Start
Just wondering how you would approach training legs for someone with a ineffective ACL and damaged meniscus? I’ve previously had knee surgery which was not a 100% success 5 years ago. I’m currently looking at going under the knife again but wondered how you would approach exercise selection and anything you think could add tissue without too much tension on the areas I have problems?

1 min 25 sec
my question is about squat alternatives for building massive quads. Had knee and hip pain for along time squats are not an option. Sled pushes and pulls are going to be a big part of my up coming routine however I wanted to know your opinion on trap bar deadlifts for quad development as those don’t bother my knees. Is there much quad activation, is there a way to get more activation?

2 min 55 sec
I know you’re the hypertrophy coach not the strength coach, but I’ve had some serious problems putting any amount of weight on my top sets for barbell bench press. I’m looking to be a power lifter and compete someday, and I’ve noticed strength gains in all my lower body movements, my pulling movements, and some of my pushing movements. I try to progress the weights every day with very good execution and my numbers on bench never seem to go up. I put 5 reps on my 185 bench rep PR (which was previously 2 so now it’s 7) and I still can only put up 225×1. I know 225×1 isn’t the worst number but in comparison to 445 on deadlift and 365 on squat, I’d say it’s pretty lagging. Would you recommend to do a push pull legs, or maybe specialize in arm training (my arms are really fucking small lol) or maybe do a 8 day split like you putting legs on the back burner? I know I’m not going to be doing everything right, I just feel like I should be making more progress on my bench press than I am. Just let me know your thoughts, thanks!

7 min 45 sec
When deadlifting, as I get closer to my 1RM, I notice that I get some rounding in my shoulders and lower back, even while consciously making sure to keep my form tight. I’m wondering if this is to be expected to some extent when dealing with maximal loads, or if it’s a matter of some supporting muscles not being able to keep up. If it’s the latter, any exercises you suggest I should be doing to strengthen them? Thanks!

11 min 39 sec
I am wondering how do you transition out of context prep? Do you take a recovery phase or drop volume and increase intensity and calories to try and grow immediately?

15 min 04 sec
I’m competing in 12 weeks and have worked out I look much better holding a vacuum instead of crunching down on my abs. The problem is I can’t hold it for that long and I could probably do a better job of striking it in the first place, meaning it’s probably not pronounced enough. Any tips you could give me on working on this would be very much appreciated. Thank you

17 min 40 sec
I have a question on calves – whenever I train calves (literally all calf exercises) I feel it much more in my outer calf/shin muscles, I don’t think it is shin splints as it feels much more like muscular fatigue. Any tips on how I can get the tension/load actually going through my calves?

19 min 55 sec
Are you going to do another training program or do a similar style train with hunters program?

My main question is that I saw Marc Lobliner post on his IG that using heel elevation while squatting is “putting a bandaid on a bullet wound” Ben Pakulski commented back saying they should discuss this. What are your thoughts? I squat flat and heel elevated, personally never had a problem getting to depth but now a days I prefer heel elevated to get as much muscle involvement as I can.

29 min 16 sec
I love how you teach and your conceptual approach to training. However, in my opinion, training to failure is not an appropriate prescription for all people. I’m a great example of that. As a premed student in a high stress environment, with high cortisol, and very low normal testosterone levels, I had no way of recovering, let alone growing, from training to failure 4 times per week with very low volume. I’ve found that consistent progressive overload and stopping short of failure is better for someone like me. Is this an idea that you would agree with? And if someone is not training to failure, does that somewhat defeat the purpose of creating accommodating resistance curves?

38 min 57 sec
I wanted to know if you had to prime/activate everything just before the training session when combining say leg/shoulders or should I actvivate first my hips/legs and when I get to shoulders do the same thing?

41 min 38 sec
what’s your opinion about the v-squat machine or power squat machine (hammer strength) for quads training?


Start
Introduction

1 min 05 sec
While doing low incline DB press my left shoulder popped. Based on self diagnosis it’s the rotator cuff but minor. How long do you recommend not benching (if at all) and any exercises to strengthen the cuff?

