1. Do I get new workout every week, or does each program last an entire month? 

 

Each program is meant to be followed for four consecutive weeks. Try to go up on the first couple of exercises each day throughout the month, as these tend to be the bigger movements that work more overall muscle. You can achieve this by performing more reps with the same load or using greater loads for the same number of reps. Don't try to set PRs on every exercise every week, though. Towards the end of the workouts, strive more for quality than quantity; you don’t have to set PRs to highly activate the muscles and produce an adaptive stimulus.  

 

After four weeks, you will have the opportunity to complete the follow-up form (which should be auto-emailed to you) and receive an updated program.  

 

2. These workouts are too easy. Am I too advanced for them? 

 

Let’s say one of my workouts calls for just 12 total sets. Say I have you doing 3 sets of hip thrusts, 3 sets of push-ups, 3 sets of goblet squats, and 3 sets of chin ups. Seems pretty easy, right? 

 

Now, say I have my 125 lb friend Hattie do this workout. She hits the following numbers (in lbs):

 

Hip thrust 275 x 15, 295 x 10, 315 x 5

Push-up 30, 25, 20

Goblet squat 80 x 20, 90 x 15, 100 x 10

Chin up 15, 12, 10

 

Would you tell her that her workout was too easy? 

 

Most people don’t push know how to push themselves hard in the gym and never come close to reaching their full potential. My programs are based on setting PRs. At first, you may find these workouts to be easy. But after a few months of gaining strength, you won’t be thinking this anymore. This program teaches you how to train with proper intensity. If you find these workouts to be easy, chances are you’re doing a lot of “junk volume” and not pushing your sets with sufficient effort. You’ve “trained” your body to train this way, but you will quickly adapt and become very good at wiping yourself out with lower volume workouts. 

 

Reaching advanced levels of strength makes the simplest of programs hard. 

 

Go to the testimonials section of my blog. There are actually two different pages. Take some time to scroll up and down both of them. Most of these people did Strong Curves or something similar. Hopefully this will allow you to trust in my ability to help you attain your goals. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know what works best. 

 

3. I’m used to doing much more volume. How will I make progress on this program? 

 

Many lifters, especially female lifters, do too much volume. Research has confirmed that there’s a “sweet spot” of volume, with too little or too much being suboptimal for muscular adaptations. It’s a common misconception that the more they exercise, the better results they’ll see, when this is not the case. In 25 years of lifting and 20 years of personal training, I’ve learned that the sweet spot for most lifters is around 12-20 sets per day of lifting, but obviously, many factors interact to determine this amount of volume, including exercise selection, load, effort, frequency, fitness level, age, and especially genetics. At any rate, I have been very successful as a personal trainer by avoiding the crazy high volume regimens and instead focusing on moderate volume protocols with the goal of gaining strength and setting PRs over time. Many of my clients saw immediate, rapid progress when they started training with me and cut back on the amount of exercises and sets they were doing. 

 

4. How should I warm-up? 

 

Warm-ups are highly individual in that many lifters require just 5 minutes of general warm-up to be ready to start the session, while some others can require 45 minutes. Many of my clients do around 10 reps of lunges, goblet squats, back extensions or DB stiff-legged deadlifts, high knees or rectus femoris stretches, leg swings or lateral band walks, and possibly some foam rolling or SMR, which takes around 5 minutes. Some of my male powerlifting friends who are all banged up take much longer to feel ready. 

 

If it’s early in the day and/or cold, you require a bit more warming up than if it’s later in the day and/or warm. And some days you’ll need more or less time depending on how you feel in terms of soreness, stiffness/tightness, etc. Make sure you do some form of general warm-up before jumping into your specific warm-up sets. 

 

5. How many warm-up sets should I do? 

 

It depends. The number of warm-up sets will depend on how you feel on that particular day, on the exercise you’re performing, on the order of the exercise within the session, on your strength and fitness level, on the set and rep scheme you’re performing, and on your individual physiology. 

