Lauren Tickner #StrengthFeed Training Guide - 129 Pages

NOT ‘STRONG, FOR A GIRL’
... JUST STRONG

Take a look at most of the health fitness advice marketed at women. Notice a trend?
Nearly all of it is focused on how you look.
We don’t think this is helpful.
Are you not allowed to be strong?
Are you not allowed to feel like a badass in the gym?
Are your training accomplishments not worth anything unless you also look like a Victoria’s
Secret model?
This is why #StrengthFeed evolved.
To rebel. To stick two fingers up at societal pressures. To show the world that your training
does not revolve around some arbitrary aesthetic ideal.
This guide gives you a 12 week template to give your training focus - a focus on getting
stronger. We’ve combined 3 powerful ingredients – your conversations with us about who
you are and what you want, our experiences of working with women just like you, and the
best that science has to offer with regards to training programmes. The outcome? A flexible,
progressive, customisable training template that redefines strength.
Of course, you can’t just ignore nutrition, so we have included a section on that as well - if
you want to lose, maintain or gain weight, then we show you the most reliable way to do that.
But from us, there’s no pressure - you can just use the training template to great effect if you
want. If you do want to know more about nutrition, then the StrengthFeed Ultimate Guide to
Tracking Macros is the perfect place to look.
We’d like to say a huge thank you from us for purchasing this guide - we hope you get as much
out of it as we’ve put into it.
See you on the other side…
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CONTENTS
THE FOUNDATIONS........................................................................................................1
THE SCIENCE BEHIND STRENGTH................................................................................2
WHAT ACTUALLY GETS YOU STRONGER?...................................................................2
THE SCIENCE BEHIND STRENGTH................................................................................3
WHAT ARE VOLUME, INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY?.................................................3
VOLUME – THE KEY TO HYPERTROPHY........................................................................4
FREQUENCY – BALANCING PRACTICE AND RECOVERY............................................5
INTENSITY - HOW HEAVY, AND HOW HARD .............................................................5
REPS IN RESERVE (RIR)...................................................................................................6
% 1RM...............................................................................................................................7
THE STRUCTURE OF THE STRENGTHFEED TRAINING
PROGRAMME...................................................................................................................8
SO… WHAT’S FUNCTIONAL OVERREACHING?............................................................8
HOW MANY TIMES PER WEEK WILL I BE TRAINING?................................................10
THE 3 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE.................................................................................10
THE 4 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE.................................................................................10
THE 5 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE................................................................................11
HOW DO I CHOOSE WHICH TEMPLATE TO GO WITH?............................................11
ENJOYING YOUR TRAINING.........................................................................................12
UNDERSTANDING AND
USING THE TRAINING TEMPLATES..............................................................................13
SELECTING EXERCISES.................................................................................................14
SELECTING EXERCISES.................................................................................................15
PLUS SETS AND
WEIGHT PROGRESSION................................................................................................16
SELECTING LOAD FOR ACCESSORY EXERCISES.......................................................16
FAQs................................................................................................................................17
SETTING UP A DIET.......................................................................................................22
WEIGHT LOSS................................................................................................................24
WEIGHT GAIN.................................................................................................................24
PROTEIN.........................................................................................................................25
FAT..................................................................................................................................26
CARBOHYDRATES........................................................................................................27
FIBRE...............................................................................................................................28
MEAL FREQUENCY........................................................................................................29
FOOD VARIETY..............................................................................................................29
SUPPLEMENTS...............................................................................................................35
RECOVERY.....................................................................................................................36
SLEEP...............................................................................................................................36
SELF-MASSAGE..............................................................................................................37
TRAINING PROGRAMMES............................................................................................38
EXERCISE LIBRARY.......................................................................................................39
A FINAL NOTE OF THANKS..........................................................................................125
WHAT’S NEXT?............................................................................................................125
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THE FOUNDATIONS
The StrengthFeed programme is based on the following fundamental principles:

• In order to make good progress with your training, we need to be doing enough in the first
place, and look to do more over time in a manageable, sustainable way. This encompasses
the principles of progressive overload and stress management - doing more over time is
only going to be possible if you manage fatigue sensibly.
• We give YOU the power to choose which exercises you do - you’re more likely to stick
to the programme if you enjoy what you’re doing! This is the principle of individuality - a
training programme has to suit you.
• We give you the tools to adjust almost everything within the training template to suit
the exercises you like, how many times per week you can train, and your strength levels
day-to-day. This is the principle of flexibility - you’ve probably heard of flexible dieting;
training should be no different!
• We tailored the training programme to focus on getting you stronger at a number of key
movement patterns that are consistent throughout the 12 week template. This is the
principle of specificity - you get better at what you train for!
Over the next few sections we’ll outline the training templates and how to use them. After
you’re confident in how to use the training portion of this guide, we will cover nutrition and
recovery.
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THE SCIENCE BEHIND STRENGTH
We could just give you the training programme and say “go!”. However, that would make us
no different to any other cookie-cutter training guides that you can pick up off-the-shelf. We
want to give you the science behind why you should focus on strength, not sweat. (and that’s
real strength, by the way – yes, there are countless Instagram posts saying that heavy weights
won’t make you bulky, and that you shouldn’t be afraid of going into the weights room… but
nobody really gives you the “how” or “why” like we do).
Your next 12 weeks are split into 3 “blocks”, also known as mesocycles, each lasting 4
weeks. Each mesocycle builds on the last to lead up to you testing your strength at the end
of the programme. Over the course of the programme, our volume, intensity and frequency
change to not only give us the training adaptations that we want, but to allow us to see
progress in our strength test in week 12.
In order to understand why this programme works, it’s best to build your knowledge from
the ground up by explaining the principles that this programme is based on.
WHAT ACTUALLY GETS YOU STRONGER?

There are 3 main factors involved in strength:
• Skill Acquisition – strength is a skill. How do you best improve your skill at something?
You practice it the movement, and you practice it regularly.
• Neurological Adaptation – Simply put, this is how efficient your nervous system is at
telling your muscles to all fire correctly in order to move a weight. Practicing with similar
loads is a great way to make your nervous system more efficient at firing your muscles.
• Hypertrophy – the more muscle mass you have, the more muscle fibres will be able to fire
and move the weights.
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WHAT ARE VOLUME, INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY?

You may have heard of volume, intensity and frequency before. If so, great! If not – don’t
worry, we’ll explain everything.
First, we need to define each of them:
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It’s vital to note that all 3 are interlinked:

• If you do the same number of sets and reps with a heavier load (i.e. a higher intensity),
you’ll increase volume. 3 x 10 x 50 kg is less volume than 3 x 10 x 60 kg. Increasing volume
too much could affect your ability to recover and train again.
• If you add another day to your programme, you hugely increase your weekly training
volume. Over time, this could well lead to lower recovery and decreased training
performance (we’ll go into more detail on this in just a second).
• If you split one “leg day” into 2, and perform one half on Monday and the other half on
Thursday, you could potentially use heavier weights on the Thursday session as you’ll be
more recovered than if you did them at the end of your “leg day”. This means more weekly
training volume without impacting on your recovery too much.
VOLUME – THE KEY TO HYPERTROPHY

Looking at all of the research, we can see a very clear relationship between volume and
hypertrophy. Up to a point, more volume equates to greater hypertrophy. However it’s
important to understand that too much volume can actually lead to lower performance – this
will lead to less strength and less hypertrophy over time.
In order to explain this, we need to look at the Fitness-Fatigue Model. The Fitness-
Fatigue Model looks at our training performance in terms of 3 factors – fitness, fatigue and
performance.
• Fitness is our baseline ability to “do” things that we’ve trained for. Fitness increases with
training, obviously. It increases and decreases relatively slowly.
• Fatigue is also accumulated as a result of training. The amount of fatigue that you build
up over each session, each week or each mesocycle is proportional to how much volume
you do, and how close to failure you train. It’s important to know that fatigue accumulates
and dissipates much more quickly than fitness.
• Performance is best thought of as Fitness minus Fatigue. It’s how well you can express
your fitness, when you take into account how fatigued you are (as well as other factors
such as sleep, hydration, and other life stressors).
Let’s think of how this might play out over a single training session. Over the course of
a single training session, fitness is going to go up a little bit as you’re doing work and
practicing. However, fatigue will also increase, and as we’ve already said it’ll increase much
more quickly than your fitness will. This is why your performance tends to go down towards
the end of a training session!
Over the course of a 12 week training programme, the idea is to manage our fatigue
accumulation so that we continue to increase fitness and performance by the end of the
programme.
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FREQUENCY – BALANCING PRACTICE AND RECOVERY

Remember that one of our pillars of strength was skill? Skills need practice, but we’re not
playing a musical instrument. We’re strength training, and strength training takes much more
of a toll on our muscles and joints, so there’s often a sweet spot between practicing too much
and not practicing enough.
Let’s say that we have 6 sets of 10 squats at 50 kg to perform in a week. If we try and cram all
of those into one session, it’s very likely that the last few sets will be either cut short, or done
with very poor technique. Therefore we’re simply not practicing what we meant to.
On the other hand, if we do one set per day over 6 days, it might be that our single working
set isn’t done properly. We don’t have any other sets to correct our mistake, therefore our
only practice for the day wasn’t good.
Hence the notion of a “sweet spot”. For strength training, our experience and the research
tends to point towards training each muscle group 2-3 times per week being appropriate.
Why “appropriate” and not “optimal”? We simply don’t know what optimal is, and it’s also
likely to be very individual. Rather than stress about what’s optimal, we prefer to control
what we can and know that it’s probably good enough. If we sweat 90% of the small stuff
and get 95% of the progress, but when we sweat 100% of the small stuff and get 97% of
the progress, is that extra 10% stress really worth the 2% extra gains you’ll get? In our
experience, it isn’t usually.
INTENSITY - HOW HEAVY, AND HOW HARD

Remember from the graphic above – intensity refers to how heavy we lift, and how close to
failure we go. In the StrengthFeed programme, we use two main ways to define this:
• Reps in reserve (RIR) – for some movements, we have you gauge how close to failure you
are in terms of how many reps you have left in the tank.
• % of a 1RM – for some movements, we estimate the heaviest weight you can lift for 1 rep,
and use a certain percentage of that.
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REPS IN RESERVE (RIR)

RIR stands for Repetitions In Reserve, and is a key part of how you’ll select your training loads
for the programme. RIR is a guide to how many reps should be left in the tank at the end of the
set before your form starts to break down.
RIR REPETITIONS IN RESERVE
0 No reps left
0.5 No reps left, but you could add a small amount of weight
1 1 rep left
1.5 Definitely 1, maybe 2 reps left
2 2 reps left
2.5 Definitely 2, maybe 3 reps left
The corresponding number of reps left in the tank
3 and up
- beyond 4 is too far away from failure for most people to estimate
Generally speaking, we think that steering a few reps short of failure is a good thing. Yes, it may
not ‘burn’ quite so much, but it’ll generally allow you to accumulate more training volume over
time and is less likely to lead to serious injury. Remember what that leads to? That’s right –
more hypertrophy and more strength. Because RIR is a relatively difficult thing for most people
to estimate, we give ranges so that you’re not stressing about hitting an exact number of reps in
reserve.
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% 1RM
For 4 of the lifts, we use something called a % of 1 Rep Max - or %1RM for short. A 1RM is the
weight that you could lift for 1 rep only - so you couldn’t do any more reps, or add any more
weight to the bar. A big part of getting stronger is adding the right amount of weight to the bar,
and %1RM allows us to do that with a little more accuracy.
If you’ve never used %1RM before (or even heard of a 1RM), don’t panic! We don’t need to
rush out and test a 1RM on the lifts; we can estimate a 1RM using the table below. For each
of the squat, horizontal press, hip hinge and vertical press variations you want to use in the
programme (more on that later - it’s probably best to read through the guide and come back to
this section last!) find a weight with which you can hit 2-5 reps with 1-2 reps left in the tank. The
table shows an approximate %1RM for every combination of reps and RIR - so the weight you
can use for 2 reps with 0 RIR is 95% 1RM, 3 reps with 2 RIR is 80%, and so on. That way, you can
estimate 1RM for all the lifts you need.
E.g. Squat test = 3 reps @ 60kg with 1 to 2 reps left in the tank.
Therefore 60kg is roughly 85% of the estimated 1RM.
60 kg ÷ 0.85 = 70 kg
Therefore our estimated 1RM is approximately 70 kg.
Now we know abit about the “why” behind the programme, let’s take a look at the structure of
the programme.
RIR REP
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
0 100% 95% 90% 85% 80% 77% 74% 71% 69% 66% 64% 62%
Maybe 1 98% 93% 88% 83% 79% 76% 73% 70% 67% 65% 63% -
1 95% 90% 85% 80% 77% 74% 71% 69% 66% 64% 62% -
1 to 2 93% 88% 83% 79% 76% 73% 70% 67% 65% 63% - -
2 90% 85% 80% 77% 74% 71% 69% 66% 64% 62% - -
3 85% 80% 77% 74% 71% 69% 66% 64% 62% - - -
4 80% 77% 74% 71% 69% 66% 64% 62% - - - -
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THE STRUCTURE OF
THE STRENGTHFEED TRAINING PROGRAMME
As we said at the beginning, the training programme has 3 mesocycles, each lasting 4 weeks.
SO… WHAT’S FUNCTIONAL OVERREACHING?

