Tag: bodybuilding

Bodybuilding Specific Full Body Training

Post author By Remson
Post date May 3, 2019

Tribe By Noire

Bodybuilding Specific Full Body Training

Typically when we think of bodybuilding specific training we think of a workout routine where you train each muscle group once a week, maybe twice. As the science of training advances we learn new ways of training. One method that is rising above the rest is full body training. The key advantage to full body training is that it allows you to train all muscle groups more frequently throughout the week, which leads to more growth. The thing we gotta talk about is, how do we apply this to bodybuilding?

The Bodybuilding Body Part Split Method

A typical body part split routine is 5 days per week, targeting each muscle group once or twice per week. This method of training relies on a high enough amount of total volume within the range 10-20 sets per week on each muscle group. The total amount of set volume can even be as high as 30 sets weekly for very advanced competitive bodybuilders.

Men's Routine

Chest & Biceps

Barbell Incline Press
Barbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Incline Press
Dumbbell Chest Press
Cable Chest Fly
EZ Barb Bicep Curl
Dumbbell SPider Curl
Weighted Sit Ups

Back & Triceps

Barbell Hang Row
Dumbbell S. Arm Row
Cable Lat Pull Down
Cable Close Grip Pull Down
Dumbbell Pull Over
Dumbbell Tricep Extension
Cable Tricep Push Down
Hanging Leg Raises

Legs

Barbell Hip Bridge
Barbell Back Squat
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Plate Loaded Leg Press
Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
Seated Leg Curl
Prone S. Leg Curl
Cable Wood Chop

Shoulders

Barbell Overhead Press
Dumbbell Arnold Press
Dumbbell Front Raise
Dumbbell Upright Row
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
Cable Face Pull
Supine Leg Raise Arc

Arms

Barbell Close Grip Bench Press
Barbell Supine Tricep Extension
Cable Tricep Push Down
Body Weight Dip
Barbell Bicep Curl
Dumbbell Alternating Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Dumbbell Reverse Curl

Women's Routine

Glutes & Hamstrings

Resistance Band Crab Walk
S. Leg Hip Bridge
Barbell Hip Bridge
Barbell Sumo Deadlift
Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
Seated Leg Curl
Prone S. Leg Curl
Cable Wood Chop

Chest & Shoulders

Barbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Chest Press
Dumbbell Incline Press
Dumbbell Arnold Press
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
Cable Face Pull
Supine Leg Raise Arc

Back & Biceps

Barbell Hang Row
Dumbbell S. Arm Row
Cable Lat Pull Down
Cable Close Grip Pull Down
Dumbbell Pull Over
Dumbbell Bicep Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Prone External Knee Tuck

Legs

Barbell Hip Bridge
Barbell Back Squat
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Plate Loaded Leg Press
Dumbbell Lateral Lunge
Walking Lunge
Prone S. Leg Curl
Cable Wood Chop

Shoulders

Barbell Overhead Press
Dumbbell Arnold Press
Dumbbell Front Raise
Dumbbell Upright Row
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
Cable Face Pull
Supine Leg Raise Arc

The Bodybuilding Body Full Body Method

With the full body method you can reach the same amount of training volume while achieving 2-4 times the frequency toward each muscle group. Simply take a few of the most effective exercises per muscle group and 1 in for each training day. Here’s an example of what that would look like.

Men's Routine

Day 1

Prone S. Leg Curl
Barbell Back Squat
Barbell Incline Press
Chest Supported Row
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Cable Tricep Push Down
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
Cable Wood Chop

Day 2

Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
Barbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Arnold Press
Cable Lean Back Lat Pull Down
Dumbbell Spider Curl
Cable Seated Face Pull
Hanging Leg Raise

Day 3

Plate Loaded Leg Press
Seated Leg Curl
Dumbbell Incline Press
Dumbbell S. Arm Row
Cable S. Arm Lateral Raise
Body Weight Dip
Cable S. Arm Reverse Fly
Cable Wood Chop

Day 4

Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell Walking Lunge
Dumbbell Chest Press
Dumbbell Half Kneeling Press
Cable Close Grip Lat Pull Down
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Cable Seated Rope Row
Prone External Knee Tuck

Day 5

Prone S. Leg Curl
Barbell Back Squat
Barbell Incline Press
Barbell Rack Row
Dumbbell Upright Row
Dumbbell Supine Tricep Extension
Cable S. Arm Reverse Fly
Cable Wood Chop

Women's Routine

Day 1

Barbell Back Squat
Barbell Hip Bridge
Prone S. Leg Curl
Barbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Arnold Press
Dumbbell Row
Dumbbell Bicep Curl
Cable Face Pull
Cable Wood Chop

Day 2

Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell S. Leg Hip Bridge
Dumbbell Lateral Lunge
Dumbbell Incline Press
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Cable Close Grip Lat Pull Down
Cable Tricep Push Down
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
Prone External Knee Tuck

Day 3

Barbell Hip Bridge
Seated Leg Curl
Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
Dumbbell Chest Press
Dumbbell Upright Row
Cable Seated Row
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Cable S. Arm Reverse Fly
Supine Cycling Twist

Day 4

Seated Hip Abduction
Barbell Sumo Deadlift
Dumbbell Walking Lunge
Dumbbell Closed Chest Press
Cable S. Arm Lateral Raise
Cable Lat Pull Down
Cable Overhead Tricep Extension
Cable Seated Rope Row
Crescent Plank

Day 5

Barbell Sumo Squat
Barbell Hip Bridge
Prone S. Leg Curl
Barbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Half Kneeling Press
Dumbbell Dead Stop Row
Dumbbell Bicep Curl
Cable Face Pull
Cable Wood Chop

Keep in mind balancing intensity levels to avoid burnout from over training. A good way of doing this is undulating intensity levels and staying within an effort level range of 65-85%.