 

If I’m warming up for squats as the first exercise of the day, I take quite a while to get into it. I may hit two sets of 10 bodyweight squats and then do 135 for 3 reps, then 225 for 2 reps, then 275 for 1 rep, then 315 for 1 rep, then 365 for 1 rep, then I’m ready to go. 

 

For deadlifts, I might perform 3 sets of 10 bodyweight squats prior to pulling, then go straight to 315 for 1-3 reps, then 405 for 1 rep, then 495 for 1 rep, then I’m ready to go. 

 

For hip thrusts, I will perform a couple of sets of 10 bodyweight squats and then jump into 315 for 3 reps, then 495 for 1 rep, then I’m ready to go. 

 

Let’s say I’m performing squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts all in the same workout. I will do the squat warm-up I mentioned above and do my squat sets. But then I’m primed and warm, so I’ll only do 1 warm-up set for deadlifts with 405 for 1 rep. After my deadlifts, I can go right into my hip thrust sets without doing any specific warm-up sets.

 

I never need any warm-up sets when I’m performing rows. For chin ups, I will do a couple of sets of lat pulldowns and then hang from the pull-up bar prior to performing my sets. For bench press, I take more time warming up. I do the bar or 5 reps, then 135 for 5 reps, then 225 for 2-3 reps, then 275 for 1 rep, then I’m ready to go. For “smaller” lifts performed later in the session, I won’t do any warm-up sets and will jump right into my work sets. 

 

Hopefully this gives you some insight as to how individualized warming up can be. Tweak this to suit your body and pay attention when you train so you can make proper adjustments over time. 

 

6. Are these programs periodized? How do I properly deload on your programs?

 

Yes, my system is strategic and methodical. It took many years of honing to figure out, and I’m happy to have greatly improved upon it over my 20 year personal training career. Your first week of each program is a deload week. This doesn’t mean you take the week off; it means that you don’t push it that hard and focus on practicing the lifts and figuring out what loads you’ll be using for the following week. In general, your deload weeks will be around 50-60% as hard as the last week in the program. So week one, think 50-60%, week two, think 70-80%, week three, think 80-90% and week four, think 90-100%. 

 

How is this done, specifically? Well, you don’t have to overthink it. On week one, just don’t push your sets that hard, meaning don’t go as close to failure on your sets. This doesn’t mean that on week one you can’t do anything hard, but use common sense. Deadlifts drain you more than any lift, so definitely don’t do anything hard on deadlifts on week one. Squats and hip thrusts and bench and chins aren’t quite as hard, so you can push these a bit harder, but still nothing to failure. Single joint lifts like lateral raises, curls, and lateral band walks don’t take much out of you, so you can go hard on these exercises. 

 

Then on week two, you can do a more typical workout, but without going to failure on anything. On week three, go to failure and push it hard, but leave some room in the tank. On week four, crush it and go for PRs – try to set some records. 

 

Please do not write deloads off as “wimpy.” Too many lifters fail to be strategic in their training, fail to utilize self-control, and they never end up seeing results. Deloads accomplish several key things – they allow hormones and neurotransmitters to normalize, they allow nagging little injuries to repair, and they provide a psychological reprieve, all while you practice your technique get the muscles prepare the body for future gains. 

 

7. I want more volume for a certain bodypart. Can I add in some additional stuff?

 

Sure, just don’t overdo it. In all of my programs, I give my clients 10 minutes of “free-time” at the end of each workout to add in some things they feel they need more of. Let’s say you feel you could use some more delt work in your program. At the end of one of the training sessions during the week, you could bust out a couple of sets of lateral raises, front raises, and rear delt raises. Just don’t exceed the 10-minute window as that limit will prevent you from doing too much and hampering recovery. 

 

8. Can I add in a burnout set after my big lifts? 

 

Let’s say my program calls for 3 sets of 6 reps. Say you do 155 lbs for 6 reps on all 3 sets. After you finish, you may want to lower the weight down to 95 lbs and “burn out” for reps. This is tricky. On the one hand, it’ll give you a better workout on the spot. You’ll fatigue your muscles and feel the burn. However, take a step back and consider the entire week of training. If I have you squatting 3 times per week and you add in extra sets of squats, this will prevent you from recovering for the following session. 