Good question! To understand this, we have to look at the fitness-fatigue model again.
We know that fatigue is dependent upon how much volume you do, and how heavy that
volume is – the more you do, and the heavier you do it, the more fatigued you’ll be.
Most good training programmes come with some form of end goal – with ours, it’s a strength
test at the end. We want our fitness and performance to increase over the course of the
programme, so that we 1) reap the rewards of increased strength and hypertrophy, and 2) so
we perform well at the strength test.
Over the course of the programme, we increase the amount of weight you’re using in order
for you to be practicing with weights that are more similar to the ones you’ll be using for the
strength test – you get good at what you practice, after all.
Generally speaking, we also decrease our training volume over the course of the training
programme to ensure that fatigue doesn’t get pushed too high. However, the functional
overreaching block has the opposite aim – to increase volume and intensity at the same time,
right up to the very edge of your recovery capabilities.
Note – the %s in the following graph refer to % 1RM for each of the 4 main lifts
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THE STRUCTURE OF
What this will do is increase our fitness much more than the previous training block, but
it will also drive fatigue up a lot so that our performance may actually decrease just a little
bit. If we don’t do something to reduce that fatigue, then our performance will continue to
drop – this is no good, obviously. This is why week 4 is a bit of a “deload”, to allow fatigue to
dissipate. The Heavy Block that comes after this is also much lower in volume to make sure
that the fatigue reduces as much as possible, which will allow you to perform to the best of
your ability in the strength test!
Graphically, this looks a little bit like this:
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THE STRUCTURE OF
HOW MANY TIMES PER WEEK WILL I BE TRAINING?

As we said in the Frequency section, it’s a good idea to train each body part 2-3 times per
week. We’ve selected 2 times per week for the StrengthFeed programme, as many of you
may have only been training body parts once per week before buying this guide, and jumping
straight to 3 times per week might be a bit too big a jump straight away.
We’ve included templates that have you in the gym 3, 4 or 5 times a week. However, the
beauty is that all of the templates include you training each body part twice a week; this
means that you can be flexible with which template you use on any given week. We advise
picking a template and sticking with it where possible – routine and consistency are key
factors in your success, after all – but if your schedule means you can only get to the gym 3
times that week, you know you’re not stuck!
THE 3 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE

The 3 day per week template takes advantage of a full-body session in order to make sure all
body parts are trained twice per week:
Day 1: Lower Strength
Day 2: Upper Strength
Day 3: Full Body Hypertrophy
This ensures the most “bang for buck” – if you can only get to the gym 3 times per week and
are fixed on only training one body part per session, you’ll miss out on a lot of the training
volume and frequency needed to make the best progress you can.
The 4 day per week template simply splits your week into upper body and lower body
sessions:
Day 3: Lower Body Hypertrophy
Day 4: Upper Body Hypertrophy
This will allow you to accumulate slightly more weekly training volume than the 3 day per
week template.
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THE STRUCTURE OF

The 5 day per week template simply splits your week into upper body, lower body, and
“push”/”pull” sessions:
Day 3: Lower Body Hypertrophy
Day 4: “Push” Hypertrophy (shoulders, chest and triceps)
Day 5: “Pull” Hypertrophy (Back, biceps and a teensy bit of glutes)
Again will allow you to accumulate slightly more weekly training volume than the 4 day per
week template whilst maintaining our weekly frequency of training each body part twice per
week.
OKAY, SO HOW DO I CHOOSE WHICH TEMPLATE TO GO

WITH?
Unfortunately, we can’t give you a concrete answer for this – but please don’t jump straight
for the 5 day per week template. Some of our best powerlifters at SBS only train 3 days per
week, and Lauren currently only trains 4 days per week. Picking the 5 day per week template
because it has the most volume certainly isn’t the sensible choice – if you’re only training
each body part once a week right now, then the 4 day per week (or even the 3 day per
week) template may well provide you with more weekly training volume than you’ve been
previously doing, which will still allow you to make progress!
Ultimately, what should dictate your training is adherence. If you can’t stick to a programme,
it’s not worth anything – it’s why we’ve given you 3 options that you can switch between if the
need arises. Your training should be realistic, enjoyable and flexible.
BEING REALISTIC
You don’t get any prizes for saying you’ll train twice a day, every day, and then killing yourself
to get it done.
Nobody is going to give you a medal for training more than anyone else.
This is your training, and you need to start with what you can do, not what you feel you
should be doing.
Consider your schedule, your commitments, your priorities (and it’s perfectly okay if training
isn’t at the top of that list of priorities, by the way), and come up with a realistic number of
times that you can be in the gym each week.
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THE STRUCTURE OF
ENJOYING YOUR TRAINING

Have a look through the templates – which one do you think you’ll actually enjoy doing the
most? If you enjoy doing more exercises per body part, then it might be an idea to pick one of
the 4- or 5-days per week templates. If you love full body sessions focused around strength
work, the 3- or 4-day per week options may work better for you.
YOUR DIET IS FLEXIBLE – YOUR TRAINING SHOULD BE TOO!
As I said before, the great thing about this template is that you have the flexibility to increase
or decrease the amount of times you’re in the gym should you need or want to.
Let’s say that you initially choose the 4-day per week template. You manage the first
mesocycle, but then in Week 5 you get sent away for work, and know you won’t be able to
get to the gym 4 days that week. At that point, you simply find Week 5 from the 3-day per
week template, and complete that. You can then be confident that you’ve still trained each
body part twice per week, and have fitted it into your schedule.
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THE STRUCTURE OF
UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE TRAINING TEMPLATES

The training templates themselves can be found after the FAQ section – they’re designed for
you to print off and take to the gym with you to track your training progress.
Because this is YOUR training programme, you’ll need to decide on which exercises to
do. We’ve given you categories and suggested exercises, but use the exercise library to
ultimately choose which exercises you do!
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SELECTING EXERCISES
EXERCISE CATEGORY
Exercise category refers to the categories in the exercise library, and are to help you
construct your own training programme. The categories are:
ABBREVIATION CATEGORY
Sq Squat
HH Hip Hinge
DL Deadlift
SL Single Leg Movements
Hor. Pr. Horizontal Press
Hor. Pu. Horizontal Pull
Vert. Pr. Vertical Press
Vert. Pu. Vertical Pull
Delts Deltoid Isolation
UB Upper Back Isolation
LE Leg Extension
LC Leg Curl
Biceps Bicep Isolation
Triceps Tricep Isolation
Calf Calf Isolation
Core Abdominal/Core work
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE EXERCISE LIBRARY
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SELECTING EXERCISES
SELECTING EXERCISES
We recommend using the exercise library attached to this guide to help you select exercises.
Bear in mind the rep ranges you’re going to be working with - each exercise in the library has
a guide as to what rep ranges it’s suitable for!
Also, we recommend that, where possible, you select barbell movements for the squat, hip
hinge/deadlift, horizontal press and vertical press exercises as these are a little more suitable
for using with a %1RM. We also recommend that you keep them consistent for the duration
of the 12 weeks. This will allow you to have enough “practice” at each lift to ensure progress
over the programme. For the other exercises, we recommend changing them every 4 weeks
so that you don’t get bored with the programme. There’s little evidence for this having a
negative impact on your progress, and some evidence to suggest that some variation may be
a good thing, so experiment with the accessory exercises!
If you’re unsure as to what exercises to select, you can also use the exercises that we’ve
suggested in the templates – those will work great too!
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PLUS SETS AND
WEIGHT PROGRESSION
PLUS SETS
In the final weeks of the programme, we do our strength testing. On your final set of each
exercise with a “+” sign next to the reps, perform as many reps as possible with the weight
you used for your working sets until you hit 1 rep from failure.
SELECTING LOAD FOR ACCESSORY EXERCISES

For the accessory exercises (everything other than , we give rep ranges. For these, select a
load that allows you to complete at least one set with the top end of the rep range prescribed.
From there, continue to add reps every week until you can complete each set with the top
end of the rep range, and then move up to the next available weight. Be sure to pay attention
to the RIR we give for each exercise, too – we don’t want you going to failure where possible!
E.g. Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press, 3 x 8-12 with 12 kg dumbbells
Week 1:
Set 1 = 12 reps
Set 2 = 10 reps
Set 3 = 8 reps
Week 2:
Set 1 = 12 reps
Set 2 = 12 reps
Set 3 = 10 reps
Week 3:
Set 1 = 12 reps
Set 2 = 12 reps
Set 3 = 12 reps
Next week, we use the 14kg dumbbells and start the process over again. This ensures slow
and steady progress on all of our exercises.
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FAQs
WHAT DAYS DO I DO THE SESSIONS ON?

Really, it’s up to you and your schedule. Provided you’re adequately rested between
sessions, you can space them out however you want. We tend to recommend resting at least
a day between training body parts – here are some potential options using the 3 day per week
template as an example:
DAY OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3

MONDAY Lower Strength Lower Strength Lower Strength
TUESDAY Upper Strength
WEDNESDAY Upper Strength

Full Body
THURSDAY Hypertrophy Upper Strength
Full Body
FRIDAY Hypertrophy
Full Body
SATURDAY Hypertrophy
SUNDAY
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE TIME TO DO ALL THE EXERCISES

ON ONE DAY?
Most people should be able to fit each session in within an hour, including a warm up.
However, if you can’t do this then simply do as much as you can of each session – the
exercises towards the beginning are always the most important!
SPEAKING OF WARMING UP, ANY TIPS?

Yes - our friend Eric Helms has a video which summarises the purpose of a warm up, and
gives a sample (including warm up sets). You can find that here.
It’s important to note that your warm up sets should not be taken anywhere close to failure.
You don’t want to tire yourselves out during your warm up sets – that’s absolutely pointless.
Do as much as you need to ingrain your form.
We’ve provided a few more sample warm ups which you can download by clicking here.
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FAQs
HANG ON – WHAT ABOUT GLUTE ACTIVATION?

Glute activation is a really interesting topic. There’s some research showing that performing
1 hour of glute activation for 6 days at home does improve the ability of your glutes to “fire”
during a glute bridge, but this was all the glute exercise that they did over those 6 days. They
weren’t doing it before a full training session involving lots of squats, deadlifts, or hip thrusts.
Some other research showed that doing 10 minutes of conscious glute activation before a
prone hip extension test (something that a physiotherapist might get you to do) may improve
the ability of your glutes to ‘fire’ – but the results weren’t significant, and the study isn’t
necessarily very relevant to what you might be doing in the gym.
What people generally mean by “glute activation” (usually done with a variety of bands and
strange-looking movements) may actually be called pre-exhaustion. What this may actually
do is force your quads and hamstrings to work harder during the rest of your training session
because your glutes are tired. Not a good idea if your aim is to use your glutes as much as
possible!
By doing the dynamic warm ups suggested by us (or by Eric) in the section above, you’ll be
doing all the “activation” that your glutes need. If you want to include some more targeted
glute activation, then doing 5 minutes of glute activation drills is unlikely to hurt – however,
to maximize your use of time in the gym then we recommend keeping your warm up as
efficient as possible. Dynamic warm ups have been clearly demonstrated to have a positive
effect on your workouts… glute activation, less so.
WILL I STILL BE ABLE TO GET STRONGER WITHOUT

“BULKING”? I DON’T WANT TO GET BULKY!
Firstly, this isn’t us saying that women shouldn’t look to put on muscle mass – we are 100%
behind that, and as we said at the beginning we really aren’t focused on how you look at
StrengthFeed. We believe that your physical abilities are far more important than your
appearance.. However, we understand that some of you may still worry about how you look,
and that’s okay too. To answer the question - yes, absolutely you can get stronger without
getting bulky - there is plenty of evidence to demonstrate that you can get stronger without
putting on significant amounts of weight. We have had plenty of clients get stronger over
time without their weight changing all that much - especially if they are transitioning from a
less structured programme to a more structured, progressive training programme.
WHAT IF I CAN’T COMPLETE THE SETS AND REPS WITH

THE %1RM GIVEN IN THE PROGRAMME?
That’s why we’ve also included the RIR for those exercises - if you’re struggling, then drop
the weight to a weight that corresponds with each set having that many reps left in the tank.
Similarly, if the weight is too light then you can increase it by a small amount to fit within the
RIR ranges we give!
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FAQs
WHAT IF I CAN ONLY MAKE IT TO THE GYM TWICE THAT WEEK?