10 min 46 sec
I was wondering if you offer one on one training to non celebrities/aspiring pro body builders? I’d love to have you massacre my legs haha. I’m sure there’s additional pricing and whatnot; I don’t mind and am willing to do whatever it takes. Thanks for all the great information and workouts. I never thought I’d make such great gains while still being natural haha

13 min 01 sec
What would be the deciding factor for if you should bulk, cut or maintain? I want to get as strong as humanly possible, but I’m not “shredded”. I wouldn’t say I’m fat or anything, but I would say I have a little excess fat all around. What would be a good protocol you’d recommend? Maybe cut and then bulk? Maybe just keep bulking? I’m not sure which would be the best plan considering I want to be extremely strong. And I’m not getting ready for a contest or prep or anything like, so would I still do a high volume workout when trying lose a little extra weight? Or keep doing low volume?

22 min 37 sec
Did the workout builder and see there are standard workouts if you click into the “push, pull” etc. Do you recommend we just pull workouts from your videos (daily workout for example)? Or just continue to do the same workout each chest, back & leg day?

23 min 38 sec
when taking into account strength & resistance curves, your approach makes a lot of sense sequencing like so (correct me if I’m wrong)

A1 – Shortened range (activations)
B1 – Mid range overload
C1 – Lengthened range overload
And then maybe some kind of extended set off C1 or a vHit sequence
This makes sense to me for a lot of body parts, but certain exercises like leg extensions, cable flies, high cable curls etc. I struggle to see where these should be put in! Any advice on this?

32 min 50 sec
love the site and can’t thank you enough for all the knowledge / results.
I work away offshore on oil & gas rigs and some of the gyms out there don’t have a cable machine.
You spoke about making a video on demonstrating a resistance band lying Laterals in place of cables. Is this video available on the site?

Also could you give me your advice on what would be a good replacement exercise that has a profile, that will train the full ROM of the rear delts if cables or peckdecks are unavailable. You mentioned DB Rear Delt Raises will only realy train the end range?

Many thanks and your advice will be much appreciated.

34 min 52 sec
Where did you get your lat pull down attachment from?

35 min 44 sec
wanted to ask for ur opinion on db pullovers. should we keep our ribs expanded or compressed throughout the movement? i came across a post on coacheugene’s instagram and just wanted to cross refer. thanks!


A1 banded standing single leg abduction – 12 reps (each leg)
A2 banded thruster – 15 reps
A3 banded frog thruster – 15 reps
A4 banded thruster – 15 reps
A5 banded squats – 15 reps
A6 kettlebell swings – 40 reps
1-5 rounds total**

**Generally 1-3 rounds after a workout. 3-5 rounds of done on its on day as an extra glute pump session.


Delts
Back 1, Biceps
Chest, delt
Biceps and triceps 1
Legs
Back 2, chest, delt
Biceps and triceps 2

DELTS
https://https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/delts-3/
1 Rack military press
2 lying cuff laterals
3 reverse pec dec
4 DB wrist extension

Back 1, biceps
https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/back-bicep-workout/
1 Deadlifts
2 single arm Nautilus pull down
3 prime extreme row
4 Tbar row (wide grip)
5 single arm DB preacher

Chest, rear delt
https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/chest-rear-delts/
1 Incline DB press
2 high incline reverse band smith
3 Seated roller flys
4 reverse pec dec

Biceps and triceps 1
https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/arms-workout/
1 single arm DB preacher
2 swiss bar close grip chains
3 single are t-bench hammer curls (sub with standing or preacher bench)
4 single arm or cross cable extensions
5 pronation/supination (club/bowling pin)
6 DB wrist curls

Legs
https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/legs-3/
1 seated leg curls
2 heel elevated squat (front currently – rotate with SS bar)
3 lying legs curls
4 hacks
5 walking lunges/prowler

Back 2, Chest, delt
https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/back-workout-032019/
1 Prime rows
2a pull-ups or 2 arm machine pull down
2b nautilus chest press
3 t-bar row (wide grip)
4 Y cuff laterals raises
5 DB wrist extension

Biceps and Triceps 2
https://www.hypertrophycoach.com/hypertrophy-w-o-t-d/arms-4/
1 single arm DB t-bench (sun with preacher bench)
2 chain dips
3 incline cable curls
4 cable cross extension floor
5 pronation/supination (club/bowling pin)
6 DB wrist curls

*add in off days as needed

**The volume (number of working sets) is listed within each workout. AS ALWAYS adjust as needed. I’m an advocate of trying to get more from less, but if you feel like you NEED more volume, your recovery is awesome, just add more.

***Add calves as needed. If they are a priority, add them at the start of any session, at least 2-3 days a week. Search “best calf workout” on the site. That’s the one I do 90% of the time.


