Page 188 - Muscle & Fitness (February 2020)

DIRECTIONS
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each week. For example, on
the first leg day, you can do the
classic back squat one week,
then a box squat the next, and
a pause squat in Week 3. (If you
have access to special bars, like
a safety squat bar, you can use
these as well for more variety.)
On upper-body days, you can
rotate among the bench press,
incline bench press, and floor
press, just for example. On the
second leg day, you can opt for
any variety of deadlift you like;
you can also change the height
1 8 4 M U S C L E & F I T N E S S
of the bar, choosing to do deficit
deadlifts (where you stand on a
platform to increase the range of
motion) or rack pulls.
On all the main lifts and their
variants that you cycle, you’ll
work up to a one- to 10-rep max.
Begin with an empty bar and
gradually add weight until you
reach a load that cuts you off at
a certain number of reps within
that range. You can shoot for a
10-rep max one week on one lift
and then an eight-rep max on
another lift the next week. You
can work down to a one-rep
max over time or stay within five
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to eight reps; it’s up to you and
how far you want to push your
strength gains. Just be aware
that repeatedly training very
heavy (five-rep maxes or heavier)
will be stressful and will require
occasional deloads. Once you
reach the load that allows you the
number of reps you’re shooting
for but no more, you’re done with
that lift for the day.
Note that some exercises are O P E N E R A N D T H I S S P R E A D : P E R B E R N A L
alternated. This means you’ll do
one set of the first lift, rest, then
one set of the second lift, rest
again, and repeat until sets are
complete.