Kryptonian Muscle Gain System

Copyright Notice
No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic or
mechanical including photocopying or recording or by any informational storage or system
without expressed written, dated and signed permission from the author. All copyrights are
reserved.
Disclaimer and legal notices
The information provided in this book is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor and
this is not meant to be taken as medical advice. The information provided in this eBook is based
on my experience and my interpretation of current studies available on training and nutrition.
The advice and tips provided in this eBook are for primarily for healthy individuals. You should
consult your physician before applying any of the tips provided here and ensure they suit your
current physical health and individual state.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
TABLE OF CONTENT…………………………………………………………………………………...3
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………….6
NATURAL LIFTERS DELUSION……………………………………………………………………….7

NATURAL VS ENHANCED LIFTERS 7
BASIC SCIENCE BEHIND MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY……………………………………………..8

WHAT TRIGGERS MUSCLE GROWTH? 8
MUSCLE FIBERS FATIGUE 8
MUSCLE DAMAGE 8
mTor ACTIVATION 9
LACTATE BUILD UP 9
3 MECHANICAL MUSCLE GROWTH TRIGGERS 9
MECHANICAL TENSION 10
METABOLIC STRESS 10
MUSCLE DAMAGE 10
TRAINING FOR MUSCLE GROWTH BASICS……………………………………………………...11

TRAINING VOLUME 11
MUSCLE ADAPTIVE SHOCK 11
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD 12
BEST REP RANGE FOR MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY 13
REST PERIODS 14
TRAINING FREQUENCY 15
TRAINING VOLUME VS TRAINING FREQUENCY 15
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HOW TO MAXIMIZE MUSCLE GROWTH AS A NATURAL LIFTER?......................................16
HOW TO CHOOSE BEST SPLIT FOR YOU? 18
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS BASED ON WHICH YOU SHOULD CHOOSE THE
TRAINING SPLIT? 18
PULL/PUSH SPLIT 21
SPLIT STRUCTURE 22
WEEKLY FREQUENCY 22
FOR WHO IS THIS SPLIT BEST SUITED? 22
BASIC SPLIT DESIGN 23
PULL/PUSH SPLIT EXAMPLE: 24
INTENSITY TECHNIQUES 26
PROGRESSION PATTERN 28
PULL/PUSH/LEGS SPLIT 29
SPLIT STRUCTURE 29
WEEKLY FREQUENCY 29
PULL/PUSH/LEGS SPLIT EXAMPLE: 31
UPPER/LOWER SPLIT 34
SPLIT STRUCTURE 34
UPPER/LOWER SPLIT EXAMPLE: 37
FULL BODY SPLIT 40
SPLIT STRUCTURE 40
FULL BODY SPLIT EXAMPLE: 42
HOW TO WARM UP FOR LIFTING SESSIONS? 45
DELOADS 46
MUSCLE SORENESS 48
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NUTRITION BEHIND MUSCLE GROWTH…………………………………………………………. 50
HOW TO EAT FOR MUSCLE GAIN? 50
HOW TO FIND YOUR MAINTENANCE CALORIE INTAKE? 51
EATING FOR MUSCLE GAIN 51
HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD I AIM TO GAIN ON WEEKLY/MONTHLY BASIS 52
HOW TO STRUCTURE MY MACROS? 54
REST DAYS CALORIES/MACROS 57
METABOLIC ADAPTATION 58
WHEN AND HOW TO DO A MINI CUT 60
FOOD SELECTION 64
MEAL FREQUENCY(MYTH) 68
ANABOLIC WINDOW 70
SUPPLEMENTS 71
CARDIO ON GAINING PHASE 75
RECOVERY…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 76
TRACKING PROGRESS……………………………………………………………………………... 80
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………….. 84
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INTRODUCTION
Let’s clear out one thing first! Building muscle isn’t exactly a quantum science. Most serious
dedicated lifters know the basics but recently due to bunch of stuff we’ve been bombarded with
on social media(which often contradicts one another) we all got lost.
Being confused in this situation is okay but being too lazy to get to the bottom of the things and
separate what actually works and what doesn’t is all on you.
I spent last few years doing ton of research, comparing and analyzing studies, working with a
ton of clients and experimenting with my own training as much as I can and somewhere along
the line I realized that the problem isn’t finding what works but rather accepting the fact that it is
actually that simple.
As it turns out there is an actual science behind training and gaining muscle BUT its way simpler
than you think and that is the reason why I’m sharing this guide with you.
No more “might be’s” and smashing your head against the wall about what you should do or are
you doing something wrong.
In this guide I’m giving you straight facts which are supported by both science and my personal
experience. This guide will equip you to gain muscle and to do it the right way.
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NATURAL LIFTERS DELUSION
Let’s start with a dose of reality! Ton of fitness influencers, celebrities, competitive(and social
media) bodybuilders and athletes are using steroids. Period.
The problem? Most of them accumulate large followings and start preaching about their training
and nutrition approach which absolutely cannot be applied to natural lifters.
NATURAL VS ENHANCED LIFTERS
I know this might break your heart but you can’t train like your favourite bodybuilder and expect
same results unless you have exactly the same set of genes and if you’re using amount of
PEDs which in most cases can make most drug stores jealous.
Lifters on steroids have literally completely different hormonal and physiological profile which
basically turns them into muscle building machines. They’re in anabolic state 24/7, muscle
protein synthesis is booming whether they train or not and their muscle cells(nucleus)
responsiveness is incomparable to that of a bare mortal(aka. natty).
But I’m not here to talk about them; I’m here to show you what actually works for natural lifters.
To finalize it; natural lifters CAN’T tolerate ton of volume, they require longer time to recover and
they actually need training to trigger MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS(process of converting
amino-acids into muscle protein).
Before I continue I want you to realize that basic understanding of muscle hypertrophy process
IS A MUST so that is why I won’t just give you simple steps on what to do and throw in some
crappy “cookie cutter” split/routine instead I’m going to explain exactly what triggers muscle
growth and how does it work.
Don’t worry! Exact steps and examples are coming afterwards.
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BASIC SCIENCE BEHIND MUSCLE
HYPERTROPHY
WHAT TRIGGERS MUSCLE GROWTH?
There are 4 major mechanisms for muscle growth: muscle fibers fatigue/exhaustion, muscle
damage, mTor activation and lactates build up.
MUSCLE FIBERS FATIGUE
I’m not here to give you anatomy lesson so let’s simplify it. Every muscle consists of multiple
muscle fibers(type 1/slow-twitch fibers and type 2(a and x)/fast-twitch fibers). In order to trigger
muscle growth you need to exhaust all those muscle fibers to the point they’re forced to adapt to
external resistance. Simply put; training to failure(or close) is one of the things that forces
muscle fibers to adapt and grow bigger and stronger as a response to external resistance.
Closer to failure you’re getting your body will recruit more muscle fibers to produce force!
This is what I like to call “training intensity” and if you’re not really pushing yourself and exhaust
those muscle fibers than how do you expect them to adapt and grow?
MUSCLE DAMAGE
Muscle damage occurs as a response to negative/eccentric portion of the movement under the
load while resisting the external force with muscle contraction. During the negative miniature
“ruptures” create in the muscle fibers and that automatically triggers the muscle repair process.
If you’re providing your body with enough nutrients through diet it’ll not only repair the muscle
damage but also increase the size of the fibers as an adaptive response.
Damage the muscle, provide it with enough calories/nutrients and it’ll come back bigger! Voila!
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mTor ACTIVATION
mTor activation is a mechanism which affects cellular processes and in this case that is muscle
protein synthesis. Muscle protein synthesis is an initiator for muscle growth. Every type of
training creates mTor activation but highest amount of mTor activity occurs during loaded
negatives like for muscle damage and during stretched contraction(when muscle is contracted
in stretched position).
LACTATE BUILD UP
You like the pump don’t you? Well as it turns out even science confirms that getting a burn or
pump is one of the muscle growth triggers. Putting muscle under extended time under tension
and preventing the blood to leave the muscle during the set results in lactic acid build up. Lactic
acid release increases follistatin and stem cells activity and it might even decrease myostatin
levels(muscle growth inhibitor).
Yeah getting that pump in the targeted muscle is one the things that triggers muscle growth.
If you make sure you cover all 4 triggers in your training routine than there is no reason why
your muscles shouldn’t grow!
3 MECHANICAL MUSCLE GROWTH TRIGGERS
I think anyone who ever tried to understand muscle growth process better or even understand
the process as a whole came across these 3 terms: MECHANICAL TENSION, METABOLIC
STRESS and MUSCLE DAMAGE.
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MECHANICAL TENSION
Creating maximal force through full range of motion of the particular movement and full active
range of motion of the particular muscle is what creates mechanical tension. Mechanical tension
is combining passive and active muscle activation since muscle resists the external force with
contraction during both concentric and eccentric portion of the ROM.
All the “sciency” stuff aside; this simply means lifting heavy in lower to moderate rep range with
longer rest periods and getting stronger over time. Maximal muscle force exertion activates most
muscle fibers so yeah lift heavy!
METABOLIC STRESS
You know that burn and eventually pump we all love when training?! Well these 2 in
combination basically create metabolic stress.
Metabolic stress means few things: veins occlusion traps blood inside the muscle, oxygen
restriction to the muscle, metabolites accumulation(lactates, fluids and hormonal surge) inside
the muscle cells and cell swelling due to massive blood accumulation.
Lifting in moderate to higher rep range with shorter rest periods and constant tension/time under
tension is what creates metabolic stress.
Yeah chasing that pump is what triggers metabolic stress.
MUSCLE DAMAGE
Don’t want to sound like a parrot so just check the previous section on muscle damage!
You probably noticed that 3 mechanical triggers are pretty much the same thing to previously
mentioned 4 major muscle growth triggers.
If you’re following the basic structure which I’ll lay out later you’ll cover all these without even
thinking about them but I just wanted you to understand those basic mechanisms which are
important triggers for magical process of muscle growth.
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TRAINING FOR MUSCLE GROWTH BASICS
TRAINING VOLUME
Every lifter probably heard that one of the primary drivers of muscle growth is training volume.
Training volume most commonly is defined as sets x reps x resistance/weight but simply put;
training volume is total working load you’re handling throughout the training session.
I’m not here to give you a full lesson but rather to explain why increasing training volume over
time is necessary to achieve continual muscle growth!
MUSCLE ADAPTIVE SHOCK
People usually don’t understand that muscle growth is a simple adaptation to external
resistance. Your body understands 2 things: there is some form of external pressure/load which
is trying to “crush you” and that it needs to adapt to resist that pressure and keep you alive.
More external pressure you put your body against over time your muscles will continually have
to adapt.
How muscle adapts? Simple! Through multiple cellular processes it makes your muscle fibers
bigger and stronger. Yeah; muscle growth!
But how about we cut the crap and see how that looks during training?
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PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD
Let’s say you’re doing 5 sets of 5 reps with 100kg on squats 1st week.
In terms of volume that would look something like 5 x 5 x 100kg = 2500kg
So how to achieve the previously mentioned increase in total working volume the next week?
There are multiple ways but most common would be adding weight to the bar and squat little bit
heavier.
Ex. 5 sets of 5 reps with 105kg on squats 2nd week
5 x 5 x 105kg = 2625kg
Congratulations! You just achieved PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD!
That was the simplest possible example and progressive overload isn’t that simple(nor it comes
in linear progression most of the time which I’ll cover later) since it’s highly unlikely you’ll hit all 5
sets of 5 the next week(if you’re using proper amount of resistance) so overall volume might
even go down but hopefully you get the point.
Progressive overload IS NOT just lifting more weight over time though!
Progressive overload means creating more adaptive stress on your muscle which means there
are multiple ways to achieve progressive overload.
If you reduce rest periods between sets even if sets, reps and weight stay the same you
just performed more work in less time.
Ex. 5 x 5 x 100kg week 1 with 3 minutes rest between sets

5 x 5 x 100kg week 2 with 2 minutes rest between sets
Congratulations! You achieved progressive overload once again.
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If you increase number of reps or sets while weight stays the same it is also a form of
progressive overload
Ex. 5 x 5 x 100kg week 1 (you get 5, 5, 4, 3, 2)

5 x 5 x 100kg week 2 (you get 5, 5, 5, 4, 3)
...or if you simply perform 6 or 7 sets instead of 5!
You once again achieved progressive overload!
There are bunch of different ways to achieve progressive overload but these are most common
ones.
BEST REP RANGE FOR MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY
Based on studies reaching contractile failure IN ANY REP RANGE triggered same muscle
protein synthesis elevation. You can trigger muscle growth in lower, moderate and higher rep
range as long as you bring muscle to full(or near) exhaustion.
If you have sufficient overall volume(sets x reps x resistance), sufficient intensity(failure or near
technical/contractile failure) and some sort of a progression pattern(progressive overload) on a
weekly/monthly basis YOU CAN TRIGGER MUSCLE GROWTH IN EVERY REP RANGE.
10x3
5x5
4x10
3x15
Straight sets, drop sets, rest-pause sets, longer or short rest periods...
It all works for muscle growth!