Legs and push

CPrep

A1 banded rack deadlifts – 8-10 reps
3-5 sets, 90 seconds between sets

B1 Front squats – 5-6 reps
B2 DB laterals – 10-12 reps
3-5 sets, 1 minute rest between rounds

C1 DB leg curls – 6-10 reps
C2 Close grip push-ups – 10-15 reps
*C3 overhead DB extension – 8-20 reps
3 sets, 1 minute rest between rounds
*only on the 3rd round do I add one set of the overhead extension to finish. Add 1-2 drop sets, totaling close to 20 reps

D1 banded kneeling squats – 15-20 reps
D2 banded abduction – 15-20 reps
D3 banded Bridges – 15-20 reps
D4 banded squats – 15-20 reps
D5 banded abductors – 15-20 reps
D6 banded thrusters – 15-20 reps
D7 banded prone abduction – 15-20 reps
D8 frog thrusters – 15-20 reps
1-3 sets, 1 minute rest between giant set


Option 1
With the absolute most minimal time you could train just once a week with metabolic workouts after the main workouts (you could place the workouts any days really, ideally just 2 days apart):
M: off
T: Workout 1 + Metabolic
W: off
Th: off
F: Workout 2 + Metabolic
S: off
Su: off
Option 2
For best results, I would recommend resistance workouts ideally 3 times a week. This is another sample if you only had 3 days a week to train:
M:Workout 1 + Metabolic
T:
W:Workout 2 + Metabolic
Th:
F: Workout 1 + Metabolic
S:
Su:
(Then the following week start with Workout 2 and alternate the same, etc)
Option 3 
I would say this is my wife’s most common split:
M:Workout 1
T:  Metabolic
W:Workout 2
Th: Metabolic
F: Workout 1
S: Metabolic
Su: off
(She generally just feels better when she does something, and IMO the metabolic work helps with recover, so this is not over training. Sometimes it’s just one time through the metabolic workout which takes her 10ish minutes, if she has more time, she’ll go through it 2-3 times)
Option 4
If your recovery is awesome you could do this as well:
M:Workout 1
T:  Workout 2
W:Metabolic
Th: Workout 1
F: Workout 2
S: Metabolic
Su: Metabolic
*Again, the days of the week are just an example, feel free to shift the days, or even just follow and “every other day” rotation on the workouts. Just knowing workouts will always fall on different days of the week.
**The big takeaway is there is no 100% right or wrong way to structure your split. Be sure you watch the “Start here” videos first to expand on this. But for example, there were a few weeks that I just alternated Workout 1 and Workout 2 back and forth with no off days for as many as 6-8 days straight with my wife. But this was in the very beginning when some of the exercises were with little to no weight, and NOWHERE NEAR failure. So there was not as much recovery required. Basically the more intense the sessions, the more recovery would be needed. There is no way I could do that again with my wife with how she is lifting now. Take home: listen to your body.

CPrep

A1 banded rack deadlifts – 1 set, 8-10 reps, 3 minutes rest before working set

B1 chest supported rows – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

C1 wide grip t-bar row – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

D1 flat DB shrugs – 20 reps
D2 farmers walk – 50 yards(ish)
1 set*

E1 incline DB shrugs – 20 reps
E2 farmers walk – 50 yards(ish)
1 set*

F1 seated DB shrugs – 20 reps
F2 farmers walk – 50 yards(ish)
1 set*

*1 minute rest between supersets

***all sets listed are working sets. Always take as many warmup sets as needed.


CPrep

A1 machine row – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

B1 machine pull down – 6-12 reps
B2 machine chest press – 6-12 reps
2 sets, 2 minutes rest between superset

C1 tbar row (wide grip) – 2 sets*, 8-20+ reps
2 sets, 90 seconds rest between sets
***last set 3 drop sets for 20+ reps total

All sets listed are working sets. Always take as many warmup sets as needed.


A1 Kettlebell swings – 30 reps
A2 Hanging abs – 8-10 reps
A3 Spin bike – 30 seconds
45 seconds rest

B1 Kettlebell swings – 30 reps
B2 Pad crunches – 8-10 reps
B3 Spin bike – 30 seconds
45 seconds rest

C1 Kettlebell swings – 30 reps
C2 Standing calves – 20+ reps
C3 Spin bike – 30 seconds
45 seconds rest


CPrep

A1 deadlifts (conventional or sumo) – 6-8 reps
3-5 sets, 90 seconds between sets

B1 Bridges – 10-12 reps
B2 Chins – 5-8 reps
3-5 sets, 1 minute rest between rounds

C1 walking lunges – 30-40 total steps
C2 DB rows – 10-12 rows
*C3 incline DB curls – 8-20 reps
3 sets, 1 minute rest between rounds
*only on the 3rd round do I add one set of the incline curl to finish. Add 1-2 drop sets, totaling close to 20 reps

D1 banded Bridges – 20 reps
D2 banded squats – 20 reps
D3 banded abductors – 20 reps
1-3 sets, 30 seconds rest between rounds


A personal note from Carole aka Ms Hypertrophy Coach

Diet:

First thing water then and 1 cup black coffee(the bean coffee company organic pumpkin spice ?) around 7am

Meal 1: 2-4oz red meat w/ grass fed butter, or scrambled pastured eggs. Also sometimes I have veggies and/or berries with this meal but not every day. And sometimes this meal gets skipped or eaten a little later in the morning.

Meal 2: usually 1130ish 2-4oz lean meat, veggies, and fat. Usually Nut butter, nuts, or grassfed butter (for veggies) as the fat.

Meal 3 dinner5/530: 2-4oz lean meat, no fat, veggies (light mist of evoo or avo oil if roasting veggies)

Meal 4 usually around 830ish:
3-4 oz lean meat, veggies no fat. Or egg white omelet with veggies(light mist of oil if cooking inlet – but I cook on very low heat in ceramic non-stick pan so not much is needed). And Fiber/greens frozen dessert treat!

*Fat in meals 10g or less
*I use bone broth or water to cook and/or reheat meat a lot of the time if not using fat with the meal
*usually 1 cheat meal a week
*I say 2-4 oz meat because sometimes I just don’t feel like eating that much protein.

——————

On a training day:
Intra workout:
3 scoops Thorne amino complex
1 scoop leucine
1 scoop electrolytes
1 scoop creatine

Post work out:
1 theanine
3g taurine (3 if them)
2 magnesium glycenate
1 magnesium L-threonate

I have vegan protein shake (metagenics chocolate) and 30g carbs post work out. This is between meal 2 and 3, around 2pm Usually have Nature’s Path Organic Chocolare Koala Crisp Cereal, or One Degree Organic Sprouted Ancient Maze Flakes.

——————

A little background since getting back to working out after baby #3:

I know Joe has mentioned my 3rd pregnancy was the most difficult for me, but for those new to following him – I felt very sick (nausea 24/7 and puking usually once a day) and extremely fatigued for the vast majority of this pregnancy. I basically was unable to work out. I was able to control my weight pretty well with eating how I normally do and trying very hard not to over indulge with carbs, treats, etc… but I did eat more carbs than I usually do as this was the only thing that was somewhat tolerable when I felt really sick.

I actually gained the least amount of weight with this pregnancy, but unfortunately had to start over with working out because I lost so much muscle! And everything has not bounced back as quickly as it had the first two pregnancies! My abs are soooo soooo weak, lack of mind/muscle connection, and things like my knees are now bothering me when I never had discomfort there before, and just overall feeling weak and fatigued. But things are definitely getting better and improving, slowly, but surely!!

——————

Regarding how I eat:

I don’t weigh or track every macro, this is general outline of how I try to eat daily, but I don’t follow this perfectly! I try to make meals that follow this as flavorful and tasty as possible! I love working out because it’s fun for me, and I like improving how my body looks, and investing in my health! But I also LOVE, seriously LOVE to eat (and cook)! Joe likes to tell everyone that I have a little fat girl living inside of me; and honestly I could and would eat just as much or more than Joe, so I have to use great self control not too! I am still breastfeeding my 8mo old baby girl so that makes my appetite even more ravenous! Any breastfeeding moms know what I’m talking about…. you know when you eat a full meal and still feel starving ??‍♀ Where I sometimes stray off track with this diet is nuts or nut butter as a snack between meals as I’m so damn hungry all the time, and nuts help satiate my hunger a bit! Or sometimes at dinner I really want red meat or eggs,or when we go to family events or out to dinner this doesn’t always get followed perfectly. But overall I’m happy with the progress I have been making – I am below my pre- pregnancy weight and still making progress and getting stronger with my workouts!