Additional benefits to this method of training is that it works very well with people on unstable schedules, because missing a training day will not derail your progress. Tribe By Noire members get all my full body training programs. Whether male or female, beginner, or advanced, there’s a training program that fits your criteria.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, full body training, Muscle Hypertrophy Training

Fitness & Training

Exercise Selection And How To Make The Right Choices

Post author By Remson
Post date December 1, 2018

Tribe By Noire

Exercise Selection And How To Make The Right Choices

We all have our reasons for being regulars at the gym. Some people want to go to the gym just to have some adult playtime, while others just want to blow off steam, but maybe you want to create something real. Maybe you’ve made a commitment to yourself to achieve a true body transformation. If you’re working toward developing an athletic defined body that truly reflects the work you put in, then the information I’m giving you here is something you NEED to know.

I’m gonna go point by point through a few key rules and considerations when deciding what to do in your training routine

1. Keep It Simple

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your training is implementing too many variations of the same kind of movement. Choose a primary lift and 1 or 2 accessory exercises for each muscle group and work on developing your strength and technique as much as possible in those exercises. Here’s a few examples of the best exercises for each muscle group.

Glutes & Quads

(Primary) Barbell Back Squat
(Accessory) Barbell Hip Bridge
(Accessory) Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat

Glutes & Hamstrings

(Primary) Barbell Conventional Deadlift
(Accessory) Dumbbell Bulgarian Deadlift
(Accessory) Prone Leg Curl

Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

(Primary) Barbell Bench Press
(Accessory) Dumbbell Shoulder Press
(Accessory) Weighted Dip

Back, & Biceps

(Primary) Barbell Hang Row
(Primary) Weighted Pull Up
(Accessory) Dumbbell One Arm Row

Abs & Obliques

Cable Wood Chop
Weighted Sit Up
Hanging Leg Raise

Knowing What's worth Your Time

Starting your 1st set of the workout puts you on the clock and your workouts should only be around 45-60 minutes, 90 minutes at the most. This means you just simply do not have the time to goof around with exercises that yield little benefit. Your primary focuses should be the big compound lifts and 1-2 accessory exercises that help you develop those lifts the most.

Here’s a quick hypothetical for you. If you could only choose 1 exercise to build your chest, which would it be, cable chest flys or Bench Press? The best choice would fit this criteria.

Its an exercise that I can add a substantial load to.
It develops the other smaller assistance muscles.
It won’t cause muscular imbalances.

Do What Your Body Responds To Most

There’s a whole variety of different ways to hit a muscle or muscle group, but the ideal exercise is the one that gives you the most gains. For example, my quads respond very well to the back squat, but yours may respond much better to the front squat. If your primary focus for squatting was getting the most growth in your quads, you would choose the front squat.

Another example would be grip width and stance width.

Bench Press – A more narrow grip on the bench press would target your shoulders and triceps more. A wider grip would activate more chest and shorten the range of motion.
Barbell Rows – A wide grip would target your rear delts and traps a lot. A narrow grip would target your lats mainly.
Sumo Deadlift – This wide stance deadlift is more geared towards developing a rounder fuller butt by targeting your glute medius way more than a narrow style deadlift.
Conventional Deadlift – This deadlift forces you to hinge more at the hip which places more tension on your back and hamstrings.

There’s tons of other examples, but these are some big ones.

Weaknesses and/or Injuries

Injuries are pretty easy to figure out for the most part, but identifying weaknesses is what you may need more of a trained eye for. Examples of weakness would be bad posture, or just bad form in general due to certain muscles not firing the way they should.

Weak quadriceps would cause you to excessively lean forward in a squat. A good remedy for this would be goblet squats, or some kind of front loaded variation. These front loaded variations are meant to get you in a more vertical position that forces you to engage your quads more, rather than compensate using other muscles.

Other indications of weakness would be things like relative strength between lifts. For example, you should be able to row the same weight you bench press. Being able to press more than what you pull is a clear sign of a weak back and this will ultimately lead to injury.

We could talk for a whole hour just on this topic alone, but if you need any further answers, feel free to ask your questions in the comments, or request a consultation here.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, muscle building, power building, powerlifting, training strategies

Fitness & Training

Full Body Training Vs Body Part Split Training For Muscle Hypertrophy

Post author By Remson
Post date November 27, 2018

Tribe By Noire

Full Body Training Vs Body Part Split Training

A relatively new debate has risen in the marketplace of fitness in regards to muscle hypertrophy. The most common approach to muscle building for the most part has been body part split routines, but now this method is being challenged by the idea that full body training is actually superior. There are even scientific studies that show full body training is the way to go. There’s a lot of nuance in this discussion, so I’m gonna break this down for you, so you can understand it from every angle.