 

Always look at the big picture when making training decisions and veering from the plan. It is vital to modify the program from time to time, but be more cautious when adding to the program than when subtracting from the program. 

 

9. Can I throw in extra workouts into your program? 

 

In general, no. Definitely don’t do any additional big lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, chins ups, military press, and even heavier hip thrusts. But if you want to throw in some extra glute or maybe even some extra delt work, you could pull this off as long as you don’t do anything crazy. For example, you could do certainly add in session once or twice per week consisting of a few sets of bridges or frog pumps, delt raises, lateral band walks, and rear delt raises. That wouldn’t detract from the following day’s training session. Always consider your next training sessions and make sure you’re recovered for them. You won’t make progress if you don’t gain strength, and you won’t gain strength if you aren’t recovered from your workouts. 

 

10. Can I combine this with another program? 

 

Absolutely not. If I thought you needed more training, I’d program it for you. I program what I believe to be optimal; if you add in more, you’ll prevent me from helping you progress. 

 

11. Is it okay if I do some yoga on the side, or some additional conditioning work? 

 

See what I’ve written above. If it’s going to negatively impact your later training sessions in the week, then don’t do it. But if it won’t, then go ahead and add it in. There are different types of yoga, with some being more hardcore than others, so try to stick to the relaxing yoga instead of the intense yoga. And I prefer walking over HIIT and any intense conditioning work, but just mind your upcoming training sessions. Maybe you find that you can do incline treadmill, cycling, kettlebell swings, or sled pushes without getting sore or fatigued, but hiking, stairmaster, plyos, and sprinting kicks your butt and prevents you from making strength gains. 

 

12. How much cardio should I do? 

 

If you like doing cardio, you can and should add some in, but know that it can interfere with your training sessions. This is actually debated in the research (whether or not endurance training interferes with strength training), but just use common sense. You’ll never be your best at running marathons and your strongest at the same time. Obviously, there’s a point where the body cannot become the best it can be at one thing if you’re giving it mixed signals by telling it to be good at two opposing things. So don’t go crazy on the cardio. Do “relaxing” cardio sessions where you’re not striving for records and pushing it too hard. Jogging interferes with muscular adaptations more so than cycling and walking. If you don’t like cardio and are active in your daily life, don’t feel compelled to do much of it at all. Your heart will be healthy from all the walking and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT – such as cleaning the house, running errands) and lifting. 

 

I would prefer for you to limit your cardio to three 30 min sessions per week, but sometimes you may want to go for that big hike or compete in something. If and when that happens, adjust your training program. Don’t go for a deadlift PR the day after performing a 12-mile obstacle race – it won’t happen! 

 

You may be wondering at this point, but how can I lose body fat without doing tons of cardio? By eating properly and gaining strength. Cardio is overrated for weight loss. 

 

13. Is it okay if I exercise every day? 

 

This is tricky. Yes, we should all move around daily for health purposes. Most of the world is too sedentary and falling far short on exercise for optimal health. However, many of you (the people I’ll be working with and designing programs for) are on the opposite side of the spectrum. When you strive for PRs and train the way we do, it’s a different kind of training that’s recommended by health and fitness organizations. Walking, jogging, general cardio, circuit training, and lifting weights the way most people do isn’t too intense. These activities can and should be carried out every day if there’s no progressive component. However, progressive resistance training and HIIT are stressful to the system, and they can easily throw off your physiology if you don’t take days off from exercising and periodize your training (we do this with our deload and progressive system). 

 

I can’t tell you how many bikini competitors I’ve worked with who were unhealthy with their relationships with exercise (and food for that matter). They were obsessed with training and felt guilty and anxious to the point where they could not take a day off from training. This is unfortunate, as the body needs off days to recover. 

 

When you lift heavy, you not only create microlesions in the muscles, but you also create microdamage to tendons, ligaments, and fascia. You also tax your brain. 