I’ll post some meals I make frequently in the cooking section soon!

———
Vitamins:
-fish oil
-probiotic
-greens powder
-vita C
-garlic
-Calcium/magnesium
-curcumin
-prenatal (this replaces with Multi when not pregnant/breastfeeding
-D3
—zinc
-resveratrol
-cranberry
-glutamine

Top “Health” supplement brand recommendations:
-Metagenics
-Thorne
-Designs for Health
-Poliquin

For more information on supplements see the previous video “Every Supplement I take” here


Start
Wrist cuffs

1 min 01 sec
I‘m 56, 20-25% fat (obliques visible, six pack not…), no PED‘s

So I should first cut?
If so, down to what percentage (or visual “landmarks”) in my age, before going for hypertrophy?

Would you still suggest push/pull/legs/rest, or something like total body workouts (1 exercise per bodypart) every other day?

Diet Planer: carbs from veggies/greens do not count? (Because otherwise how am I supposed to get 5 meals with 0 carbs on rest days?)

3 min 43 sec
Really appreciate all your time and effort… Best 135 bucks I ever spent (bloody Canadian exchange rate..). Just a question about muscle contracting asymmetry. My biggest issue is pecs and legs. I am able to contact my pecs hard on both sides but they contract hard in different areas. I am careful when I’m pressing that my shoulders are depressed and retracted and I am able to get a really good chest workout in. However, when I’m sore, my left is much more sore than my right and they are sore in different areas from side to side. To go along with this, there is quite a noticeable size difference. I did have a posterior labral reconstruction in my left shoulder which robs me off about 15-20 degrees of external rotation. Do you think the reconstruction is part of the prob or is this type of thing usually more neurological?
A second hopefully simple question. Could you touch on common reasons for body fat refusing to drop despite a 10% deficit, working “hard” in the gym (chiding to my definition anyway haha) and cardio 3x wet week? I’m using the macros from the diet planner here. Does 7 lbs up to end of week 3, then jumped 4 to week 6. Yes like my body refuses to go below 220!

9 min 02 sec
Can you talk about how you go about setting your macros when bulking and cutting – like the baseline of protein and fat you start at specifically

14 min 16 sec
For upper back days, what are your thoughts on replacing the conventional deadlift/rack pulls with the trap bar deadlift. I’ve always liked it better due to less stress on the lower back and because I can load more weight. I’m wondering if the upper back/traps development would suffer from it.

16 min 42 sec
I was wondering if any sweeteners like Sucralose and Aspartame that are in zero calorie drinks and syrups, if they spike insulin? I substitute maple syrups, coffee syrups and a lot of drinks for the zero calorie version and just thought I’d ask if it even mattered besides the macros and calories of the regular compared to the zero calorie.

20 min 20 sec
Just wondering what your opinion is on using the ShoulderRok pre training and/or on off days. My main concern is it likely to cause a problem because of the momentum and complexity of the movement plus the range of motion needed is possibly outside of my active range. I have one that someone gave me as a gift because I have had shoulder problems in the past and they thought it might help me. The shoulder problems/pain has been minimized greatly mainly by strengthening my upper back and most importantly finding the exercises that fit my body instead of forcing my body into exercises that go outside my active ROM like the overhead press. Thanks in advance for your input or if the is too individual or out of your wheelhouse I totally understand.

21 min 58 sec
My split is
Push
Pull
Lower
Delts (weakness)
Off
Repeat
My question is, can I substitute other push or pull workouts from your workout section, or is it important that I for the 6 weeks do the same workouts that the program builder put together?

24 min 10 sec
Thanks on the reply regarding volume as an enchanced lifter. Follow up to that. Do u reckon if i do a split like the one u gave to Hunter i could be able to do both AM/PM sessions with it? Meaning doing back thickness in the AM and then arms/hams in the PM. Or is that gonna catch up to me when i dont have the extra 24 hours of recovery between first back day and 2nd. If the answer is “depends on your recovery”, then how do i know if im recovered enough to do that? is it like if im not sore and mentally up for it well then im good to go or how do u know whethere or not you’re recovered enough?