The 3 Most Important Factors For Muscle Building

Understand that no matter what training split you choose, it will only work if its implemented correctly. In regards to muscle building your program needs these 3 things.

Frequency – This is how many times per week you train a muscle. Ideal frequency should be 2-3 times per week with 24-48 hours in between.
Volume – This is your weekly total of how many sets and reps you do. For hypertrophy, volume should be between 14-20 sets per week.
Intensity – This is how hard you train a muscle within a training session. The weight you use on the big compound lifts should be between 70-85%.

All three of these factors have to be in your program with frequency and volume being the top priorities. The training split you choose will determine the levels that these factors will be implemented at.

Full Body Training

Full body training is pretty self explanatory. On each training day you would target all the major muscle groups with mostly compound exercises that target,

Pressing muscles
Pulling muscles
Lower body muscles
Core muscles

Here’s what a week of training on a full body program would look like.

Day 1

Back Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Bench Press
Pull Up
Overhead Press
Wood Chop

Day 2

Conventional Deadlift
Bulgarian Split Squat
Incline Press
Chest Supported Row
Dip
Hanging Leg Raise

Day 3

Back Squat
Push Press
Hang Row
Close Grip Bench Press
Glute Ham Raise
Weighted Sit Up

Full body training is all about high frequency training and the big compound movements. According to scientific research, full body training yields better results than body part split training because of the high priority on frequency. The high frequency also offsets the fact that volume is not going to be as high as a body part split. Doing 20 sets a week on all the big lifts will burn you out and ultimately cause you to lose muscle and strength. You can reach 15 sets weekly by doing 3 sets on each muscle group on the 3 days of training.

This training split would be ideal for you if,

You only have 3 days to commit to training.
You need to prioritizing training for your sport.
You struggle with being consistent with training.

The Upper Lower Split

The upper lower split is also pretty self explanatory. You alternate between an upper body training day and a lower body training day. Here’s what a week of training on an upper lower split would like.

Day 1

Back Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Walking Lunge
Prone Leg Curl
Cable Wood Chop
Hanging Leg Raise

Day 2

Chest Supported Row
Bench Press
Lat Pull Down
Overhead Press
Spider Curl
Weighted Dip

Day 3

Conventional Deadlift
Bulgarian Split Squat
Walking Lunge
Prone Leg Curl
Cable Wood Chop
Hanging Leg Raise

Day 4

Incline Press
Lat Pull Down
Chest Press
Single Arm Row
Skull Crushers
Hammer Curl

With the upper lower split, frequency is reduced to 2x per week, but its easier to reach a training volume of 20 sets per week. This is the training split I use mostly and what I’ve known to work for most people in my experience. It gives you the benefits of a body part split without sacrificing too much frequency. With this split you also get 3 off days to work on things like mobility and cardio conditioning.

Push Pull Legs

This training split is not for the faint of heart. This isn’t for the people who “just want to build some muscle.” This is for those who are truly dedicated to building a phenomenal physique. The 20 sets of volume is very easy to reach with this training split, and the intensity as well. The main draw back to this training split is that it is 6 days per week.

2x Per Week

Push

Bench Press
Incline Press
Arnold Press
Lateral Raise
Skull Crushers
Weighted Sit Up

Pull

Hang Row
Lat Pull Down
Single Arm Row
Reverse Fly
Barbell Bicep Curl
Spider Curl

Legs

Barbell Hip Bridge
Back Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Bulgarian Split Squat
Prone Leg Curl
Hanging Leg Raise

This type of training split makes room for a great deal of exercise variation and rep schemes. Hitting 20 sets per muscle group shouldn’t be a problem, as long as you do all 3 workouts twice per week. I wouldn’t advise you to do this training split if you struggle with motivation, consistency, and/or a busy schedule.

In conclusion, all methods work well if implemented correctly, but the determining factors in which route you choose depends on your lifestyle and goals..

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags Body Part Split Training, bodybuilding, full body training, mass gain, Muscle Hypertrophy Training, power building, powerlifting, training strategies

Fitness & Training

3 Body Transformation Training Strategies You Need To Be Using

Post author By Remson
Post date October 17, 2018

Tribe By Noire

3 Body Transformation Training Strategies You Need To Be Using

I’m sure you’ve seen some really drastic before and after pictures floating around, especially on instagram. On the left would be a guy or gal, flabby, bad posture, and an unenthusiastic facial expression to match. Then on the right is the same person, lean, tanned, and standing tall with a smile from ear to ear. You may look at images like that and think WOW I wonder how they did it!?

As a coach myself with over a decade of experience, I’ve figured it out. We know the diet has to be on point, but no matter how good your diet is, you won’t be able to make that transformation without the right type of training. There’s many different ways to train, but to make a real physique transformation there are 3 strategies you need to be using in order to see consistent results.

