the ultimate fitness/gym guide

[pacemakerparadoxx]

「 THE ULTIMATE FITNESS GUIDE」​

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▸ intro​

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fitness/your physique is super important as a halo pretty much regardless of whether youre nichemaxxing or not or whether you want to fit into a specific archetype


obviously for attraction you may wanna focus on specific things like less traps or whatever and just in general intentionally neglect certain muscles and focus on some more than others, but its still the same concept as everywhere else


i will (obviously) focus on the aesthetic element more than general bodybuilding, goes without saying


this will cover just the utter basics and debunk some bullshit thats often spread (by mainstream jews especially)


for all the exercises and things you will want to do focus on form over number of reps or weight or anything else pretty much, just make sure the form is correct so you dont get injured, target another muscle or whatever


intended function is the main thing using which we approach muscle growth, you look at the intended function and what targets that best then do that


i will also try to keep jargon low so everyone can understand, if you want a guide thats more technical lmk i can do that too

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▸ the universal rules​

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youll see this repeated everywhere but its true, these are the 3 things that when youre trying to get better at like pretty much anything apply:

• frequency
  here meaning how often you a) train in general and b) hit a specific muscle group
• intensity
  here meaning how much weight or in general exertion/effort. its measured as RPE (rate of percieved exertion) and RIR (reps in reserve). will be discussed in more detail below
• volume
  meaning the total amount of work you do for a muscle group, usually sets per week

i will go into more detail on how to apply these universal rules below

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▸ splits​

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you probably already know about them, splits are basically how you divide your routine, like what muscle/s you target per workout and whatnot and how often you do a workout. some examples include:

• bro split (the worst one, dont even think about doing this bullshit)
• FBEOD (full body every other day)
• PPL (push pull legs)
• UL (upper lower)
• arnold split
• hybrids like PPLUL (push pull legs upper lower), PPLFB (push pull legs full body), ULFB (upper lower full body) etc
• other splits like from specific athletes or whatever or ones like DUP etc

obviously these arent set in stone and you can do a split also based on your weak spots (e.g one group is like super underdeveloped). there are millions of splits probably so dont beat yourself up over selection


also i just want to note while certain people tell you to train every day or whatever, training anything more than EOD is just super unncessary imo so like 3-4 times a week max, it will only give you deminishing returns if youre a normal person & natty. on roids you could do it but i personally still would go for something more balanced

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▸ muscle groups​

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some of the muscle groups you want to train include:

• chest
• arms (biceps, forearms, triceps)
• shoulder
• back
• hamstrings and calves
• abs

muscles/muscle groups you should avoid targeting:

• traps
• obliques
• thighs
• lower back (you can train it but not exercises that significantly thicken the waist)
• hip abductors

just to note here, specifically excluding these sometimes kind of opposes common bodybuilding advice, but its what makes an aesthetic physique


things you should train even if they arent traditionally in bodybuilding:

• neck
• frame (clavicles, ribcage, shoulders)

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▸ exercises​

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time for some anatomy lessons


when you want to select exercises, as previously mentioned, what you do is you look at the intended function of each muscle and based on that you select the exercise


below i will list each muscle group, the intended function, then the different heads/regions (heads is when its seperate tendinous origins and regions for when its different fiber orientations or functions) and ill also include example exercises


chest

Spoiler

main muscle meant here is pectoralis major
the functions are:

• shoulder flexion (raising the arm forward)
• shoulder adduction (bringing the arm toward the body)
• horizontal adduction (bringing the arm across the body like a chest fly)
• internal (medial) shoulder rotation
• shoulder extension from a fixed position

the heads/regions are:

• clavicular head (upper chest)
  this head originates from the clavicle, and is most involved in shoulder flexion. it is emphasized during incline pressing movements
• sternocostal head (middle & lower chest)
  this head originates from the sternum and upper ribs, it produces horizontal adduction and adduction, it is the largest portion and is often subdivided into middle and lower chest, though anatomically one head
• pectoralis minor (secondary chest muscle)
  this pulls the scapula forward and downward, and stabilizes the shoulderblade during movement, it doesnt have any distinct heads

example exercises here include the incline dumbbell or machine press (15 to 30°) and the high to low cable crossover

arms

Spoiler

the arms contain several major muscles.
the only reason i put it into one category is cause i think it would be easier for beginners


for example the biceps, its functions are:

• elbow flexion
• forearm supination (turning the palm upward)
• assisting shoulder flexion

for regions it has a long head and a short head


there are also the triceps

the functions here are:

• elbow extension
• long head assisted shoulder extension and adduction

its heads are the

• long head
• lateral head
• medial head

there is also the brachialis, its primary function is elbow flexion regardless of grip


the brachioradialis' functions include elbow flexion mostly in a neutral hammer grip, it doesnt have distinct heads/regions


for the forearm there are forearm flexors which are inside the forearm, the functions are:

• wrist flexion
• finger flexion
• some flexors also assist forearm pronation

its major regions include:

• the superficial layer
• the intermediate layer
• the deep layer

there are also forearm extensors, its functions include:

• wrist extension
• finger extension
• thumb extension/abduction

its major regions include:

• the superficial layer
• the deep layer

example exercises for arms include incline dumbbell curls, cable hammer curls, cross body cable triceps extensions, and overhead cable triceps extensions

shoulders

Spoiler

the main shoulder muscle is the deltoid


its heads/regions include:
the anterior (front) deltoid which is responsible for shoulder flexion (arm forward), horizontal adduction and interal rotation
aswell as the lateral (middle) deltoid, the functions of which include shoulder abduction (raising arm out to the side), its also the main contributor to shoulder width. there is also the posterior (rear) deltoid whose functions include shoulder extension (arm backward), horizontal abduction, and also external rotation


other important shoulder muscles include the rotator cuff muscles which include the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis, they generally are responsible for internal and external rotation, shoulder abduction and stabilization


some exercises considering that are cable lateral raises (behind the back or cross body), reverse pec deck machine (rear delt flyes) and seated dumbbell shoulder press

back

Spoiler

the back is obviously not one muscle but rather a region containing many muscles, the focus here is on the upper back but i will still include the explanation for the lower back


there is the latissmus dorsi or the lats, the functions of which are shoulder extension (pulling arm down/back), shoulder adduction (bringing arm toward body), and internal rotation of the shoulders, the regions (not heads anatomically) are the upper fibers, middle fibers and lower fibers


there is also the trapezius or the traps, the functions of which include elevating the shoulder (shrugging), retracting shoulder blades, depressing shoulder blades and upwards rotation of the scapula, the regions include the upper traps, middle traps and lower traps


there is also the rhomboid major and rhomboid minor, the functions of which include retracting the shoulder blades, rotating the scapula downwardly, and stabilizing the scapula, the regions include both the mentioned ones (major and minor)


there is also the teres major, the functions include shoulder extensions, shoulder adduction and internal rotation, there are no distinct heads


there is also the erector spinae, the functions fo which include extending the spine, maintaining posture, and the side bend of the trunk, the components of it are lliocostalis, longissmus, spinalis


there is also the rear deltoid, which is often trained with back movements but as already mentioned anatomically belongs to the shoulder


some examples of exercises that you may want to include for example are the single arm kneeling cable lat pulldown, the chest supported machine rows or tbar rows and the straight arm cable pulldowns

hamstrings and calves

Spoiler

the hamstrings are a muscle group in the back of the thigh

just to note again, you do not want overdeveloped thighs, unless the rest of your body is proportional (e.g developed enough)


the muscles/regions include:
the biceps femoris, the functions of which include:

• knee flexion
• hip extension
• external rotation of the leg

the heads include:

• the long head
• the short head

the semitendinosus, the functions of which include:

• knee flexion
• hip extension
• internal rotation of the leg

& no distinct heads


the semimembranosus the functions of which include:

• knee flexion
• hip extension
• internal rotation of the leg

& no distinct heads


practically the former is lateral hamstring and the latter two are the medial hamstring


as for the calves, they are primarily made up of two muscles

the gastrocnemius the functions of which include:

• the plantarflexion
• assisting knee flexion

the heads include:

• the medial
• lateral head

the other muscle is the soleus, the functions of which include:

• plantarflexion
• postural endurance

& no distinct heads
it lies under the gastrocnemius and contributes alot to calf size


there is also the plantaris, which is small and often absent, it is a minor contributor to calf function


for exercises for hamstrings you could do seated leg curls and for calves you could do leg press calf raises or seated calf raises

the abs

Spoiler

obviously when training the abs we need to focus on not making it blocky, we want to keep it tight and v-shaped, which is the ideal physique


there is the rectus abdominis, the intended function of which is:

• trunk/spinal flexion
• posterior pelvic tilt
• assistance in bracing the core

the heads of regions of it are:

• the upper rectus abdominis
• the lower rectus abdominis

then there is the external oblique the intended functions of which are:

• trunk rotation
• lateral flexion (side bending)
• core stabilization

the regions are

• the left oblique
• the right oblique

there is also the internal oblique with the same functions and also a left and right oblique


there is also the transversus abdominis, the functions are compressing the abdomen, core stability and increasing intra abdominal pressure during lifting, it has a left and right side, it is the deepest one and is a natural weight belt


for abs the best exercises are probably hanging leg raises or captain's chair knee raises or kneeling cable crunches

as for neck and frame

Spoiler

there is only a limited amount of exercises that target each, pretty self explanatory, just do them trust

one of them is the reeves deadlift (its a shrug not deadlift)
it might be cope (e.g not acting on the actual length of the bone), but it still makes it seem bigger i suppose


theres also the hercules holds, they target the clavicles and scapula, they are a strongman event but they are also useful here, sets are 60 seconds


theres also wide grip lat pulldowns, ideally like the hercules hold with the machines facing eachother


also do wide grip dead hangs


you also wanna do ribcage exercises like dumbbell or ez bar pullovers, and practice stomach vacuums, you also wanna do breathing squats


and then for the neck you just want to do is just head extension, flexion and rotation, you can also do swiss ball iso hold
you could also get the routine from josh bryant or others for basic exercises