As long as you're creating adaptational environment YOU'LL TRIGGER MUSCLE GROWTH!

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REST PERIODS
Based on the specific goal of each exercise rest periods should control the overall "stimulus
tempo" in order to keep the performance in check each set BUT it should also progressively
lead to muscle exhaustion as you're coming closer to your last set!
Rest periods are usually linked to the rep range!
Lower rep range/higher intensity usually requires longer resting periods because primary
purpose of these low rep sets are strength and overall mechanical tension so in order to allow
your muscles(and nervous system) maximal force output each set you need longer rest for full
recovery.
ex. Everything in 1-5 rep range is considered "lower rep range" and in most cases common rest
between these sets is 3-5 minutes(or longer)
So called "hypertrophy" rep range of 6-12 is what concerns most people because most people
actually train in this rep range. This rep range indeed is an "ideal" range between mechanical
tension and higher levels of metabolic stress but what are the optimal rest periods? Usually the
optimal resting periods between the sets of this rep range is 1-2 minutes. This resting time
allows you sufficient recovery to keep the performance on point BUT still to progressively lead
your muscles to full exhaustion.
In most cases if the number of reps per sets goes up the rest periods go down because
anything performed in 12-20+ reps is usually based on maximal metabolic fatigue(pump) or
simply put; complete muscle exhaustion.
You probably noticed I haven't gave you a specific number but rather "time range" for each rep
range. That is because another factor is individual ability to recover. That is something you'll
have to recognize and learn for yourself. Some people simply have greater ability to recover and
produce force with shorter rest periods while some others need more rest between sets.
Keep in mind; rest periods aren't here just to control the "stimulus tempo" but also as a tool for
progressive overload.

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TRAINING FREQUENCY
Training frequency simply applies to how often you train each separate muscle group
throughout the week and here’s one crucial thing related to training frequency.
Training frequency is one of the most important factors for natural lifters because natural
lifters can tolerate only limited amount of volume in a single training session. In order to
achieve more and more volume over time natural lifters should use training frequency as a “tool”
to achieve that.
Training frequency is a “tool” to manipulate weekly training volume but it is also way to trigger
muscle protein synthesis more often and increase your muscle growth potential.
Training muscle group at least 2x per week is usually necessary(even more often) to achieve
optimal rates of protein synthesis throughout the week but that doesn’t mean training muscle
group just once per week won’t work it simply means that higher frequency is more optimal.
Based on studies maximal protein synthesis elevation can be achieved in as little as 4-6 working
sets per muscle group(if sets are performed with full intensity) which means every subsequent
set won’t do anything for muscle growth or it might be even counter-productive since it’ll result in
more muscle protein breakdown(opposite of muscle protein synthesis).
TRAINING VOLUME VS TRAINING FREQUENCY
First important thing to understand is that training volume and training frequency are inversely
proportional which means:
If training volume goes up training frequency should go down!

If training volume is lower training frequency should be higher!
Why is this important? Because this is one of the major cues for structuring a training program
with optimal ratio of volume and frequency while keeping other factors like recovery in mind. If
you can’t recover from overall training volume you won’t be able to progress since you’ll start
overreaching very soon(drop in performance).
I’m gonna stop myself here because it’s time we jump onto serious stuff! I just want you to
understand basic mechanisms which trigger muscle growth and also to understand that every
training method, approach and split work if they’re properly structured and if they done
with consistent approach.
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HOW TO MAXIMIZE MUSCLE GROWTH AS A
NATURAL LIFTER?
If we’re going to use science then based on everything we know high training frequency(training
muscle group more frequently throughout the week) and low volume(few sets for each muscle
group per training session) is probably the most powerful training approach whether you’re
beginner, intermediate or advanced lifter!
Your goal is to maximize muscle protein synthesis while minimizing muscle protein breakdown
and this can be accomplished with “ideal volume”, maximal intensity and bringing your muscles
to complete contractile failure.
You need volume BUT you don’t need as much volume as you might think to trigger maximal
protein synthesis. If you’re using only 4-6(or even 3-5) sets per muscle group you can reach
maximal MPS but it’s absolutely important that those sets are performed with maximal intensity
and brought near or to complete contractile failure.
But why would I use only 4-6 sets to failure if I can do more volume? This way I don’t have to
bring sets to failure right?
I’m not saying using high volume sessions wouldn’t work BUT we’re trying to maximize muscle
hypertrophy and if you want to do that your goal is to create highest net difference between
muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown.
More sets/volume you do more muscle breakdown you’ll cause and this reduces the net
difference(MPS vs MPB) which basically reduces muscle growth potential… so sometimes
overall volume should be on the lower side and you should focus on maximal efficiency and
intensity of those sets.
If we sum up all this; training each muscle group at least 2x per week and preferably 3x per
week is the most logical solution(under condition your volume is kept in check).
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So bro splits don’t work?
Bro splits absolutely work BUT since they’re based on training each muscle group only once per
week you’ll be forced to use high amount of volume in a single training session which for
someone with average or below average genetics will minimize the muscle hypertrophy
potential.
Also I believe bro splits have their place for experienced and advanced lifters since they need
more specific work for each muscle group, more variety and even more volume through
isolation. If you’re not one of them then bro splits should be off the table til’ you build a decent
base.
Most guys you see using bro splits are 2 things: genetically gifted and/or on steroids(as I said
steroids completely change the MPS rate and basically put an individual in a state of constant
anabolism which means split they’re using won’t make much difference).
How about we finally get serious?
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HOW TO CHOOSE BEST SPLIT FOR YOU?
First thing you have to understand is that there is no such thing as “best training split”!
They all work if you’re consistent and if you stick to the routine long enough.
Second important thing is that all splits work for a period of time but at one point your body will
adapt to the certain routine and you’ll be able to recognize it as a form of plateau(if you’re not
able to progress anymore, if you can’t add more weight to your lifts, if you can’t get more reps or
you simply start regressing and feeling like you’re going backwards)
3rd thing is accepting the fact that not every split is suitable for everyone which means you have
to choose the one which suits your own genetic profile, goals, time availability and
fitness/strength level.
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS BASED ON WHICH YOU SHOULD

CHOOSE THE TRAINING SPLIT?
Basically you should ask yourself a series of question which will appoint you to the optimal split
for you!
How many days per week you’re able to dedicate to hitting the gym/training?
If you can dedicate only 3 or 4 days per week to training than it would be stupid to choose the
split which requires hitting the gym 6 days per week right?
How much time daily you’re able to dedicate for your training session?
Every training split has different training structure which means some of them will require longer
sessions and some of them won’t! Make sure you cover that part before you jump on the split.
What is your current fitness/strength level?
Not all splits are designed for all fitness levels.
Beginner lifters(less than 1-2 years of consistent lifting) should aim for splits based on basic
compound movements, progressive overload and mastering the most important compound
moves. Most of the muscle and strength gains will come through focusing on building a solid
strength base.
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Intermediate lifters(2-4 years of consistent lifting) should still focus on improving the compound
lifts and increasing their strength but also they should progressively start adding more and more
isolation and targeted work for specific muscle groups.
Advanced lifters(4-5+ years of lifting experience) are people who should simply focus on their
specific goal. In their case they require specificity and prioritization. One goal at a time! If you
want to focus on strength primarily your splits should be based on certain periodization scheme
and structured progressive overload. If you’re focusing on hypertrophy you should aim for more
specific isolation work and tactically increasing volume for “lagging” body parts while at the
same time decreasing volume for stronger points. Compound moves should still be in a game
but you’re now allowed to focus on your weaknesses more.
What is your current goal?
As I mentioned previously your split should be focused on a specific goal and also lead to
accomplishing the same. Still as a beginner you should focus primarily on building a strength
base and progressive overload so even if you just want size keep in mind that most size will
come through big compound moves and progressive overload/getting stronger.
One thing you’ll find through experience is your own individual ability to recover. You’re
stimulating muscles with training but they’re growing bigger and stronger while you’re resting so
you’ll have to recognize your recovery capacity and adjust/choose the split according to that
unique feature. As a beginner it’ll be hard to recognize that at once but as you’re accumulating
experience you’ll also learn more about your body and later you’ll be able to structure a training
around that experience.
Once you answered those questions it’s time to analyze different splits and how can they fit in
your schedule and most important of all how can a particular split help you on your road to
gains.
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I’m going to cover 4 splits which in my opinion are most suitable for majority of lifters, they’re
easily adjustable, they’re most efficient and they allow for perfect frequency/volume ratio.
Also different splits are more suitable for different fitness levels so you’ll be able to choose the
split based on your current level.
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PULL/PUSH SPLIT
I used multiple splits throughout the years. I also went through bunch of splits with my clients
over the years and this is by far in my opinion the most effective hypertrophy split for natural
lifters.
Every split will deliver results but nothing can even compare to the structural efficiency of this
split and let me explain you why.
Pull/push split is based on low volume(per muscle group), high frequency(regular version of the
split requires training each muscle group 3x per week) and high intensity(its based on bringing
sets to failure quite often and even including intensity techniques like drop sets, rest pause,
burnout finisher, negative reps etc.)
What makes this split extremely effective is the fact that it’s basically forcing the individual to do
just enough volume to trigger maximal MPS and at the same time it brings high frequency to the
table which means you’ll trigger MPS more frequently throughout the week.
I explained previously that body can tolerate only certain amount of volume after which every
subsequent set won’t do anything for muscle growth(or even increase MPB).
If you combine sufficient amount of volume with ideal weekly frequency you’ll stimulate highest
amount of MPS possible throughout the week. Winner combo!
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SPLIT STRUCTURE
Split is based on dividing the exercises/moves into pulling and pushing motions on daily basis!
It’s a simple split based on mechanical role of each muscle.
Simple example:
MONDAY: Pull
TUESDAY: Push
WEDNESDAY: Pull
THURSDAY: Push
FRIDAY: Pull
SATURDAY: Push
SUNDAY: Rest
Pull muscles: Back, biceps, rear delts, hamstrings, traps

Push muscles: Chest, shoulders(front, medial delts), triceps, quads, calves, (abs/optional)
WEEKLY FREQUENCY
In essence original split structure is based on 6 weekly training sessions and I strongly believe
that in order to reap all the potential benefits of this training split you should perform this split
through 6 weekly sessions. Yes split can be performed in 4 or even 2 weekly sessions but I
believe that beats the whole purpose of this split.
FOR WHO IS THIS SPLIT BEST SUITED?
Primarily this split is for anyone serious about making gains and maximizing their muscle growth
potential because if we use a bit of science and combine it with my personal opinion; this is the
most powerful training split in existence for natural lifters.
If you can’t dedicate 6 days per week for hitting the gym I wouldn’t advise this split because
trying to change its structure will completely beat the purpose of it! If you can train only 3-5 days
per week than you should probably opt in for a different split.
This split is perfect for intermediate and advanced lifters focused on muscle growth; especially if
they’ve been training with lower frequency/higher volume the whole time.
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Split is also suitable for beginners although due to high frequency nature and structural
complexity I wouldn’t advise this split as a first choice to someone who is new to lifting. Also split
doesn’t allow the full focus on improving basic compound lifts so that is another limitation
especially when it comes to beginner lifters.
BASIC SPLIT DESIGN
PULL DAY:
1 hamstrings dominant move
1 vertical pulling back exercise
1 horizontal pulling back exercise
1 rear delts isolation exercise
1 biceps exercise
1 traps exercise
PUSH DAY:
1 quads exercise
1 chest exercise
1 delts exercise
1 triceps exercise
1 calves/abs exercise
Keep in mind that you should pick different exercise each session for each muscle group and
also you’re going to alternate between 3 different rep range throughout the week for each
muscle group to stimulate all muscle fibers through different mechanical triggers.
Also in order to stimulate maximal muscle fibers exhaustion compared to overall volume you
should incorporate form of a special technique at the last set of each exercise(prefered
techniques are DROP SETS, REST PAUSE SETS or BURNOUT FINISHER and I’ll explain
those later)
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PULL/PUSH SPLIT EXAMPLE:
Monday(pull):
A1. Romanian deadlifts 4x 6-8

B1. Weighted pull ups 4x 6-8
C1. Single arm dumbbell rows 3x 12-15
D1. Incline bench rear delt flyes 3x 12-15
E1. Rope hammer curls 3x 12-15
F1. Dumbbell shrugs 3x 15-20
*You perform double drop set at the end of each exercise(20-30% drop in weight on each drop)
and last working set and each drop are performed to contractile failure(til’ you can’t perform a
single rep anymore)
Tuesday(push):
A1. Back squats 4x 6-8

