My 7 Day Routine for Strength & Muscle Gain

Summary

The speaker outlines a comprehensive weekly fitness routine emphasizing whole-body strength, endurance, and psychological benefits. It starts with Sunday's outdoor endurance activities, includes Monday's leg-focused workouts for strength and explosiveness, Tuesday's heat and cold therapy for recovery, Wednesday's cardio or torso training, and Friday's high-intensity interval training. Saturday is dedicated to smaller muscle groups. The routine is designed for all-around improvement, adaptability to individual recovery rates, and can be done at home or outdoors.

Takeaways

• 🏋️ The routine is designed to make the whole body strong with a focus on leg strength and endurance.
• 🌞 The individual starts their training week on Sunday with outdoor activities to build endurance and improve mental well-being.
• 🏃‍♂️ Incorporating long slow jogs or hikes helps with mental endurance and the ability to work longer hours during the week.
• 🦵 Monday is dedicated to leg workouts, emphasizing the importance of lower body strength and explosiveness for overall health and longevity.
• 🧊 Tuesday involves deliberate heat and cold exposure to aid recovery and stimulate positive hormonal responses.
• 💪 Wednesday focuses on either cardiovascular training or torso exercises, including chest, shoulders, and back, with an emphasis on strength and explosiveness.
• 🌡 The individual does not train back every week due to genetic predisposition for muscle growth in that area.
• 🔁 The routine is flexible, allowing for adjustments based on factors like travel or personal preference.
• 🏃‍♀️ Friday's workout aims to increase heart rate and improve V2 Max, with exercises like assault bike sprints and jumping exercises.
• 👐 Saturday is reserved for smaller muscle groups like biceps, triceps, and rear delts, as well as additional tib and calf work.

Q & A

What is the main benefit the speaker experiences from their routine?

The main benefit the speaker experiences is an overall increase in body strength, improved posture, and a significant change in their psychology, leading to increased confidence.

How does the speaker describe their Sunday training?

The speaker describes Sunday training as focused on endurance, involving a long slow jog or hike outdoors, often with a weight vest, aiming for 75 to 90 minutes, and listening to podcasts or books.

What is the speaker's approach to leg training on Mondays?

The speaker's approach to leg training involves a warm-up followed by two to four hard sets of exercises targeting the calves, hamstrings, quads, and overall lower body strength.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of training legs?

The speaker emphasizes leg training because of its impact on longevity, ability to perform various sports, and overall body strength, as well as the role of large muscle groups in muscle growth and hypertrophy.

What does the speaker do on Tuesdays to aid recovery?

On Tuesdays, the speaker focuses on deliberate heat and cold exposure, including a protocol of alternating between the sauna and cold plunge, to aid recovery and stimulate positive hormonal responses.

How does the speaker's training routine differ on Wednesdays?

On Wednesdays, the speaker either does a shorter cardiovascular workout or focuses on torso training, which includes exercises for the chest, shoulders, and back, with an emphasis on strength and explosiveness.

Why does the speaker include neck exercises in their routine?

The speaker includes neck exercises to strengthen the spine, improve posture, and enhance psychological presence, as they believe a strong neck contributes to an upright stance and better eye contact during communication.

What is the focus of the speaker's Friday workout?

The focus of the speaker's Friday workout is to achieve a high heart rate for a short period, typically using an assault bike for sprints, to increase V2 Max and engage fast-twitch muscle fibers.

How does the speaker describe their Saturday routine?

On Saturdays, the speaker targets smaller muscle groups like biceps, triceps, and rear delts, along with another session of tib and calf work, aiming to round out the week's training.

What is the speaker's perspective on the time commitment of their weekly routine?

The speaker believes that despite the variety of activities, the time commitment for their weekly routine is manageable and can be done at home or in natural terrain, emphasizing quality over quantity.

Outlines

00:00

🏋️‍♂️ Weekly Fitness Routine Overview

The speaker outlines their weekly fitness routine, emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach to physical training. The routine includes a mix of endurance training, strength exercises, and activities designed to improve posture and confidence. The speaker shares their personal experience of how this routine has positively impacted their psychology and overall well-being, highlighting the significance of leg workouts, outdoor activities, and the integration of heat and cold exposure for recovery.

05:01

🏃‍♂️ Cardio and Leg Day Details

The speaker delves into the specifics of their cardio and leg workout days. On Sunday, they focus on endurance through long, slow jogs or hikes, often outdoors, to improve mental resilience and physical stamina. Monday is dedicated to leg exercises, with a preference for heavy sets targeting lower body strength and explosiveness. The speaker also discusses their approach to training calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps, and the importance of not skipping leg day for overall body health and performance.