 

Psychologically speaking, how many lifting sessions per year can you truly get fully aroused for? Definitely not 365. Probably more like 52. This implies that many of your sessions will be middle of the road, some will kick ass, and others will outright suck. That’s the way the body works. But you mustn’t throw your body out of whack in terms of hormonal milieu if you want to reach your full potential. 

 

Have self-control and stick to a strategy. You’ll see better results if you take at least one day off per week from exercising altogether. Many people see great results when they lift heavy just 2-3 days per week. You want to do what’s optimal for your body’s physiology, not what your brain has fooled you into doing. 

 

14. How long should I rest in between sets? 

 

Rest 3 minutes with “big” lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, chins ups, and hip thrusts. When going for a big PR, you may even want to rest more than 3 minutes. When performing “medium” lifts like rows, push-ups, and back extensions, rest 2 minutes in between sets. “Small” lifts like curls and tricep extensions and lateral raises and lateral band walks may only require 1 minute of rest. But don’t feel the need to use a stopwatch and be super strict with rest times; research has shown that going by feel leads to the best results. If you listen to your body, you’ll know when you’re recovered and ready for the next set. 

 

15. What tempo should I utilize? 

 

Tempo refers to the cadence you use when lifting. Sometimes you’ll see things like 4/1/2/0 which means that you’d lower the weight for a count of 4, pause for a second, lift the weight for a count of 2, then repeat with no pause in between reps. Don’t think about tempo when you lift, it just throws you off. The only time I want you to pay attention to tempo is when you’re performing pause reps or accentuated eccentrics. In that case, I’ll spell it out for you and tell you what to do. All other times, just lift. Don’t be super slow with your reps; you want an explosive concentric/rising contraction and a controlled eccentric/lowering contraction. You always want to control the weight and lift in a smooth manner. Some exercises have more range of motion and will therefore take longer to carry out than others. 

 

16. Is it okay if I superset the workout or perform as a circuit? 

 

Sometimes it’s okay to superset. This means that you can do an exercise and then immediately move into the next exercise and then rest. Sometimes it will speed up the workout without interfering with performance. Just make sure that if you do superset, you pick noncompeting exercises. For example, squats and bench press are okay to superset, or hip thrusts and rows. But you wouldn’t want to do this for deadlifts and chins, since both use the lats a lot. Or for military press and dips, since both utilize the triceps. 

 

As for making the workout into a circuit (performing one exercise after another with minimal rest), do not do this. You will not build muscle this way. You need to rest in between sets in order to have productive sets, and you need to get comfortable with resting (know that it’s important in order to see results). Sometimes it’s okay to do a glute training circuit as a separate workout, but not for the prescribed main workouts I send you. 

 

17. What about a cool down? 

 

If you like performing a “cool down” activity like stretching or walking, then go ahead and do it. But it’s not necessary. Your body cools down just fine when you stop training. 

 

18. I didn’t set any PRs this month and am very frustrated. Does this mean it’s not working? 

 

No, it does not. It’s a normal phenomenon with adaptation. The body works in waves. Progress is never, ever linear. Not for strength, not for weight loss, not for fat loss, and not for muscle growth. Get comfortable with stagnation periods and know that it’s just part of the iron game. 

 

19. I don’t feel a certain exercise working. Should I substitute it or keep at it? 

 

Well, some exercises you may not “feel” in any one area. For example, I don’t really know where I “feel” deadlifts the most; they’re just hard all over. Moreover, I feel squats mostly in my quads, and when I hip thrust heavy, I feel my quads and hammies almost as much as my glutes. Yet I still perform all of these because I know that getting stronger at the big lifts makes me more muscular. 

 

That said, never stick with an exercise just because you think you have to. If something doesn’t feel right, then nix it. Maybe you can come back to it later, or maybe you never do. No exercise is mandatory to perform for results. There are plenty of great exercises to go around. When you ditch an exercise, do something in its place that works similar muscles and/or involves a similar pattern. 

 

20. How do I perform a certain exercise you prescribed? 

 

Check out the exercise library on my website (password: PP123). I will do my best to showcase every exercise I prescribe. 

 

21. I’ll be traveling during some of the month. What should I do? 

 

First, enjoy your trip. Don’t stress out about your workouts. You can maintain strength very easily, and you can maintain muscle even easier. Try to stay active and walk a lot. This will prevent you from gaining weight, as most people eat more when away (the assumption here is that you’re not trying to gain weight, of course). If you can get to a gym, great. Do as much of the prescribed workout as possible, and make substitutions when needed. 

 

If you can’t access a gym, do bodyweight workouts consisting of bodyweight squats, push-ups, Bulgarian split squats, lunges, frog pumps, single leg hip thrusts, frog reverse hypers, side lying hip raises, and extended range side lying hip abduction. If you have someone that can hold onto your ankles, do Nordic ham curls and back extensions. You can also do partner rows if that person is strong enough to hold you up. If you have mini-bands, do various lateral band glute exercises. 

 

Ideally, you’ll be able to make it into the gym at least one day per week. This will allow you to maintain your strength and coordination on the lifts.  You can do quick 20-min bodyweight workouts 3-5 days per week to keep your muscles primed. If you want to just enjoy your trip and avoid exercise altogether, try to have this week come right after a very hard week of training; this is known as functional overreaching. In this case, you’re purposely/strategically overdoing it, knowing that you’ll have some time off for the body to repair and supercompensate. 

 

22. How much should I progress each week?

 

This is impossible to say. It depends on gender, age, current strength and fitness levels, genetics, and the exercise in question. But what I can tell you is that you won’t be able to increase 10 lbs per week. You won’t be able to increase most lifts 5 lbs per month for that matter. Think about it. This would equate to 60 lbs per year. This can happen with big lifts like squats and deadlifts and hip thrusts for your first year or two of training, but it won’t continue indefinitely. If so, you’d be superman within a decade. You also won’t get 1 more rep each week with the same weight. You won’t be able to get 1 more rep per month on most lifts. 

 

Consider chin ups. Achieving 10 chin ups is very hard and is a feat that many people never achieve – even by lifers who have been training for years. The rate of improvement is lackluster with chins, but with hip thrusts, it’s not so bad. You could easily start out with 135 lbs for 10 reps and end up hitting 30 reps within a few months of training, but eventually you’ll hit a plateau. 

 

Just try to bump things up gradually over time. Five more lbs here, 1 more rep there. If you’re doing 3 sets of an exercise, consider your 3-set-total or your 3-set-volume-load. Let’s say you’re doing squats and you perform 135 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps on week 2 of your program. Maybe on week 3, you hit 135 x 6, then 5, then 5 reps. You should be proud of this, as you’ll have set a PR. Then on week 4, maybe you end up hitting 135 for 3 sets of 6. If so, this is a big improvement. It’s these little progressions that accumulate over time and lead to big changes in strength and physique. 

 

23. You don’t write down percentages of 1RM to be using. How do I know how much to lift? 

 

If you’re a strength training researcher or savvy personal trainer, you’ll notice that people vary considerably in the number of reps they can get with a certain percentage of 1RM. For example, I just had 12 women do max reps on hip thrusts with 50% of 1RM. The range was 16-29, meaning that one subject got 16 reps and another got 29 reps with the same relative load. With 80% of 1RM on certain lifts, some subjects can get 5 reps while others can get 10 reps. If I prescribed 3 sets of 6 reps with 80% of 1RM, the first subject wouldn’t come close while the other would find it to be too easy. For this reason, I avoid prescribing percentages. What you need to do is simply establish a baseline and then bump things up little by little. 

 

Say you underestimate your loading, you’ll end up doing more reps on your last set (assuming you do an AMRAP set). The following week, you’ll know to bump up the load. Say you overestimate your loading, you’ll end up falling short of the total reps. You’ll end up cutting back a bit on the load. 

 

The important thing is that you’re gaining strength and setting PRs. You won’t always nail the prescribed set and rep schemes. Think of them as recommendations, but you won’t always end up doing exactly what I suggested. 

 

24. What if I can do more reps on my last set? Should I stick to the program, or rep out to failure? 

 

I alluded to this in the last question. This is called an AMRAP (as many reps as possible) set, and it’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it will ensure that you went to failure and went all out, thereby theoretically recruiting all the available motor units in the muscle. However, training to failure has been shown to be lackluster in the literature, meaning that you do not have to carry your sets out until you fail in order to see great results. What’s worse, if you train a lift or muscle frequently, an AMRAP set could fatigue you to the point where you’re not recovered by the time you perform the exercise again. In this case, it’d prevent you from having a stellar workout and a PR would be unachievable. 

 

25. Should I always go to failure? 

 

Hell no. Maybe 20% of your sets should be taken to failure. The majority should be 1-2 reps shy (maybe 30% of your sets) or nowhere close (maybe 50% of your sets). You want to stimulate, not annihilate. 

 

26. You don’t program much ab work. Can I add some in? 

 

This is true. The abs are incorporated many of the exercises we’ll commonly be doing, so they’ll be strong. Seeing your abdominal definition has much more to do with getting lean than developing big abdominal muscles. However, you will develop stronger and more muscular abs if you train them directly, so if that is a goal of yours, definitely add them into your “free 10-minutes” at the end of some of your training sessions. I recommend performing 2 sets of 2 different ab exercises 2 times per week. It doesn’t take a lot of volume since they’re getting hit during the regular workouts. 

 

27. What days should I schedule my workouts on? 

 

This obviously depends on your training frequency and logistics. If you train 4 days per week, make sure you split up the days so you’re not training 4 straight days in a row. I like to train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and then relax and enjoy my weekends. Other people prefer having a couple of days off during the week and hammering it hard over the weekend. 

 

If you drink alcohol on the weekends, I don’t recommend training the day after a big night out. Remember, you want to set PRs here and there, and this won’t happen if you’re hungover. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday would work, as would many other combinations that fairly evenly spread out the training days. 

 

Try to strategize your training schedule if possible. For example, if I’m going to be deadlifting, I like to have a day off beforehand so I can be fresh and recovered. You need to give your body every possible chance of reaching a new level. 

 

28. How long should each session last? 

 

This depends on the number of exercises you’ll be performing, the exercises you’re performing, the loads you’ll be using, your personal preference regarding rest times in between sets, how long it takes you to warm up, how many warm-up sets you perform, and whether or not you take advantage of your “10 free minutes” at the end of the session (you don’t HAVE to do more during that window; it’s optional). 

 

In general, your workouts will likely be 50-90 minutes long. 

 

29. I feel stiff and really sore. Should I take the day off, modify the workout, or just push through it? 

 

Always err on the side of caution. When in doubt, take the day off. Hindsight is always 20/20. Almost every time I’ve hurt myself in training, my body was trying to tell me something but I was too stubborn to listen to it. Don’t be like this. Pay close attention. Many times, you can warm-up and end up feeling much better and ready to rock and roll, but don’t be foolish. Your body should feel good most of the time, not beat to smithereens. Always know that you can and should modify training sessions depending on how you feel. Never push through “bad” pain. You intuitively know when something is somewhat normal and when something is off. Sometimes I warm up and still feel like crap, and I end up just doing some light sets for glutes or delts or whatever and then calling it a day. 

 

The goal is to keep the goal the goal. If you hurt yourself, your new goal will be to rehabilitate and get back to baseline. 

 

30. What kind of diet should I follow? 

 

There are many good ways to eat in order to achieve your goals. In general, you want to hit your caloric goals first and foremost. You want to consume adequate protein (this can range from .8 grams/lb of lean bodymass to 1 gram/lb of bodyweight). Some people don’t get enough protein but some people consume too much to the point where it makes it hard for them to hit their caloric goals. Carbs and fat are pretty interchangeable. Yes, you need to hit a minimum amount of fat each day (for example, 40 grams minimum), but you could go much higher than this if you lower your carb intake. Pay attention to how you feel to determine whether higher carbs or higher fats feel better to you. You want to consume whole, minimally processed foods most of the time (like 80% of the time), but you also want to leave some room for foods you crave (20% of the time). Don’t feel guilty consuming “junk food” in moderation. It helps with adherence. That said, if you don’t crave anything, then no need to indulge. 