No worries – sometimes this happens, and it’s definitely nothing to be ashamed of.
If this happens, then we suggest doing the Full Body Hypertrophy session from the 3 day
per week template twice (so you’re still training each muscle group twice a week) and then
repeating the week using one of the other templates the next week.
WILL I STILL BE ABLE TO GET STRONGER WITHOUT

“BULKING”? I DON’T WANT TO GET BULKY!
No worries – sometimes this happens, and it’s definitely nothing to be ashamed of.
If this happens, then we suggest doing the Full Body Hypertrophy session from the 3 day
per week template twice (so you’re still training each muscle group twice a week) and then
repeating the week using one of the other templates the next week.
I’M INTENDING ON LOSING/GAINING SOME WEIGHT

DURING THIS - DO I NEED TO ADAPT THE TRAINING
PROGRAMMES AT ALL?
Nope!
WHAT ABOUT CARDIO?

See Step 6 from the Setting Up Your Diet section.
THIS LOOKS LIKE LESS THAN WHAT I CURRENTLY DO –

WON’T I GET WORSE?
You shouldn’t do! Often, with training, doing a little bit less in a more structured way actually
leads to better progress over time because you’re managing your fatigue a little better!
ARE ANY OF THE EXERCISES BETTER THAN OTHERS?

Not necessarily – there’s no such thing as a magic exercise!
When selecting exercises, consider the following:
• Is it suitable for the rep ranges we’ve given?

• Am I comfortable doing the exercise through the required range of motion with no pain?
• Do I enjoy the exercise?
19
FAQs
WHAT IF I WANT TO TRY AN EXERCISE THAT ISN’T

IN THE LIBRARY?
We tried to make the exercise library as comprehensive as possible, but if you’re desperate
to try something that isn’t in the library then we won’t stop you. Just consider the same things
that we’ve outlined above when selecting exercises!
WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE DIRECT AB WORK?

You’ll train your core very well by doing squats, deadlifts and especially standing overhead
presses. However, you may choose variations of these that don’t necessarily target your abs
quite so well, so we do include some direct core work – but we wanted to shift more of your
training volume to the bigger lifts that will make the biggest difference to your strength.
WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT STRENGTH TRAINING? WHY

SHOULD I DO THIS AS OPPOSED TO HIIT CIRCUITS AND
BODYBUILDING-STYLE WORKOUTS?
Another great question. The issue that often arises when training using glute days, HIIT
circuits and bodybuilding style workouts is simply one of exercising for the sake of
exercising. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an exercise session for the sake of moving
around, sweating a bit and releasing some endorphins – however, if this is the entirety of
your training programme then your progress is likely to be quite slow. There’s little focus on
progressive overload, adding weight to the bar, and taking a sensible approach to managing
fatigue as we’ve outlined in the previous sections – it’s all about “feeling the burn” which, by
itself, is unlikely to do much at all.
With structured strength training, you’ll be able to progress more quickly. You’ll have a plan
that you know is going to lead to you making the progress you’d like to, and it saves you a lot
of headaches trying to figure out whether what you’re doing is “optimal”.
20
SETTING UP A DIET
As we said in the foreword, we think that the focus on body image has gotten a little out of
hand. We think that each and every person should be able to celebrate themselves for who
they are and what they can do – not what they look like. However, we also think it’s really
important to empower you with the tools you need to sustainably change your bodyweight if
that’s something you want (or need) to do.
The most important principle to bear in mind when looking to alter your bodyweight is that
of energy balance. The concept of energy balance is a relatively simple one. Your body has
stores of energy, which it can access when it needs to - glycogen in your muscles for higher-
intensity activity, fat stores for lower-intensity activity and protein in your muscles and
internal organs for when the going REALLY gets tough.
If you eat food containing more energy than you use over a given period of time, then your
stores of energy will increase. This is called a calorie surplus, and will result in you gaining
weight.
If you eat food containing less energy than you use over a given period of time, then your
stores of energy will decrease. This is known as a calorie deficit - you’ll lose weight doing
this.
Please note that what we outline below is just one way of ensuring that you’re in a calorie
surplus or deficit - there are many ways to achieve this, some of which are a bit less
numbers-focused than the way which we detail here. For more detail on some of these, we
recommend this fantastic article by Gregg Slater. Or, for more detail on tracking macros, you
know where to look. Insert link to macros guide.
In order to determine exactly what your diet will look like for the next 12 weeks, we need to
take the following steps:
1. Figure out how much weight you should aim to lose or gain per week, if you want to
change your weight.
2. Figure out the approximate number of calories you need to maintain your current weight,
and then how many calories you should be eating for your target weight change.
3. Set targets for your protein, carbohydrate and fat intake, and what to do if you don’t think
you’ll hit those on a given day.
4. Cover meal frequency and food variety.
5. Set a standard for how you weigh yourself to gauge whether you’re eating the right
amount.
6. Teach you how to adjust your calorie intake.
21
SETTING UP A DIET
STEP 1: TARGET WEIGHT CHANGE

We don’t recommend just setting a “goal weight” and then working towards that.
Why?
1. The “goal weight” is very often based on someone who isn’t you.
2. It’s very tempting to try and achieve that as quickly as possible, which can lead to some
less-than-healthy approaches to weight loss or weight gain.
3. The focus on the “outcome goal” tends to lead to dissatisfaction with your progress
markers, as you’re not quite “there yet”.
Instead, we recommend setting what are called “process goals”. These are goals that
encourage you to focus on the behaviours that are going to add up over time to enable you
to achieve an end goal. Generally, this leads to a much more positive outlook as there are so
many more things that you can feel a sense of accomplishment with.
Examples of process goals could include:
• A daily step target to ensure a minimum activity level

• Including a serving of protein and 2 servings of fruit or vegetables at each meal
• Training 4 times per week
• Paying more attention to when you’re full, and stopping eating when you’re full
Of course, these process goals have to be set in the context of an end goal - however, in
order to ensure that we stay motivated it’s also useful to set progress markers towards
the end goal. This is where regular weight change targets come in handy - it adjusts your
expectations for what is realistic from week to week!
22
SETTING UP A DIET
WE TEND TO USE THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES FOR

WEIGHT LOSS AND WEIGHT GAIN:
RATE OF
WEIGHT WEIGHT
WEIGHT PROS CONS
LOSS GAIN
CHANGE
Requires fairly rigorous tracking
0.5% of 0.5% of Lower risk of muscle loss or
of macronutrients in order to
SLOW bodyweight bodyweight fat gain, sustainable for a much
ensure progress,
per week per month* longer period of time
and a LOT of patience!
Offers a good "middle ground"
with regards to seeing progress
regularly, and can be sustained
1% of 1% of for long enough for most peo- More advanced trainees may
MODERATE bodyweight bodyweight ple who are alternating between risk muscle loss as a diet reach-
per week per month typical "cutting" and "bulking" es its end stages
phases. Doesn't necessarily
require the approach to be as
rigorously quantitative
Runs the greatest risk of mus-
cle loss, except for beginner
trainees or those coming off a
Rapid results, especially for fat
1.5% of 1.5% of training layoff. Energy levels
loss. Can be achieved via the
FAST bodyweight bodyweight
least quantitative
will also suffer after a much
per week per month shorter period of time if losing
tracking methods
fat. Fat gain may be excessive if
gaining, unless you're very lean
already.
It’s up to you to select a rate of weight change. If you’re unsure of what you should be aiming
for, we would tend to recommend the moderate rates as a good “middle ground”. You can
always adjust things as you progress!
*Why “per month” for weight gain? Muscle growth is a much slower process than fat
loss, and trying to gain too much weight too quickly will likely lead to more fat gain that
most people tend to be comfortable with. As a result, looking for weight change on a “per
month” basis tends to offer much more realistic targets.
STEP 2: SETTING YOUR CALORIE AND MACRO INTAKE

In order to get the most reliable results from this guide, we recommend downloading a
calorie tracking app such as MyFitnessPal to record your calorie intake as accurately as
possible (if you don’t already do so).
There are two ways to determine how much you need to eat, depending on whether or not
you know how many calories you need to maintain your current bodyweight.
23
SETTING UP A DIET
I’M USED TO TRACKING MY CALORIES -

WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Great! If you know your current calorie intake already, and know how much weight you
want to lose or gain according to the section above, then simply adjust it using one of the
following values from your maintenance daily calorie intake:
WEIGHT LOSS
WEEKLY WEIGHT AMOUNT TO SUBTRACT

EXAMPLE
LOSS TARGET FROM MAINTENANCE
0.5% per week 5% 1,800 kcal - (1,800 kcal x 0.05) = ~1,700 kcal
1% per week 12% 2,150 kcal - (2,150 kcal x 0.12) = ~1,900 kcal
WEIGHT GAIN
MONTHLY WEIGHT AMOUNT TO ADD

EXAMPLE
GAIN TARGET TO MAINTENANCE
0.5% per month 5% 1,800 kcal + (1,800 kcal x 0.05) = ~1,900 kcal
1% per month 8% 2,150 kcal + (2,150 kcal x 0.08) = ~2,300 kcal
Set this as your new calorie target in whichever tracking app you use.
I’M NOT SURE WHAT MY MAINTENANCE CALORIE

INTAKE IS… HELP?
Not to worry - we’ve done the hard work for you!
Click here to access the StrengthFeed Macro Calculator, which will calculate everything for
you once you’ve figured out your target weight change!
24
SETTING UP A DIET
STEP 3: MACRONUTRIENT TARGETS

If you used the Macro Calculator in the section above, you can skip this step - however, if
you’re setting up your own calorie intake then you’ll need to go through these steps! It’s also
worth reading this section if you want to know more about the various macronutrients.
Before we get into this - just know that you can still run the #StrengthFeed programme just
fine using calorie targets alone. You’ll still get great results - but if you want to really take
your results up a gear, then we need to take a look at some macronutrient targets - targets
for protein, carbohydrates, fat and fibre.
Please note – this is a whistle-stop tour of everything macros-related.