1- Rep Goals

The rep goal strategy is where you set a specific amount of reps with a set amount of weight. An example of this would be setting a goal of 24 reps at 185lbs within 3 sets on the bench press. That comes out to 3 sets of 8 reps if you were to do the same amount of reps on each set. Reaching your rep goal serves as an indication that you can go up in weight. You’re not ready to go up in weight if you don’t reach the rep goal.

Using this strategy is one of the best ways I’ve found to track your strength progress without doing 1 rep max tests. This is particularly a good idea for anyone in there first few years of training. You may not care too much about strength, but you will not build muscle without gaining strength.

2- AMRAP (As many reps as possible)

Doing AMRAP sets is how you get the absolute most out of a workout. Not only does this stimulate crazy muscle growth, but it also puts you in serious fat burning mode. There’s 2 main ways to use this strategy and its important to know when and with what type of exercise.

Last set AMRAP

This is ideal for the strength training portion of your workout, especially in combination with the rep goal strategy. Get as many reps as possible on that last set and see how far beyond your rep goal you can get. There’s no reason to stop short.

Body weight training

When using body weight exercises to build muscle, the most important factor is reps. The amount of muscle you build with body weight training is directly correlated to how many reps you can do. As a bonus, this also has a cardio training effect which will result in improved stamina and fat loss.

3- Super Sets

A super set is when you do 2 exercises back to back with little to no rest time between them. This is a smart way to improve time efficiency in your workout, train lagging muscles,, and increase the frequency of how many times you train a muscle group in a week. Here’s a few super set examples.

Lower body Training

Squats & Calve Raises
Stiff Leg Deadlift & Leg Curls
Lunges & Single Leg Hip Bridges
Banded Crab Walks & Hip Bridges

Upper Body Training

Chest Press & Bicep Curls
Rows & Tricep Extensions
Overhead Press & Reverse Flies
Lat Pull Down & Side Delt Raises

Plug in 1-2 super sets towards the end portion of your workouts to maximize muscle growth. Using all 3 of these strategies in each workout is a real game changer, trust me.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle growth, power building

Fitness & Training

Developing Strength 1st Before Hypertrophy Training

Post author By Remson
Post date July 2, 2018

Tribe By Noire

Developing Strength 1st Before Hypertrophy Training

The correlation between strength & mass

Most of us understand that there is at least some sort of correlation between strength and muscle size, but the question is, if you want to gain muscle size, what’s the most effective way to do it. The strongest people we see tend to have the most muscular bodies, so by that logic we should just train for strength right? That sounds reasonable enough, but the more you study the science on this topic, the more complicated the answer becomes. Stay with me for a bit here as a break down and explain the process.

the 3 steps of physique building

1. cutting phase

Ideally you want to get to your ideal body fat while gaining muscle at the same time. This is especially easier to do for people who are new to the gym. Doing cardio and fancy complicated exercises to get you winded is not really what I advise because we want to cut, not deflate. Instead you’d want to take the fundamental movements like squatting, deadlifting, pressing, and rowing, and do them with some fairly high rep sets like 16-20 reps. Throw some giant sets and super sets in there and you’re good to go.

2. strength phase

Once you’ve cut down to your ideal body fat level, or at least close to it, you need to start developing a real foundation for strength. The primary reason for this is that muscle grows primarily to facilitate strength and force production. Getting stronger increases your capacity for muscle growth. A strength phase of training has 2 primary objectives, which are to increase strength and quantify strength. This phase of training is going to be with pretty low volume with sets typically not exceeding more than 10 reps. By the end of your strength phase you should know your 1 rep maxes for each fundamental lift. Your 1 rep maxes will be the basis for step 3. 8-12 weeks at a time is good duration for this phase.

3. mass phase

This phase is all about hypertrophy, which is the scientific term for increasing muscle mass. Unlike most training programs, this type of training is not focused on increasing the amount of weight you’re lifting in each set. The focus is increasing the amount of reps or sets, from week to week. I suggest working with weight that is either 70% of your 1 rep max, or in between 60-80% of your 1 rep max. The rep ranges I would suggest here are 6-8, and for accessory exercises I would suggest 10-12 or 16-20 reps.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, mass gain, muscle growth, training strategies

Fitness & Training

3 Steps To Build Your Ideal Body In The Gym

Post author By Remson
Post date January 20, 2018

Tribe By Noire

3 Steps To Build Your Ideal Body In The Gym

When I say “build your ideal body” I’m referring to a natural, athletic, healthy, human form. Its up to you how lean or muscular you want to look, and how large you want certain muscles to be, but achieving that look in an efficient time frame all boils down to these 3 steps.

For the specifics on how to do this, keep reading below.

Step 1 - The Cutting Phase

The cutting phase is just a simple and sexy way of saying body recomposition phase. I have to make it clear that I am not advocating for cutting in the traditional sense of weight loss. The goal is specifically to reduce BODY FAT not just any ol’ weight loss. You don’t want to lose a lot of weight, but not really lose much body fat because that’s how you end up in the skinny fat category. If you already are in the skinny fat category, give this article a look here.

