LookzMaxxerSyn
Stop being a fucking sad kvnt alright? - Zyzz
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- Oct 21, 2023
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HOW TO MAKE A SICKKVNT WORKOUT ROUTINE (SBL EDITION)
1. The Main 3 Splits.
This is the oldest and likely the most common split that oldhead gymcells use. It is the most suboptimal split due to you only dedicating 1 day per week to one specific muscle group (chest day, back day, arm day etc.)
This gives each muscle group a whole week to recover which is a lot more than needed as muscle protein synthesis (the process where your body builds up new muscle after training) only lasts for around 1-3 days after training. Leaving you with 4-5 days where it is able to be trained optimally again.
Because of how people train using this split, having a dedicated chest day for example will leave you doing upwards of 9+ sets in a single session which is too much, will leave you fatigued and therefore less stimulus to actually grow muscle.
This requires a 5 day gym week.
This is arguably the most common split now due to the SBL crisis but also way more optimal and effective due to the frequency of you hitting a muscle group 2x a week.
Push day is in the name as you push the weight away from you and is usually focused on hitting chest, shoulders and triceps as to train them you need to push. Pull day is the same except you work on back and biceps.
If your the 1% that does train legs (not me). You would obviously hit legs on the last day.
This requires a 6 day gym week. (PPL/R/PPL)
Upper/Lower is arguably the most optimal split as it allows you to hit every muscle group 3x a week OR It allows the person to hit a muscle group 2x a week if you only hit UL twice.
I do this split personally and have seen significant strength increase and muscle hypertrophy since.
(Though I do say it is the most optimal. There are studies showing that there is not a significant increase in hypertrophy when comparing 2x and 3x weekly frequency. I just do it because why not, gains are gainz.)
This requires a 6 day gym week (UL/R/UL/U)
or
4 day gym week (UL/RR/UL)
or
3 day gym week, no legs. (U/R/U/R/U) i do this.
2. Exercise Pick
@combatingNorwooding has already explained what to look for when picking your exercises and will explain it better than me in the linked thread.
If you enjoy the exercise and get good at it pick it over something that is even proven to be more 'optimal'.
For Example:
Keenan Flaps are apparently proven to be better for lat growth yet I do lat pulldowns instead since I like them more and have gotten good at them.
Here are some more examples (not in order):
Shoulders: Shoulder Press (Full ROM), Any Lat Raise + Shoulder Press (90° + Only)
Biceps: 1 of Any Curl Variation
Triceps: Any fixed elbow tricep extension (Long Head) + Close Grip Press, Overhead Extension, JM Press (Lat + Med Head)
Lats: Lat Pulldown, Close Grip Row, Pull-Ups (Suboptimal)
Traps: T-Bar Row, Wide Grip Row
Chest: Any Press/Pec-Dec + Low-to-high fly, Incline Smith
Abs: Any Crunch Variation
looksmax.org
When picking you exercises you need to make sure your not being redundant.
What is redundancy?
Repeating different exercises that target the same muscle.
For example:
Mimic the movement of a pull up and a lat pulldown. They both have the same arm path, movement and work the same muscles. Therefore doing both in a single session is redundant. Another example is a Flat Press and a Pec Dec. Both have arm paths that work the sternocostal head.
This wastes your time and builds up unnecessary fatigue as when you hit the muscle beforehand and went to failure, the muscle already got fully stimulated.
This doesn't include hitting different parts of the muscle. When training chest it's optimal to do 1 exercise for the Sternal head and 1 for the Clavicular head. Though the clavicular head is used within exercises such as a Pec Dec.
3. Order and Knowledge
The order of your exercises DO MATTER.
In this study it is stated 'exercise order affects repetition performance over multiple sets, indicating that the total repetitions is greater when an exercise is placed at the beginning of an RT session.' Basically stating that you will be able to get more reps and higher quality reps on what ever you start on first since you have the most energy.
More energy = More volume = More growth stimulus.
When you start off in the gym your WHOLE body is a weak point but you can pick out what you want to bring out first.
OR
you can do compound movements (exercises that require more than 1 muscle and require more stability aka Bench Press) these require more energy due to them using multiple muscles.
You don’t want to keep changing the order of your exercises as it will slow down that ‘priority stimulus’ and makes it harder to track if your actually progressing on a weight or not. People have a Push A and Push B. Which consists of the different exercises but make sure they are in the same order for the reasons I said above.
For Example:
I want to bring out my lats, so I start off with a Lat Pulldown (a compound movement) which mainly biases the lats.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This is one of the most asked questions in the gymcell and SBL world.