10:04

🧊🔥 Heat and Cold Therapy for Recovery

On Tuesdays, the speaker incorporates deliberate heat and cold exposure into their routine, alternating between sauna sessions and cold plunges. This method is employed to enhance recovery from the previous day's leg workout, stimulate growth hormone, and promote positive mood-enhancing hormones. The speaker also mentions the psychological benefits of tolerating heat and cold, as well as the multifaceted approach to using this time productively, such as listening to books or podcasts.

💪 Torso and Neck Training

Wednesdays are either reserved for shorter, high-intensity cardio sessions or for torso workouts that target the chest, shoulders, and back. The speaker occasionally includes exercises like chins and dips, but not every week due to their genetic predisposition for muscle growth in these areas. They also emphasize the importance of neck training for posture and confidence, detailing their method of using a plate for neck raises and the psychological impact of improved upper body strength.

🏃‍♂️ High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Fridays are dedicated to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to increase V2 Max and engage fast-twitch muscle fibers. The speaker's preferred method involves sprints on an assault bike with short rest periods. They also incorporate jumping exercises to improve jumping and landing abilities, which are correlated with physical longevity. This short, intense workout is aimed at maximizing heart rate and promoting quick muscle fiber engagement.

🏋️‍♂️ Small Muscle Group Focus

Saturdays are set aside for working on smaller muscle groups like biceps, triceps, and rear delts. The speaker acknowledges their body's unique response to training, with a focus on areas that require more attention due to their physique. They also include another session for tibialis and calf exercises, slightly lighter than the leg day routine, in preparation for the upcoming week's activities. The speaker reiterates the importance of a varied routine that addresses different aspects of fitness and recovery.

Keywords

💡Endurance

Endurance refers to the ability of an individual to withstand prolonged physical or mental exertion. In the context of the video, endurance is a key aspect of the fitness routine described, with activities like long slow jogs and hikes designed to improve the body's capacity to perform over extended periods. The script mentions that these activities are 'really for my mind as much as they are for my body,' highlighting the mental benefits of endurance training, such as increased ability to endure boredom and work for longer periods.

💡Leg Day

Leg Day is a term commonly used in fitness culture to denote a day dedicated to exercising the lower body, particularly the muscles of the legs. The video emphasizes the importance of leg workouts for overall strength and health, stating that 'everyone should train legs.' The script outlines a specific routine for leg day, including exercises like tib raises, calf raises, leg curls, leg extensions, and half squats, which are all aimed at building lower body strength and explosiveness.

💡Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is the increase in muscle volume through the growth of muscle fibers. It is a key goal in bodybuilding and strength training. The video discusses hypertrophy in relation to the number of repetitions and sets performed during leg workouts, with the script stating that 'the literature supports for hypertrophy... anywhere in there can get you hypertrophy if you go to failure.' This suggests that the individual is aiming for muscle growth through high-intensity, failure-inducing sets.

💡Sauna and Cold Plunge

Sauna and cold plunge are methods of heat and cold therapy used for recovery and health benefits. The video describes a protocol involving alternating between sauna sessions and cold plunges to 'amplify growth hormone' and stimulate 'positive mood-promoting hormones.' This practice is portrayed as a way to enhance recovery from intense workouts like leg day and to improve tolerance to heat and cold.

💡Vigorous Running

Vigorous running refers to running at a high intensity or with great energy. The script mentions that the fitness routine leads to 'running with vigor,' which implies an increase in the ability to run with strength and vitality. This is attributed to the overall strength and conditioning of the legs and core, which are emphasized in the routine, allowing for more powerful and efficient running.

💡Tib Raises

Tib raises, also known as calf raises, are exercises that target the muscles in the lower leg, particularly the tibialis anterior. The video script highlights the importance of tib raises as a warm-up and integral part of the leg workout routine, with the individual starting their leg day with this exercise. It is noted that they have been seriously incorporating tib raises into their routine for about two years, emphasizing their role in building lower body strength.

💡Nasal Breathing

Nasal breathing is the act of inhaling and exhaling through the nose, which can improve oxygen intake and reduce the risk of respiratory issues. The video mentions nasal breathing during long slow jogs or hikes, suggesting that it is a technique used to enhance the endurance aspect of the workout and possibly to improve overall breathing efficiency.