The cutting phase should be a hypertrophy specific style of training. This style of training will get you to build muscle as you reduce body fat. This is important for building that ideal body you want, fast! In my experience, clients have been able to drop 4-6% body fat in 4 weeks in this phase. Clients who need to lose a lot of weight, lose and average 6-8 lbs a week. Here’s some examples of what that would look like.

4 Week Routine

Day 1

Goblet Squat

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Stiff Leg Deadlift

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Walking Lunges

1 set x 100 reps

Open To Close Hollow

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 2

Barbell Row

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Lat Pull Down

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Chest Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Shoulder Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Day 3

Goblet Squat

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Stiff Leg Deadlift

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Walking Lunges

1 set x 100 reps

Open To Close Hollow

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 4

Barbell Row

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Lat Pull Down

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Chest Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Shoulder Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Start with a weight you can do a maximum of 20 reps with
Increase the weight by 5-10% each set
Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) on each set, with a minimum of 10 reps each set
Rest for 60-90 seconds in between each set

Step 2 - The Strength Phase

After you’ve completed the cutting phase and have dropped a considerable amount of body fat, you should start a strength training program. Even if your goal may not necessarily be to get as strong as possible, this is still a key phase in reaching your ideal body. There are 3 main things that your strength phase should achieve.

Develop a good foundation of strength
Improve your strength capabilities
Accurately quantify your strength

This style of training focuses on a much lower amount of reps, but the weight will be considerably higher. Each training day should revolve around the main compound lifts such as the barbell squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, and row. This type of training will also get you to increase muscle mass and drop body fat as well even though those are not the primary focuses here.

Here’s an example of what this type of training routine would look like.

4 Week Routine

Day 1

Barbell Deadlift

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Barbell Back Squat

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat

3 sets x 12 reps per side (last set AMRAP)

Supine Leg Raise Arc

4 sets x AMRAP

Day 2

Barbell Row

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Barbell Bench Press

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Dumbbell Incline Press

3 sets x 12 reps (last set AMRAP)

Barbell Bicep Curl

4 sets x 12 reps (last set AMRAP)

Day 3

Barbell Overhead Press

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Dumbbell S. Arm Row

4 sets x 12 reps per side (last set AMRAP)

Prone External Knee Tuck

4 sets x AMRAP

Start with a weight you can only do 12 reps with
Increase the weight by 5-10% each set
Do as many reps as possible on the last set
rest for 2 minutes in between each set
Increase the weight each week by 5-10% each week
Decrease the amount of default reps each week by 2 reps
Cut the amount you lift by 30-50% on week 4 to deload

Document all sets and reps and weight you used throughout this process. Week 3 will be the toughest week where you lift the most weight. To calculate your new one rep maxes, download an app called 1 Rep Max on your phone. Input the heaviest weight you did and how many reps you completed. The app will do the calculations for you.

Step 3 - The Mass Phase

The key focus in this phase is filling out your frame by building new lean muscle mass. For guys this would be a concentration on developing the back, chest, shoulders, arms, and thighs. For women the concentration would be on developing the lower body with an emphasis on glutes and hamstrings.

This training phase requires a hypertrophy specific program where the amount of sets and/or reps increase over time. The weight should be around 65% of your 1 rep max (1RM). You should be able to calculate your 1RM and percentages using the data from your strength phase. Ideally, you’d target each muscle group 2-4 times per week in order to fully maximize results. An effective training split for this could be full body, or an upper lower training split.

Here’s some examples.

4 Week Routine (Men's)

Day 1 (Lower body)

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Deadlift

4 sets x 8 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps

Alternating Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 2 (Upper body)

Barbell Row

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Incline Bench Press

5 sets x 8 reps

Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Barbell Curl

4 sets x 8 reps

Day 3 (Lower body)

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Deadlift

4 sets x 8 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps

Alternating Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 4 (Upper body)

Barbell Row

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Incline Bench Press

5 sets x 8 reps

Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Barbell Curl

4 sets x 8 reps

4 Week Routine (Women's)

Day 1

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps per side

Alternating Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 2

Barbell Deadlift

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Close Grip Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Dumbbell Chest Press

4 sets x 8 reps

Day 3

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps per side

Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 4

Barbell Deadlift

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Close Grip Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Dumbbell Chest Press

4 sets x 8 reps

Start with 65% of your 1 rep max
Add 1-2 reps to each set every week for 3 weeks
rest for 90 seconds – 2 minutes
Cut the amount of reps down by 30% on week 4 to deload

Phase Duration

The length of each phase depends on what your goals are, and what your level of fitness is. Typically the cutting phase could take anywhere from 8-12 weeks. The strength phase can be done 4-8 weeks at a time and the mass phase can be run continuously over a period of 3-6 months. Do your best to maintain a low body fat percentage throughout the mass phase in order to avoid frequent cutting phases.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle growth, training strategies

Fitness & Training

Sets & Reps Guide To Physique Building

Post author By Remson
Post date November 21, 2017

Tribe By Noire

Sets & Reps Guide To Physique Building

With each exercise, you’d do a given amount of repetitions (reps) and you do that amount of reps for a given amount of sets. For example if you’re doing bicep curls, you could be doing 3 sets of 10 reps, or 3×10. If that sounds confusing for you, think of it as 30 reps divided into 3 sets.