Studies have shown that anything from 5-30 reps has lead to hypertrophy though I would recommend lower rep ranges.
Why are lower rep ranges optimal?
Both high and low rep ranges are shown in multiple studies to have the same amount of hypertrophy gains but lower rep ranges have significant less post-workout fatigue.
If your a beginner:
I would highly recommend that you start off with sets of 10-12 reps per set even if its suboptimal as you still need to prioritise your form and not just throw around weights. This allows you to gain experience within the gym, find out what machines/exercises you like and if your new, you will gain muscle anyways even if its suboptimal.
If your somewhat experienced:
People do 5-8, 6-8, 6-10, doesn't have to be specific but it's in the lower range of the studies.
You also don't have to stick to the same rep range per exercise. I personally do because its easier but its just an idea that people do.
High v Low Rep Studies:
In these studies its stated that it is still a controversial topic but anything from 6-20 sets a week is enough to build muscle.
If you want your gym sessions to be on the quicker side 6-8 hard sets a week is enough for meaningful growth. I do roughly 9 sets per week which is in roughly the sweet spot as I do 3 upper days a week.
If you are struggling to hit these set marks, just remember that secondary muscles are included in some of the compound movements that you do.
Within a session, people say to start off with 2x sets per exercise. I also recommend this, but if you feel like you can do more either up the weight or go for the third set. The last thing you want to do is leave gainz on the table.
Studies:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
askvora.com
MMC is basically focusing and feeling your muscle work throughout the exercise but isn't always the indicator for growth.
It is a good sign that you are targeting the desired muscle but even if after everything you can't mainly FEEL it, you need to realise that your muscles have dedicated functions and if your doing their function you are 100% using that muscle anyway so you don't need to worry.
MMC is only really been seen to increase hypertrophy in isolation movements, not compound movements. It is not universal for all muscles.
Most people struggle on feeling their lats in a lat pulldown yet their lats ARE working and are being activated even if not being felt.
Protein is definitely important but over rated.
I see people overeating their protein thinking it will lead them to extra gains. The recommendation is 1.2g - 1.6g per kg of body weight. Anything above this doesn't contribute to further gains or any SIGNIFICANT gains and can be used for carbs instead.
People forget that this the recommended amount of protein for 'MAXIMAL MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY TO OCCUR.' you can eat below this and still build a significant amount of muscle it just wont be the MAX.
Their are studies showing as little as 0.8g per kg was enough to still maintain and even gain muscle but this is significantly less optimal.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In the gym I see people who are training with their partner (im a victim) training as soon as the other person has finished their set. Giving them only 30-60 seconds per rest. This is not optimal. You are still fatigued from your previous set leading to poor quality reps, less volume and therefore less stimulus.
Anything from 3-5 minutes is optimal, but mainly go when your READY.
If you feel like you can go sooner then that then go ahead obviously but if you went hard enough that rest time should be suitable.
The difference in studies saw a roughly 5-10% better hypertrophy. Not a lot but still a significant amount statistically.
1 minute vs 3 minute rest intervals were tested and stated 'This study provides evidence that longer rest periods promote greater increases in muscle strength and hypertrophy in young resistance-trained men.'
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Most people think they are training to failure when they aren't so here's some signs to look out for to know you are hitting true failure:
1. You cannot complete a full rep without proper form.
2. Your ROM is slowly decreasing
3. The concentric part of the lift takes more time.
Should all sets be taken to failure?
You know that last rep of the last set where your squeezing everything out to get that rep in? Every Set?
NO. Ideally you should be taking it close to failure if its not your last set (1 RIR).
This isn't only proven in studies but can be seen by yourself like most of what i've talked about that going to failure every time can increase fatigue and reduce performance in later sets, lowering the total volume. Leading to more time needing to recover. Therefore being less optimal.
Carbs are basically everything when it comes to your performance in the gym.
Once carbs are processed they are stored as Glycogen in your muscles.
Carbs > Glucose > Glycogen > Glucose > ATP
When you lift your body will rely heavily on this glycogen for energy. When glycogen stores are low you will fatigue faster and your strength will drop. That's why when you've either been low on carbs the whole day or done a fasted gym session the weight will feel heavier than usual.
They support the creation of ATP which is your bodies first source of energy before it switches to carbs.
Anything from 2-4g per kg or 0.9 - 1g+ per lb is sufficient enough for optimal training
Credit to @combatingNorwooding and @shortcell29 for the inspiration.
looksmax.org
looksmax.org
Edit: AI was used within formatting and putting my points into actual readable words. No copy and paste everything has been written and experienced first hand by me.
