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The Essentials Program
Training Split
WHAT’S NEW?
This program is perfect for anyone who wants to make the most of their time in the gym, but not spend half their day there. In these workouts we’ll be using high levels of intensity and advanced time-saving techniques to make each workout as efficient as possible!
The primary goal of this program is to optimize hypertrophy within 45 minute training sessions done 2-5x per week. There simply won’t be enough time to have 3-4 sets of each exercise, so most compound exercises will have 2-3 hard sets, while most isolation exercises will be limited to just 1-2 hard sets per exercise. This offers the unique opportunity to focus much more on the quality, rather than quantity, of the sets you perform. The reduction in set quantity will ensure that set quality is maximized for each and every set you do.
In my coaching experience, a lower volume high intensity approach almost always leads to better focus and execution in the gym. Rather than just “going through the motions” for the first few sets of an exercise, most people find that they execute better when they only have 1-2 sets to get the job done. In turn, this can help to reduce junk volume, as there is no chance of doing “wasted” extra sets or sets that are not sufficiently stimulating the target muscle.
To avoid monotony and increase enjoyment through periodic novelty, this program is divided into three training blocks. You will progress with the same exercises for four weeks before they are swapped out for new ones. You will find exercise substitutions next to each exercise that you can use according to your own preferences and availability.
TRAINING SPLIT BREAKDOWN
Day 1 – Full Body
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Full Body
Day 5 – Rest
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
*Note: Split is flexible and training days be modified to fit your schedule
Day 1 – Full Body
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Upper Body
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Lower Body
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
*Note: Split is flexible and training days be modified to fit your scheduleDay 1 – Upper Body
Day 2 – Lower Body
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Upper Body
Day 5 – Lower Body
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
*Note: Split is flexible and training days be modified to fit your schedule
Day 1 – Upper Body
Day 2 – Lower Body
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Push
Day 5 – Pull
Day 6 – Legs
Day 7 – Rest
*Note: Split is flexible and training days be modified to fit your schedule
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Rather than being able to rely on increasing the volume from week to week, this program places a heavy emphasis on strength progression or “beating the logbook.” You can log your workouts by printing out the PDF and writing on the paper.
This program is NOT just an eBook. In addition to everything above, you also get a full excel sheet for recording the exact weights you use for each lift.
- Over 30 video demos by Jeff, illustrating every exercise
- Exact warmups, sets, reps, rest periods, and RPE
- Exercise substitutions for individualization
- Science explained: why the program works (+ references)
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
I designed this program so it can be run with minimal equipment. Because of the exercise substitutions included, you can easily run it with very basic equipment. There are a few cable and machine exercises included as well, but in the event you don’t have access, there are always substitutions provided.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Yes. As long as you are pushing your sets close enough to failure, and following the progression outlined, you should reach a sufficient level of tension to trigger new muscle growth. A 2017 meta-analysis found that even just 1-4 sets per muscle per week was enough to stimulate measurable hypertrophy. Two meta-analyses from 2019 also found that trained lifters were able to make significant strength gains with just 1 set per exercise, taken to failure 2-3x per week. All of this data shows that not only can a minimalistic approach to training be effective, it can even be effective for more experienced lifters. Of course, at a certain point in your development you may need to increase volume to continue maximizing your gains, but there is no question that measurable gains can occur from short, intense workouts.
Every exercise includes two substitution options, which are listed in order of preference. This means that if you can’t perform the original exercise, you should go with Substitution Option 1 first, and then Substitution Option 2, if you can’t perform Option 1.
Yes. Whether you just prefer the other exercise or it’s one you have easier access to, feel free to go with either of the Substitution Options over the original exercise. The program was designed so that all substitution options will elicit a very similar training effect.
Yes, to further reduce the time commitment of each session, you can try supersetting antagonist muscle groups (or exercises that would not fatigue one another). For example, Seated DB Shoulder Press could be supersetted with Seated Cable Rows. In this instance, you would perform your set of Seated DB Shoulder Press, rest approximately 0.5-1 min, then perform Seated Cable Rows, rest ~0.5-1 min, and then go back to Seated DB Shoulder Press to repeat this process. The goal is to still get ~1-2 minutes of rest before returning to each exercise while the act of supersetting allows one muscle to rest while the other works. An example of a superset that you wouldn’t want to perform would be DB Bench Press and Seated DB Shoulder Press, as these are both pushing exercises and both involve your front delts to a high degree. The DB Bench Press would be better paired with Lat Pulldowns or a DB Row.
Each workout will take you under approximately 45 minutes from start to finish, including the warm-up, if you adhere to the rest periods given. If you take your time with the warm up and are more flexible with rest times between sets, your workouts may take ~45-60 minutes.
Yes, but try your best to keep compound movements at the beginning of the workout and save isolation movements for the end. This is to prevent the isolation exercises from interfering with your strength on the compound lifts.