We go into more detail in the other guide!
PROTEIN
Protein is one of the 3 major macronutrients (with the other 2 being fat and carbohydrates).
Protein is structural – it makes up things like your skin, hair and muscles, as well as your
internal organs and a lot of the other things that make your body work the way it does.
Protein contains roughly 4 kcal per gram.
Protein intake needs to be considered for a number of reasons:
• Protein may help you to retain muscle mass, and lose mostly fat as you diet. If you’re
gaining weight, eating enough protein will allow you to build new muscle tissue!
• Losing weight requires you to technically under-eat for a period of time. Protein can help
increase satiety (how full you remain after a meal) and help curb those cravings that can
sabotage your progress!
• Weight re-gain after the end of a diet is a very common occurrence. Some research
demonstrates that an increased protein intake may help people not regain so much weight
at the end of the diet.
The current research indicates that protein intake should fall anywhere between 1.2 and 3
grams per kilogram of bodyweight – if you’re dieting, maybe stick to the higher end, and if
you’re looking to gain weight then somewhere on the lower end may suit you a little better.
This is a huge range, so if you’re unsure of where to start then 2 grams per kilogram is a great
place to start.
To find this out, take your current bodyweight in kilograms and double it. We suggest
rounding to the nearest 10 grams, as attempting to track exactly 126 grams of protein per day
is a little futile.
If you’re dieting, we recommend trying to hit your target to within ±10 grams. If you’re
maintaining weight or gaining weight, then you can relax a little and hit them to within ±15-20
grams.
25
SETTING UP A DIET
FAT
Fat is the most calorific macronutrient, containing approximately 9 kcal per gram. Fat
can be classified as unsaturated or saturated, depending on the chemical structure of
the fat molecules. Fat plays a number of important roles within the body –they form cell
membranes, form vital parts of your nerves and brain, play roles in the formation and
mechanism of your hormonal systems.
The research surrounding fat intake is largely inconclusive with regards to the exact amounts
of unsaturated and saturated fat that should be consumed, however a total fat intake between
15 and 35 % of total calorie intake is considered to be safe, convenient and allow for enough
carbs over the longer term for someone who trains a lot!
The easy way to determine your fat intake is to look at your current diet - are the foods you
eat more carbohydrate dominant, or more fat-based? If you prefer to base your diet around
carbohydrates, opt for roughly 15-20% of your diet from fat. If you prefer fattier foods, 30-
35% of your diet from fat may be more appropriate. Use 25% as a balance between the two.
To calculate this, do the following:
1. Take the % of your calorie intake you want to use, and divide that number by 100.
E.g. 25% ÷ 100 = 0.25
2. Multiply your calorie target by the answer to step 1.
E.g. 2,145 kcal x 0.25 = 536 kcal
3. Divide the answer to step 2 by 9.
E.g. 536 kcal ÷ 9 kcal/gram = 60 grams
If you’re dieting, allow a margin of ± 5 grams of fat per day - so the final target from this
example is 55-65 grams of fat per day. If you’re maintaining or gaining weight, you can relax
this to ±10-15 grams per day provided you’re within your calorie targets.
26
SETTING UP A DIET
CARBOHYDRATES
Once you’ve determined your protein and fat intake, your carbohydrate intake makes up the
remainder of your calorie allowance for the day. Carbohydrates form an important fuel source
for your training - don’t neglect them!
To determine this, use the following steps:
1. Take your protein target, and multiply it by 4

E.g. 130 g x 4 kcal/g = 520 kcal
2. Take your fat target in calories (the answer to step 2 from the fat section) and add it to the
answer from step 1.
E.g. 520 kcal + 536 kcal = 1,056 kcal
3. Take your total calorie target, and subtract the answer to step 2 from it.
E.g. 2,145 kcal - 1,056 kcal = 1,089 kcal
4. Divide the answer to step 3 by 4.
E.g. 1,089 kcal ÷ 4 kcal/gram = ~270 grams (or 260-280 grams, allowing for ±10 grams)
27
SETTING UP A DIET
FIBRE
Fibre comes in many forms, which we won’t go into too much here as it’s nor strictly
necessary for you to know. Fibre has many benefits, including:
• Positively impacting on blood lipids such as cholesterol

• Improving frequency of defecation
• Promotion of a healthy gut flora
• Potentially enhancing immune function
Similarly to fat, fibre intake is hard to specify. A minimum of 20 grams per day seems to
be what most people need to ensure a healthy frequency of defecation, up to a practical
maximum of 20% of your daily carbohydrate intake in grams.
The final targets for someone weighing 65 kg would therefore be:

Calories: 2,145 kcal Protein: 120-140 grams Fat: 55-65 grams Carbohydrates: 260-280 grams
28
SETTING UP A DIET
STEP 4: MEAL FREQUENCY AND FOOD VARIETY
MEAL FREQUENCY
Meal frequency is a very individual variable, and will depend largely upon your lifestyle and
daily schedule. However, for promoting as much satiety as possible, we recommend 3 to 6
meals per day, spaced 3-6 hours apart.
It may be beneficial to include a minimum of 30-40 grams of high quality protein in each meal
to effectively satiate you.
We recommend that the majority of your calories come from meals, rather than snacks,
especially if you’re trying to lose fat - snacks tend to be relatively small doses of calories, and
tend not to fill people up as much as a regular meal frequency.
Don’t stress about meal frequency too much – hitting your daily calorie and macronutrient
targets is far more important.
FOOD VARIETY
• Including a wide variety of foods in your diet is beneficial for the following reasons:
Ensuring sufficient intake of a wide spectrum of vitamins, minerals and other trace
nutrients found in foods.
• The benefits of fibre intake depend on you eating a variety of different fibre sources.
• Eating a wide variety of protein sources makes sure that you are consuming enough of all
of the various amino acids that come from protein – your body can’t make some of these,
so you need to get them from food.
• Prioritising poly-unsaturated fat sources (such as nuts/nut butters, seeds, vegetable oils
etc) may promote more muscle growth and less fat accumulation according to the 2014
LIPOGAIN study. No – that doesn’t mean faceplant a full jar of Pip and Nut – it just means
that making sure your fat intake comes primarily from unsaturated fat might be a good
thing!
• Consuming large quantities of refined sugar, especially in a calorie surplus, may have
negative effects on your health. Including some sugar in your diet is almost certainly
not a bad thing, but going overboard with it probably isn’t great. We prefer to focus on
including lots of other foods, rather than excluding sugar - eating a variety of carbohydrate
sources will mean that you’re not consuming excessive quantities of sugar.
• You can eat more of the foods you enjoy, and thus not get bored of the same foods over
and over!
29
SETTING UP A DIET
A wide variety of fibre sources can be obtained from a variety of fruit, vegetables, whole
grains, nuts, legumes and seeds. A general rule of thumb is to include a wide variety of plants
in your diet to ensure an adequate variety of fibre sources.
Try and ensure that you include a wide variety of foods that you enjoy in your diet. There’s
no reason to include foods that you don’t necessarily enjoy. The diagram below gives a good
breakdown of roughly what your diet should consist of:
30
SETTING UP A DIET
STEP 5: HOW TO WEIGH YOURSELF

The only surefire way of making sure you’re in a calorie surplus or deficit is weighing yourself
– if you’re not gaining or losing weight, you’re actually at maintenance! Focusing on weight
and attaching emotion to your weight isn’t something we recommend – just use it as a guide
as to whether you’re on track or not.
Usually, we recommend weighing yourself first thing in the morning, after you’ve been to the
toilet but before you’ve eaten or drunk anything.
If this isn’t possible (we know it isn’t always), then the most important thing is to make things
as standardised as possible. So many things can impact on your scale weight - food left in
your digestive tract, clothing, water intake, salt intake are just a few. If you weigh yourself at
the gym, try and make sure you have a consistent amount of food and water before you go,
and try to wear roughly the same amount of clothing when you do go.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I WEIGH MYSELF?

This is where it gets a little complicated. Due to the hormonal changes that can occur due to
your menstrual cycle, weight can fluctuate fairly significantly from week to week.
We need to bear that in mind when it comes to tracking your weight progress. We usually
recommend collecting weight data on a bi-weekly basis at least (Mondays and Thursdays
are a good start), but if you’ve been adherent to your calorie targets - more on those in just a
second - and you aren’t seeing any weight change one week, then try comparing the values
on a monthly basis.
31
SETTING UP A DIET
STEP 6: ADJUSTING YOUR CALORIE INTAKE IF WEIGHT

CHANGE STALLS
It’s worth knowing how much your weight fluctuates over the course of a month, and if
there’s a pattern - sometimes, your menstrual cycle can mean that your weight naturally goes
up and down over the course of a month. If you’re on hormonal birth control, this may be a
little more stable; hopefully you have a handle on what your weight tends to do!
If your weight tends to fluctuate a lot, we’d recommend comparing weights on a bi-weekly
or monthly basis and using differences in those weights to dictate your calorie intake. If your
weight is more stable, weekly differences are good data to use. If you’re comparing over
longer periods of time, don’t forget to extrapolate your target weekly weight loss by adding
up your target weekly weight losses.
Whichever time period you’re comparing over, if you haven’t seen your projected weight
change then you need to adjust your calorie intake according to the tables below.
WEIGHT LOSS
WEEKLY WEIGHT AMOUNT TO SUBTRACT
EXAMPLE
LOSS TARGET FROM MAINTENANCE
1% per week 12% 2,150 kcal - (2,150 kcal x 0.12) = ~1,900 kcal
WEIGHT GAIN
MONTHLY WEIGHT AMOUNT TO ADD
EXAMPLE
GAIN TARGET TO MAINTENANCE
1% per month 8% 2,150 kcal + (2,150 kcal x 0.08) = ~2,300 kcal
If your weight has essentially been stable over a period of time, then your food intake and
energy expenditure has averaged out to maintenance over that period of time. Because of
this, we either need to alter your calorie intake by the amount shown in the table above, or
increase/decrease your activity levels by that amount, or a combination of the two factors.
32
SETTING UP A DIET
OPTION 1: CHANGES IN CALORIE INTAKE

This is often the most straightforward option - simply adjust your calorie targets based on the
tables above. It’s essentially a repeat of Step 2. We recommend altering your calories from
carbohydrates if you want to lose weight, as fat is a little more important for your hormonal
function. If you want to gain weight, then you have a little more flexibility. Also, for weight
gain, we tend to recommend just sticking with increases in calorie intake vs. changing your
activity levels - we don’t want to encourage sedentary lifestyles.
However, sometimes (especially for those of you who might already be on a fairly low food
intake) an increase in activity is more preferable.
OPTION 2: STEP COUNTING AND PEDOMETERS

Throughout this process, we highly recommend some form of step tracking app or
pedometer. It’s an incredibly useful gauge of your overall activity levels for a day, and is
another variable that we can manipulate, should we want to.
If you don’t want to decrease your food intake, another option is increasing your weekly
average step count by 5, 12 or 20% based on your target weight loss.
33
SETTING UP A DIET
OPTION 3: CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING

Cardiovascular training is a popular choice among dieters, and for good reason - it’s a very
reliable way of burning calories.
We tend to prefer an increase in step count, as it’s often far less stressful. However, some
lifestyles mean that an increase in step count is often far more of a burden than 1-2 short
cardio sessions per week.
If you do choose cardio as the route to increase your calorie deficit, then we recommend
keeping the intensity low - the amount of weight training you’ll be doing means that HIIT will
often be a little too taxing on your recovery capabilities.
Make sure you’re doing your cardio on something low-impact like a bike or a cross trainer.
Doing your cardio on the stairmill, treadmill or via endless burpees is likely to cause a lot of
muscle damage and be taxing on your joints, which will impact negatively on your weight
training!
Due to the amount of cardio you need to burn off a set number of calories (those of you
who have tried will know the feeling of dismay at how slowly the “Calories Burned” number
ticks up on the treadmill), we recommend using cardiovascular exercise to offset having to
decrease your food intake too much.
my
se my calorie deficit by 12%, and
For example - if I need to increa . If I
need to drop 250 kcal per day
2,150 kcal, I
maintenance calorie intake is kcal per week.
k at thi s on a we ekl y bas is, this requires me to drop 1,750
loo
week = 1,750 kcal per week

250 kcal per day x 7 days per
00 kcal,
cal ori e int ake by 150 kca l per day, from 2,150 kcal to 2,0
If I drop my
of my target deficit.
this leaves me 700 kcal short
week = 1,050 kcal per week

150 kcal per day x 7 days per
kcal.
the n be exp end ed in 2 car dio sessions, each burning 350
700 kcal can
34
SETTING UP A DIET
SUPPLEMENTS
Nutritional supplements are right at the top of the pyramid, on the tier you need worry about
the least – and that’s because progress can be made absolutely fine without them. Despite
what the labels on tubs of supplements might say, supplements are not going to add 15
lbs to your frame in 4 weeks, and nor are they some magical elixir that’s going to put 10kg
on your 1 rep max lifts instantly. However, some supplements may be worth including as a
part of the StrengthFeed programme. The first table below gives supplements with strong
evidence as to their efficacy, and the table after that gives the supplements that have weaker,
but still promising, evidence backing their use. Anything that’s not in this table (and yes –
that includes things like BCAAs and fat burners) simply doesn’t have any good evidence to
suggest it’s worth consuming.
Please note: we are not prescribing the use of any supplements as a part of the programme
– you will be able to complete the programme without the use of any supplements at all,
should you wish. However, if you wish to use supplements, then the following comprises the
list which we believe have the most scientific backing.
STRONG EVIDENCE
SUPPLEMENT DAILY DOSE TIMING
As needed to hit daily
protein target (3-6
Whey/Casein Protein Minimum 20 g per serving
hours between protein
feedings)
Vitamin D3 1,000 – 6,000 IU N/A
30-45 mins pretraining,