Before we go into the SBL arc why? and why should you take it with a pinch of salt.
Majority of studies are years old and are tested with such scans as a DEXA, not an MRI leading to less precise measurements as DEXA scans are not accurate due to them not being able to distinguish between muscle, water and other tissues. 1 study doesn't mean the outcome is always right. I've only liked 1 study in most of these spoilers since im lazy but multiple studies need to be concluded for a good outcome to be produced within the SBL world.
Science is always evolving and changing, people want proof to back up on why they should do a specific exercise a certain way with studies instead of just relying off Bro shit.
Being a SBL isn't always about looking at studies, it's about being optimal and bringing the most out of what you can do with studies to backup the claims.
But all SBL's are small:
Clark Kent, Dorian Sarcai, TNF, Jacob Oestricher are 4 examples. All massive. Clark is the biggest obviously has great genetics but the SBL does play a part somewhere. Even Jeff Nippard is abnormally massive and is the most pure SBL there is.
Majority of studies are years old and are tested with such scans as a DEXA, not an MRI leading to less precise measurements as DEXA scans are not accurate due to them not being able to distinguish between muscle, water and other tissues. 1 study doesn't mean the outcome is always right. I've only liked 1 study in most of these spoilers since im lazy but multiple studies need to be concluded for a good outcome to be produced within the SBL world.
Science is always evolving and changing, people want proof to back up on why they should do a specific exercise a certain way with studies instead of just relying off Bro shit.
Being a SBL isn't always about looking at studies, it's about being optimal and bringing the most out of what you can do with studies to backup the claims.
But all SBL's are small:
Clark Kent, Dorian Sarcai, TNF, Jacob Oestricher are 4 examples. All massive. Clark is the biggest obviously has great genetics but the SBL does play a part somewhere. Even Jeff Nippard is abnormally massive and is the most pure SBL there is.
1. The Main 3 Splits.
This is the oldest and likely the most common split that oldhead gymcells use. It is the most suboptimal split due to you only dedicating 1 day per week to one specific muscle group (chest day, back day, arm day etc.)
This gives each muscle group a whole week to recover which is a lot more than needed as muscle protein synthesis (the process where your body builds up new muscle after training) only lasts for around 1-3 days after training. Leaving you with 4-5 days where it is able to be trained optimally again.
Because of how people train using this split, having a dedicated chest day for example will leave you doing upwards of 9+ sets in a single session which is too much, will leave you fatigued and therefore less stimulus to actually grow muscle.
This requires a 5 day gym week.
This is arguably the most common split now due to the SBL crisis but also way more optimal and effective due to the frequency of you hitting a muscle group 2x a week.
Push day is in the name as you push the weight away from you and is usually focused on hitting chest, shoulders and triceps as to train them you need to push. Pull day is the same except you work on back and biceps.
If your the 1% that does train legs (not me). You would obviously hit legs on the last day.
This requires a 6 day gym week. (PPL/R/PPL)
Upper/Lower is arguably the most optimal split as it allows you to hit every muscle group 3x a week OR It allows the person to hit a muscle group 2x a week if you only hit UL twice.
I do this split personally and have seen significant strength increase and muscle hypertrophy since.
(Though I do say it is the most optimal. There are studies showing that there is not a significant increase in hypertrophy when comparing 2x and 3x weekly frequency. I just do it because why not, gains are gainz.)
This requires a 6 day gym week (UL/R/UL/U)
or
4 day gym week (UL/RR/UL)
or
3 day gym week, no legs. (U/R/U/R/U) i do this.
2. Exercise Pick
@combatingNorwooding has already explained what to look for when picking your exercises and will explain it better than me in the linked thread.
If you enjoy the exercise and get good at it pick it over something that is even proven to be more 'optimal'.
For Example:
Keenan Flaps are apparently proven to be better for lat growth yet I do lat pulldowns instead since I like them more and have gotten good at them.
Here are some more examples (not in order):
Shoulders: Shoulder Press (Full ROM), Any Lat Raise + Shoulder Press (90° + Only)
Biceps: 1 of Any Curl Variation
Triceps: Any fixed elbow tricep extension (Long Head) + Close Grip Press, Overhead Extension, JM Press (Lat + Med Head)
Lats: Lat Pulldown, Close Grip Row, Pull-Ups (Suboptimal)
Traps: T-Bar Row, Wide Grip Row
Chest: Any Press/Pec-Dec + Low-to-high fly, Incline Smith
Abs: Any Crunch Variation
Gym mega thread (gymcels GTFIH)
In this thread, we will talk about EVERYTHING you need to know about aesthetic training (NOT POWERLIFTING), from best and worst splits to the principles of muscle growth. This will be a very long thread. introduction: this thread will cover most things you get confused about, and I will...
looksmax.org
When picking you exercises you need to make sure your not being redundant.