When considering how many sets and reps to do in your training routine you have to consider a variety of different aspects.

What is your training goal?
What muscle fibers are you targeting?
How much time do you have to train?
How much training volume do I need?

Sets & Reps For Muscle Building

In order to effectively increase muscle mass, you need to maximize tension and muscle fiber recruitment during each exercise. There are a few options for getting this done, but in regards to sets and reps there’s 2 options.

Use a heavy load with less reps.
Use a moderate to light load with more reps.

The heavier loads will increase your strength and target your type 2 muscle fibers, which have the greatest potential for size development. Ideally the heavy lifting should come at the beginning of your training session. Lifting heavy after already being fatigued will limit training performance in these big lifts, thus limiting the results.

The moderate to lighter loads will target your type 1 muscle fibers. Training these muscle fibers will increase muscular endurance, blood flow, and improve stability. These lifts are secondary to your heavier lifts being that they perform better under sustained fatigue. An added bonus to training these muscle fibers is the drastically increased blood flow to the muscle that creates “the pump”.

Effectively training both muscle fiber types in the most strategic way will really maximize muscle growth as well as improve strength and performance. Here’s a quick example of what this looks like.

PRIMARY EXERCISES

8 Reps

6 Reps

4 Reps

SECONDARY EXERCISES

20 Reps

16 Reps

12 Reps

Optimal Rep Ranges For Muscle Building

The most common method used for building muscle is choosing a specific number of reps for each set. An example of this would be 1st set for 10 reps, 2nd for set 8 reps, 3rd set for 6 reps. This can work, but a major problem here is that rigidly sticking to the amount reps can cause you to leave a lot of training intensity on the table. Let’s say the goal is 8 reps, but you’re able to squeeze out 12 reps, did you maximize training intensity on that set if you stopped at 8? Did you maximize muscle tension?

If training intensity and maximal muscle tension is what creates the results we want, then the reps should facilitate the focus, not BE the focus. This is why rep ranges are ideal. An example of this would be 3 sets where each set has a rep range of 10-6. Start with a weight that you know you can get a maximum of 10 reps with. Increase the weight on each set and do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) in each set.

Both increasing the weight on each set and striving for the maximum amount of reps each set will allow you to get the most out of every workout. When you put everything together in a full training routine, this is what it look like.

1ST TRAINING DAY

Barbell Squat

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Barbell Deadlift

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Barbell Hip Bridge

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Walking Lunge

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

2nd Training Day

Barbell Overhead Press

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Barbell Bench Press

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Incline Press

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

3rd Training Day

Barbell Row

3 Sets x 8-4 (AMRAP)

Weighted Pull Up

3 Sets x 8-4 (AMRAP)

Barbell Pull Over

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Reverse Fly

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

*NOTE

This just serves as one example of this rep scheme idea just to give you a visual of what it looks like. This is a great setup to follow, but there are many others that also work really.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle growth, training strategies

Fitness & Training

The Push / Pull / Legs Body Part Split Explained

Post author By Remson
Post date November 14, 2017

Tribe By Noire

Push Pull Legs Training Split Explained

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Push-Pull-Legs Split Explained

There are many different types of training splits to choose from, but right now I’m going to put some focus on one of my absolute favorites. The push, pull, legs training split is a favorite of mine, not just for the results I’ve gotten from it, but also for what its done for my training clients.

Here’s a few ways to tell if this training split is for you.

You’re only able to train 3 days per week.
You get bored with a conventional body part split.
You’re an athlete who practices a sport multiple times a week.
You’re a natural lifter trying to build an impressive physique.
You want to do powerlifting or powerbuilding.

How This Training Split Works

The push pull legs training split is divided into 3 primary training days. On the push training day, you train all of the muscles that produce or assist in pushing movements. These muscles are typically the ones you use in bench pressing, shoulder pressing, and abs. On the pull training day, you’d train all of the muscles that are opposite from pushing. This would be the muscles that you use during rows, pull ups, and deadlifts. The leg day is reserved for all of the muscles you have from the waist down. The primary exercises on the leg day would be squats, lunges, deadlifts, and hip bridges.

In my personal experience and with clients, the best physique results come when the 1st day is legs, 2nd day is push, and the 3rd day is pull, with a rest day between each. Leg day is the most demanding, so prioritizing it on day 1 allows you to come into the gym fresh and fully recovered. Push I put at number 2 rather than pull because push day typical doesn’t call for the use of any of the muscles from leg day.

Here’s some quick examples of how it would look.

LEGS

Squat

Deadlift

Hip Bridge

lunge

PUSH

Shoulder Press

Chest Press

Tricep Dip

Abs

PULL

Row

Pull Up

Bicep Curl

Reverse Fly

How Many Exercises Per Training Day

The answer to this question really depends on what your focus is and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Typically I think in terms of primary and accessory. So as an example, if the focus on push day is to develop bigger, shoulders, you would do 2 – 3 exercises for that muscle group. The Primary exercise would be a barbell press, single arm dumbbell press, and lateral raises. Then you’d use 1-2 exercises for chest triceps and abs. Over all, you’re looking at 5-8 exercises per training day.