With regards to hunters split i can see which/when exercises he is doing. Usually when you put up videos u put a description looking like this:
B1 Seated leg curls – 8-10 reps, 3 sets, 2 minutes rest between sets
Any chance that u could list it for each workout that hunter is doing aswell? or instruct him in doing so, if that’s how you’re gonna do it. It would be extremely helpful since im having a hardtime figuring out what rep ranges he is doing on chest day for an example. The videos are extremely entertaining but imo missing that last bit to be as educational as possible

30 min 09 sec
Hey, Joe. I’m about to start a “cut” phase…and I’m going to incorporate fat burners during my dieting/cycling calories downward/carb cycling.. Double Tap and Silencer from RedCon1. When would be the best and worst times to utilize them?

34 min 47 sec
i forgot to ask while talking about hunters split aswell. Usually when you create a workout it contains activations, a few main exercises and some vHIT.. I like how the workouts have the meat and potato stuff and the metabolik pump. The workouts that u created for hunter doesnt have that? is that because of the inflammation he currently have in his shoulder?

36 min 30 sec
Previously you have mentioned that for quads you usually focus your training on the fully lengthened and mid ranges of the movements with the exception of leg extensions, where you train the fully shortened position as well. Does that mean that on a machine like the Prime leg extension (where you can adjust which part should be the most challanging) you select the end range (shortened range) to be the heaviest? Or you still keep the lengthened range the heaviest and only fully extend the knee as an added bonus?

38 min 19 sec
How much sleep is enough, and can you sleep too much/too long?

39 min 26 sec
Currently tweaking my program, I am looking for a good rowing motion to target the Lats, my gym has shitty machines overall (like upward pendulum type of nonsense etc…) and I was thinking about integrating a one arm row with a landmine to benefit from the improved profile over a standard DB Row
Do you have any ideas on how to setup something to get something to brace on?

41 min 12 sec
Work has been extra demanding lately and it is taking me 4-5 days to recover from workouts. On those days, would you recommend going to the gym for any reason? Perhaps just anabolic, relaxing walks, increase calories? Thanks

42 min 39 sec
Where do you stand on feeder sets the day after your workout. For example i do my full back workout on monday, then next day i do something like 4 sets of 25 with 2 dumbell row. Can this training style help u speed up recovery and increase your muscle growth, symetry.

45 min 45 sec
You mentioned that your mum has RA but trains with it. Does your mother have a website or somewhere I could reach her regarding how to handle RA as I have it too but I refuse to take “normal” medication cause of all the side effects I get from them.
And also you talked about anti-inflammatories being not good. I take them as supplements for the same issue. Even those can interfere?
The order of the workout days what the planner gives are they interchangeable? So push-pull-lower to push-lower-pull for example?

47 min 10 sec
is there a reason to not band front squats ? I ask because I’ve not seen you band that particular exercise and am doing so at the moment due to not having access to a safety bar.

47 min 58 sec
do you hace a recommendation for breathing during exercise considering CO2 elimination, oxygen saturation curve, VO2 max/respiratory compensation point and especially mouth vs nose breathing.


Start
What do u think about anavar for losing some fat and get shape?
I am taking 20mg am pre workout and 10mg pm.
I am taking legalon as well 150mg×3 times
What do think? my objective is drop my bed from 22% to 16% although i am struggling to lose fat even with regular diet and workout including ardio

11 min 25 sec
When you’re training Dave, it seems like you always have a lot more volume (5 sets for some exercises) compared to like Hunter and for yourself. What is the reason for that?

14 min 06 sec
another question regarding accommodating resistance. According to Dr. Jacob Wilson you should periodize the use of bands/chains in order to maximize hypertrophy any thoughts on that?

23 min 57 sec
post workout, would you recommend a protein shake immediately, and then maybe an hour or two later a meal with antioxidants and greens? also, when would taurine and creatine be implemented

25 min 35 sec
I notice in your Swiss bar press you keep a ~75 degree position vs a strict 90 degrees. Is this cue done with the purpose of keeping tension on the anterior delt throughout the movement?

27 min 20 sec
Looking for some nutrition advice. I’m in the Marine Corps and my new platoon has training every morning. These are usually some kind of distance run, swim, or circuit course of some kind (I never eat anything before these group sessions). Then I do my own training during my lunch break but I’ve been having a hard time getting my nutrition right on this new schedule. My schedule looks like this:

6:00-7:00 platoon workout

7:30-11:00 work

11:00-1:00 weight training

Based on your advice, about a year ago I started doing a low-zero carb/high fat/moderate-high protein meal for breakfast which was also my preworkout meal. It was an adjustment but once I started doing it I realized how much better my training was doing that.