B1. Incline bench press 4x 6-8
C1. Cable side lateral raises 3x 12-15
D1. Overhead rope triceps extensions 3x 12-15
E1. Standing machine calf raises 3x 8-12
F1. Hanging leg raises 3x 12-15
*You perform double drop set at the end of each exercise(20-30% drop in weight on each drop)
and last working set and each drop are performed to contractile failure(til’ you can’t perform a
single rep anymore)
Wednesday(pull):
A1. Lying hamstrings curls 3x 8-12

B1. Bent over barbell rows 3x 8-12
C1. Lat pulldowns(narrow neutral) 3x 12-15
D1. Cable rear delt flyes 3x 15-20
E1. Incline dumbbell curls 3x 8-12
F1. Barbell shrugs 3x 8-12
*After the last working set of each exercise your perform double rest pause set(with the same
weight you rest 15 sec after the last set and perform max reps, you rest 15 sec one more time
and perform one more set to failure). Both last working set and rest pause sets are all
performed to failure.
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Thursday(push):
A1. Lunges 3x 8-12

B1. Standing strict barbell overhead press 4x 6-8
C1. Flat dumbbell bench press 3x 8-12
D1. Single arm dumbbell overhead extension 3x 8-12
E1. Seated calf raises 3x 15-20
F1. Weighted crunches 3x 8-12
*After the last working set of each exercise your perform double rest pause set(with the same
weight you rest 15 sec after the last set and perform max reps, you rest 15 sec one more time
and perform one more set to failure). Both last working set and rest pause sets are all
performed to failure.
Friday(pull):
A1. Single leg hip thrust 3x 12-15

B1. Straight arm lat pulldowns 3x 12-15
C1. Cable rows(wide) 3x 12-15
D1. Seated rear delt flyes 3x 20-30
E1. EZ bar preacher curls 3x 8-12
F1. Cable shrugs 3x 15-20
*After the last working set of each exercise you perform 1 burnout finisher set(drop the weight
for 50% of the working weight and perform 1 set to complete failure). Both last working set and
burnout finisher set are performed to failure.
Saturday(push):
A1. Leg extensions 3x 15-20

B1. Cable flyes(mid pulley) 3x 12-15
C1. Side lateral raises 3x 15-20
D1. Weighted dips(triceps dominant) 4x 8-12
E1. Leg press calf raises 3x 12-15
F1. Ab wheel rollouts 3x 15-20
*After the last working set of each exercise you perform 1 burnout finisher set(drop the weight
for 50% of the working weight and perform 1 set to complete failure). Both last working set and
burnout finisher set are performed to failure.
Sunday(off)
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This is just a basic example of how 6x per week pull/push split should look like but exercise
selection is your choice as long as you stick to the basic movement pattern guidelines.
Also it is important you follow set/rep scheme change for each session/exercise for individual
muscle groups because this will ensure you stimulate all muscle fibers and stimulate growth
through all mechanical triggers. (If you observe closely you should notice that rep scheme is
switched each session for each muscle group and also certain moves have 4 sets instead of 3
just to stimulate additional volume(usually those are compound moves performed in lower rep
range)
You can change every exercise if you want as long as you’re sticking to basic guidelines(muscle
specific exercise and movement pattern).
It’s really important to remember that you should rotate intensity techniques for weekly sessions
on weekly basis.
If you were doing drop sets on Monday/Tuesday the first week; push drop sets to
Wednesday/Thursday the next week and rotate all intensity techniques in the same
fashion.
INTENSITY TECHNIQUES
DROP SETS
After your last working set which should be performed to failure you instantly drop the weight for
20-30% and perform another set to failure.
After the 1st drop set; drop the weight one more time for 20-30% and perform one last set to
failure.
Example:
Dumbbell curls 30kg 12 reps(last working set)/ drop to 20kg 8 reps/ drop to 10kg 6 reps
All drop sets are performed to failure(until you can’t perform a single rep)!
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REST PAUSE SETS
After the last working set which should be performed to failure you rest for 15 seconds and
perform one more set to failure with the same weight.
After the 1st rest pause set you rest for 15 seconds again and perform one last set to failure
with the same weight.
Example:
Dumbbell curls/30kg 12 reps(last working set)/rest 15 seconds/30 kg 4 reps/rest 15 seconds/

30 kg 3 reps
All rest pause sets are performed to failure(until you can’t perform a single rep)!
BURNOUT FINISHER
After the last working set which should be performed to failure you instantly drop the weight for
50% of the working weight and perform 1 set to complete failure.
Example:
Dumbbell curls/30kg 12 reps(last working set)/ drop to 15kg 15 reps
Burnout finisher set is performed to failure!
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PROGRESSION PATTERN
As with any other split you should aim to progress each week and have some form of
progressive overload(add more weights to your lifts, increase reps, reduce rest periods…) but
do that only when you hit upper rep range on all sets with a proper form.
Example:
Dumbbell curls 3x 8-12
Week 1: 12, 11,10

Week 2: 12, 12, 12
Increase the weight you’re using for the working sets on week 3
(I’d recommend to use miniature increases of 1-2.5kg on all lifts)!
Same progression pattern is applied to all exercises!
If you’re intermediate or advanced lifter focused primarily on muscle growth and you can
dedicate 6 days per week to training than this might be the perfect split for you!
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PULL/PUSH/LEGS SPLIT
Another great split based on moderate volume/moderate frequency which is ideal for muscle
gain focused individuals.
On this split you’re hitting each muscle group 2x per week but with somewhat higher volume
compared to pull/push split and also it is very simple in terms of structure.
SPLIT STRUCTURE
Split is structured based on mechanical roles of individual muscle groups.
MONDAY: Pull
TUESDAY: Push
WEDNESDAY: Legs
THURSDAY: Pull
FRIDAY: Push
SATURDAY: Legs
SUNDAY: Rest
Pull muscles: Back, biceps, rear delts, traps

Push muscles: Chest, delts, triceps, abs
Legs: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves
WEEKLY FREQUENCY
Split in most common form is based on 6 weekly sessions which allows hitting each muscle
group 2 times per week. Split can be adjusted for 3 weekly sessions but I believe once again
that would entirely beat purpose of the split.
If you’re not able or willing to dedicate 6 days per week for hitting the gym than you should
choose a different split.
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This is a great split for muscle gain focused individuals but compared to pull/push it allows for
more specific strength work and it has somewhat higher overall weekly volume.
This split is one of the best options for intermediate and advanced lifters because it allows more
variety and in combination with 2x per week frequency(per each muscle group) and moderate
volume it is an excellent way to provide a bit more focus for each muscle group
Beginners could also benefit from this split since it allows for decent amount of strength specific
work but it might impact their recovery due to very high day to week ratio frequency so most
beginners would be better of with something more focused on strength and building the base
around heavy compound lifts.
BASIC SPLIT DESIGN
PULL DAY:
2 back exercises
1-2 rear delts exercises
2 biceps exercises
1 traps exercise
PUSH DAY:
2 chest exercises
2 delts exercises
2 triceps exercises
1 abs exercise
LEG DAY:
2 quads exercises
2 hamstrings exercises
1 glute exercise
1-2 calves exercise
Exercise selection should be different for 2 days of the same movement pattern which means
Pull day 1 should look different from Pull day 2 but you should stick to the same routine on the
weekly basis for the sake of progressive overload and progression pattern.
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PULL/PUSH/LEGS SPLIT EXAMPLE:
Monday(Pull):
A1. Bent over barbell rows 4x 6-8

B1. Lat pulldowns(wide) 3x 8-12
C1. Incline bench rear delt flyes 3x 12-15
D1. Cable rear delt flyes 3x 15-20
E1. Cable curls 3x 8-12
F1. Dumbbell hammer curls 3x 12-15
G1. Dumbbell shrugs 4x 8-12
Tuesday(Push):
A1. Incline barbell bench press 4x 6-8

B1. High cable pulley 3x 12-15
C1. Seated dumbbell overhead press 3x 8-12
D1. Cable lateral raises 3x 15-20
E1. Close grip bench press 3x 8-12
F1. Overhead cable triceps extensions 3x 12-15
G1. Hanging leg raises 4x 12-15
Wednesday(Legs):
A1. Front squats 4x 6-8

B1. Romanian deadlifts 3x 8-12
C1. Leg extensions 3x 12-15
D1. Single leg standing leg curls 3x 12-15
E1. Hip thrusts 4x 8-12
F1. Standing calf raises 3x 8-12
F2. Seated calf raises 3x 15-20
Thursday(Pull):
A1. Weighted chin ups 4x 6-8

B1. Cable rows(wide) 3x 12-15
C1. Seated rear delt flyes 3x 15-20
D1. Incline dumbbell curls 3x 8-12
E1. Reverse barbell curls 3x 12-15
F1. Barbell shrugs 4x 12-15
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Friday(Push):
A1. Strict standing overhead barbell press 4x 6-8

B1. Side lateral raises 3x 12-15
C1. Flat dumbbell bench press 3x 8-12
D1. Incline bench cable flyes 3x 12-15
E1. Overhead rope triceps extensions 3x 8-12
F1. Cable pressdowns 3x 12-15
G1. Weighted decline bench crunches 4x 8-12
Saturday(Legs):
A1. Split squats 3x 8-12

B1. Stiff-legged deadlifts(dumbbells) 3x 12-15
C1. Sissy squats 3x 15-20
D1. Lying hamstring curls 3x 15-20
E1. Cable pull throughs 4x 12-15
F1. Leg press calf raises 3x 12-15
F2. Seated smith machine calf raises 3x 15-20
This is just a basic example of how 6x per week pull/push split should look like but exercise
Sets/reps aren’t set in stone(like with previous split) and they can be switched or changed
based on your needs or what you believe will work best for you.
This split can be altered in terms of volume based on individual needs so if you believe you
need more volume for a specific muscle group than feel free to increase the number of sets per
week or even add one more exercise for muscle group.
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PROGRESSION PATTERN
Example:
Week 1: 12, 11,10

Week 2: 12, 12, 12
If you believe you need more volume per session to stimulate growth this split is a great option
and in combination with moderate frequency(2x per week for each muscle group) this is a great
option for intermediate and advanced lifters focused on muscle gain but also on strength. Also
make sure you can dedicate 6 days per week to training before you jump onto this split!
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UPPER/LOWER SPLIT
Upper/lower split is one of the simplest splits there is but it is also extremely effective if
structured properly. Split allows focusing on both strength and muscle growth.
Just like pull/push/legs; this split is based on moderate volume/moderate frequency but in its
most common form it requires you to hit the gym only 4x per week.
SPLIT STRUCTURE
There are actually multiple options to structure this split but I’ll show you one most common
example!
MONDAY: Upper
TUESDAY: Lower
WEDNESDAY: Rest
THURSDAY: Upper
FRIDAY: Lower
SATURDAY: Rest
SUNDAY: Rest
Upper muscles: Back, Chest, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Traps

Lower muscles: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves, Abs
I’ve seen ton of different versions of this split and very often people focus first 2 upper/lower
sessions to strength(lower reps) while 2nd two sessions are “hypertrophy” focused with higher
reps(even somewhat higher volume) but personally I don’t believe that is most efficient way to
structure this split.
First of all; muscle hypertrophy can be triggered in all rep ranges(and it will be with sufficient
intensity and volume) and 2nd; I believe it’s way more efficient to stimulate muscle groups
through both mechanical tension and metabolic stress in a single session(higher mTor
activation and higher hypertrophy stimulus).
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WEEKLY FREQUENCY
In its most common form split requires of you to hit the gym 4x per week but it can be also
adjusted to 2 or even 6 weekly sessions but I believe 4 times per week makes most sense with
this split.
You can also switch days or schedule them in different fashion but always make sure you have
at least 2 days of rest between upper sessions(or lower).
Anyone who can dedicate at least 4 days per week to training and is focused on either muscle
gains or strength; this split will do the job!
Beginners, intermediates and even advanced can taylor this split to their needs which means
this is a great universal split.
Beginners can focus simultaneously on strength and hypertrophy which is important because
beginners should build a solid strength base before they focus strictly on hypertrophy.
Same is applied to intermediates and advanced lifters but they can easily structure the split to
suit their needs and goals.
This split is also great for specific strength work and I know lot of powerlifters and strength
focused individuals using this split.
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BASIC SPLIT DESIGN
UPPER DAY:
2 back exercises
2 chest exercises
2 shoulders exercises
1 rear delt exercise
1-2 biceps exercise
1-2 triceps exercise
1 traps exercise
LOWER DAY:
2 quads exercises
2 hamstrings exercises
1 glutes exercise
1-2 calves exercises
1-2 abs exercises
You can of course increase volume for some weaker areas/body parts and decrease for some
other as long as you hit whole body on weekly basis. Beginners will benefit the most from
balanced approach to whole body.
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UPPER/LOWER SPLIT EXAMPLE:
Monday(Upper):
A1. Bent over barbell rows 4x 3-5

B1. Lat pulldowns 3x 8-12
C1. Incline barbell press 4x 3-5
D1. Cable flyes(high pulley) 3x 8-12
E1. Side lateral raises 3x 8-12
F1. Upright rows 3x 12-15
G1. Incline bench rear delt flyes 3x 15-20
H1. Dumbbell hammer curls 3x 8-12
I1. Overhead dumbbell triceps extensions 4x 8-12
J1. Barbell shrugs 4x 8-12
Tuesday(Lower):
A1. Back squats 4x 3-5

B1. Romanian deadlift 4x 6-8
C1. Leg extensions 3x 12-15
D1. Seated hamstrings curls 3x 12-15
E1. Hip thrusts 4x 8-12
F1. Leg press calf raises 5x 8-12
F2. Hanging leg raises 5x 12-15
Wednesday(off)
Thursday(Upper):
A1. Weighted pull ups 4x 6-8

B1. Cable rows 3x 12-15
C1. Strict standing overhead press 4x 6-8
D1. Cable lateral raises 3x 15-20
E1. Incline dumbbell press with rotation 3x 8-12
F1. Dumbbell flyes 3x 12-15
G1. Seated rear delt flyes 3x 12-15
H1. Seated dumbbell curls 4x 12-15
I1. Triceps pressdowns 4x 12-15
J1. Dumbbell shrugs 4x 12-15
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Friday(Lower):
A1. Deadlift 4x 3-5

B1. Lunges 4x 6-8
C1. Leg press 3x 8-12
D1. Glute ham raise 3x 8-12
E1. Cable pull throughs 4x 12-15
F1. Seated calf raises 5x 15-20
F2. Weighted decline bench crunches 5x 8-12
Saturday/Sunday(off)
This is just a basic example of how 4x per week upper/lower split should look like but exercise
Sets/reps aren’t set in stone and they can be switched or changed based on your needs or what
you believe will work best for you.
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PROGRESSION PATTERN
Example:
Week 1: 12, 11,10

Week 2: 12, 12, 12
If you can dedicate at least 4 days a week for hitting the gym and you’re focused on muscle
gains than this split is a great option. As I said there are ton of different ways to structure this
split to your needs and you can simultaneously focus on strength.
This split can be a great tool for all fitness levels as long as you keep it challenging and chase
some sort of progression.
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FULL BODY SPLIT
This is one of the simplest splits there is but it gets the job done. Split is primarily based on
necessary frequency, prioritizing compound moves and stimulating muscle growth through
progressive overload.
Split might be too simple(lacks variety) for intermediate and advanced lifters but this is probably
the best option for beginners that should build solid strength base and master the most basic
compound lifts.
Also split is very suitable for busy individuals because it requires of you to hit the gym only 3x
per week.
SPLIT STRUCTURE
There are once again multiple different options and split can be designed for different fitness
levels but I’ll share with you the most common version of the split and one suitable for beginners
who should focus on getting stronger.
MONDAY: Full body

TUESDAY: Off
WEDNESDAY: Full body
THURSDAY: Off
FRIDAY: Full body
SATURDAY: Off
SUNDAY: Off
While I’ve seen bunch of different variations of this split I believe sole focus of the split should
be on compound moves and building the strength on same. Some additional/accessory work is
incorporated but those should be performed with lower volume for the sake of recovery on big
lifts for each subsequent session.
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WEEKLY FREQUENCY
Split is pretty straightforward and simple and in its common form almost always is based on 3
weekly sessions but it can be adjusted to 2 or even 4,5 weekly session but this time I’m just
going to explain its most common structure.
This split is almost a perfect choice for beginners because as I mentioned it has higher
frequency(training full body 3x per week), it has decent amount of volume to stimulate muscle
adaptive shock(especially throughout newbie phase) and it requires only 3 working days
separated by rest days which ensures optimal amount of recovery.
Intermediates and Advanced lifters can use this split especially considering the fact that split
can be designed to suit their needs(although its more suitable for specific strength or
performance work).
Split is also a great choice for busy individuals short on time who want to make steady progress
in terms of muscle and strength gains but their busy schedule doesn’t allow them to spend more
time/days in a gym.
BASIC SPLIT DESIGN
The next structure is what I believe the most efficient way to design this split to stimulate muscle
growth and continual strength gains.
FULL BODY:
1 chest compound exercise
1 back compound exercise
1 shoulders exercise
1 legs compound exercise
1 biceps isolation exercise
1 triceps isolation exercise
1 rear delts isolation exercise
1 abs exercise
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FULL BODY SPLIT EXAMPLE:
Monday(Full Body):
A1. Incline barbell bench press 4x 4-6

B1. Bent over barbell rows 4x 4-6
C1. Side lateral raises 4x 12-15
D1. Back squat 5x 4-6
E1. Dumbbell hammer curls 3x 8-12
F1. Dips 3x 8-12
G1. Seated rear delt raises 3x 15-20
H1. Hanging leg raises 3x 12-15
Tuesday(Off)
Wednesday(Full body):
A1. Flat dumbbell bench press 4x 6-8

B1. Chin ups 4x 6-8
C1. Seated dumbbell overhead press 4x 8-12
D1. Deadlift 5x 3-5
E1. EZ bar curls 3x 8-12
F1. Overhead dumbbell triceps extensions 3x 8-12
G1. Face pulls 3x 12-15
H1. Weighted crunches 3x 8-12
Thursday(Off)
Friday(Full body):
A1. Weighted push ups 4x 8-12

B1. Dumbbell rows 4x 8-12
C1. Strict standing barbell press 4x 6-8
D1. Lunges 5x 8-12
E1. Cable curls 3x 12-15
F1. Rope pressdowns 3x 12-15
G1. Incline bench rear delt flyes 3x 8-12
H1. Ab wheel rollouts 3x 15-20
Saturday/Sunday(off)
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This is just a basic example of how 3x per week full body split should look like but exercise
selection is your choice as long as you stick to the basic movement pattern guidelines. This
specific example is probably most suitable for beginners because it puts focus on balanced
whole body work and building strength on big compound moves.
Sets/reps aren’t set in stone and they can be switched or changed based on your needs or what
you believe will work best for you.
PROGRESSION PATTERN
Example:
Week 1: 12, 11,10

Week 2: 12, 12, 12
If you’re a beginner I would advise to increase bigger lifts like squats, bench press, deadlift by
2.5-5kg every time you hit the upper rep range limit on all sets.
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If you’re a beginner than this split has all you need without adding unnecessary volume and
“fluff and puff” stuff which will distract you from the primary mission which is building a solid
strength base.
Intermediate and advanced lifters can also use this split but I would advise them to adjust the
split scheme to their needs and tactically increase/decrease volume on particular muscle
groups/exercises in order to get the most out of the program.
If you’re a busy individual than once again this split is a great solution to stimulate
muscle/strength gains while hitting the gym only 3x per week.
There are ton of splits out there and they all work if you stay consistent and put in a lot of effort
and time! I picked these 4 because their structure is simple enough and at the same time they
have a certain structural balance which will work for almost anyone!
Also these 4 splits can be adjusted to all fitness levels and just a little tweak in terms of volume,
frequency or exercise selection can make one of those splits a perfect program for chasing
muscle gains.
You should pick the split based on your goal, strength level, time availability but primarily the
one which allows you consistent approach and it is sustainable for you!
You can also rotate and switch between those 4 splits because in the long run this just might be
what you need to continue stimulating muscle growth. Every split works for a period of time but
at a certain point body will adapt to same type of stimulus and that is when it’s time to switch
things up.
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HOW TO WARM UP FOR LIFTING SESSIONS?
HOW NOT TO WARM UP
How many of you are doing some type of stretching before lifting?
What if I tell you that that is the worst thing possible to do especially if you're concentrated on
performance?!
Based on almost all studies statistically there is absolutely no increased risk of injury in subjects
who don't do any type of stretching prior to lifting compared to subjects who applied pre-workout
stretching. Stretching absolutely DOESN'T reduce risk of lifting injuries!
It gets even worse! Based on some other studies static stretching done prior to lifting session
can negatively impact muscle contraction during lifting which usually results in impaired
performance and overall hypertrophy stimulus.
Why is that so? During the static stretching your muscle fascia temporarily loosens up and
lengthens. This temporary state impacts the ability to reach full muscle contraction. Of course
this results with inability to produce maximal force and even to contract the muscle to its full
potential.
HOW TO WARM UP
But how am I supposed to warm up for lifting?
Absolutely the best way to warm up for lifting is to "ease into it" which means you should do a
few lighter sets of the first 1-2 exercises you'll be doing in your training.
● Use very light weight

● Do few(2-3) lighter sets in higher rep range
● Use exercise variation which feels comfortable in the joints
The whole point of warm up is to drive the blood into muscles you'll be working to increase their
responsiveness and to prevent injury if possible. Also driving the blood into surrounding area
will ensure your connective tissue, tendons, ligaments are also ready for the task.
Science is quite clear that stretching is suboptimal way to warm up for intense lifting and it can
even negatively impact your performance so your best option is to warm up with few lighter sets.
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DELOADS
Deloads are simply put; short planned periods designed for recovery!
If you're following a properly structured training program which requires progressive increase in
working volume and intensity than after some time your body will hit a plateau in terms of
muscle and strength gains(or even regress). Also you might notice sudden drop of energy or
even some form of injury or inflammation(connective tissue).
That is how you know it’s time for a deload!(Deloads can be planned up ahead(tactical deload)
but very often deloads are done based on feeling)
The reason why those plateaus happen is because body simply adapts to current
routine/volume. In this case you should do a short “lay off”(deload) period to allow your body to
recover and prepare for the next phase.
I always advise to do a deload based on feeling once you notice your progress in a gym
completely stopped. Deload is a great way to transition from one split to the other too!
Common deload methods:
● Reducing intensity/weights you're using(usually to 40-60% of regular weights you're

using)
● Reducing volume(reducing number of reps per set, reducing number of sets)
● Doing something else entirely(light cardio etc.)
● Changing exercise selection(still with reduction in overall volume and intensity)
● Taking a full week off from training...
Choice is yours and you should pick what you feel and think will work best for you and allow you
to recover and prepare for the next “hardcore” phase.
When you should deload depends on your training program but more intense program requires
more frequent deloads but usually deload should be done every 8, 12 or 16 weeks.
If you’re on some regular hypertrophy split than deload is usually done based on feeling once
you drain out everything you can from the current split and progress completely “hits the wall”.
There is no point of doing a deload if you’re still making a steady progress in a gym and adding
weight on your lifts.
46
Only exception would be the case if you feel your energy levels started declining and you start
feeling tired all the time. Deload is a great option in that case too.
Also beginners might not need deloads due to much higher muscle adaptive shock(newbie
gains)response but more advanced you are; the more important deloads are becoming.
So yeah from time to time you’ll need some form of rest or deload!
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MUSCLE SORENESS
What is muscle soreness?
DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness! Everyone into lifting and training had them at one
point but a lot of people tend to mistakenly chase soreness(thinking they're linked to growth
which isn’t exactly true) instead of actual progression.
What causes muscle soreness? When you're lifting you expose your muscle fibers to eccentric
resistance(negatives) which causes muscle damage. Muscle damage means you create
miniature ruptures in the muscle fibers. Your body needs a temporary solution to fill out those
"gaps" and it fills them up with calcium which results in temporary inflammatory response.
Voila! That is why you get sore.
Muscle damage usually occurs due to sudden exposure to high volume, high eccentric motion
volume or sudden muscle shock(mechanical switch). If you're consistent with lifting you should
notice that soreness becomes an occasional occurrence. Experienced lifters rarely get sore
because their body has adapted to the volume and intensity.
Muscle damage is only one of the triggers for muscle growth so NO soreness IS NOT a direct
indicator of muscle growth.
Getting sore occasionally will happen BUT if you're getting sore after every training you're either
overdoing it in terms of training volume or your recovery(sleep, nutrition, rest) is completely out
of place.
Soreness has a certain links to the muscle building triggers BUT it is not direct indicator of
muscle growth or a good workout.
CHASE PROGRESS NOT SORENESS!
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Can you train sore?
Simple answer is; yes you can! Occasionally you’ll get sore especially in the initial phases of a
new training split since your body is adapting to the volume and intensity.
You should focus on sticking to your split and training structure and of course sometimes you’ll
get sore but if you’re doing things right soreness should progressively become occasional and
non-existent because you have a progressive pattern which gives your body enough time to
adapt.
How about we jump on perhaps most important part of the equation which is nutrition and how
to eat for gaining muscle?
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NUTRITION BEHIND MUSCLE GROWTH
While internet and social media are loaded with ton of “ dogcrap” on training that is virtually
nothing compared to amount of nutrition related bullshit posted every day.
I’m not here to debate on what works and what doesn’t but I’ll rather focus on basics and what
actually works.
Eating for muscle gain is so simple that it’s really sad I have to even write this but let’s make it
so simple you’ll think I’m bullshiting you!
HOW TO EAT FOR MUSCLE GAIN?
Whether your goal is to lose fat, maintain current weight or gain muscle IT ALL COMES
DOWN TO CALORIES AND MACRONUTRIENTS!
Body composition change is nothing else but a simple manipulation of calories in one
direction or the other.
If you want to gain muscle you need to provide your body with enough calories to
stimulate slow weight gain and that is called CALORIC SURPLUS.
Of course there are few exceptions like beginners(sudden muscle adaptive shock/newbie
gains), obese individuals, detrained lifters(muscle memory) and of course steroid users BUT this
guide isn’t about “might” cases or exceptions but rather about maximizing muscle gains and
setting up everything in the direction of muscle hypertrophy.
First step is to find the amount of calories you need to eat per day to maintain your current
weight!
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HOW TO FIND YOUR MAINTENANCE CALORIE INTAKE?
There are ton of online calculators out there which are based on average BMR(Basal metabolic
rate) and no doubt they can give you a good starting point but you should treat them only as a
starting point because more often than not they’re slightly(or a lot) off and in reality there is only
one true way to find your maintenance(amount of calories you need to eat per day to maintain
your current weight):
Eat same amount of food/calories every day for a period of time(2 weeks at least)!
● If your weight stays roughly the same that is your caloric maintenance(bingo! This is the
caloric intake you’ll work your way around)
● If you lost weight you're in caloric deficit
● If you gained weight you're in caloric surplus
Once you know your approximate caloric maintenance than everything else is simple because it
comes down to tactically increasing(or decreasing) calories based on your goal.
Keep in mind that your calorie maintenance is not a “set in stone” number but rather small range
which goes up and down based on bunch of different factors like; calorie intake, macro intake,
physical activity, training intensity, exercise selection, stress levels, sleep etc.
Focus on approximate number because your maintenance will always be more or less the same
according to your average true BMR.
If you know your maintenance calories now it’s time to start manipulating your caloric intake toward
muscle gain.
EATING FOR MUSCLE GAIN
Let’s say your caloric maintenance is 3000 kcal per day(for the sake of simplicity).
Your goal is to provide your body with a slight surplus of calories to stimulate muscle
growth but also to minimize the unnecessary fat accumulation in the process.
Minimizing excessive fat gain is not only for the aesthetic purposes but also to keep the
INSULIN SENSITIVITY in check.
Insulin sensitivity is your body’s ability to absorb and partition nutrients and more
insulin sensitive you are the more efficient you are in both gaining muscle and losing fat.
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One more thing you should keep in mind is that more calories doesn’t mean more muscle gain
because your body has a certain natural rate at which it can build muscle and eating more
calories than what you need to stimulate muscle growth won’t speed up that process. All those
excessive calories will be stored as fat which we want to avoid at all cost.
So how to find that optimal surplus of calories?
I hate to repeat this over and over but it all comes down to individual potential and insulin
sensitivity! Some people can tolerate more calories and some need a bare minimum to keep the
fat accumulation in check BUT based on studies and my personal experience most people
would do best with 300-500 calories above maintenance because if you look at it on a weekly
scale that is all you need to stimulate maximal muscle growth and it’s highly unlikely anything
beyond this will be used for muscle building purposes according to some guidelines on optimal
natural muscle growth rate.
So assuming your maintenance is 3000kcal; adding 300-500kcal on top of that on daily basis
will provide you with just enough calories to stimulate maximal muscle growth while minimizing
chances of excessive fat gain.
For someone whos maintenance is 3000kcal that would require eating 3300-3500kcal per day
to stimulate steady muscle growth(under condition that someone is following a structured
training program and is making progress in a gym).
HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD I AIM TO GAIN ON WEEKLY/MONTHLY BASIS?
First important thing! It is absolutely crucial to weigh yourself first thing in the morning on empty
stomach. This gives you the most objective picture of your current bodyweight.
2nd thing! Weigh yourself everyday because weight gain isn’t linear process! Your weight will
fluctate up and down throughout the week due to carbs intake, sodium intake, undigested food
weight etc. This means you should focus on tracking average weight gain over a period of time.
When it comes to gaining quality weight/muscle you should focus on average increase in weight
and your highest point.
How much weight you should gain depends on how experienced you are because beginners
can and will gain muscle at a faster rate. That rate progressively drops the more experienced,
muscular and stronger you are.
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We have ton of studies on natural muscle growth and while we all have different muscle gain
potential and capacity; EVERYONE CAN GAIN MUSCLE at a decent rate but that is why I’ll
share some numbers with you which are based on all those studies over the years.
These number are optimal ranges of how much muscle you can expect to gain on yearly
basis(sum of all studies):
● 1st year of lifting: 10-25 pounds of muscle

● 2nd year: 5-12 pounds of muscle
● 3rd year: 3-6 pounds of muscle
● 4th+ year: you can expect 1-2 pounds of muscle at best and rate is just getting slower by
each year
If we take those numbers into consideration than we can build some assumptions on how much
muscle you can expect to gain on weekly/monthly basis.
Keep in mind that some fat gain is unavoidable during the process(unless you’re some kind of a
genetic freak) so you should always aim at the higher end of the spectrum(just in case) but still
based on your experience level.
Here are in my opinion optimal weight gain rate numbers for different levels:
● Beginners(1st 2-3 years of lifting): 2-4 pounds per month/0.5-1 pound per week
(During first 2-3 years of lifting you have highest muscle building potential and it is absolutely
crucial to ensure enough calories for maximizing your potential. Even if you gain some fat in the
process you’ll make sure that there isn’t any wasted potential in those initial years + getting
shredded is much easier than putting on muscle)
● Intermediate and Advanced lifters: 1-2 pounds per month/0.25-0.5 pounds per
week
(While it might seem pointless gaining weight at that rate comparing to how much muscle can
you actually gain at this point especially for advanced lifters you have to keep in mind that there
is a thin line between optimal surplus and maintenance. This way or another you have to gain
weight at some measurable rate to gain any muscle in the process so going anything lower than
these number makes no sense and it might even result with you ending up in maintenance and
not gaining any muscle whatsoever. Are you willing to risk that?)
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HOW TO STRUCTURE MY MACROS?
There are bunch of different ways to structure your macronutrients and it all comes down to
individual and his preference.
Once again I’ll focus on what is in my opinion the most efficient, simplest way to structure your
macros based on your caloric intake and what in my experience as a lifter and a coach works
for majority and I dare to say even for everyone!
Just something to keep in mind:

● 1g of protein has 4 calories
● 1g of fats has 9 calories
● 1g of carbs has 4 calories
PROTEIN INTAKE
Proteins(amino-acids) are building blocks for muscle cells so if you don’t provide your
body with enough protein all your training will be for nothing. You simply HAVE TO get
sufficient amount of protein to support the process of muscle repair and muscle protein
synthesis(MUSCLE GROWTH).
I'd say everyone should get at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight! There are studies
that indicate you don't need even that much(0.8g per lbs of bw being sufficient) BUT there are
ton of studies which clearly confirm there is not a single downside of eating a ton of protein(even
1.5-2g per pound of bw) and you virtually can’t go wrong with protein.
Protein has the highest TEF, its most dense, satisfying nutrient and its a building block for
muscle cells. There is literally not a single reason why you should go lower than 1g/lbs of
protein per day.
ex.(for a 200 pound guy that would be 200g of protein per day)
Let’s assume you need 3500kcal per day to hit that surplus and you weigh 200 pounds which
means you need 200g of protein daily.
200g x 4 = 800 calories
800 calories out of those daily 3500 will come from your protein intake!
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FATS INTAKE
While usual guideline is roughly 20-25% of your overall caloric intake which I won't disagree with
I still believe that depends on your overall metabolic rate and daily caloric requirements.
Fats are essential for optimal body functions and hormonal regulation so getting the
decent amount of dietary fats is absolutely crucial.
So let’s set the mark at 25% of your overall caloric intake.
Let’s use 3500kcal as optimal caloric surplus once again.
25% of 3500kcal is approximately 875 calories.
875kcal / 9kcal = approx 97g of fats.
This means you should eat 97g of fats per day and 875 kcal out of those 3500 will come from
fats.
CARBS INTAKE
Carbs are primarily energy source which can be used instantly or stored for future
use(muscle glycogen stores).
Once you cover the base with proteins and fats, carbs can make the rest of your daily calories.
That intake of course depends on your overall daily calories and how much of the same goes to
protein and fat intake.
So if we use previous example of 3500kcal daily from which 800kcal comes from protein(200g)
and 875kcal comes from fats(97g) than carbs will make the rest of your caloric intake!
3500 - (800+875) = 1825 kcal
1825kcal / 4kcal = approx 456g of carbs
This means you should eat 456g of carbs per day and 1825kcal out of those 3500 will come
from your carbs intake.
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If we summarize the number on this example that would approximately look like this:
Calories: 3500
Protein: 200g
Fats: 97g
Carbs: 456g
If this isn’t simple than I don’t know what is!
Now just simply apply those percentages/ratios to your own caloric demands!
The best option is always to experiment with different macros structure and find how your body
reacts to certain nutrients and specific food but I never had anyone going wrong with these
basic guidelines.
Perhaps you don’t need that much carbs so you increase your fat intake slightly but protein
intake should be always approximately 1g per pound of bw. Slight oscillations in carbs/fats ratio
are individual and you’re the one who should find what works for you.
Calories and protein intake are 2 most important things in this equation because without caloric
surplus you won’t gain weight and without sufficient protein intake your body won’t be able to
build muscle.
You should hit those numbers on daily basis but sometimes allowing your fats/carbs ratio to
change is nothing that will mess up the process as long as overall calories and protein intake
are on point.
I know there are ton of diets and dietary options out there but keep in mind that most of them
add unnecessary complexity and numbers into play(like carb cycling) and most people mess it
up(especially inexperienced lifters) so I strongly believe that simplicity is the key to making gains
especially when it comes to nutrition.
How hard can it be when you have few numbers you should hit everyday? Why would you make
it more complicated than what it needs to be?!
Keep it simple! Focus on hitting your calories and macros and in combination with progression
in a gym the magic of gains will happen.
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REST DAYS CALORIES/MACROS
If your goal is muscle gain and you're trying to pack on muscle why in hell would you deny
yourself nutrients necessary for muscle recovery and growth on days when most actual
recovery(and growth) is happening?
Reducing calories/carbs might make sense if you're cutting BUT it can be counterproductive
when it comes to muscle building/bulking process.
Major theory is that since you're not training on your days off you need less calories to stay in
surplus which sounds like it makes sense BUT in reality most muscle tissue repair process
occurs in a resting state and you need all the nutrients you can get to aid in the process
especially if you want to grow.
Reason why this doesn't make sense is primarily the fact people tend to overestimate how much
calories is burned during a lifting session(nowhere near as much as you might think). Not even if
you're a 250 pound muscled guy you probably won't burn even 200-300 calories during your
lifting session(everything you read on random internet articles is a nonsense really! Just storm
through scientific literature about caloric expenditure)
2nd reason is that lowering your carbs intake on resting days while most growth(nutrient
delivery to muscle cells) should occur you're reducing insulin levels and reducing pathways for
nutrient delivery(yeah protein does it on its own but glucose is still a winner when it comes to
insulin elevation).
3rd reason is that lowering calories and carbs results in decreased glycogen stores which you'll
need to perform at your best the next training day. You want your muscles full of glycogen and
ready to smash those weights on a training day (NO one huge carb loaded meal before training
won't be sufficient).
But I want to stay lean in the process!?
You'll do that by keeping that surplus in moderation on average weekly scale. Find a sweet spot
of calories which will keep you in a surplus on your training and rest days.
Lowering your calories on your rest days won't do much to keep you lean and it'll do even less
for muscle recovery and growth.
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METABOLIC ADAPTATION
You have to understand that your body prefers “homeostasis” or simply put; it wants to keep
things the way they are.
Your body will always progressively adapt your metabolism to external circumstances which
means if you eat in caloric surplus for prolonged period of time your body will simultaneously
increase the metabolic rate to put you back into maintenance. (Because body is an asshole that
doesn’t care about you gaining muscle)
What this means?
This simply means that occasionally you’ll have to increase your calories slightly to stay in that
sufficient surplus to stimulate weight gain and muscle growth.
How to recognize metabolic adaptation?
It’s simple! If you’ve been hitting your calories/macros religiously on daily basis and your weight
gain has stalled for at least 2 weeks then it’s time to slightly increase caloric intake.
How much calories should I add?
You should add 200 calories on top of your regular intake(the most logical solution is to increase
calories by increasing carbs) and continue tracking weight to see what is going and are you
back in surplus again.
Once again; it’s simple!
Pretty much that sums up the basics behind nutrition for muscle gain!
And it’s really that simple;
● Eat in slight caloric surplus(300-500kcal above maintenance)

● Get at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight
● Get sufficient amount of dietary fats(at least 25% of your overall caloric intake)
● Aim for slow and steady weight gain to minimize the fat gain in the process
● Weigh yourself every morning on empty stomach to track weight oscillations
● Adjust things if necessary
● Stay consistent
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I know a lot of people have issues with “overthinking process” and sometimes they focus too
much on things that don’t really matter but I’ll still share with you more info on nutrition and even
bust some myths so you can relax and focus on previously mentioned basics.
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WHEN AND HOW TO DO A MINI CUT
As I mentioned previously; staying lean throughout the whole process is not just for the
aesthetic purposes but also for the sake of insulin sensitivity. If you’re insulin resistant your body
is not only inefficient to “shuttle” the nutrients toward muscle cells but also starts prioritizing fat
gain since your fat cells are much more sensitive to nutrient uptake.
We want to avoid that at all cost!
Insulin sensitivity is tightly linked with amount of body fat you carry because the leaner you are
the more your body start prioritizing “nutrient drive” toward lean tissue and this means muscle
cells.
Insulin resistance means your body has “overreaction” to carbs intake in a form of excessive
insulin release. Insulin elevation is absolutely necessary BUT muscle cells require just enough
of insulin stimulation to open pathways for nutrients so to cut it short; your insulin sensitivity
should be in check and you’re going to achieve that by staying relatively lean throughout the
whole process.
Once your body fat creeps in a bit too high which is quite normal even if surplus is
minimal(you can’t really choose how much calories will be stored in muscle cells and
how much will be stored as fat) so in order to “reset” your insulin sensitivity you should
do a short and aggressive cut just to drop the enough body fat to create optimal
environment and continue the muscle gain pursuit.
SO HOW DO I KNOW IT’S TIME TO DO A MINI CUT?
There are lot of indicators and we all have different muscle building potential which means
insulin resistance will drop for everyone at different body fat level BUT if we use actual science
and compare studies than it seems that a “breaking point” where for most people insulin
sensitivity starts dropping is approximately at around 15% body fat.
This means that once you get to around 15% bf(+/-) it might be a time to do a mini cut!
Most body fat scales and measurement methods are incorrect plus the fact that not everyone
has DEXA scan in their bedroom so I advise you to focus on visual signs and indicators.
Focus on your leanest points, places where you store the least amount of body fat and where
your body fat comes off first.
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For me those are abs and arms for example but we all store body fat differently so you should
focus on whole body of course but usually once your leanest areas start accumulating fat it
means your body insulin sensitivity drops and it’s more likely your body will start storing
nutrients as fat and prioritize fat cells over muscle cells and we want to avoid that at all cost.
Once the muscle definition in those places starts “fading away” drastically and fat starts
accumulating that is a good sign you’re getting somewhere into that 15% body fat range so that
might be a good sign to do a quick mini cut.
So observe visual signs of body fat storage and “go by feeling” but DON’T overreact to every
sign of body fat gain because you’ll start running in circles and start cutting every time you lose
a bit of definition. This will ruin your muscle gain efforts because you simply have to spend
adequate amount of time in surplus focusing on gains.
Don’t allow your ego to cloud your judgement! Drain every ounce of gains you can during the
gaining phase and do a mini cut only when its highly necessary.
If you’re a “shredz obsessed maniac” like myself you’ll feel quite uncomfortable most of the
gaining phase because we usually can’t imagine ourselves without shredz and veins all over but
you’ll have to suck it up and focus on gains. Think of the “final product” and just visualize how
much better you’ll look once you strip down the fat and reveal all the muscle you gained during
the bulk.
Also little reality check; if you do things right you’ll stay quite lean throughout the process
anyway and most non-lifting folks won’t even recognize the difference in conditioning.
HOW TO DO A MINI CUT?
Mini cut doesn’t require any form of “transition phase” or progressive drop in calories which
means you can and should instantly drop the calories from surplus to deficit.
Let’s use 3500kcal example again! If you were eating 3500kcal to stay in surplus and stimulate
muscle gain what would be the optimal deficit for a mini cut?
I firmly believe that you should drop calories 20-25% below maintenance because that is
“aggressive” enough to stimulate fat loss at a faster rate while still sufficient enough to avoid
metabolic crashdown(undereating) and also to prevent any muscle loss.
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If you were eating 3500kcal to stay in 500kcal surplus that means your maintenance is
approximately 3000 calories. You should simply drop your calories 20-25% below that number.
If you drop your kcal for 25% from 3000 calories that would be 750 calories less per day which
means 2250kcal.
In this example you should eat 2250 calories per day on average to maintain aggressive but
controlled deficit.
Simple right?
HOW MUCH WEIGHT I SHOULD AIM TO LOSE ON WEEKLY BASIS?
Without too much calculations; you should aim for 1-2lbs loss per week depending on your
current conditioning and how much fat you aim to strip off in the process!
Don’t go faster than that because you’re putting yourself at risk of muscle catabolism or even
metabolic crashdown.
Adjust your calories according to that weight loss rate and stay in 1-2lbs per week weight loss
range.
Keep in mind that 1st week of mini cut your weight might drop much faster due to drop in water
weight and glycogen depletion but that will happen in first few initial days. After that focus on the
previously mentioned weight loss range.
HOW SHOULD I STRUCTURE MY MACROS DURING MINI CUT?
Exactly the same like during the bulk except majority of your calorie restriction should come
from carbs.
Simply put; drop down carbs intake to achieve that deficit. You may also slightly drop fats BUT
protein must stay at least on 1g/lbs/bw target.
HOW LONG SHOULD A MINI CUT LAST?
Regular mini cuts can last from 2 anywhere to 6 weeks and how long you’ll stay in deficit
depends on how much fat you aim to lose and what was your starting point in terms of
conditioning(more fat you accumulated logically you’ll have to cut down for longer)
I usually recommend 2-4 weeks mini cuts. Focus on visual progress! Once you’re satisfied with
the conditioning it’s time to start chasing gains again.
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HOW SHOULD I TRANSITION BACK TO SURPLUS?
You should allow your body a short “adaptation phase” on lower body fat you achieved through
mini cut so I advise you progressively increase calories on daily basis back to surplus.
Add 100 calories per day and do that everyday til’ you get back to previous surplus and observe
the weight gain rate once again.
Some people advise staying on your maintenance calories for a week or two before getting into
surplus but personally I believe that is unnecessary and it just prolongs the time you’re not
making gains.
I can back up my claim by a simple fact that adaptational process isn’t all that drastic and your
body doesn’t need that much time to “adapt” to circumstances. Hormonal changes can happen
on daily basis so doing a longer maintenance period doesn’t make sense.
HOW SHOULD I TRAIN DURING SURPLUS?
Exactly like on bulk!
Focus on progress in a gym; progressive overload and progressive increase in training volume,
keep the intensity high but based on your energy levels you may keep the overall training
volume on a lower side.
Remember; what builds muscle also keeps the muscle!
Yeah mini cut is that simple! So don’t overcomplicate things, keep it simple, stick to the basics
and you’ll stay lean in the process of gaining muscle through the “magic” of mini cutting.
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FOOD SELECTION
To be honest I wouldn’t even cover this if so many people didn’t ask me to! Why? Well because
primary focus always should and will be on calories and macros on daily basis but I’ll give you
that certain foods make more sense for muscle building purposes.
Certain “staples” will always work and you should always prioritize “clean” food sources but
eating clean all the time is neither sustainable nor smartest thing to do because depriving
yourself of certain things you crave from time to time especially if you can somehow fit those
things in your calories might kill the “sustainability factor”.
I won’t give you some general guidelines but rather what I personally prefer as different
macronutrient sources and what I very often recommend to my clients.
Keep in mind that those foods aren’t only options and food selection shouldn’t dictate your life
but creating a certain balance is necessary!
RECOMMENDED PROTEIN SOURCES
If you want to build muscle keep in mind that not all protein sources are same!
Beside being protein that protein has to be A COMPLETE PROTEIN to stimulate muscle protein
synthesis. This means it has to contain all 8 essential amino-acids but I won’t turn this chapter in
the scientific lecture.
Ideal protein sources for building muscle are animal based foods like meat(chicken, turkey,
beef…), eggs(yeah both egg whites and yolk), dairy like cottage cheese and certain cheese
types, fish(almost any kind but(tuna, sardines, halibut, tilapia, cod…) but pretty much all animal
based food contains quite a bit of complete protein.
You should focus on lean sources(high protein content, lower fat content) simply because it’s
easier to fit them in your macros. Certain animal based food is high in fats so if you’re not
careful they can take away a large chunk of your overall daily fat intake.
Just read the nutritional label on the foods you buy and you’ll be able to select the food which
you can fit in your daily macro/calorie intake and you’ll be able to build your own “diet” around it.
It doesn’t make sense you eat things you don’t like or enjoy just for the sake of building muscle
because you really don’t have to.
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There is so many available good protein sources and you should pic a few staples and rotate
between them on daily basis(for example bulk of my protein intake comes from chicken breasts,
egg whites, whole eggs, whey protein and occasional beef. I’m not crazy about fish so I simply
don’t eat a lot of fish)
I just wanted to clear one thing out!
If you’re getting a decent amount of protein from a complete sources than YOU COUNT
PROTEIN FROM ALL FOODS YOU EAT ON DAILY BASIS not just particular protein dense
foods. Your food choices for carbs and fats will contain also some protein and you count
them too in your overall daily protein intake(same goes the other way around for carbs
and fat intake).
Focus on hitting the daily protein target and make sure you have a decent amount of high
quality complete protein in your diet. End of story!
RECOMMENDED DIETARY FAT SOURCES
I won’t talk about different type of fats and how they affect you but rather just share the best
options and from where majority of your daily fat intake should come.
I’ll just say you need both good “healthy” fats rich in omega fatty acids and also amount of
saturated fats. No saturated fats aren’t evil and your body needs a certain balance.
A different type of fish contain a decent amount of good fats(omega 3 fatty acids) so if you’re
eating some fish to hit your protein you probably also getting decent amount of fat from it too.
Salmon is super rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
Other good options are oils like olive oil, also nuts and seeds, peanuts, avocado...!
It’s your choice but make sure majority of your daily fat intake comes from those “good” sources
but some saturated fats will definitely creep in into your daily fat intake from traces in certain
foods which isn’t a bad thing at all!
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RECOMMENDED CARBS SOURCES
Carbs are primarily used for energy(as an instant energy/glucose or stored inside muscle and
liver glycogen for future use) so you might as well choose the carbs which won’t cause
excessive insulin spike and keep “the engine running”.
While it’s a no brainer to occasionally enjoy some “crappy” carbs because that is the whole
points of a sustainable process; you should still focus to get your carbs from quality sources
most of the time.
I’d recommend all those good ol’ boring stuff like rice(white or brown), potatoes, sweet potatoes,
yams, oats, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, beans, vegetables(any but prioritize green
leafy stuff)...
I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t really eat all that clean especially when it comes to carbs
but as long as I stick to my daily calories and macro intake I’m good.
So prioritize good sources but don’t deny yourself a “treat” from time to time. Just for the sake of
enjoyment and sustainability!
Carbs are a bit more complicated because you should also observe how different carbs sources
affect your body. Certain people get bloated and retain water from particular carbs so learn how
to recognize body signals and reactions and choose your carbs according to that.
If you want to stay visually lean throughout the process you should keep water retention in
check so experiment with different food/carbs sources and observe how your body reacts to it
and how well it can digest certain things!
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WHAT ABOUT MICRONUTRIENTS?
Since I preach simplicity I’ll repeat one more time that your primary focus should be on calories
and macros. Body composition change depends strictly on these 2 and even if you never give a
second thought to micronutrients you’ll be probably just fine but for the sake of quality let’s talk a
little bit about micros.
It’s a no brainer that you should get decent amount of different micronutrients in your diet
because they aid in hormonal regulation, optimal body functions and most important of all;
digestion!
So to put it simple get decent amount of vitamins, minerals, calcium, magnesium, potassium,
sodium, fiber…
While all micronutrients matter as a lifter I suggest you primarily focus on fibers and sodium.
Fibers play a crucial role in digestion and when you’re eating for muscle gain its crucial you
keep the digestion track running and healthy. Get sufficient amount of vegetables and fruits in
your diet to ensure you’re getting enough dietary fiber(oats and potatoes are also rich on fibers).
Sodium pulls water into cells(muscle cells too) so you absolutely need sufficient sodium intake!
Low intracellular water levels will result in lack of "gradients across muscle cell membrane"
which will result in poor muscle contraction and inability to get a pump.
Still sodium intake should be just sufficient not excessive because too much sodium creates
negative balance between sodium and potassium which can result in subcutaneous water
retention. If you want to look decently lean throughout the process than you should control your
sodium intake too.
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MEAL FREQUENCY(MYTH)
"You should eat smaller meals more frequently to keep the metabolic engine running!
"Your body can't absorb more than 30g of protein per meal so eating more frequently is the way
to go!
2 major claims to support "high frequency eating" and they're both absolutely false!
Real question is; does eating increases metabolism?
Yes and absolutely NOT to the degree most people think it does!
Your body requires energy to digest nutrients from food so this logically means eating a meal
will impact metabolic rate BUT your body has much more complexed digestion system than
simply "increasing metabolism" to digest food at the moment of having a meal.
Your body digests food in "blocks". Its virtually impossible to digest all the food in an instant so
your body "tactically" digests nutrients over the course of the day(even longer). It's a simple
digestion track regulation system which prevents any drastic oscillations in blood sugar levels,
insulin spikes and provides protection for kidneys, livers and the digestion system as a whole.
This means meal frequency absolutely won't matter as long as your caloric
intake(macros) is regulated according to your goal. Whether you eat 2,3 or 7,8 meals
throughout the day all that really matters is overall caloric intake at the end of the day.
Caloric intake dictates whether you gain, maintain or lose weight NOT meal frequency!
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What about protein absorption?
Science debunked this nonsense long time ago!
Just read the fact above about digestion! Same goes for protein!
Your body can absorb much higher quantities of protein "in a single go" than 30g but real upper
limit is not exactly known. It’s not that it really matters because your body will still absorb it in
"blocks" so concentrate on overall daily protein intake.
Whether you're going to shove your daily protein in 1,2 or 10 meals is up to you but your body
will eventually absorb/digest it all. (NO! You won't piss out excess protein/unless you eat 500+g
of protein per day)
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ANABOLIC WINDOW
The theory says that due to increased anabolism(insulin spike, increased MPS) during the
post-workout window(30-60 minutes after) the individual should get instant protein(and carbs) in
that time period to promote "maximal muscle growth" through increased nutrient drive.
Question is; is "anabolic window" real?
It seems multiple studies "confirmed" subjects who got 20-40g of protein directly after training
indeed achieved more muscle hypertrophy over same time period compared to subjects who
didn't get any post-workout protein.
This is one point for anabolic window right?! Well not exactly! Some people have tendency to
analyze every aspect of a research(including myself) and bunch of inconsistencies and potential
problems were found within these studies.
"Anabolic window" subjects indeed achieved more muscle hypertrophy in average but also in
literally all studies these same subjects had much higher overall protein intake on daily basis
compared to controlled subjects(no post-workout protein) which can indicate higher overall
protein intake results in more muscle growth without any relation to anabolic window.
2nd problem is that almost all studies were done on elder and untrained subjects which leaves
the big question mark for consistent experienced lifters.
3rd issue is that there are some studies which haven't found any difference in muscle growth
rate between "anabolic window" subjects and a controlled group.
Now if we use other side of science its clearly obvious elevated MPS lasts actually 24-48h and
your body is capable to absorb amino-acids from any meal you eat on daily basis and nutrient
drive will occur anyway in the workout period since training on its own actually elevates MPS
and causes insulin spike.
Until we have more evidence backed by science I'm afraid anabolic window is a matter of
personal preference and goals. Ask yourself: If there is a slight chance getting some protein
during and directly after your training can "increase muscle growth" rate and nutrient uptake by
the muscle would you take it?
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SUPPLEMENTS
I wrote this so many times and for some strange reason I’ll enjoy repeating this again!
SUPPLEMENTS AREN’T NECESSARY AND THEY’RE JUST HERE TO SUPPLEMENT

YOUR REGULAR NUTRITION!
If you have hard time hitting your macronutrient intake or perhaps you’re deficient in some
micronutrient then this is the reason to use supplements.
Supplements are optional “tool” to aid you in the process but none of them will do anything
magical! None of them will make you gain muscle on its own or speed up the muscle gain
process in any way.
Supplements are here for the sake of convenience and to “fill out” the gaps you left in your
regular nutrition/diet.
In certain cases some supplements can be beneficial and useful and that is what I’m going to
focus on here but if you’re in denial or curious about a certain supplement and how effective it is
I posted about most of them on my Instagram page(science behind them) so check them out!
The reason why your favourite fitness icons and bodybuilders use ton of different useless
supplements is because they’re getting them for free and they’re paid to promote them so don’t
confuse the business for actual usefulness.
While in reality most supplements don’t do what they supposed to do I’ll share with you the list
of those rare few that are backed up by science and actually can help you in the process.
WHEY PROTEIN
While it isn't necessary it is absolutely convenient and useful. Whey is fast, convenient way to
get in some protein necessary to meet daily requirements. While most of the protein should
come from regular food using whey if you have low appetite or simply hard time hitting daily
protein requirement is one way to do it. It has high biological/nutritional value, fast
absorption/digestion rate and you can mix it up with pretty much anything.
Every protein supplement(caseine, isolates, hydrolysate…) will do the job but whey is the
cheapest version and based on studies differences between all of them when it comes to MPS,
muscle protein breakdown reduction etc., are minimal so whey is your best option!

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CREATINE
Most studied supplement in existence and almost all studies back up its usefulness. Creatine
helps increasing performance through increased ATP reserves and output. Simply put; higher
energy output, higher force production which leads to improved performance and might help you
get few additional reps(higher total working volume). While it doesn't help you gain muscle
directly, improved performance results in more volume and maximal MPS trigger which helps
with muscle gains in the long run.
CAFFEINE/PRE-WORKOUT SUPPS
Caffeine and pre-workouts are stimulant based supplements. Based on studies

caffeine/pre-workouts can really improve strength output, aerobic capacity, cognitive functions
and fat metabolization which all leads to improved performance and more energy. Only issue is
that it’s easy to build tolerance to caffeine so cycling off/on or increasing dosages is necessary.
That’s it! You don’t need million different supplements to get the job done! These 3 are only
ones that should be in your supplement stack if you are so eager to use them. Not even those
are necessary but if you have to use supplements than why not using something that is actually
useful?!
Everything else is either supplement companies overhyped crap which doesn’t really do what it
supposed to or their potential benefits are completely neglectable and minor.
HONORABLE MENTION (HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS)
If you happen to be deficient in certain micronutrients than certain vitamin supps, fish oil etc.
might be of use to help you fight off those deficiencies!
72
I know I said I’ll focus on only what works but I decided to save you some money and give you a
list of top 3 supplements which are completely useless:
BCAAs
BCAAs supposed to provide your body with few essential amino acids BUT if you're eating
balanced diet with a sufficient protein intake than BCAAs are completely useless! Every animal
based protein source like chicken, eggs, beef, fish.., even peanut contains them and even if you
get a bare minimum of necessary daily protein you're getting all the BCAAs your body needs
and can synthesize. *Whey protein supplements contain the BCAAs which makes BCAAs even
more pointless.
Based on studies BCAAs supplementation absolutely doesn't have any positive effect on MPS if
subjects were getting minimal daily protein from food.
GLUTAMINE
Literally the same case as with BCAAs! Your body gets all the glutamine it needs from balanced
diet and sufficient protein intake from food. Glutamine is indeed essential but supplementing it is
absurd.
Every study done so far on glutamine shown subjects who used glutamine absolutely didn't
have improved MPS(muscle growth, muscle repair and muscle strength) compared to placebo
groups subjects. Those same studies also confirmed glutamine has zero effect on
health(compared to non-using subjects).
MULTIVITAMINS
Everyone is using multivitamins to get all the necessary micronutrients body needs! Problem? If
you're eating balanced diet chances you're deficient in any of these micronutrients are very low.
How can we know for sure multivitamins won't do shit?
Based on multiple studies subjects who were using multivitamins absolutely didn't have
decreased mortality rate, risk of certain diseases, cancer and cardiovascular issues(even on
subjects with pre-existing heart problems). Also multivitamins didn't help with
cognitive functions and infections.
Unless you know for sure you're deficient in some nutrient multivitamins are absolutely useless!
NOTE* Some health supps as I previously mentioned are worth it but specific multivitamin
supps are useless because they contain completely random vitamins which most people get
through food!
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So there you go! Supplements are here to “aid” in the process but you shouldn’t strictly rely on
them and they won’t do much if your nutrition(calories/macros) isn’t on point!
Obviously some supps will help you if you use them in the right circumstances so don’t think of
them as a magic! They are useful and convenient but they’re not necessary.
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CARDIO ON GAINING PHASE
The real question is; should I avoid cardio during muscle building phase?
Straight answer is simple; NO! There is no reason to avoid cardio if you keep it in moderation
and if you make sure you stay in overall caloric surplus.
Cardio is still a good “tool” to ensure cardiovascular health ,to work on your aerobic capacity
and perhaps to minimize the fat gain in the process.
What cardio you’ll use and how much is entirely up to you! Choose cardio which you enjoy and
you can fit in your daily/weekly schedule.
Here are few major guidelines for cardio during lean bulk phase:
● Science proven that HIIT causes more muscle damage compared to LISS so if you feel
certain type of cardio affects your gym performance or recovery you should keep it to a
minimum or switch for some other less demanding option.
● Based on studies subjects who performed cardio before training had slightly statistically
lower performance(probably because any type of cardio still causes slight muscle
damage) so I advise you to do your cardio either after your lifting session or to do it as a
separate session altogether.
● Probably the best option is to do cardio on your rest/off days or some other time of the
day separated from your lifting session.
So yeah you can do cardio but don’t overdo it and decide for less taxing type which
won’t affect your gym performance or throw you out of overall caloric surplus necessary
for muscle/weight gain.
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RECOVERY
Ensuring optimal recovery and giving your muscles rest between sessions is crucial for building
muscle! Your muscles grow stronger and bigger while in resting state.
I know you want me to write about some magical means of recovery but in reality recovery
comes down to few major things:
● OPTIMAL RATIO BETWEEN TRAINING VOLUME, FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY
● BALANCED DIET AND GETTING SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF ALL

MACRO/MICRONUTRIENTS(THIS ALSO INCLUDES USING SUPPLEMENTATION
TO FIGHT OFF DEFICIENCIES AND ENSURE BALANCED MICRONUTRIENT
INTAKE)
● AVOIDING(LIMITING) EXCESSIVE STRENUOUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY(WHICH

MIGHT IMPAIR MUSCLE RECOVERY AND INCREASE MUSCLE DAMAGE)
OUTSIDE OF YOUR LIFTING SESSIONS
● STAYING CONSISTENT AND TRUE TO THE TRAINING STRUCTURE/SPLIT(SPLITS

ARE DESIGNED NOT JUST TO STIMULATE MUSCLE GROWTH BUT ALSO TO
ENSURE OPTIMAL RECOVERY BETWEEN SESSIONS)
● GETTING SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF SLEEP(MOST OF THE MUSCLE REPAIR AND

GROWTH OCCURS IN COMPLETELY INACTIVE STATE)
● MINIMIZING STRESS(BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL) BECAUSE STRESS

CAUSES CORTISOL ELEVATION WHICH IN EXCESS CAN HAVE NEGATIVE
IMPACT ON MUSCLE RECOVERY
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HOW MUCH SLEEP DO I NEED?
How does the sleep affect muscle recovery and growth? We have bunch of theories and "might
be's" and of course we have science to separate crap from reality!
Lack of sleep has major effect on your performance, reaction time and cognitive skills. This of
course has the direct link to your gym performance and it can affect the overall amount of
training volume.
Sleep deprivation also affect coordination which can result in poor exercise execution and
possible injuries.
Interesting thing is that based on studies lack of sleep DOESN'T affect peak performance and
maximal intensity training BUT sleep deprivation affects your body’s ability to metabolize
glucose for energy which means you'll get tired easily(lower fatigue resistance).
The major detriment lack of sleep has on recovery is negative effect on anabolic hormones
release. Studies shown lack of sleep or sleep disruption negatively affects testosterone release
during sleep(release rate and amount) which of course has negative effects on muscle recovery
and muscle growth.
Sleep deprived people(and people who sleep less in general) have lower testosterone levels in
average.
While cortisol ain't a bad thing on its own; chronically elevated levels can affect your muscle
recovery/gains due to its catabolic effects. Lack of sleep not only increases cortisol levels but it
also prevents cortisol drop.
Based on multiple studies people who get optimal amount of sleep(7-8h) also have much better
fat loss rate compared to sleep deprived people and they also have higher levels of muscle
retention(studies concentrated specifically on fat loss tho'). This most likely has something to do
with increased levels of leptin(appetite regulation hormone).
How much sleep do you need?
Unfortunately only way to know is to find your own "sweet spot" because even based on
studies some people can get away with less or more sleep. In most cases anywhere from
6-9h is optimal for most people. It’s highly likely; the more intense your lifting sessions
are, the higher overall training volume is and the more stress you're dealing with; the
more sleep you'll need.
77
MENTAL STRESS
Few studies shown that subjects which were put under high amounts of mental stress achieved
less progress in the same time period. I'm talking about statistically significant lower results in
terms of strength gain and muscle hypertrophy.(Most of these studies were based on 12 week
period).
Few major studies indicate that stress has massive impact on recovery. If we pull out the
numbers the stressed subjects needed approximately 96+ hours to achieve full recovery while
low stress groups needed only 24h in average.
The reason is that high levels of mental stress massively increase cortisol release which has
negative impact on muscle recovery. Also mental stress surpresses release of serotonin and
endorphins which are hormones linked with satisfaction, happiness and calmness.
All those studies shown that mental stress can increase muscle soreness duration, affect
energy levels and lead to chronic fatigue.
One explanation is that our body has stressor reserves and your body reacts to external factors.
If your body consistently feeds those "stressors" with negative physical and mental "feedback" it
eventually becomes unable to react to the positive "feedback" that comes with training. It's like
you're killing your own gains by feeding of "negative".
How to deal with stress?
Try to eliminate external stressors. Alcohol and bad eating habits have negative effect on
mental health so keep them to a minimum. Also avoid people which feed of your
happiness(yeah they're everywhere). Avoid stressful situations, stop overthinking.
What you should do? Build productive and efficient daily routine(something that worked for me).
Some believe meditation and yoga help in relieving stress so give that a go. Follow structured
and sustainable training plan and find a sustainable way to eat while reaching your goal. Get
enough sleep.
I personally found that having control over your day(consistent and productive daily routine) and
not giving too much thought about other people and their problems works like charm.
78
I know you expected me to say to have a cold shower, go to sauna or appoint regular massages
but not only most of those “random recovery methods” don’t work(science debunked most of it)
but also majority of people just don’t have time or money to religiously spend weekends in spa’s
because most of us have priorities and lives outside of the fitness. I’m not saying they will hurt
tho’ but keep in mind they won’t make major difference.
Until you have time and money to pay regular massages or attending spa’s how about you
focus on the most important basic stuff that actually matters?!
79
TRACKING PROGRESS
Tracking progress is the essential part of the whole process because let’s face it! You
purchased this guide to make gains.
The question is what should you track and focus on to get the objective picture of the actual
progress?
While visual progress is what matters most sometimes it’s really hard to be objective about
yourself especially during the gaining phase where it’s really hard to distinct between muscle, fat
and water so first thing you have to embrace is the fact that you won’t look your best everyday
and that some fat accumulation might occur but think about the bigger picture. You’ll look much
better once you strip off the fat and water weight you accumulated with all the additional muscle
you put on your frame.
So what should I focus on?
Track your calories and macros
While there are multiple options to do so fortunately we live in time where our trackers and apps
can do everything for us! One of those thing being tracking your meals, calories, macros and
micronutrients.
There are ton of good calorie tracking apps but 2 best I used and I always suggest to my clients
are myfitnesspal and Samsung Health app. Choice is yours but if you want the most efficient
calorie trackers than you can’t go wrong with these.
Hitting your calories and macros is what will determine in which direction the body composition
change will occur and manipulating your food intake according to your goal(in this case muscle
gain) is crucial for the whole process success.
Hit your calories and macros and adjust the intake according to the weight oscillations/gain rate
which brings us to the next important thing.
80
Track your weight/weigh yourself every morning
While people are blindly chasing numbers which is flawed and wrong(you won’t look the way
you’d like at certain weight I guarantee you that) there is a way to take advantage of regular
weigh ins!
If you track weight everyday you’ll be able to get the average weekly weight gain(or loss) and
you’ll be able to track your highest points. This way you’ll be able to adjust calories/macros in
case you’re not gaining weight fast enough or you’re not gaining weight at all!
Tracking weight is a great tool to track the progress but DON’T chase the numbers on a scale!
This usually leads to messing up with natural weight gain process and people end up putting on
too much fat in the process because they want to weigh this or that much!
No one cares how much you weigh but everyone will notice all the muscle you gained so use
scale as a “process tracking” tool but only for that!
Buy a simple bathroom scale(simplest and cheapest you can find will do) and weigh yourself
everyday first thing in the morning on empty stomach. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same
time everyday but it has to be under same circumstances(fasted, first thing after you do all the
regular morning stuff).
Weighing yourself in fasted state and first thing in the morning is important because it gives you
you your actual weight(without any food in the system).
Track your progress in the gym
If you want to build muscle you simply have to make steady progress in the gym. I’m talking
about some form of progressive overload which should lead to increase in total working volume
over time which is primary driver to muscle hypertrophy.
You won’t be able to progress every session or on every lift all the time but aiming for progress
should be your top priority(if not on daily than on weekly or monthly basis) and only way to make
progress is to track your lifts.
Track the weights you use for each lift, track your sets, reps and rest periods! This way you’ll
have a clear picture of your progress and you’ll know exactly what you need to do every
subsequent session to achieve progress/to increase volume to stimulate muscle growth.
81
You can use good old fashioned notebook to track your lifts or you can put your lifts in some
form of a spreadsheet. There are also ton of available apps for tracking your workouts and all
you have to do is just pick one and stay true to your routine and have some progression
structure.
I personally use Simple Workout Log app but as I said there are plenty of good available apps
that will do the job!
Aim for progression on consistent basis and track your progress!
What about taking measurements?
This one is kinda tricky because your measurements will oscillate like a lot! Things like carb
intake/glycogen saturation, sodium intake, pump, water intake… they can all cause quite a bit of
unrealistic oscillations for particular body parts so I always focus on visual more than
measurements.
Of course taking measurements can be a good tool to keep things in check and see if you’re on
a right path!
I often recommend taking a waist measurement because it can be a good objective warning on
your current conditioning(compared to the starting point) so measuring your waist can help you
keep the fat accumulation in check and prevent it if possible by taking necessary measures.
To put it simple; feel free to take measurements(biceps, chest, waist, thighs, calves…) but don’t
rely strictly on them and also don’t do it too often because oscillations are just too drastic
throughout the process and it can have negative effect on your ego. Take measurements every
3-4 weeks.
82
Focus on visual progress
I know it’s really hard to tell how much of actual weight/size you gained from muscle and how
much from fat and water during the gaining phase but always focus on visual signs of
improvement.
If your veins and signs of muscle definition are still here than you’re obviously doing things right
but if you’re getting “fluffy” too fast than perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your caloric intake and
adjust things accordingly.
It’s hard to notice improvements if you’re checking yourself out every 30 minutes every time you
go to the bathroom but always focus on visual improvements(whether you’re bulking or cutting)
because no one cares how much you weigh, what size is your biceps and how much you can
bench but they’ll all notice if you put on solid amount of muscle on your frame.
To summarize all this:
● TRACK CALORIES/MACROS
● TRACK YOUR WEIGHT
● TRACK YOUR GYM PROGRESS/LIFTS
● TAKE MEASUREMENTS(OPTIONAL)
● FOCUS ON VISUAL IMPROVEMENTS/PROGRESS
● ADJUST THINGS ACCORDINGLY
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CONCLUSION
This isn’t another “put on 30 pounds of muscle in 2 months” crap, neither is this something new
or miraculous!
This is a blueprint on how to gain muscle from training and nutrition standpoint. This guide is
here to put you on the right path of the lifelong muscle gain pursuit!
I decided to create this guide to separate facts from bullshit and to simplify the muscle gain
process as much as humanly possible!
With that being said; whatever I wrote here means nothing if you don’t take action and start
chasing those muscle gains(hopefully with the help of this guide the right way).
I really hope this guide helped you put things into perspective and now you’re able to start the
muscle gain pursuit the right way!
Yeah I also included 4 training splits and you can literally take advantage of it as a “cookie
cutter” scheme and pick one of those splits suitable for you and start making gains right away!
You can also rotate between those 4 splits(switch the split everytime you hit the plateau) and
you’re probably equipped to make continual gains for the next few years or more.
● Choose optimal split for you

● Chase continual progress in the gym
● Eat to support muscle gain(moderate caloric surplus and proper macro structure)
● Ensure optimal recovery
● Tracking your calories, macros, weight and gym progress
This guide is exactly that! Providing your with basic mechanisms that really matter and actually
work.
If you want to expand your lifting knowledge even beyond what this guide provides than I
strongly suggest to head over to my Instagram page @lizokryptonian where I post on daily and
cover a lot of different topics related to training and nutrition and very often analyze different
scientific studies related to same.
Think of my Instagram posts as a more detailed explanations of all the concepts and basics I
shared in this guide!
84
If you just read this guide and apply the basic concepts presented in it I believe you’re more
than equipped to make continual progress in terms of muscle gains and to be honest I think
you’re already few steps ahead of 90% of the lifters who just go through the motions without
knowing what actually triggers muscle growth and how to do things the right way!
I strongly believe in routine, structure, balance and consistency and those pillars are the major
reason why this guide came to existence!
I’m going to repeat something I believe is worth repeating over and over:
EVERY TRAINING, DIET, METHOD, APPROACH AND ROUTINE BASICALLY WORKS IF

YOU DO THE WORK!
Simply put; it all comes down to you and taking action! And I have no doubt that this guide will
make the process much simpler and put you on the right path!
I just don’t understand why you’re still reading this?! It’s time to make some gains so get your
ass up and go for it!
85
If you believe you need further guidance or my personal assistance throughout the journey you
can always sign up for online coaching service by contacting me on my e-mail:
lizofs@gmail.com or through kryptonianarmy.com site.
I really appreciate you investing in this guide and I can’t wait to see your progress and all the
gains in the future!
Feel free to contact me anytime if you have some questions related to this guide or need advice
on my e-mail: lizofs@gmail.com or your can contact me on one of my social media accounts
anytime.
Danijel Lizačić
@lizokryptonian
@kryptonianfitfamily
kryptonianarmy.com
“THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY”
86

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NATURAL LIFTERS DELUSION​​……………………………………………………………………….7

BASIC SCIENCE BEHIND MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY​​……………………………………………..8

TRAINING FOR MUSCLE GROWTH BASICS​​……………………………………………………...11

NATURAL VS ENHANCED LIFTERS

Don’t worry! Exact steps and examples are coming afterwards.

WHAT TRIGGERS MUSCLE GROWTH?

MUSCLE FIBERS FATIGUE

3 MECHANICAL MUSCLE GROWTH TRIGGERS

Yeah chasing that pump is what triggers metabolic stress.

MUSCLE ADAPTIVE SHOCK

In terms of volume that would look something like 5 x 5 x 100kg = 2500kg

Ex. 5 sets of 5 reps with 105kg on squats 2nd week

Congratulations! You just achieved PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD!

Ex. 5 x 5 x 100kg week 1 with 3 minutes rest between sets

Congratulations! You achieved progressive overload once again.

Ex. 5 x 5 x 100kg week 1 (you get 5, 5, 4, 3, 2)

...or if you simply perform 6 or 7 sets instead of 5!

You once again achieved progressive overload!

BEST REP RANGE FOR MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY

Rest periods are usually linked to the rep range!

TRAINING VOLUME VS TRAINING FREQUENCY

If training volume goes up training frequency should go down!

How about we finally get serious?

WHAT ARE THE FACTORS BASED ON WHICH YOU SHOULD

What is your current fitness/strength level?

Not all splits are designed for all fitness levels.

What is your current goal?

Pull muscles: Back, biceps, rear delts, hamstrings, traps

FOR WHO IS THIS SPLIT BEST SUITED?

BASIC SPLIT DESIGN

A1. Romanian deadlifts 4x 6-8

A1. Back squats 4x 6-8

A1. Lying hamstrings curls 3x 8-12

A1. Lunges 3x 8-12

A1. Single leg hip thrust 3x 12-15

A1. Leg extensions 3x 15-20

Dumbbell curls/30kg 12 reps(last working set)/rest 15 seconds/30 kg 4 reps/rest 15 seconds/

Dumbbell curls/30kg 12 reps(last working set)/ drop to 15kg 15 reps

Burnout finisher set is performed to failure!

Dumbbell curls 3x 8-12

Week 1: 12, 11,10

Same progression pattern is applied to all exercises!

Split is structured based on mechanical roles of individual muscle groups.

Pull muscles: Back, biceps, rear delts, traps

BASIC SPLIT DESIGN

A1. Bent over barbell rows 4x 6-8

A1. Incline barbell bench press 4x 6-8

A1. Front squats 4x 6-8

A1. Weighted chin ups 4x 6-8

A1. Strict standing overhead barbell press 4x 6-8

A1. Split squats 3x 8-12

Dumbbell curls 3x 8-12

Week 1: 12, 11,10

Same progression pattern is applied to all exercises!

Upper muscles: Back, Chest, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Traps

FOR WHO IS THIS SPLIT BEST SUITED?

A1. Bent over barbell rows 4x 3-5

A1. Back squats 4x 3-5

A1. Weighted pull ups 4x 6-8

A1. Deadlift 4x 3-5

Dumbbell curls 3x 8-12

Week 1: 12, 11,10

NATURAL LIFTERS DELUSION……………………………………………………………………….7

BASIC SCIENCE BEHIND MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY……………………………………………..8

TRAINING FOR MUSCLE GROWTH BASICS……………………………………………………...11