What is redundancy?
Repeating different exercises that target the same muscle.
For example:
Mimic the movement of a pull up and a lat pulldown. They both have the same arm path, movement and work the same muscles. Therefore doing both in a single session is redundant. Another example is a Flat Press and a Pec Dec. Both have arm paths that work the sternocostal head.
This wastes your time and builds up unnecessary fatigue as when you hit the muscle beforehand and went to failure, the muscle already got fully stimulated.
This doesn't include hitting different parts of the muscle. When training chest it's optimal to do 1 exercise for the Sternal head and 1 for the Clavicular head. Though the clavicular head is used within exercises such as a Pec Dec.
3. Order and Knowledge
The order of your exercises DO MATTER.
In this study it is stated 'exercise order affects repetition performance over multiple sets, indicating that the total repetitions is greater when an exercise is placed at the beginning of an RT session.' Basically stating that you will be able to get more reps and higher quality reps on what ever you start on first since you have the most energy.
More energy = More volume = More growth stimulus.
When you start off in the gym your WHOLE body is a weak point but you can pick out what you want to bring out first.
OR
you can do compound movements (exercises that require more than 1 muscle and require more stability aka Bench Press) these require more energy due to them using multiple muscles.
You don’t want to keep changing the order of your exercises as it will slow down that ‘priority stimulus’ and makes it harder to track if your actually progressing on a weight or not. People have a Push A and Push B. Which consists of the different exercises but make sure they are in the same order for the reasons I said above.
For Example:
I want to bring out my lats, so I start off with a Lat Pulldown (a compound movement) which mainly biases the lats.
Exercise order in resistance training - PubMed
Resistance training (RT) is now an integral component of a well rounded exercise programme. For a correct training prescription, it is of the utmost importance to understand the interaction among training variables, such as the load, volume, rest interval between sets and exercises, frequency of...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This is one of the most asked questions in the gymcell and SBL world.
Studies have shown that anything from 5-30 reps has lead to hypertrophy though I would recommend lower rep ranges.
Why are lower rep ranges optimal?
Both high and low rep ranges are shown in multiple studies to have the same amount of hypertrophy gains but lower rep ranges have significant less post-workout fatigue.
If your a beginner:
I would highly recommend that you start off with sets of 10-12 reps per set even if its suboptimal as you still need to prioritise your form and not just throw around weights. This allows you to gain experience within the gym, find out what machines/exercises you like and if your new, you will gain muscle anyways even if its suboptimal.
If your somewhat experienced:
People do 5-8, 6-8, 6-10, doesn't have to be specific but it's in the lower range of the studies.
You also don't have to stick to the same rep range per exercise. I personally do because its easier but its just an idea that people do.
High v Low Rep Studies:
In these studies its stated that it is still a controversial topic but anything from 6-20 sets a week is enough to build muscle.
If you want your gym sessions to be on the quicker side 6-8 hard sets a week is enough for meaningful growth. I do roughly 9 sets per week which is in roughly the sweet spot as I do 3 upper days a week.
If you are struggling to hit these set marks, just remember that secondary muscles are included in some of the compound movements that you do.
Within a session, people say to start off with 2x sets per exercise. I also recommend this, but if you feel like you can do more either up the weight or go for the third set. The last thing you want to do is leave gainz on the table.
Studies:
No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review - PMC
Lack of time is among the more commonly reported barriers for abstention from exercise programs. The aim of this review was to determine how strength training can be most effectively carried out in a time-efficient manner by critically evaluating ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
How Many Sets Per Week for Muscle Growth? What the Research Shows
Research review: 10+ sets per muscle group per week maximizes growth, with diminishing returns above 20. A breakdown of the Schoenfeld dose-response data and how to apply it to your training.
MMC is basically focusing and feeling your muscle work throughout the exercise but isn't always the indicator for growth.
It is a good sign that you are targeting the desired muscle but even if after everything you can't mainly FEEL it, you need to realise that your muscles have dedicated functions and if your doing their function you are 100% using that muscle anyway so you don't need to worry.
MMC is only really been seen to increase hypertrophy in isolation movements, not compound movements. It is not universal for all muscles.
Most people struggle on feeling their lats in a lat pulldown yet their lats ARE working and are being activated even if not being felt.