especially for neck make sure it doesnt get TOO thick but make sure its thick enough (basically it shouldnt be thicker than the lowest part of your front profile in general)


you should also swim in general

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▸ compound exercise​

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also obviously there is also compound exercises that target more than one muscle group


for example pull ups or assisted pull ups
they target the latissims dorsi, teres major, biceps, brachialis, lower traps (they pull the shoulder blades down unlike upper traps which shrug them up), its good because theres zero lower engagement


there is also the incline smith machine press with 15 to 30 degrees, which works on the clavicular chest, the anterior deltoids and the triceps


chest supported machine rows which target the lats, the rhomboids, the posterior deltoids, and the biceps


chest biased parallel dips which target the sternal/costal chest, anterior deltoids and triceps

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▸ programming​

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now to the main section - the programming one, this will cover the rest of most of the basics


the first thing you need to know is what your goal is, knowing this will help you decide what split to pick and how to structure your workout


but before even that, lets start by covering sets and reps


you should ideally hit each muscle group twice a week atleast, for muscles that are more important for you or if youre specifically prioritizing a specific group you can adjust accordingly obviously


now for sets you have three categories, dont take this as gospel but its good to know in general


there is

• maintainance with 6-8 weekly sets
• MEV (minimum effective volume) w 8-10 sets
• MAV (maximum adaptive volume) with 12-20 sets
• MRV (maximum recoverable volume) with 20-30 or more sets

if you want to know your personal MRV you start at MEV, add 2 sets per muscle per week each mesocycle until performance degrades, thats your personal MRV


now for reps it depends, generally rep schemes like 3x10 or whatever are complete bullshit, you want to think in terms of RIR & RPE (reps in reserve and rate of percieved exertion)

this means you basically train based on how strong you "feel" you are. its generally a much more adaptable strategy especially if you for example have a bad day or feel exceptionally good today


start with 3 RIR to learn the movement and whatever and then gradually go lower, usually I tend to leave 1-2 RIR just so you dont need to deload, you can still deload after say 4-5 weeks but you dont have to (deloading is just decreasing intensity or volume, it allows recovery, you can do it for e.g a week when you overtrained usually)


there is more i could cover like hyperplasia phases, micro/meso/macro cycles and whatnot but i dont think its that necessary if youre a beginner and its also not that necessary in general for beginners, might cover in a dedicated thread if theres demand


anyways lets go back to sets, you generally want to rest between 1.5 to 3 minutes, id recommend you go atleat 2 minutes per set, but there are also other types of sets


for example, dropsets, which are when you perform a set to or near failure then immediately reduce the weight and continue without rest
this allows you to recruit the rest of the fibers
there are different types of dropsets:

• standard drop which is just one weight reduction
• triple drop with two reductions and three mini sets total
• there is running the rack which is on a DB rack droppping every set continously down the line

i generally dont do this at all or do it on last set


there is also the mechanical dropset which is where instead of reducing the weight you switch to a mechanically easier version of the same movement when you hit failure, e.g Incline DB curl > standing DB curl > hammer curl


there are also supersets which is just two exercises performed back to back with little to no rest between them, there are:

• antagonistic supersets where you pair opposing muscle groups (resting one while working on the other basically)
• agonist supersets where its the same muscle back to back (this has a higher fatigue cost, use sparingly or not at all)
• nonrelated supersets where its just time saving where the muscles have no relationship

there are also myoreps which is where you do an activation set close to failure then multiple mini sets of low reps with very short rest periods


there are also pre exhaust set which is where, before hitting a compound movement, you hit the limiting muscle first to make the other maybe weaker or more targeted muscle be the actual limiting factor so they are properly hit, there is also the opposite (e.g post exhaust)


also obviously you also progressively overload e.g increase reps, sets or weight of the exercise


oh right, theres also cardio, you should pretty much always do it after, you dont wanna walk into a session already partially depleted, ideally you want an entire day dedicated to cardio adjacent exercises, doesnt even have to be part of your split, you can do it every second week, or once a month, or anything else


running for 10 minutes isnt what im referring to here, you should do that it doesnt really change anything, thats warmup cardio

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▸ active recovery​

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on your rest days you may want to consider active recovery as opposed to passive recovery, this basically translates to doing "soft" exercises or in general things to aid your recovery


this can range from light physical activity like swimming, walking or cycling to mobility exercises (stretching, especially PNF stretching or loaded stretching) and things such as breathwork, cold exposure, or sauna etc


doing this is immensely powerful and can serve as a multiplier, plus for me personally i just like it, especially after leg day, the soreness is just so good

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▸ nutrition​

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i may go into more detail later in another thread. if you want that lmk


for now, if youre trying to gain weight eat more, if youre trying to lose weight eat less, ideally dont starvemaxx its a retarded idea


make sure its not super wack in the calories to protein to fat ratio

 

[pacemakerparadoxx]

this is just like the skimmable info (lowest time to application) also i forgot to mention you should probably take creatine

 

[combatingNorwooding]

Seems like a decent thread good job

 

[idontshopatsaks]

i already know this is a good thread