In this post, I will give you a little update about my current exercise schedule, eating schedule, and some knowledge concerning muscle building. Since September, the moment I moved to LA for exchange, I started doing a lot of variety in exercises. I used the shocking principle for muscles (I will discuss this in a later blog post, so stay tuned!) for months, and now I feel that it is time to go ‘back to the basics’ for two months.

What exactly do you mean by going ‘back to the basics’?

Instead of applying a lot of variety in exercises, I go back to the ‘core’ exercises. For example, look at what I do for the following muscle groups:

  • Chest – for training chest, I will not use any cable machine exercises. I will purely do the bench press on different angles (flat, incline 30 degrees, incline 45 degrees) and fly’s.
  • Back – I will do pullups, lat pulldowns, and rowing exercises.
  • Shoulders – I focus mainly on overhead press, side raises, and the Arnold press.
  • Legs – squats, squats, and squats. Squatting forms the whole foundation of legs. I now focus on only squats, leg press, lunges, and calves.
  • Arms – it comes down to bicep curls and triceps extensions, all with a drop set in the end to tire them out.

A lot of professional bodybuilders (including Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also younger bodybuilders) cannot stress enough how important it is sometimes to switch back to the basics. Why? Because the basics work. It works if you work it.

If the basics are so essential, why would you ever variate from it?

I have mentioned it before a little bit, but it is always essential to keep the muscle guessing. It should never get too acquainted with your routine. But more on that in another post. The key is to find the right balance between varying your training routine between variety and the basics. I have always changed my routine every 6 to 8 weeks. For me, that works well.

Here are also some updates about myself:

Do you still do hypertrophy training?

Yes, and I will probably always stick to it. As explained in older posts, hypertrophy training means that I focus on muscle movement and balance more than just lifting heavy weights. I am not explicitly saying that it works better. But I love doing it more than just lifting. And by loving it, I never want to stop. It keeps me going every single day.

What are your current goals for fitness?

Right now, I am trying to gain a little bit of muscle mass. I still want to lean bulk, meaning I do not want to gain any weight in fat. I am blessed that by training every day (except Sunday), my metabolism is naturally very high. This allows me to cheat a little bit in food here and there and not gain fat. By cheating, I mean that in general, my nutrition is still on point, but here and there, I do eat a casual pizza. Why? Because it’s delicious, and in this way, I can always stick to my eating routine. But in general, I eat ‘clean.’

I hope this post gives you some insights about training routines and you get some inspiration from it!

Good luck!