💡Explosiveness

Explosiveness in fitness refers to the ability to generate force quickly, which is important for high-intensity movements and sports. The script mentions training for 'strength and explosiveness,' particularly in the context of torso exercises like overhead shoulder presses and dips. The individual aims to move weight as quickly as possible during the concentric phase of the lift, which is a method to develop explosive power.

💡Genetic Abnormality

A genetic abnormality, in the context of the video, refers to the individual's unique genetic predisposition that affects how their body responds to training, particularly in muscle growth. The script mentions that the individual has a genetic abnormality that causes their back muscles to grow easily, which is why they only train their back every other week to maintain proportion and avoid overdevelopment.

💡Posture and Confidence

Posture and confidence are interconnected aspects of physical presence and self-assurance. The video discusses how training certain muscle groups, like the neck and legs, can improve posture and, consequently, confidence. The script states that training the neck leads to a more upright stance, which makes it easier to maintain eye contact and project confidence in social interactions.

💡Assault Bike

An assault bike is a type of indoor cardio machine used for high-intensity interval training. The video mentions using an assault bike for short, intense workouts to increase V2 Max and engage fast-twitch muscle fibers. The individual performs 20-second sprints on the assault bike with 10-second rests, aiming to elevate their heart rate and improve cardiovascular fitness.

Highlights

Routine helps in overall body strength and reduces back pain.

Improved psychology and posture from the exercise routine.

Training week starts on Sunday with a focus on outdoor movement.

Using a weight vest for slow jogs with hill training.

Nasal breathing during exercises and listening to podcasts or books.

Filling a backpack with heavy items for hiking to build endurance.

Monday is dedicated to leg workouts to build lower body strength.

Importance of training legs for longevity and overall body performance.

Leg workout routine includes tib raises, sled or standing calf raises, and leg extensions.

Tuesday focuses on heat and cold exposure for recovery and hormone stimulation.

Sauna and cold plunge protocol for recovery and hormone adaptation.

Wednesday involves either cardiovascular training or torso workouts.

Torso workouts include overhead shoulder presses, dips, and chins.

Neck training is emphasized for posture and psychological benefits.

Friday's short workout aims to increase heart rate and improve V2 Max.

Saturday is for smaller muscle groups and includes biceps, triceps, and rear delts.

The routine is designed for slow recovery and embraces different training adaptations.

Overall, the routine has led to continuous strength and improvement.