Push Pull Legs For Powerlifting

Powerlifting revolves around the big 3 barbell lifts, bench press, squat, and deadlift. This is perfect for a 3 day training split because you can now have each training day dedicated to improving a specific lift. This means you can focus on strength, technique, and volume all at the same time. An important factor for natural lifters is the emphasis on recovery. Having more rest days means you get to go all out on your training days and see consistent gains without reaching burnout.

Here’s an example of what training days would look like.

DEADLIFT

Barbell Deadlift

Single Arm Row

Single Arm Farmers Carry

Hanging Leg Raise

BECH PRESS

Barbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Incline Press

Half Kneeling Single Arm Press

Prone Tricep Press

SQUAT

Barbell Back Squat

Barbell Hip Bridge

Goblet Reverse Lunge

Prone External Knee Tuck

Cardio Conditioning

Cardio is a whole other topic on its own, but to keep things simple I’ll just tell you what I and my clients have seen the most results with. If you’re trying to lose body fat and gain muscle at an optimal rate, while still having a life outside of the gym, do 20 – 30 minutes of high intensity cardio conditioning a week. This can be sprinting, battle rope drills, burpees, etc. You can do this on training days, or non training days. I personal stick to 4-8 minute conditioning sessions 2x per week.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, muscle growth, power building, powerlifting, training strategies

Fitness & Training

The Barbell Squat Guide For Complete Lower Body Development

Post author By Remson
Post date November 7, 2017

Tribe By Noire

The Barbell Squat Guide For Complete Lower Body Development

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There are many different barbell variations to choose from, so I’m gonna breakdown the differences and what you want to consider when choosing.

Mobility limitation and injuries
Focus muscles and weaknesses
Posture and muscular imbalances

These key considerations make the difference between developing your lower body the way you want it and wrecking your joints. If you’re not sure how you should be squatting, keep reading.

Barbell Back Squat

This is the most commonly used barbell squat, probably because its the least technical one. Mounting the bar on your back allows you to squat more weight than other variations.

When done right, through a full range of motion, your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are targeted pretty evenly. The bottom position is where you get the most muscular activation in the glutes and hamstrings.

Toes should be slightly turned out with your knees tracking in line with the toes. Forcing your knees out over your toes during each rep will protect your knees and really target your glute medius.

The glute medius sits right above your glute maximus and completes the roundness and fullness of your glutes.

Barbell Low Bar Back Squat

This is a slightly different variation of the conventional back squat where the bar rests a bit lower on your back. This changes the center of gravity, creating more of a bend at the hip and less of a bend at the knee.

This slight change in form targets the glutes and hamstrings more and is a great alternative to those with limited ankle mobility, or over developed quadriceps.

This squat variation places more of a demand on the torso, so if you have a weak core, back injury, or poor posture, this may not be the one for you.

Rest the bar right above your rear delts instead of directly at the top of your trapezius. Pull the bar in tight, squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Barbell Sumo Squat

The sumo squat is a great exercise for total glute development with a major focus on the glute medius. Being that the hamstrings aren’t as involved in this movement means more focus on the quadriceps.

This squat variation doesn’t require a great deal of mobility which is great for those who have limited hip and ankle mobility. Just make sure you’re doing accessory exercises for working on your limitations.

The stance here is going to be much wider, which is going to require a bit more flexibility in the inner thighs. You want to make sure that you maintain a vertical shin in the bottom position. As usual, your knees she track in line with your toes.

Barbell Front Squat

The front squat is a bit more technical because of its emphasis on torso stability and shoulder mobility. On the flip-side the key advantages are the safety. You don’t have to worry about getting stapled under the weight because you can just dump it in front of you.

The primary reasons for front squatting are quadricep development, core strength development, and posture improvement. This carries over to all of the other barbell squats making you much more efficient at squatting.

Staying as vertical as possible throughout each rep is a key focus here. Keep your chest up and elbows pointed straight ahead. Do not let your elbows touch your thighs.

In the video I show you a couple of techniques to use if you have limited shoulder mobility and can’t quite get the front racked position.

Barbell Zercher Squat

The zercher squat is a great alternative to the conventional barbell front squat. It doesn’t require the shoulder mobility, or as much torso stability. You might want to start here when first getting into front loading.

Start with the bar resting on your thighs and hook your arms under the bar. The bar should rest cradled right on the inside of the bend in your arm. Make sure the bar, and your arms do not touch your thighs.

This barbell variation puts much more concentration on the legs by taking a great deal of stress off of the torso. Still, you need to focus on maintaining a vertical position.

Having the bar rest in the crease of your arm may be a bit uncomfortable. Use a cushion on the bar for extra support.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, power building, powerlifting, Squat, training strategies

Nutrition & Supplements

The 2 Diet Traps Of Skinny Fat

Post author By Remson
Post date October 12, 2017

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The 2 Diet Traps Of Skinny Fat

Being skinny fat is this frustrating paradox where you’re both skinny and fat at the same time. Its having skinny arms and legs, while having a high concentration of body fat wrapping around your torso. If this describes your situation, you’ll definitely want to take this info in.

