So, often I get people asking how I train and I have tried many training methodologies and gimicky programmes over the years, here are some I have tried: MI40 (Ben Pakulski's plan)MI40X (Ben's updated version)Mountain Dog Training (Popularised by John Meadows)FST-7 (Hany Rhambod's methodology used by Phil Heath & Jeremy Buendia among others) 5 x 5 Stronglifts Dave Tate's version of the Westside conjugate methodAll of these are without a doubt excellent training methods and programmes, I can not recommend John Meadows' programmes enough if I am honest, very big fan of his little tweeks and changes of training programmes and exercises.For some reason I always end up coming back to Push, Pull, Legs, tried and tested and back to my strength training routes, now this begs the question what is Push, Pull, Legs? Essentially you are looking at a 3 day split which focuses on multiple muscle groups so a 3 day version will look something like this: Push - Chest, Side Delts, Front Delts, TricepsPull - Back, Biceps, Traps, Rear DeltsLegsSo exercise choice then comes into it, so an example session could look something like: Warm Up Exercise Heavy Large Bodypart Compound (Squat/Bench/Deadlift/Bentover Row etc)Secondary Compound Movement (Front Squat/Incline Bench/Military Press/Dumbell Row etc) Smaller Bodypart Isolation (Lateral Raises/Leg Extension/Leg Curl/Dumbell Flye/Machine Row)Post Fatigue Exercises (Tricep Extensions/Bicep Curls/Machine Presses/Leg Press/Essentially anything you can use for drop sets to completely exhaust the muscle)Of course this is an example I tend to flesh these out a little bit depending on the bodypart and how I feel that day as I tend to train quite instinctively now, experience is a great thing! One of the big benefits of Push, Pull, Legs is that you can get greater training frequency and therefore volume out of your week's training, meaning you can focus on lagging bodyparts a little better, for example my shoulders lagged massively for a while so I made my Push, Pull, Legs routine a 6 day split by performing the split like this: Push - Chest FocusedPull - Heavy CompoundsLegs - Quad Focused Push - Shoulder Focused Pull - Isolation & WidthLegs - Hams and posterior chain Here are some example sessions for this split: Chest Focus Pull 1 Quad Focused Legs Shoulder Focus Pull 2 Ham Focus This of course requires intelligent exercise choices to ensure you do not fatigue smaller bodyparts excessively, so for example with my focus being my shoulders I did not perform any shoulder pressing movements on the chest focused push day, instead focusing on isolation movements, drop sets and intensity techniques while on push shoulders focus I put in seated military press, overhead press etc with some post exhaustion work on isolation exercises while chest was primarily stretching exercises on this day, flyes, cable crossovers etc. I've found Push, Pull , Legs to be especially versatile and usable within my training whatever my goals, at the moment for example as I am recovering from my back problem I have found the following split to be effective: Push Pull Posterior Chain & Sumo DeadliftsCore & Conditioning Legs (Quad Focused) The inclusion of sumo deadlifts is based around this article and I have to say since switching to sumo from conventional deadlifting I have noticed a marked improvement in my back problem, certainly worth a read if you have sciatica or another nerve issue! In the next training article I will cover my current training and how I am implementing the above split and slowly regaining strength and size after last year's stop/start with injuries. Any questions hit me up at our facebook pages: Team Megafreak TrainingMegafreak SupplementsAlso give a follow on Instagram at megafreak_supps_n_pt for more gym/dog/guitar related funnys
