement pattern must be practiced twice a week.
Now… does determining your training split, frequency and volume and focusing on compound
exercises that train all the essential movement patterns mean you’re going to get amazing results
from your training and build heaps of muscle?
Hell no.
Now your program must have started taking shape but there is something more. The glue that keeps
everything together and makes everything work.
Which is…
Step #7:
You MUST apply the 4 Unbreakable Laws of
No B.S. Hypertrophy Calisthenics
This last rule is also the most important one.
If you have followed the steps above you have probably come up with your ideal training split and
frequency, and you know which movement patterns you must do, how often, and in what volume.
A correctly structured plan is extremely important.
But it will only make a hole in the water if the quality of the work that you perform sucks.
Which is why we’ve come up with what we call the 4 Unbreakable Laws of No B.S. Hypertrophy
Calisthenics.
If you master those 4 I assure you you will soon possess the Midas touch of muscle-building.
And that is… any program you touch will yield results.
What are those 4 Unbreakable Laws of Hypertrophy Calisthenics?
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 21
Unbreakable Law #1:
The Law Of Proper Exercise Selection
In strength training, exercise selection plays a huge role. Each exercise is like a word in a whole
sentence.
Place it in the wrong position, and the sentence will make no sense.
Pick the wrong word, and the sentence sounds gibberish.
Training programs work much the same way.
Each exercise has its place, hierarchical order based on your needs and strategic placing.
Now, of course, you can structure your program however you want, and as I’ve already mentioned, if
you just apply all the rules above, and you avoid the common mistakes on the first part of the guide,
you’ll still get good enough gains.
But as they say, good is the enemy of great.
A well-structured, thought-out training plan can go a long way and can produce vastly better muscle
and strength gains.
For example, putting a small, single-joint, accessory exercise like a bicep curl first in the program,
before your main pulling movements like the chin-up, pull-up and rows can be good if your primary
goal is to bring your biceps up.
But it’s a terrible idea if you’re looking to increase your pull-ups, chin-ups, or rows. And after all… if
you do bring those big, compound, pulling movements up, won’t your biceps get bigger as a result?
Or, you shouldn’t put a push-up variation before your dips if dips are your hardest movement,
because you will fatigue your muscles and won’t be able to perform your dips.
Instead, if you put your harder exercise, the dips, first, and then do the push-ups, you will be able to
perform your dips AND your push-ups.
Simply put:
Always place the hardest exercises first, and the easier ones second.
Pull-ups, then rows
Dips, then push-ups
Push-ups, then tricep work
Rows, then bicep work
And so on.
But no matter what you do, you should always keep in mind this next Law…
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Unbreakable Law #2:
The Law Of Perfect Form
Two perfectly identical people can train the exact same exercise, and do the same exact reps and
weight.
Yet, one may be getting far greater results by each set and by extension training sessions even if they
are doing the same weight, sets and reps.
So, why is that?
Because form is so important it changes the entire game.
If we’re doing the exact same exercise, weight, sets and reps, but my form is exponentially better,
meaning I’m using a good tempo, range of motion and body posture and form, and you aren’t, I’m
going to get far better results doing the exact same thing.
Which also allows me to perform less work and build way more muscle, because my repetitions are
way more effective at exhausting the muscles I’m targeting than yours, thus giving me the same
stimulus for less work.
Does that make sense?
The law of perfect form means going slow on the negatives, pausing for a split-second at the bottom
position of the repetition to kill any momentum you’ve built up from the negative part of the repetition,
and then using force to drive yourself back up without losing control, form, and posture.
That said, perfect form doesn’t mean that you stop once your reps start getting harder and slower.
This happens because you’re reaching failure, and reaching close to failure is something we NEED to
build muscle. Which brings us to the next law.
Unbreakable Law #3:
The Law of Intensity
Most people finish their sets way too early. When they are very far away from technical failure
(performing another repetition with perfect form). As a result, the results they get from their training
are lackluster at best.
It’s by far the biggest problem we see with the men who come into our 1-1 training program.
Which is why, one of the most important things we do with them, is have them record their top sets
every once in a while, so that we nitpick, correct, and fix their form to make the exercise more
effective but also, and equally as important, see how close to failure they are actually taking their
working sets.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 23
And, guess what, most people have at least another 5+ repetitions in the tank at the end of their sets.
Which renders their training ineffective, and there is much room for improvement.
Again, reps slowing down isn’t the sign of form breaking down. You can have great form, and reps will
still slow down. If you’re maintaining great form, AND your repetitions are getting slower, it’s a telltale
sign you’re reaching failure.
Which brings me to the next and last law, that if you ignore it, you’ll never build any appreciable
muscle mass and strength.
Unbreakable Law #4:
The Law of Constant Improvement
Or as it is officially named in the strength training realm: Progressive overload. Once you pick the right
exercises for your level, nail your form, and are successfully working close to failure, then the next
step is to keep making the exercise harder and increasing the stimulus.
This is because your body adapts to whatever you throw at it, and after a while, it stops responding to
it. Take caffeine for example. When you first started drinking coffee a single dose of caffeine was
enough to throw your nervous system into overdrive but now, after drinking coffee for years, the same
amount of caffeine does nothing for you. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
That’s because your body became conditioned to this specific amount of stimulus and now it requires
an even bigger stimulus to produce the desired result.
It’s the same way with getting stronger and building muscle. You have to be constantly improving, and
increasing the stimulus to keep getting better and better results. And you can do this by, essentially,
never stopping to add gasoline to the fire and
Beating Your Previous Performances
Every Time You Train
And you do this by adding one more repetition, adding a tiny bit more weight, doing one more set (we
rarely recommend this though), cutting your rest periods shorter while performing the same amount of
work, or even performing the same weight, and the same amount of reps and sets but improving your
form.
Now, if you follow everything I laid out above not only can’t you go wrong with your training but you
will be able to build muscle and strength on command.
BUILDING THE RUGGED PHYSIQUE | 24
That said, I know you may be feeling lost as to how your training program should look like, so I put a
quick 3-day program example together for you below.
Last Step
If you’re still not sure how to program and progress your training, and want to remove all the
guesswork, there is only so much I can give you in a free guide before it becomes extremely
complicated and hard to follow.
Which is exactly why we have created our 1-1 Bodyweight Muscle Coaching Program so that we can
personally coach you every step of the way and help you lose 10-30 pounds and build a strong and
lean Rugged Physique using this exact method we’ve outlined in this guide.
So, if you want someone to remove all the guesswork, tell you EXACTLY what to do day in and
day out every week and support you every step of the way until you hit your goal, then you
should fill the application below:
https://forms.gle/Ce2ZPCKubbsS7GkQ8
And we’ll reply to you within 24 hours to schedule a free, no-strings-attached consultation call where
we’re going to see if and how we can help you and if you’re a good fit for our program.