Protein is definitely important but over rated.
I see people overeating their protein thinking it will lead them to extra gains. The recommendation is 1.2g - 1.6g per kg of body weight. Anything above this doesn't contribute to further gains or any SIGNIFICANT gains and can be used for carbs instead.
People forget that this the recommended amount of protein for 'MAXIMAL MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY TO OCCUR.' you can eat below this and still build a significant amount of muscle it just wont be the MAX.
Their are studies showing as little as 0.8g per kg was enough to still maintain and even gain muscle but this is significantly less optimal.
A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults - PubMed
Dietary protein supplementation significantly enhanced changes in muscle strength and size during prolonged RET in healthy adults. Increasing age reduces and training experience increases the efficacy of protein supplementation during RET. With protein supplementation, protein intakes at amounts...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Protein timing and its effects on muscular hypertrophy and strength in individuals engaged in weight-training - PMC
The purpose of this review was to determine whether past research provides conclusive evidence about the effects of type and timing of ingestion of specific sources of protein by those engaged in resistance weight training. Two essential, ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In the gym I see people who are training with their partner (im a victim) training as soon as the other person has finished their set. Giving them only 30-60 seconds per rest. This is not optimal. You are still fatigued from your previous set leading to poor quality reps, less volume and therefore less stimulus.
Anything from 3-5 minutes is optimal, but mainly go when your READY.
If you feel like you can go sooner then that then go ahead obviously but if you went hard enough that rest time should be suitable.
The difference in studies saw a roughly 5-10% better hypertrophy. Not a lot but still a significant amount statistically.
1 minute vs 3 minute rest intervals were tested and stated 'This study provides evidence that longer rest periods promote greater increases in muscle strength and hypertrophy in young resistance-trained men.'
Longer Interset Rest Periods Enhance Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men - PubMed
Schoenfeld, BJ, Pope, ZK, Benik, FM, Hester, GM, Sellers, J, Nooner, JL, Schnaiter, JA, Bond-Williams, KE, Carter, AS, Ross, CL, Just, BL, Henselmans, M, and Krieger, JW. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res 30(7)...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Most people think they are training to failure when they aren't so here's some signs to look out for to know you are hitting true failure:
1. You cannot complete a full rep without proper form.
2. Your ROM is slowly decreasing
3. The concentric part of the lift takes more time.
Should all sets be taken to failure?
You know that last rep of the last set where your squeezing everything out to get that rep in? Every Set?
NO. Ideally you should be taking it close to failure if its not your last set (1 RIR).
This isn't only proven in studies but can be seen by yourself like most of what i've talked about that going to failure every time can increase fatigue and reduce performance in later sets, lowering the total volume. Leading to more time needing to recover. Therefore being less optimal.
Carbs are basically everything when it comes to your performance in the gym.
Once carbs are processed they are stored as Glycogen in your muscles.
Carbs > Glucose > Glycogen > Glucose > ATP
When you lift your body will rely heavily on this glycogen for energy. When glycogen stores are low you will fatigue faster and your strength will drop. That's why when you've either been low on carbs the whole day or done a fasted gym session the weight will feel heavier than usual.
They support the creation of ATP which is your bodies first source of energy before it switches to carbs.
Anything from 2-4g per kg or 0.9 - 1g+ per lb is sufficient enough for optimal training
Jacob Oestreicher on TikTok
NationAesthetic on Tiktok
Dorian Sarcai on YouTube
Harley Twins on YouTube
Nunoliftz on Tiktok
Clark Kent on Tiktok/YouTube
NationAesthetic on Tiktok
Dorian Sarcai on YouTube
Harley Twins on YouTube
Nunoliftz on Tiktok
Clark Kent on Tiktok/YouTube
Credit to @combatingNorwooding and @shortcell29 for the inspiration.
HOW TO GET THE PHYSIQUE HALO WITH SBL (BECOME A SICKKVNT)
So by now we all know physique matters, especially if you already have a decent face it just adds up to your halo. So why not phyisiquemaxx? Wanna look like this? Well u most likely wont, but you can still get a pretty decent physique naturally or w PEDs. Wont be specifying which foods to eat...
looksmax.org
Gym mega thread (gymcels GTFIH)
In this thread, we will talk about EVERYTHING you need to know about aesthetic training (NOT POWERLIFTING), from best and worst splits to the principles of muscle growth. This will be a very long thread. introduction: this thread will cover most things you get confused about, and I will...
looksmax.org
Edit: AI was used within formatting and putting my points into actual readable words. No copy and paste everything has been written and experienced first hand by me.
Last edited:
