Anyway, the other day he explained an idea that I share, but could never communicate so eloquently.

“The best predictor of your future health is your current health.” -Guru Anaerobic

Think about that.

Remember it.

Be proactive about your health.

Stop waiting to prioritize your health. It sets the stage for everything else in your life, both now and in the future.

Go on walks.

Resistance train (bodyweight, weights, odd objects, anything) at least 2 days per week.

Sleep 7+ hours per night (speaking to myself here).

Eat healthy (like an adult).

Take your creatine.

Do more of what makes you happy and less of what makes you stressed.

Stay consistent.

If you need a workout plan, I have something for you! Check out the “Stupid Simple Full Body Muscle & Strength Program” from the attached article (don’t worry, it’s free):

Substack version: https://garagegymbro.substack.com/p/stupid-simple-full-body-strength?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4eypj7

Personal site/blog version: https://www.30minutephysique.com/post/stupid-simple-full-body-muscle-strength-program

As always, thanks for reading, and have a fit-tastic day.

Stupid Simple Full Body Template

Push pattern

Pull pattern

Leg exercise (squat or hinge pattern)

Bonus: anything else you might want to add

So this template does well if you break it down into 2 general workouts.

Workout A

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: overhead press variation

Ex 2: pullup/chin up variation (and appropriate regressions like band assisted pullups or negative pullups)

Ex 3: squat/lunge variation

Bonus: anything else you might want to do

Workout B

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: chest press variation

Ex 2: row variation

Ex 3: hinge variation

Bonus: anything else you might want to do

You can do anywhere from 2-10 sets per exercise for the first 3 exercises. If doing any bonus exercises I’d limit those to just 2-3 sets apiece. The first 3 exercises are where we really make our cash money. They’re the big strength, muscle, and movement quality builders and between the 3 compound exercises, every muscle is covered at least a little bit, either directly or indirectly.

You may rotate through the first 3 exercises in a circuit fashion if you’re into that sort of thing. This will likely save time and improve your cardiovascular conditioning. Though, it may (but also may not) decrease the strength and muscle building stimulus you get from the workout, if you find yourself out of breath while doing your sets. This comes down to preference and strategy. If you do take a circuit approach, I’d suggest you rest 30-60 seconds between each set and each exercise, rather than just immediately cycling from one exercise to the next.

That rule should obviously be followed for straight sets (traditional sets) also. So, if you’re doing 4 sets of each of the first 3 exercises, completing all 4 sets of one exercise before moving to the next (again, in traditional, straight set fashion), give yourself at least 30-60 seconds between sets, but no more than 3 minutes between sets.

I continue to come back to density training principles in my own workouts, so limiting rest to 1-2 minutes is preferred in my book. Sure, you may sacrifice some strength performance on later sets, but you’ll get more volume done in less time (which matters for most of us everyday folk that have stuff to do) and you’ll create a positive environment for building muscle and improving your metabolic conditioning. Those 2 things are great. They’re probably higher priorities for most of you than “absolute, maximum strength” are at the moment.

You may also choose to superset push and pull exercises, then do legs on their own, or maybe you even superset your leg exercise with a bonus exercise (the bonus exercises are usually isolation exercises like bicep curls, tricep extensions, calf raises, hamstring curls, or lateral raises).

EMOM

Another fun variable to use in training is doing EMOMs. EMOM stands for every minute on the minute. I’ve discussed this many times in the past, but usually only a few times per year. And considering how much nonsense I write each year, it’s easy to miss those articles or forget them. So I’ll provide a quick summary by way of an example.

Let’s say we are doing an 8 minute EMOM with goblet squats. You set a timer for 8 minutes. At 0:00 you begin doing your goblet squats (let’s shoot for 8 reps).

You finish your 8 reps of goblet squats in 20 seconds. You now rest the the remainder of the minute (in this case, 40 seconds) before starting set 2 when the timer hits 1:00. Repeat this for 8 rounds. In this example, you’ll get 8 sets of 8 goblets squats (64 total reps!) completed in just 8 minutes. Talk about density.

You could also do this in a circuit.

Let’s say we do a 24 minute EMOM, cycling through single arm overhead presses (3-5 reps each arm), pullups (3-6 reps), and split squats (5-8 reps each leg). So we’d start the timer and during 0-1 minutes we’d do 3-5 overhead presses each arm. Rest the remainder of the minute. Then do 3-6 pullups during minutes 1-2. Rest the remainder of the minute. Then do 5-8 split squats on the left leg and 5-8 split squats on the right leg during minutes 2-3. Rest the remainder of the minute. Repeat.

In 24 minutes you’ll have 8 sets of presses, 8 sets of pullups, and 8 sets of split squats. But, cycling through exercises gives each exercise 2.5+ minutes of rest. So while you’re shoulders and triceps are working, your back and biceps, quads and glutes are resting.

EMOMs aren’t necessary, but they are a fun option and they tend to keep people focused. The downside with EMOMs is that while you may get a lot of volume in a short period of time, you’re usually not taking each set very close to failure because you need to leave at least 25-30 seconds of rest.

For that reason, I think the best option for maximizing training density while getting the most strength and muscle stimulus from our workouts is to take each set pretty close to failure (rep speed should slow down, and you may not be able to get another rep with good form), and then rest 30-60 seconds. This may leave you getting 25 pushups on set 1. Then 18 pushups set 2. 15 pushups for set 3, 12 pushups for set 4, and possibly as little as 8 pushups for set 5. That’s a big performance drop off, but each set we pushed the pushup muscles near their maximum, creating fatigue. If working hard on your sets and limiting intraset rest by resting only 30-60 seconds between sets, this sort of rep drop off is common, and even a positive sign. The goal then, in this pushup example, is to slowly nudge up the numbers of each set. Not to make all the sets match the first set. But a good indicator of progress would be if over the following 6 weeks you took you first set of pushups from 25-30 reps and your last set of pushups from 8 reps to 12 reps, while also increasing the rep numbers for sets 2, 3, and 4.

_

Let’s get down to business with some sample routines here.

Bodyweight SSFB

Workout A

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: pike pushups (any regressions or progressions) x 4-8 sets

Ex 2: pullup/chin up variation (and appropriate regressions like band assisted pullups or negative pullups) x 4-8 sets

Ex 3: bodyweight squats, split squats, reverse lunges, step ups, or Bulgarian split squats x 4-8 sets

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Workout B

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: pushup variation (feet elevated, hands elevated, kneeling, rings, etc) x 4-8 sets

Ex 2: inverted rows (adjust angle depending on strength level) x 4-8 sets

Ex 3: single leg glute bridges, single leg hip thrusts, single leg feet elevated glute bridges x 4-8 sets

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Simple, eh?

I used 4-8 sets as an example. You could do just 2 sets – though I think your gains would be better suited if you did more, when working with bodyweight only. You could also do 9 or 10 sets if you are a volume junky.

Remember to heed your recovery demands. The more volume (sets) you do per exercise, the less training frequency (days per week) you’ll be able to manage. So pay attention to that balance.

If you want to train very frequently (like 5-6 days per week), aim for 2-5 sets per exercise in this bodyweight program variation’s case.

If you train infrequently (like 2-3 days per week) but want to maximize your gains, you’d likely be better off doing more volume per session (like 6-10 sets per exercise).

Remember, bonus exercises should always be done for just 2-3 sets. These are isolation exercises that don’t require as much work because the muscles are already getting some stimulus from the 3 main compound exercises and the smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, calves, side delts, etc) will fatigue quickly with just a couple hard sets of isolation work directly for them.

I’m not sharing rep ranges for this bodyweight routine because how many reps you do really depends on the exercise variation along with your skill and strength levels.