 

Flexible dieting/IIFYM (if it fits your macros) has been immensely helpful for many people by creating a long-term, sustainable eating strategy. However, prescribing macros doesn’t work well for everyone, as many people can’t stick to them consistently. These folks are better suited working on developing habits and an improved mindset. In addition, weighing and tracking and counting can become addictive and become problematic; it can negatively impact your quality of life. The ultimate goal is to be able to eat intuitively while making progress and inching your way toward your ultimate goals. 

 

31. What should I do if I miss a day of training? 

 

Don’t sweat it! It happens. If you miss it due to being busy and overwhelmed, try to combine your following sessions. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word “combine” here, as you’ll definitely need to subtract some things out. But consider the big lifts…squats, bench, deadlifts, chin-ups, and hip thrusts. You’ll want to do these at least once per week, assuming I’ve included them in your program (not everyone can and should do all of these lifts). So if you miss Monday and that’s the day you were scheduled to squat, then maybe squat in your next training session but nix an exercise that’s not as important. But you also have to consider the entire training week. Let’s say you know you’re going to miss a Friday and you’re scheduled to do SLDLs on Wednesday and deadlifts on Friday. In this case, just do deadlifts instead of SLDLs on Wednesday. Let’s say you were scheduled to perform 15 total sets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Say you miss Monday. On Wednesday and Friday, after making adjustments, maybe you end up doing 18 total sets to make up for some of what you missed on Monday. You will have performed 36 total sets for the week, not 45 as originally planned. Don’t try to get all 45 sets in on Wednesday and Friday as this would be recipe for disaster. 

 

If, however, you take a day off because you’re beat down and overly-fatigued, then just take the day off and try to have a couple of easy sessions before merging back into the swing of things full bore. 

 

32. What can I do on non-training days to feel productive? 

 

A decade ago, I felt like I should always be doing something for my recovery. Jacuzzi, contrast showers, sauna, cold plunges, massages, foam rolling, light stretching, active recovery, etc. 

 

When you train progressively, you don’t need more exercise on off-days, you need rest. So don’t consider doing “active recovery.” Life will give you plenty of active recovery when you walk and move around and do chores and have sex (if you’re lucky). Many of the recovery modalities are overrated, and you should never feel guilty for failing to stretch or roam roll. These things can be considered icing on the cake, but they should be done in moderation. These modalities mostly work on the nervous system; they aren’t changing your tissue like you think.  

 

But you know what else needs recovery? Your brain. Lifting weights progressively is stressful. Don’t underestimate this fact. The majority of the time, the best thing that you can do on your days off is sleep more and do something you enjoy. Being in a good state of mind throughout the week is good for the muscles and good for the body. So take a nap, watch that show you’ve been wanting to watch, go see a movie, dive into that book you’ve been wanting to tackle, or hang out with that friend or family member you’ve been missing. Nobody talks about this in S&C, but this stuff is important. 

 

33. What’s a drop set? 

 

A drop set is where you do a set, immediately drop the weight down and do another set, and so forth. It’s really one total set, though. 

 

Here’s an example. You’re doing lateral raises with 15 lbs and you do 8 reps, then you drop down to 10 lbs and do 8 more reps, then you drop down to 5 lbs and do 8 more reps. This is a highly efficient way to lift weights and can be utilized to squeeze volume into your program without increasing your time commitment. 

 

34. Can I email you training questions and send you videos to critique? 

 

You can send an email seeking clarification about the training program, but please compose all of your questions into one email, and please take time to pare it down. The only way that I can offer such affordable programming is by doing it this way. Otherwise it’s coaching which involves communication and costs much more. My colleagues charge $200-$600 per month for this, so I would charge $600/month if I wanted to take on coaching clients. But I don’t have time for this as I’m very involved with research/science and must clear my plate for this along with training, speaking, and social media. I hope you understand.