Caffeine Individual (100-500 mg) avoid if sleep
is an issue
Creatine
5g N/A
Monohydrate
Curcumin 0.5-5 mg N/A
WEAKER (BUT STILL PROMISING) EVIDENCE

SUPPLEMENT DAILY DOSE TIMING
1-15 g (or eat oily fish 2-3 times per
Fish Oil N/A
week)
Multivitamin Keep it low N/A
Beta Alanine 2-5g N/A
Magnesium 200-400 mg Before bed

Citrulline 6-8g 60 minutes pre-workout
35
RECOVERY
SLEEP
Sleep is arguably the most vital part of the recovery process. Sleep helps the brain clear
away the metabolic “waste” that builds up during the day, allows the immune system to
regenerate, and, obviously, stops us feeling sleepy. Sleep deprivation has been shown to
have significant negative impacts on exercise performance, food intake, stress levels and
potentially our body’s ability to process glucose effectively – none of which we want when
we’re trying to lose fat!
Research isn’t particularly conclusive when it comes to prescribing definitive amounts of

sleep, however between 6 and 10 hours of sleep per night tends to be sufficient for most.
“Sleep hygiene” simply refers to how conducive your environment and routine is to a sound
night’s sleep. The following has been scientifically shown to promote a better night’s sleep:
• A routine – going to bed at the same time each night, and waking up at the same time each
morning allows your circadian rhythm to “normalize”.
• Allow enough time for at least 7 hours sleep, and avoid prolonged naps during the day.
• Exercising at approximately the same time each day, and not too close to bed time.
• Avoiding being in bed for anything other than sleep (or “adult nap time”).
• Avoiding stimulants close to bed time.
• Switching your phone off close to bed time, and leaving it in another room.
• Using a blue light blocker app on your phone and other devices.
• Limiting excessive fluid intake close to bed time so you don’t have to go to the toilet
during the night.
• Eating some carbohydrate close to bed time may promote sleep, but eating a large meal
may negatively impact your sleep.
• Sleep in a cool, very dark, quiet room.
• Make sure your bedding and mattress is comfortable.
• Ensure you can’t see your clock, so you don’t focus on the passage of time as you try to
fall asleep.
• Consider supplementing with magnesium or melatonin, if available.
36
RECOVERY
SELF-MASSAGE
No, not that type of self-massage…
Foam rolling (commonly termed self-myofascial release) is a form of self-massage in which

the subject uses a cylindrical foam object to exert pressure on specific muscle groups.
It may help to acutely increase range of motion, but doesn’t appear to impact on athletic
performance to any great extent. It may also help reduce soreness in the 48 hours post-
exercise. The research isn’t conclusive as to how foam rolling works, however it is thought
to be via affecting the way the central nervous system controls range of motion and pain
experiences. The way we see it – moderate amounts of foam rolling (~20 minutes across the
whole body, a few times per week) are unlikely to be harmful.
The most useful muscle groups to target with a foam roller are:
• Quads
• Hamstrings
• Calves
• Adductors (groin)
• Lats
• Thoracic spine (upper back region)
37
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
YOUR TRAINING PROGRAMMES
38
Front Squat
Movement Type: Squat
Main Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes , Spinal
erectors
3 Equipment: Barbell, Squat Rack
Progressions: Back Squat
Pregressions: Front Squat To Box, Goblet Squat
Recommended Rep Ranges: 1 to 10

Complexity: 3 Level: Intermediate
START FINISH MUSCLES WORKED
TEACHING POINTS
• The bar needs to sit in the “groove” between your neck and your front delt – you can then grab
the bar with either a clean grip (like an Olympic lifter) or a cross grip, with your arms folded
over each other.
• Place both feet directly under the bar
• Take a deep breath and “pop” the bar out of the rack with your glutes.
• Take 3 steps to get into position
• Take a deep breath, and sit back and down as if you’re trying to sit down in between your legs.
• Keep your knees pushed out, keep the descent nice and controlled and once you have hit
depth, drive the floor away from you as hard as you can to stand up.
Back Squat
Main Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes, Spinal
erectors
4 Equipment: Barbell, Squat Rack
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Back Squat To Box, Front Squat

Complexity: 4 Level: Advanced
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bar in the rack so that it is just above your nipple line.
• Grab the bar with your hands spaced evenly – use the knurling and rings as guides
• Step underneath the bar, and pinch your shoulderblades together to form a “shelf” with your
traps for the bar to sit on.
• Take a deep breath, and sit back and down as if you’re trying to sit down in between your legs.
• Keep your knees pushed out, keep the descent nice and controlled and once you have hit
depth, drive the floor away from you as hard as you can to stand up.
Back Squat To Box
Main Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes, Spinal
erectors
5 Equipment: Barbell, Squat Rack, Box
Progressions: Back Squat
Pregressions: Front Squat To Box, Front Squat,

Goblet Squat
TEACHING POINTS
• Set a box in the squat rack at the desired height
• Set the bar in the rack so that it is just above your nipple line.
• Grab the bar with your hands spaced evenly – use the knurling and rings as guides
• Step underneath the bar, and pinch your shoulderblades together to form a “shelf” with your
traps for the bar to sit on.
• Take a deep breath, and sit back and down as if you’re trying to sit down in between your legs
until your glutes touch the box
• Once you touch the box, drive the floor away from you as hard as you can to stand up.
Leg Press
Main Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes
77 Equipment: Leg Press Machine
Progressions: Barbell Squat Variations, Goblet

Squat
Pregressions: Leg Extension
Recommended Rep Ranges: 1 to 20+

Complexity: 1 Level: Beginner
TEACHING POINTS
• Position your feet approximately shoulder width apart, at a comfortable height on the platform
• Extend your legs to take the weight, and set the locking handles to allow for a full range of
motion
• Grab the handles at the side of the machine
• Bring your knees towards your chest until you feel your lower back begin to round
• Forcefully push the platform away from you, but don’t lock your knees
INCLINE PRESS
Movement Type: Horizontal Press
Main Muscles Worked: Anterior Deltoids, Chest,
Triceps
39 Equipment: Adjustable Bench, Dumbbells, Incline
Press Machine
Progressions: Incline Barbell Press
Pregressions: Press Up Variations

Complexity: Level: Intermediate
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bench to your chosen incline, or adjust the machine so that you can reach the handles
comfortably
• If using a barbell, take a comfortable width grip on the bar, drive your upper back into the
bench and heels into the floor and unrack the bar
• If using dumbbells, place them on your knees and then use your knees to help drive them up
into position
• If using a machine, press the handles firmly upwards
• Lower the weight under control towards your upper chest
• Drive the weight away from you to return to the starting position
• If using dumbbells or a machine, you can perform these one arm at a time or even alternate
arms
Incline Alternating Dumbbell Press
Triceps
40 Equipment: Adjustable Bench, Dumbbells, Incline
Press Machine
Progressions: Incline Barbell Press

TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bench to your chosen incline, or adjust the machine so that you can reach the handles
comfortably
• If using dumbbells, place them on your knees and then use your knees to help drive them up
into position
• If using a machine, press the handles firmly upwards
• Lower one weight under control towards your upper chest
• Drive the weight away from you to return to the starting position
• Repeat with the other arm and continue alternating until all reps are completed
Press Ups
Triceps, Abs
57 Equipment: None
Progressions: Dumbbell Press Variations, Barbell

Press Variations, Weighted Press Ups
Pregressions: Plank Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Adopt a press up position. If performing weighted press ups, use either a weighted vest or have
a partner place a weight plate across your upper back
• Lower yourself under control towards the floor, keeping your quads, glutes and core braced
until your chest and hips touch the floor
• Drive yourself back up to the starting position
• If using a weight plate, have your partner remove it at the end
Weighted Press Ups
Triceps, Abs
59 Equipment: Weight Plate or Weighted Vest

Press Variations
Pregressions: Plank Variations, Press Ups

TEACHING POINTS
• Adopt a press up position. If performing weighted press ups, use either a weighted vest or have
a partner place a weight plate across your upper back
• If using a weight plate, have your partner remove it at the end
Banded Press Ups
Triceps, Abs
58 Equipment: Band

Press Variations
Pregressions: Plank Variations, Press Ups

TEACHING POINTS
• Loop your thumbs through either end of a resistance band, and loop it around your upper back
so that the band comes out from under your armpits
• Adopt a press up position, trapping the ends of the band between your hands and the floor
Close Grip Bench Press
Triceps
37 Equipment: Bench Press, Barbell
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Press Up Variations, Neutral Grip

Dumbbell Press Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Lie back and take a shoulder-width grip on the barbell – use the inner edge of the knurling as a
guide.
• Use the bar to push your shoulderblades back and down on the bench
• Arch your lower back slightly, and keep tension in the lower body
• Unrack the bar
• Lower the bar to around the nipple line, keeping your elbows tucked to your sides
• Touch the chest, and then drive the bar to lockout
• Keep your head, upper back and glutes on the bench, and feet on the floor at all times.
Incline Close Grip Bench Press
Triceps
38 Equipment: Adjustable Bench or Incline Bench,
Barbell
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Press Up Variations, Neutral Grip

Dumbbell Press Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bench to your desired incline
• Lie back and take a shoulder-width grip on the barbell – use the inner edge of the knurling as a
guide.
• Unrack the bar
• Lower the bar to around the nipple line, keeping your elbows tucked to your sides
Dumbbell Floor Press
Triceps
66 Equipment: Dumbbells

Press Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• If using dumbbells, sit on the end of the bench and place the dumbbells on your knees. Lie
back and use your knees to help lift the dumbbells into position above you, then place your
feet firmly on the floor
• If performing a floor press, sit on the floor with the dumbbells on your lap. Lie back and glute
bridge the dumbbells into position
• If using a machine, adjust the height of the seat so you can grasp the handles comfortably and
press them out in front of you
• Lower the weight with control towards your chest, keeping a 45 degree angle between your
upper arm and your torso
• When it reaches your chest, drive the weight away from you to return to the starting position
Barbell Bent Over Row
Movement Type: Horizontal Pull
Main Muscles Worked: Lats, Spinal Erectors,
Biceps, Upper Back
x - 32?Z Equipment: Barbell
Progressions: Barbell Pendlay Row
Pregressions: Chest Supported Row, Inverted

Row
TEACHING POINTS
• Deadlift the bar off the floor with a double overhand grip
• Push your hips back and slide the bar down your legs until it reaches roughly knee level.
• Keeping your torso at that angle, drive your elbows back to row the bar towards you until it
touches your torso, squeezing your shoulderblades together hard at the top.
• Lower the bar in a controlled manner until your arms are straight, and repeat.
Barbell Pendlay Row
Biceps, Upper Back
33 Equipment: Barbell
Progressions: N/A

Row, Bent Over Row Variations
TE ACHING POINTS
• Set up as if you were to perform a conventional deadlift, but place your hands slightly wider
apart on the bar – this may mean you need to raise your hips slightly to keep a neutral spine
• Keeping your torso completely still, row the bar into your chest
• Squeeze your shoulderblades hard at the top
• Lower the bar to the floor and repeat
Chest Supported Row
Main Muscles Worked: Lats, Biceps, Upper Back
43 Equipment: Adjustable Bench, Dumbbells

(Alternately, a chest-supported row machine)
Progressions: Barbell Bent Over Row, Barbell
Pendlay Row
Pregressions: Inverted Row

TEACHING POINTS
• Set a bench at a low incline, so that you can lie chest-down on it and still reach your dumbbells
• Reach down and grab your dumbbells
• Pull your elbows back to row the dumbbells until your upper arm is parallel with your torso
• Squeeze your shoulderblades together but keep your chest on the bench
• Return the dumbbells to the starting position
Single Arm Dumbbell Row
Biceps, Upper Back, Obliques
79 Equipment: Dumbbell, Bench

Pendlay Row
Row, Bent Over Row Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Rest one knee and the hand on the same side on a flat bench, with the other foot on the floor
and the other hand able to move freely.
• Reach down to the floor and grab a dumbbell, and use your foot on the floor to bring yourself
back up until your torso is level again.
• From here, drive your elbow back to row the dumbbell up to your chest, and squeeze your
shoulderblades at the top.
• Try to minimize torso rotation.
• Once you’ve finished a set, switch sides and repeat.
Dumbbell Bent Over Row
Biceps, Upper Back

Pendlay Row
Row
TEACHING POINTS
• Deadlift the dumbbells off the floor
• Push your hips back and slide the dumbbells down your legs until they reach roughly knee
level.
• Keeping your torso at that angle, drive your elbows back to row the dumbbells towards you
until they touches your torso, squeezing your shoulderblades together hard at the top.
• Lower the dumbbells in a controlled manner until your arms are straight, and repeat.
Inverted Row
Biceps, Upper Back, Glutes
36 Equipment: Option 1: Suspension Trainer, Option
2: Barbell in a squat rack
Pendlay Row, Chest Supported Row
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Use either a bar in a squat rack or a suspension trainer, set at a height that you have to sit up
slightly to reach it
• Sit up and grab the bar or handles
• Straighten your legs, brace your core and squeeze your glutes in order to keep a straight line
from your armpits to your heels
• Row yourself up so your chest can touch the bar or handles
• Squeeze your shoulderblades hard at the top
• Lower yourself to the starting position in a controlled manner
Barbell Bench Press
Movement Type: Horizontal Push
Main Muscles Worked: Pectorals, Anterior
Deltoids, Triceps
41 Equipment: Bench Press (alternately, use a squat
rack with a flat bench), Barbell
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Dumbbell Press Variations, Press

Up Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bench to your desired incline
• Lie back on the bench, and use the rings as guides to take a comfortable-width grip on the bar
– if you prefer a narrower grip, place your pinky finger on the ring, if you prefer a wider grip,
place your index finger on the ring
• Unrack the bar
• Lower the bar to around the nipple line
Barbell Hip Thrust
Movement Type: Hip Hinge
Main Muscles Worked: Glutes, Spinal Erectors
46 Equipment: Barbell, Bar pad, Bench
Progressions: Deadlift Variations
Pregressions: Bodyweight Glute Bridge Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Perform this in exactly the same way that you would a normal glute bridge, except you elevate
your shoulders using a low step (you may need to use some padding for the step)
• Position the bottom of your shoulderblades on the edge of the step.
• Perform a glute bridge with either both feet or one leg at a time if performing a single leg
variation
• Perform this in exactly the same way that you would a normal glute bridge, except you elevated
your shoulders using a high step or a bench, depending on how tall you are.
• Position the bottom of your shoulderblades on the edge of the bench
• Take a deep breath, and thrust your hips towards the ceiling by driving through your heels
• Concentrate on “tucking your tailbone” underneath you at the top
• Pause for a second at the top and squeeze your glutes
• Return your hips to the floor in a controlled fashion
Dumbbell Hip Thrust
47 Equipment: Dumbbell, Bench
Progressions: Deadlift Variations, Barbell Hip

Thrust Variations

TEACHING POINTS
variation
Banded Hip Thrust
50 Equipment: Bench, Band, Option 1: Squat rack

with band hooks, Option 2: Heavy dumbbells and
Progressions: Deadlift Variations, Barbell Hip
Thrust Variations

TEACHING POINTS
variation
Barbell Good Morning
Main Muscles Worked: Glutes, Hamstrings, Spinal
Erectors, Upper Back
7 Equipment: Barbell, Squat rack
Pregressions: Hip Thrust and Glute Bridge

Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Set up as you would for a barbell back squat, with the exception of your feet – these should be
approximately shoulder width apart
• Take a deep breath, and hinge at the hips – push them back as far as possible, keeping your
spine neutral or slightly arched
• You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings and glutes
• When your torso has reached approximately parallel to the floor, squeeze your glutes and drive
your upper back into the bar to return to the starting position
Cable Pull Through
Main Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, Glutes
83 Equipment: Cable machine, Rope attachment

Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust a cable machine so that the cable is at the lowest setting, with the rope handle
attachment. Alternatively, hook a band to something near the floor and attach an appropriate
handle
• Step over the cable, facing away from the machine.
• Bend down and grab the handles, and stand up straight.
• Walk away from the machine until there is sufficient tension on the cable and enough space for
you to perform the exercise
• Place your feet just outside of hip width apart, with enough space for your forearms to reach
between your legs
• Hinge at the hips, allowing your forearms to reach back between your legs
• You should feel a stretch in your glutes and hamstrings
• Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to return to the starting position
Kneeling Squat
21 Equipment: Option 1: Barbell, a squat rack and a

mat, Option 2: Smith machine and a mat
Progressions: Deadlift Variations, Squat
Variations
Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• You can perform these in a squat rack or in a Smith machine
• Place a mat on the floor to protect your knees
• Kneel in front of the bar, keeping the balls of your feet pressed into the floor
• Duck under the bar and position it on your back as if you were to do a back squat
• Unrack it, and keep your hips extended so there is a straight line from your shoulders to your
knees
• Sit your hips back until your glutes touch your heels, before driving your hips forwards and
returning to the starting position
45 Degree Back Extension
Main Muscles Worked: Glutes, Hamstrings, Spinal
Erectors
91 Equipment: 45 Degree Back Extension Machine

Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust the machine so that the top of the pad rests at the top of your thighs
• Start with your torso aligned with your legs
• Bend forwards at the waist, and lower your chest towards the floor
• Squeeze your hamstrings and glutes to return to the start – try crunching your abs at the top of
the movement to help you feel your glutes more!
Barbell RDL
Main Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, Glutes, Spinal
Erectors
Progressions: Conventional Deadlift, Single Leg

RDL
Pregressions: Glute Bridge and Hip Thrust
Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust the machine so that the top of the pad rests at the top of your thighs
• Start with your torso aligned with your legs
• Bend forwards at the waist, and lower your chest towards the floor
• Squeeze your hamstrings and glutes to return to the start – try crunching your abs at the top of
the movement to help you feel your glutes more!
Dumbbell RDL
Main Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, Glutes, Spinal
Erectors
Progressions: Conventional Deadlift, Single Leg

RDL
Pregressions: Glute Bridge and Hip Thrust
Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• With a conventional stance, deadlift the bar or dumbells up to standing.
• From there, squeeze your lats tightly and shoot your hips backwards.
• Lower the bar directly down your quads until you feel a stretch through your hamstrings and
glutes, before thrusting your hips forwards to return to standing.
Barbell Glute Bridge
15 Equipment: Barbell, Bar pad
Progressions: Hip Thrust Variations, Deadlift

Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Lie on the floor (if you are using a barbell, lie with the barbell resting on your hip crease) and
bend your legs so that there is a 90 degree bend in your knees
• Bring your feet together so that they are approximately hip-width apart
• If you are using a dumbbell, position it on your hips now
Single Leg Hip Thrust
Movement Type: Single Leg
Main Muscles Worked: Glutes, Spinal Erectors,
Obliques
48 Equipment: Bench
Pregressions: Bilateral Glute Bridge and Hip

Thrust Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Perform these in exactly the same way that you would a normal hip thrust, except you keep one
leg elevated
• Bringing the knee of the non-working leg towards your chest makes it easier
• Keeping the non-working leg straight makes it harder
Dumbbell Single Leg RDL
Main Muscles Worked: Glutes, Spinal Erectors,
Obliques, Hamstrings
Pregressions: Bilateral Glute Bridge and Hip

Thrust Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Deadlift the dumbbells from the floor to standing
• Shift the weight onto the working leg
• Thrust your hips backwards and raise the trailing leg off the floor whilst lowering the weight
towards your front foot.
• Descend until you feel a stretch in the hamstring of your front leg, before squeezing your glutes
to return to the start.
• Perform all the reps on one leg, switch and repeat.
Dumbbell Split Squat
Main Muscles Worked: Glutes, Quads, Spinal
Erectors, Adductors
Progressions: Feet Elevated Split Squat

Variations
Pregressions: Leg Press Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Deadlift two dumbbells to standing
• Step backwards with one leg, keeping your feet approximately hip-width apart
• Lower your rear knee towards the floor, keeping your torso upright
• Very gently touch the back knee onto the floor, before driving back up to the starting position
• Perform all the reps on one leg, switch and repeat
Goblet Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
Erectors, Adductors
26 Equipment: Dumbbells, Bench or Smith Machine
Bar
Progressions: Barbell Squat Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• If using weight, pick the weight up and hold it in the appropriate position
• Place one leg onto an elevation behind you - we suggest a step, a bench or a bar pad wrapped
around a smith machine bar set at approximately knee height.
Dumbbell Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
Erectors, Adductors
Bar

TEACHING POINTS
• If using weight, pick the weight up and hold it in the appropriate position
• Place one leg onto an elevation behind you - we suggest a step, a bench or a bar pad wrapped
around a smith machine bar set at approximately knee height.
Dumbbell FFE RFESS
Erectors, Adductors
Bar, Low step

TEACHING POINTS
• Perform this in exactly the same way as you would a normal split squat, except both feet are
elevated on blocks
• This allows for a much greater range of motion – be careful and use lighter weights than normal
Barbell Front Rack Reverse Lunge
Erectors, Adductors, Upper Back
29 Equipment: Barbell, Squat rack
Pregressions: Leg Press Variation, Split Squat

Variationss
TEACHING POINTS
• Clean the barbell from the floor, and position it on the front of your delts as if you were about
to front squat
• Take a step backwards with one leg, and lower the knee of the back leg towards the floor
• When the knee touches the floor, drive back up through the heel of the front leg and bring both
feet together.
• You can either alternate legs on each rep, or perform all the reps on one leg and then switch
• You can also perform the reverse lunge with the barbell on your back (like a back squat) or with
dumbbells held in various positions
Seated Hamstring Curl
Movement Type: Leg Curl
Main Muscles Worked: Hamstrings
82 Equipment: Seated Hamstring Curl Machine
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust the machine so that the back of your knees are on the edge of the seat, and the pad is
on the back of your ankles
• Squeeze your heels towards your glutes by contracting your hamstrings
• Pause for a second at the top of the movement before controlling the eccentric back to the start
Lying Hamstring Curl
Movement Type: Leg Curl
Main Muscles Worked: Hamstrings
80 Equipment: Lying Hamstring Curl Machine
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust the machine so that the back of your knees are on the edge of the seat, and the pad is
on the back of your ankles
• Squeeze your heels towards your glutes by contracting your hamstrings
Leg Extension
Movement Type: Leg Extension
Main Muscles Worked: Quads
81 Equipment: Leg Extension Machine
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust the machine so that the backs of your knees are on the edge of the seat, and the shin
pad is resting at the bottom of your shin
• Squeeze your quads and extend your legs out in front of you
Dips
Movement Type: Vertical Press
Triceps
60 Equipment: Dip Handles
Progressions: Weighted Dips
Pregressions: Band Assisted Dips

TEACHING POINTS
• Grab the dipping handles and jump up so that your arms are locked out
• Slowly lower yourself towards the floor until you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder
• Press yourself firmly back up until your arms are locked out again
• For heavier individuals, it may be worth using wrist wraps if you find yourself getting sore wrists
Band Assisted Dips
Movement Type: Vertical Press
Triceps
61 Equipment: Dip Handles, Band
Progressions: Bodyweight Dips
Pregressions: Assisted Dip Machine, Press Up

Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Grab the dipping handles and jump up so that your arms are locked out
• Slowly lower yourself towards the floor until you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder
• Press yourself firmly back up until your arms are locked out again
• For heavier individuals, it may be worth using wrist wraps if you find yourself getting sore wrists
Conventional Deadlift
Movement Type: Deadlift
Main Muscles Worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes,
Spinal Erectors, Upper Back
Progressions: Deficit Deadlift
Pregressions: RDL Variations, Conventional