The skinny fat dilemma
The body recomposition solution
The quality over quantity diet
Intermittent fasting & fat cutting

The Skinny Fat Dilemma

Here’s the dilemma in a nutshell. Do you focus on losing weight, or do you focus on gaining muscle? Here’s the problem with this mode of thinking. When you focus on losing weight, you do things like cut calories and increase how much cardio you do. This leads to you being even MORE skinny fat, because you end up losing muscle and retaining fat from under fueling the body. You can go the other way and focus on gaining muscle. This is not a bad idea outright but most people do this wrong. People typically take the approach of bulking where they focus on increasing calories and training hard. This often results in muscle gain, but even more fat gain. This leads to you being a heavier version of your skinny fat self.

The Body Re-composition Solution

The one and only true solution to the skinny fat trap is not cutting or bulking, but total body re-composition. Following the law of exchange you’d build muscle and drop body fat at the same time. Body fat is just stored energy, so you’d use that energy to fuel the training that leads to the muscle building. Instead of focusing on food quantity, you’d focus on food quality.

As far as training goes, you need a training program that is geared toward increasing muscle size. This program should focus on resistance training where the volume is high and the training load is moderately heavy. This leads to maximizing your muscle’s time under tension.

Think of your body as a pie. A certain ratio of your body is lean mass and the rest is fat mass. When you’re skinny fat, your body fat mass percentage is high, and your lean mass percentage is low, too low. As you gain more muscle, your lean mass ratio will increase, thus decreasing your fat mass ratio. You’re basically gradually inverting the fat mass to lean mass ratio.

Quality Over Quantity

Retaining all of your body fat around your torso is an indication of poor gut health. Its important to understand that everything you put in your mouth is either improving your gut health or destroying your gut health. With this understanding it becomes pretty clear that your diet should be centered around quality rather than quantity.

Everywhere you look there’s some fitness expert telling you to make better food choice, but not many of them actually explain what qualifies as a “better” food choice. The most you’ll get is “avoid processed foods”. That’s a good start, but lets take it a step further. Quite simply put, you want to target plant based whole foods.

Think about this. If you had a chronic illness, or just plain ol obesity, what would a qualified doctor tell you to eat? I guarantee they’d tell you to eat more fruits and vegetables. To be specific, you want to target plant based whole foods. These types of foods all possess 3 key things.

Antioxidants

antioxidants protect cells from damage and or slow down deterioration. A few examples of antioxidants are beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamin C. The only foods that have antioxidants in them are plant based. A few foods that possess the highest levels of anitoxidants are, goji berries, artichoke, dark chocolate, pecans, kidney beans, and cilantro.

micro-nutrients

micro-nutrients consists of all vitamins and minerals. These nutrients are absolutely essential for overall health including digestive health. Vitamin B is essential to the absorption and utilization of carbs, protein, and fat for energy. Vitamin C is needed for the production of collagen. This is especially important for maintaining the tissue quality of the digestive tract. Vitamin A maintains a healthy gut lining. Copper facilitates protein absorption. Potassium eliminates waste from the body. Selenium is needed for pancreas function. All of this is abundant in plant based foods.

Fiber

There are 2 main types of fiber found in food called soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and regulates blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, helps to create stomach acid for digestion, and protects stomach lining. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water, but instead helps to clean the intestinal walls, add bulk to your doodoo for an easy time in the bathroom, and feeds your good gut bacteria.

Plant Based Whole Foods Are The Key

When choosing foods for your diet remember this check list. Antioxidants | Micro-nutrients | Fiber. This doesn’t have to be 100% of your diet, but it should be at least 70% of it. There are 5 categories of food to target here.

fruits
vegetables
nuts & seeds
grains
Legumes

As long as you target these 5 categories daily, you’ll have a balanced and exciting diet that is easy to stick to. Finally to close on this topic, TRACK YOUR FOOD!! My top two picks are a couple of mobile apps called My Fitness Pal & Cronometer. This is key to knowing exactly how much of all the nutrients your getting and what you’re missing.

Intermittent Fasting

Aside from how you train and what you eat, when you eat can maximize your progress. This leads into one of the best strategies you can possibly use for cutting body fat, FASTING! There’s several different types of fasting for different reasons, but for anyone new to fasting for fat loss, intermittent fasting is the type I recommend.

Intermittent fasting is where you have a daily eating window 6-8 hours and a fasting window of 18-16 hours. Basically the goal is to get all of your eating done for the day in a shorter time frame and then not eat for the other 16 to 18 hours. You won’t be eating during the fasting window, so you’re body will be mostly using your body fat as energy.

The before and after picture of me at the top of this article is where I went from 15% body fat to 7% bodyfat. I made the largest body fat cut I’ve ever made in my entire life while gaining muscle, using this strategy. Not only has this worked for me, but it is currently working for my clients as well.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle building, plant based diet, vegan