Pointers
Choose the Right Exercises
The first thing to focus on is exercise selection, which involves using moves with a high neuromuscular activation. In this phase, it’s critical that you use a variety of movements such as squats, bench presses, military presses, chins, curls, and deadlifts.
Moderate Your Cardio
Contrary to popular belief, more is always not better. When it comes to muscle growth, you want to do enough to stay in a fat burning zone (aerobic state) and not the anaerobic state (muscle burning zone). A good gauge would be at 65% of your maximum heart rate. If you go above that, you risk burning muscle instead of fat.
Nail Your Nutrition
Your body has two ways of using and storing energy. One is based on a glucose metabolism, which uses carbohydrates as an energy source. A diet based on that would be low in fat and high in carbs. The second metabolism is a fat metabolism, which uses fats as the main energy source. Try both approaches for 4 weeks a piece to find which one works best for you.
The Workout
MONDAYS
CIRCUIT 1
Seated calf raise
Bench dips
Squat
Leg press
Push up
Leverage chest press
CIRCUIT 2
Standing biceps cable curl
Seated dumbbell curl
Hyperextensions
Good mornings
Side lateral raises
Seated dumbbell press
CIRCUIT 3
Leg extension
Lying leg curl
One-legged cable kickback
Lat pull down
Seated cable row
Bicycle crunches
WEDNESDAYS
CIRCUIT 1
Triceps dumbbell kick back
Standing dumbbell triceps extension
Front dumbbell raises
Upright barbell row
Seated cable row
Straight-arm pulldown
CIRCUIT 2
Dumbbell lunge
Leg extension
One-arm dumbbell row
Seated one-arm cable pulley row
Standing dumbbell curl
Close grip EZ bar curl
CIRCUIT 3
Incline dumbbell press
Incline flyes
Straight-arm pulldown
Lat pull down (under hand)
Pec deck
Cable cross over
Exercise ball crunch
FRIDAYS
CIRCUIT 1
Seated cable rows
Straight arm dumbbell pull over
Upright barbell row
Smith machine shrug
Leg extension
Dumbbell squat
CIRCUIT 2
Standing triceps pushdown
Seated dumbbell press
Smith machine overhead shoulder press
Lying leg curls
Romanian deadlift
CIRCUIT 3
Standing biceps cable curl
Barbell curl
Dumbbell lunge
Leg extensions
Push-ups
Smith machine incline bench press
Hanging leg raises
zero
low
medium
high
