For those of you who know me I’m sure you may have noticed Im all about simplicity and efficiency with building muscle. Often times we think we need to do so many different exercises to build a certain muscle but that’s entirely untrue. One to two properly chosen and performed exercises is all it takes. Due to the body mechanics sometimes targeting a muscle from two opposing positions is necessary for full stimulation like biceps for example. Other times a single exercises will suffice. In my option for core there’s no better single exercise than hanging leg raises. Ive personally built an 8 pack using them alone. It depends on your genetics though how many individually visible abs you have. Regardless though, hanging leg raises, if done properly could replace every other core exercise if you’re limited for time or energy. Im not saying you should or shouldn’t but if you had to choose one, this could be it. Do any of you guys do them too?

What up guys and happy Easter. What do you guys think about hybrid training? I mean a combination of calisthenics, machines and free weights. Ive been working out for quite a few years now and always loved to try and test new ideas. Out of all the successes and failures Ive come to the conclusion that at least for me, hybrid training has been the greatest success. Of course it’s not just the type of exercises but equally the way you do them. I won’t go into detail too much to avoid going off topic but a 2 to 3 set range per exercise with full failure around 8 to 15 reps is what’s been working well for me with the hybrid training. The great benefit is being able to pick the most effective and practical exercises and group them together. A perfect example is side delts. There are really limited options to work them with lateral rises clearly being the best option. With pectorals for example, there are so many exercises to choose from that all do the same thing slightly differently. In this chase I’ll choose from the basic classics like dips, bench press and push-ups. These are the exercise with the best bang for your buck. With legs there’s single no comparison between barbell weighted squats and body weight squats. The simple fact that any one style struggles to practically cover all the basis means combining them just makes sense.

Weighted dips are an awesome way to build strength and size. If you’re interested in skills or just looking good then weighted dips are a great base. They’re particularly good at building chest, triceps and traps. Here’s an example of how I use them in a workout: I do the hardest stuff first and finish of with a smaller isolation of the triceps. Incline bench 1. 50kg x 7 (warm up) 2. 60kg x 12 3. 60kg x 11 Next weighted dips 1. Body weight x 10 (warm up) 2. 20kg x 14 3. 20kg x 13 Then Tricep cable pull-downs 1. 57kg x 8 (warm up) 2. 75kg x 14 3. 75kg x 12 To start off, first master body weight dips! When you can do 20 body weight dips with good form then you’re in an ideal position to start weighted. First add 5kg and see how it feels. At this stage you want to think about what you want to train for. If is size and strength then choosing a rep, set and weight combination to achieve that goal is important. In this case we want to trigger hypertrophy. Lets say were training for hypertrophy because who doesn’t wanna get swole. Personally I’d aim for a total of 25 to 30 total reps over 2 to 5 sets. That could be: 1. 15 reps 2. 15 reps Or 1. 9 reps 2. 7 reps 3. 6 reps 4. 5 reps Depending on the exercise. because of the mechanics of dips I recommend 2 x working sets (excluding the warmup set) of around 10 to 15 reps. Now you can set up your first weighted dips with enough weight that you fail at 10 reps on the first set. This way you’ll have room to improve. Once you can achieve a total of 30 reps or an average of 15 reps per set, add more weight to bring failure back to around 10. Now here is one last nugget to help you progress fast. WRITE DOWN YOUR PROGRESS! Before each set, look at your last reps record and try as hard as you can to get at least one more rep. You won’t be able to get more every time but in my experience you’ll get an extra rep each set about 85% of the time. Don’t cheat! The point in results not boxes ticked for your ego.

I just smashed some decent weighted pull-ups and chin ups last night and they felt great. Feeling some good tenderness in my lats this morning. It got me thinking about how I used to never feel lat activation well on pull-ups. It took starting pull-ups again almost from scratch to realise the importance of pushing my chest out at the top of the movement. If I think about it I once was up to 30kg x 5 reps before but with very rounded shoulders. No Im only on 6kg with much better form and a bit higher reps (about 9 at the moment) and feeling and seeing much better lat growth. Still have to build my strength back up from before my injury but I feel like I’m a much better trajectory now. Have any of you guys ever had this realisation about pull-ups?

Here’s a home workout you can do anytime, even between workouts, first thing in the morning, before you go to bed etc Elbow to knee crunches x 2 sets to failure Mountain runners x 2 sets to failure Hanging knee raises x 1 set to failure This routine should take about 10 minutes and works the obliques and upper and lower abs creating a strong core and emphasising v taper This pic is me doing the exact same routine at around 14% body fat. Lets goooo 💪