Kettlebell & Bodyweight SSFB

Workout A

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: kettlebell overhead press variation or pike pushups (any regressions or progressions) x 3-8 sets

Ex 2: pullup/chin up variation (and appropriate regressions like band assisted pullups or negative pullups) x 3-8 sets

Ex 3: kettlebell squats, split squats, reverse lunges, step ups, or Bulgarian split squats x 3-8 sets

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Workout B

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: pushup or kettlebell bench press variation (feet elevated, hands elevated, kneeling, rings, single arm bench press, floor press, bridge press, etc) x 3-8 sets

Ex 2: single arm kettlebell row variation or inverted rows (adjust angle depending on strength level) x 3-8 sets

Ex 3: kettlebell swings (2 hand or 1 hand), RDL, single leg RDL, B stance RDL, single leg glute bridges, single leg hip thrusts, single leg feet elevated glute bridges x 3-8 sets

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Ok, so with the addition of a kettlebell or 2 comes the ability to do even more exercise variations. This is fun. Seriously. But it can also be overwhelming.

Here’s 2 suggestions I’ll give.

Suggestion 1: pick 1 exercise for each movement pattern and stick with that exercise for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, swap all exercises for a different variation. Below is an example of how that might look...

Weeks 1-4

Workout A

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: kettlebell clean & press x 3-8 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 2: pronated pullups x 3-8 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 3: Bulgarian split squats x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Workout B

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: feet elevated (decline) pushups x 3-8 sets of 10-20 reps

Ex 2: single arm kettlebell row x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 3: kettlebell swings x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Weeks 5-8

Workout A

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: kettlebell overhead press (no clean) x 3-8 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 2: neutral grip pullups x 3-8 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 3: standard split squats x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

Workout B

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: single arm kettlebell bench press x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 2: inverted row x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 3: single leg RDLs x 3-8 sets of 8-15 reps

Optional Bonus: calves, bicep curls, tricep extension variations x 2-3 sets

....and then continue to switch variations as desired every 4 weeks.

Suggestion 2 allows a little more built in variation. This suggestion is to pick 3 (just 3) exercise variations and rotate through those variations every third session.

So, for Workout A’s squat pattern, you might do box step ups the first session, Bulgarian split squats the second session, and standard split squats the third session. Start the cycle over for the 4th session of Workout A.

Workout B’s hinge pattern could be kettlebell swings for the first session, single leg RDLs for the second session, and single leg hip thrusts for the third session. Go back to kettlebell swings on the 4th session of Workout B.

Make sense? Terrific.

I won’t bother boring you with a Dumbbell & Bodyweight SSFB sample because it’s the exact same as the kettlebell & bodyweight sample I just shared, just with a dumbbell instead of kettlebell. Though, you may want to use lateral raises sometimes as dedicated “Push” exercise if you’re aesthetically inclined. Dumbbells are great for lateral raises, so maybe you alternate vertical push (overhead presses) between an overhead press session and a lateral raise session. I’ll share that with you all in my final program.

With that said, I’m going to go straight for a general mixed implement (bodyweight, kettlebell, and dumbbell) sample program, where I’ll share 3 – count ‘em up – variations for each workout to rotate through, providing a fun, progressive yet mildly varied long term program that you can follow.

SSFB (Stupid Simple Full Body) Program for You and Me

Workout A1

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes, or calf raises —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: kettlebell clean & press x 3-6 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 2: neutral grip pullups x 3-6 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 3: standard split squats x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 4: Optional Bonus: bicep curls x 2-3 sets

Workout B1

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes, or calf raises —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: single arm kettlebell bridge press x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 2: inverted row x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 3: single leg RDLs x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 4: Optional Bonus: tricep isolation x 2-3 sets

Workout A2

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes, or calf raises —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: dumbbell lateral raise x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 2: overhand pullups x 3-6 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 3: Bulgarian split squats x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 4: Optional Bonus: bicep curls x 2-3 sets

Workout B2

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes, or calf raises —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: incline dumbbell bench press x 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps

Ex 2: single arm DB/KB row x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 3: 1 hand kettlebell swings x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 4: Optional Bonus: tricep isolation x 2-3 sets

Workout A3

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes, calf raise —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: single arm kettlebell overhead press (no clean) x 3-6 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 2: wide grip pullups x 3-6 sets of 5-12 reps

Ex 3: box step ups x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 4: Optional Bonus: bicep curls x 2-3 sets

Workout B3

Warm up: ab exercise, glute bridges or clam shells, band pull aparts or haloes or Indian clubs or rear delt flyes —> 1-2 sets of each

Ex 1: feet elevated (decline) pushups x 3-6 sets of 10-20 reps

Ex 2: single arm alternating row x 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps

Ex 3: single leg hip thrusts x 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps

Ex 4: Optional Bonus: tricep isolation x 2-3 sets

_

Follow this plan 2-6 days per week. The ideal frequency for most of us will be 3-4 days per week, but do what feels good and works good (okay, works well) for YOU.

Start with 3 sets per exercise, then increase sets as desired. Remember (and this goes for training frequency, too), more is not necessarily better. Quality is always better than quantity. And quality quantity that you can consistently recover from will yield greatest results.

With this specific routine, I find I do best with 3-5 sets per exercise, while resting 45-90 seconds between sets, and training 3-5 days per week.

I typically do a bicep variation on Workout A and a tricep isolation on Workout B. For those exercises I do 2-3 sets. Usually my biceps exercises are incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or hammer curls and I aim for 6-12 reps per set. My favorite tricep exercises are cable pushdowns, incline dumbbell skull crushers, or lying dumbbell/kettlebell skull crushers for 8-15 reps per set.

I often throw in 1 set of calf raises during my warm up. I’m not obsessed with calves, but I do recognize their functional and aesthetic purpose, but I’d rather focus my energy on arm isolations for that 4th exercise and enjoy the feeling of getting a calf pump right after my ab exercise and glute warm up exercise. 1 set of high reps, mixing up the variation between bodyweight calf raises off a step, single leg calf raises, wall sit calf raises, kettlebell offset calf raises off a step, or kettlebell offset heel raises (calf raises on flat ground). Those variations take just 1-2 minutes and get the job done for me.

Finally, I don’t always do ALL of the warm up exercises. I always prioritize an Ab/core exercise. And then I’ll usually go for a calf exercise. Often I add the glute/hip warm up or the rear delt/shoulder stuff, but not always since my glutes and shoulders get trained in each session and I usually warm up my leg and push movements with a lighter set before going into my working sets. Therefore, I use my warm ups as an opportunity to get the blood pumping, the mind right, while also providing a minimum effective dose for 2 muscle groups that I don’t isolate (calves and abs) during my workouts. The warm up is brief but serves multiple important purposes in my training, while taking less than 5 minutes to complete.

Alright, that’s enough jaw jacking, finger stabbing for a Sunday morning. I’m done for today. That’s the book and the program along with the general philosophy.

If you want to follow along with this program in my training app, you can do so for $29 per month by signing up with the following link: https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=0e203a0c63494d2b8bfb0c56cfb9331d

Thanks for reading and thank you for your support. I love writing and I love this fitness stuff, which is why I give so much information out for free (including this long article turned short ebook). However, this is also my actual job and how I make a living (humble though it may be). So any financial support anyone gives me is always very appreciated, but only pay if you think it’s really worth the while. You can support me by becoming a paid subscriber on my Substack (https://substack.com/@garagegymbro?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4eypj7), buying a program within my app (https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/Benen.Karski/), paying a price that you feel is fair for this ebook, or by becoming a 1-on-1 online training client (also through my awesome app — 1-on-1 Online Personal Training: https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=ea67cfc5edf8420593bdad8e3e041c4a).

Otherwise, enjoy this article/ebook, and my many others, for free.

Not exclusively.

But they’ve been used as a regular piece of training equipment in my programs since 2018.

I think a big mistake most people (both kettlebell aficionados and critics) make is lumping kettlebells into exclusively kettlebell-y exercises.

I think the real benefit of kettlebells is they work as well as anything for conventional exercises (basic exercises like you might use with dumbbells or barbells), but, they’re also able to be used unconventionally (those kettlebell-y exercises).

This means they’re useful for basic movement patterns, like horizontal and vertical pressing, horizontal pulling (pullup variations are always going to be best for vertical pull pattern), basic strength and muscle building hinges, and squats (including single leg squat and lunge variations).

Yet they have the added benefit of ballistic exercises (explosive movements). Especially those of the cyclical, moderate to high repetition variation (kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches, clean & jerk, etc).

The barbell is great for low rep explosive movements (power clean, clean, snatch, power snatch, clean & jerk). But the kettlebell can also be used for those same variations with 1 or 2 bells while being in a league of their own when it comes to the aforementioned cyclical, repetitious ballistic moves.

Because of this usefulness for both basic, conventional exercise patterns and freaky, weird, ballistic/explosive, unconventional patterns, the kettlebell is quite unique.

A lone kettlebell seems to define “general fitness, health, and strength training.” Our minds create this association involuntarily because it is truly such a versatile piece of equipment.

Adding more flames to this impromptu kettlebell hype bonfire: no tool is better suited for combining ballistic moves plus basic grind moves – or, said another way: unconventional, cyclical explosive swinging exercises plus conventional, compound gym exercises – as the kettlebell.

The clean & press is the ultimate expression of a kettlebell exercise. Many people think the swing is – and the kettlebell swing is a phenomenal exercise once you get the swing of it. But it’s only 1 piece of the “benefits of the kettlebell” puzzle. The swing is a ballistic. Period.

The clean & press is a display of what makes the kettlebell so special.

It’s a ballistic, unconventional hinge and pull pattern (the clean). Followed by a basic, conventional compound exercise (the press).

The 2, seemingly, contrasting movements and styles pair so beautifully together into a movement that:

1. Covers the biggest possible range of motion (from the ground to overhead, back to the ground).

2. Transition from lower body dominant move to upper body dominant move. Training the upper and lower body to work synergistically, gracefully, is a true testament of athleticism and movement capability.

3. It trains power (the clean).

4. It trains strength (full body, rigid tension while the shoulders and arms press the bell overhead, then control the bell back down to the shoulder).

5. Builds muscle while working a large portion of the body’s muscles. Particularly in the shoulders, upper back area, and arms. But maybe a little bonus for the hips and legs.

6. Can be a good endurance training method. 1 clean & press from start to finish takes about 5 seconds to complete.

7. On that note, the clean & press is a movement with very high time under tension, which has many benefits, one of which being the aforementioned muscle building properties of the exercise, but another, less discussed quality that time under tension builds is grit.

8. Trains coordination.

9. It’s delightfully fun.

_

Don’t lump the kettlebell into one camp. It can fit in all the camps. If you have a kettlebell, don’t be afraid to use it for basic, conventional gym exercises (even curls, tricep extensions, upright rows, lateral raises. But definitely presses, rows, single leg deadlifts, squats, split squats, lunges, and step ups).

But also use it for those special exercises that just don’t seem well-suited for more conventional equipment (carries, cleans, swings, snatches, half snatches, push press, dead stop clean & lunges, kettlebell clean squats, clean & press, clean & push press, clean & jerks, windmills, haloes, slingshots, around the worlds, clean & squat, 1 hand swing, high pulls, single arm high pulls, clean & box step ups, and a host of other combo exercises).

Kettlebells pair great with just bodyweight exercises (basic calisthenics). This is a good strategy for at home trainees that want to train hard and efficiently, but without spending a lot of money or taking up a lot of space. It’s also the preferred method of outdoor iron hoisters.

But kettlebells also pair great with a fully stocked gym.

I train with kettlebells, dumbbells, bodyweight, and even some cable pulley exercises. This combination of basic equipment has made up the majority of my training since 2018 (when my hip injuries forced me to reassess my, formerly, barbell-dominant biases).

There’s no need to train exclusively with kettlebells (and bodyweight, because you can pair bodyweight training with any equipment, any place, any time – a major perk of learning to use your bodyweight for resistance training) unless that’s all you have or enjoy.

Kettlebells work great as a stand alone tool or as a supplemental tool. I encourage you to use them, properly, and to their full potential, one way or another.

My gains skyrocketed when I stopped training to “time,” started being more efficient (cut the fluff and redundancy from my workouts), and began training to a standard, while working within my natural preferences (I don’t like wasting time).

The more knowledge and experience I’ve gained training myself and – at this point, literally – thousands of clients, the more I’ve stripped away the unnecessary, focused on what really moves the needle (intelligent exercise variations for the specific individual, progressive overload, consistency, and repeatability). Sessions are done quicker but adherence is better and progress is more consistent, while injuries are less frequent.

In my experience, these sessions and programs are what works best, long term.

So, I called an audible and checked down to my contingency Pull session.

3 exercises

2 sets apiece

(Warm up, excluded)

08/03/2026 Workout of the Day. Pull

Warm up: frog crunches, glute bridges, rear delt flyes (15 reps each)

Ex 1: pullups-9,7

Ex 2: single arm rows-9/9, 9/9

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls-8,6

Total Time = 14 minutes and 30 seconds.

_

Time to eat, read, and get to sleep early.

Going to try to get like 9 hours of shut-eye tonight to get back on track for my regular 0330 wakeup tomorrow.

You’ve got time. Make sure you’re getting your 3 (or more) lifts per week. Even if you have to cut the usual volume in half for a day.

50% volume is still massively more than 0 work.

And, contrary to modern belief, any [resistance training] work is enough to stimulate a positive strength and hypertrophy response.

For the lifting club, I’m sharing 3 options (all are available on my app, for a monthly fee of $29, if you want the bells and whistles of app tracking and me checking in with you, having direct 1-to-1 access to chat with me within the app. If you like the 15PPL plan, you can get access to that on the app for free, if slots are currently available. Or, you can just take the programs as written here and do it on your own, sans-app. Either option works fine for me).

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Option 1: PPL 3X https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=d0268cea709744128576e3b2e60c264a

Warm up before each session with 1-2 sets of an ab isolation,glute bridge or clam shells, rear delt flyes

Pull

Ex 1: pullups-4x5-10

Ex 2: single arm row or inverted row-4x6-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or any other curl-4x6-12

_

Push

Ex 1: incline DB bench press, flat DB bench press, pushup variation, or 1 arm bridge press-4x6-12

Ex 2: lateral raise or overhead press-4x10-15 or 4x6-12

Ex 3: tricep isolation (cable pushdown or skull crushers)-4x8-15

_

Legs

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats, standard split squats, or box step ups-4x6-12

Ex 2: single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, or kettlebell swings-4x6-12

Ex 3: calf raise-2x10-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-2x10-15

_

12 sets per session

Each session will likely take 30-40 minutes. Depending on rest periods, could take a little shorter (like 25 minutes – though I don’t recommend limiting rest to less than 1.5-2 minutes between sets – or longer – likely not more than 45 minutes, though.

Train 3-6 days per week. Any frequency within that range works. Volume per session (4-8 sets per muscle per session) is high enough for just 1 day per week frequency per muscle group (so 3 total days), but if recovering well, can train as frequently as 6 days per week. I generally find a 3 days on, 1 day off OR 2 days on, 1 day off schedule works best for me (physically and mentally).

Generally just 3 exercises per session, but on leg day we add a couple sets of shrugs and do only 2 sets of calves, giving us 4 exercises but still just 12 total sets.

This program is super fun and super productive for me.

If doing overhead press on push day, use that as exercise number 1 and move the bench press variation to exercise 2.

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Option 2: FB6X

https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=78bc33a9a13940b09984220e57b770c1

Warmup briefly before each session with 1-2 rounds of: calves, abs, glute bridges/clam shells

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Session A

Ex 1: pullups or neutral grip chins-2x6-12

Ex 2: single leg box squats or reverse lunges or Bulgarian split squat or step ups-2x6-12

Ex 3: overhead press variation or lateral raise variation-2x6-12 or 2x10-15 if lateral raise

Ex 4: kettlebell swing or single leg hip thrust or RDL variation-2x8-15

Ex 5: bicep curl variation-2x6-12

Ex 6: tricep isolation variation-2x8-15

_

Session B

Ex 1: single arm rows or inverted rows-2x6-12

Ex 2: single leg box squats or reverse lunges or Bulgarian split squat or step ups-2x6-12

Ex 3: bench press variation or pushup variation-2x6-12 or 2 x as many reps as possible if pushups

Ex 4: kettlebell swing or single leg hip thrust or RDL variation-2x8-15

Ex 5: bicep curl variation (preferably hammer or zottman)-2x6-12

Ex 6: tricep isolation variation or shrugs-2x8-15

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Train 2-3 days per week with this plan.

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Option 3: (Contingency Plan): 15PPL

https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=f65c502adc7d47e191f6fdbdc865eba1

Warm up before each session with 1-2 sets of an ab isolation,glute bridge or clam shells, rear delt flyes

_

Pull

Ex 1: pullups-2x5-10

Ex 2: single arm row or inverted row-2x6-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or any other curl-2x6-12

_

Push

Ex 1: incline DB bench press, flat DB bench press, pushup variation, or 1 arm bridge press-2x6-12

Ex 2: lateral raise or overhead press-2x10-15 or 2x6-12

Ex 3: tricep isolation (cable pushdown or skull crushers)-2x8-15

_

Legs

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats, standard split squats, or box step ups-2x6-12

Ex 2: single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, or kettlebell swings-2x6-12

Ex 3: calf raise-1x10-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1x10-15

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This is the same plan as PPL 3X, just a lower volume option. Each session is 6 total sets, making it half the volume as PPL 3X, which has 12 sets per session. This is a contingency, meaning, back up plan. If you’re short on time or energy, this 15PPL template will work extremely well. Since the volume per session is low, it pairs especially well with higher frequencies (like 5-6 days per week, while PPL 3X can work very well with as little as 3 or 4 days per week, but can still work for some people with a 5 or 6 day per week frequency).

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Book Club

I’ve got several books in the works right now. Some I’m just thumbing through, casually. Some are fiction that I’m reading through, intentionally. Others, you could consider more like daily meditations or readings — 1 or 2 pages per day, taking away some thoughts.

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Fiction

I’ve got 2 fiction books lined up for this month.

Book 1: “The Perfect Match,” by Christian Mihai

Book 2: “A River Runs Through It,” by Norman Maclean.

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Nonfiction

“Pirates, Raiders & Invaders of the Gulf Coast,” by Ryan Starter and Josh Freeman

I picked this book up yesterday while I was checking out the Fort Morgan museum, in Fort Morgan, Alabama, down the road from Gulf Shores, Alabama, where I was spending some time for a quick beach getaway.

This is an interesting historical topic for me that I really don’t know much about. So I figured a book covering the history of the people that inhabited, fought, and eventually became responsible for Gulf Coast culture seemed pretty interesting.

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Physical Culture

“The Complete Keys to Progress,” by John McCallum

This is a collection of essays and articles by physical culture extraordinarre, John McCallum. I tend to pick this up on and off and read through a couple essays here and there over time. I feel this resource is best suited for this manner of reading rather than powering straight through it, in traditional style.

That’s all for this month’s lifting and reading plans.

Enjoy the month!

Let’s use fitness as an example.

If you’re the only one in your life that prioritizes and is really committed to improving your physical development: you’re environment – either directly or indirectly – will eventually hold you back or push you forward.

If you’re passionate about lifting weights, building muscle, gaining strength, improving conditioning, going on daily walks, and just improving your physical health in general — you will have far more success and enjoyment if others in your life are also interested and similarly “yolked” with these values.

This doesn’t mean all your friends or family must be passionate about fitness like you are (though, it definitely makes success much easier and the process more enjoyable). But you should try to connect with a community of people that relate to you and share your passion, so at least you have some community of like-minded individuals.

Maybe that’s some coworkers.

Maybe that’s some cool bros that you meet at the gym.

Or, maybe you find an online community of like-minded health and fitness enthusiasts. That’s one positive result of social media (and online fitness forums prior to that).

Many people have a hard time finding similar “fitness oriented” individuals in their immediate environment. Even at the gym, they may be surrounded by people with goals more aligned with a different niche (there are many niches in the fitness industry. A bodybuilder would not be well-suited training at a powerlifting gym, and vise-versa. An abbreviated training advocate may not be well suited to the oft-drug-enhanced 5pm-7pm crowd at the local globo gym. Find people that are interested in at least a generally similar niche, if possible).

This community can make up a very small amount of your weekly or even monthly social interactions. But that little bit, and that feeling of belonging within a tribe, is necessary if you want to maximize your outcomes within your hobbies and lifestyle.

I’m not encouraging anyone to dump their family or friends in the name of solely hanging out with people who align and prioritize the same hobbies. That’s not necessary, possibly boring, and probably a terrible life decision. I am encouraging you to find some form of community – either online or in-person – where you can become apart of a tribe with similar goals and ambitions.

Warm up: single leg calf raise, adduction glute bridges, dead bugs

Ex 1: pullups-2x6-12

Ex 2: box step ups-2x6-12

Ex 3: dumbbell lateral raise-2x10-15

Ex 4: single leg RDL-2x6-12

Ex 5: incline dumbbell curls-2x6-12

Ex 6: single arm cable pushdowns-2x10-15

Total Time = 33 minutes

This is such a simple training template.

2-3 days per week (even up to 4 sessions every 8 days if you just train on a cyclical every other day cycle).

Warm up: hips/glutes. Calves (because I don’t train them directly often in this template. So I just throw in a set as part of my “warm up”). Abs/core.

Ex 1: Pull pattern

Ex 2: Squat/lunge pattern

Ex 3: push pattern (shoulder or chest variation)

Ex 4: hinge pattern

Ex 5: bicep isolation

Ex 6: tricep isolation

I like 2 sets per exercise.

If you have more energy, better recovery, train less intensely (leaving more than 3 reps in reserve each set), or more time available to train: feel free to do 3 sets per exercise.

I usually like keeping my training around 30-40 minutes (that just works for my mind, body, and nature), and I train pretty intensely and close to failure, and I tend to need/therefore take 2+ minutes of rest between each set of most exercise. Furthermore, I’ve learned as I’ve become more experienced lifting, I get more out of each set then I did as a newer lifter (maybe it’s because I’m stronger, maybe my improved mind-muscle connection, probably both), so I feel pretty much tapped out after 2 sets for each exercise anyway and I respond well from 2 sets. And I get pretty darn sore from just 2 sets per exercise, and I want to maintain a training frequency of 3-4 days per week, so I prioritize recovery, intensity, time efficiency, and frequency (3 sessions per week per muscle group/general patterns) over volume. So I am perfectly content – and benefit from – just 2 sets per exercises.

Train 2-3 days per week.

Train hard.

If you’re looking where to start, a full body template similar to this will do you very well. If you have less time, check out some of my previous articles where I discus similar full body templates using just 4 or 5 exercises per session.

And no — full body routines are not just for beginners. There’s a reason so many advanced lifters are switching to full body training and continuing to make gains. It works.

It’s also a practical option for most people who need efficient, productive training to make progress without making training, gym, recovering from training their entire job, life, and personality.

Simplify and apply.

Full Body is a good option.

So is upper/lower.

So is full body/upper/lower.

So is 3 day PPL.

So is 3 day Arnold split.

These are all good options.

Experiment for 6-12 weeks with each and see what is most enjoyable and productive for you.

But for most people, the efficiency and frequency of full body makes most sense for gaining with 2-3 sessions per week, and it’s the reason most of my clients use a similar template as the one above, or a 4 or 5 exercise variation.

Huge return on investment.