Transcripts

this routine has really helped me to

make my whole body strong it's not that

much time in the gym your tibs are

strong no back pain you're running with

Vigor but what's amazing is you start to

feel really good it completely changes

my psychology I just naturally stand

more upright my posture in presence is

just better it actually increases your

confidence but it also sets up the work

week really

nicely my training week starts on Sunday

I make it a focused effort to move as

much as possible ideally outdoors I

essentially want to be like a mule if

I'm on my own I'll throw on a 8 or 10 lb

weight vest and I'll head out for a

probably a 75 minute to a 90minut slow

jog with some hills and I'll try and

nasal breathe the whole time I'll often

listen to a podcast or a book if I'm

with other people what I will do is I'll

fill up a backpack with a bunch of heavy

stuff usually some water in there too

and drink it as I go and I'll do three

or four or 5 hours of just hiking and

just trying to be outside as much as

possible the specific goal of that day

is endurance because of the other things

I do in the previous days the 10 or 20

minutes that come at the start really

suck but what's amazing is somewhere in

that 25 30 minute period you start to

feel really good you actually start to

adapt to it long slow jogs or hikes are

really for my mind as much as they are

for my body and I'm convinced that they

also carry over to my ability to endure

boring stuff during the week but also

just my ability to work longer for

longer bouts

then Monday the goal for me is to train

my legs just get a leg workout on Monday

first of all I just like the way that

sounds to myself like leg workout on

Monday but it also sets up the work week

really nicely here's why I'm going to

train my legs the way that's always

worked best for me for training which is

a warm-up and then two to three maybe

four hard sets I should mention that the

reason for training legs is that

everyone should train legs so the you

know large muscle groups I'm trying to

maintain some lower body strength or

build lower body strength and

explosiveness the data that I see on

longevity and just simply ability to

perform different sports and to just

feel strong throughout the body is

strongly rooted in the legs so don't

skip leg day Monday is really about

getting that leg workout in to make my

whole body strong I'm really big on tib

raises I start I warm up with tib raises

I started doing tib work about two years

ago seriously doing tib work so it's

going to be a couple warm-ups maybe a 12

rep warm-up an eight rep warm-up and

then I'll do you know three sets of of

anywhere from 6 to 10 reps Andy Galpin

told me in the literature supports for

hypertrophy for muscle growth 6 to 30

reps anywhere in there can get you

hypertrophy if you go to failure and if

you go hard I personally like to keep my

resistance workouts an hour or less I

like to train in the more or less the 5

to 10 repetition range for strength and

for hypertrophy and I'm kind of going

for a mix of both so I train tips then I

do sled or standing calf raises same

thing two to four sets 5 to 8 maybe 10

repetition so I'm training calves that

takes about 10 15 minutes total I try

and move relatively quickly through that

so 2 to 3 minutes rest maybe four if I'm

going for a heavy set then I'm weaker in

the hamstrings than I am in my quads so

I do two warm-ups and then two to four

working sets of lying leg curls so then

I'm done with calves and hamstrings and

then I'll do two or three sets of leg

extensions so maybe a warm-up and then

two or three sets of working leg

extensions which for whatever reasons

are incredibly painful I hate them but

they work to isolate the quads and then

two or three sets of working half squats

after a warmup and then I'm

done so the Tuesday is very different

Tuesday I don't want to call it a

recovery day but Tuesday I'm doing

something really different first of all

my legs need recovery so what I'll do is

substantial amounts of deliberate heat

exposure and deliberate cold exposure

yes I do cold showers in the morning

first thing nowadays yes it is a bad

idea to do cold water immersion after

hypertrophy training so just for the

record you don't want to get into an ice

bath after hypertrophy training in the 6

hours after a hypertrophy training cuz

it can blunt the hypertrophy it blocks

the inflammation which is exactly what

you want to trigger the adaptation of

hypertrophy but Tuesday is really about

getting the maximum effect of heat

exposure and cold exposure I do a

protocol which is pretty intense

designed to amplify growth hormone

stimulate a bunch of positive mood

promoting hormones that last not just

days but weeks say the literature so

I'll do 20 minutes of sauna very hot 3

to 5 minutes in the cold plunge up to

the neck back into the sauna for 20

minutes back into the cold plunge for 3

to 5 minutes back into the sauna for 20

minutes back into the cold plunge for 3

to 5 minutes it's work but it's amazing

in the sense that you recover very well

from the leg day you generate all the

hormone neurotransmitter type of

adaptations that one wants and you get

very very good at tolerating heat and

cold and I should mention during these

times if there isn't someone else there

I'm listening to books I'm thinking I'm

putting this work and time to use so

there's multiple things going on there

then Wednesday I do one of two things

I'm either going to do a shorter

duration than Sunday cardiovascular

training workout so I might do I'm

thinking about 5 minutes of warmup and

then about 25 to 30 minutes of usually

running for me where I'm just trying to

get out and cover as much distance as I

can at a fast clip but steady so I'm not

Sprint stop Sprint stop that's typically

what I'll do on Wednesday although if my

legs are still a little bit sore that's

when I'll train and here the

bodybuilders are just going to go

they're a scoff I train what I call

torso what do I do I try to get pushing

through the chest and shoulders I'm

trying to pull for the back what I tend

to do is overhead shoulder presses after

a warm-up two to three sets working sets

or maybe four I like ring dips and dips

these days those are hard for me and I'm

going to upset some people here but I

don't tend to train back every week I do

it every other week because just I have

some genetic abnormality where those

grow really easily and I can throw

proportions off really quickly but I

might do three or four sets of chins so

max rep chins slow with slow Ecentric

