How do I train in the gym? This is easily the most common question I ever get asked. I can’t complain because it’s definitely flattering to know people appreciate my physique and respect the hard work that I’ve put in. This week I decided that I would give you guys some insight as to what my weekly breakdown at the gym looks like.
In order to understand someone’s training, you need to understand their training goals. Manipulating your sets, reps, exercises, and rest time at the gym will produce VASTLY different results so it;s important that you develop a program that fits your needs and goals. I compete in powerlifting (competitive squat, bench press, and deadlift) so I value my one rep maximum strength very highly because thats what I need to perform in competition. Unfortunately, training for 1 rep max strength isn’t always conducive to having a good physique, so I also mix in some more traditional bodybuilding techniques to help with my aesthetic appearance. I handle this by beginning my workouts with my strength oriented training as my main focus, then finishing my workouts with bodybuilding style training. I usually split my training into 5 days that look a little something like this:
Day 1 – Squat Training
I begin my workouts with my main squatting work. This usually consists of various sets in the 1 to 5 rep range. My goal for all of these sets is maximum weight on the bar because that will create the biggest stimulus for strength building. Since squats are a pretty quadriceps dominant movement, I like to focus the rest of my workout on hamstrings and glutes to make sure I hit my entire leg. All my “bodybuilding style” sets are in the range from 10 to 15 reps and performed with pretty minimal rest in between. This creates a bigger stimulus for growth in these muscles. I tend to hit things like RDLs, glute bridges, hamstring curls, good mornings, etc
Day 2 – Bench Press + Chest and Shoulders
Similar to my squat training day, I begin this workout with my main bench press sets, working mostly in the 1 to 5 rep range using my competition style bench to focus on having the biggest carryover to meet day. After I finish up my benching, I focus on building my other pressing muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) via different exercises in the 10 to 15 rep range. Some things that I hit could include: incline bench press, military press, various front and lateral raises, dumbbell or cable flys, pushups, and carious dumbbell presses.
Day 3 – Upper Back
So this day is actually a full bodybuilding style workout with the goal of building mass in my lats, posterior delts, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles. The focus is primarily on upper body pulling exercises like: dumbbell pullovers, pull ups, various cable and dumbbell rows, lat pulldowns, rear delt flys, etc. A strong upper back carries over to all 3 competition lifts and looks very aesthetically pleasing (see above ;)). It also helps with posture and can help prevent shoulder and rotator cuff injuries
Day 4 – Deadlift Training –
Similar to my other main lift days, I start this day with my main deadlift training. My work outs tend to be about 90 minutes so I try to spend about 45 minutes warming up and hitting my main lift then another 45 hitting my assistance work. Because deadlifting is a more hamstring focused exercise, I try to hit my quads hard after performing my main deadlift sets. Bulgarian split squats are by far my favorite quad builder so I always hit those directly after. Some other things I might hit include: front squats, belt squats, step ups, pistol squats, and walking lunges. I tend to steer clear of most machines on my lower body days because I find they don’t have as much carryover to free squatting but if your goal is simply aesthetics, things like leg extensions, hack squats, etc are also fine
Day 5 – Second Bench + Arms
My final training day for the week is one that I generally refer to as my “beach muscles”. I start the day with a secondary bench variation (like close grip bench, Swiss bar bench, decline bench etc) that I keep in the 10 to 15 rep range just to get some extra benching volume. The rest of the workout I focus solely on biceps and triceps. This helps keep your elbows healthy, plus having big arms never hurt anyone. For assistance I’ll hit a bunch of different curl variations plus things like rope pushdowns, skull crushers, and dips to hit my triceps.
I hope this all gave you some insight and inspiration for your own training regimen. My goals may be different than yours but hopefully you were able to at least take some pieces of advice to integrate into your own training. I’m always happy to talk training on any of my social media platforms if you have any questions, so don’t be shy! Until next time, be well!
Take care & be safe!