My questions are:

1. How would you recommend setting up my nutrition on this schedule?

2. Would you still recommend a zero carb/high fat preworkout meal even though I’ve already done one training session earlier in the day?

3. If you recommend having carbs between the two sessions do you still think I should have a high-glycemic carb drink after my weight training (I currently use Vitargo)?

30 min 20 sec
I tend to struggle with pull workouts…
as the pull ups and pulldown tend to start to give me issue on my left elbow and I feel some sort of golfer elbow developing….
I tried different grips positions… but still painful
I started with the pull ups and I am now on pull down with lighter weight as time go to stay away from the pain I also had to drop the weight on biceps exercises …
I have been concentrating on alignment and really tried to work on mind/ muscle connections…
Is there any pull exercises better or easier on golfer elbows?
And same for biceps exercises?

32 min 48 sec
Any suggestions for lower back stiffness and pain? It takes forever for me to get loose from stretching my hamstrings

34 min 37 sec
I’ve been training for about 4.5 years now, but I really started focusing on just lifting in the past year since I was a wrestler and losing a considerable amount of weight with very dumb ways made it hard to build any appreciable muscle. Now that I’m starting to get into it, I feel like I have the training portion really dialed in. I could get better sleep but I know how to do that, so that isn’t my issue. My biggest issue is diet. I know very little about what to eat and a lot of the terms that go along with getting the best results which gets me confused. I know there’s things like inflammation, GI tract health, and whether I should eat white meat or dark meat, and if I can eat fruit or not and a lot of other things. I’m not exactly sure what it all means and if I should even be worried. I’m wondering if there was a way you could make a template that puts people in a category of if they should gain weight or lose weight and explain what foods I should avoid or eat more of. I hope that explains my dilemma a bit better. I guess an easier way to say it is that I would like to get as big and as strong as humanly possible and I feel like the main thing holding me back is my diet. If there is a way you can explain my ridiculously long question with a good answer it would be much appreciated, thank you!

38 min 57 sec
How should you optimally progress DB preacher curl? It fells like there is a limit to how much you can progress weight, curling anything above 60 lbs-ish seems unrealistic for most people, plus each increment on many DBs makes for a significant increase in load.

43 min 35 sec
I have different lower back issues with herniated and ruptured discs in the lumbar area. I have been starting to incorporate dead lifts and rack pulls top strengthen the area. on rack pulls if the rack is set below my knee there I can work that area but not enough load to tax my upper back. what would your thoughts be on doing 2 working sets with the rank set at the top of the knee where I can work heavier without pain then two sets with the rack below the knee for strengthening around the weakness? if that is to specific completely understand and thank you.


Start
I’m thinking of setting up a home gym. I hate the atmosphere at the gyms in my area and hate having to talk to people because it ruins my workouts. If you had to set up a home gym from scratch what equipment would you recommend getting?

12 min 30 sec
With the lying cable cuff lateral raises. I want to buy them but cant find them online. Can someone help me out?

13 min 02 sec
Lately more research and articles(not from you) coming out saying that caffeine and/or energy drinks is bad for you and so on. I would love to hear your opinion on that subject. I usually take one tab of mental trigger and maybe 2 cups of black coffee every day.

20 min 15 sec
Hi joe! Did an upper/lower split last year with progressive overload style, low volume, higher frequency and high intensity. Did

Lower
Upper
Rest
Lower
Rest
Upper

Rest and REPEAT… Did Biceps with legs after my workout and felt like I could not put the effort into my biceps sets that I wanted to, because of heavy compounds work for legs earlier in the session had me tanked. Then moved onto a Legs, Push, Rest, Pull, Rest, Repeat. Did good progress with both. But Arms is something that is lacking/lagging for me, so I consider adding an arm day. Thought on this split?

Lower, Upper, Rest, Lower, Arms, Rest, Upper, Rest, Repeat, for improving my arms. And following Mentzer, Arthur jones style with progressive overload, lower volume, high intensity, higher frequency. Thanks!

22 min 18 sec
I started lifting about a month ago, so I am still working on my form. One day while I was doing conventional deadlifts as part of your program for leg day, my boyfriend noticed that I was not bending my knees enough (essentially I was using RDL form for conventional). After taking his advice, I noticed that I can’t lift as much (which makes sense since people can sometimes lift more with improper form) but when I bend my knees more to keep my shoulders above my hips instead of parallel it feels more like a squat and it hurts my left glute. I’m not sure if the pain is a workout pain or a pain pain but I’ve never felt it before and it’s not like the pain I would feel when doing exercises like hip thrusts, bridges, etc. I was wondering what cues I should think about to help with this/what might be causing this feeling?

