BASE - 4 Day Gym Workout
If you have the time, a 4 day gym workout is optimal. Working your muscle groups twice a week will accelerate hypertrophy but make sure you are recover by eating and sleeping well (as that is when the muscles grow - not in the gym). Body knows best so listen to it. If you are fatigued from the vicissitudes of life then have a rest day.
Phase ONE: Day 1 - Upper
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
-
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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Phase ONE: Day 2 - Lower
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
-
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
-
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
-
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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Phase ONE: Day 3 - Upper
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Set up the bench angle to its most obtuse. This will allow you to target the upper portion of the chest that is often underdeveloped.
Experiment with your elbow position and find one where you really feel the upper chest stretching. It is usually where the elbows are flared out more but it’s a delicate balance as the wider it is, the more strain you have on your shoulders. That is why we should choose a moderate weight.
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Move the bench angle down one notch and grab a moderate weight. The aim here is to stretch the chest as much as possible when the DBs are at the lowest point. Feel that stretch for a second before moving the DBs back together at the top. A slow motion arc back down.
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Head towards the lat pull down machine and start with close grip. Movement is like the chin up - at the top feel that stretch down your lats, grip tight and pull your elbows down into your torso. Never use momentum to pull the weight down. Rely purely on muscle contraction.
After 12 sets, move straight into the wide grip position. The thinking is the same ie concentrate on moving your elbows into your torso. At the bottom you should feel your lats heating up - hold this position and then control the weight back to the top.
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Do this standing. As this giant set will involve 3 separate weights - be slightly greedy and have them all close to you on the floor.
If the Arnold Press causes slight niggles in the shoulders, try starting the movement with the DBs closer together (vs against your shoulders).
DB Lateral Raises - these are quite tricky to get right as engaging those side delts can be quite elusive. Play around with angles and see where these are engaged the most. Once you find your spot, try and maintain that connection throughout the rep.
DB Shrugs - lets rounds off those shoulders. Grab 2 heavier dumbells and shrug the weight up towards the ceiling.
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Move onto the cable machine and place the rope attachment onto the pulley. Set the height to the lowest point and start with the bicep curls. The starting position is a hammer curl but you will externally rotate your wrist (so palms face the ceiling) to as the weight moves up. You should be able to feel a flex in your bicep at the top.
Once the curls are finished, move the cable to the highest point for the tricep pulldowns. Stand close to the pulley as the movement should be a reverse hammer movement (as this more closely aligns with the biomechanics of the tricep.
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Stay on the cable machine. The face pull should be set at a height that is slightly above your head. As you pull the rope towards your forehead the top part of your fist should be facing the wall behind you. Doing these are important for a variety of reasons - posture correction from sitting down all day which is exacerbated by too much upper body work.
The straight arm pull down evens all this out. Tempo should be the same on the way up and down - slow and controlled.
Phase ONE: Day 4 - Lower
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While technique is less important when using machines, it behoves your intelligence to ensure that pressure is applied evenly across your feet (just like a squat), you brace your core which naturally stiffens your body allowing you be efficient with energy transfer and you feel the stretched contraction along your glutes and quads as you press the weight.
Progressive overload with this one so go heavier with each set.
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Stay on the leg press machine and slide the seat further up so your legs are slightly bent. Place the balls of your feet at the edge of the platform and tippy toe the weight. Hold the calf stretch for a second before the next rep.
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If your gym has the luxury to house both a lying leg curl and seated leg curl machine - choose the lying leg curl as I find that targets the glutes much better (and less of a faff to set up).
The tempo should be smooth and not explosive - you don’t want to move the weight with any aggression. Choose a weight that will allow you to do this accordingly.
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Grab a kettlebell (a dumbbell is also fine) and stand next to it. Hinge at your hips and grip the KB as if you were performing a hex bar deadlift.
The unilateral movement is more demanding on the core to stay balanced.
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Find a stationary bar to hang off. 10 leg raises with locked knees (tucked knees if this is too hard).
Finish off with a dead hang - this decompresses the spine and great for posture alignment.
Phase TWO: Day 1 - Upper
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Same structure as Phase One but with heavier loading now that your body is used to the movement.
First 2 sets same weight. Increase weight for each set thereafter .e.g. 10 reps at 70kg and then 8 reps at 72.5kg.
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Same as bench press with the progressive overloading scheme. First 2 sets we have the same weight and then increase for the last two set.
If you can’t finish the 8 reps in the last set in one go, drop the bar and catch your breath before finishing the reps.
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It’s very important to brace your core with the shoulder press as there is a tendency to overarch your back as the reps get harder.
The smith machine is preferable for heavier weights as it reduces the chance of injury through the fixed bar path.
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Attach the straight bar attachment to the low pulley and the rope attachment to the high pulley - this is your station for the superset.
Starting with the curl, make sure your hands do not hinge at the wrists during the movement and that the slack is taken out of the cable before you move the weight. This ensures that you aren’t using momentum and your biceps are fully engaged.
Jump straight to the tricep pull downs. Start with your hands together (rather than shoulder width apart which is quite common). The reason is that the biomechanics of your triceps are more suited to an angled pull down rather than a parallel one.
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Staying on the same cables use the rope attachment for both face pulls and straight arm rope pull downs.
The Face Pulls should work the rear delts (muscles between shoulder blades) - these are great exercises to correct the hunched postures of most office workers.
Phase TWO: Day 2 - Lower
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Slightly less reps compared to Phase One but load the bar slightly heavier. Phase Two is all about increasing load - progressive overload is the name of the game.
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Same reps but more of a warm session for the deadlifts.
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Same rep scheme compared to Phase One but with a slightly heavier load.
For deadlifts, don’t rush the movement in the Base stage. There will be a time when acceleration is important but we want to ingrain good habits now so we can focus on fine tuning later.
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Go as heavy as you can whilst maintaining full motion in your ankles. Tip top as high as you can with the weight and then control it down as far as possible to give the calf a good stretch.
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Lying on your back, straighten your legs and lift them up and raise the soles of your feet into the ceiling. This should create a nice contraction around your call, hold for half a second before slowly lowering your legs back down.
Angels and Devils are as per home workout.
Phase TWO: Day 3 - Upper
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Progressive overload for each set. Last 2 reps maintain the same weight.
Brace and do not arch your back to get the weight up. If you find yourself doing this use a lighter weight. There is a method to get the DBs up safely - rest each DB on your respective knee. Drive one knee up to get the DB into a shoulder press position and repeat for the other side. Once it looks like you are about to shoulder press, slowly lower your torso onto the bench.
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Move the bench angle down one notch and grab a moderate weight. The aim here is to stretch the chest as much as possible when the DBs are at the lowest point. Feel that stretch for a second before moving the DBs back together at the top. A slow motion arc back down.
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Stay on the bench with the same incline and grab 2 sets of DBs (one slightly heavier than the other).
Support your chest on the the top part of the bench and as your arms dangle, grab a DB in each hand. This is your starting position. Start the movement by bringing your elbows up towards the ceiling. You should feel a nice contraction around your lats and mid back. Like other movements, hold at the top before releasing.
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If the Smith Machine is taken, use the squat rack. Grab some heavy DBs in preparation for the super set.
Again same rules apply. Braced core and no overarching (some back arch is inevitable but apply some common sense and listen to your body - never ego lift). Reps always need to be in control. There should be a slight acceleration up and then slow the tempo as you lower the bar (almost like you are trying to cradle the weight back down onto your shoulders).
With the DB shrugs - hold the 2 DBs in each hand and imagine trying to touch your ears with the top of your shoulder - this is the shrugging motion. It is an up and down motion so if you find your shrugging forward then the weight is too heavy. Drop it down.
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Move onto the cable machine and place the rope attachment onto the pulley. Set the height to the lowest point and start with the bicep curls. The starting position is a hammer curl but you will externally rotate your wrist (so palms face the ceiling) to as the weight moves up. You should be able to feel a flex in your bicep at the top.
Once the curls are finished, move the cable to the highest point for the tricep pulldowns. Stand close to the pulley as the movement should be a reverse hammer movement (as this more closely aligns with the biomechanics of the tricep.
-
Stay on the cable machine. The face pull should be set at a height that is slightly above your head. As you pull the rope towards your forehead the top part of your fist should be facing the wall behind you. Doing these are important for a variety of reasons - posture correction from sitting down all day which is exacerbated by too much upper body work.
The straight arm pull down evens all this out. Tempo should be the same on the way up and down - slow and controlled.
Phase TWO: Day 4 - Lower
-
While technique is less important when using machines, it behoves your intelligence to ensure that pressure is applied evenly across your feet (just like a squat), you brace your core which naturally stiffens your body allowing you be efficient with energy transfer and you feel the stretched contraction along your glutes and quads as you press the weight.
Progressive overload with this one so go heavier with each set.
-
Stay on the leg press machine and slide the seat further up so your legs are slightly bent. Place the balls of your feet at the edge of the platform and tippy toe the weight. Hold the calf stretch for a second before the next rep.
-
If your gym has the luxury to house both a lying leg curl and seated leg curl machine - choose the lying leg curl as I find that targets the glutes much better (and less of a faff to set up).
The tempo should be smooth and not explosive - you don’t want to move the weight with any aggression. Choose a weight that will allow you to do this accordingly.
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Similar to deadlifts but these target the glutes more and helps with the hip hinge technique.
Focus on using your glutes and hips to drive the weight up and not your back. Lighter weights during the first 2 weeks and then move up once your get the movement pattern.
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Choose a DB or KB and grip with one hand. Deadlift this off the floor and then either walk on the spot for 30 seconds or (even better) walk up and down the gym. Your core will be counteracting the weight at the opposing end which is great for your stability.