This is some quick advice in regards to the Temple of Iron and without further ado I will get straight into it.
So first and foremost, I've talked about many of these things before but I have a little five point list that I will take you through.
So first and foremost what sort of exercises should you base your schedule upon?
Yes, the heavy compound movements which I have mentioned on numerous occasions.
So first and foremost the bench press, then the squats, deadlifts, military press or push press, then rows.
Then also you can incorporate some weighted chins or pull-ups if you want as well.
Then of course you can add in smaller complementary exercises.
But you know it breaks my heart when I go into the gym.
I see young skinnier guys who are spending their entire session focusing on various biceps curls.
Instead of you know putting on plates on the squats and deadlifts.
So keep those exercises at the center of everything you do then at the end of the session you can add in some biceps curls or some lateral raises or something else but those should be your base.
And that also brings me into my second point which is the focus on progression.
If you don't force your body to adapt to a heavier workload it will not do so and you will remain at your same size because if you don't force your body then it's just unnecessary for it to put on some size.
But if you several times a week force it to get bigger and stronger and more durable yeah it will adapt.
So how do you do it?
Yes you follow a schedule, you follow a progression plan, you try to get stronger in the aforementioned exercises.
So if you want to have a bigger chest, yeah, get stronger in the bench press.
If you want to have an overall bigger and stronger physique, focus on deadlifts and squats.
Bigger shoulders, push press.
So that's the way forward if you want to put on some size.
You have to approach it in like a math formula.
You know you have structured your schedule and then you follow it so that you add either repetitions or some weight every week.
So think about it in terms of a calculation.
Think about it in terms of forcing your body to grow and disregard everything else.
If you're unnatural, that's the only thing you should think about.
Continuously getting stronger.
And then someone might say, oh, I don't really care about how strong I am.
I just want to look good and have a lot of muscle.
But again, if you're unnatural, the only way for you to get bigger and aesthetic is to get stronger.
And that also brings me into my third point.
This is very important for naturals who are seeking optimal muscle gains and that is to train everything at least twice a week.
And that is because of the length of the muscle protein synthesis, which is shorter for a natural and longer for someone who partakes in dark side supplements.
So if you are natural like me, you should hit every muscle group at least twice a week to optimize your gains.
Now I don't train this way at the moment because I'm focusing on something else for the autumn, but I will keep you all updated on that later on.
But anyway, keep that in mind if you're unnatural.
Try to hit everything twice a week.
Point number four, make sure that you sleep enough to recover and make sure to eat enough.
to be able to perform and progress.
So sleeping, I've talked about it on numerous occasions before because it's the number one health thing you can do to optimize your overall well-being as a human and it makes such a difference especially when we're talking about performance in the gym, progression in the gym and building muscle.
When you are in the gym and you force your muscle to grow, you break down the muscle during the night and rest, the body will repair and rebuild it even stronger so it adapts to the workload.
So keep that in mind.
If you don't sleep well enough, your body will not have the optimal hours to rebuild your body.
And if you don't sleep well enough, it's very hard for you to progress in the basic compound exercises.
So if you are optimally speaking, you are at near your limit all the time in bench press for example or deadlifts.
Yeah, for you to progress then it needs to be you need to sleep enough.
If you don't sleep enough there is no way you will be able to perform and if you can perform and even though you have slept poorly you should probably increase the weights because it's not challenging enough.
So sleep super important.
It's also important for your hormonal level which in turn also determines your muscle building and your performance in the gym.
And in regards to food view it as a means to perform.
You increase your amount of carbohydrates so you can perform in the bench press for example or in the squats for example.
So view it in that way.
If you're stalling if you think it gets really heavy, okay increase the amount of food.
So if things start getting heavy increase the amount of food especially carbohydrates.
Then point number five train with passion and with joy.
So something else you can see is guys being in the gym.
They view it as a chore, they view it as something they have to just push through, and sure, some days it is.
But if you think about it this way, you are healthy, you have no injuries, you have, you know, two legs, two arms, and you don't have anything impeding your progression upwards and onwards.
What a luxury that is.
What a luxury it is for you to be able to go to a gym putting on some size.
So instead of viewing it as some sort of horrible chore that needs to be done, you can also view it as a great opportunity to get better.
Not everyone has the luxury, and if you want to be humble be as humble as I am you can use this meditation technique that you just envision, focus on what, the things you're grateful for, and then focus on how things Would be if you didn't have a fully functioning body, and then you will be much more appreciative of the things you have.
And in doing so, you will also appreciate the things you can do with the things you have.
So, keep that in mind when you don't feel like training, view it as a luxury.
Then, of course, also, you should make it into something epic.
It's just not about going in to do a few sets of squats, it's an epic endeavor.
So, put on some good music, you can listen to my pre-workout list.
I will link below on Spotify.
Good stuff, if I may be so bold.
So, anyway, those are just some pointers I thought to share with you.
And of course, if you want more information about all of this sort of stuff, you can read more in my book Dauntless, which you can get in the link below, along with this fine shirt and some other epic garments.
So, anyway, I hope training treats you well and you treat training well during the autumn.
