Daily Weight Training Exercises as Part of a Comprehensive Workout Program

It's Friday, and that means that today's workout will be the last one of the week. Today will be a lower body hypertrophy workout. Just like yesterday's, it will focus on low weight and high reps. Going forward, this PHUL program is a 12 week program. So continue each week with these workouts, and gradually increase the amount of weight and number of reps. If the low end of the sets and reps this week was tough for you, repeat the same weight and reps next week and go from there. If you find that it is getting easier for you, slowly increase the weight and reps until it becomes challenging again. Day 5 - Lower Body Hypertrophy Front Squat - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Barbell Lunge - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Leg Curl - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Leg Extension - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Seated Calf Raise - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Back Extension - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Cable Crunch - 3-4 s...

We have now entered day 4 of the PHUL workout program, which means that we have officially left the strength/power domain and entered hypertrophy training. The main goal of hypertrophy training is to build and tone muscle. Hypertrophy literally means the increase in volume of a muscle tissue. So, as inferred from the definition, that is what today's and tomorrow's workouts will focus on. Quite the opposite of strength and power training, hypertrophy training will focus on lifting lower amounts of weight at a lower 1RM percentage, but increasing the reps. Repeated repetitions means repeated contractions and repeated stress on the tissues. This will force the muscle tissue to grow, and help us achieve the results we want by engaging in hypertrophy style training. Day 4 - Upper Body Hypertrophy Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Dumbbell Pectoral Fly - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Seated Cable Row - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% o...

Well now it's Wednesday, Day 3 of the PHUL workout plan. By now, you're probably feeling the DOMS. DOMS is an acronym that stands for 'delayed onset muscle soreness'. What that basically means is that your body will start to feel the full soreness and tiredness of a workout 48-72 hours, or 2-3 days, after a workout.  So especially if you're new to the program, you might be feeling pretty tired today from Monday's workout. If that's the case, it is vital that you give your body today to rest, re-hydrate and refuel so that you can come back strong in tomorrow's workout. It does no good to burn yourself out when your body is in desperate need of a day off. You will not have a quality workout if you force your body to over-perform in a depleted state.  However, if you are not new to the program or to weight training in general, your body might be adapted to the point that you may feel pretty good today. If that is the case, you can do something called...