The Temple of Iron
Physical training must be part of your everyday life. Below are some general guidelines which you can keep in mind when structuring your own training.
1. PROGRESSION IS EVERYTHING
Getting continuously stronger is the key to getting more muscular. Making small increases every week for a long period of time will eventually add up to a lot of accumulated strength. Your goal in the gym should always be to increase the weights you use, or alternatively increase the amount of repetitions you can do with a certain weight.
2. FOCUS ON THE HEAVY COMPOUND MOVEMENTS
These exercises include; benchpress, deadlifts, squats, militarypress, rows, chins (among others). If you structure your schedule around these exercises you will make sure that the entire body gets trained. Moreover, not only are these superior exercises in terms of how much stimuli they give your entire body, they are also easier to progress in over a long period of time, since you will always have access to a barbell (at most gyms).
3. TRAIN EVERY MUSCLE GROUP AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK
For optimal hypertrophy it is recommended that naturals (i.e. training without exogenous hormones) train each muscle twice a week, this is due to the length of the muscle protein synthesis. Training each muscle once a week works if you are taking certain substances, so do not confuse the training style of pro-bodybuilders with something that should be emulated. Moreover, performing an exercise more frequently will give you more opportunities to progress in that exercise. Furthermore, the more often you perform an exercise, the more you will reinforce the movement pattern of that exercise, which will make it easier to progress.
4. MAKE SURE THAT YOU EAT AND SLEEP ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM IN THE GYM
Sleep is a luxury, if you have the possibility to sleep for eight hours each night, you should definitely seize that opportunity. View food as fuel for your progress in the gym, if you are stalling in any of the lifts; increase your caloric intake. Moreover, a good and nutritious diet is also recommended for your performance in other endeavours. Your mind and body is one, take care of yourself to perform at your best, both physically and mentally.
5. TRAIN WITH PASSION
View your training sessions as rites of strength performed in honour of something greater than yourself. If you view your training sessions as a matter of life and death you are more likely to continuously perform well.