I was aware that occasionally it would distract me and keep me up later than I should. But I didn’t quite realize how much passive stress comes from sleeping next to a little black box filled with limitless distractions, messages, emails, and notifications.

I work as a full time in-person personal trainer, as well as an online personal trainer. I’m also a social butterfly. My phone can be quite a happening place. Constant messages, emails (outgoing and incoming), workout program updates, schedule changes, phone call check-ins, article writing, video tutorials, you name it. Setting aside the phone and “going dark” 7-10 hours a night (I usually put it up and away 1-3 hours before falling asleep) protects my sanity and helps me mentally slow down and reset.

But, I do sometimes have brilliant ideas at night. So I’ve adopted another habit — I keep these tiny little field notebooks (maybe more appropriately described as notepads...I’ll use both terms going forward to keep things interesting) in each room that I frequent. I have one on my bedstand, just in case I’m awakened by a stroke of genius in the middle of the night (rare, but sometimes very important things come to me and I swiftly jot it down in shorthand). I keep one on my breakfast table – which is where I do most of my online training work on the laptop. I keep one on the little side table tray next to my couch where I watch TV. I even keep one in my truck (which I never use because I don’t write and drive. But, it’s there just in case I’m sitting, pondering in the truck and want to jot some ideas down).

Heck, I jotted down the idea for this little writeup in one of my notepads! That’s a fun side habit that’s developed from the no phone in the bedroom, but it’s also led to me NOT having my phone on my person for random stretches throughout the day, so I can just be present, eliminate distractions, and if something comes up, I simply grab a little notepad and write it down like it’s 1991. It’s another pretty neat idea.

I’ve always tracked my workouts in a notebook. And, at every gym I’ve worked at, and every client I’ve trained in-person, I’ve infamously tracked all workouts in a notebook, as well. So I don’t know why I waited so long to bring the notebook/notepad into the other areas of my life?….

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Last year I gave up drinking alcohol (about 2 months before 2024 ended, but I decided to make giving up alcohol my 2025 resolution). Another massive return on investment for me. If for nothing else – by eliminating the decision of whether and what I should or shouldn’t drink at social settings. The ROI was so high, I’m never going to drink alcohol again. Almost 2 years now and I’ve had only positive results.

2026’s no phone in the bedroom is also going to be one I stick with the rest of my life. (But, Benen! What about in hotels? Well, friend, I already crossed that bridge 5 times whilst moving across the country 8 weeks ago. The solution is as simple as turning the phone off and leaving in the hotel bathroom. Where there is a will, there is a way).

I’ve never really done new year’s resolutions before 2025, but I think it’s because I never framed the resolutions correctly. In the last 2 years I’ve stacked 2 lifelong habits (with unintended sub-habits) that have proven to be nothing but positive.

I’m not saying you should adopt these same habits, by the by. I’m simply sharing my own experiences.

Lifting weight builds muscle.

More muscle burns more fat (because muscle requires energy. Energy = calories. More muscle mass burns more calories than less muscle. If you burn more calories, you’ll lose fat while improving your metabolism).

Lifting weights builds strength.

Strength allows you to do hard things more easily.

Strength allows you to maintain independence and a higher quality of living during your later years in life (don’t wait to start thinking about this period…be proactive and take care of your future self NOW).

Strength training and muscle building keeps bones healthy.

Lifting weights makes you more resistant to injury.

Lifting weights improves your mental health by improving confidence and producing endorphins.

Lifting weights requires discipline, and that discipline will trickle down into other areas of your life.

Strength is never a weakness.

You want to look good and feel good?

Lift weights and focus on getting stronger.

Quit complicating it.

Quit looking for the quick hack.

Just spend 30-45 minutes, 2-4 days per week with the weights and embrace the performance progress!

They say health is wealth. Lifting weights is the fastest track to vastly improving your health wealth.

But the quality of food you eat determines your body composition (how you look).

^this phrase is as old as time in the wellness industry, but it’s an excellent reminder.

The message?

Yes, calories matter. But, make sure those calories come from mostly whole, nurtious food sources.

You can eat fast food every day and weigh the same as your twin that eats whole foods every day if the calories are equal.

But the twin that eats whole foods will look much leaner and more muscular at that same bodyweight than the fast food eating twin.

Quantity and quality matter.

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Upper Body Workout

Vertical pull

Horizontal push

Horizontal pull

Vertical push OR lateral raise (shoulder isolation)

Bicep isolation

Tricep isolation

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Leg Workout

Squat/lunge

Hinge

Secondary squat/lunge or quad/hamstring isolation

Calf isolation

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Full Body Workout

Pull (horizontal or vertical)

Squat/lunge

Push (horizontal or vertical)

Hinge

Bicep isolation

Tricep isolation

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These are the basic structures for most workouts. You can do more, but the exercise patterns listed are the baseline. If you want to add more just throw it in at the end.

2-3 sets per exercise is kind of the standard. You may do more if you wish. I typically do just 2 sets per exercise with these templates.

Lift 2-4 days per week. On other days, do some general activity or active rest. Always prioritize movement each day, but it’s probably best to not “strength train” (hard) more than 4 days per week on a regular basis.

I like “warming up” by doing an ab exercise for a couple sets before the workout. This could be a typical ab flexion exercise (leg raises, crunches, etc), or anti-rotation exercise (pallof press, suit case carry, side plank), or it can be a rotational exercise (side to side medicine ball slams, wood chops, heel touch crunches, etc). Sometimes it’s just a farmers carry or front rack carry/march.

Use these templates. You can alternate between upper/lower workouts 2-4 days per week. Or you may do 2-3 full body workouts per week. You could even do full body, upper, legs (or any order – maybe legs, upper, full body) 3 days per week.

Implement specific exercises for each movement pattern that fits your personal needs and preferences. Get stronger on those exercises using a moderate rep range (5-12 reps per set). Be consistent.

That’s basically the – hypothetical – textbook summary of strength & muscle building advice. Now all you’ve got to do is dial in the nutrition and sleep. More on that later.

Have a fantastic day.

1. Compound Exercises burn more calories

2. Compound Exercises train multiple muscle groups at once

3. Compound Exercises allow us to progressively get stronger for longer

4. Due to the fact that compound exercises hit multiple muscle groups at once, we are able to train more time efficiently with fewer exercises. For example, Romanian deadlift variations hit the hamstrings and glutes HARD, so we don’t need to add hamstring curls, glute cable kick backs, and any sort of donkey kickbacks.

5. There are some isolation exercises that should DEFINITELY be included in the program for muscle groups that get undertrained by compound exercises (these muscle groups include biceps, triceps, calves, and side delts). But a program should be 70-80% compound exercises, 20-30% isolation exercises.

For everyone else, continue reading for more context.

I don’t exclusively train compound exercises, but odds are, if you’re working out with me or being trained by me, or even if you’re just creepily observing me training, you’ll notice that 75-80% of the exercises I do are compound exercises.

First, let’s define what a compound exercise is.

Compound exercises are those that use multiple joints, while isolation exercises require action that takes place at only 1 joint.

The compound exercises are the main movement patterns I always talk about:

Vertical pull

Vertical push

Horizontal pull

Horizontal push

Squat/lunge

Hinge

Now, I’m not one of these maniacs that totally ignores isolation exercises! There are, certainly, a handful of beneficial isolation exercises that hit muscle groups that are undertrained during most “main movement patterns.”

The muscle groups that require isolation exercises:

Biceps

Triceps

Side delts

Calves

Abs

So, allow me to provide examples of compound exercises for each movement pattern/major muscle group.

Vertical Pull: pullups, lat pulldowns (back, biceps, forearms, some shoulder)

Vertical Push: overhead press variations (shoulders, traps, triceps).