movements the lowering as well so all of

the movements are done trying to move as

much weight as possible as quickly as

possible on the concentric phase and

then lowering it anywhere from 2 to 4

seconds kind loading it like a spring

and then trying to explode I want

strength I want explosiveness and some

hypertrophy sneaks in because I'm

working in that you know 5 to eight rep

range so that's what I call torso

because it's chest shoulders back if I

every other week I'll throw in those

chins and I think everyone has a muscle

group like this where if they train it

just grows like a weed but I want to

keep proportions right strength

proportions as well and I do train my

neck that day as well having a strong

neck why is that so important it's

important because you want a strong

spine and it's the upper portion of your

spine the other thing that I notic that

it does is it completely changes my

psychology to train my neck I just

naturally stand more upright I find it

easier to look people in the eye it's

not hard for me to look people directly

in the eye when I speak to them but I

find I just have like my posture in

presence is just better mhm in a chair

or standing when I train my neck and I

think it's because my head isn't let's

just use the word again it's not you

know flaccid falling of the chin towards

the chest so I do some neck work at the

end and the way I do it is take a plate

wrap it in a towel and I usually lie on

my side and I'll do at somewhere in the

10 to 15 repetition range it also works

your oblique somewhat you have to be

careful you know especially getting into

and out of the movement and then I'll

lie on my stomach and this is probably

the most important one and I'll put the

plate behind my head again wrapped in a

towel and do head raises so this is the

opposite of the text neck you're trying

to get your head sitting on top of your

shoulders as it's supposed to the neck

work comes at the end but is absolutely

critical and whenever I don't do it for

a week or two I start getting postural

things you start noticing elsewhere in

your body it actually increases your

confidence and the reason is when you're

upright you embody a different stance

I'm a big believer that the physical

stances we embody have everything to do

with the psychological stances we body

and vice versa mhm oh yeah so this is a

a real thing from a number of

standpoints so if for whatever reason I

do the cardio workout that I mentioned

the 25 or 30 minutes of running that's

what I do but some people could might do

it on the assault bike or something like

that or or cycling or rower on the

Wednesday then I'll do that Weight

Workout I just described torso on

Thursday or I'll swap them so there's

some flexibility built into the week

travel Etc by the way the cardiovascular

workouts can be done in the morning or

the evening but I always prefer to do

them in the morning and just get it done

with then Friday is a really important

day because Friday is the day that I do

a short workout usually only about 3

minutes of warm-up and about 12 minutes

of training and the goal is to get my

heart rate as high as I possibly can I

learned this from Andy Galpin just

increasing V2 Max getting those really

fast twitch muscle fibers my favorite

way to do this is I'll get on the

assault bike which are the ones with the

handles with the fan and do 20 second on

Sprint 10c rest for six to eight rounds

and then what I like to do is take a

band and tie it to something like a chin

up bar or something and I'll squat down

and jump and I'll do as high jumping as

I possibly can but I actually control

the Ecentric I'm holding the band as I

come down and so learned from Peter AA

I've learned from Andy Galpin that our

ability to jump and land is strongly

correlated with physical longevity or

you could do broad jump so you could do

a bunch of broad jumps you could do some

hit workout and then I'm just showered

and out the door to go do do my work or

to work so it's a really short

workout and then Saturday is the fun one

because I'm still enjoy this I'll go

into the gym in the morning usually it's

midm morning and I'll do kind of small

muscle groups biceps triceps rear delts

I'll do another Tib and calf workout a

little bit lighter than the one on leg

day cuz day is coming in 2 days and the

next day I'm doing that long hike so

that that day is really to round out the

smaller muscle groups that need work and

I have short torso long arms and so

torso muscles grow very easily for me

get stronger easily long arms but you

know they require a little bit more work

so I like to do a dedicated day for that

same way warmup plus two to four work

sets of two to three

exercises you might think gosh that's a

lot of working out but what we're really

talking about is a long hike with

friends or family on Sunday or by

oneself 90 minutes to 3 hours you're

talking about an hour workout on Monday

morning talking about sitting in the

sauna and cold on Tuesday you're talking

about running for 20 or 30 minutes on

Wednesday talking about doing some dips

and overhead presses maybe some chins

and a little bit of neck work on

Thursday you're talking about doing a 12

minute workout on Friday and you're

talking about going to the gym for an

hour hour and 15 minutes it's not that

much time in the gym you can do all of

that at home there ways to do the leg

workout even at home or in natural

terrain for the hikes and things and so

it's that's the the schedule and again

if you think about that schedule each

day you're accomplishing like endurance

leg strength cold and heat adaptation

and all the neural stuff that goes with

that torso to keep the Torso strong but

here again we can say the Torso work is

indirectly hitting biceps and triceps

then running for 20 being able to run a

couple miles is a good skill and what

you find is that if you train your legs

properly and you give them enough rest

and the cold and heat really helped too

you are so strong on that 20 or 30

minute run your tibs are strong you know

you no floppy feet no back pain you're

running with with Vigor and you wow like

this is great and so what I've noticed

in the last 24 months or so is that I

continue to get stronger and better in

each of these areas I find that this

routine has really helped me because I

think it takes into account the slower

recovery that is just me and it also

Embraces the fact that our nervous

system and muscoskeletal system can

train for different adaptations

simultaneously across the week

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