P. S. I noticed you changed the diet plan. I like how it is more in depth and tailors toward if people want to maintain/go high-carb/go high-fat. The only thing is that as a college student, it will be difficult for me to eat so many meals per day, and I wish there was an option to pick the number of meals like before.

28 min 40 sec
When doing a compound movement, do you focus on contracting every muscle at once, or do you focus on the ‘primary’ target muscle only, or something in between?

For example on a Dumbbell overhead press, I’m really only focusing on contracting my front delts and my elbow path and try to essentially not use my triceps at all. But should I also be focusing on contracting my triceps to some extent too?

Same concept for use of glutes on a quad-dominant hack squat? If I’m aiming for maximum quad development, Should I just be focussed on ‘doing a leg extension’ with my quads in a hack, or should my focus be on contracting my glutes too (which may allow me to put more weight on the machine and therefore increase overall intensity?)

Or should this change depending on training phase/goal? I.e during your Recovery phase I think you deliberately use pecs + front delts + triceps on a dip exercise as part of goal to reduce overall volume.

40 min 25 sec
How do you feel about fast carbs (sugars) during the day, other than post-workout?


CPrep (in between sets of leg curls and squats)

A1 seated leg curls – 2 sets, 6-10 reps, 2 minutes rest before top set

B1 heel elevated front squat (or safety bar squat) – 1 set, 5-8 reps, 3 minutes rest before top set

C1 lying leg curl – 5-8 reps
C2 reverse band hacks – 8-12 reps
2 sets, 3 minutes rest between rounds

D1 prowler/sled pushed – 2 sets, each set 60-90 seconds***, 2 minutes between sets
***should be nearing muscular failure on the last steps

*All Sets listed are working sets. Always take as many warmup sets as needed.


CPrep

A1 barbell military press – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

B1 lying cuff lateral – 2 sets, 10-20 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

C1 reverse pec dec – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets***

***C2 incline ez bar front raise – 20 reps
C3 machine shoulder press – 20 reps
C4 banded face pull – 20 reps
1-3 sets

****all sets listed are working sets. Always take as many warmup sets as needed.


CPrep

A1 Watson/preacher curls – 6-12 reps
A2 chain/banded dips – 6-12 reps
2 sets, 90 seconds rest before top sets

B1 cable cross press down – 10reps***
B2 incline cable curls – 10reps***
3 sets total***

***on last set, add one drop set, plus 30 second iso holds on each set of the drop


01. Fingers
02. Wrists
03. Elbows
04. GH (straight arm)
05. GH (bent 45 degrees)
06. Scapula circles
07. Windmill reaches
08. Protraction/retraction-ex/in rotation
09. Neck circles
10. Cat/cow
11. Kneeling oblique
12. TVA/bracing breathing
13. Bracing/glute bridge
14. Hip in/ex
15. Knee bend flex
16. Knee straight flex
17. Prone knee flex/extend
18. Ankle circles
19. Ankle pronation/supination
20. Toe points/toes to nose
21. Toe spread
22. Toe flex extend
23. Pinky toe
24. Big toe


CPrep

A1 low incline DB press – 1 sets, 6-8 reps, 3 minutes rest before working set

B1 high incline reverse band smith – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

C1 foam roller cable fly – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets***

*(triple set done right after 2nd/last working set of cable flys)
D1 DB floor flys – 10-12 reps
D2 DB floor press – 10-15+ reps
D3 smith bottom to top pushups – 4-5 drops, reps to failure at each
1-3 rounds, 2 minutes rest between rounds

E1 reverse pec dec – 1 sets, 6-20 reps*** 2 minutes rest before working set
***20+ reps drop set off of working set

**all sets listed are working sets. Take as many warmup sets as needed.


CPREP

A1 Deadlifts – 1 set, 5-8 reps, 3 minutes rest before working set

B1 single arm pull down – 2 sets, 6-12 reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets

C1 chest supported row – 2 sets, 6-20*** reps, 2 minutes rest before working sets
***second working set is 20+ reps

*all sets listed are working sets. Always take as many warmup sets as needed.