Horizontal Pull: row variations (back, biceps, forearms, some shoulder)

Horizontal Push: pushup variations, bench press variations (chest, shoulders, triceps)

Squat/Lunge: squat variations, split squat variations, lunge variations (quads, glutes)

Hinge: deadlift variations, Romanian deadlift variations, kettlebell swings, glute bridges, hip thrust variations (glutes, hamstrings)

Those are the big 6 movement patterns. They cover an enormous amount of ground – as far as training the body is concerned. Each pattern can be trained with many different variations based on preference, fitness level, and equipment availability. Those are your big rocks. Most of your program should be built around getting stronger on exercises that fall into those 6 categories.

Moving on, let’s talk benefits of compound exercises.

Benefit 1: compound exercises burn more calories. Training main movement patterns that require movement at multiple joints calls more muscles into action, requiring more energy (calorie) demands. This makes compound exercises very efficient for strength, body composition, and fat loss.

Benefit 2: compound exercises train multiple muscle groups at once. Dumbbell flyes are a fine exercise, but they only train the chest (and they do so in a way that is harder to progress regularly). Meanwhile, pushups train the chest along with the shoulders, triceps, and core. You could do both exercises, but I think you’d be better off focusing your time and energy into the compound exercise (pushups in this example), killing multiple birds with one stone, and saving that extra time to hit the triceps in isolation afterwards.

Another example of this is my leg days. People ask me about lower body training, and they’re always shocked when they observe my training or hear my response when it comes to training legs.

I do 3-4 exercises on leg days. If I’m training someone with a full body routine, I alternate between these 4 exercises or similar variations (2 one day, 2 the other day).

Here’s how I simplify leg training for more progress, better development, with less time and far less decision fatigue:

Exercise 1: squat or split squat variation (Bulgarian split squats, standard split squats, goblet squat, barbell squat variation, maybe a leg press for clients)

Exercise 2: hinge variation (either single leg RDL, RDL, kettlebell swings, or hip thrust)

Exercise 3: secondary squat or lunge variation (pistol squat to bench or box, box step ups, reverse lunges or walking lunges, box step up to reverse lunges)

Exercise 4: calf raise variation

“What?! No quad extensions or hamstring curls?!”

No.

“Why?”

Because I don’t need them. They just add extra exercises to my/my clients’ sessions, taking more time, and increasing the accumulation of unnecessary fatigue. (Sometimes, depending on the client and the program were doing, I include some form of hamstring curl – whether that be a machine, slider hamstring curls, or TRX/Ring hamstring curls. But I always prioritize hinges over hamstring isolation – though, isolation knee flexion is beneficial in many situations. But I almost never train hamstring curls in my own workouts out in the garage).

Look, I’m not a competitive bodybuilder, so while hamstring curls have their place, unless you’re a competitive athlete in a sport with a high chance of ACL tears, or you’re rehabbing from an injury, I don’t care to hit hamstring curls on a regular basis just to bring up the one, very small part of the hamstring that nobody sees – unless I’m in my scivies, tanned, oiled, and flexing on stage – that the hip hinge pattern fails to train.

RDL variations and hip thrust variations hit the hamstrings ALONG with the glutes and allow me to lift more weight and add reps and/or weight more frequently. Hinges cover more qualities in less time, are more fun, and more effective for adding mass AND burning calories. So whether your goal is increasing body size or reducing body size, hinges are better bang for the buck than hamstring curls.

So I commit my time to hinges and do hamstring curls as an occasional variation if I’m feeling fatigued or particularly rebellious. And when I DO train hamstring curls, I like using slider hammy curls, which force me to maintain an isometric hinge position, also.

If you have extra time to kill – I mean – train, you may – of course – do hamstring curls. They’re a fine exercise. But if efficiency and time efficiency is important, prioritize your hinges, squats, and lunges. Leave the hamstring curls as a bonus.

Quad extensions?

Another fine exercise, but why do an exercise where I only train the quads and need a machine to do it when I can train my quads and glutes (along with other athletic qualities like balance, coordination, anti-rotation, etc) at the same time?

And if I want to deprioritize my glutes on a squat pattern and really hammer my quads, I’m better off elevating my heels and getting a wicked range of motion through the knees – a position that allows me to use just my body weight OR load weights in an infinite number of ways.

I also just have a personal preference of doing ground based (standing on the ground rather than sitting in machines) leg exercises. I find that while quad extensions burn the quads and are an effective isolation exercise, the whole thing is very uninspiring. Again, this is personal preference (and personal preference matters in training because if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll stop doing it). I’d rather do some form of pistol squat progression (even though I’ll never be able to do a full pistol), like seated box squats, of box step downs, or some knee over toes type training for isolating the quads. It’s more mentally and physically stimulating for me and feels a bit more...athletic?

Anyway, getting back on track — squat patterns, lunges, split squats, step ups, and heel elevated squat variations allow me to recruit more muscles, train more qualities, and require less equipment availability than sitting on a quad extension machine. I’m able-bodied and athletic, so I want to train in a way that embraces and enhances those blessings as long as I can.

Again, hamstring curls and quad extensions are fine exercises. But, they’re not as good bang for your buck for muscle, strength, calorie burning, and they’re just a less natural, less fun way to train the lower body. The glutes and legs were designed to work together. So why fight it?

Rather than add leg isolation exercises to the end of my workout – or worse – replace compound leg exercises with those isolations, I choose to train the main movement patterns that provide the lower body development I desire and need, and move on with my day. I don’t have the time, nor the desire, to spend all my time in the gym trying to optimize the perfect training stimulus for every muscle fiber.

Benefit 3: Compound exercises allow us to get progressively stronger for longer.

If you have goals of getting bigger, stronger, leaner, or more physically independent, progressive overload is the key. We progressively overload by getting stronger. Adding more weight or reps to our exercises.

Sticking with the leg day example, you’ll be able to increase your strength on barbell squats far more frequently than you will on leg extensions. That added resistance and increased challenge over time forces your body to adapt and grow stronger. That’s the goal!

So focus your time on exercises that allow you to train, progressively, getting stronger throughout the course of a training career and you’ll make more progress, even while spending less time training.

Fill in the gaps with isolation exercises but understand getting stronger on the compound exercises will have the biggest impact on your progress.

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That’s a good enough spot to wrap things up today. I think I’ve made my point. Feel free to leave a comment or reach out directly for any further questions, comments, or discussion if I’ve left anything out that you’re curious about.

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Thanks for reading!

If you’d like more personal guidance, below are some ways you can work with me, directly:

https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/Benen.Karski/

Let’s get right to it this month, covering what the training plan is for this month, along with what I’ve read/been reading the past month.

We will begin with the lifting plan this month, since I imagine that’s what most people here care about.

July Lifting Plan: PPL 3X + Shrugs

I’ve been really enjoying my PPL routines while focusing on just 3 exercises per session. It’s simple. It’s flexible. It allows me to train with focus and quality intensity.

But, I decided want to do a little phase of for my traps. But I don’t want to add 3 sets of shrugs to just 1 session. Instead, I think it’d be mentally easier and physically more effective to add 1-2 sets of shrugs to the end of each session – switching up shrug variations as necessary to keep it from getting bland.

The upper traps are a muscle group that, if trained directly, have great growth potential and can really – by themselves – transform the way your physique looks by adding extra mass to the upper back, neck, and shoulder area. It’s pretty low hanging fruit, but I’ve left that fruit unpicked for years now. So I decided July would be a month where I test out this high frequency shrugging idea.

The plan is the same plan I’ve been doing for most of this year. The difference is, at the end of each session I’ll add 1-2 sets of shrugs, aiming for 10-15 reps per set.

Some of my favorite shrug options:

1. Dumbbell or kettlebell shrugs

2. Single arm dumbbell or kettlebell shrugs

3. Inverted row shrugs (inverted row position, not upside down)

4. Cable shrugs

5. Trap bar shrugs

Warm up before each session with 1-2 sets of an ab isolation,glute bridge or clam shells, rear delt flyes

Pull

Ex 1: vertical pull x 3 sets

Ex 2: horizontal pull x 3 sets

Ex 3: bicep isolation x 3 sets

Ex 4: shrug variation x 1-2 sets

Push

Ex 1: horizontal push x 3 sets

Ex 2: vertical push or shoulder isolation (lateral raise or lean-in lateral raise) x 3 sets

Ex 3: tricep isolation x 3 sets

Ex 4: shrug variation x 1-2 sets

Legs

Ex 1: squat/split squat or lunge x 3 sets

Ex 2: hinge x 3 sets

Ex 3: calf isolation OR secondary squat/lunge exercise x 3 sets

Ex 4: shrug variation x 1-2 sets

My Personal PPL 3X

Warm up before each session with 1-2 sets of an ab isolation,glute bridge or clam shells, rear delt flyes

Pull A

Ex 1: pullups-3x5-10

Ex 2: single arm row or inverted row-3x6-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or any other curl-3x6-12

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Push A

Ex 1: incline DB bench press, flat DB bench press, pushup variation, or 1 arm bridge press-3x6-12

Ex 2: lateral raise or overhead pres-3x10-15 or 3x6-12

Ex 3: tricep isolation (cable pushdown or skull crushers)-3x8-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Legs A

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats, standard split squats, or reverse lunges-3x6-12

Ex 2: single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, or kettlebell swings-3x6-12

Ex 3: calf raise OR heel elevated squat, reverse lunges, step up to reverse lunges-3x8-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Pull B

Ex 1: pullups-3x5-10

Ex 2: single arm row or inverted row-3x8-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or any other curl-3x6-12

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Push B

Ex 1: kettlebell clean & press, overhead press, or pike pushup-3x5-12

Ex 2: incline dumbbell bench press, flat dumbbell bench press, or pushup variation-3x6-12

Ex 3: tricep isolation (cable pushdown or incline skull crushers)-3x10-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Legs B

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats, box step ups, or reverse lunges-3x6-12

Ex 2: single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, or kettlebell swings-3x6-12

Ex 3: calf raise OR heel elevated squat, reverse lunges, step ups-3x8-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

I’m interested to see what changes this little wrinkle (which only takes 1-3 extra minutes each session) adds to my physique by the end of summer.

Book Club

I’ve spent much of the past 18 months reading pretty long books, so I’m intentionally going through a period where I’m reading a bunch of shorter fiction novels.

Last month I read my first Charles Bukowski book – which I believe was his first novel – “Post Office.”

What a hoot.

Now I’m reading “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. I’ve actually finished that very short novel, but the copy I have includes 5 short stories, together called, “Tales of Unrest” which are a collection of stories in which Conrad explores the nature of the soul and man’s psychological malaise.

Lastly, I’ll begin reading Christian Mihai’s short novel, “The Green Light.” Mihai is a Romanian indie author and I’ve always enjoyed his short stories from his blog and other quick, smart novels he’s written. I am looking forward to this book, which I believe is written to be somewhat of a sequel to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Great Gatsby.” Which seems like an...interesting idea.

I’m enjoying these shorter books for now, as a break before I begin tackling some more of the longer fictions I have waiting on my book shelf.

That’s all I’ve got. Pretty straightforward.

Have a great month.

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06/29/2026 Workout of the Day. Legs

Warm up: dead bugs; foam roller glute bridges

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats-2×10/10

Ex 2: dumbbell RDLs-12,10

Ex 3: offset calf raises-15/15, 12/12

Total time = 24 minutes

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Yesterday I talked about contingencies.

Today I used a contingency program variation.

Not because of time restraints.

But rather, because I only slept 4 hours last night AND it’s hotter than heck out here, and especially hot and muggy in my garage gym.

So, I didn’t rush. I took long rest periods. But I did just 2 sets of each exercise (instead of 3 or 4), while keeping intensity (proximity to failure) relatively high (within 2 reps of failure) each set.

Be flexible, but sensible with your contingencies. Don’t flip your program upside down. Just adjust key variables while keeping the plan the plan.

Usual variable changes for me are adjust sets per exercise and/or rest periods.

I had time to train. Yet I knew it was way too hot to do my normal volume (which isn’t very high to begin with). So, I did something sensible (shocker, I know). I decreased the volume, but still did – what I deem to be – my minimum effective dose. I kept the intensity the same and rested more than usual to account for the increased fatigue between sets (thanks to the insufferable heat).

I hope this is mildly helpful.

For those reading — thank you.

Another insurance policy, however, is to set up training sessions that don’t require a lot of time. I maintain a standard 25-30 minutes of training per session, but – and this is important – I also have a planned contingency variable for each session in case my schedule fills up, or my energy levels are sapped.

This contingency session is simply a variation of the standard session where I cut the volume (and sometimes adjust exercise variations – like switching from my standard free weights to bodyweight only training).

Cutting the volume allows me to finish my training within 10-15 minutes if need be (while still being productive and pushing the gain train along the desired track).

Adjusting exercise variations allows me to train in my kitchen if needed – without any weights.

These 2 backup contingencies eliminate the 2 main excuses for missed sessions.

Excuse 1: I don’t have time (or energy)

Excuse 2: I don’t have equipment at home and can’t justify going to the gym for a 10-15 minute workout. (Everyone should really have some sort of minimal equipment at home, even if they don’t care to have a fairly well stocked home gym, like I do. A pullup bar, couple kettlebells or dumbbells, or some resistance bands goes a long way in the quest for fitness independence).

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Here’s 2 examples of a Push session contingency workout.

Example 1 (I have equipment or can go to the gym, but I only have 12-15 minutes).

Same workout as my usual Push session, but doing just 2 sets per exercise instead of 3 or 4 sets per exercise.

Quick set of an ab exercise.

2 sets x single arm overhead press

2 sets x incline dumbbell bench press

2 sets x incline dumbbell skull crushers

Great session. Done quickly. Effective but not super fatiguing or time consuming.

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Example 2 (I don’t have time to train for 30 minutes, can’t get to the gym, and I don’t really have any equipment at home).

Quick set of lying floor leg raises

2 sets x pike pushups

2 sets x pushups

2 sets x close grip pushups or bodyweight tricep extensions with your hands on chair or counter top.

Great session. No equipment necessary. Took less than 15 minutes. Effective but not super fatiguing, not time consuming, and didn’t require anything but your body and minimal space.

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To Summarize and Review

A. Train Saturday and/or Sunday if you’re able

B. Keep your sessions brief, repeatable, and manageable (plan for 30 minutes or so. That seems to be manageable and productive for most people long term)

C. Have a back up workout or contingency plan for each of your sessions so you can train in as little as 10-15 minutes per day if necessary. This eliminates most excuses for missed training and keeps you consistent. And consistency over years is what leads to strength, muscle, health, performance, and body composition gains.

Thanks for reading.

Tonight’s dinner is:

Some roasted mini red potatoes

Skillet cooked chicken breast

Some Chick-fil-A sauce

2% milk

The taste is – dare I say – delicious.

Here’s a quick run down of how I make the potatoes and chicken.

I get red potatoes or mini red potatoes.

Wash potatoes and cut them up into chunks.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Put the potatoes on parchment paper on a pan.

Drizzle some olive oil on top and then throw in a healthy dose of garlic salt, salt, and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes.

It’s the best way I’ve ever eaten potatoes and it’s good reheated later in the week, so feel free to make a bunch. (And yeah — potatoes are a perfectly healthy food).

For chicken, you can just buy fresh chicken breast. But lately, I’ve been buying the Tyson’s frozen grilled chicken strips. Same macros and quality as fresh. You just don’t have to cook them right away or worry about thawing them out. It’s like frozen veggies versus fresh veggies. Both work. The frozen stuff is just a little less work and maintenance. It’s already cut up for you.

I grab a skillet pan and put a little water and butter in the pan.

Once the butter melts, I throw in the chicken breasts and season it. I use salt and a specific grilled chicken seasoning mix from Publix.