Deadlift From Blocks, Trap Bar Deadlift
TEACHING POINTS
• Approach the barbell so that it is just touching your shins, with your feet as wide as you would
have them if you were to try and jump as high as possible.
• Push your hips back and down just enough for you to grab the bar.
• Squeeze your lats tightly, take a deep breath and pull the slack out of the bar (pull up gently
until you hear a slight “click”)
• Drive your hips through as you push the floor away, and then reverse the motion to lower the
bar to the floor.
• Don’t “bounce” the bar off the floor between reps – let it come to a deadstop, and reset each
rep.
Sumo Deadlift
Main Muscles Worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Upper
Back, Glutes, Spinal Erectors, Adductors
Progressions: Sumo Deficit Deadlift
Pregressions: RDL Variations, Sumo Deadlift

From Blocks, Trap Bar Deadlift
TEACHING POINTS
• Position your feet outside of shoulder width, wide enough that your shins can remain vertical
when you bend down to grab the bar. You may need to turn them out to around 45 degrees.
bar to the floor.
rep.
Conventional Deadlift (From Blocks)
10 Equipment: Barbell, Blocks or Bumper Plates
Progressions: Conventional Deadlift
Pregressions: RDL Variations, Trap Bar Deadlift,

Trap Bar Deadlift From Blocks
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bar on blocks or bumper plates at the desired height.
bar to the blocks.
• Don’t “bounce” the bar off the blocks between reps – let it come to a deadstop, and reset each
rep.
Sumo Deadlift (From Blocks)
Spinal Erectors, Adductors
Progressions: Sumo Deadlift
Pregressions: RDL Variations, Trap Bar Deadlift,

Trap Bar Deadlift From Blocks
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bar on blocks or bumper plates at the desired height.
• Position your feet outside of shoulder width, wide enough that your shins can remain vertical
when you bend down to grab the bar. You may need to turn them out to around 45 degrees.
bar to the floor.
rep.
Deficit Deadlift
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Conventional Deadlift

TEACHING POINTS
• Set a small (1-2 inch) platform underneath the barbell to allow you to stand on it, or load the
bar with smaller diameter plates if this isn’t an option.
bar to the floor.
rep.
Standing Military Press
Movement Type: Vertical Push
Main Muscles Worked: Anterior Deltoids, Triceps,
Upper Traps
1 Equipment: Squat rack or squat stands, Barbell
Progressions: Push Press
Pregressions: Seated Military Press, Dumbbell

Overhead Press Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Set the bar in a rack at approximately the same height that you would use for a squat
• Place your hands on the bar just outside of shoulder width
• Drive your elbows underneath the bar, create tension in your upper back and step under it with
both feet
• Squat up slightly to unrack the bar, and step backwards
• Squeeze your glutes and abs, and press the bar overhead
• Lower the bar in a controlled fashion to the starting position
Seated Military Press
Upper Traps
Equipment: Squat rack or squat stands, Barbell,
Adjustable Bench
Progressions: Standing Military Press, Push Press
Pregressions: Dumbbell Overhead Press

Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Set a bench in a rack so that it’s angled just below vertical, and set the barbell so that it is
above head height.
• Grab the bar in the same way as you would for a standing barbell press, press it out of the rack
and bring it forwards so that your arms are vertical.
• Drive the balls of your feet into the floor to keep tension in your quads, glutes and lower back,
similar to a bench press.
• Keeping your head, upper back and glutes on the bench, lower the bar.
• As you lower the bar, try and bend the bar to keep the tension in your lats and upper back.
Lower the bar until it’s just past chin level, and then drive it back up again.
Push Press
Quads, Glutes, Upper Traps
2 Equipment: Squat rack or squat stands, Barbell
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Seated Military Press, Dumbbell

Overhead Press Variations, Standing Military
TEACHING POINTS
• Set up in exactly the same way as you would for a standing military press
• Bend at the knees slightly, and then explosively drive upwards with the legs as you press the
bar overhead
• Lower the bar in a controlled fashion
Wide Grip Pullup
Movement Type: Vertical Pull
Main Muscles Worked: Lats, Upper back, Biceps,
Forearms
51 Equipment: Pullup Bar
Progressions: Weighted Pull Ups
Pregressions: Neutral Grip Pull Up, Band Assisted

Pull Ups
TEACHING POINTS
• Grasp your chosen handles firmly and hang, keeping some tension in your upper back – don’t
fully relax
• Pull yourself up, and drive your chest towards the bar
• Squeeze your shoulderblades at the top
• Lower yourself under control
Neutral Grip Pullup
Forearms
Progressions: Weighted Pull Ups, Wide Grip Pull

Ups
Pregressions: Band Assisted Pull Ups

TEACHING POINTS
fully relax
Band Assisted Pull Ups
Forearms
55 Equipment: Pullup Bar, Band
Progressions: Unassisted Pull Ups, Weighted Pull

Ups
Pregressions: Assisted Pull Up Machine, Lat
Pulldown, Inverted Row
TEACHING POINTS
fully relax
Band Assisted Neutral Grip Pull Ups
Forearms
56 Equipment: Pullup Bar, Band
Progressions: Unassisted Pull Ups, Weighted Pull

Ups
Pregressions: Assisted Pull Up Machine, Lat
Pulldown, Inverted Row
TEACHING POINTS
fully relax
Kneeling Lat Pull Down
Main Muscles Worked: Lats, Upper back, Biceps
84 Equipment: Cable Machine
Progressions: Pull Up Variations (Assisted or

Bodyweight)
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Adjust the machine so you can fit your legs underneath the pads comfortably, or adopt a
kneeling position in front of a cable machine
• Grab the handles
• Drive your elbows down, bringing your chest up to meet the handles
• Squeeze your shoulderblades hard
• Lower the weight under control
Single Arm Z Press
Abs, Obliques
65 Equipment: Dumbbell
Progressions: Standing Overhead Press

Variations
Pregressions: Seated Overhead Press Variations,
Half Kneeling Overhead Press Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you
• Grab one dumbbell and clean it up to your shoulder
• Brace your core, and press the dumbbell overhead – you may want to use the other arm for
balance
• Perform all the reps with one arm, and then switch arms
• Single arm overhead presses can also be done seated, standing or half-kneeling
Half Kneeling Single Arm Overhead Press
Abs, Obliques
62 Equipment: Dumbbell

Variations, Z Press Variations
Pregressions: Seated Overhead Press Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Adopt a half-kneeling position, as if you were at the bottom of a split squat
• Grab one dumbbell and clean it up to your shoulder
• Brace your core, and press the dumbbell overhead – you may want to use the other arm for
balance
• Lower the weight under control to the starting position
• Perform all the reps with one arm, and then switch arms
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press
Main Muscles Worked: Anterior Deltoids, Triceps

Variations, Z Press Variations, Half-Kneeling
Pregressions: Shoulder Press Machine Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Place the dumbbells on your knees and then use your legs to help raise the dumbbells into
position
• Brace your core and firmly press the dumbbells overhead, ensuring that you control the weights
and don’t smash the dumbbells together at the top
• Lower the weight under control until the plate of the dumbbell touches your shoulder
• Adopt a half-kneeling position, as if you were at the bottom of a split squat
Half-Kneeling Overhead Press
Abs, Obliques

Variations, Z Press Variations
Pregressions: Seated Overhead Press Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Grab two dumbbels and clean them up to your shoulder
• Brace your core, and press the dumbbells overhead
• Perform all the reps with one leg forward, and switch legs for the next set
Dumbbell Z Press
Abs, Obliques

Variations
Pregressions: Seated Overhead Press Variations,
Half Kneeling Overhead Press Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you
• Grab two dumbbells and clean them up to your shoulder
• Brace your core, and press the dumbbells overhead
Upright Row
Movement Type: Upper Back Isolation
Main Muscles Worked: Medial and posterior
deltoids, Upper traps, Biceps
67 Equipment: Barbell or Cable Machine
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Take a grip on your chosen equipment that is approximately shoulder width apart, with your
palms facing behind you
• Row the weight up towards your shoulders until your upper arms are parallel to the ground
(it may be useful to use a mirror to gauge when to stop each rep)
Barbell Shrug
Main Muscles Worked: Upper traps
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Grasp your chosen implement with an overhand grip
• Shrug upwards and backwards slightly (your traps run up the back of your neck)
• Try not to use any leg drive
• Hold at the top for a second
Straight Arm Pulldown
Main Muscles Worked: Lats, Triceps (long head)
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Set a cable with a straight bar or rope attachment to the top height on the cable machine.
• Grab the cable with straight arms, and walk back to take the slack out of the machine.
• Push your hips back slightly until your torso forms roughly a straight line with your arms.
• Keeping your arms straight, pull the cable down until the attachment hits your quads, squeezing
your lats the entire time.
Barbell Curl
Movement Type: Bicep Curl
Main Muscles Worked: Biceps
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Deadlift the barbell to standing, and hold it in front of you with your arms fully extended and
your palms facing upwards
• Keeping your elbows stationary, curl the weight up towards your shoulders by squeezing your
biceps
• Slowly lower the weight to the starting position
Dumbbell Curl
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Deadlift the dumbell to standing, and hold it in front of you with your arms fully extended and
your palms facing upwards
biceps
Cable Curl
87 Equipment: Cable with straight or EZ bar

attachment
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Attach a comfortable attachment to a cable machine, and hold it in front of you with your arms
fully extended and your palms facing upwards
biceps
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Main Muscles Worked: Biceps, Forearms
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Hold 2 dumbbells by your sides, with your palms facing each other
• Keeping your palms neutral, curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders
Spider Curl
73 Equipment: Adjustable bench, Dumbbells or EZ

bar
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Set up as if you were to perform a chest-supported row on an incline bench
• Keeping your upper arms completely vertical, curl the dumbbells towards your head
• Lower the dumbbells slowly back to the starting position and repeat
Dumbbell Incline Curl
72 Equipment: Adjustable bench, Dumbbells
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Set an adjustable bench to a relatively high incline, and allow your arms to hang vertically down
with a dumbbell in each hand
• Keeping your upper arms vertical, curl the dumbbells up
• Slowly lower the weight to the starting position and repeat
Dumbbell Overhand Curl
Main Muscles Worked: Biceps, Forearms
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Hold your dumbbells with your palms facing behind you, or grab an EZ bar with an overhand
grip
• Curl the weight up, keeping your palms facing downwards
• Slowly lower the weight to the starting position and repeat
Tricep Extension
Movement Type: Tricep Extension
Main Muscles Worked: Triceps
86 Equipment: Cable Machine, Straight bar, EZ bar or

Rope Attachment
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Set a cable to the highest possible setting, and attach a rope or EZ attachment
• Grab the handles and pin your elbows to your sides
• Extend your arms downwards, keeping your elbows pinned to your sides
• Squeeze your triceps hard, and then lower the weight slowly back to the starting position
Dumbbell Overhead Tricep Extension
76 Equipment: Adjustable bench, Dumbbell
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Grab 2 dumbbells and press them overhead with your palms facing each other
• Keeping your palms facing each other, lower the dumbbells behind your head by bending at the
elbows
• Feel a stretch in your triceps, and then extend your elbows to return the dumbbells to the
overhead position
• Alternatively, use a cable with a rope attachment
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press
Main Muscles Worked: Triceps, Chest, Anterior
Deltoids
Equipment: Dumbbells, Flat Bench
Progressions: Close Grip Bench Press
Pregressions: Press Up Variations, Chest Press

Machine Variations
TEACHING POINTS
• Grab 2 dumbbells and lie back on a bench
• Press the dumbbells up, keeping your palms facing each other
• Lower the dumbbells slowly until they touch your chest, keeping your palms facing each other
Skull Crusher
74 Equipment: Flat Bench, EZ Bar
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Lie back on a bench with either a pair of dumbbells or an EZ barbell, and press the weight
above you
• Keeping your upper arms vertical, lower the weight towards your head
• Feel a stretch in your triceps, before pressing the weight back overhead by extending your
elbows
Dumbbell Skull Crusher
75 Equipment: Flat Bench, Dumbbells
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Lie back on a bench with either a pair of dumbbells or an EZ barbell, and press the weight
above you
• Keeping your upper arms vertical, lower the weight towards your head
• Feel a stretch in your triceps, before pressing the weight back overhead by extending your
elbows
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Movement Type: Delt Isolation
Main Muscles Worked: Medial deltoids, Upper
traps
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Start with your arm slightly bent, holding the weight with your palms facing downwards
• Keeping the bend in your arm, raise it out to the side
• Lead with the elbow, and ensure that your upper arm is angled slightly in front of you – not
directly out to the side
• As you raise your arm, rotate your palm downwards so it faces the floor
• Stop when your upper arm reaches parallel to the floor
Dumbbell Rear Delt Flye
Movement Type: Delt Isolation
Main Muscles Worked: Posterior deltoids, Upper
back
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Rear Delt Fly Machine

TEACHING POINTS
• If using dumbbells, deadlift the dumbbells from the floor and then hinge at the hips until your
torso is parallel to the floor, with your arms fully extended and palms facing each other
• If using cables, it’s easier to perform one arm at a time – set a single cable at approximately
shoulder height and hold it with your arm parallel to the floor, holding onto the upright of the
machine with the other hand
• If using a machine, adjust the machine so that you can grasp the handles with your arms
parallel to the floor
• Drive your elbows back, keeping a slight bend in your arms and keeping your arms
perpendicular to your torso (i.e. straight out to your side) – the motion should mimic hugging
someone
• Squeeze your shoulderblades together at the top
Dumbbell Flat Flye
Movement Type: Chest Isolation
Main Muscles Worked: Chest
Progressions: Suspension Trainer Flye
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• If using dumbbells, set a bench to your chosen angle and get the dumbbells into position as if
you were going to perform a neutral grip dumbbell press (palms facing each other)
• If using cables, set two cables at just above shoulder height with D-handle attachments. Grab
both handles and step forwards so there is tension on the handles, and press them out in front
of you with your palms facing each other
• If using a machine, adjust the seat so the handles are at a comfortable height and bring the
handles together in front of you
• Lower the handles away from each other under control, focusing on keeping your elbows out to
the sides and a slight bend in your elbows
• Squeeze the weights together as if you’re hugging someone to return to the starting position
Cable Flye
Movement Type: Chest Isolation
Main Muscles Worked: Chest
Progressions: Suspension Trainer Flye
Pregressions: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• If using dumbbells, set a bench to your chosen angle and get the dumbbells into position as if
you were going to perform a neutral grip dumbbell press (palms facing each other)
• If using cables, set two cables at just above shoulder height with D-handle attachments. Grab
both handles and step forwards so there is tension on the handles, and press them out in front
of you with your palms facing each other
• If using a machine, adjust the seat so the handles are at a comfortable height and bring the
handles together in front of you
• Lower the handles away from each other under control, focusing on keeping your elbows out to
the sides and a slight bend in your elbows
• Squeeze the weights together as if you’re hugging someone to return to the starting position
Hanging Knee Raise
Movement Type: Core
Main Muscles Worked: Forearms, Abs
Progressions: Hanging Leg Raise
Pregressions: Lying Leg Raise

TEACHING POINTS
• Grab hold of a pull up bar with a moderate-width grip and hang, keeping some tension in your
upper back
• Straighten your legs fully beneath you
• Crunch your knees up towards your chest, concentrating on minimizing any swinging and
“tucking your tailbone”
• Lower your knees and straighten your legs under control to minimize swinging
Hanging Leg Raise
Movement Type: Core
Main Muscles Worked: Forearms, Abs
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Hanging Knee Raise, Lying Leg

Raise
TEACHING POINTS
• Grab hold of a pull up bar with a moderate-width grip and hang, keeping some tension in your
upper back
• Straighten your legs fully beneath you
• Keeping your legs straight, raise them out in front of you slowly to minimize any swinging
• Lower them slowly and under control to avoid swinging
Plank and Side Plank
Movement Type: Core
Main Muscles Worked: Abs, Obliques
93 Equipment: None
Progressions: RKC Plank
Pregressions: Press Up Position Plank
Recommended Rep Ranges: N/A

TEACHING POINTS
• Front: adopt a press-up position, squeezing your quads, glutes and abs. From there, lower
yourself onto your forearms and hold for time
• Side: Lie on your side with your legs straight and prop yourself up on one forearm. From there,
squeeze your hips off the floor so that your whole body is in a straight line, and hold for time.
Barbell Rollout
Movement Type: Core
Main Muscles Worked: Abs, Lats
Progressions: N/A
Pregressions: Plank Variations

TEACHING POINTS
• Put light plates on a barbell that are able to roll freely (or alternatively, use a dedicated ab
wheel)
• Kneel in front of the barbell and grab it just wider than shoulder width so you’re on all fours
• In one fluid motion, extend your hips and roll the bar out in front of you to lower your hips and
chest towards the floor. Do this slowly, so you don’t smash your face into the floor!
• To reverse the motion, focus on bringing your hands back towards your knees and return to all
fours .
Rope Hammer Curls
Movement Type: Biceps
Main Muscles Worked:Biceps, Forearms
92 Equipment: Cable machine with rope attachment
Progressions: Dumbbell Hammer Curls
Pregressions: Cable Bicep Curl
Recommended Rep Ranges: 8-20+

TEACHING POINTS
• Set a cable machine to the lowest possible setting, and attach the rope handles to the cable.
• Grasp the rope with your palms facing each other, and deadlift it to standing.
• Take a couple of steps backwards so that you take the slack out of the cable.
• Keeping your palms facing each other and elbows pinned to your sides, curl your hands up
towards your shoulders.
• Slowly lower the weight, and repeat for reps.
Cable Upright Row
Movement Type: Deltoid Isolation
Main Muscles Worked:Delts, Traps, Biceps
92 Equipment: Cable machine with rope attachment
Progressions: Barbell Upright Row
Pregressions: Dumbbell Upright Row

TEACHING POINTS
• Set a cable machine to the lowest possible setting, and attach the rope handles to the cable.
• Grasp the rope with an overhand grip, and deadlift it to standing.
• Take a couple of steps backwards so that you take the slack out of the cable.
• Drive your elbows up to row the cable up, stopping when your upper arms are roughly parallel
to the floor.
• Slowly lower the weight, and repeat for reps.
Single Arm Cable Row
Movement Type: Horizontal Row
Main Muscles Worked:Lats, Spinal Erectors,
Biceps, Upper Back, Obliques
92 Equipment: Cable machine with D-Handle
Attachment
Progressions: Dumbbell Single Arm Row
Pregressions: Cable Row

TEACHING POINTS
• Sit on the floor in front of a cable machine, and curl your arm so that there is a 90 degree angle
in your elbow.
• Set the cable height to as close to the height of your hand as possible, and attach the D-handle.
• From here, drive your elbow back to row the cable to your torso, and squeeze your
shoulderblades at the end.
• Try to minimize torso rotation.
• Once you’ve finished a set, switch sides and repeat.
CLICK THE THUMBNAIL BELOW TO SEE
THE REMAINING EXERCISES:
Photoshoots
The photos and videos used in the exercise library were shot at Kings Gym Croydon and
Performance Ground in Covent Garden. We’d like to thank both gyms for their fantastic
facilities and the hospitality they showed us during our times there.
Kings Gym Croydon

Website: http://www.kingsgyms.com/
Instagram: @kingsgymofficial
Address: Unit D2 Queensway Croydon CR0 4BD
Performance Ground
Website: https://trainwithpg.com
Instagram: @performanceground
Address: 23 Kingsway, London, United Kingdom WC2B 6UJ
Tickner’s Tips and all photos not owned by Shredded By Science LTD are copyright (C) 2017 Lauren Tickner
All other text, logos, training programmes, photographs and the layout of the #StrengthFeed Training Guide is copyright (C) 2017 Shredded
By Science LTD
This guide may not be reproduced or re-distributed in whole or in part without express permission from Shredded By Science LTD.
All rights reserved.

A FINAL NOTE OF THANKS
On behalf of Shredded By Science and Lauren, we thank you so much for purchasing this
guide. It means a lot to us that we can have an influence, however small, on your fitness
journey.Remember – you’ll get more out of your fitness journey when you’re a part of a
community. The fantastic thing about Instagram is that, via a few simple hashtags, you can
find others who are also on their #StrengthFeed journey and support each other. It’s a ready-
made community!
As we said at the start, please post physique updates, videos of you lifting, and how you’ve
developed both mentally and physically over your #StrengthFeed journey on Instagram.
Please tag us in it (our handles are @shredbyscience and @laurenfitness) and use the hashtag
#StrengthFeed and #StrengthFeedGuide
There is also an exclusive Facebook group, where Lauren will be doing exclusive live
streams, only for those who have purchased this Guide! You will be able to find those on the
same journey as you in this group, too. It is a strong community of likeminded individuals!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Right now? Get started with your journey. We love seeing your progress on social media –
make sure you’re connected with us on all of our channels.
@shredbyscience @laurenfitness
BECOME A PERSONAL TRAINER WITH SBS
The SBS Academy is our year-long, distance-learning course for Personal Trainers.
We could brag about a few things – world-class staff, unrivalled course material and great
student support spring to mind. However, we know that what matters to you is how much
you’ll enjoy it and whether you’ll get much out of it.
Our 97% student satisfaction rate tells us that you’ll probably enjoy it.
Our glowing reviews from people who’ve been in the industry for over a decade indicate that
you’ll almost certainly learn a lot from it. Come on in, and see for yourself.
shreddedbyscience.com/academy
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TRACKING MACROS

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NOT ‘STRONG, FOR A GIRL’

... JUST STRONG

Nearly all of it is focused on how you look.

We don’t think this is helpful.

Are you not allowed to be strong?

Are you not allowed to feel like a badass in the gym?

This is why #StrengthFeed evolved.

See you on the other side…

The StrengthFeed programme is based on the following fundamental principles:

WHAT ACTUALLY GETS YOU STRONGER?

WHAT ARE VOLUME, INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY?

First, we need to define each of them:

It’s vital to note that all 3 are interlinked:

VOLUME – THE KEY TO HYPERTROPHY

FREQUENCY – BALANCING PRACTICE AND RECOVERY

INTENSITY - HOW HEAVY, AND HOW HARD

REPS IN RESERVE (RIR)

SO… WHAT’S FUNCTIONAL OVERREACHING?

Graphically, this looks a little bit like this:

HOW MANY TIMES PER WEEK WILL I BE TRAINING?

THE 3 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE

Day 1: Lower Strength

Day 2: Upper Strength

Day 3: Full Body Hypertrophy

THE 4 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE

Day 1: Lower Strength

Day 2: Upper Strength

Day 3: Lower Body Hypertrophy

Day 4: Upper Body Hypertrophy

THE 5 DAY PER WEEK TEMPLATE

Day 1: Lower Strength

Day 2: Upper Strength

Day 3: Lower Body Hypertrophy

Day 4: “Push” Hypertrophy (shoulders, chest and triceps)

Day 5: “Pull” Hypertrophy (Back, biceps and a teensy bit of glutes)

OKAY, SO HOW DO I CHOOSE WHICH TEMPLATE TO GO

ENJOYING YOUR TRAINING

YOUR DIET IS FLEXIBLE – YOUR TRAINING SHOULD BE TOO!

UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE TRAINING TEMPLATES

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE EXERCISE LIBRARY

SELECTING LOAD FOR ACCESSORY EXERCISES

E.g. Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press, 3 x 8-12 with 12 kg dumbbells

WHAT DAYS DO I DO THE SESSIONS ON?

DAY OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3

TUESDAY Upper Strength

WEDNESDAY Upper Strength

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE TIME TO DO ALL THE EXERCISES

SPEAKING OF WARMING UP, ANY TIPS?

HANG ON – WHAT ABOUT GLUTE ACTIVATION?

WILL I STILL BE ABLE TO GET STRONGER WITHOUT

WHAT IF I CAN’T COMPLETE THE SETS AND REPS WITH

WHAT IF I CAN ONLY MAKE IT TO THE GYM TWICE THAT WEEK?

WILL I STILL BE ABLE TO GET STRONGER WITHOUT

I’M INTENDING ON LOSING/GAINING SOME WEIGHT

WHAT ABOUT CARDIO?

THIS LOOKS LIKE LESS THAN WHAT I CURRENTLY DO –

ARE ANY OF THE EXERCISES BETTER THAN OTHERS?

• Is it suitable for the rep ranges we’ve given?

WHAT IF I WANT TO TRY AN EXERCISE THAT ISN’T

WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE DIRECT AB WORK?

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT STRENGTH TRAINING? WHY

STEP 1: TARGET WEIGHT CHANGE

• A daily step target to ensure a minimum activity level