Turn it to medium, stir for a bit (just to evenly spread out the seasoning on the strips), then put a lid on and let it cook for 6 minutes.

That’s it.

A tiny bit of effort goes a long way.

I do this same thing with ground turkey or ground beef instead of chicken many times (more often than not, actually).

I also alternate weeks between cooking a bunch of roasted potatoes as my dinner carb or jasmine rice as my dinner carb. Both options are easy. I just switch week to week to keep things from getting to stale, or boring, you might say.

I’m no chef and I don’t care to mess around with fancy, time consuming recipes.

I’m a simple guy that likes simple solutions and strives to eat healthy, while also wanting my food to taste good.

This one’s for the those of you who either:

1. Want to prioritize upper body training

2. Struggle recovering from 2 big leg compound exercises (squat/lunge and hinge) along with 2 upper body compound exercises in the same session (push & pull)

3. Want to train with higher frequency (allowing as much as 4-6 days per week depending on individual intensity and recovery capabilities)

4. Prefer focusing on fewer exercises (4 instead of 5) per session while having the option to squeeze in more volume per exercise per session (3-4 sets instead of 2 sets per exercise)

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It’s very similar to our previous 30 Minute Full Body example, which can be found here: https://www.30minutephysique.com/post/excellent-30-minute-full-body-template and here: https://open.substack.com/pub/garagegymbro/p/excellent-30-minute-full-body-template?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4eypj7

But instead of doing 5 exercises per session, we’re doing just 4 exercises per session.

This is more appropriate and an easier pill to swallow for many lifters. It also may be necessary as a full body option for more experienced lifters. Managing to do a squat, a pull, a hinge, and a push all in one session can be brutal.

So the FB4X template simplifies things from...

Squat, pull, hinge, push, arm isolation

to...

Leg, push, pull, arm isolation.

Each session alternates between a squat/lunge OR a hinge for the leg exercise. Kind of like how each session alternates vertical and horizontal pushes and pulls along with biceps or triceps.

Here’s the simple template:

(Same warm up as last article suggested: glute bridges, core, calves or shoulder prep)

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Session A

Ex 1: squat/lunge/split squat/step up variation-3-4x6-12

Ex 2: vertical pull variation-3-4x6-12

Ex 3: vertical push or lateral raise variation-3-4x6-12

Ex 4: bicep isolation-3-4x6-12

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Session B

Ex 1: hinge (swing, deadlift, RDL, or hip thrust variation)-3-4x6-12

Ex 2: horizontal pull variation-3-4x6-12

Ex 3: horizontal push variation-3-4x6-12

Ex 4: tricep isolation variation-3-4x6-12

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The exact rep range doesn’t matter and may be totally different than 6-12 depending on the specific exercise variation and individual preferences.

You could also definitely still do this plan while doing just 2 sets per exercise. It would decrease the time you need to spend training, which – if you have very limited time to train – may be ideal.

You could still replace the bicep or tricep work with conditioning or prowler/sled work or loaded carries, as well. It’s all about individual priorities.

This plan works great for 2,3,4, and possibly even more days per week. Most of us mere mortals would probably be best at 3-4 days per week again, but this one’s a little easier to train 4 days per week, using some consecutive training days, than the FB5X 1.0 because each session works antagonist movement patterns from the previous session. The problem with 4 or more days per week with the 5X full body plan was managing fatigue and progressing the squat/lunge and hinge movements while training them every session, and, therefore, at least once on consecutive days if using a frequency of 4 or more days per week.

With this plan you can train as infrequently as 2 days a week. But, again depending on your recovery you can play around with much higher frequencies even hitting 5 or 6 days per week.

For most people, though (similar to the full body program – FB5X – we talked about last week) you’re going to be best suited more than likely doing 3 or 4 days per week.

I find this routine to be really fun and repeatable and a little less stressful because – let’s be honest – sometimes our schedules don’t add up perfectly to allow us to train on an every-other-day basis.

I’ve already mentioned that hitting 4 compound exercises in a single session can be absolutely brutal whereas focusing on hitting just one compound leg exercise followed by 1 push and 1 pull is much more manageable.

Then you get the bonus of adding in whatever isolation or accessory work you want to after those three exercises.

This full body template manages fatigue a little better and, as a result, allows you to train in less time and even train with more frequency, if desired.

Now, go lift some weights or do some calisthenics (bodyweight) training.

Quick leg burner – calisthenics style.

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Ex 1: 10 minute EMOM x Hindu Squats + Reverse Lunges. 5 reps every minute on the minute (1 Hindu squat + 1 reverse lunge right + 1 reverse lunge left = 1 rep)

Ex 2: single leg alternating hip thruts-3×10/10

Ex 3: calf raise off steps-50 reps. However many sets it takes to get there. Slow, controlled, big stretch at the bottom.

Total Time = 15 minutes

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Squeezed in this quick session between other responsibilities and activities Saturday afternoon.

Didn’t have a ton of time, but that’s where EMOMs come in — keep me on track while sneaking a ton of volume in minimal time.

Also, when external resistance is a limiting factor (meaning when you’re only using light weights or no weights at all), being creative with exercises and using more inefficient exercise variations are your friend.

Hindu squats are a more difficult squat variation with a huge range of motion. Adding alternating reverse lunges after each Hindu squat increases time under tension and triples the volume of 1 rep. This is a perfect example of how to use creativity to make bodyweight feel plenty heavy while training the lower body.

Use what you’ve got (in this case, just bodyweight) and adjust training variables to achieve the desired stimulus.

The training variables I adjusted were:

1. Density. Squeezing quality volume in a short period of time via EMOM.

2. Exercise variation. Squats and lunges by themselves without added resistance would be too easy for me. So I used a more challenging, knee dominant squat – Hindu squats – and paired reverse lunges with the Hindu squats, creating a dynamic exercise combo that challenges the legs more effectively. I always do single leg hip thrusts if I’m thrusting – so that’s not unique. I just did it sans-weight this time. But, for most people, if you’ve never done single leg hip thrusts, buckle up and eat your humble pie....these will challenge you and alert you of some weakness/imbalances.

3. Time under tension. Again, 1 rep of Hindu squats + Reverse Lunges is actually 3 reps. Each “rep” takes about 5 seconds to complete. Doing these 5 reps every minute took 30 seconds of actual squatting and lunging. That’s a lot of time under tension with minimal rest.

The desired stimulus I was after was hypertrophy (muscle gain). By adjusting those variables I was able to manipulate the intensity without having any external load, and create enough stress in the legs to flip the magic “muscle gain” switch to “on.” I moved the needle in the direction of my goals, despite the limited time and equipment. That’s all that matters.

Calisthenics, training with minimalist equipment, and the like, works if you get creative, adjust variables, take advantage of volume and density, and commit to doing the work.

By the way, this sort of calisthenics leg workout isn’t just for random times when you want to squeeze in a session. If you’re someone that lifts heavy and hurts all the time, working in some bodyweight only sessions (whether that be push day, pull day, leg day, upper body day, or a full body workout) from time to time may be incredibly beneficial. You’ll still get a good muscle building stimulus, but likely without as much systematic fatigue and joint stress. Not saying you should replace weight sessions with calisthenics alone (I don’t), but it’s a nice variable to work in once a week or even just a couple times per month, or maybe as a deload week.

In fact, I am in the process of rolling out a PPL program on here (for free, of course), where I share a way to maximize training frequency (like up to 6 days per week, regularly) while minimizing fatigue, joint stress, and burnout. Not to give away the farm too early, but basically it’s as simple as each week you do 1 push session, 1 pull session, and 1 leg session with weights (dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, machines, weighted calisthenics, whatever you like using for external resistance) and the second half of the week will be 1 bodyweight only pull session, 1 bodyweight only push session, and 1 bodyweight only leg session. I’m going to play around with it myself, hash out the details, then share an article on it soon so any of you can join along and see how it goes. More on that very soon.

Thanks for reading, and have a terrific day.